March 13, 2021
John 16:14-15, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Jesus is bold, that’s for sure. Christian apologists have long pointed out these three options as possible interpretations by those who would have encountered Christ: he is either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic. He could just be lying - he could know that he is being a deceiver; after all, cult leaders always have a way somehow to gather a small following by promising fantastic things. But of course cult leaders don’t have followers after that leader dies or people wake up to their absurdity. But perhaps the last option is possible: maybe he’s mentally ill and makes grandiose claims about himself with no ill intent in mind. Maybe he’s just crazy, and really believes he is God. This is also something that happens. In the 1920s, right here in Cleveland, two pastors of rival churches both claimed to be in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This was quite a dilemma. How could they both be Jesus? Again, Jesus as Crazy Man does not adequately explain the martyrdom of thousands of Christians after the resurrection, or his overall non-craziness as documented in the gospels. He was a compassionate, magnetic person who had the ability to draw outcasts to him, precisely because he was non-crazy, but very, very real. The third option is that Jesus is who he says he is: he is Lord, he is the Son of God, he really does the will of God the Father perfectly, he really died for our sins on the cross, and he was really resurrected.
But the option that didn’t make the list and can never make the list when you read verses like this: that Jesus was just a benign good guy, a good teacher, consummate professional, and leader of a new social movement. Jesus does not leave that option open to us when he says “all that the Father has is mine.” If someone you know were to say the things Jesus said, you would have them committed immediately. Or you would just be like, ‘this is not a guy I want to hang out with. I’ll move along.’ The ancient world around Jerusalem was a highly rational world - they had high-level philosophy as introduced by the Greeks, a long-standing culture and religious life established by their Jewish ancestors for over a thousand years - they had sophisticated language, art and customs, none of which were superstitious in nature. They were as skeptical as we are, and yet, they trusted him.
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes I don’t trust you. Help me to see that with honesty in my own heart. Help me to understand where real faith exists - not in my trust that you, Jesus, were just a good man and a good teacher, a good moral example, but that you are truly Lord. And your boastfulness in yourself in that way is completely fitting for who you are. The one who can’t boast like that is me; show me my need of you, Jesus. Amen.
40 Days of Joy: Sunrise/Sunset. What is it about this event which causes awe in the viewer? Maybe it’s the way the fading or rising sunlight paints the sky? Maybe it’s because we can’t look straight at the sun because of its mighty power? Not sure, but is sure if joyful.
