Jesus: The Embodiment of God
One of the things that makes Jesus utterly unique is His concrete embodiment. Jesus did not just have a dream or an idea; He is not just an ideal. He is God become man; God in flesh, living and loving for all to see.
God is not aloof in an ivory tower. Jesus is down on earth in the muck and grime, being spit upon and crying. Jesus’ life and teachings reveal God’s character and compassion. Creation has always revealed God’s utter glory (Ps. 19:1), but Jesus reveals the abundance of God’s grace (Jn. 1:14-18).
Jesus reveals God to us. Jesus makes God known. People may have questions and confusion about God, but when they see Jesus, those questions are answered. “The distracted and doubting mind turns toward Jesus with relief and says, ‘If God is like that, He is all right.’”[1]
If the best and brightest humans on earth sat down to the task of thinking about the best possible God they would like to see run the universe, they would gradually form a description of Jesus of Nazareth. Who better could humans contrive? And yet the Bible says He really is the God running the universe. “The greatest news that has ever been broken to the human race is the news that God is like Christ.”[2]
Jesus is unique because He is God incarnate, revealing God’s character and compassion through His life and teachings. He answers questions about God and embodies the best possible God that humans could imagine.
Notes
[1] E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 35.
[2] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 36.
*Photo by Jon Tyson
The Concrete Christ
One of the things that makes Jesus utterly unique is that He didn’t just teach truth; He is the Truth. Jesus was not theoretical. He didn’t just talk about a good idea; He is Himself good; He Himself is goodness.
Jesus was not abstract. He’s the truth embodied in concrete form. That’s what John’s biography of Jesus tells us. God became flesh and lived among humans (Jn. 1:14).[1]
Jesus did not just know the truth or teach the truth. He Himself is the Truth. Jesus doesn’t just know the way; He is the Way. Jesus didn’t just live a good life; He is the Life (Jn. 14:6). Jesus is the concrete embodiment of all that is good.[2] He is God in flesh; Truth lived out for all the world to see. So, Jesus was different than every guru, every moral guide, every leader of mankind.
As E. Stanley Jones astutely pointed out, “Many teachers of the world have tried to explain everything—they changed little or nothing. Jesus explained little and changed everything. Many teachers have tried to diagnose the disease of humanity—Jesus cures it.”[3] Jesus is different. “Many teachers have told us why the patient is suffering and that he should bear with fortitude Jesus tells him to take up his bed and walk. Many philosophers speculate on how evil entered the world—Jesus presents himself as the way by which it shall leave.”[4]
We see the utter contrast between Christ and all others when we consider the crucifix. Compare the meditating guru with Christ on the cross. Christ’s eyes are open, His body torn, and His arms are outstretched to welcome whosoever in. The guru’s eyes are closed, turned inward. His arms and whole body are self-contained. He is not torn. He is unaffected by conflict. Sin and suffering are not solved but dissolved.[5]
Christ suffers in the concrete struggles of the real world. “Jesus does not stand before the blind and the leper and the poor and the sinner and discourse philosophically on why they are in such condition, but lays his hands of sympathy upon them and heals.”[6] Jesus did not teach in the schoolroom manner the necessity of humility—He took up a towel and kneeled down and washed His disciples’ feet.[7]
He didn’t merely argue about justice and how the poor should be treated. He brought justice and changed the world. He did not argue, like Socrates, about the immortality of the soul—He raised the dead.[8]
Jesus didn’t just speculate or talk a good game. He did the thing. He did all the things. It was His eat and drink to do His Father’s will (Jn. 4:34). Jesus did not make a long, eloquent argument that God answers prayer—He prayed, sometimes all night, and in the morning the power of the Lord was present to heal. He did not paint in glowing colors the beauties of friendship and the need for sympathy; He wept at the grave of His friend.[9]
Jesus turned the world upside down. Not because He was a philosopher, ethicist, or charismatic leader. He was all of those things. But He was more. He was the embodiment of all humans were ever meant to be. But He was more than that; He is God in flesh. God in physical form.[10]
Conclusion
Jesus did not love and word and talk but in deed and truth (1 Jn. 3:18). He was concrete. Not hypothetical or abstract. Jesus is the embodiment of truth, goodness, and life, unlike any other being in the universe. While others teach or speculate, Jesus actively demonstrates and brings about.
Notes
[1] He “pitched His tent” or tabernacled. This langauge alludes to God’s dwelling among the Israelites in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:8–9; 33:7).
[2] “Jesus underlies our moral and spiritual universe deeper than the force of gravity underlies our material universe” (E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 134).
[3] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 187.
[4] Ibid., 187.
[5] Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of The Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988), 93.
[6] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 205. “He did not speculate on why temptation should be in this world—he met it, and after forty days struggle with it in the wilderness he conquered, and returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. He did not discourse on the dignity of labor—he worked at a carpenter’s bench and his hands were hard with the toil of making yokes and plows, and this forever makes the toil of the hands honorable” (Ibid., 182).
[7] Ibid., 183.
[8] Ibid., 182.
[9] Ibid., 183.
[10] See Phil. 2:6-7; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3; Ezek. 1:26-28; Dan. 7:9; Gen. 18:1-3; 32:30 and also what I have written on the Trinity.
*Photo by Jon Tyson
Jesus: The Utterly Unique
When we read Jesus’ biographies, we realize we are “in the presence of the utterly unique.”[1]
The Utterly Unique
Consider some of the most unique and paradigm-shifting musical artists—whether Nirvana, Elvis, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, or Taylor Swift—they all left an indelible impact. Whether raw and real emotions, gyrating hips, or unbelievably packed stadiums. Each one of these artists brought a massive shift in music culture. They redefined style and what was possible. They were unique and had an impact.
