Dark Room Bright Light

DARK ROOM BRIGHT LIGHT JOHN THOMPSON

Copyright © 2011 by John Thompson ISBN-13: 978-0-9679781-8-5 All rights reserved. The author retains international copyright. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Printed in the United States of America Published by HGM Publishing 3720 S. Hiwassee Rd. Choctaw, OK 73020-6128 Cover art and design: Justin Falk.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

To my friends George — Thessaloniki Jörg & Claudia — Dresden Naved & Nisa — Tulsa and in loving memory of Alok — Calcutta.

Thank you for your deep questions and conversations.

May these pages add illumination to your spiritual journey.

Contents 1. Illumination...........................................................1 2. A Fresh Look..........................................................7 3. Seeing Clearly..................................................... 25 4. Could It Be Possible?.......................................... 45 5. Looking Through the Crosshairs........................ 59 6. Examining the Map.............................................77 7. Framing Faith..................................................... 89 8. Signs in Science.................................................103 9. Religion and Spirituality................................... 119

1 Illumination “The unexamined life is not worth living.�

Socrates, fifth century B.C. Life can deliver some very embarrassing moments. My most embarrassing moment happened almost twenty years ago. While in graduate school working on a master’s degree in biblical literature, my wife and I served as volunteers with the youth in our particular religious community. The spiritual leader responsible for youth hosted a retreat for all of the volunteer leaders. Most of us were in our twenties; some married, like me, and some single. We all spent the night at a state park in a double cabin and were up late playing games. My wife eventually grew tired and went to bed, but the rest of us stayed up for several more hours.

The original plan had the guys sleeping in the two bedrooms on one side of the cabin and the girls sleeping in the bedrooms on the other side. Being young and smart, though, someone figured out at bedtime that this plan could be easily rearranged so that the married couples could each have their own bedroom. Pleased with the new plan, I proceeded to find the room my wife was sleeping in. Someone pointed me to a bedroom they thought she was in. Not wanting to wake her, I left the light off when I

entered and quickly stripped down to my underwear and climbed in bed. In the dark, I snuggled up to her and gave her a small kiss. Noticing she was stirring a bit, I said to her, “I’m so glad I got to sleep with you. I didn’t think I was going to be able to.” She groggily responded, “Well how did you manage that?”

In that instant, I knew that was not my wife’s voice. I got up, quickly put on my clothes, went into the living room and told the retreat leader, “Your wife is in that room!” I felt strange all over! Everyone roared with laughter (at my expense, of course). Being mostly asleep, the retreat leader’s wife was unaware of what happened until told about it in the morning. But what if she had not said anything? What if I had simply rolled over and gone to sleep? Such a mistake would have been disastrous in the morning!

I know from personal experience the importance of turning on the light so that you know who you are climbing into bed with. While most people have not made my particular mistake, I would suggest that there is a significant parallel in my embarrassing experience to many of our religious lives.

All of us have a religious background and a set of spiritual beliefs, which, in general, are inherited from and shaped by our family and culture. We could say that, from infancy, others have pointed us toward a particular set of beliefs, or a spiritual “room.” Initially, we enter that room and climb into bed without turning on the light to see exactly what we are embracing. Throughout life, though, a continual spiritual formation process happens in each of us that is both unconscious and conscious as our faith is affirmed by or conflicts with our life experiences. These moments give us fleeting glimpses at our belief system like dim moonlight filtering through window coverings in the bedroom. But usually it takes more to actually turn on the light so that we can really examine the religious room we sleep in. This 2

typically happens when we encounter truly discontinuous experiences in life, when we actively pursue intellectual exploration, or when we experience crisis.

What we do with our new discovery varies from person to person. Because of the embarrassment or shame of admitting to serious doubts about our faith and religion, some of us choose not to climb out of bed to seek a better spiritual room. Such people stay in the bed by choice—unlike those who never examine their own faith and consequently stay in the bed by default. Some of us, however, do take the brave action to get up and leave the room. At this point, we can then begin the quest to find the best spiritual room to rest in. Unfortunately, some of us leave our bedrooms but choose to not enter another because of the disillusionment or trauma we experience during this realization of the deficiencies in our religious system of belief. Consequently, we might move to the living room, but do not have the inner strength to search for that place of restful sleep.

