salt-shaker.blog

In a time when facts have less weight than opinion it is no surprise that Jesus is commonly viewed as one great teacher among many. I marvel because it reveals an unwillingness to objectively evaluate such a conclusion. Perhaps it also stems from the persuasion that one is wise enough to pick and choose what ‘truths’ are worthy of belief. This apparently releases a person to overlook the deep character flaws, political motivation, or ethereal and self absorbed lives of those deemed to be gurus. Incredibly, many who claim revelation are trusted despite the inaccuracy of their prophecies or the immorality of their lives. Their documents seem more readily accepted than the book Jesus trusted and quoted. It just does not make sense.

Eye witnesses document the integrity of both Jesus’ message and character. “Master, we know that you are an honest man and that you are not swayed by men’s opinion of you. Obviously you don’t care for human approval but teach the way of God with the strictest regard for truth” (educated wealthy young man – and yet he walked away, not willing to leave his riches). “You are absolutely right when you say that there is one God and no other God exists but him; and to love him with the whole of our hearts, the whole of our intelligence and the whole of our energy, and to love our neighbors as ourselves is infinitely more important than all these burnt-offerings and sacrifices.” (scribe – student of the law) Then Jesus, noting the thoughtfulness of his reply, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God!” After this nobody felt like asking him any more questions.” (Mark 12 excerpts) Ha! No wonder! He was obviously familiar with a reality that challenged the status quo. Very contemporary.

Then there were his enemies. He tells them with absolute assurance: “Does this not show where you go wrong—and how you fail to understand both the scriptures and the power of God? They knew He had spoken this parable against them…” Here is a man who expounded realities both of earth and the unseen realm. He had come from there and was going back, his time here a mercy mission from the heart of God to extend an invitation to higher life and to pay the ransom for any who would believe his message. Their error was their arrogance in rejecting both the revelation of God and limiting His power, instead exalting their own world view. Things have not changed that much!

Perhaps diminishing Jesus arises from the popular idea that truth itself is relative. It is an insult to our intellect to hear Jesus say that he personally IS the truth. Not only that, he claims divinity. Man & God simultaneously? Inconceivable! That’s why I cannot grasp why popular philosophy includes him as a valid teacher, some saying he is the best. It must be based on his methods and effectiveness rather than his actual words, because one cannot honestly look at his teachings and square them with competing constructs. They connect on some points, of course, but his overall message is antithetical to most current philosophical ideology. Truth embodied in a person? Preposterous! Oh, wait. It’s allegorical? A literary strategy? Parabolic? Well, he continues: ‘No man comes to the father except through me’. He claims to be the embodiment of truth, the source of life itself. That is one teaching that must be dismissed.

Remember, we bring our humanness to the party. One reads the Scriptures to validate his/her take on God. Others use them to undermine the idea that God would or could accurately reveal His story in a mere collection of the writings of flawed people. We assert our own limitations on the book, assuming that the God Who spoke the universe into existence cannot influence the inspiration and preservation of a record that starts ‘in the beginning’ and ends with ‘do not add’. Not to mention that their relevance transcends the culture that heard them first, still applicable today with timeless principles. “Not to us but for us” is a phrase I heard that demands the parsing of the specific cultural targets and genres of God’s revelation from its universal application. And then there is Bible numerology, a mind boggling study that reveals an exceptionally intelligent author who is outside of time, weaving a prophetically accurate, poetically brilliant, historically compelling account of God’s interaction with one point of His creation – humanity. To dismiss it out of hand because of our own limitation seems to be ignorant, something the Lord Jesus pointed out to those who condescendingly mocked the resurrection.

Jesus, a teacher among teachers? I think not! Recognized (and feared) by demons. Dismissed (and despised) by intellectual religious snobs. Bringer of life – not mere moral code. Abrogator of natural law. Expositor and example of otherworldly kingdom values – not superior human values. Portal not mere proclaimer. Illustrator not just expositor. Path not just guide. Jesus brought truth unapologetically, his words confirmed with power over nature, power over the spiritual world, and prophetic fulfillment. He displayed an unwavering devotion to his message by living as a despised human, even to the point of enduring an excruciating humiliating death that his law demanded and his love compelled. Just another teacher? I don’t think so.