<i>ANNOUNCER:
IN ALL RECORDED HISTORY,
NO ONE INSPIRES MORE FAITH,</i> <i>OR RAISES MORE
PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS
THAN JESUS OF NAZARETH.</i> <i>ONE MOMENT HE SAYS HE CAME
NOT TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE.</i> <i>IN ANOTHER HE CLAIMS
THAT TO BELIEVE IN HIM
IS TO BELIEVE IN GOD.</i> <i>WHY IT MAKES SENSE
TO DOUBT OR BELIEVE...</i> <i>ON THIS </i>DAY OF DISCOVERY. <i>MART DE HAAN: THIS IS
THE REGION OF THE GALILEE
IN NORTHERN ISRAEL.</i> <i>ACCORDING TO THE GOSPELS,
IT WAS HERE THAT JESUS SAID THINGS ABOUT HIMSELF...</i> <i>THAT CAUSED SOME
TO DOUBT HIS SANITY,</i> <i>AND OTHERS TO TRUST HIM
WITH THEIR VERY LIVES.</i> TODAY PEOPLE FROM
ALL OVER THE WORLD COME
HERE TO THE JORDAN RIVER... TO EXPRESS IN THEIR OWN WAY
THEIR BELIEF THAT JESUS
WAS WHO HE SAID HE WAS. IT SHOWS HOW DIFFERENT PEOPLE
RESPOND TO THE... TO THE STORY OF JESUS TOLD
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS. SOME WONDER HOW
IN THE WORLD? WHAT KIND
OF A PERSON WOULD IT BE... WHO WOULD CLAIM FOR HIMSELF
THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT
BELONG TO GOD ALONE? OTHERS ARE WILLING TO WALK
INTO THE WATERS OF BAPTISM
AND SAY, "I'M IN." WELL, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO
HEAR FROM SOME MEN AND WOMEN... WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO
A CAREFUL STUDY NOT ONLY TO...
TO THE EVIDENCE FOR JESUS, BUT ALSO TO THE...
TO THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS
THAT LINGER IN PEOPLE'S MINDS. <i>FROM THE FIRST CENTURY UNTIL
NOW, IMMERSION IN WATER...</i> <i>HAS BEEN A PUBLIC DECLARATION
OF PERSONAL FAITH.</i> <i>FOR FOLLOWERS OF JESUS IT
INDICATES A WILLINGNESS
TO BELIEVE...</i> <i>THAT HE WAS FAR MORE THAN
A GOOD MAN AND A WISE TEACHER.</i> I THINK PEOPLE MAY HAVE
A HARD TIME CONSIDERING JESUS
AS BEING MORE THAN A MAN, FIRST OF ALL, BECAUSE
WE HAVE A HARD TIME WITH... CONSIDERING THE SUPERNATURAL AS
BEING SOMETHING THAT'S VIABLE. AND PERHAPS THE BIGGEST ISSUE
THEY HAVE IS WHEN THEY LOOK
AT THE DEITY OF JESUS. WAS JESUS GOD?
WAS JESUS A MAN? WAS HE A SACRIFICE FOR
ALL OF MANKIND? DID HE EXIST? WHAT DID HE DO FOR US?