This book is about turning on the light and helping you find the right spiritual room. I believe it is so vitally important that you fully examine your faith and religion and that you find the right spiritual room. Three reasons compel me to encourage you to flip on your light switch. The first is intimacy. The bedroom can be a place of wonderful physical intimacy with a spouse. Just as male and female are physically designed for intimacy, my experience has been that there is a spiritual intimacy that we all unknowingly long for in life. When you discover and enter into the right spiritual room, you will enter into a whole new layer of life experience that words fail to adequately explain.

The second reason to turn on the light is rest. There is a fulfillment and inner peace that can only come from faith.

Yet not all rest is the same. We often ask our loved ones, 3

“How did you sleep?” because it is not a given that every night of sleep is a night of deep rest. There are many who do have some sort of spiritual sleep but it may not be the kind of genuine, deep, spiritual rest and peace that is possible.

The third reason to turn on the light and examine your spiritual bedroom is that morning will come. A time is coming when it will be too late to take a closer look or make a change. Life on earth is relatively short and the opportunity is now to position ourselves advantageously for what is beyond our grave. The religious room you sleep in now will eventually be flooded with the light of day and be seen for what it really is or is not. Most human beings believe that death is not the end. When death comes, it will be too late to switch rooms and we will be stuck with the consequences of the room we have been sleeping in.

Without seriously examining the truth claims of your particular thought system about ultimate questions, you may not be prepared for eternity. Death comes to us all, but we have a window of opportunity right now in this life to ask questions and compare the divergent answers that world religions give to the ultimate questions of life.

Turning on the light is important to obtaining our best life both now and in our long-term future.

The religions we adhere to are complex systems of thought that explain reality and answer ultimate questions. It would take many books to assess, evaluate, compare and contrast all the belief systems of the major world religions.

But I think there is one light switch that we can turn on that will bring all of our beliefs into clearer focus. There is a particular question, answered differently by the major religions of the world, which reveals much about the religious rooms we might enter or have entered, as well as the nature of our own faith and spirituality: “Who do you say Jesus is?”

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The answer to this Jesus question fundamentally changes our understanding of the nature of reality, the origin of the world, the core problem and solution of our lives, and what is beyond death. Every religion answers the Jesus question differently. Hinduism says Jesus is one of many gods.

Buddhism says he is an enlightened teacher. Islam says he is a prophet. Atheism says he is simply a man. But Jesus himself poses an alternative answer beyond these diverse suggestions to his identity, a bold promise that, “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”1 If we can trust these words of Jesus then he gives light to our lives to see what is true about religion, what living faith looks like, and how to spot genuine spirituality.

Through Jesus, the darkness is dispelled from the religious rooms we live in so that we can make an accurate assessment of where we are spiritually.

So who is Jesus? Who is it that we are invited to follow? In this book, we will begin with a look at the question as Jesus asked it and the compelling confirmations that support his unique answer. Of course, this necessitates that we have a reliable record of what Jesus actually said. We must—and will—examine the historical sources that record his life.

Assuming we have trustworthy sources, we come face-toface with a discontinuous event in the history of humanity, an event in the life of Jesus not found in any other religious leader’s life: his resurrection from the dead. This may be a history-changing event that all of us should consider, no matter what religious background we arise from.

As mentioned earlier, each religion takes a different view on the life of Jesus. Each major world religion struggles, to some degree, with the historical claims about Jesus found in the primary historical biographies on his life. Because many of you reading this book are rooted in one of these 1

John 8:12.

5

world religions, we should take time to look at and explore some of these particular issues of divergence.

We will examine Jesus’ death, a problematic issue for those in particular from a Muslim background. Did Jesus really die on a cross or not? If he did, what significance would his death have had?

We will assess the pluralistic perspective of Hinduism and other religions that stand in contrast to Jesus’ claim to be the only spiritual path for mankind.

We will delve into the central teachings of Jesus that differ dramatically from the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.

We will touch on the issue of science and Jesus’ theistic worldview that is problematic for those from an atheistic background.

