Jesus Who?

Who is this person named Jesus?  Did he really say that?  Was he a wise rabbi or a rebel rousing troublemaker?  Is what we have come to know been based on fact or fiction?

In Revealing Word, Charles Fillmore makes a distinction between Jesus the man, Christ the divine man, Jesus Christ the perfect idea of God for man, and Christ Jesus the fully ascended post resurrection man.  Before our heads start spinning, let’s dial back to Jesus the man.  First of all we have learned in our adulthood that Christ was not Jesus’ last name.  When our early learnings begin to unravel, we may be asking “What else is not true?”  While we may have been told that “Jesus said this,” how do we know if it is a fact?  Some of us have been told to just accept out of faith.  Sort of like when my mother told me to do something because she said so.  I usually had a hard time with that then, and now I am searching for the real story of Jesus.  Fortunately (or not) there are people who have spent a lifetime and career sorting through data, archeological, bible manuscripts and other documents to unveil that accuracy of the events.  Discoveries that have at least cast doubt of the accuracy of the New Testament have been made by numerous scholars such as J. J. Wettstein (1693-1754.) In the Codex Alexandrinus, the Greek word for God is abbreviated in two letters theta and sigma with a line drawn over the top to indicate that it is an abbreviation. What Wettstein saw was that this line had actually been drawn in different (later) ink which created a different word. Thus revealing the original meaning of the manuscript did not speak of Christ as God. Uh oh!

There is a mythology surrounding Jesus.  Mythology is used in a broader sense than we currently and commonly consider a falsehood.  Merriam-Webster defines myth as an idea or story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence. Here we are talking like fairy tales and fables.  Stories that may not be factually true but still have meaning.  The mythology around Jesus is so deep that perhaps the historicity is less important than the effects of the mythology.  Clearly the first century people were attracted to the story to the point that the culture was affected.  What scholars do know is that Jesus did appear at the River Jordan, and he was crucified.  From the writings of Paul we know of mystical experiences that impacted people in such a significant way that they were willing to risk their lives.  What we read in the Gospels is the account of the writers of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  Today we hear people say they have a “personal relationship” with Jesus.  I wonder if they are speaking of the guy that showed up at the River Jordan or the one written about in Matthew.  Or did they piece together their own Jesus?  Meeting the needs of the time is what the early followers did, like linking the experience of Jesus with the Israelite stories.  Why not allow that today?  While there were numerous claims during Jesus’ time of other messianic people, what made Jesus the king of the mountain from the heap?  With all the gaps in historic factual information, we are just as capable of filling in the blanks.  Some have debated whether Jesus was married or not.  How does it matter?  So we go back to our original question…Who was Jesus?  Then we get to the real question.  What is Jesus to us?