Jesus the Great Philospher
Who is Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsWho is Jesus? Many people have their own thoughts and perceptions about who Jesus. But who was he really?
Notes
Transcript
Jesus: Man, God, Prophet, Teacher, King, Messiah, Philosopher?
Jesus: Man, God, Prophet, Teacher, King, Messiah, Philosopher?
Hello! Welcome to chapel this week. It is my pleasure to speak with all of you. It is my desire to share with you some great things that I have been learning about from the Bible and have been thinking of telling you for awhile.
Many times I have students who question me about how to speak to God, or how to know him better. Some students come from different backgrounds where they may not know who the God of the Bible is. Yes, I know that you all study the Bible in your Bible class and that is great. There are many things you study. Maybe some of you think that if you studied Allah in a Muslim school it would be similar. Or maybe you could study Buddha or one of any other religious figures at another school.
Maybe even more of you would rather we not speak about God and teach about who he is. Why do we study about God? Maybe you think we go to a Christian school so this is the Christian thing to do.
However, it is more than that. See religion is here to answer a question. Can you think of what that question is? The question is why are we here and what is our purpose. Religions come along and try to share why we are here but also how to make us happy.
There seems to be two types of people in the world. Those who are happy and content and those who are not.
I can tell you at this school, there are many teachers who have a certain joy, a love, a light in their faces because they know someone who brings them joy everyday.
This is where you say: Jesus. :)
Yes, Jesus. He is a very misunderstood man. He is even more misunderstood as God. In fact Jesus has many titles.
How can this be? Who is this man Jesus?
SLIDE- Jesus faces
i. The Bible says he is a man
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
This son is not some angelic creature, but flesh and blood like us.
ii. The Bible says he is God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
iii. The Bible says he is a prophet
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
iv. The Bible says he is a teacher
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
v. The Bible says he is a king
This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
vi. The Bible says he is the Messiah (Christ) the Anointed One
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
vii. The Bible says he is a…Philosopher??
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Ok, ok. This does not say Philospher, but we will try and break it down so you can understand what I mean.
Did you know that the language of the New Testament of the Bible was actually Greek and not English?
Language has lots of influences of the culture around us. When I was growing up, everyone always said the word “cool” but it didn’t mean that it was actually cold. It mean that it was awesome, nice, or great!
In the Greek language, there is a lot of influence from their culture as well. And the biggest influencers of their times were the Philosophers.
So today, you get to learn a little Greek!
Greek, a very helpful language
Greek, a very helpful language
When you hear the word philosopher, what do you think about? Do you think of Confucius speaking wisdom sayings that are still repeated in some place? Maybe you think of men in robes sitting in an amphitheater discussing whether the earth goes around the sun or the sun goes around the earth? Men like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and many others. Maybe you think a Philosopher is a guy who tried to get a job but couldn’t so he just sits around and thinks a lot.
Do you know of a modern day philosohper? How many people know Stephen Hawking? He is consider someone who is a very well known Philosopher? What about Einstein? Many of the things that he thought about later were discovered to be true.
The word “Philosopher” is acutually made of two words:
Phileo- the verbal form of to love. The Greeks used this word to express love in many ways. It sometimes meant
“have affection for, like, consider someone a friend”
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1056.
I like really “phileo” you…no that’s not quite how it works...
Phileo could also mean to “kiss” but that meaning is rarely used in the Bible.
The other word is:
2. Sophia- this noun is the word we have in English “wisdom”. It was primarily used to express
the capacity to understand and function accordingly, wisdom.
So if we but both the Greek words together, Phileosophia…philosophy it means “lover of wisdom”.
So does the Bible teach that Jesus was a lover of wisdom?
We have one more Greek word to investigate and that is one of the most important words of all western civilization:
“Logos”
a communication whereby the mind finds expression, word
the independent personified expression of God, the Logos
Some of you may be very familiar with this passage I am going to read to you and I will read it two ways: first I will read it in plain english but then I will read it again in Greek.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Now in Greek:
The Greek New Testament Chapter 1
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
Even if you did not know the Greek, can you hear the word “logos”??
Jesus is identified as the Logos. This word is borrowed from Greek philosophy. The word meant a lot to the Greeks and they believed that everything in life was summed up in the logos. They would go so far as to say that the Logos was the light of the world. Thus when God spoke the first words “Let there be light” all knowledge, truth and wisdom was founded in that word.
In fact the word Logos means more than all that I say because it is difficult to truly expressed how many ways the word Logos was given in ancient Greek philosophy
So if Jesus is the Logos…what does this mean? Well Jesus is more than a philosopher for he is the philosophy of life we have all been looking for. You want to be happy, you want a new life, you want a change to happen. Find Jesus.
