Jesus was a Jew, in the sense He was born in the Hebrew nation, and lived immersed in Hebrew culture. Seeing with His own eyes how poorly the society and culture of His day compared with the assumptions of His Father's Word, much of His teaching was aimed at correcting the mainstream understanding of God. At the same time, He was the completion of all which came before. In this sense, Jesus was the fullest possible revelation of Jehovah. The paradox of Ultimate Reality is it cannot be fully known by man, yet man is held accountable to it. Whatever man could know about God was revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus. However, that life and teaching came in a distinct context, a cultural background with assumptions quite different from those in Western Civilization today.
Thus, if we are to understand God, we must understand Christ in His own human setting, because that setting was chosen by God. As with a human understanding of divine revelation itself, we cannot presume to really succeed, as we understand success. Instead, knowing God is just, we can assume two things: (1) He will accept us as we are and use us, but (2) He most certainly expects us to grow into a better understanding of Him. We are redeemed for a purpose, and that purpose is not in us, but in Him -- that we should participate in His self-revelation. It just so happens that is the absolute very best existence available to any human, in every sense of the word "best" (i.e., ultimate good).
What follows is a sketch, one man's attempt to bring this Hebraic understanding of Christ to Western minds. By no means do I present my work as the final answer and authority on the inherent questions, but as a starting point. Having found no other writing along this path, it seems I am blazing a trail, and I do so with fear and trembling. I am no great scholar, and do not cite other scholars. No footnotes, like the Pharisees, but as with Jesus I will reference the Scriptures, plus mention a few items from the Early Church Fathers -- Christian scholars and writers up through 400AD. However, this is mostly a matter of presenting my own best understanding. There is nothing of a Western dissertation here, finding authority in the work of others. Such seems to be the methods of Jesus and the Apostles. This comes with the same conviction I find essential to the whole work of Revelation: If the Spirit of God does not move you to accept my witness, I would encourage you to cast it aside. While there is certainly an honest effort at scholarship, I am by no means an authority beyond what the Lord grants.
Because I assume my knowledge is sketchy, this writing will be terse. Furthermore, I will make no attempt to harmonize the various Gospel accounts in chronology. Rather, I will focus on harmonizing the narratives in depicting the character of Jesus the man, to make Him more real. This is typical of the Hebraic culture I pretend to explain here. Rather than answering all the possible questions, I aim to bring readers into the story to take from it what they are able. No two of His servants will have the same sins to forgive, the same needs for healing, the same burden and tasks -- only the same Lord. Don't seek to place your feet in my footprints, for there is nothing sacred about them. This study is not meant to lay a pavement through uncharted territory, but to point out areas for further exploration. Take from me only what you can use, and leave the rest in God's hands. Any other reading of this work will violate my own purpose in offering it.
Let's get to know Jesus.
By Ed Hurst
29 November 2008
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