Behold the Man!: Quest for the Biblical Jesus.

By Don Touchton

Scripture says three times to Behold (look intently upon) Jesus. The first is the beginning of his ministry when John the Baptist exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:36). Another is when none in heaven or earth is qualified to take the little book (the title deed to the earthly kingdoms) from the hand of Him sitting on the throne, the Apostle John is told, Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5) The third is when Pilate, after finding no fault in Jesus, presented him before his accusers saying, Behold the Man! (John 19:5)

Beholding the Lamb, we see the sacrificial Lamb that atones for sin. Beholding the Lion, we see the sovereign King that will make all things new. Beholding the Man, we see the second Adam who lived a perfect life among us. Knowing about this mans humanity is as important as knowing about the other two aspects of his being. So what kind of a man was Jesus?

This book introduces the reader to the individual his contemporarys saw, while relying only on the Gospels as the source materials. His contemporaries saw someone quite different from the person modern Christians imagine him to be. The biblical Jesus was much more robust than contemporary teachers portray him. Due to incorrect, even disingenuous teaching, the modern church presents a witness that is less robust than was the case in previous generations. We need to behold the real biblical Jesus because, The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. (Luke 6:40 KJV)

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449795405

Don Touchton

Entering the Ministry at age twenty-seven while employed on the Apollo Program, Don earned his D.Min. Degree at age thirty-one, and has served his Lord as, Pastor, Evangelist, Missionary, Teacher, Writer, Author, and as Second Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1979-80.

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Copyright © 2013 Don Touchton.

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Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9541-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9542-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9540-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013908797

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/19/2013

Contents

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One: The Physical Jesus

Chapter Two: The Priorities Of Jesus

Chapter Three: The Personality Of Jesus

Chapter Four: The Posture Of Jesus

Chapter Five: The Philosophy Of Jesus

Chapter Six: The Passion Of Jesus

Chapter Seven: The Perfection Of Jesus

Afterword

Endnotes

Author’s Note

This note is to assist the reader in understanding some particular features about the volume that will make the reading more fruitful.

Footnotes

As one reads this book it is important to remember that the scriptures are the preeminent authority for its contents. Only a few extra-biblical resources are cited. Therefore, it was necessary to make use of numerous footnotes to indicate the scriptural authority for the comment or opinion presented. Notice also that footnotes are used instead of endnotes. This places the notations at the bottom of each page so that the reader may simply move his eyes from the text to the footnote without having to turn pages to find the notation.

Footnoted Scriptures present the entire verse or verses of a reference so that the reader will not have to look them up. He can simply read the notation. Some passages are too long to fit comfortably in a footnote, such as a reference to an entire chapter or a substantial block of verses. In those cases, only the Scripture reference is cited. Usually the footnote is but a sample of the Scriptures that relate to the information in the text. Accordingly, a representative verse or verses are quoted in full, and then additional references are cited for the reader to research more fully the biblical view of the subject.

In order to gain the full impact of my meaning, the footnotes should be treated as part of the text and read when the footnote indicator is given. Without reading the footnote, the textual comment may appear simply to be my unfounded opinion.

Since many comments and interpretations will seem unconventional—that is, they may not comport with what others say—the reader may form the impression initially that the material is out-of-bounds and is only a personal interpretation based on nothing but a personal bias. But as noted in the preface, every precaution was taken in the writing of this book to conscientiously avoid, or to render as neutral as possible, all personal and cultural bias. Doubtless some will believe they see it in the text, and, no doubt, some will be there, however diligently the attempt was made to avoid it.

Pronouns Used

Since the subject of the book is the human aspect of Jesus, I refer to him personally in that context using lowercase pronouns (e.g., he, him). If the pronouns are capitalized, they refer either to God the Father or to the divine aspect of Jesus as the Christ.

The Target Audience

This book is written to provide a resource to committed Christians, whether laymen or ministers who wish to be more like Jesus. To be like Jesus, one must know him as a man; the man he really was. This book will study the humanity of the Savior of the world. While the book is not intended to address theological material per se, one must, of necessity, assume a theological position on some matters in analyzing the actions and teachings of Jesus, in order to explain the interpretations of his behavior. Therefore, the reader should know that the author is a Calvinist.

This work intends primarily to assist laymen, preachers, missionaries, and pastors in the study of the Gospels for their biographical value in search of the biblical Jesus of Nazareth. They are studied all the time as theological and Christological works. But studying them as biographical works helps us to understand Jesus as the kind of human being that he was, as seen through the eyes of his contemporaries. Granted, the Gospels were not written fundamentally as biographies, but as records of his works, words, and selected events during a brief span of time in his life. But these writings yield much personal data of a biographical nature about the man whose ministry they record when studied for this purpose. Seen in this light, this book is more a commentary of the Gospels, focusing on his humanity.