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man
Why are you here at school? Is it so we can cram facts in your head and make sure you get into a good college? No, it is to help you reason for yourselves and make decisions independently. We teach you how to teach yourself. You can look up anything on Youtube. You can search google for the most obscure thing and you will get over a million results. Our job is not to teach you facts, but to help you discover wisdom.
Wisdom is different than knowledge. You can know that if you eat 10 donuts it will be delicious. You can even know that it will probably make you fat and maybe even sick. But it is wisdom that keeps you from eating those 10 donuts and helps you eat just one.
Knowledge can tell you that when the sky looks dark it might rain. But wisdom tells you that when the sky looks dark, you should bring an umbrella, just in case.
Wisdom is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is good too, but without wisdom, knowledge is useless.
Jesus is one of the smartest and wisest people ever. No one argues that. But have you ever thought of Jesus as a philosopher? He told people amazing things and then told stories to go along with it. The story I am going to tell you today is the Parable of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man. As the Logos, the very Word of God, Jesus’ words are where wisdom is found. And Jesus actually tells us about the importance of his words. Let’s hear what Jesus says:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
So then Jesus gives us this seemingly simple story in order to help us understand what? How to build things? It is good to build on rocks rather than sand? Anyone who has been to the beach understands this. You go and try and build a sandcastle and as soon as the waves come in, goodbye sandcastle.
Jesus is essentially teaching that there are two ways in life. The way of the one who builds on the rocks and the one who builds on the sand. But what does that mean?
Well he says in v. 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them...” So the two types of people are those who does the words of Jesus and those who do not.
Seems simple enough. That is until you hear some of things Jesus has to say right before this.
-“Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
-“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-“You have heard it said, ‘Do not murder’, but I say to you that if anyone is angry with his brother he will be liable to judgment.”
-“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
-“Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
All these sayings are from what we like to call the sermon on the mount. Does this not sound like words from a philosopher pondering the meaning of life and happiness?
Many people will say that Jesus’ words are good for a spiritual life or for religious purposes, but what they fail to realize is that Jesus speaks about everyone’s everyday life as well.
Jesus could have said things like, make sure you give money to the church every Sabbath, or be sure to say a prayer before your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But he doesn’t, he talks about other things that are important, things that are relevant now. Like what to do if someone you know makes you really mad. Or what to do when someone hates you. Or how to pray. Or what to think about investing your money. Or your future employment. Jesus speaks in such a way that a person can become very wise after reading his words.
Jesus being a philosopher shows that he truly loves wisdom.
Yet, Jesus is more than just a lover of wisdom. He is wisdom. The wisdom that created the universe. Unlike all the gods of other religions, Jesus is a very personal God. He comes down and he witnesses to those around him and he shares his love with us. Then he models that for others.
He chose 12 disciples who were then to go out and model and teach these same things. This is something that many philosophers would have done as well. However, Jesus gives a gift to us . To those who believe in him, he gives his Holy Spirit. This person guides us and directs us and leads us to be more like Jesus.
So if you hear Jesus say,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
You can trust that the Holy Spirit will help you pray and ask God and will open the doors that you ask.
When you hear Jesus say,
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
You do not have to worry about how to enter by the narrow gate, for those who are led by the Holy Spirit enter by the gate already.
So consider these words one more time and consider that Jesus in all his wisdom decided to share this story with us:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The impossibility of actually doing what Jesus commands is very real. So many Christians because they do not follow what Jesus says are labeled hypocrites. I know that it is very difficult to follow Jesus. But Jesus said that we are blessed if we follow his ways.
Can you be like the person who builds on the rock? And what is the rock? This is none other than Jesus’ words. The rock on which we stand is not some human construct, but it is divine and Godly.
If we trust in the world and the teachings of the world, we are like the one who builds upon the sand and when troubles come to us, we cannot stand.
How many of you know people during this COVID crisis who have become weaker in their faith? Could it be that they do not trust in the words of Jesus?
How many of you know people who have become more anxious, worried, and sad during this time? Could it be that they have built their house on the sand of the world? Maybe this COVID-19 is simply the first of many waves of disaster headed are way. What will you do then? How long can your house stand up as it is being battered on the shores of the beach?
Instead, join me in building your life on the rock, the solid foundation of Jesus’ words. If you love Jesus, you will do as he says and obey his teaching.
I can confirm that my life has been very blessed as a Christian. I have been very happy and wish others to know the joy and love that I have in Christ.
So what about you? Are you like the crowds? Are you astonished because of this great person?
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.