THOSE ARE THE THINGS
THAT ARE IMPORTANT. BECAUSE IF JESUS IS WHO HE SAYS
HE IS, THE VERY SON OF GOD, GOD IN HUMAN FLESH
DWELLING AMONG HUMAN BEINGS, AND HE IS
MAKING STATEMENTS ABOUT
THE NATURE OF THE COSMOS... AND THE PURPOSE OF EVERYTHING AND WHO HUMAN BEINGS REALLY ARE, AND THE FACT THAT THEY'RE
SEPARATED FROM GOD THE FATHER, THIS HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
ON ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE
A PERSON BELIEVES. I CAN SEE WHY
THEY WOULD HESITATE. I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW,
THE MOST OFFENSIVE
CLAIM OF CHRISTIANS... IS THAT JESUS IS THE ONLY
WAY OF SALVATION. THIS IS CHARACTERIZED AS
INTOLERANT, AS ARROGANT,
AS NARROWMINDED. I MEAN, THERE'S A HOST OF VICES
THAT SEEM TO GO ALONG WITH
THAT PARTICULAR CLAIM. <i>MART:
ACCORDING TO THE GOSPELS,</i> <i>JESUS PROMPTED BELIEF
IN HIS UNIQUE AND EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD...</i> <i>BY SPEAKING AS IF EVEN
THE COMMON THINGS OF LIFE...</i> <i>FOUND FULLNESS
OF MEANING IN HIM.</i> <i>HE SPOKE OF HIMSELF
AS THE LIGHT, AS LIVING WATER,</i> <i>THE WAY,</i> <i>AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD,</i> <i>AS THE VINE,</i> <i>THE BREAD,</i> <i>AND AS THE DOOR
AND GATE TO GOD.</i> <i>IN EACH CASE THESE IMAGES
HAD SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE
FOR HIS JEWISH COUNTRYMEN.</i> <i>IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE,
WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH
THE 23RD PSALM THAT SAYS,</i> <i>"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD,"
MUST HAVE THOUGHT...</i> <i>WHEN THEY HEARD JESUS
REFER TO HIMSELF AS
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.</i> <i>WHILE ISRAEL'S OTHER
SPIRITUAL LEADERS MAY HAVE
THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES...</i> <i>AS SHEPHERDS OF THE FLOCK, POINTING THE WAY TO GOD,</i> <i>THE GOSPEL WRITERS REPEATEDLY QUOTE JESUS AS SAYING NOT ONLY THAT HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD,</i> <i>BUT THAT HE HIMSELF IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.</i> <i>THOSE WHO FIND JESUS'
EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS HARD TO
ACCEPT ARE IN GOOD COMPANY.</i> <i>ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS, JESUS' OWN DISCIPLES
STRUGGLED TO BELIEVE...</i> <i>THE AMAZING THINGS
THEIR TEACHER WAS
SAYING ABOUT HIMSELF.</i> ONE OF JESUS'
EARLIEST FOLLOWERS, ONE OF HIS ORIGINAL TWELVE
DISCIPLES, WAS THOMAS, WHO WOULD LATER BE CALLED
DOUBTING THOMAS, AND AS JESUS WAS NEARING
THE END OF HIS EARTHLY
TIME WITH HIS DISCIPLES, HE TOLD THEM THAT
HE WAS GOING TO GO AWAY AND
PREPARE A PLACE FOR THEM, AND THOMAS STOPS HIM AND SAYS,
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING? "WHAT IS THE WAY TO THIS LIFE
THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT,
THIS HOUSE IN THE SKY?" AND JESUS TURNS TO THOMAS
AND HE SAYS, "I AM THE WAY,
THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. "NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER
BUT THROUGH ME." SO HE NARROWS IT DOWN
TO WHO HE IS, AND HE HELPS THOMAS
TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THAT
THE OLD TESTAMENT HOPED FOR, ALL OF THE... THE DESIRES OF
THE PEOPLE OF... OF ISRAEL TO
KNOW GOD, TO FOLLOW AFTER HIM, ARE NOW RESIDENT IN JESUS
HIMSELF AS THE WAY, THE TRUTH,
AND THE LIFE. <i>MART: AS AMAZING AS JESUS'
CLAIM WAS TO BE THE WAY,
THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE,</i> <i>HE MADE SURE THAT HIS DISCIPLES
DIDN'T HAVE TO WONDER WHETHER
