In Search of the Historical Jesus by Ann Sullivan

Who is Jesus?

The question is not new; it has existed since before Jesus lived on earth. In Old Testament times, people anticipated the one about whom it was said would be the Redeemer of Zion, the one called the Prince of Peace or Messiah.

When Jesus was on earth, people who followed Him asked, “Who are you?” Religious leaders and government officials also asked this most important question. Jesus even asked His closest followers to tell Him whom they thought He was.

The question still exists today. On television, radio, and the Internet, people ask, “Who is Jesus?” Each week Christian ministers and Sunday School teachers ask those who hear them to decide who Jesus is. Recently over 710 million persons have seen the film “Jesus”, which provides an opportunity for viewers to make a decision as to whom they think Jesus is.

Perhaps you are trying to establish an answer to this question. You may be from a non-Christian background or perhaps you are from a Christian home, but you are seeking a personal faith rather than claiming an inherited faith that lacks meaning and relevance. You might even be a Christian who wants to know more about Jesus. In all honesty, no one ever knows all there is to know about Jesus.

The Bible Tells Me So

The most complete source of information on the identity of Jesus is the Bible. Because mankind sinned and required a Saviour, God promised Jesus’ coming throughout the Old Testament. He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, reared in Nazareth, and received some training from the leaders of the synagogue where He discussed the Scripture of the Jews. Living in the home of His earthly father Joseph, Jesus probably learned the trade of carpentry from him.

At the age of 30, Jesus asked His cousin John the Baptist to baptize Him after which He began His ministry of teaching, healing, and working miracles. Jesus denounced sins and proclaimed a gospel of love. He empowered His followers to do the work of God on earth. As the only sinless man, He took the sins of all persons upon Himself when He was crucified. Three days after He had been buried, He arose from the dead. After His resurrection and the final 40 days of His earthly ministry, He ascended to heaven, His eternal home, where He lives forever more. Christians await His second coming.

Names given to Jesus in the Bible point to qualities that tell readers about God's unique Son. Jesus, the name by which most know Him, means Saviour. Among His names are: Christ (Messiah, the Anointed One), the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Good Shepherd, the Light, the Bread of Life, Immanuel (God with us), Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Lord, the Son of Man, the Son of God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, rabbi, and teacher.

In Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, and other parts of the Roman Empire, the followers of Jesus formed groups of believers called Churches. Letters written by Paul and included in the New Testament provide information about Jesus, the first converts to Christianity, and the young Churches.

From Ancient Historical Sources Jesus changed the direction of history. His impact was so great that the years before His life are known as B.C., the years before Christ. All time since Jesus lived has been known as A.D., the years of our Lord, Anno Domini. Although it is not the definitive source of information about Jesus, His name can be found in ancient pagan literature. Four great Roman writers, Tacitus, Suetonius, the younger Pliny, and Lucian made reference to Jesus when they wrote between 112 A.D. and 170 A.D. Through reading these sources, one can learn that the church continued to grow and expand after Jesus' ascension.

The Jewish writer Josephus spoke of the martyrdom of James whom he called, "the brother of Jesus who is called the Christ."

Information about early Christians can be found in more than ten thousand inscriptions in the catacombs of Rome. Early Christians could not always agree on what they believed about the historical Jesus. The concepts of Jesus' being one with the Heavenly Father, the Trinity, and the Divinity as well as the humanity of Jesus were issues that resulted in strong disagreements. Church councils established statements of belief and confessions such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Partial Knowledge

It is possible to know about Jesus without knowing Him. Non-Christians have found His teachings to be good models for successful living. For example, Mohandas K. Gandhi the great leader of India, maintained that he was indebted to the teachings of Jesus, which gave him direction for his passive resistance and civil disobedience movement.

Jews recognize Jesus as the founder of one of the world's great religions, but they do not accept Him as the Messiah promised through their covenant with Jehovah.

Other religions consider Him to be but one among many prophets helping people to know God. None of these ways of knowing Jesus is how He desires to be known.

To Know Jesus Personally

Most religions were founded by human beings and are based on philosophies, rules, and norms of behavior created by humans.

One could remove all mention of the founders of these religions from their belief systems, and little would change. If one removed Jesus from Christianity, there would be nothing left because Christianity is more than philosophy and rules.

Christianity is based on a vital relationship with Jesus. If one knows Jesus, it is impossible to separate the teachings of Jesus from the person of Jesus. Acknowledging that Jesus was a remarkable man, even the most remarkable man who ever lived, does not result in understanding a life lived in accordance to what He taught. Persons who really know Him have moved beyond a description of the human attributes of Jesus to establish a spiritual relationship with Him through which believers become sons or daughters of God.

