The character of Jesus portrayed in Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John is not something human beings could have invented.
The writers of the gospels were ordinary men.
They were not literary geniuses. Yet, the man they portrayed has influenced
civilizations and transformed the lives of countless millions of people. There
is no one else like the sinless Jesus in all human literature. How can this be
explained?
Was the Biblical Jesus
Invented?
It would have been virtually impossible for
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to invent the character of Jesus. Who among the
followers of Jesus had the literary skills to invent the deep sayings of Jesus
or to imagine His spotless life and character? Did John, the uneducated
fishermen have that ability? Did Matthew, the hated tax collector? Saul of
Tarsus (before he became the apostle Paul) was the enemy of Jesus. He
personally declared jehad against
Christians. He used terrorist tactics to round them up, put them in prison, and
have them executed for not following his nation’s religion. Were ANY of Jesus’
early followers capable of inventing the profound, often difficult, sayings of
Jesus? How could any ordinary man invent the greatest story ever told– one that
outshines the best works of the greatest writers in human history?
The Moral and
Religious Climate
It has been said that “no stream can rise above
its source”. Neither can humanity transcend itself. How, then, did Jesus, the
ideal man, rise up and flourish in such a flawed world? Think of the immorality
in Rome, and the legalism and narrow-mindedness in Judea. No one in that
generation would have conceived of such a pure, humble, unselfish, forgiving
person as Jesus unless he had lived among them. Jesus rose above the highest
moral and ethical standards the world had ever known. There is no parallel to
Jesus in human history.
Jesus was not only pure; he also had purifying
power, and he has made this purifying power available to us. Sincere followers
of Jesus have, throughout the ages, experienced spiritual growth by drawing on
a power beyond themselves.
Was Jesus Jewish?
Jesus was born to Jewish parents in Bethlehem
of Judea. He was reared in Nazareth, a small Jewish town. He worshiped at a
Jewish synagogue with his parents, and He was educated in a Jewish school. All
of his closest friends and relatives were Jews, and the customers in his
carpenter shop were Jews. Yet, Jesus was not a typical Jew. John the Baptist
was typically Jewish. So was Saul of Tarsus who became the apostle Paul. But
not Jesus. Jesus was a Jew, but He was not limited by Judaism. There is nothing
in Judaism that explains the character of Jesus.
Neither is the Biblical picture of Jesus a
typical Gentile portrait. None of the philosophers, literary giants, or
political heroes of Greece and Rome ever came close to matching the flawless
character of Jesus. Socrates and Plato, two of the greatest philosophers of all
time, were immoral men. The moral standards in ancient Rome were as low as they
are in Hollywood today. How, then can we account for the character of Jesus?
Jesus, Full of Grace
and Truth
The apostle John followed Jesus around for
three years listening to his words and observing his actions. Later, John
described Jesus as a man “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Notice here that Jesus was “full of grace”.
That means Jesus was kind, gentle, generous, forgiving, and loving. He was
gracious in thought, attitude, disposition, word, and deed. Common people came
to Him gladly, and He responded to them with compassion. He fed the hungry,
healed the sick, cleansed lepers, raised the dead and gave them back to their
families. He attracted little children, and He blessed them with a tender
touch. A woman caught in adultery was brought to him for judgment, and He
forgave her. He said, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11, KJV). Jesus was full of
grace.
Jesus was also full of “truth”. He said, “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). His words ring with truth.
Unlike the rest of us, he never told a lie. When He made a promise, He kept it.
Throughout His life, Jesus maintained His integrity. Truth was a part of His
character.
It was the combination of grace and truth that
gave Jesus strength of character. Grace, alone, can lead to weakness. Truth,
alone, can lead to harshness, sternness and severity. But truth blended
perfectly with grace leads to strength of character. Many human beings have one
or both of these elements, but only Jesus had both in perfect balance. Jesus, a
Man Without Sin. Perhaps the most amazing thing that we learn about Jesus is
that He was absolutely sinless. Jesus’ enemies watched Him like a hawk trying
to find something against Him. They sent their most brilliant lawyers to
question Jesus hoping to entrap Him. But they failed. Instead, Jesus asked His
accusers, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). They couldn’t.
Even though Jesus was challenged by hostile religious leaders throughout His
ministry, He never lost His temper. “When they hurled their insults at him, he
did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23). Even
Pilate, the Roman governor, said, “I find no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4,
NASV). The Jewish high court condemned Jesus to death only after
false-witnesses testified against Him. Jesus’ enemies could not honestly prove Him
guilty of sin.
Jesus’ closest followers lived with him night
and day seven days a week for more than three years. They traveled with Him by
foot and by boat. They shared meals with Him and endured common hostilities.
They listened to every word he spoke. They observed His behavior in good times
and bad. If Jesus had stumbled even once, they would have known it. But Peter,
one of Jesus’ closest companions, wrote, “He committed no sin, and no deceit
was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).
The writer of Hebrews, who based his comments
on the eye-witnesses testimony of others, wrote, “we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been
tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus’ followers found no fault in Him.
The sinless nature of Jesus is also seen in his
prayers. In his most intimate prayers to God, there is no hint of remorse due
to sin. There is no confession of wrong, no trace of repentance. He preached
repentance to others (Matthew 4:17), but He, himself, did not need to repent.
He commended a tax-collector for praying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”
(Luke 18:13); yet, Jesus never begged God for mercy. He taught His followers to
pray for forgiveness (Luke 11:4), but He never once asked for forgiveness. Why?
Because He had no sin. He never did anything that He regretted. He did nothing
that displeased God. His conscience was never disturbed by the memory of past
sin. Jesus was sinless. The contrast between Jesus and all other men is sharp
and real. How can we account for Jesus’ unstained life? Jesus’ sinless life was
an outgrowth of His unique character.
Signs of Honest
Reporting
The gospel accounts of Jesus bear all the signs
of honest reporting. When the citizens of Nazareth rejected Jesus and tried to
kill Him, Luke recorded it (Luke 4:14-30). When Jesus’ enemies accused Him of
being a glutton and a drunkard, Matthew recorded it (Matthew 11:19). When they
accused Him of being a blasphemer, Mark recorded it (Mark 14:64). When his
enemies accused Him of being a liar (Matthew 27:63) and demon-possessed (John
8:48), the gospel writers reported it. When people shouted praises to Jesus as He
rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the gospel writers reported that
too (Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15). They did not
try to white-wash the insults. They reported the good and the bad. That is
strong evidence of honest reporting. This gives us reason to believe that the
Jesus we read about in the Bible is the authentic historical Jesus.
Jesus’ Character
Survives Attacks
Vicious attacks have been made on Jesus by
atheists, theologians, mystics, and skeptics of every description. Yet, the
awesome picture of Jesus, the sinless man of Galilee, still remains.
How can we explain the character of Jesus?
Critics can analyze and criticize the gospels all they want, but they cannot
destroy the portrait presented in the New Testament. Four gospel writers from
diverse backgrounds and with diverse viewpoints have painted a unified picture
of Jesus as the perfect man– a man who made God known to the world (John 1:18).
As someone has said, the Biblical picture of
Jesus startles us, surprises us, and takes our breath away. It is not what we
expected. We could not have invented it. And yet, the longer we look at it, the
more God-like Jesus appears. It is too super-human not to be true. And it draws
all serious believers into a closer communion with God.
Conclusion
The more thoroughly we study the gospels, the
more evidence we see that they were based on eye-witness testimony, and that
the writers faithfully reported what they had seen and heard.