THEY HAD MISHEARD HIM.</i> <i>ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN, JESUS WENT ON...</i> <i>TO REPEATEDLY EMPHASIZE HIS
UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP TO GOD.</i> AS DIFFICULT AS THESE WORDS
MUST HAVE SOUNDED TO THE JEWISH
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, THEY ARE CONSISTENT WITH
THE OVERALL WAY IN WHICH THE
GOSPEL ACCOUNTS TELL HIS STORY. WILKINS: BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN,
THE ANGEL ANNOUNCED TO
JOSEPH, HIS FATHER, THAT JESUS WILL
BE CALLED EMMANUEL,
WHICH MEANS, "GOD WITH US." I DON'T THINK JOSEPH HAD
ANY REAL IDEA OF WHAT THAT
WAS GOING TO IMPLY LATER ON, BUT JESUS, FROM A VERY EARLY
STAGE OF HIS EARTHLY LIFE, UNDERSTOOD WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. HE WAS DEDICATED
IN THE TEMPLE WHEN
HE WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OF AGE, AND WHEN HIS PARENTS
CAME LOOKING... HIS EARTHLY PARENTS, MARY AND
JOSEPH, CAME LOOKING FOR HIM, JESUS SAID TO THEM,
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ME? "DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT
I MUST BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?" HE UNDERSTOOD A UNIQUE
RELATIONSHIP THAT HE HAD WITH
HIS HEAVENLY FATHER, AS HIS SON. LATER, IN HIS ADULT MINISTRY,
JESUS IS ALSO IN THE TEMPLE, DEBATING WITH
THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND JESUS SAYS TO
THOSE RELIGIOUS LEADERS,
"I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE." NOW, WE MIGHT THINK THAT
THAT'S ONENESS OF COMMITMENT, ONENESS OF MISSION,
ONENESS OF VALUES, BUT THE RELIGIOUS
LEADERS UNDERSTOOD... THAT JESUS WAS CLAIMING
SOMETHING FOR HIMSELF
FAR BEYOND THAT, BECAUSE THEY PICKED UP
STONES TO STONE HIM. THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT JESUS
WAS MAKING A CLAIM FAR MORE
THAN JUST A ONENESS OF MISSION. HE WAS CLAIMING TO BE ONE,
OF ESSENCE WITH THE FATHER. AND THEN THE GOSPEL WRITER,
JOHN, GOES ON FROM THERE
AND HE SAYS, "AS THEY ATTEMPT TO STONE HIM,
JESUS SAYS, 'I HAVE SHOWN YOU
MANY GOOD WORKS FROM THE FATHER. "FOR WHICH OF THEM ARE
YOU GOING TO STONE ME?'
THE JEWS ANSWERED HIM, 'IT IS NOT FOR A GOOD WORK
THAT WE ARE GOING TO STONE
YOU, BUT FOR BLASPHEMY, 'BECAUSE YOU, BEING A MAN,
MAKE YOURSELF GOD.'" JESUS KNEW WHO HE WAS
AND WAS VERY CLEAR IN
DECLARING WHO HE WAS, THAT HE WAS ONE WITH THE FATHER,
THAT HE WAS GOD COME TO EARTH. ONE OF MY FAVORITE AREAS
OF STUDY IN WORLD RELIGIONS... IS LOOKING AT WHAT DIFFERENT TRADITIONS DO WITH JESUS. EVERYONE KNOWS HE WAS HERE,
HE WALKED THE EARTH AND
SO WHAT DO THEY DO? HOW DO THEY PUT HIM
INTO THEIR TRADITION? WHEN YOU READ WHAT JESUS
SAID AND TAUGHT, A COUPLE OF THINGS
BECOME REALLY OBVIOUS... THAT TURN OUT TO BE A LITTLE
POLITICALLY INCORRECT. FOR EXAMPLE, JESUS WAS NOT
AN EASTERN MYSTICAL GURU. HE WAS A TORAH-OBSERVANT JEW.
HE BELIEVED THERE WAS ONE GOD, AND THE GOD THAT
HE BELIEVED IN WAS DIFFERENT
THAN THE CREATION, ALL RIGHT? HE... HE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN
IDOLATRY. HE WASN'T A PLURALIST. HE SAID, "ALL THAT CAME BEFORE
ME ARE THIEVES OR ROBBERS, "BUT I CAME THAT
YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND
HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY." EVERY OTHER TRADITION HAS TO
SUBTRACT SOMETHING FROM JESUS. THEY EITHER SUBTRACT HIS DEITY AND SAY, "WELL, HE WAS A MAN.
HE WAS NOT REALLY GOD," OR THEY SUBTRACT HIS
SUFFICIENCY: PERHAPS HE WAS GOD, BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH
FOR FOREVER, THAT'S NOT
ENOUGH FOR ETERNITY. OR LASTLY, THEY MAY SUBTRACT
HIS UNIQUENESS AND SAY, "WELL, YES, HE WAS DIVINE,
BUT EVERYTHING IS DIVINE.
