Christology I.

Introduction There are really two aspects of what I hope to show you today what I hope will strengthen your faith in Jesus and help you to defend our beliefs about who Jesus was and is. When people talk about Christology (the study of Jesus Christ), they often mean simply the doctrine of Christs deity that Jesus is God (God the Son). But Christology also properly refers to the more general teaching about who Jesus is. We will discuss both of these aspects. Arlie has already discussed the deity of Christ mainly from the Gospel of John. It is clear that John teaches that Jesus was and is God. And for those who take the whole Bible seriously and at face value, that should be enough. But there are people who may require more maybe to silence their criticism of our beliefs for the sake of those who hear their false teaching, maybe to help them overcome obstacles to faith in Jesus. There are at least two groups of people who do not take completely seriously what the Gospels say about Jesus Muslims, and those who claim to be enlightened (too well educated to believe that hard-to-believe teachings about Jesus in the Bible). As you know, Muslims are taught that Jesus is NOT God. And those who claim to be enlightened believe that Jesus a man could not be God. And one of the ways that they (some Muslims, some liberal theologians) explain the rather clear teaching of John is to say that since John was the last written of the Gospels since it was written the longest after the actual events that it records, it is (more) likely that it contains ideas that John or the church at that time wanted to include, even if they werent historically accurate. They say that the earlier written Gospels (Mt/Mk/Lk) did not present Jesus as God, but that the church wanted people to believe that Jesus was God, so they made up some things that would support their belief and teaching. One way that we can silence this criticism is by showing that Christs Deity was not an invention of John or his community, but that it was somehow taught in Mt/Mk/Lk. That is one part of what we will look at today. The other part will be to consider more broadly the topic of Christology. We will try to answer the question: In addition to being God, what else do the Gospels teach about who Jesus is? II. The deity of Christ in the synoptic Gospels a. It is not only John (among the Gospels) in which Jesus is presented as God. Mt/Mk/Lk all present Jesus in ways that lead one to conclude that the Gospel writers and Jesus believed that HE was God. i. These are not merely comments by the Gospel writers in which they explain some saying or action as evidence that Jesus is God. ii. These are words and actions of Jesus Himself that indicate that He Himself was aware of being God. Doriani: Jesus implies that he is God by exercising the functions, assuming the prerogatives, or accepting the honors that properly belong to God alone. 1. Critics/liberals/Muslims make the claim that Jesus Himself was not God and did not think that He was, but that the church tried to make it appear that way.

2. But the kinds of things that Jesus said and did are so common, so pervasive, that one cannot simply identify and remove a few so-called post-Easter insertions. b. Ways that Jesus implied that He was God by doing things that only God could or should do. i. Jesus claimed divine rights 1. The right to judge mankind a. Jesus claimed to know peoples private thoughts (Mt 9:4; 12:25; 22:18), which is necessary for one who will judge rightly. b. Jesus is the one who will pronounce judgment on the last day (Mt 7:21-23). c. Jesus is the one who will repay even man according to his deeds (Mt 16:28). d. When He returns, Jesus will sit on his throne and judge all the nations when they are assembled before his throne (Mt 25:31-33). e. The OT clearly taught that the LORD (YHWH) will judge the earth/world/peoples (Ps 94:2; 96:10,13; 98:9); Gen 18:25 calls God the Judge of all the earth. 2. The right to forgive sins a. Jesus explicitly and publicly forgave sins (Lk 5:17-26+//, man carried in by friends; Lk 7:36-50, woman who poured perfume on Jesus feet and washed them with her tears and hair) b. These acts clearly sent a message to the Jews that Jesus claimed to be God (Lk 5:21, Who can forgive sins, but God alone? saying Jesus was blaspheming; Lk 7:49, Who is this who even forgives sins?) c. In the first instance, Jesus explicitly says that he would heal the man as proof that he had the authority to forgive sins (Lk 5:24). 3. The right to grant eternal life a. Doriani cites the righ young ruler incident, in which the young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life (Mt 19:16-21//Mk 10:17-21//Lk 18:18-22). b. He also cites the beatitudes (Mt 5:3,10) where Jesus says who the kingdom of heaven belongs to. c. BUTwhile Jesus is the one who grants eternal life (clearly in John), these do not prove that point conclusively. With the rich young ruler, Jesus need only be implying that He was the One who KNEW what was necessary for a person to inherit eternal life. Similarly, in the beatitudes, Jesus could have possible only been announcing a truth, rather than being the One who makes such decisions. d. It is possible to see Mt 7:21-23 as evidence of this point, if we (rightly) connect eternal life with entering the kingdom of heaven. ii. Other things Jesus said and did 1. Declared that his presence was the presence of God and of His kingdom a. Mt 12:6 Jesus claims to be greater than the Temple (Gods house). What could be better than that? b. Mt 18:20 where two or moreclaims ability to be omnipresent c. Mt 28:20 able to be with them always