To know Jesus on a spiritual people must believe that Jesus is who He claimed

He is - both the Son of Man and the Son of God in whom alone there is salvation.

They must recognize are sinners in need of forgiveness and confess their sins to receive the cleansing that Jesus can give. After one receives the cleansing of Jesus, one is a Christian. God's spirit lives from then on in that a person. All persons have a need for God. That need or void in every life can be filled by a relationship with Jesus.

The capacity of Jesus to fill that void was explained in a word picture made by Blaise Pascal, a French physicist and philosopher, who said, "There is a God- shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, which only God can fill through His Son Jesus Christ." The ultimate question that each person must answer is who is Jesus to me? Have you let Him fill the God-shaped vacuum in your life so that you might have a relationship with Him?

- Culled from: Rolling the Stone, A Leisure & Devotional Magazine, March 1997, pg. 51-53.

EASTER: FESTIVAL OF LIFE by Jerry Faught

Easter is the most important Christian Festival of the Year. Easter celebrates the Return of Life of Jesus Christ, after His crucifixion. Christians believe Jesus’ resurrection means that they, too, can receive New Life after death.

Origin of The Name

The origin of the English word Easter is uncertain, In the 8^th Century the English historian, the Venerable Bede, proposed that it was derived from the name of an Anglo-Saxon pagan goddess of spring named Eostre. Other scholars believe the word Easter comes from the latin word Albae, meaning both dawn and white. Easter was considered a day of "white" because newly baptized Church members wore white clothes at Easter observances. However, the latin word for "white" was later incorrectly translated into German as eostarum, which means dawn. The English word "Easter" was derived from this German word.

Christians in many European countries call Easter Pascha. This Greek word means Passover. Passover recalls how God rescued the Hebrews from slavery in ancient Egypt.

History and Date

The history of Easter is rooted in the Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, "Passover" refers to the Angel of Death "passing over" the houses of the Hebrews in Egypt. Yet, it also recalls how God delivered Israel fro slavery in Egypt and led them into the promise land. The Hebrew Passover feast developed into a spring harvest feast in which the first produce of the year was offered to God in gratitude for divine deliverance.

What is the connection between Passover and Easter? Christ was crucified during Passover. When Christians began commemorating His death and resurrection, they incorporated some of the elements of the Jewish feast into their Christian celebration. In addition, Christians believed that Easter, like Passover, was a time of rescue. By His death and resurrection, Jesus rescued them from eternal death and punishment for our sins. Thus Easter became the Christian Passover.

Throughout the history of the Church serious differences have arisen as to the day for the observance of Easter. The controversies were too numerous and complex to discuss here. Yet, in a nutshell, during the Middle Ages the duty of setting the date for Easter fell on the Roman Catholic church. The Church determined that Easter be observed on a Sunday, the weekly celebration of the resurrection of Christ. The Church also decided that Easter, in the northern hemisphere, would always be held in spring but not always on the same day. Thus Easter is called a movable feast. What day it will be depends upon both the sun and the moon. Twice each year the sun is directly over the imaginary line running around the widest part of the earth - the equator. At both these times, day and night are equal in length and we have an equinox. The spring equinox occurs around March 20. Easter is always the first Sunday that follows the full moon on or after the spring equinox. The earliest date for Easter is March 22 and the latest is April 25.

Easter is now uniformly observed by the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches.

Yet, for Eastern Orthodox Churches, the celebration of Easter may take place at a later date because these churches use additional factors in calculating the date of the festival. Because of anxiety and confusion in Christendom concerning the date of Easter there has been a movement for a fixed date for Easter.

Celebrating Easter in the Church

During the first three hundred years of Christianity, Easter Sunday gradually developed as a major celebration of Jesus' return to life. Christians, however, did not envision Easter merely as a commemoration of a past event, but also as a celebration of the new life shared by those who believed in Christ. Hence Easter was an appropriate time for the administration of baptism, which symbolizes the baptized person's deliverance from evil and rising to new life in Christ.

Gradually Christians expanded the Easter festival so that the days immediately preceding and immediately following Easter became times of special devotion. Many churches today, especially Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican, celebrate, not just the day, but the season of Easter. The first and best-known part of the season is Lent, a period of 40 days before Easter Sunday. The word Lent comes from words meaning spring and long and probably refers to the lengthening of days as spring approaches. Christians consider Lent a time to show sorrow for sins and to seek forgiveness. One common form of Lenten penance is fasting, which limits the kinds or amounts of food eaten. Christians patterned Lent after the 40 days Jesus prayed and fasted in the wilderness to prepare for teaching and leading his people.