WE'RE ALL PART OF GOD." AND THAT IS NOT WHAT
HE SAID ABOUT HIMSELF. HE SAID HE IS THE WAY,
THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. ONE OF THE MOST PREVALENT
CLAIMS IN THE WORLD TODAY... IS THAT ALL RELIGIONS
ARE WAYS UP THE SAME MOUNTAIN, OR DIFFERENT SIDES OF
THE MOUNTAIN, OR WE'RE
ALL GONNA GET THERE, OR GOD'S THE SAME BUT WE'RE
APPROACHING HIM DIFFERENTLY,
AND THINGS LIKE THAT. WHEN I HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT,
I THINK ABOUT HOW UNIQUE JESUS
IS IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS. THERE'S NOT JUST ONE OR TWO,
IT'S NOT JUST, WELL ,YOU'VE GOT THIS
RESURRECTION BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS KIND OF NORMAL ABOUT HIM. YOU KNOW, HE CLAIMED TO BE
THIS AND THAT, BUT REALLY, JESUS ISN'T A BIT LIKE
ANY OF THE FOUNDERS OF
THE WORLD RELIGIONS. IF SOMEONE ASKED ME WHAT I THINK
THE BIGGEST MISPERCEPTION OF
JESUS IS IN OUR CULTURE, IT IS THAT HE'S A GREAT
RELIGIOUS TEACHER OF SOME
KIND OR JUST A PROPHET. JESUS DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO
MAKE THAT CONCLUSION ABOUT HIM. JESUS' CLAIMS ARE SO GREAT
AND SO COMPREHENSIVE... THAT EITHER HE IS THE UNUSUAL
PERSON THAT HE CLAIMS TO BE, THE SON OF GOD
AT THE CENTER OF GOD'S PROGRAM,
THE ONE WHOM GOD VINDICATES, THE ONE WITH WHOM
EVERYONE MUST DEAL,
THE ONE WHO DIED FOR SIN, THE ONE WHO
MAKES LIFE AVAILABLE,
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO SAY IT, OR HE'S NOT. AND THAT MIDDLE GROUND OF BEING
A PROPHET, OF COMMUNICATING
SOME LEVEL OF RESPECT FOR JESUS, BUT NOT QUITE ALL THAT HE CLAIMS
TO BE ON THE ONE HAND WITHOUT
DISMISSING HIM ON THE OTHER, THAT'S A PLACE
HE WILL NOT LET YOU LAND. MART: THIS IS THE BEAUTIFUL
EASTERN SHORELINE OF
THE LAKE OF GALILEE. IT'S A LOT MORE SAND AND BEACH
HERE THAN ON THE WEST SIDE,
ABOUT SEVEN MILES ACROSS. WHAT I WAS INTERESTED IN
IS THAT... WHAT LOOKED LIKE
WHITE SAND AT FIRST... WAS ACTUALLY
A HANDFUL OF BEAUTIFULLY
FORMED TINY LITTLE SHELLS. THE WATER'S WARM
THIS TIME OF YEAR. YOU KNOW, IT WAS RIGHT HERE
IN THIS REGION OF THE GALILEE... THAT IN THE DAYS OF JESUS,
THAT OPINION WAS... WAS RADICALLY DIVIDED
OVER THE KINDS OF THINGS
THAT HE SAID ABOUT HIMSELF. IN FACT, HIS OWN FAMILY FELT
THAT HE WAS... HAD BECOME
EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE. BUT OTHERS DOWN THROUGH
HISTORY HAVE BEEN CONVINCED
THAT JESUS WAS AN HONORABLE MAN, THAT HE WAS A REASONABLE MAN. THEY'VE CONVINCED THEMSELVES
THAT THE ONLY THING THAT
COULD HAVE HAPPENED... IS THAT COPYISTS OR EDITORS DOWN
THROUGH THE AGES MUST HAVE PUT
THESE WORDS IN JESUS' MOUTH, WHICH LEAVES PEOPLE
LIKE US WITH THE QUESTION: WELL, WHAT...WHAT THEN
CAN WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS? AND THAT'S WHY WHAT WE'RE
HEARING FROM THESE MEN AND
WOMEN TODAY IS SO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THEY'VE WEIGHED
THE EVIDENCE WHILE BEING
SENSITIVE TO THE QUESTIONS, AND THEY'VE... THEY'VE
GIVEN US SOME ANSWERS THAT
I THINK ARE WORTH LISTENING TO. HAZEN: ONE OF MY FAVORITE
PASSAGES IN SCRIPTURE
IS MARK CHAPTER 2, WHERE JESUS IS TEACHING IN
A HOME AND SOME FOLKS LOWER A
PARALYZED MAN THROUGH THE ROOF. I MEAN, DOWN HE COMES.
IT'S A VERY DRAMATIC SCENE, AND JESUS LOOKS AT HIM
AND THE CROWD IS HUSHED, WONDERING WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO, AND JESUS SAYS,
"SON, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN." PEOPLE LOOK AROUND.