After exploring these particular issues regarding Jesus, we will conclude with with a close-up look at Jesus’ own understanding of religion and spirituality.

So who is he? I invite you to journey with me through the exploration of Jesus, up-close and personal, that will inform and, perhaps, shape your faith, religion and spirituality.

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2 A Fresh Look “A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open.”

Francis Bacon, sixteenth century Fifty years after John F. Kennedy was president of the United States, Americans still remember his famous statement: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

This profound statement sought to reverse people’s understanding of government by challenging them to rephrase their internal question. Kennedy proposed a new question that altered people’s perspective on government. In a similar way, perhaps people today need a fresh approach to the study of religion. Instead of the traditional detailed comparison of all the major tenets of the major world religions, I invite you to consider a question that Jesus asked his followers two thousand years ago. Perhaps this question will bring a fresh perspective to our contemporary study of religion and to our personal pursuits of spirituality and faith.

Jesus was a masterful communicator who often used questions to teach and guide his listeners. Like President

Kennedy, Jesus sought to redefine the issues of his day. For example, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day came to him with a question regarding the issue of taxes: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”1 Of course this was really a trick question. The Roman Empire—the government of Palestine at that time—was a hated, foreign, occupying, pagan government. So if Jesus said yes, he would be a friend of Rome and not a “good” Jew. It would be easy to turn the crowd against him. But if he said no, he would be an enemy and a rebel against Rome. It would be easy to turn him in to the Roman authorities.

But Jesus insightfully responded with another question that both sidestepped their trap and set the stage for a positive spiritual challenge. Jesus took a coin and asked, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” When they answered, “Caesar’s,” he instructed, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”2 Jesus reoriented people’s thinking with a new question.

Jesus asked the question about the coin to the crowd, but he reserved a more important question for his twelve disciples who had lived with him for many months. They had observed every aspect of his life; they had an up-close and personal view of him. Jesus had selected these twelve to live with him, travel with him and serve beside him for the last three years. So it was to these close friends that Jesus posed two questions that challenged them to think deeply about his identity.

I think these two questions can push each of us deeper as well in our spiritual quests and personal faiths. These questions cause us to ask ourselves, “When I look at Jesus, who do I see?”

1 2

Matthew 22:17.

Matthew 22:20, 21.

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Looking at the Whole Picture But let’s pause a minute first. Before we zero in on these introspective questions asked by Jesus and the subsequent responses of his followers, it’s important to remember that the questions are recorded by three men—Matthew, Mark and Luke—in the context of their entire biographies on the life of Jesus. These questions should be examined in light of all the information available in these biographies.

Let me illustrate why looking at the bigger picture is important. On my desk is an incredible photo of my wife.

In the picture you only see the back of her head, her shoulders and her left hand. It is only a partial view but it communicates volumes. Although her silhouette does not even show her face, the picture is rich with meaning, emotion and detail that reveal much about her. It shows her sitting on a private balcony at breakfast, drinking coffee while looking out over the Aegean Sea on the Greek island of Santorini, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I took that picture on our twentieth wedding anniversary trip. The location, the warmth, the colors, the peacefulness of a cup of coffee overlooking a breathtaking landscape communicate a beauty and enjoyment of life that is hard to put into words. These emotions, thoughts and deeper nuances are communicated not just through the subject of the photo, my wife’s silhouette, but through the subject and the setting of the picture combined. Settings add depth of insight and understanding to a subject.

Likewise, Jesus’ entire life speaks into these brief and simple questions he asks his friends.

So if we want to get to know who Jesus is, we need to look at the whole picture, not just his silhouette. Fortunately, we have detailed pictures of the life of Jesus in the Bible— particulary the four biographies on the life of Jesus that we commonly refer to as the four “gospels,” meaning “good 9

news” regarding Jesus. These include the three mentioned above: the gospel of Matthew, the gospel of Mark and the gospel of Luke, as well as a fourth biography called the gospel of John. Because these books record many of the words, actions and events in the life of Jesus, they produce four very strong, vivid pictures of Jesus in his historical setting. Without looking at these ancient pictures of Jesus, I think it is not really possible to have a clear understanding of who he is.

