the person of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ's as the Son of God

Jesus Christ's Authority as the Son of God

Jesus Christ's Authority as a Teacher of Wisdom

Jesus Christ's authority as a liberator

Knowledge of God - counterargument

knowledge of God

Son of God

Jesus' miracles

Jesus' miracles and authority

Jesus' resurrection

Jesus' divinity is expressed through his knowledge of God, miracles and resurrection

Both of these meaning were influential in early Christian thought about the true nature of Jesus

the phrase can be understood in different ways

in Greek thought, 'Son of God' means elevating a human to become a divine being

in Jewish thought, the 'Son Of God' was a chosen King, someone selected to carry out God's will to free Israel

In John's Gospel, JC uses the phrase "I am" on numerous occasions

this echoes the name God gives himself when talking to Moses: "I am who I am"

there are many passages where JC talks of his relationship to God

Jesus also says "Whoever has seen men has seen the Father" and "the Father and I are one"

authority of JC as Son of God is seen in his knowledge of God

for some theologians, this demonstrates that Jesus knew that he was fully God

another approach is to say that as a human, JC was fully aware of God

if JC is seen as the new Adam, then he is in a relationship with God that mirrors that of Adam and God before the Fall

since Jesus was human, he cannot have been fully God

JC says "the Father is greater than I"

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his ability to perform 'mighty works' indicates a status more than just a. human being

some theologians argue that JC healing a blind man and walking on water demonstrate his divine power

another way that he is shown to be the Son of God

in the story of Jc walking on water, he eches the 'Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters

these accounts show his authority to give special insight into the nature and kingdom of God

an example of this would be in the account of healing a blind man

this story could really be about the contrast between faith of the man healed and the scepticism of the Pharisees

the one who is blind sees the truth, while those that can see are blinded blinded to the truth, so sight becomes a metaphor

in both Genesis 1 and this story, order is brought to creation and as a result, fear and chaos subside

points us towards the resurrection of humans on judgement day

this opens us up to the restoration of the harmony between God and humanity

can be argued to show his authority as the Son of God

for some Christians, Jesus' miraculous resurrection is the ultimate demonstration of his divinity

this could argue that JC is the second Adam, restoring the harmony of the created order found in the Garden of Eden

Jesuss' divinity is expressed through his knowledge of god, miracles and resurrection

knowledge of God counterargument

Jesus' miracles

knowledge of God

Jesus' miracles and authority

Son of God

both of these meanings were influential in early Christian thought about the. true nature of Jesus

can be understood in different ways

in Greek thought, means elevating a human to become a divine being

in Jewish thought, was a chosen King, someone selected to carry put God's will to free Israel

are many passages where Jesus talks of his relationship to God.

in John's Gospel, Jesus uses the phrase "I am" on numerous occasions

this echoes the name God gives himself when talking to Moses; "I am who I am"

Jesus also says, "Whoever has seen men has has seen the Father" and "The Father and I are one"

for some theologians, this demonstrates that Jesus knew that he was fully God

another approach is to say that as a human, Jesus was fully aware of God

if Jesus s seen as the new Adam, then is in a relationship with God that mirrors that of Adam and God before the Fall

other theologians argue that since Jesus was human, he cannot have been fully God

such theolgians note that Jesus says "the Father is greater than I"

that is to say, a harmonious relationship in which there is no barrier between God and Jesus

some theologians ague that Jesus healing a blind man and walking on water demonstrate Jesus' divine power - he is able to perform tasks impossible for an ordinary human being

his aibility to perform 'might works' indicates a situation more than just a human being

in the story of Jesus walking on water, Jesus echoes the 'Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters' Genesis 1

others argue that these accounts show Jesus' authority to give special insight into the nature and kingdom of God

this story could really be about the contrast between the faith of the man healed and the scpetisicism of the Pharisees

the one who is blind sees the truth, while those that can see are blinded to the truth, so sight becomes a metaphor

an example would be in account of healing a blind man

in both Genesis and this story, order is brought to creation and as a result, fear and chaos subside

Jesus' resurrection

another idea is that Jesus' resurrection points us towards the resurrection of humans on judgement day - we could argue that Jesus is the second Adam, restoring the harmony of the created order found in the Garden of Eden

this opens us up to the restoration of the harmony between God and humanity

the resurrection can be argued to show Jesus' authority as the Son of God - for some, his miraculous resurrection is the ultimate demonstration of his divinity