THEY'RE LIKE, "CAN HE DO THAT?" YOU KNOW, AND WELL,
I GUESS HE COULD. "SON YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN." BUT WHO IN THAT ROOM
REALLY KNEW IF JESUS HAD
THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS? NOBODY, AND JESUS KNEW THAT,
BUT THIS IS HIS CHARACTER.
HE WANTED PEOPLE TO KNOW. HE WANTED PEOPLE TO KNOW,
NOT JUST WANDER AROUND
IN BLIND FAITH, SO HE SAID, "SO THAT YOU WILL
KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN... "HAS THE AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO
FORGIVE SINS, RISE AND WALK," AND THE MAN PICKS UP HIS MAT. THE CROWD CLEARS A PATH TO
THE DOOR AND THIS GUY WALKS OUT, MAYBE WALKING FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN HIS LIFE, AND THE TEXT SAYS
THAT THEY WERE ASTONISHED. JESUS WANTS US TO KNOW
WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE CAN DO, AND HE'S LEFT A TREMENDOUS TRAIL
OF EVIDENCE BACK THROUGH HISTORY
TESTIFYING TO THESE THINGS... SO WE DON'T HAVE TO
WANDER AROUND IN BLINDNESS
AND RELIGIOUS DOUBT. NOW, IF I COMPARE JESUS
TO FOUNDERS OF THE MAJOR
WORLD RELIGIONS ONLY, NOT SOME SMALL GROUP HERE OR
THERE BUT MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS, JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER OF
A MAJOR WORLD RELIGION WHO SAID, "THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
YOU CAN CONSIDER IS NOT JUST
THE WORDS I'M BRINGING YOU, "BUT WHAT YOU DO WITH ME."
HE PUT HIMSELF IN THE PLACE. HE BASICALLY SAID,
"WHAT YOU DO WITH ME DETERMINES
WHERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY." THAT'S AN EARTHSHAKING
KIND OF THING. I MEAN, IT'S ONE THING
WHEN I TELL YOU I HAVE
THE WORDS TO THE RIDDLE. I HAVE THE KEY
TO SELLING SUCCESS. I CAN MAKE YOU THE GREATEST
ATHLETE IN THE WORLD.
HERE'S THE WORDS OF LIFE. IT'S SOMETHING ELSE WHEN I SAY
I'M THE WORDS OF LIFE. AND RIGHT AWAY YOU LOCK
THAT GUY UP AND YOU THINK,
OH, HE'S KIND OF CRAZY. BUT... BUT JESUS HAD THE LIFE
TO KIND OF BACK THAT UP. SO FIRST THING IS HE DIDN'T JUST
SAY, "I'M PRESENTING THE WAY,"
ALTHOUGH HE SAID THAT. HE SAID HE WAS
THE EMBODIMENT OF TRUTH. <i>MART: FOR IDENTIFYING
HIMSELF SO CLOSELY WITH GOD,</i> <i>JESUS ENDED UP BEING
EXECUTED ON CHARGES OF
INSURRECTION AGAINST ROME,</i> <i>AND FOR BLASPHEMY AGAINST
THE GOD OF ISRAEL.</i> <i>BUT WHAT THAT GENERATION
AND EVERY ONE SINCE
HAS HAD TO FACE...</i> <i>IS THAT THE ACCOUNT OF
WITNESSES INCLUDES NOT ONLY
WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT HIMSELF,</i> <i>BUT ALSO THE MIRACLES THAT
HE USED TO SUPPORT HIS CLAIMS,</i> <i>TOGETHER WITH
HIS REPEATED INSISTENCE
THAT HE HAD COME TO DIE.</i> JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER
OF A MAJOR WORLD RELIGION... OF WHOM MIRACLES ARE
REPORTED WITHIN A GENERATION,
WHERE WE HAVE EARLY REPORTS. WE HAVE REPORTS FROM
OTHER MAJOR FOUNDERS, BUT THEY'RE USUALLY HUNDREDS
OF YEARS AFTER THE FACT. JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER
OF A MAJOR WORLD RELIGION... WHO SAID THAT HIS DEATH
WAS GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT
IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, AND IN PARTICULAR,
VERY IMPORTANT FOR
OUR PERSONAL SALVATION. IF WE ASK HOW JESUS
LOOKED AT HIMSELF, NOTHING, AGAIN,
TELLS THE STORY BETTER THAN
JESUS' GOING TO THE CROSS. IF WE ASK WHAT ACTUALLY
GOT JESUS CRUCIFIED, ACCORDING TO THE SYNOPTIC
GOSPELS, THIS IS MATTHEW,
MARK, AND LUKE, IT IS THE CLAIM THAT THE JEWISH
LEADERSHIP WOULD SEE JESUS AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. THIS IS A CLAIM OF
BEING ABLE TO SHARE GOD'S
GLORY AND GOD'S PRESENCE. IN THE CONTEXT OF JUDAISM,
NO ONE WAS ABLE TO SHARE
GOD'S GLORY AND GOD'S PRESENCE, SO IT WAS AN AUDACIOUS CLAIM. <i>AFTER JESUS'
BETRAYAL AND ARREST,</i> <i>JUST HOURS BEFORE HIS DEATH,</i> <i>THE HIGH PRIEST OF ISRAEL
SAID TO HIM:</i> IT WAS EITHER COMPLETELY TRUE
AND HE WAS WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE, OR IT WAS BLASPHEMY. AND HE GOT CRUCIFIED FOR IT. THEY SAID, "HE'S BLASPHEMING."