Each of the four gospels in the Bible takes a look at Jesus from a particular angle. The subject—Jesus—is the same, but the angle of view brings different characteristics into focus. For example, Matthew focuses on the teachings of Jesus; Mark focuses on his actions; Luke focuses on his compassion; and John focuses on his divinity.3 We see all of these elements in all four gospels, but more detail is provided about a particular element in each book when compared to the others. Together, all four give us a wellrounded look at Jesus. We will draw from the broader pictures of these biographies throughout this book, but I would encourage you to take an even closer look at Jesus’ life by personally reading the four biblical biographies of Jesus.

Mark’s Look at Jesus We find the two specific questions that Jesus asked his disciples recorded in chapter eight of Mark. While these questions are recorded in three of the biographies, we will use the gospel of Mark as the focus for our discussion 3

John probably does not include Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” because the whole focus of his book is on how Jesus reveals his identity in a variety of settings through a variety of statements. We will look at the content of the gospel of John more in later chapters.

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because echoes of these questions seem to be heard throughout that particular book in various forms.

Jesus’ lead-off question to his twelve disciples is: “Who do people say that I am?”

Then, after his friends provide a list of responses they have heard from others, Jesus asks a pointed follow-up question: “But who do you say that I am?”

Jesus starts with a general question about his identity and then turns it into a personal question. Jesus does not settle for religion to be just a set of ideas. He presses people to make religion and faith personal.

Though these questions are explicit in chapter eight, listen in for a moment to what appear to be echoes of them in other parts of the gospel of Mark.

In the very first chapter, the general public has gathered in the synagogue. As they listen to Jesus teach and watch him work miracles, we encounter how they reacted to him: And they were all so amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the evil spirits and they obey him.’4 The people of Jesus’ day were amazed at his ability to bring transformation to the lives of people who had been wrecked by what appeared to be the control of demonic forces in people’s lives.

Later that evening, many people in that town who desperately needed help were brought to Jesus. Mark observes, “And he healed many who were sick with various 4

Mark 1:27.

11

diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”5 Again, Mark hints that Jesus’ identity is very significant— even demons understand who he is and they are powerless against him. Now I know that Americans (as well as people from many other western cultures) do not usually think much about evil spirits, and we usually attribute all problems to a biological cause. However, people from other cultures are often much more aware of the spiritual realm and the devastating impact evil powers can have on people’s lives.

Mark records four specific stories of Jesus commanding evil spirits to come out of someone. In each case, Jesus creates a radical transformation in someone’s life. In every case, people who witnessed it were absolutely amazed.

On one of these occasions, Jesus set free someone most people had totally written off as an impossible, hopeless case. In a graveyard lived a naked, crazy man who could even break free from chains put on him to restrain him in his madness. This person was described as having not just one demon but many controlling his life. But Jesus commanded the demons to come out of him, and the man was completely restored to a normal life. When the townspeople came to see what had happened they found this man “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind.”6 Several years ago, my wife and I were traveling in another country. One day, we were riding the bus through town and there in the middle of the road was a man—naked, filthy dirty, with wild hair. He was a crazy man. I am sure everyone in that city had written him off as hopeless.

Just imagine if the day after seeing this naked man, we saw him sitting quietly in the town market, cleaned up 5 6

Mark 1:34.

Mark 5:15.

12

and fully dressed. The residents of that city who had often seen this crazy man would be absolutely amazed at such an incredible transformation. Jesus brought life transformation to people who were beyond hope.

In chapter two, Mark begins with a story of how Jesus healed a man who was paralyzed and consequently bedridden. His friends had carried him on his bed to Jesus, and with a spoken word Jesus healed him. Mark records the healing and the response of the gathered crowd: And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this.’7 Mark again highlights Jesus’ utter uniqueness.

Mark provides a number of specific descriptions of amazing healings that Jesus performed. Other detailed stories of healing include Jesus healing a man with leprosy, healing a deaf and mute man, healing a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, and healing two different men who had been born blind. One sick girl was actually dead before Jesus could come to heal her, so he simply brought her back to life. These are not just healings of backaches or toothaches. These are not things easily fixed by doctors.