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d. Lk 14:20 since Jesus is present and casting out demons, it is because the kingdom of God is upon them Declared that peoples response to Him would determine their eternal destiny a. Mt 7:21-27 esp. two foundations, representing whether or not one puts Jesus words into action b. Mt 10:32-33 confessing or denying Jesus results in the same before His Father c. Disciples/those who will be saved must love Jesus more than their own families and lives (Lk 14:26-27//Mt 10:37-39). Compare this to the Greatest Commandment (Dt 6/Mt 22). For an ordinary man (not God) to demand such love would be blasphemous. Identified actions toward Him as being toward God a. See often in John (knowing, 8:19; seeing, 12:4; 14:7,9; believing, 12:44; 14:1; hating, 15:23). b. Also in synoptics i. Mt 10:40 he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me ii. Mk 9:37 whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me Taught the truth on His own authority a. OT prophets made it clear that their words came from God. b. Thus says the Lord vs. Truly I say to you c. In SoMt, 6 times, something like, You have heard it said, but I say to you (Mt 5:21-48) d. Jesus speaks of His own words (Mt 24:35) in the same way that He speaks of the OT words of God (Mt 5:17) as not passing away. Performed miracles on His own authority a. When Jesus heals, He does not give credit to the Father. b. He does not suggest that healing is not ultimately up to Him, because it is up to Him (Mt 8:3, I am willing). c. Mt 20:29-34, two blind men What do you want Me to do for you? Jesus seems to take the credit. When Moses did this, he was banned from entering the Promised Land (Num 20:8-13, in v.10 Moses says, Shall we bring water for you out of this rock? d. In Acts, healings are performed in the name of Jesus, but Jesus never refers to any authority but His own. Received worship/obeisance (bowing down) a. Not necessarily full-blown worship. b. But Jesus never tells them to get up (Mk 5:33; Lk 5:8), as did the angel before whom John fell (Rev 19:19; 22:8-9), as well as Paul and Barnabus, who tore their clothes at such a response (Acts 14:13-15). c. When a healed leper fell at Jesus feet to thank Him (Lk 17:15-16), Jesus did not immediately tell him to get up, but took the time to ask three questions first (something a God-fearing man would not have done), including one that referred to the man giving glory to God (v.18). Applied to himself OT texts that describe God