THEY TOOK HIM ON TO PILATE, AND PILATE EXECUTED HIM AS
ONE WHO'D CLAIMED TO BE KING. SO THIS IS...
IF YOU ASK WHY JESUS DIED, IT'S BECAUSE HE CLAIMED
THAT HE COULD SIT AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. AND IT'S AN INTERESTING DILEMMA TO PUT IN FRONT OF SOMEONE, BECAUSE HE CLAIMED HE COULD SIT
AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER OF
A MAJOR WORLD RELIGION... WHOSE CLOSEST FOLLOWERS CLAIMED HE WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, AND THEY SAW APPEARANCES
OF THE RISEN JESUS. SO IN ALL THESE THINGS
HE KIND OF STANDS ALONE. NOW MY QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU PUT, "I AM THE WAY," MIRACLES REPORTED
BY EYEWITNESSES, SUFFERING,
BUT RIGHT NEXT TO SUFFERING,
SALVATION FROM THAT SUFFERING, AND RIGHT NEXT TO SUFFERING AND
SALVATION FROM THE SUFFERING, YOU'VE GOT RESURRECTION
THAT KIND OF TOPS IT ALL OFF, AND YOU DON'T JUST
HAVE A... A CRAZY EVENT
LIKE THE RESURRECTION, THAT ARCS OUT OF
THE REAL WORLD. YOU HAVE A LIFE
THAT'S SINGULARLY IMPORTANT... AND DIFFERENT FROM
ALL THE OTHER LIVES. AND NOTICE I DIDN'T
MENTION THE ETHICAL TEACHINGS,
WHICH IS WHAT'S USUALLY CITED. YOU PUT THE WHOLE
PACKAGE TOGETHER... AND THAT'S WHY JESUS
IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
PERSON WHO EVER LIVED. IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK ME,
"WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER JESUS IN, "SAY, IN CONTRAST
TO ANYBODY ELSE?" I WOULD SAY THAT THE REASON
TO TAKE JESUS SERIOUSLY AND
TO TAKE JESUS UNIQUELY... IS BECAUSE OF
HIS OWN UNIQUE CLAIMS, TO REMEMBER THAT
WHAT JESUS IS CLAIMING
ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, ABOUT WHO I AM AS A PERSON
IS UNLIKE WHAT OTHER
RELIGIONS CLAIM, AND THE SOLUTION IS UNLIKE
ANY OTHER SOLUTION. BECAUSE OF THAT, IT'S DIFFERENT, WHICH MEANS IT'S WRONG...
