The New Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Student Workbook, SW13

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T H E N E W T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

Readings on Christ (continued)

The Cosmic and All-Sufficient Center

Jesus of Nazareth continues to enjoy an extraordinary boom. People are fascinated by him, even in spite of themselves. Many who never reach the point of confessing him as God and Savior yet regard him with profound admiration. True, there are others who resent and reject him. But the one thing people seem unable to do is to ignore him and leave him alone. Even in other religions and ideologies Jesus is held in high honor. . . . As T.R. Glover wrote in The Jesus of History : "Jesus remains the very heart and soul of the Christian movement, still controlling men, still capturing men. . . . In fine, there is no figure in human history that signifies more. Men may love him or hate him, but they do it intensely.” . . . Jesus Christ is the center of Christianity, and therefore both the Christian faith and the Christian life, if they are to be authentic, must be focused on Christ. In his work Christian Faith and Other Faiths , the late Bishop Stephen Neill wrote: “The old saying ‘Christianity is Christ’ is almost exactly true. The historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth is the criterion by which every Christian affirmation has to be judged, and in the light of which it stands or falls.” Why was Jesus such a fascinating teacher? What caused these large crowds to follow him? In reply one might say that it was what Jesus said that drew the crowds. With Jesus the voice of prophecy had once again returned to Israel after 400 years. In the ministry of Jesus, the Spirit of God was once again active in Israel (cf. Matt. 12.28; Luke 4.16-21). God was once again visiting his people and proclaiming his will. One reason people came to hear Jesus was that many were convinced that God was speaking through Jesus of Nazareth and that what he was saying was indeed the Word of God (Luke 5.1; 11.28; Mark 4.14-20). . . . No doubt an additional factor that enters the picture involves the personality of Jesus, for the personality of Jesus gave life and vitality to his message. It was the Word made flesh (John 1.14) which was the medium through which and by which the Word of God came. People loved to listen to Jesus because of the kind of person ~ John Stott. Life in Christ . Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991. p. 7. The Magnetism of Jesus’ Teaching: Where Did it Come From?