These are incredible, supernatural, re-creative healings.8 Not only does the public at large wonder who Jesus is because of his teachings, his healings and his ability to cast out demons, but his disciples also begin to ponder who this Jesus that they are following really is. For them, the question arises after they witness a miracle with a significance that they understood better than most. As 7 8

Mark 2:12.

Mark 1:40-42; 7:31-35; 5:25-34; 8:22-25; 10:46-52; 5:21-24, 35-42.

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seasoned fishermen with daily experience on the open waters of the Sea of Galilee, they were awestruck when Jesus stopped a raging storm in a split second and instantly brought a foaming sea to flat calm. They knew what they had just witnessed was absolutely impossible.

Mark says that in the wake of that moment, the disciples said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”9 In addition to calming the storm and sea, Jesus demonstrated his authority over nature on other occasions as well. Jesus defied the laws of gravity by walking on water. Jesus told a fig tree to never again produce fruit and the next day the tree was withered from its roots. Twice, Jesus multiplied a few loaves of bread and a few fish to feed thousands of people.10 Miraculously feeding five thousand people left such a deep mark on the disciples that this story is recorded in all four biographies of Jesus in the Bible. However, Mark wants us to know this incredible demonstration of power did not just happen once but twice. He records an additional occasion when Jesus fed four thousand with just seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.

Not only do the common people and his own disciples wonder who Jesus really is, so do the religious and political leaders of the day. We find this question asked directly to Jesus by both the high priest (the highest Jewish religious leader) and by Pilate, the Roman governor, during Jesus’ trial before his crucifixion.

The high priest interrogated Jesus, demanding, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus plainly answered him, saying, “I am.”11 9 10 11

Mark 4:41.

Mark 6:45-52; 11:12-14, 20-26; 6:30-44; 8:1-10.

Mark 14:61, 62.

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Later that day, Pilate inquired of Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus affirmatively answered him saying, “Yes, it is as you say.”12 Both of these leaders used the highest position of human authority possible for a Jew when asking Jesus who he was. The high priest asked if Jesus was “the Christ.” Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word messiah. For centuries, the Jewish people were waiting for God to send the Messiah to rescue them from foreign rule and to set up God’s permanent kingdom on earth. The ancient prophets spoke of this mighty man who would come and restore Israel to its former glory. “Christ” was the highest human title the high priest could point to in his own religious worldview. Likewise, Pilate, the Roman governor, asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. “King” would be the highest political title that Pilate could fathom for Jesus as a non-Roman. In essence, Mark highlights how the supreme religious leader and the supreme government leader in Jerusalem ask Jesus directly if he should be considered as the supreme Jewish leader in Palestine. Jesus responds to both questions in the affirmative.

Echoes of Jesus’ questions about his identity in chapter eight are found on the lips of all the people of Jesus’ day, from the common man to the governor, from the disciples to the high priest. Mark fills his biography with content from Jesus’ life that must be taken into account when Jesus’ identity is considered. The first half of the book lists numerous miracles of various kinds that Jesus performed.

The miracles include physical healing, power over nature, casting out demons and raising people from the dead. The second half of the book focuses on the week leading up to and including the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

12

Mark 15:2 (NIV).

15

All the miracles of Jesus, as well as the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus provide the setting to inform our contemplation of Jesus’ two questions: “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?” Consider for yourself the miracles of Jesus recorded in the book of Mark. He performed unheard of healings, could control the forces of nature and delivered people who seemed beyond hope. Who is Jesus? Looking at the picture of Jesus in the book of Mark, we see the description of a man unique in human history.

Who Others See Now let’s return to the climatic moment in chapter eight of Mark. Let’s read the passage again in order to examine it more closely. Mark writes, Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’13 Jesus opens the discussion with a general question to draw out some of the options available. The question, “Who do people say that I am?” is an important preliminary question both for his disciples and for us today.

Every major world religion has a view about who Jesus is.

Muslims say he is a prophet. Hindus say he is one of many gods. Buddhists suggest he is an enlightened one. Atheists say he is simply a man. All of these variant views of Jesus are hypotheses about his identity based on the worldview of each religion. If you are an adherent of a world religion, 13

Mark 8:27-29.

