A Christian Guidebook: Who Is Jesus? (1)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55.8, 9
An act of history
Christmas, the celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, invites the consideration of many mysteries, chief among them, the question of why God became a Man. And the fact of Christmas provides a good opportunity to talk with friends about “the reason for the season.”
But we must make sure we are prepared for this conversation, so that we can answer the questions our friends may pose.
That Jesus lived and that He consistently claimed to be God—which, after all, was why they crucified Him—is not in question. The archaeological, historical, and documentary evidence for Jesus and His claims is simply overwhelming.
The real question is why did Jesus, the God/Man, come to earth? Why was the Incarnation necessary? Does the world really need Christmas? Or is this just some quaint mythology to which millions have clung for two thousand years to gain a false sense of comfort against a closed and uncaring cosmos?
To the Christian, the fact of the Incarnation is not disputed. Christians have professed from the earliest years to believe in “Jesus Christ, [God’s] only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary…” Luke’s citing of the historical setting in which Jesus became incarnate and the Church had its beginnings is accepted by historians from all perspectives.
But while the Incarnation is an act of history, many of our contemporaries may not be entirely clear on just why it was necessary. A clear understanding of this central doctrine of our faith is essential for helping those in whom interest in spiritual matters is beginning to stir.
Who is Jesus, and why did He come among us?
Anselm of Canterbury
Over a thousand years ago a young theology student named Boso thought the same thing. As he explained to his instructor, the great Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), “As the right order requires us to believe the deep things of the Christian faith before we undertake to discuss them by reason; so to my mind it appears a neglect if, after we are established in faith, we do not seek to understand what we believe.”
Boso was no Bozo. Merely believing in Jesus, while essential for salvation, is just the beginning of faith. Christians think deeply about their faith because by doing so we realize more of our great salvation. Moreover, the people with whom we share the Gospel will have many questions, and we must be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Pet. 3.15).
Boso went on to request of his mentor that he kindly explain to him “for what necessity and cause God, Who is omnipotent, should have assumed the littleness and weakness of human nature for the sake of its renewal?”
In other words, Why did God become a Man in Jesus? Why the Incarnation? Boso’s question launched a conversation with Anselm which developed one of the great theological treatises in the history of the Church, Cur Deus Homo, or, Why the God-Man, that is, Why God Became a Man. Cast in the form of a dialog between the great Archbishop of Canterbury and his student, Cur Deus Homo remains a classic explanation of the reason for the Incarnation and, with that, of why we as Christians take the celebration of Christmas so seriously and with such joy.
It answers the question, Who is Jesus and why did He come among us?
Anselm wanted his readers to understand that this great mystery cannot be known by reason alone. Rather, we must be willing to think like God about this question, and to submit our reasoning powers to the teaching of God’s Word. Reason can enable us to understand the plain teaching of Scripture; but the deeper meanings of what the Scriptures teach must be received in faith. Only thus will we be able to arrive at a satisfactory understanding of why the Incarnation was necessary.
We’ll need to make this point to our unbelieving friends. We can’t reason our way to God. God is greater than our reason or our ability to “make sense” of Him. Rather, we must allow Him to reveal Himself and His will, which He does most fully in our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14.9; Heb. 1.3). We do not ask our friends to suspend reason, but to submit their reason to God’s Word if they would know Jesus and what He has accomplished for us.
Look to Scripture!
At the outset of his dialog, Anselm explained to Boso, “I wish all that I say to be received with this understanding, that, if I shall have said anything which higher authority does not corroborate, though I appear to demonstrate it by argument, yet it is not to be received with any further confidence, than as so appearing to me for the time, until God in some way make a clearer revelation to me.”
By “higher authority” and “clearer revelation” Anselm meant the Scriptures.
To know Jesus and to understand the Incarnation, we must look to Scripture. There we may understand this great historical event as God does. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and we must engage His thoughts in the confidence that He understands our need better than we do. By doing so we may discover, as Boso did so many years ago, just how rich, beautiful, gracious, powerful, amazing, and eminently reasonable it is to believe in Jesus, the God/Man, Who became incarnate for our salvation.
Search the Scriptures
1. How do the following texts establish the historicity of Jesus, that is, the fact that He lived? Lk. 1.1-5; 2.1-3; 3.1, 2.:
2. How do the following texts support Jesus’ claim to be God? Matt. 26.63, 64; Lk. 22.66-71; Jn. 8.58; 10.21-23; 14.9-11:
3. Meditate on Isaiah 55.8, 9. We all have thoughts, and our thoughts can help us understand God. But our thoughts—our reason—are not sufficient to “make sense” out of God’s ways. For that, we must submit our reason to what God reveals in His Word. If we will receive His Word as true, then His Word will help us make sense out of everything He reveals and all of life as well. Where would you turn in Scripture to support this claim?
Next steps—Preparation: Unbelievers are no strangers to faith. In fact, they believe in many things, even things that yet remain unseen. What are some examples of such faith? Why would it be important to point these out to unbelievers.
T. M. Moore
Additional Resources
For a free copy of Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo, click this link.
Need help improving your use of Scripture? Order a copy of our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart, by clicking here. Or download the free PDF by clicking here. Our book, Joy to Your World!, can show you how to improve your witness for the Lord.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from theNew King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