a. When Jesus is praised as the Son of David at the triumphal entry (Mt 21:9) and after (21:15), the chief priests and scribes objected (v.16), Jesus justified their actions by applying to Himself Psalm 8:2, which clearly addresses the LORD (Ps 8:1). b. After the parable of the wicked tenants (Mt 21:33-41), Jesus (in v.42) quotes Ps 118:22 (which may be taken to refer to the Lord, but not necessarily) and then, in 21:44) applies to Himself Is 8:14-15, which does refer to the Lord, who would be a rock on whom many would stumble and be broken to pieces. c. These are, to be honest indirect claims. But the facts that (1) they are very common, and (2) they were met with charges of blasphemy and, ultimately, the death penalty, show that Jesus did indeed send a very clear message that He was claiming to be God. d. We can apply C.S. Lewis Trilemma here. i. Jesus claimed to be God. ii. He was either right or wrong. iii. If He was wrong 1. But thought He was right, he was crazy. 2. And knew He was wrong, he was a devilish liar. iv. But neither of these options is satisfactory. v. It is best to conclude that Jesus thought Himself to be God and He was right. e. Even though the synoptic Gospels do not contain the kinds of explicit claims of deity that we might like, we are right to conclude that no sane, God-fearing Jewish man in Jesus day would have said and done many of the things that Jesus said and did. III. Three important aspects of Christs Messianic role a. The word messiah means anointed one. It was a common practice to anoint with oil those who were assuming an important office. b. There were three offices in the OT which were commonly anointed. i. Kings (1 Sam 10:1, Saul; 1 Sam 16:12-13, David); a common way of referring to how a person is made king (1 Sam 15:17; 1 Ki 1:45; 19:16; cf. elected president or sworn into office) ii. Priests (Ex 28:41, Aaron and sons; Zadok priest, along with Solomon as king, 1 Chr 29:22) iii. Prophet one time mentioned in OT (1 Ki 19:16, Elisha anointed prophet in Elijahs place) iv. Also objects, such as altars (Ex 40:10), tent and ark (Ex 30:26), equipment in tabernacle (Ex 40:11), c. This anointing was the sign of Gods choice and of that person, His commissioning and setting them apart for that job. d. It is easy to observe from the OT that prophets, kings, and priests played very important parts in the life of Gods people. i. Prophets received the word of God and brought it to the people ii. Kings ruled, judged, protected, and taught Gods word to the people iii. Priests mediated between God and man, primarily through sacrifices by which their sin and uncleanness were removed e. Even though there is not one specific scripture that says so, the NT makes it clear that Jesus was prophet, king and priest, only in a far more significant way for Gods people. i. Prophet received the Word of God and brought it to the people

1. Texts that explicitly refer to Jesus as a prophet a. Jesus describes the response to Him in Nazareth by referring to the general truth that a prophet lacks honor only in his hometown - Mt 13:57//Mk 6:4//Lk 4:24//Jn 4:44. b. Crowds of people understood Jesus to be a prophet - Mt 21:11 (at triumphal entry, crowds said, This is the prophet Jesus, cf. 21:46, Lk 7:16 for crowds viewing Jesus as a prophet, Jn 6:14, 7:40), c. Lk 7:39 (Pharisees knew that Jesus either claimed to be or was held to be a prophet, and they tried to prove that wrong, cf. Jn 7:52), d. **Lk 13:33 (Jesus must go to Jerusalem, b/c it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem), e. Lk 24:19 (disciples on road to Emmaus referred to Jesus as a prophet mighty in deed and word) 2. There was an expectation even among Samaritans, apparently that the Messiah would perform the prophetic task of telling them all things (Jn 4:25). 3. There was a promise in the OT about a prophet like Moses who would come and speak Gods Word to them (Dt 18:15-19). a. Some Muslims claim that this refers to Mohammed. 4. There were some similarities between Jesus ministry and that of some OT prophets. a. Public preaching i. Predictions his own death, destruction of the Temple ii. Warnings the fate of those who reject His teaching (Mt 7:21-27) b. Miracles i. Jesus and Elijah each raised from the dead the only son of a widow (Lk 7:11-17; 1 Ki 17:17-24) ii. Some people thought that Jesus was Elijah the prophet (Mk 8:28+//). iii. In the history of Israel, there were brief concentrations of miracles around the times of (1) Moses and Joshua, and (2) Elijah and Elisha. Miracles were not exclusive to those generations, but they did seem to be more common. ii. King - ruled, judged, protected, and taught Gods word to the people 1. We have seen much about the kingdom of God/heaven, of which Jesus is king a theme, if not the theme, of the Gospels. 2. Proclamation of the kingdom. Entrance into the kingdom depends on obedience to Jesus teaching. 3. After His resurrection, Jesus states that He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18). 4. Jesus is not just a king, not just the King of the Jews (Mt 2:2; 21:5), but the King of the whole world (judging from throne, Mt 25:34) of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16). 5. Relevance to our people a. Jesus is Sovereign King i. no one can stop Him from accomplishing His purposes in the world (Ps 2:2-4)