OR IT'S UNIQUE. I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST
SHOCKERS WHEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY
READ THE LIFE OF JESUS... IS THEY FIND OUT THERE'S
SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS. THEY THINK JESUS
CAME SIMPLY TO TEACH US
ABOUT CARING FOR THE POOR, OR SIMPLY LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR,
OR SIMPLY TEACHING US TO LOVE. THAT'S WHAT JESUS
WAS ALL ABOUT. BUT WHEN
YOU READ THE LIFE OF JESUS, THESE THINGS ARE IN THERE,
BUT THE MORAL TEACHINGS
TAKE A SMALLER PLACE. JESUS ACTUALLY CAME
TO TALK ABOUT HIMSELF AND
HIS OWN ROLE IN THE WORLD. WHEN HE ANSWERS
THE QUESTION WHY HE CAME,
HE SAYS THINGS LIKE, "I CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE
THAT WHICH WAS LOST. "I SEE... I CAME TO GIVE MY LIFE
A RANSOM FOR MANY, A PAYMENT. "I... I CAME TO CALL
SINNERS TO REPENTANCE." NOW, REPENTANCE MIGHT ENTAIL
LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS,
CERTAINLY DOES, AND TAKING CARE OF THE POOR
BUT... BUT JESUS WASN'T JUST
A GOOD MORAL TEACHER. HE CAME TO DRAW
ATTENTION TO HIMSELF, AND TO DO SOMETHING
ON THIS EARTH THAT
NO ONE ELSE COULD DO... BUT THE PERSON WHO IS GOD,
VISITING THE PLANET
TO SAVE MANKIND. THAT'S THE CENTER. NOT EVERYONE WHO
HEARS JESUS' CLAIMS
AUTOMATICALLY EMBRACE THEM. IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE HAVE
TERRIFIC DOUBTS ABOUT... THE TYPES OF THINGS
THAT JESUS IS CLAIMING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY BECOME
AS GRAND AS, "I'M GONNA SIT AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER," OR, "I AND THE FATHER
ARE ONE," OR, "IF YOU
SEE GOD, YOU SEE ME." THESE ARE NOT NORMAL CLAIMS. AS IN THE FIRST CENTURY
WHERE THERE WERE LOTS OF
DIFFERENT MASTERS... IN THE WORLD OF JUDAISM AND
THE WIDER GRECO-ROMAN WORLD, ONE FINALLY HAD TO MAKE
A DETERMINATION AS TO WHICH ONE
IS THE RIGHT ONE, THE GOOD ONE. WHEN JESUS CAME ON
THE SCENE, HE DID NOT OFFER HIMSELF AS JUST ANOTHER OPTION. HE SAID, "YOU ARE EITHER WITH ME
OR YOU ARE AGAINST ME." IT WAS NOT JUST ONE
OF MANY CHOICES. IN OUR DAY, WE LIKEWISE HAVE
MANY, MANY CHOICES OF WHERE
WE CAN PLACE OUR ALLEGIANCE, BUT JESUS CALLS US TO HIMSELF
PERSONALLY AND SAYS, "I'M NOT JUST A RABBI. I'M NOT
JUST A REVOLUTIONARY LEADER.
I'M NOT JUST A GREAT TEACHER," ALTHOUGH HE IS ALL OF THOSE.
HE MAKES A CLAIM THAT IS
VIRTUALLY UNHEARD OF, AND THAT IS THE CLAIM
TO BE SENT BY THE FATHER AS
THE ONE WAY TO KNOW THE FATHER, AND MADE THE CLAIM THAT
HE WAS NOT JUST A PROPHET
OR A PRIEST OR A KING, BUT HE WAS LORD.
HE WAS... HE WAS GOD IN FLESH. THAT'S A RADICAL CLAIM THAT
REALLY DESERVES ALL OF US
TO SIT UP AND SAY, "WHOA, I BETTER AT LEAST
LOOK INTO THIS." IT DOES TAKE A BIT OF FAITH
TO BELIEVE THE KINDS OF THINGS
THAT JESUS SAID ABOUT HIMSELF, BUT THEN THE MEN AND WOMEN
THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM
TODAY BELIEVE THAT IT... IT TAKES A LOT OF FAITH
TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS
DID NOT SAY... THOSE KINDS OF THINGS
ABOUT HIMSELF, OR THAT HE WAS MERELY
A GOOD MAN, AN HONORABLE MAN. THEY'RE CONVINCED THAT THOSE
KINDS OF CONCLUSIONS... LEAVE A LOT OF UNANSWERED
QUESTIONS ON THE TABLE. THEN THERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION.
IT'S A MORE PERSONAL ONE. DOES IT REALLY MAKE SENSE
FOR ANY OF US TO MAKE UP
OUR MINDS ON THIS ISSUE, EITHER WAY, WITHOUT READING
THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS FOR
OURSELVES WITH AN OPEN MIND, AND WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE AND
THEN THINKING CAREFULLY... ABOUT THE KINDS OF ANSWERS
THAT WE'VE HEARD TODAY?