16

you likely have been taught by others who Jesus is. Your religious perspective has given you a particular set of eyeglasses that causes you to see Jesus a certain way. All of us have a particular set of lenses that shapes how we perceive all of life. We call this our worldview.

But notice, Jesus then turned the question away from the opinion of others and asked his disciples directly, “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” It should not be assumed that because you were taught a certain belief about Jesus, you too must have that view. Jesus invites you to consider the evidence regarding his identity yourself.

He invites you to question who he is and to form your own answer. It’s too important to leave it up to someone else to decide for you.

Interestingly, Jesus did not directly ask, “Who am I?” He asked who people “say” that he is. People can say anything they want. Hitler “said” the Aryan race was superior to others and that the Jewish people were inferior. But that does not make it true. He said it loud enough and often enough that a majority of his countrymen began to believe it. However, there were some brave enough to think seriously, to weigh this idea and to decide for themselves, in spite of popular cultural opinion. I invite you, the reader, to not be swayed by your cultural bias, by what others in your family or religion think. Be intellectually brave and seriously consider the evidence about who Jesus is. Take off the glasses given to you by others, so that you can take a fresh new look at Jesus.

When I read this passage in Mark, it reminds me of the game show Family Feud. Two families come to compete against each other. A representative from each family faces the other with a buzzer. The first representative to give one of the correct answers to a survey question earns the opportunity for his or her family to guess all the other top 17

responses to the particular public survey question. I could imagine the host using this question: “Who do people say Jesus is? The top three answers are on the board.”

Similarly, the disciples were able to give the top three answers from the public at large: John the Baptist, Elijah and the prophets.

John the Baptist was a contemporary of Jesus who had led a spiritual renewal and had, consequently, suffered execution by beheading. Some thought John the Baptist had come back to life as Jesus. In our modern world, we still have people today who think Elvis—the king of rock and roll music, who died in 1977—is still alive. Just as the masses flocked to hear the music of Elvis, the masses in Judea flocked to hear John the Baptist out in the desert by the Jordan River, calling people to repent and turn their hearts back to God. People were gripped by the words of John the Baptist and responded by being baptized in the Jordan River as an outward sign of an inward spiritual renewal. Because of the positive impact John the Baptist had on people’s lives, this was a flattering answer.

But Mark points out in the very first chapter of his book that John the Baptist spoke of Jesus, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”14 John the Baptist was the most popular Jewish religious leader at the time Jesus came on the scene, yet he did not consider himself worthy to even be the servant or slave of the one coming after him—Jesus.

Elijah, the second popular view being expressed around the town well—the water cooler of Jesus’ day—had been a premiere prophet who had lived over eight hundred years earlier in Jewish history. Whereas John the Baptist was a contemporary spiritual leader, Elijah was an iconic 14

Mark 1:7.

18

historical spiritual leader. There had been few times in history where great miracles happened and Elijah’s lifetime had been one of them. The religious teachers of Jesus’ day taught that Elijah would return to earth before the coming of the Messiah (the Christ).

But Mark tells us that Jesus himself answered the Elijah theory: that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this teaching. Jesus said, “If you are willing to accept it, he [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come.” Jesus believed that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for the Christ. In short, Mark suggests that John the Baptist and Elijah are in the same category and that Jesus is in a category all his own.15 The third popular view was that Jesus was one of the prophets. A prophet was a holy man who challenged people to turn to God. The Jewish people had a number of great prophets in their history whose teachings have been preserved in sacred writings that make up part of the Bible.

But at the time of Jesus, it was a commonly accepted fact that there had not been a Jewish prophet for four hundred years. To say Jesus was one of the prophets was a great compliment; it placed Jesus among the great spiritual leaders of the past and marked him as an expression of God’s renewed interest and activity among his people. But the entire book of Mark contends that Jesus is not one of many special men, he is the one unique man.

Even the evil spirits knew better than that. In Mark 1, the demon-possessed man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”16 In chapter five, right after the disciples had said to one another, “Who then is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?,” they 15 16

Mark 9:11-13; Matthew 11:14.

