WHAT'S COMING UP

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be writing a series of posts which consider who and what Jesus is. This series will not be a theological exercise. In fact, much of what I write in this series will not be stuff you will read in any Systematic Theology Handbook. This will mostly be my take on who and what He is. Because of that, please feel free to toss every last bit of what I write into the trash bin.

Why am I doing this? For several reasons. The first is because I have never thought all that deeply about the many facets of Jesus. This series will allow me to do so. The second reason is because I tire of always tying Jesus to his cross.

Rub your eyes all you want, but what I wrote is not a mistake.

Did you know that I have never met the believer who does not think the most important thing Jesus did was die for us? In fact, most believers I know say the cross is far and away the most important event in His life. I would argue that point.

If a man dies, so what? So He died for our sins? So what? Anyone can die. In fact, every one does.

Please understand I am not taking shots as Jesus here. I know the cross was important. But to me, what sets Jesus apart from everyone and everything else isn’t His death. Rather, it’s His life, before, and most notably, after His death.

We talk about the cross of Jesus far more than any other attribute of His life. Yet how attractive is a naked man dying on a cross? What draws people to Jesus? Forgiveness? Maybe, but I would argue that forgiveness is nonexistent if Jesus hadn’t gone to the cross, and proven by His resurrection that His Kingdom life was indestructible, and that the love He so often spoke of was also indestructible. Yet we tend to separate the cross of Jesus from almost every other event of His life. I wonder why. I don’t know why.

Here is what I do know. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith, not the cross. Why can I say this? Because if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, we have no hope. Yet this I would also say; we should not separate the cross from the resurrection, because I believe they belong together, in fact, I believe they are one and the same event, equally important, yet each one necessary to the other.

There is some hope in God dying for us, taking upon Himself our guilt. I believe that hope is multiplied, given perfect life, through the resurrection. And it is my intention to write in such a way that I will focus on the LIFE of Christ, what He did, how He did it, why He did it, and the type of life He talked about, which was proven to be indestructible through His resurrection. I believe there is more hope in someone rising from the dead, than there is in one naked man hanging on a cross. That may be heresy, but you’d be hard pressed to disprove it.

At any rate, I’ll be getting to work on this series, which I am looking forward to sharing with you, drawing from your ideas, and hearing your thoughts. Please feel free to leave comments liberally, as this is not a theological "pedigrees only please"exercise, but a labor of enjoyment and love. That being the case, everyone should be able to participate, if they wish.