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ii. no one can stop him from eternally saving those who trust in Him (Rom 3:28-39), as not even death can separate us from Him (or from His grace and power). b. Greater is He that is in usmaking us able to obey and persevere and overcome (even in death) iii. Priest mediated between God and man, primarily through sacrifices by which their sin and uncleanness were removed 1. In the Gospels, the term priest is not applied to Jesus. 2. But the concept is there Jesus offering Himself as a sacrifice. a. Mk 10:45//Mt 20:28 Jesus gives his life as a ransom for (in place of) many. The word ransom does not necessarily have sacrificial implications. But the idea of offering Himself is there. 3. The book of Hebrews explicitly describes Jesus work as priestly and superior to the previous priests. a. Heb 7:26 such a high priest b. Heb 7:27 does not need to offer daily sacrifices for self and then others sacrificed self once and for all c. Heb 9:11-14 sacrifice in the heavenly tabernacle d. Heb 10:11-14 old sacrifices could not take away sins, but Jesus did and sat down, his work complete 4. Other types of mediatorial work (not necessarily properly called priestly) described outside the Gospels, intercedes for us at Gods right hand, etc. 5. Problem that Jews would have noticed a. Jesus is not a Levite, and all their priests were Levites. b. ASK: Who knows the answer? c. There is another order of priests the order of Melchizedek which is presented as being superior to the Levites (Heb 7:4-7, esp. v.7) i. Since even Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20; Heb 7:6) ii. Since Melchizedek had no parents, genealogy, beginning of days or end of life (Heb 7:3) iii. Since Melchizedek remains a priest perpetually (Heb 7:3) d. Ps 110:4, in the same Psalm that Jesus applied to Himself (v.1, The LORD said to my Lord), that the one called my Lord the Messiah would be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. If time permits, we will also consider a number of other aspects of Jesus identity and ministry. So why emphasize these three? i. Easy to remember (not as important, but helps if someone says, Tell me some things about the significance of Jesus life and ministry.) ii. Shows Jesus connection to Gods work in the OT iii. Shows Jesus superiority to the saints in the OT iv. Enlarges our understanding of what Jesus did and does for us v. Perhaps identifies three important ways that we must trust in Jesus for salvation (even if we wouldnt use these terms, the type of trust must be present) 1. Priest most commonly discussed, as Jesus died in our place as a sacrifice for our sins (priest who offered himself), most likely believed

2. Prophet We must trust that Jesus speaks to us the words of God with authority and if we do trust Him as a Prophet, we will heed His words warning, promises, predictions, and commands. See Mt 7:24-27, which indicates that those who will be saved are those who hear Jesus words and do them. 3. King we have talked much about Jesus kingdom, of which He is king. So I hope that we would agree that the Gospel is not simply Good News about personal forgiveness, but Good News about Gods kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Repentance, baptism, self-denial, seeking first Gods kingdom, praying that His kingdom would come these important, required aspects of following Jesus all seem to reflect a faith in Jesus not just as Priest/Savior, but as King. 4. When we teach our people about Jesus, we would do well to present a balanced picture that includes all three aspects of Jesus ministry and which calls our people to respond in faith in all three of these ways. 5. [It is true that Jesus priestly work may rightly receive more emphasis, since it is only through that work His death for our sins that He can become our king, and that we can become His disciples who aim to do His words.] IV. The humanity of Christ (discussed in lecture on Mark) QUICK REVIEW????? a. Important to affirm, avoiding certain heresies from church history. b. Many of the things that Mark adds or emphasizes are things that point to the humanity of Jesus (not all exclusive to Mark). i. Jesus human emotions (compassion/pity, 1:41; anger, 3:5; WITH grief, 3:5; sighed deeply in spirit, 8:12; indignant, 10:14; ) ii. Called a carpenter (not just carpenters son, 6:3), references to brothers and sisters (6:3) iii. not able to perform many miracles in Nazareth (6:5) iv. Why do you call me good? (10:18) v. Lack of omniscience, at least in the mediatorial state (13:32, no one knows the hour or day, not even the Son) vi. Narrative rooted in real life situations vii. Historical sequence of events of Jesus condemnation and execution viii. Experienced death ix. Ironically? No account of the incarnation. c. Petersons discussion of Jesus humanity i. Incarnation (born of a virgin, human woman Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:26-38; 2:7; word became flesh, Jn 1:1-14) 1. See also genealogies ii. Human weaknesses and needs 1. Tired (Jn 4:6) 2. Thirsty (Jn 19:28) 3. Tempted (Mt 4:1-10+//, but tempted as we are? What does it mean to be tempted?) 4. Avoided danger (Jn 7:1, avoided Judea b/c Jews were seeking His life) iii. Human emotions 1. Anger (explicit in Mk 3:5; acts in an angry way in Jn 2:15-16) 2. Sorrow (Jn 11:35, Jesus wept)

