Earthly vs. Exalted Jesus

Jesus in the New Testament: Earthly and Exalted

• Spoken of in two ways:

  1. Jesus who lived in Galilee and did remarkable things before being crucified

  2. Jesus the exalted, eternal figure from before creation and reigning in Heaven at the right hand of God, dwelling in those who believe in him

The Earthly Figure of Jesus in the New Testament: An Overview

• Jew from Nazareth (province in Galilee)

• Jesus what a tektōn (a carpenter/builder/construction worker)

• Jesus was educated in some way (seeing as he can read and is knowledgeable of Scriptures)

• New Testament focuses on the last year(s) of Jesus’ life

  • Baptized by John the Baptist

    • Fiery preacher of repentance who appears to have modeled his ministry after prophets (such as Elijah) from the Old Testament

  • Begins public ministry of his own

    • Traveling throughout villages of Galilee

    • Teaching, preaching, healing

  • Calls disciples to follow him and chooses 12 to be an inner circle of followers patterned after the 12 tribes of Israel

  • His ministry is an itinerant ministry

    • Jesus preaches on the road, taking his message to different groups as he and his disciples move from place to place

    • (Whereas, John the Baptist preached in the wilderness, expecting crowds to come out to hear him)

  • His ministry is a rural ministry

    • Jesus is never said to visit any of the large cities (except Jerusalem)

    • Focused on villages and market towns (ex. Bethsaida and Capernaum)

    • Often ministering outdoors (ex. Beside the Sea of Galilee)

  • His ministry is a Jewish ministry

    • Ministry is directed primarily to Jews

    • Conducted in terms meaningful to Jewish people

      • Frequently taught in synagogues, quoted Jewish Scriptures, discussed topics like how the Jewish law might be best observed and how the writings of Jewish prophets are fulfilled

  • Presented as a peasant who assumes roles of rabbi and prophet during Herod Antipas’ rule (most prominently after John the Baptist is arrested)

• Prominent Themes in Jesus’ Teaching:

  • Imminence and certainty of God’s rule (CENTRAL THEME)

    • “Kingdom of God,” “Kingdom of Heaven”

  • Call to uncompromising allegiance to God and absolute trust in God

  • Promise of forgiveness for reconciliation of sinners and outcasts among God’s people

  • Reassessment of certain legal interpretations (particularly those deemed burdensome/fostering spiritual elitism)

  • Radical “love ethic” that declares love for God and neighbor to be a synopsis of God’s demands and that urges people to love everyone, even enemies

  • Reversal of value judgements that insists that God favors the poor over the rich, meek over the powerful (obvious corollary that those who wish to please God should humble themselves through voluntary poverty and service)

  • Jesus is “the Son of Man” as well as the Messiah and Son of God

    • He is the mediator through whom people experience the power and presence of God’s rule

• Style/Conduct of Ministry:

  • Telling parables

  • Proverbs

  • Aphorisms

  • Other memorable forms of speech associated with the Jewish wisdom tradition

  • Performed “prophetic acts” (unconventional public displays intended to make a particular point)**

    • Dining with tax collectors

    • Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey

    • Overturning tables of money changers in the temple court

    • Healings

    • Exorcisms

    • Bringing the dead to life

    • “Nature miracles”

      • Walking on water

      • Multiplies limited food

      • Water to wine

      • Controls weather

      • Withers a fig tree ** Isaiah walked about naked for three years to illustrate the shame of Israel while in exile; Jeremiah wore a yoke and broke a pot

• Ministry brought conflict

  • Disagreed with leaders over interpretation of the law (criteria for divorce, Sabbath regulations), appropriate practice of piety (fasting, ritual hand washings, almsgiving, the wearing of phylacteries)

  • Leaders were jealous of Jesus’ popularity, hated his public fellowship with sinners, offended by Jesus’ claim to divine authority trumping their judgements

  • Jesus found them offensive and publicly told them such

• Death is presented as a collaborative evil

  • High-ranking Jewish opponents want him out of the way, manipulate an unjust Roman ruler (Pilate) into commanding the torture and execution of a man known to be innocent

  • Judas betrays him, all disciples desert him, right-hand man (Peter) denies knowing Jesus

• Tomb was donated by a sympathetic member of the Jewish elite

The Earthly Jesus as Understood by Individual New Testament Authors

• Jesus is portrayed differently in different books of the Bible

• Jesus may be referred to in different ways (based on the title of the book)

• Do not be alarmed when it sounds like it’s contradicting faith

  • “The Markan Jesus was not born of a virgin.” This might sound like a denial of the doctrine of the virgin birth, but the scholars are stating a fact: there are no references to the virgin birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. The author of Mark’s Gospel either did not know the story of the virgin birth or deliberately chose to omit it.

The Earthly Jesus as Understood by Modern Historians

• They seek “the historical Jesus”

  • The person who emerges from an analysis of sources in accord with generally accepted principles of historical science

• Uses the New Testament to understand history rather than a field that views interpretation of the New Testament as an end in itself.

• Skeptical about miracles and feats against science

  • Do not deny, but cannot support/confirm claims

• New Testament documents would be classified as “religious propaganda” (written to promote the Christian faith and persuade people to believe certain things about Jesus)

  • For example, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke report that Jesus (who usually was said to be from Nazareth) was actually born in Bethlehem. But this is something that Christians would have wanted people to believe about Jesus; a birth in Bethlehem would help to boost his credentials as the Jewish Messiah, who was expected to be born there

• A history teacher may tell students that Jesus was Jewish, that he taught the Golden Rule, that he called disciples, that he was crucified—these are regarded as “historical facts” about Jesus that can be presented without any suspicion that the teacher is promoting the Christian religion.

  • It would be inappropriate for a public school teacher to tell students that Jesus was born to a virgin, that he was the Messiah, or that he died for people’s sins. A teacher who said such things would probably get in trouble for teaching religious beliefs rather than simply presenting historical information.

• The categories of “historical facts” and “religious assertions” get fuzzy, but most of us probably have some degree of awareness that certain things about Jesus are verifiable apart from faith while other things are not.

• TL;DR: The search for “the historical Jesus” is basically a quest for “the historically verifiable Jesus.”

The Exalted Figure of Jesus in the New Testament

• Unseen force dwelling in Heaven, working on Earth through followers

• Described in different ways:

  • “the Word was God” (John 1:1)

  • “God, the only Son” (John 1:18)

  • “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)

  • “the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5)

  • “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)

  • “of the Son, he says, ‘Your throne, O God’” (Heb. 1:8)

  • “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:1)

  • Jesus Christ… is the true God” (1 John 5:20)

Conclusion

• How many Jesuses are there?

  • “The New Testament Jesus” (aka “the canonical Jesus”)

  • “The earthly Jesus” (aka “pre-Easter Jesus” “the Jesus of history”)

  • “The exalted Jesus” (aka “the post-Easter Jesus” or “the Christ of faith”)

  • “The historical Jesus” (aka “the historically verifiable Jesus”)

  • All the Jesuses associated. With the various writings/authors of the New Testament

    • “The Pauline Jesus”

    • “The Johannine Jesus”

    • “The Petrine Jesus” (the Jesus of 1 Peter)

    • Etc.

  • “Jesus of Christian theology” (may be broken down further)

    • “The Baptist Jesus”

    • “The Calvinist Jesus”

    • “The Catholic Jesus”

    • “The Lutheran Jesus”

    • “The Wesleyan Jesus”

    • Etc.

  • Jesus of people groups

    • “The American Jesus”

    • “The Asian Jesus”

    • “The African Jesus”

    • “The Latin American Jesus”

    • Etc.