Jesus the Son of God - 1

 C.S. Lewis formulated a so-called trilemma:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (Excerpt from Mere Christianity)

How did Lewis come to that conclusion? Being the scholar that he was, his persuasion came from reading the gospels. He regarded them as reliable records of the words and deeds of Jesus. Most Westerners find it very hard to believe the accounts of the miracles. But millions, even of those who don't identify as Christians, claim to base their ethics on the Sermon on the Mount. To get a good grip on the meaning of the sermon it is enlightening to consider the context in which it was presented. It should be enough to convince the reader of Jesus' intentions.

To the Jews the Law of Moses, the Torah as it was known, were the most sacred writings in existence. In his commentary on it Jesus started off by saying he did not come to do away with the Law (Matthew 5:17). "As if he could", may very well be what went through the mind of a sceptic. But he followed that up by saying he came to fulfil the Law! He was going to explain and model for all how the Law was to be applied in everyday life. In other words, if the Law gave a description of a perfect human being, he was that person. The "holy men" of the day spread the belief that there would be a resurrection of righteous believers and that they would "obtain eternal life" which is the same as to "enter the Kingdom of Heaven". To secure a place in the "book of life" a person had to follow the Law in minute detail. But Jesus said their kind of righteousness was not good enough to allow them into the Kingdom (Matthew 5:20).

Throughout the sermon Jesus used the phrase "You have heard ... but I say to you ...". He was referring to the interpretations of the Law by their learned men, the Pharisees and scribes, maybe also to popular opinion. As an illustration we can use the interpretation of the instruction in the Law as it pertained to divorce. Two famous rabbis Hillel and Shammai had different ideas of how it should be applied. The local synagogue teacher might have thought he was clever if he could quote both, and maybe give his reason for agreeing with one or the other. Jesus did no such thing. He simply said that anyone who "puts away" his wife for any reason other than fornication (porneia in Greek), causes her to commit adultery. And a man who marries her would also be committing adultery.

Jesus did not beat about the bush when it came to his opinion of the Pharisees and scribes. They were "role players" (hupocrites is the Greek word for actor). They would not inherit the eternal life which they hoped for. The crowd who heard the sermon concluded that Jesus taught "with authority" (Matthew 7:29). He did not speculate on the meaning of the instructions in the Law. In the spirit of C.S. Lewis, he was either the most arrogant person who ever lived, or indeed the One who gave the law to Moses in the first place.

The Lord's last Passover

Jesus had told his 12 apostles several times that he would be killed in Jerusalem. Peter objected to this notion when he first heard it. He was rebuked by Jesus because dying and rising from the dead was his main mission. Before they went to Jerusalem for the last time the disciples objected because of the hostility Jesus had encountered on their previous visit to the capital. Thomas resigned himself to Jesus' determination with the words: "Let us go and die with him" (John 11:16). It is doubtful that he fully grasped what he was saying. This became evident when they all deserted Jesus later (Mark 14:50).

The above synopsis helps us to appreciate the discussion taking place during the last Passover meal Jesus had with his apostles as recorded in John 13-17. Remembering his triumphal entry to Jerusalem, and how he had rebuffed the trick questions of the authorities, the twelve must have thought that the Messianic age was about to begin. That may be why they started jockeying for position during the meal. Was it their insensitivity that prompted Jesus to wash their feet, modeling servant leadership? (Luke 22:24, 27)

When Jesus got serious about the fact that he was going away, the questions started. Thomas: "We don't know where you're going, how can we know the way?" Philip: "Show us the Father ... " (John 14:5, 8). Other than Judas Iscariot, the apostles did not have an idea of how the next 24 hours would play out. While Jesus was in agony in Gethsemane his most trusted companions fell asleep (Mark 14:34, 37). The shock of their lives awaited them but they were too tired to stay awake.

After meeting the resurrected Jesus their relationship with him underwent a transformation. When he saw Jesus Thomas exclaimed: "My Lord and my God". Jesus' words during their last meal left such an imprint on John's mind that decades later he could record them verbatim in five chapters of his gospel. How could Philip forget the words: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father"? (John 14:9)

It can be very revealing to a child of God to spend much time on chapters 13 to 17 of John's gospel. There the heart of God is revealed as he spent quality time with those who entrusted their lives to him. He likened the events which would follow his arrest to the pain of a woman in labour and the joy she experiences with the birth of her child. Jesus spoke about the birth pains preceding his second coming (Mark 13:8). Surely we are experiencing some of those today.

Fruit of the Spirit

Imagine living in a small village where, pretty much, everyone knows everyone. One of the boys growing up there until the age of 30 is rather exceptional. It seems as if the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) comes naturally to him. And yet most people do not recognise that he is a holy man, a prophet, a completely unique individual.

