WHO IS THIS MAN?

THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS

 

There has been in up to this present day an attempt to deny the holocaust ever having taken place during World War II though existing reliable witnesses and documentary evidence to refute those claims. In like manner the same has taken place concerning Jesus Christ though there exist written documentation from established and recognized secular and Christian historians of the First, Second and Third centuries who have annotated the existence of the individual called “Christus” and the sect of men that were “given to a new superstition”[i] along with accounts of the founding and intensification of the Christian faith.  The question of the existence of Jesus as a historical figure is very distinct from the study of the historical Jesus which goes beyond analyzing the historicity of the man attempting to reconstruct the portraits of his life and teachings based on critical view of the gospels and the history of first century Judea.  Modern scholars of antiquity, for the most part the majority, are in agreement that Jesus existed and view the theories of his non-existence as having been effectively refuted.   Those who opposed Christianity never denied the existence Jesus. His [Jesus] crucifixion by Pontius Pilate seems to be part of the bedrock of historical tradition, based on the availability of non-Christian evidence.  A number of ancient non-Christian documents, such as Jewish and Greco-Roman sources, have been used in historical analyses of the existence of Jesus.

Ancient Secular Historians

C. Thallus(c. 50-75AD)

Thallus was a Samaritan-born historian who lived and worked in Rome around ca.52 AD. His works have been lost to us but he was quoted many times by Christian chronographers.  He has been cited for the details on Syrian and Assyrian history and has been identified in the Chronicles of Eusebius of Caesarea as the author of a history of the Mediterranean from the fall of Troy to the Olympiad of 109 B.C.  He was first mentioned by Theophilus Bishop of Antioch in A.D. 180 in his Ad Autolycun.  In A.D. 221 Julius Africanus cites from Thallus’ History of the Mediterranean World from the Trojan War up to his own time, which was c. A.D. 52, in response to Thallus’ comment on the darkness that enveloped the afternoon sky during the crucifixion of Jesus.  In the third of his three books, Thallus explains away the darkness that enveloped the sky on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion as an eclipse of the sun.[ii]  Thallus is the first historian to mention the man Jesus and gives us insight that the account of the crucifixion of Jesus and the darkness that occurred was a known fact, even then, requiring an explanation.  It is ironic that Thallus' efforts to “explain away” the darkness during the crucifixion have been turned into the main historical proof for Jesus and for the reliability of Mark's account of the darkness at his death."

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[i] Josh McDowell, New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, (Nashville, Nelson Publishers 1999) p 121

[ii] Ibid. p 122

¿QUIÉN ES ESTE HOMBRE?

Y la sabiduría de sus sabios perecerá, y el discernimiento de los hombres más exigentes se oculta. [...] ¡Qué equivocación la! Acaso el alfarero se considerará igual a la arcilla, lo que se hace debería decir a su creador, "Él no me hizo", lo que está formado diga al que lo formó: "El no tiene entendimiento"? Isaías 29:14, 16

