Who Is He?

by L. Burrows, Kingston upon Thames | Category: The Days Of His Flesh | Jun 1974

In 1972 this magazine published a series of articles entitled, Departure from the Faith, in which were described early heresies, some of which find their counterpart in world-wide heretical cults of modern times. Many of these heresies arose from attempts to bring human reasoning to bear upon deep truths about the Person of Christ, an approach which resulted in the formulating of doctrines contrary to the Scriptures. Although false teaching of this kind developed in the first few centuries of the Christian era and has been revived in modern times, some of the seeds were sown by unbelieving scribes and Pharisees when the Lord was on earth. The question "Who is He?" was then on the lips of all who met Him, for who can comprehend the mystery of His Being? or who 'can explain the incarnation of the Son of God? Whilst some of the Lord's acquaintances waited in reverent wonder for further light, the religious leaders, blindly resisting the evidences daily presented to them of His deity, persisted in maintaining that He was merely man, but it is important to notice that they never suggested that He could not be man. In that matter they accepted the clear evidence of their senses.

Before Jesus was born the divine revelation came to Mary, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David". Well might Mary ponder those words! (Luke 2:19). How could her Offspring be both the Son of God and the son of David? The question taxed the understanding of the most learned of that day as was evident when, towards the end of the Lord's ministry He quoted David's words, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I put Thine enemies underneath Thy feet", and asked the Pharisees how David's Son could also be his Lord. His hearers were nonplussed and dared ask Him no more questions (Matt. 22:42-46). Perplexity about the nature of the Lord's Person was reflected in the questions which were constantly being asked about Him. "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" asked the disciples (Mark 4:41). The impact of the One who had been brought up among them caused the people of Nazareth to ask in astonishment, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Matt. 13:54,55). Even the true and honest Israelite Nathanael asked, "Can any good thing come out of

Nazareth? (John 1:46), and on one occasion all the city of Jerusalem was stirred at His coming saying "Who is this?" (Matt. 21:10).

Much of John's Gospel is taken up with the controversy between the Lord and the Jews about His deity, the signs recorded by John being for the purpose of demonstrating that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (20:31). The animosity of the Jews broke out into public debate when the Lord Jesus cured the sick man at the pool of Bethesda (5:1-18). They ignored the wonder of the sign and its divine origin but made much of the fact that it took place on the sabbath day, accusing the Lord of sabbath-breaking. In His reply Jesus implied that God was His own Father, from which the Jews, unlike many modern theologians, understood that He was making Himself equal with God, a blasphemous claim for any but the Son of God to have made. The Lord then emphasized His deity and His manhood, as well as claiming to be the Judge of all and the Giver of life. After the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand Jesus described Himself as the Bread of life, but the Jews asked, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how doth He now say, I am come down out of heaven?" Jesus replied, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day" (6:44). Later in Jerusalem some of His hearers said, "He is a good man others said, "He leadeth the multitude astray". Some believed He was the Christ, others denied it (7:12,26,27). As the dispute developed His enemies wanted to arrest Him. They blasphemously accused Him of being a Samaritan and of having a demon (8:48). Because of their unbelief they failed to understand His references to His Father and tried to stone Him when He told them, "Before Abraham was, I Am", for that was undoubtedly a clear claim to Deity. Again, in the Temple at the feast of dedication He taught that His mighty works were done in concert with the Father, saying, "I and the Father are One" (10:30). Once again the Jews would have stoned Him for alleged blasphemy, giving as their reason, "because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God". In saying this they foolishly chose to ignore His mighty works, every one of which bore the marks of deity. On His next visit to Judaea, the raising of Lazarus from the dead made such a profound impression upon the people that the chief priests became gravely concerned. They could no longer maintain the fiction that Jesus performed His miracles by Satanic power, so they refrained from further public debate and plotted to kill Him.

At the trial of Jesus, Pilate brought Him out to the people with the words, "Behold, the Man!" but the Roman centurion, having witnessed the crucifixion, exclaimed, "Truly this was the Son of God". Amid the blasphemy and mockery on the lips of many men that day, such a testimony surely delighted the heart of God. And there were others who during the Lord's ministry gave God pleasure by publicly declaring their conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. Soon after the Lord's baptism by John, Nathanael said to Him, "Thou art the Son of God, Thou art King of Israel". At Caesarea Philippi Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" and at Bethany Martha confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, even He that cometh into the world". The testimony of Thomas was belated but nevertheless remarkable, "My Lord and my God" he exclaimed on seeing the risen Lord with the marks of Calvary in His hands and side. Another interesting case was that of the blind man of John chapter 9, who when he heard that his healer was the Son of God, fell down and worshipped Him. As a Jew, he could not have done such a thing without a firm conviction that Jesus was God, nor could the Lord have accepted worship had He been no more than a human being.

So it was that all who met the Lord were confronted with the question, Who is He? but perhaps the challenge was presented to men's minds in its full force at the cross. Onlookers saw there the One who had done great miracles dying in utter weakness. His enemies taunted, "Let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on Him", but there was no response, either from the Victim or from heaven. The vindication of His deity must now await the completion of all the Old Testament 'prophecies concerning His sufferings. He could have avoided arrest by calling on more than twelve legions of angels to come to His aid in the garden of Gethsemane, but He refrained with the words, "How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matt. 26:54). The faith of the disciples was deeply tested by these events, so that they scarcely believed the first reports of the resurrection, but when the truth had been confirmed in their hearts they went out in supreme faith to tell men everywhere that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. It is the same challenge that comes to men today in the gospel. Was Jesus just a good man, or was He an impostor, or was He the Son of God? Eternal life hangs upon the answer.

We have reviewed the opinions expressed by a variety of people who met the Lord "in the days of His flesh", contrasting the unbelief of the religious leaders with the simple faith of many of the common people. To those who opened their hearts to receive Him, the Father revealed sublime truths which were hidden from the wise and understanding. So it was that, in a later day when the apostle Paul was writing to the church of God in Philippi, the Holy Spirit guided his pen to write these memorable words, "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a Servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross". Careful expositors have pointed out that since in the context, "being" implies "being and continuing to be" and "form of God" refers to the intrinsic nature of Deity, the self-emptying of the Son of God was the giving up, not of any divine attribute, but of such accessories to deity as glory and majesty. Whilst retaining deity He became Man and the dual nature which He assumed at the incarnation, will always be His. However, those things of which He emptied Himself were restored to Him in even greater measure at His resurrection: "Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil.2:1-11).

L. Burrows, Kingston upon Thames | Jun 1974
The Days Of His Flesh