But they were not utterly unique. They shifted a paradigm; they weren’t something entirely new. Jesus was different. Obviously, he wasn’t a musical artist. But He was different in that He was and is someone entirely different and unexpected. He was “utterly unique.”
Jesus transcends conventional notions. He was and is much, much more than people imagine. Jesus is larger, more profound, and disturbing than anyone could conceive.[2]
People did not have categories to understand who Jesus was. Again, He brought more than a paradigm shift. He was something else altogether and brought a Kingdom not of this world.
Jesus did so many things and had such an impact, but His biographies couldn’t nearly communicate everything. In fact, one of his biographers wrote that there is not room enough in all the world to contain all the books that would need to be written (John 21:25). But there have been some 109,000,000 books about Jesus.
Jesus was not a king; He was the true King. People are accustomed to “the ordinary, shabby, second-rate sort.” People were seeking a builder to construct their desired home, but Jesus was the architect with a new plan entirely. They wanted a singer to sing their familiar song, but Jesus was the composer bringing a whole new beautiful genre. Jesus redefined what it means to lead and love. Jesus gave us a new way to be human.[3]
Because Jesus was so unique, people were all sorts of confused by Him. His biographies repeatedly capture this confusion. There were questions in public (Matt. 11:2–3; Lk. 7:18–20; Jn. 10:24). In fact, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, the entire city is stirred up and asking, “Who is this?” (Matt 21:10).
There are all sorts of reactions to Jesus’s authority. The disciples ask, “Who is this that even the wind and sea obey Him?” (Mk. 4:41; Matt. 8:27; Lk. 8:25). The religious leaders of the time challenge His authority to forgive sins, asking “Who can forgive sins except God?” (Mk. 2:7; Lk. 5:21; 7:49). People marvel at His authority over unclean spirits, asking what this new teaching is (Mk. 1:27; Lk. 4:36).
People were dumbfounded by who Jesus was and questioned His origins. They marveled and questioned: “Is not this the son of the carpenter?” (Matt 13:54–56). “Is not this the carpenter, son of Mary?” (Mk. 6:2–3). “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph?” (Jn. 6:42). “Is not this the son of Joseph?” (Lk. 4:22).
There was debate about Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah. Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?” (Jn. 7:26). The crowd debates whether He is the prophet or the Messiah, questioning whether the Messiah could come from Galilee (Jn. 7:40–43).[4]
Sometimes there were direct questions: “Who are you?” (Jn. 8:25). “Who do you claim to be?” (Jn. 8:53) “Who is this Son of Man?” (Jn. 12:34). The Samaritan woman wondered aloud whether Jesus might be the Messiah (Jn. 4:29). The Pharisees debated whether Jesus was from God, with some claiming He couldn’t be because He broke the Sabbath, while others questioned how a sinful man could perform such signs (Jn. 9:16).
Jesus Himself asked His disciples who people said He was. “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matt. 16:13–15). Then Jesus asked them directly who they believe He is. “You are the Christ,” is the response (Mk. 8:27–29; Lk. 9:18–20).
The disciples, captivated by Jesus’ character, miracles, and teachings, follow Him, yet they struggle to comprehend who He really is.[5] The confusion about Jesus’ identity in His biographies isn’t accidental—it’s integral to how their honest message is communicated. Everyone was confused by Jesus the Christ. Of course they were. No one on earth had ever been like Him. To truly understand Jesus, we must work backwards from His crucifixion and resurrection.[6] We must see that He is the utterly unique.
When we read Jesus’ biographies, the Gospels about Him, we read with hindsight. We read knowing about the end. His earliest disciples didn’t have that convenience. They were perplexed. “Who is this man?”
Jesus’ biographers were honest about Jesus and His story, the confusing and the fantastic. They could be honest because “Jesus does not need to be protected. He needs to be presented. He protects himself.”[7]
Jesus “was not a hothouse plant that would wither under the touch of criticism, but he was rooted in reality, was the very living expression of our moral and spiritual universe.”[8] Christ comes out of the storms untouched and stronger when really seen. “The only way to kill Christianity is to take it out of life and protect it. The way to make it shine and show its genius is to put it down in life and let it speak directly to life itself. Jesus is his own witness.”[9]
We can be honest too. We can take our trust in Jesus and put it out before the world. We can say, “There He is, break Him if you can.” But the more people try to crush Him, the more He shines.[10]
Conclusion
Jesus is absolutely unprecedented. His biographies capture the confusion and awe He inspired, as people struggled to comprehend His identity as the true King and Messiah. Despite the confusion, Jesus’ biographers present an honest portrayal of His life, confident in His ability to withstand scrutiny and reveal His true nature: the utterly unique.
If you like this post, you might also like “Who is the real Jesus of history?“
Notes
[1] E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 160.
[2] N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus.
[3] Wright, Simply Jesus.
[4] Jesus also asks the Pharisees what they think about the Messiah and whose son he is (Matt 22:41–46) (Matt. 22:41–46; Mk. 12:35–37; Lk. 20:41–44). The Phariees show constanation and can’t answer Jesus’ question.
[5] Mark J. Keown, Discovering the New Testament: An Introduction to Its Background, Theology, and Themes: The Gospels & Acts (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).
[6] Stefan Alkier and David M. Moffitt, New Testament Basics: A Guide for Reading and Interpreting the Text (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2022), 354.
[7] E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 133.
[8] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 132.
[9] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 132.
[10] Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, 132.
*Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc
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