Hoy, como en el principio, el hombre ha elevado grandilocuente él mismo en el trono de orgullo. Él ha cegado su mente y cree que su conocimiento es el aumento de su poder y es muy superior a la sabiduría del Dios Todopoderoso. Habían tres personas que acudieron a un servicio de la iglesia el domingo en busca de alimento espiritual, un hombre joven en necesidades financieras graves que contemplaba el robo de su empleador, una mujer joven on la tentación de la vida de drogas y la promiscuidad sexual, y un empresario prominente al borde de la quiebra. Después de contar algunos himnos clásicos, el pastor se acercó al púlpito y pronunció un sermón más elocuente sobre "la necesidad de tolerancia de la diversidad de estilos de vida". Los tres fueron alimentados con piedras en lugar de pan. La joven dio a una vida de drogas y la vergüenza, el empresario se suicidó, y el joven fue a la cárcel después de robar  su empleador. [I]
La sabiduría del mundo no es sino necedad para Dios. El hombre ve a sí mismo como sabio, pero la capacidad de su sabiduría es que como la hormiga con vistas a la inmensidad del Océano Pacífico y pensando que puede absorber todo. [Ii] La sabiduría de Dios, por el contrario, es un misterio oculto durante el atemporalidad de la eternidad. [iii] Hubiera sido entendida esta sabiduría el "Señor de la Gloria" no habría sido crucificado. [iv] "Nadie se engañe a sí mismo. Si alguno entre vosotros se cree sabio en este siglo, hágase un tonto que llegue a ser sabio. Porque la sabiduría de este mundo es necedad para con Dios. [...] La palabra de la cruz es locura a los que se pierden, pero para nosotros los salvos es poder de Dios. [ ...] ¿Dónde está el sabio? [...] ¿No ha enloquecido Dios la sabiduría del mundo? [...] Pues ya que en la sabiduría de Dios el mundo a través de su sabiduría no llegó a conocer a Dios, Dios estaba muy complacido por la locura de la predicación, salvar a los que creen "[v] ¿Qué considera el mundo la sabiduría de Dios?  ¿La suma de todos sus conocimientos,.? ¿Su amplia y complete inteligencia? ¿Su erudición y la naturaleza distintiva? ¿Reflexione el hombre sobre la creación de Dios, Su formación y ejecución de consejos? ¿Su formación y gobierno del mundo y de las Escrituras? ¡No! Los sofistas consideran la sabiduría de Dios como una absoluta estupidez. Perciben la sabiduría en el razonamiento egocéntrico, lo que el Dr. John Connell llama el "yo en mí". [vi] No pueden entender la sabiduría de Aquel que "hizo la tierra y creé sobre ella al hombre:" [vii] quien extendió los cielos con su "mano y ordenado a todos sus ejércitos. "[viii] Todos deben estar en el miedo, con asombro y admiración por lo que" dijo, y fue hecho ". [ix] Debido a su naturaleza, no pueden y no permiten el pensamiento más diminuta que hay Uno Mayor. Que hay alguien a quien toda la gloria debe ser dada. Lo creado no se apoderará de la verdad que El que Es no dejará que su nombre sea "profanado" y no compartirá ni dará Su gloria a otro. [X] Dios toma la inteligencia del hombre y hace que sea una tontería para que Él estará encantado con aquellos que creen en la locura de la predicación [xi] y que serán librados de las garras de la muerte eterna que merecen y tienen la vida eterna y el gozo indescriptible con Él.-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
[I] Autor desconocido[Ii] Larry Galati, amigo y hermano en Cristo.[Iii] I Corintios 2:6,7[Iv] 1 Corintios 2:08[V] 1 Corintios 3:18-19, 1:18, 19, 20, 21[Vi] Connell, John S. Th. D. Estudios Cristianos Cátedra, Universidad Shorter, Rome, GA.[Vii] Isaías 45:11-13a[Viii] Ibid[Ix] Salmo 33:6, 8-9[X] Isaías 48:11[Xi] I Corintios 1:20, 21

WHO IS THIS MAN?

And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed. […] You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay; what is made should say to its maker, “He did not make me”; what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Isaiah 29:14, 16

Today, as in the beginning, man has grandiloquently elevated himself onto the throne of pride.  He has blinded his mind and believes his knowledge is the accretion by his power and is vastly superior to the wisdom of the Almighty God.  There is the story of three persons who went to a Sunday church service looking for spiritual food, a young man in dire financial needs contemplating stealing from his employer, a young woman being tempted to the life of drugs and sexual promiscuity, and a prominent entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy.  After the rendition of some classical hymns, the pastor stepped to the pulpit and delivered a most eloquent sermon on “The Need for Tolerance of the Diversity of Life Styles”.  The three were nourished with stones instead of bread.  The young woman yielded to a life of drugs and shame, the entrepreneur committed suicide, and the young man went to prison after stealing from his employer.[i] 

