Was Jesus Christian?

TUES., JULY 10, 1990, 6:43 AM
FARM, STUDY

What a question! Of course! End of Teaching… right?! Of course not. I do not encourage you to think in “one way” terms. So this warm, muggy morning We shall look at alternatives to the dogmatic “Yes, of course.” Be attentive, o son.

First, however, let’s consider the basis for a Yes answer. As Jesus I was the Christ, the Redeemer, the Forgiver, the Means of Grace. If I was this Christ then, by definition, I was Christian. I was the first Christian. I was the model. And through the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament and through personal experiences with individuals and groups through the ages I have deserved this title. I am The Christian. Other Christians must try and emulate Me. And many have, over this nearly 2,000 years, and many shall so try, this very day, in many cultures and in many ways.

The leader of any group of movement sets a pattern, but as that group increases in size those who call themselves by that title become more varied. Again, by definition, no one can have all of Jesus’ characteristics. As John suggested, at the end of his Gospel, all such were not described and discussed in the books and letters that make up that Testament. And, importantly, Jesus was truly divine… fully human but also fully God. No human is quite like that.

Thus, any Christian has some Christ-like characteristics, but not all. Some Christians admire the meek and mild Jesus, Who encourages His disciples to turn the other cheek… do what others want you to do. Some are quite naturally meek and mild, so this is easy. At the other extreme are those of more violent temperament who struggle ferociously to be meek, and when they fail they feel great pangs of regret.

Other Christians focus on the righteously angry Jesus Whose wrath against the money changers seemed justified. These delight in determining how God could be offended by certain acts or people and thus feel righteous in their condemnation and offensive action against such “infidels”.

And I could take many other characteristics, some assumed from the narratives, and tell how some Christian aspire to such way of being, often spurning those who do not follow them.

But let’s look at this Christ in a more general way. He was a Jew. He grew up as a Jew, and He seemed to know the Jewish Scriptures, of which there were many. He claimed that He was here in the earth to fulfill these Scriptures, not to overturn them. But He was not true to this affirmation. He acted, in many ways, contrary to what the religious Jews of His time considered to be The Way. He claimed to be what they were expecting. But in their eyes He did not measure up. He just was not a proper religious person, according to those who were deemed worthy to make such a judgment.

If Jesus were alive today and did not go regularly to Mass and confession would He be considered Christian by Catholics? If He would not raise His hands in praise and speak in a beautiful, non-intelligible tongue would He be considered Christian by Pentecostals? If He said that life truly is eternal and many of you have lived lives here in the earth before this one, would He be Christian, by most Protestant standards? You see, when being a Christian becomes institutionalized, then there is less chance of Jesus, Himself, being recognized as Christian.