This aspect of Jesus is necessary for disciples to understand, if one is to model the real Jesus to the world. Hopefully, although this work is not directed at the academic, he will not find it without value, but will along with the target audience find it in some measure useful.

Disclaimer

Of course, realizing that this analysis is based solely upon the Gospel records as one man understands those records, nothing written here is intended to be viewed as dogmatism. Therefore, all statements, observations, findings, and assertions made in this book should be read with the implied phrase as this author firmly believes held firmly in mind. This book would be laborious to write and tedious to read if this phrase was expressed each and every time an assertion, observation, interpretation, opinion, or rendering was given.¹

The Author’s Goal

Should this book serve in any way to help any Christian to better understand the humanity of Jesus, and provide an encouragement for him to seek to be more like the real, biblical Jesus, then the author’s goal will be achieved. Likewise, should the book cause enough interest for one to read its entire contents—and in so doing create even the slightest curiosity that makes the reader seek out more information in the Word to confirm or contradict the findings—it will have achieved a worthy accomplishment. And should this book be commended by the Lord Jesus at the Bema Seat of Christ, this scribbler will be humbled and grateful beyond the ability of words to express.

Bible Translations Used

Most references will be given in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) or the New King James Version (NKJV), but occasionally the King James Version (KJV) may be used if it seems to convey the meaning more clearly and/or accurately. All references, however, will designate the translation used, such as: (NASB), (NKJV), or (KJV).

Acknowledgments

As most authors I have received a fair amount of assistance in getting this book into publishable form. It has taken nearly fifty years of preparation to write it, and thousands of sermons, bible lessons, study courses, and devotionals over the course of those years to formulate the concepts that comprise this volume. So an acknowledgment of gratitude to those most that have been most helpful is in order.

First, I want to express my profound gratitude for all those who have sat under my teaching/preaching ministry for the many years I was a pastor. That period of ministry provided an opportunity to study and a platform from which to preach and teach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that was of inestimable value. While those dear saints to whom I ministered the Word attended, learned, and grew in grace and knowledge through the ministry, so did I – even more than they. Without the opportunity to serve as their pastor in the various churches of which I was privileged to serve, there is no doubt this book could not have been written.

Second, I am also deeply grateful to the cadre of seasoned citizens, my brother veterans, who in their retirement years choose to take breakfast and a Bible class with me on Monday mornings at a local restaurant. I have taught the contents of this book to this group for the past year as a means to work out the kinks and gain feedback. As the group represents several denominations and different doctrinal perspectives, and all of us are old timers who do not flinch at speaking our minds (we do have our lively discussions), this give-and-take has helped immensely.

Third, the Board of Directors of Good Word Ministries has been especially gracious for permitting me the time and financial resources to complete this book. If the book once published produces any revenue, it is our goal for it to serve as a means of funding for the Ministry, hopefully long after I am gone. The men who selflessly donate time, money, and ministry serving on the Board at the time of this writing are Dr. Kelly Blanton, Jim Marazzi, Pat Touchton, and Rev. Fred Wright. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to these yokefellows in the ministry.

Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to my dear friend and associate in the ministry of over forty-four years, Dr. William A. Hogan, who assisted in proof reading the text and footnotes. His valued service has contributed greatly to this volume’s successful completion.

Foreword

Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Behold, the Man!

—(John 19:5 NASB)

Albert Schweitzer (January 14, 1875-September 4, 1965), German-born musician, humanitarian, theologian, missionary, and author, published his signature book, Quest for the Historical Jesus, in 1910. Most liberal German theologians would concur with Schweitzer’s conclusion that his research showed that the Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give His work its final consecration, never had any existence. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb.² To Schweitzer, Jesus was only a common religious man of his own times, who truly believed that the end of the world was coming in his lifetime. Schweitzer concluded that Jesus was not divine but that, even so, he was a significant player on history’s stage.

The gospel record is copious, written in four records by three contemporaries who were personal friends and disciples of Jesus, and who were present during most of the events described by each author. These accounts consist mostly of events and teachings of the man Jesus during brief portions of his short, three-and-one-half-year ministry. The fourth gospel record was written by a contemporary historian/physician (Luke), who was a second-generation Christian and a colleague of the apostle Paul. But even with these firsthand reports of eyewitnesses by four different authors, worldly wisdom still insists, We must have more data. Of course, for the secular historian, this is perfectly logical, for the secularist would doubt anything that claimed to be inspired as slanted, loaded with myth, and skewed, especially if written by friends. To them the Bible is not true unless corroborated by the external evidence of nonbelievers and noncontemporaries, or by non-friends of the person, which is understandable for unbelievers.

