Tag: Son of God
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The Gospels as Literature
Looking at the Gospels as works of literature, for me, diminishes neither their intellectual and emotional impact, nor their spiritual and cultural value. Myth, legend and folktale; imagination, symbol and metaphor, deepen rather than detract from meaning and significance. The crucifixion I regard as historical fact. The reason for Jesus’ execution was pinned to his…
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What a Tangled Web …
Around the year 30, in a provincial backwater in the Roman Empire called Judea, on the banks of the Jordan, a young man appeared. He came under the spell of the fiery preaching of John the Baptiser, threw in his lot with him, and was immersed in the river. It wasn’t long before he became…
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Rethinking Jesus (12) God in the flesh?
It’s my belief that Jesus made no claim to be Yahweh, the Jewish God, made flesh. As a devout Jew, such a claim would’ve stuck in his throat. In John’s Gospel, he does say, “I am”, which is what God called himself in the Book of Exodus. That Gospel, however, belongs to the late 1st…
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Jesus the Messiah?
‘Messiah’ comes from Hebrew ‘mashiach’, referring to someone ‘anointed’ with oil, as a sign of being set apart for God’s service. It’s worth noting that the Hebrew Bible makes no reference to ‘the Messiah’. There are many ‘messiahs’, principally the Jewish Kings in the line of David who, like him, were anointed at their coronations.…
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The Gospels (13) ‘Raising the Dead’
We’ve reached the last ‘sign’ in John’s Gospel, and it’s a big one! These ’signs’ were included to ’prove’ the divine origin, nature and mission of Jesus. What greater ‘proof’ could there be than an ability to raise the dead? Let me lay my cards on the table. Do I believe that if I’d been…
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