 

The wisdom of the world is but foolishness to God.  Man sees himself as wise but the capacity of his wisdom is that like the ant overlooking the vastness of the Pacific Ocean and thinking that he can imbibe it all.[ii]  The wisdom of God on the other hand, is a mystery hidden during the timelessness of eternity.[iii]  Had this wisdom been understood the “Lord of Glory” would not have been crucified.[iv]   "Let no one deceive himself.  If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. […] The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. […] Where is the wise man? […] Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? […] For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe”. [v]   What does the cosmos, the world, consider as the wisdom of God?  Does it regard it as the sum of all His knowledge; His broad and full intelligence; His erudition and distinguishing nature?  Does man reflect on God’s creation; His forming and executing counsels; His formation and government of the world and the scriptures?  No!  The sophists regard God’s wisdom as utter stupidity.  They perceive wisdom in self-centered reasoning, what Dr. John Connell calls the “me in me.”[vi]  They cannot fathom the wisdom of the One who “made the earth and created man upon it;" [vii] the one who stretched out the heavens with His “hand and ordained all of its hosts”.[viii]  All should stand in fear, in wonder and in admiration of Him who “spoke and it was done”.[ix]    Because of their nature, they cannot and will not allow the most diminutive thought that there is one greater.  That there is one to whom all glory is to be given.  The created thing will not take hold of the truth that He who Is will not let His name be “profaned” and will not share nor give His glory to another.[x]   God takes this cleverness of man and makes it foolishness so that He will be delighted with those who believe the foolishness of the message preached[xi]  and be liberated from the clutches of the eternal death they deserve and have indescribable eternal life and joy with Him.

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[i] Author unknown

[ii] Larry Galati, friend and brother in Christ.

[iii] I Corinthians 2:6,7

[iv] 1 Corinthians 2:8

[v] 1 Corinthians 3:18-19; 1:18, 19, 20, 21

[vi] Connell, John S. Th.D. Chair Christian Studies, Shorter University, Rome, GA.

[vii] Isaiah 45:11-13a

[viii] Ibid

[ix] Psalm 33:6, 8-9

[x] Isaiah  48:11

[xi] I Corinthians 1:20, 21

Cursed is Everyone Who is Hanged on a Tree

God demands that we love him with all our heart, soul and might but it is obvious that we have loved other things more than him. This then is what sin is, missing the mark. It is dishonoring God by giving preference to those other things and preferring to act on those preferences. We therefore all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). We all glorify what we most enjoy and it isn't God. So, sin is not a small thing because it isn't against a small Sovereign; it is against the Creator of the universe. It is not trivial, it is high treason. It defames God and obliterates human happiness. [From John Piper's, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die]

¿QIÉN ES, "EL QUE CREE"?

"De cierto, de cierto os digo: El que cree en mí, las obras que yo hago, él las hará también; y aún mayores que éstas hará, porque yo voy al Padre." (Juan 14:12)
En el contexto más amplio del capítulo 14 Jesús asegura a los discípulos que su ausencias será mejore que su presencia, pero la cuestión que aquí se propone es exactamente ¿qué quiere decir Jesús? ¿a quién se estaba refiriendo cuando dice "... el que cree en me Mi ... "? ¿Son los apóstoles solamente? ¿Los Apóstoles y los primeros discípulos? ¿El primer grupo de creyentes en el día de Pentecostés? ¿Es todo aquel que en él cree, desde ese entonces hasta nuestros días?

WHO IS THE HE?

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father." (John 14:12)

In the greater context of Chapter 14 Jesus is assuring the disciples that His absences will be better than His presence, but the question proposed here is what exactly does Jesus mean; who is He referring to when He states "... he who believes in me Me ..."? Is it the Apostles only? Is it the Apostles and the first disciples?  Is it the first group of believers on the Day of Pentecost? Is it everyone who believes in Him from then to the present day?