All About Jesus

ver the years many have rejected Jesus when they denied that He was and is God. In recent times some have rejected Jesus by asserting that Jesus never said He was God. Yet, we saw in our last study that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day understood that He said He was God. They just did not agree! If it was not obvious in the last study that Jesus declared He was God, it will be very obvious in this study. His statements are strong.

It is reported that there was a wealthy man living in Philadelphia who was not interested in hearing anything about Jesus Christ until he was near his death. With concerns about his future, the man called his friend for help. When his friend arrived, his friend said, “I have nothing new to say. You are a sinner, and you need the savior, Jesus Christ. Do you feel guilt, and will you take the Savior?” The man responded, “No, there must be something better than hell for a man of my dignity.” What a sad response!

Why did the religious leaders of Jesus’ day reject Him? Why do some men and women not believe in Jesus Christ? The answer to that question will be found in this study. One of the thrills of listening to Jesus is that He does not use theological words and enter into different debates as to why people rejected Him. He just uses simple words and warns us to respond.

Setting. In our previous studies we have been watching a growing conflict develop between Jesus and the religious leaders. The religious leaders rejected Jesus because He had been breaking their Sabbath rules and said that He was their God. When Jesus said that He was God, they decided to kill Him. They were like a boiling tea kettle and finally the whistle went off.

For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (NASB) John 5:16-18

So the war was on and it continues today with a modern set of new religious leaders. Several years ago my daughter gave me a book as a Christmas present called, “Honest To Jesus.” It was written by Robert W. Funk who was the founder of the Jesus Seminar. The book captures his views about Jesus. In it he presents twenty-one unbiblical theses about Jesus. Here are some of his heretical statements:

1. The aim of the quest is to set Jesus free. Its purpose is to liberate Jesus from the scriptural and creedal and experiential prisons in which we have incarcerated him.

6. Jesus is not the proper object of faith . . . Jesus himself should not be, must not be, the object of faith. That would be to repeat the idolatry of the first believers.

8. Give Jesus a demotion. We must begin by giving Jesus a demotion. He asked for it, he deserves it, we owe him no less. As a divine son of God, co-eternal with the Father, pending cosmic judge seated at God’s right hand, he is insulted and isolated from his persona as the humble Galilean sage . . . A demoted Jesus then becomes available as the real founder of the Christian movement.