Jesus' teachings on repentance, forgiveness, inner purity and moral motivation show this

the Lords Prayer

parable of the prodigal son

purity& morals

repentance & forgiveness

inner motivation

the sermon on the mount

this image is reinforced when JC frequently talks of Mosaic law with statements such as 'You have heard that it was said'

in it the writer presents JC as teaching about God's law on the side of a mountain. this. presents JC as the new Moses, highly significant image to his Jewish audience

JC also talks of his mission to 'fulfil' the laws of Moses rather than 'abolish' it

found in the teachings of Jesus

repentance (Greek = metanoia)

forgiveness (Greek= aphemia) means 'to let go'

father immediately restores him his place in the family and celebrates his return. he lets go of any anger or resentment at his sons actions

bu the elder son holds on to his anger and resentment

the father welcomes his son with open arms

we ask God not to hold our sins against us but to forgive us of those sins, and in turn, we should do likewise to others

reinforces message of repentance and forgiveness - 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us'

JC Is very critical if the Pharisees, persistently accusing them of hypocrisy and legalism

his particular annoyance with them is that they focus on the minutiae of the law at the expense of the purpose of the law

also found In JC's teachings: inner purity and moral motivation

Jesus' conclusion is that we should 'be perfect, therfore, as you Heavenly Father is perfect' Matthew

in Sermon on the Mount, JC intensifies the ale of Moses' prohibition of murder and adultery

it is principally used to explain forgiveness as the clearing of debt

we can see in the the Parable of the Prodigal Son

demonstrates repentance and forgiveness through the reactions of the father and the elder son to the younger son's. return

father has to coax the elder son into welcoming home the returning offender

Jesus accuses them of hypocrisy and of being 'whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth' Matthew

JC argues that 'if you are angry with a arbiter or sister' or if you look 'at a woman with lust' you have already committed those actions

it is no longer sufficient to keep the law the way the legalistic Pharisees do. we must pay attention to the inner motivation for our actions

Jesus' role as liberator of the marginalised society and the poor is seen through this challenges to political and religious authority

JC and the Pharisee

parable of good samaritan

JC' triumphant return

healing the bleeding woman

JC as liberator

JC arrived on a donkey and not a horse, liberating the crowd from their rxectaions of him as a kingly liberty - suggests that JC was not going to be who they expected

then, by heading to the temple and Turing over the tabled, he indicates his main focus is the religious authorities - again liberating the people from their expectation that he would free them from Roman occupation

his entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple

JC was particularly critical of the religious authorirties, especially the Pharisees, but also critical of values and behaviours of the society in which he lived

for many Christians, JC' challenge to the political and religious authorities of this time presents him as a liberator

in healing her, JC liberates her from both the illness and the marginalisation she faced

In the story, JC liberates a woman fro an ill ess that blighted her life for 12 years, as menstruating woman, she would have also been viewed as impure and shunned under Mosaic law

JC praises the woman's faith and speaks directly to her

in doing so, he is challenging Mosaic law and those in the crowd to alter their treatment of such an 'outcast'

Jesus criticises religious law for taking precedence over compassion. bye doing this hew aims to liberate his audience from this legalistic [approach)

by praising the actions of the Samaritan, Jesus reinforces the preeminence of compassion in the law

JC's Jewish audience would know that touching a dead body renders someone as 'impure''

JC challenges conventional thinking in a number of ways.

he also challenges (and so liberates) the audiences suspicion of the Samaritan

he challenges the pharisee fro his attitude to this marginalised woman - he does this through his critique on the Pharisee for his behaviour and praising of the woman's behaviour

here JC liverate the woman from her sins through forgiveness

discussion points

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Jesus was only a teacher of wisdom

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Jesus thought of himself as being divine

he did not

he did

earliest tradition in NT, Paul's lettters, indicate an assumption that JC was divine

JC was keen not to overwhelm his audience and s want dto keep his divine actions a secret especially at the start go his ministry, this 'Messianic Secret' is found, for eg, in Mark

JC lost in temple as a child, when found he says to his parents 'Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?' temple = God\'s house so suggesting God is his Father

the clearest claims of of Jesus' divinity (such as the 'I am') come from John's Gospel, which may have been added later by writers

JC clearly understood himself as a prophet and Messianic figure (a ruler sent by God) - he refers to his fulfilment of prophecy many times. the OT does not suggest the Messiah would be divine so why would JC think of himself as such?

we cannot use the Gospel evidence to conclude that JC thought he was divine , the stories are stories of a human being and radical preacher

disagree

agree