Who Is Jesus?: The Puzzle and the Portraits of a Divine Savior

By Allan R. Bevere

At Easter, major magazines and blogs will publish articles claiming to tell us who Jesus was. Every few weeks we see a new book making similar claims. Is it possible to know?

In Who Is Jesus?, Allan Bevere addresses this question from the point of view of a person of faith who takes seriously the gospels and early Christian tradition as documentation of events and of serious theological reflection on those events. According to Bevere, Christian theology was neither an invention, nor a set of random speculations unrelated to reality. Rather, they were the response of early Christianity to the experience of Jesus and the historical pictures as presented in the canonical gospels.

From a discussion of the Old Testament record piecing together the puzzle of biblical messianic prophecy through illumination of the christological controversies of the first five centuries of Christian history, and then back to the four portraits of Jesus given to us in the canonical gospels, this book provides a clear description of how orthodox Christian scholarship can bring together the varied evidence in order to present a coherent theological picture of the Jesus of history. As Bevere contends, history and theology are not easily separated, but are two threads that create an interwoven tapestry in which events have meaning.

This book is good for individual reading, or could easily provide readings and an outline for a small group study.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Energion Publications
• Release date: May 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781631996986

Book preview

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WHO IS JESUS?

THE PUZZLE AND THE PORTRAITS

OF A DIVINE SAVIOR

Allan R. Bevere

Topical Line Drives

Volume 35

Energion Publications

Gonzalez, Florida

2019

Copyright © 2019, Allan R. Bevere

All Rights Reserved

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Electronic ISBN:

ISBN13: 978-1-63199-698-6

Print ISBNs:

ISBN10: 1-63199-693-2

ISBN13: 978-1-63199-693-1

Energion Publications

P. O. Box 841

Gonzalez, FL 32560

[e-mail]

energion.com

Table of Contents

‘Tis a Puzzlement iv

1 The Jesus Puzzle 1

2 The Puzzle Deconstructed:

Failed Portraits and the Church’s Response 8

3 Interlude: Why Even Bother? 19

4 Four Reliable Portraits of Jesus: One Divine Savior 22

5 Reading Backward, Moving Forward 34

This little book is dedicated to my granddaughters

Aly, Emery, Quinn, and Spencer.

May you be faithful followers

of our divine human Savior

all of your days.

Introduction

‘Tis a Puzzlement

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke there is a pivotal moment in these Gospels where Jesus asks his disciples the question, Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20). It is a crucial question that the New Testament reminds us must be answered. To avoid answering the question is to give an answer.

It is perhaps the case that no question has been bandied about more than this one. This is not surprising since Jesus is one of the most influential historical figures in world history. It is also not surprising that not everyone is in agreement as how to answer this question, Who is Jesus?

I hope this little book will provide a helpful summary as I attempt to provide my own answer to that question—but it is not my answer that I have come up with on my own. As will become clear, I cannot think about the person of Jesus, the doctrine of Christology, without the wisdom of the church. I am not smart enough to think for myself on such deep matters; I need the wisdom of the ages to help me answer that same question Jesus posed to his first disciples two thousand years ago. I must answer it; for I am a disciple too. You must answer as well.

Chapter One

The Jesus Puzzle

Putting It Together

I’m not a fan of jigsaw puzzles, especially the ones with 1000 pieces or more. I simply do not have the patience. But for those who enjoy such recreational activities, the one thing every puzzler knows is that the photo on the box top is necessary for completing the puzzle. It’s the photo that offers the big picture for a thousand scattered pieces on the table.

I think this analogy helps us to answer the question, Who is Jesus? Our quest is like putting together the pieces of the puzzle given to us by the Old Testament that once completed will give us the portrait of Jesus we find in the New Testament. Think of the Old Testament as the pieces of the puzzle with the New Testament offering to us the picture on the top of the box. Now, this analogy is not perfect (no analogy ever is) because the New Testament portrayals of Jesus are somewhat like a puzzle as well, but the Old Testament in and of itself cannot complete the picture of Jesus. We need the New Testament to bring the picture into focus because it is Jesus who gives clarity to the Old Testament puzzle; and the best source for knowing Jesus is the New Testament.

But first, we must scatter the Old Testament pieces out on the table and begin to make sense of what is before us.

The Old Testament: Pieces in