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The Life of Jesus (part 5)
July 15, 2010

Jesus in the center

But it is still true of the man Jesus, that although He rejected traditional measures of success, He still ended up in the center of attention. And not only in His day. Almost every day of our lives, and in every country on this world, people everywhere give recognition of Jesus Christ being at the center.

When they write the date and include the year, they are giving testimony that history is split into two parts, Before Christ and after Christ. And when the mechanic's wrench slips smashing his finger, or when the carpenter accidentally smacks his finger with his hammer, or when the golfer misses his putt, he does not scream out, “George Washington!” Some how the name of Jesus even finds its way to the lips of that frustrated man.

H.G. Wells, a historian who does not claim to be Christian, said this about Jesus:

“The historian's test of an individual's greatness is ‘What did he leave to grow?' Did he start men to thinking along fresh lines with a vigor that persisted after him? By this test Jesus stands first.”

The Life of Jesus (part 4)
July 14, 2010

Reality

Let us take a look at the real Jesus. Jesus acknowledged a rumor that people were spreading about Him in

Matthew 11:19 “Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.”

It was also true that both the religious and political leaders of the day saw Jesus as a troublemaker and a disturber of peace.

John 11:47-48
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Jesus spoke like a revolutionary. Just read through Matthew 23 and see how Jesus spoke with great passion against the hypocrisy of the religious authorities of His day. Jesus was not like others of His day. He rejected fame. When he performed miracles, scripture records several instances of Jesus as saying to the one receiving the miracle, “tell no man.”

Luke 9:21 records that when the disciples finally got the revelation that Jesus was the “Christ of God,” Jesus charged them:

Luke 9:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

Not only was Jesus not interested in tooting His own horn, he also rejected traditional measures of success by not even owning a home. You can imagine what people would think of such a man today who roamed the streets and proclaimed of himself:

Matt 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

He was “homeless” in the modern definition of that term. He was different. He was marginal. He was radical. He was revolutionary. But this is Jesus in reality.

The Life of Jesus (part 3)
July 13, 2010

More images of Jesus…

Yesterday I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Would Jesus discriminate?” Although it was not clear in those few words, I believe the point of the sticker was to emphasize tolerance for all people. After reading that, immediately passages of scripture came to mind where Jesus called some people hypocrites and white-washed tombs full of bones; and passages where Jesus obviously discriminated when he said: “Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” But before we go into all that, it will suffice to say that people have got some pretty interesting images of Jesus. But are they all valid?

Questions

1. How could this nice Jesus who carried about lambs and children, and gently guided the nations of the world, and received the souls of the unfortunate, and comforted the hurting, end up getting crucified?

2. What would cause the crowds to yell to the high priest about this gentle Jesus, “He is guilty of death!” (Matthew 26:66)

3. When Pilate asked the question, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” what caused the crowd to scream, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:22).

4. And when Pilate finally saw through the wicked schemes of the Jews causing him to say of Jesus, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person,” what caused the arousal of such anger among the crowds that would shout, “His blood be on us, and on our children”? (Matthew 27:24-25)

Who would want to kill Mr. Rogers or Captain Kangaroo? When Mr. Rogers died the world mourned—no one rejoiced. What was it about Jesus that caused this kind of reaction?

The Life of Jesus (part 2)
July 12, 2010

Later adult images of Jesus

As you became older you may have noticed a different portrayal of Jesus. Maybe you have seen the picture of Jesus standing over the United Nations building in New York City . There Jesus seemed to be guiding not only small lambs and children, but all the nations of the world.

Perhaps you saw the picture of Jesus Christ above the burning World Trade Center Towers, along with the American Flag, and Eagle, receiving the souls of men and women as they perished in the flames.

During my pre-teen and early teen years, I was introduced to a group called the “Jesus freaks.” They were guys who grew long hair and beards and wore robes and a strings of beads with a cross hanging around their neck. They were messy looking people, unkempt and radical. They wore the mustache and beard because they said that was the way Jesus looked. But most Bible Colleges and churches would require a haircut of such a fellow.

They painted their Volkswagen vans with flowers and proclaimed that Jesus was against wealthy people and materialism. The Jesus of this group was angry at the established churches of the day because they were full of hypocrites. Their Jesus was a peace promoting, love-spreading, non-condemning radical. And so were they.

The Life of Jesus (part 1)
July 7, 2010

Back in 2003, I read Philip Yancey's book, The Jesus I Never Knew. That book had a great impact on my thinking and my life. I would like to present to you the study that I presented to my church based on my reading that book. I pray that this study on the life of Jesus, the greatest Person in history, will also have a great impact, and hopefully, a life-changing impact, on you as well.

Childhood images

Where did you first learn about Jesus? Who was the first to tell you about Him? Think back. Maybe it was at your bedside when your mother or father told you a bedtime story that included Jesus. Or maybe it was in a prayer that grandma prayed that she started out with, “Dear Lord Jesus, …”

Maybe it was in Sunday School where your teacher showed either cutout figures on a flannel graph board, or maybe full color pictures from the visual packet, as he or she told the stories of Jesus.

Many of us have early memories of seeing a picture of a gentle but longhaired bearded man with a long white robe. Maybe he was carrying a little lamb, or perhaps a small child. It was as if that Jesus was saying to us, “Now children, be nice to mommy and daddy.”

Many children grow up with an image of Jesus as a kind, reassuring sort of man with no sharp edges—something like the image of the Mr. Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Jesus was the kind of person a child could feel comfortable being around.