While it is also common among liberal (believing) theologians to search secular history and other extra-biblical sources to find the truth of biblical characters, stories, places, and events, it is not this author’s intention or method. It is not the purpose of this book to examine all the extra-biblical evidences of the historical Jesus, or even to consider them in examining his earthly life, for they are less authoritative and less compelling than the Gospels. More important than knowing the historical Jesus—that is, the one that secular historians can agree to—is to know what the Holy Bible really reveals about the human aspect of him who was perfectly both God and Man. So, in that sense, we are in search of the biblical Jesus, not the historical Jesus.

Together, we want to find what the Bible really reveals about Jesus. When I say "really reveals" in that last sentence, I expose my doubt that what is widely believed about Jesus as a man is true. In my experience, I find that the perception held by nearly everyone about Jesus is unbiblical, at least in my understanding of him. This is due in part, I believe, to other contemporary writers not exploring the subject sufficiently. There are approaches to studying the humanity of Jesus purely from the biblical record that have not been adequately treated. The approach I am using here is one that has never been treated, to my knowledge.

Even though the Gospels have been studied for centuries for information about the times in which Jesus lived, his earthly ministry, and other aspects of the life and times of Jesus, the one that intrigues this writer most is the aspect of Jesus’ true human character, personality, attitude, and temperament. We need a profile of the man as he was percieved by his contemporaries. We should know if he was a likable man with a comely sort of personality or one that was abrasive. Was he someone that you or I, for instance, would have liked, had either of us run into him if we had lived in his day? Would he have liked us as individuals? How would we have interacted together as human beings—with him behaving as described in the Gospels and us, you and me, being his contemporaries and knowing only what the typical person knew then?

The purpose of this book, then, is not to seek whether or not the Jesus described in the Gospels ever existed, or if the Gospels portray him accurately. Rather, this book’s purpose assumes the existence of Jesus and assumes that the Scriptures are the most authoritative and reliable resource that tells of him. Therefore, the information in the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament, and they alone, will inform us about his humanity. Together we will seek to discover the biblical, human Jesus, while believing that he was the divine God-man, while assuming that everything said about him in the Gospels is true, sufficient, and accurate. Having studied his divinity, or Christology, for nearly fifty years, and understanding his divinity, I also hungered to know the man—the human aspect of Jesus of Nazareth that the twelve disciples knew.

I will use the following rule of interpretation to do the analysis: I assume that the gospel records are accurate in all they say. I do not launch into textual criticism in this book. I assume that whatever the Gospels record is accurate, and that any differences between the Gospels—in whatever shape or form—have been adequately explained without my doing so in this book. Also, I assume that the gospel records are as complete as the Holy Spirit intended them to be. In other words, the gospel records were chosen by the human author, who was led by the Holy Spirit to choose those incidents to record. Obviously, Jesus’ life events and ministry teachings were far more numerous than those that were recorded.³ But we all should assume that those incidents and teachings chosen by the authors to record are sufficient for any potential disciple of Jesus to know him well enough to follow him and emulate him. I will not speculate about the other reported pseudepigrapha⁴ that exist, nor do I accept anything but the Gospels as authoritative for the purpose of this book.

For all of my Christian life I have envied John, the beloved disciple who said, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life… (1 John 1:1 NKJV, emphasis mine). I empathize with and understand Paul’s ambition when he said, That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10 NKJV).

Reading carefully what both John and Paul said in the two examples just cited, we find that they are both talking about knowing Jesus as a man, as he was in his physical life in the flesh. John spoke of it as having experienced it, knowing it intimately and writing as an authority on it. Paul spoke of it as wishing that He could have known it. That is our quest together: that we might see the real man. This was what Pontius Pilate asked the demonstrating Jews to do when he said, Stop shouting! Wait a minute… shhh. Hush! Look up here! Then, gesturing toward the battered man at his side, he said, Behold, the man!⁵

Preface

Why This Book?

This book is needed because it is our conviction that most people hold a wrong image of Jesus of Nazareth in their minds. We have observed that many preachers, and laymen who teach, describe Jesus in terms that give the impression that he was mild-mannered and loving in all circumstances to everybody, treating everyone the same, and that he sought always to be inoffensive in his teaching. One is left with the impression that Jesus was a rather effeminate character who would not harm a fly.

However, according to the Gospels, Jesus was a dynamic, manly personality who displayed anger as well as compassion, disgust as well as love, and even contempt as well as acceptance. None of his detractors ever said—and therefore we must assume that they never thought—that he was anything but ordinary as a man—a man they despised because he was so incendiary and displayed such fearlessness, boldness, candor, and (what they saw as) an attitude of superiority, because in his preaching he openly and vehemently condemned their hypocrisy and unbelief. They wanted proof of his claims to be the Son of God, for it was not evident to them in his appearance, demeanor, or conduct, because they had different expectations of Messiah. Of course, he would not show them a sign when they demanded one, infuriating them all the more. Signs were reserved for believers, as it suited his purpose to help his sheep and glorify his Father in heaven in their eyes.