Easter Sunday is followed by a 50 day period ending on Pentecost. During the first 40 days of this period, Christians celebrate the time when Jesus reappeared to some of His followers. The period ends on Ascension Thursday. On this day, some Churches hold special services in which the story of Jesus' rise to heaven is read. Easter concludes 10 days later with the feast of the Pentecost, when the apostles reported that the Holy Spirit had entered into them.

The most important period in the Easter celebration for all Christian Churches, however, is Holy Week. Holy Week is the time in which Christians remember the final events in the life of Jesus. During this week, Churches usually hold special services of worship and meditation. Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the people spread palms and garments before Him. Christians in many traditions, observe the day with a procession of palm leaves.

Maundy Thursday celebrates two events of Jesus' last week on earth-washing the feet of His disciples and sharing the last supper with them. The name Maundy refers to Jesus' "mandate" that His disciples wash one another's feet as He had washed theirs. Special services on Maundy Thursday may include a reenactment of the washing of feet.

Good Friday is usually observed as a day for mourning the death of Jesus. Some Churches hold a three-hour-worship service to symbolize the three hours of darkness while Jesus suffered on the cross. On Holy Saturday, many Churches hold the vigil (watch) of Easter, when worshipers recall Jesus' burial and await His resurrection. Sunday is day of celebration of the services at sunrise in addition to their main services. The light of the rising sun recalls the light that comes back to the world with the newly risen Jesus.

Easter Symbols and Popular Customs

Many symbols and customs have become associated with Easter at different times and places. The origins of some customs and their association with Easter, however, are not always easily determined. Eggs, for example, may have become Easter symbols because they are traditional symbols of life. In any event, wherever Easter is celebrated one will find decorated eggs as well as egg games and egg contests. For example, on the White House lawn in Washington D.C., every year children join the President of the United States in rolling eggs down the grassy slopes, each trying to have his or her own reach the bottom unbroken.

Rabbits are associated with the fertility of spring because of the ability to produce many young. The Easter rabbit, then, is a symbol of new life. However, in the twentieth century, the Easter rabbit has become exploited commercially in America. The large fluffy Easter Bunny, as the bearer of Easter presents to children, has perhaps become the most visible symbol of Easter to the majority of Americans today. The lamb, an important Easter symbol in some European countries, is a more appropriate Easter symbol than the rabbit because it represents the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Easter lilies are used to decorate homes and churches during Easter. The large, pure white blossoms remind Christians of the pure new life that comes to them through the resurrection of Jesus. Other popular customs of Easter include attending carnivals and passion plays, eating hot cross buns, and wearing new clothes. The latter practice may have originated from the old practice of having newly baptized Christians wear new white clothes for the Easter celebration.

In conclusion, notice that some Easter customs are distinctively Christian while others are associated more with the return of spring and have only a vague religious significance. This Easter determine you will spend some extra time in reflection of what Christ did for you on the cross.

No Doubt About It

Open a new pack of gum and no doubt about it that gum will be in it. Open your locker and no doubt about it that your books should be there. Open the concession stand at the ball park and doubt about that you can get something cool to drink.

Enter Mary on Easter Morning: Open the tomb on Easter Morning and no doubt about it that Jesus' body will be here for us to anoint. WHAT? The body is GONE! Is that Jesus talking to me in this garden? NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! He has risen, we didn't believe in Him in vain!

Pray: Thank God He set up Easter in such a way that there could be no doubt Jesus has been raised from the dead and your faith in Him is not in vain.

And Now Appearing

As awesome as it is that Jesus came back to life after His death, the story doesn't end there. God never intended for us to camp out on that point. In verse 5 of 1 Corinthians 15, we find the "rest of the story" .Jesus appeared to His friends.

In verse 6, Jesus appeared. In verse 7, Jesus appeared. I’d say that's a major point God is trying to drive home!

The celebration of Jesus' victory over death for us had to be made public, so Jesus approached His friends. Then the friends recognized what Jesus had accomplished.

Jesus' accomplishment for us is the same today, but there is one difference, He doesn't physically appear to us or our friends. He calls us, as Christians, to make an appearance for Him. We have to be the ones to pass on (like Paul in v. 3), what we know about the story of His death and resurrection. Our friends "see Jesus" when we accept the call of God to make an appearance for Jesus.

Pray: Ask God to fill you with the resurrection power of Jesus so you can appear on His behalf to those around you.