The question focused on in Chapter four titled “Jesus” there is an important quote that summarizes the complete chapter and what is the identity of Jesus.
“If Christ was only man, then He is entirely irrelevant to any thought about God; if He is only God, then He is entirely irrelevant to any experience of human life” (75).
This explains that God is a different figure than Christ but they are the same person. The study of Jesus is called Christology and there are many names in the bible that Jesus is called which all mean the same thing but have different perspectives. The chapter starts by teach the history of how the term jesus and his identity came to be about, it also mentions that orthodox people thought they had the correct teaching about Jesus. What it also mentions is that Jesus taught his people how to achieve salvation and how the reign of God is supposed to be, in other terms Jesus was letting the people know through his teachings that if they followed him they would all be saved because Jesus already knew what he had to do in order to let the rest of the people live.
Different writers in the New Testament identified Jesus with different terms such as “Messiah” which means “the anointed one”. In the Old Testament when someone was anointed mean that “the person anointed in this way was regarded as having singled out by God as having special powers and functions”(59). Jesus did not like to be seen as the Messiah because he wanted to keep a low profile of
Jesus and the Disinherited begins the first chapter with the interpretation of Jesus. Dr. Thurman explained that Jesus was a poor Jew and was a minority in the midst of a dominate society. Dr. Thurman gives his analysis on the worldviews Jesus. People around the world have their own interpretation of Jesus; yet, people have an orthodox view of him being fully God and fully man. In chapter one, the author references the nonviolent resistance approach, which is a tactic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr used in the civil rights movements. He interprets Jesus as a black man who lived his life as an outsider in the world. Jesus was the disinherited and oppressed like African Americans.
Jesus: What is Jesus' true identity? What did Jesus do? Why is Jesus' identity and work significant for the Christian worldview?
Chapter two discusses what makes Jesus so different and what makes people uncomfortable making him the topic of conversation. McDowell happened to run across the actual meaning of the name Jesus Christ or as some may refer to “the deity of Christ.” The name Jesus was derived from the Greek name Jeshua or Joshua meaning “Jehoviah-Savior” or “the lord saves.” Christ is also from the Greek language meaning Messiah or Mashiach from the Hebrew language which stands for the anointed one.
In chapter one, Thurman began by revealing that Jesus was a religious subject, not a religious object. Through this claim, it allows readers to see Jesus on a more personal level. Of course, we look up to God as an influential teacher, but we also are able to have a much more intimate relationship with him. In order to understand Jesus' teachings, we must also understand where he came from. This is expressed when Thurman states, "It is necessary to examine the religion of Jesus against the background of his own age and people, and to inquire into the content of his teaching with reference to the disinherited and the underprivileged" (5). Jesus lived his life as a typical Jew, but what made him so important was how he differed from his counterparts.
Messiah/Christ: In the Christian religion, the Messiah was a savoir who would bring the “Last Judgment.” They believed that Jesus, or Christ meaning “God’s anointed” in Greek, was this savior.
There are many different opinions as to what is true when it comes to religion. All over the globe, many diverse cultures look up and pray to a variety of gods or perhaps none whatsoever. Yet, how does one define what is existent? What is truly divine and worthy of the utmost worship and praise? As humans, we are limited to fully comprehending and understanding exactly who God is and what the afterlife looks like. This paper will discuss the aspects of the Christian faith viewing God, humanity, Jesus, Restoration and the Christian Worldview, as well as, a reflection of what I believe in my own personal life.
Chapter 4 JESUS CHRIST TRULY GOD The word ‘Christ’ means literally Messiah or Anointed One. It points us to a greater understanding of Jesus’ person. It tells us that Jesus is more than a mere man but not a superman or a conglomerate god like Hercules of Greek fame. It magnifies his Person and focuses upon his Godhood as the God-man.
A messiah is a rather ambiguous term. It mainly means an anointed one; usually a messiah is considered to be a son of David and would reestablish Israel to what it once was. Because messiahs are anointed ones they would typically be Jewish priests, prophets and kings. However, a Messiah can also be a warrior, or a man of peace. (CITE) A messiah was to reestablish unity among the Jewish people and navigate through the hardships and oppression that they went through during early Judaism and bring a sense of freedom and relief. An array of messianic claimants came forth during the two peaks of Jewish rebellion, the death of King Herod the Great and the first Jewish war against the Romans.
One question that I had after reading this section was: how did John the Baptist know that God would be so much mightier than him? How did he recognize Jesus?
The following paper yields a couple of various speculations and theories in regards to the teaching of Christ 's humanity and how it could influence how we comprehend His flawlessness. In the article "The Man Christ Jesus" by Bruce A. Ware, we take a gander at the idea that is often hard to comprehend of Jesus Christ being both God and man and His failure to sin. The larger question postured by this article is with Jesus being completely God, as we know He could not sin, however, being completely man, would it have been feasible for the human side of Jesus to allow Him to sin. Ware yields various perspectives from various theological scholars and shares his own theories.
Jesus is known as the Son of God, the Messiah or the savior of all. Who was the first person to see Jesus as the Messiah? Peter was the first who called him, “Christ, Son of the living God.” There are different versions to this story that can be found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. I am going to discuss the similarities and differences of how these books relate to each other.
Christ is His official title (Bere128). The name Christ shows Jesus as a prophet, priest, and a king. (Bere 128) He also called Himself the Son of God. This name indicates Jesus’ position in the trinity. It also emphasizes His deity. The Gospel of John clarifies that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. (Bere 129) Son of Man is another name given to Jesus. He used this name when He was talking about Himself. Because He was born to a man, He was fully a man. Luke uses this name for Jesus many time in his Gospel. The Son of Man emphasizes the humiliation Christ suffered while living on the earth, and ultimately dying. To show His position as the Master and King, another name of Jesus is LORD. This name depicts that Jesus should be given utmost respect and obedience. It is equal to the Old Testament name “God”. It means “Savior” or “Salvation”. (Bere 129) Other names given to Jesus were Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Lamb of God, the Word, the Way, the Truth, the Life. All of these names reflect the power, sovereignty, and sacrifice of Jesus
In previous chapters, the real identity of Jesus is unknown- the crowds wonder if he is the Son of David (Matt 12:23), the disciples previously said that he was “the Son of God (Matt 8:29, 14:33) and Jesus himself identifies himself as “the Son of Man” (Matt 10: 23; 2:8; 12:40) and even likening himself to a Prophet (Matt 13:57).
The title "Christ" is used most often for Jesus in throughout Luke and Acts. “Christ” also served as foundation in constructing Jesus’s journey from earth to him being exalted [1, pg 14]. It refers to Jesus as the Anointed One of the Lord, the Messiah. The title was first used in Luke 2:11, and the strength of this title was clearly outlined in Luke 1:31-35, which described the role of Jesus as the Messiah. Stating that he was the royal figure promised
Vast, all-knowing, creator, so much more. How do you define your God? The Father is so much more than human kind can grasp, therefor, being nearly impossible to fully define without using opinion and imagination. The knowledge of God is the largest piece of shared information among humans throughout time and space. I will explore my personal thoughts of God, humanity and Jesus, as well as reflect on Christian worldview.