That was the fate of Jesus of Nazareth. At the age of twelve he amazed the learned teachers of the Bible. Is it possible that he had wanted to stay in Jerusalem and become a master at the Scriptures by studying under a famous teacher? That was after all the business of his heavenly Father. But it was not to be. For the next 18 years he had to attend to the business of his earthly father Joseph. During this period he was well thought of (Luke 2:41-51).

After he had received his "ordination" from a voice out of heaven at the Jordan river, he returned to Galilee. He went to Nazareth to preach the "good news of the Kingdom of Heaven", as he had done in other synagogues in Galilee. The town's inhabitants, for the most part, did not consider him to be someone more important than the "son of the carpenter" (Matthew 13:54-57). Not even his brothers believed in him as an outstanding Rabbi (John 7.5) When he dared to speak about God's grace to non-Jews, his hearers attempted to kill him (Luke 4:24-30).

Most people are rather self-centred. What value could Jesus add to their lives? The synagogue ruler could feel threatened. The people already had their teachers of the Bible. Brooding over this human trait could cause us to become quite cynical. How am I to have any influence on family members or acquaintances if Jesus hardly could? David once wrote: "in vain have I kept my heart pure" (Psalm 73:13).

But things changed drastically after Jesus' resurrection. His brothers were among the 120 who were baptised in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. One of them, James, became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he referred to himself as a "slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). We can take courage and be confident that our upright behaviour will win us favour with likeminded people. It is unfortunate that integrity is not valued as highly as it should be in the world. That is a reflection on the world rather than on us. In the end it is only God's Word and his power that can change people's hearts.

Authority

One of the most well-known Bible passages quoted by evangelicals is found in Matthew 28:16-18, usually spoken of as the Great Commission. In it Jesus claims that "all authority in heaven and earth" had been given to him. He continued with "go and make disciples of all nations ...". This he told them on "the mountain" in Galilee where he had instructed them to go.

But before this, on the day he rose from the dead, he had appeared to the ten (Thomas was absent) in Jerusalem (John 20:21-23). There he said "As the father sent me, I am sending you". He followed that up by breathing on them saying "Receive Holy Spirit" and giving them authority to forgive sins.

Clearly the idea was not that they could willy-nilly give eternal life to anyone who asked for it. Forgiveness of sins goes together with the commission to preach the gospel. That is why he first said "I am sending you". When the ten received the Holy Spirit on that day, they were the first of millions who came after to receive the Spirit when we "accepted Christ as our Saviour", "gave our hearts to the Lord" or "asked Jesus to forgive our sins" or "became Christians". All these phrases are attempts to put into words what it means to be "born from above" (John 3:5-8).

We are born again through the "living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). When Jesus' death and resurrection is proclaimed, the preacher makes use of the authority given to believers to forgive sins. The gospel contains imperishable seed. When we believe and confess that his payment for our sins by his blood makes us clean, because he said so and rose from the dead to prove it, we receive eternal life.

On 25 March 1973 I was having lunch with two friends. They had planned to listen to a radio broadcast of a Billy Graham crusade after lunch (No TV in 1973). I told them I was not interested and was going to leave as soon as he started preaching. I was not keen on listening to a "Christian celebrity" telling me the gospel which I had already heard and accepted. But I was curious to just hear his first words. After hearing them, however, I was arrested by the authority in his voice as he preached the simple gospel. It was very compelling.

Billy Graham wrote in his autobiography that there was a time when he doubted the reliability of the Bible. His doubts were resolved after he had prayed, saying: "Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word - by faith!" (Just as I am, p139). From that time on his preaching had more effect. By firmly believing in what he read and preaching it with confidence he was able to bring salvation to thousands.

In his book The Holy Spirit Graham states "I do not see from Scripture that this filling by the Holy Spirit constitutes a second baptism." However, after the ten apostles had received Holy Spirit and the eleven had been commissioned to make disciples, they were instructed to wait in Jerusalem where they would receive "power from on high". Their experience, speaking in tongues, has been replicated over and over. It is not only documented in the book of acts but believed in by Pentecostals and Charismatics worldwide.

Without any intention of detracting from the impact of Billy Graham I think it is instructive to compare his campaigns with those of Reinhard Bonnke. The latter has not only reached millions with the gospel but has also seen remarkable healings in his meetings. There is clearly a difference between the authority given to every believer by the indwelling Spirit on the one hand, and the power available through the baptism in the Holy Spirit on the other hand. It is illustrated most vividly in the life of Peter before and after the day of Pentecost.