3. Love (Jn 11:36, people observed His love for Lazarus; Mk 10:21, rich young ruler) iv. Human experiences 1. Born (see above) 2. Crucified and died 3. **Grew (Lk 2:52, wisdom, stature, favor with God and man; Peterson talks at length about how this affirms Jesus humanity, perhaps in ways that make us uncomfortable) 4. Learned (Heb 5:8, learned obedience from the things He suffered) v. Human relationship with God the Father 1. As a human, submitted to his parents after they came to get him in the temple and returned to Jerusalem (Lk 2:51). Submitting to other human beings is not something that someone does if he is not human. 2. He was subordinate to God (Jesus received things from God as a subordinate, but did not give such things to God. In His humanity, Jesus received things from God that He did not inheritantly possess.). a. God gave Jesus life in Himself (Jn 5:26). b. God gave Jesus authority over all people (Jn 17:2; Mt 28:18). c. God gave Jesus work to do (any specific text, or just concept??). d. The Father is Jesus God (Mk 15:34+//). e. Jesus prays to God (Jn 17, et al.). f. He honored God. g. He obeyed Gods commands. vi. Made perfect through suffering 1. Heb 5:8-9 in divine nature, already perfect; in human nature, had no flaws, but could progress toward perfection 2. Actual obedience was necessary for the perfection of Jesus human nature. d. The unity of the two natures i. God the Son always had a divine nature, from eternity past (Jn 1:1ff). ii. At conception, the divine nature was united to the human nature of Jesus of Nazareth. iii. These two natures will be forever united. 1. Scars after resurrection (Jn 20:24-28). 2. Scars even in eternity (Rev 5:6)??? 3. Human appearance and body in the new heavens and the new earth (Rev 19:11-16; cf. Mt 25:31ff; Rev 22:4 (see his face, cf. Mt 5:8)). V. Other titles and functions of Christ a. Son of God (God the Son) Mk 1:1, et al i. Conception (Lk 1:35) ii. Relationship to the Father (beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased, at baptism Mt 3:17+// and transfiguration Mt 17:5+//) iii. Equal to God (Jn 5:18; 10:30-33) b. Son of Man (some ambiguity) i. How Jesus referred to himself, rather than how others did ii. Could be nothing more than another way of saying I or human beings in general iii. Appears to have background in Daniel and used as alternative to Messiah, which would have carried too many inaccurate preconceived notions

c. Son of David (Mt 1:1, et al) Jesus is the promised descendant of David who would sit on his throne forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:3-4) d. Son of Abraham (Mt 1:1) Jesus is the promised descendant of Abraham through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen 22:18; Gal 3:8,16) e. Suffering Servant predicted in Is 52:13-53:12 f. Lord (ID as YHWH) broad semantic range, not necessarily deity, but are there contexts which require it? i. Can mean master, sir, lord ii. The Greek OT (LXX) uses this word, kurios, to translate YHWH iii. Jn 20:28 (Thomas, My Lord and My God) seems to require it to mean deity. Jews would have been very careful in how they used this term, but the disciples freely used it to refer to Jesus. What Hebrew or Aramaic words did they actually speak? g. Christ/Messiah (see prophet, king, priest), discussed Christ/Messiah in Gospels (not a clearly defined term, but an OT term that had been filled with meaning during the intertestamental period and had various OT scriptures associated with it; not a clear, uniform Messianic expectation, but most expected deliverance from Rome) h. Savior twice in gospels (Lk 2:11, announcement to shepherds; Jn 4:42, Samaritans who believed), twice in Acts, about 20 times in letters i. Exalted Lord (Lk includes ascension and even anticipation of it, Lk 9:51) j. Immanuel God with us (Mt 1:23; Is 7:14; cf. Rev 21:3) k. Teacher/Rabbi (Mt 23:8 and Jn 1:38 both connect the two ideas as the same) much teaching observed, called Teacher over 40 times in Gospels (by disciples, members of the crowds, and Jewish opponents), called Rabbi about 13 times. l. Others: Shepherd, Bridegroom, the Coming One, Servant, Stone.