Mark 1:24.

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encounter the naked man in the graveyard who sees Jesus from a distance, runs up, falls down in front of Jesus and shouts at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”17 At the crucifixion, a Roman centurion—who had seen Jesus suffer, experienced three hours of darkness on earth, heard Jesus forgive those who crucified him and watched him breathe his last breath—recognized that Jesus was more than a special man. He declared, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”18 The emphatic declaration in the book of Mark is that Jesus is so much more than who the public esteemed him to be, more than a mere prophet, more than a religious icon like Elijah, more than a revolutionary leader like John the Baptist. But what did his closest friends think?

Your Picture of Jesus We find in Jesus’ dialogue that he really is not interested in public opinion; he is looking for a more informed perspective. The public saw Jesus from a distance, but his disciples knew his life very personally. They had the potential to see more clearly what others might miss. So Jesus turns the question to his disciples who had lived with him, traveled with him, and seen him up close. He turns to their perspective on his identity: “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answers, “You are the Christ.” This response is no surprise in the book of Mark. It simply confirms what has been alluded to all the way up to this moment, from the very first sentence of this biography. Unlike the standard 17 18

Mark 5:7.

Mark 15:39.

20

convention for writing today in which an author starts with an introduction that brings the reader to the thesis statement, Mark starts with his thesis and then launches into the introductory materials. Mark opens his biography of Jesus with the words: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”19 He openly states that his biography is about the good news of Jesus who is the Christ and the Son of God. The rest of the gospel of Mark is descriptive evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. These two titles given to Jesus and affirmed by him speak to the core of his identity. Christ, or Messiah, tapped into all of the expectations of the Jewish people that a new king would arise in Israel. Messiah literally means “anointed one.” This coming king would be anointed, or divinely chosen, to establish a kingdom that would never end. The Messiah was the anticipated game-changer of history in the minds of the Jewish people.

Jesus accepted this title but asked people not to tell others.

He knew the people expected a political messiah who would overthrow the Roman government, but his road to kingship would be through the suffering of the cross, not through conquering with the sword. His kingdom would first be a spiritual kingdom that would come into the hearts and lives of people on earth. So the title of Christ spoke of Jesus as the one predicted in the ancient scriptures who would have a special anointing and a special role in human history. He would be king, bringing the kingdom of God to earth.

The second title, “Son of God,” added even deeper insight into the person of Jesus. All four biographies use this title in describing Jesus. This title suggested that Jesus was not only a special agent for God, but that he was himself divine.

19

Mark 1:1.

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This title does not mean literal, biological son. It is a phrase that speaks of his nature and connection to the divine.

Referring to someone as a “son” of something or someone is often used as a literary device that speaks about the nature or character of that person. Jesus, for example, referred to two of his disciples as “sons of thunder.” He did not mean they were literally born from thunder but that their natures reflected the characteristics of thunder. Another example in the New Testament writings also illustrates this kind of idiom. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus and an important early church leader, was given the name Barnabas, which literally means “son of encouragement” in Hebrew. Of course he is called this because he embodied encouragement. In a similar way, calling Jesus the “Son of God” spoke of his nature having the same characteristics as God’s.

The four biographies of Jesus in the Bible all point to Jesus as both human and divine. The miracles he performed, the teachings he gave and the life he lived all give support to the titles he affirmed.

I find it interesting that Mark says that his book is only the beginning of the sharing of the good news of who Jesus is.

You see, the question continues to echo down through the halls of history; it is just as crucial a question to humanity today. In fact, it is the most important of all questions. So I ask each of you to seriously ask yourself: “Who do I say that Jesus is?”

The easy thing is to say, “Well, others say that Jesus is….”

Or “Well, in my upbringing, people taught me that Jesus was….” But Jesus turns to each of us and asks, “Who do you say I am?”

Just remember that the Son of God does not ask this question in a vacuum. He asks it after demonstrating his spiritual power. He asks this after giving opportunity to 22

observe his incredible miracles—how he healed the sick, how he healed people who were crippled, how he had power over demons, how he had power over nature.

Based on this fresh look at Jesus, who are you beginning to see?

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