Being the God-man that Jesus was, theologians have pondered how such a marriage of divine-human qualities could coexist in one individual. This discussion in the early centuries of Christianity revealed many heresies. But now that the ancient heresies have pretty much been laid to rest and mainline Christendom agrees that Jesus was a real human being made of flesh and bone, exactly like other human beings—albeit with the divine Spirit of God animating him—his human nature has been left largely unexplored. Having agreed on the God-man being 100 percent human flesh and 100 percent divine Spirit, further study about him has been almost totally directed toward his divine nature. Most of the current teachings seem to end when his humanity is proven. Rare indeed are the works that teach about his humanity, that explore the kind of man he was, with a view to seeing him as his contemporaries saw him so that we can know the whys and wherefores of his ministry. So that is where this book will begin.

In this book, you will study the human element of Jesus in a forthright manner that aims to see him in this way. This is just as important as knowing the divine element, for he could not have been our atoning sacrifice if he were not human. Indeed, what kind of a man was he that he would willingly follow through with a plan to die? Exhortations in Scripture and from pulpits that urge us to strive to be like the Savior would be futile, wasted words if he were some kind of superman. We could not imitate him or strive to be like him if he were not human, just like us. What about him can we strive to be like? We must know.

There seem to be two obstacles in our thinking that defeat us, making us think we can only fail, even when genuinely seeking and striving to be like Jesus.

His Divine Nature Sometimes Obscures His Humanity

Since Jesus was both human and divine, people typically assume that he had an advantage the rest of us do not enjoy, and that being like him is therefore impossible. Hence, there is the oft-repeated refrain that Christians are doomed to fail in their attempt to be perfect, like he was—as he said we should be.⁶ The divine qualities that are so studied and preached about, as they should be, have all but obscured his humanity, frustrating the motivation to strive to be like our Master.⁷ This is due in part, to a misapplication of the Scriptures, a problem caused by not rightly dividing the word of truth.⁸ His humanity is important to us because we are to emulate it. Every true Christian believes that Jesus was human, but his humanity is rarely explored, and this presents a problem in being obedient to the commands of Scripture. If we imagine him as a superman instead of a complete, actual man who can be emulated successfully, we go through our lives believing and teaching that we are to be like him but confessing that it is futile to try! The desire to attempt it, which is immeasurable, becomes the goal and leads to nothing.

A few decades ago, bracelets that displayed WWJD on them were all the rage. This stood for the question, What Would Jesus Do? A person wearing the bracelet was to be reminded in each situation he faced to ask that question of himself and then behave accordingly. Because we are redeemed, fallen creatures, we must do as the exhortations in Scripture teach us, and that is to consciously imitate him,⁹ wage war with our fallen nature,¹⁰ put on the new man, who is created in us through his indwelling Spirit,¹¹ resist temptation as he did,¹² and in general, see him as our example.¹³ The view that his humanity had an advantage because of his divinity, defeats us before we get started. Besides, it reveals a very real lack of understanding of the nature and purpose of salvation. Christians are called Christians because they have the same nature he had. When I held this view, I secretly found comfort in accommodating my lack of zeal by believing the impossibility of being like Jesus—a comfort I think is all too pervasive in the churches today.

Some will argue that it is futile to attempt to understand his human nature apart from the divine, because they are inseparable. But is it impossible? And even if it is, is it not profitable to try to understand it? The Godhead is a triune being, a concept whose very definition appears to be a contradiction. Can the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as three separate persons and yet be one in essence? Can such a concept be understood or illustrated accurately? Hardly. Yet it is true, and if so, is it not profitable for us to seek to understand the distinctions of the three? In a sense, is not man a triune being, having body, soul, and spirit? ¹⁴ Can we not profitably seek to understand the distinctions between the three? Of course we can profit—and we shall.

Jesus did have an advantage psychologically, because he knew that being a perfect human

Reviews for Behold the Man!

[lizasarusrex · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When you think of Jesus, you think of him after his human years, after he was resurrected by God. This book goes beyond that, talking about his human years. Don Touchton does a great job at applying different factors to describing Jesus during his human years. Such as, the time period, genetics and his personality type. Everything is based off of real scripture from the bible. Nothing is fabricated or gone off of any other documentation. I think the main focus of the book is to show that Jesus was a simple man like you or I am today, and he achieved wonders, and so can you in today's time. Following his footsteps, and pleasing God are simple tasks that anyone an abide by. It's an eye opening read, to fully understand the gospels and scriptures about Jesus in both human times, and after. If you truly want to know Jesus for the man he was on this earth, this is a great book to start out with. It does take a basic knowledge of the Bible to follow along. This book could be considered controversial since no one knows for sure about some of the concepts about Jesus during his life. I understand a lot more due to this book, and appreciate how much I have learned. A big thank you to Don Touchton who deserves nothing less than 5/5.