March 1 - A theology of Jesus

You’re listening to OKY. The place where we discuss what we believe and why we believe it to be true! Today I want to talk through something that a close friend and I were discussing. It’s something that perhaps will help you understand your theological stance on the role Jesus plays. So I want to start it with a question. Answer the immediate, first thought that comes to your mind. 

 

Ready. 

 

Why did Jesus come to this earth? 

 

I’m guessing most of you said to save us from our sins. 

 

That’s probably how most of us were raised. We learned that Jesus came to this earth, died on a cross, and rose again in order to defeat sin. 

 

So next question - why did he need to defeat sin? 

 

I’m imagining if you grew up like me, the answer is  - so I can have. . . . what? 

 

Did you say eternal life? 

 

See, the way you answer those questions actually says a lot about your theology of Jesus and the cross. The real question is, did Jesus really come to earth, carry our sins, die a wrath filled death on the cross, and raise again simply so that one day we can have eternal life? 

 

At this point, most of you would say no, but - it wasn’t just for the future afterlife that we hope to one day be part of. Yet, most of the teaching I have been around for the past 49 years of my life, focus on nothing other than Jesus being my savior. But isn’t he so much more? 

 

Let me read you one of Luke’s stories that he told of Jesus’s interaction with sinners. 

 

Luke 5:27-32

 

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 

 

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

 

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 

 

So in this story, Jesus called Levi out of tax collecting in order to follow him. In response, Levi held a banquet with all of his tax collecting buddies. What was Jesus doing? 

 

Was he simply saving them from their sins? 

 

Well, in verse 32, it says that he came to call sinners to repentance. So it must mean that he was just there to get them saved so that they could one day go to heaven. 

 

Doesn’t it? 

 

What do we know about tax collectors? 

 

If you read ancient writings such as the Talmud, you find that tax collectors were quite despised. You find out that Rabbis excommunicated tax collectors from the synagogue. They weren’t allowed to come in. Tax collectors also weren’t allowed to exchange their money at the Temple treasure - which is really bad, because we know that Jesus saw how corrupt the temple treasury was and flipped the tables on them, driving them out of the temple. So if they were so corrupt that Jesus kicked them out of the temple, yet they wouldn’t even take the money from the tax collectors - how much were the tax collectors corrupt and despised? There is ancient writing that shows that the rabbis considered it lawful to lie in almost any conceivable way to avoid paying tax collectors. Which brings some light to why the Pharisees questioned Jesus on paying taxes. They tried to trick Jesus into saying what was common practice by many rabbis, even though they knew it to be wrong. But it was a way of life because of the damage the tax collectors were doing to ruin and impoverish people. The Talmud - which is Jewish rabbinic writing, even mentions that the Babylonians placed tax collectors alongside “murders and robber.” This shows how despised the tax collectors were. 

 

See, the way you became a tax collector is by giving into the Roman government. You worked for them, but they empowered you to earn your own wages. The goal was for a tax collector to impose whatever kind of tax they wanted on their own people, in order to raise a set among of money for the Roman Empire. Anything the Tax collector was able to get above and beyond that amount, they could keep for themselves. They were robbing, imprisoning, and hurting their own people. 

 

This - to Jesus - was not just a sin, but a sickness. 

 

When he ate with them, he wasn’t just there to let them know that he was going to die for them and take away their sins, he was there to heal them of their corruption. And by doing so, he was there to heal their community of this corruption. 

 

Think about Jesus’s response to John when he was in prison and sent his disciples to Jesus. Read this in Matthew 11:2-6

 

“When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

 

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” 

 

What is Jesus saying in response to John’s question? 

 

Yes - I am the one. Can’t you see what I am doing? I am making life better for those who are hurting and in need. Not just spiritually saving them, but making their life here on this earth more healthy and thriving. 

 

Or think about what Jesus said in John 10:10 - you’ve probably all heard this verse quoted before. 

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

 

What is life + life to the full? 

 

That’s a lot of life isn't it? 

 

Absolutely! Because it’s not just talking about eternal life. Yes, Jesus came to bring us eternal life. Which is actually more than just living for ever. Eternal life is actually about having our relationship with the Father restored. It is about living the the presence of the living God instead of the brokenness of the world we stand in now. 

 

See, how you view all of this will change the way you live your life. 

 

The disciples understood the wholeness that Jesus brought. IN fact, after a really hard teaching Jesus’s disciples were asked if they were going to leave his side. Let me read this verse, but maybe soon I’ll do a full podcast on this passage - because it’s a really good one. 

 

John 6:66-68

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 

 

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

 

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

 

See, they understood that the best life here on this earth is with Jesus. He isn’t just bringing us into an eternal life, he is bringing life to the full here and now. 

 

See, the goal is for us to understand Jesus beyond salvation. If that’s where it stops for us, then we miss the point. The entire purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to restore us into relationships with the triune God, both now and for eternity. We do this by understanding the life Jesus lead and what it means for the people around us. It becomes more about him being the Great Physician for all people more so than being the point of salvation for a future eternal consequence. 

 

I think this is why Paul said that great verse in Philippians 3:10-11

I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 

 

He isn’t just longing for eternal life. He is understanding that there was a process of restoration through is life and suffering. His death brought wholeness to the world. Paul is wanting to participate in this by dying to himself and helping to bring restoration to the people around him. It is why he is willing to be beaten, imprisoned, left for dead, and cut off from his own people. He would do whatever it takes to make sure people know the life that Jesus brings for all people. 

 

Yes, Jesus still brought salvation. But if that is where the world of Jesus stops for you. . . You’ve missed the entire person of Jesus who lived on this earth and built relationship with the people around him. 

 

So what do we do with this? 

 

Well, when you stop focusing on Jesus being simply about salvation, you have a more tender heart toward those around you who are suffering. Jesus came for sinners. But he also came for the hurts and pains of this world. He came to show us that you can overcome the brokenness of life and be able to stand strong. He came that all people would understand life abundantly, not just life everlasting. It’s the new covenant that he made with this blood. We can be restored into right standing with God, while being made a new creation that thrives - even through the broken pieces of life. 

 

Let me leave you with a word of Jesus that should give you hope. This shows what he came to do. 

 

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

 

Jesus knew we would have troubles. He knew that this world would be broken and even try to break us. But he didn’t come here just for salvation. He came to help us overcome the brokenness of the world. So take heart. He cares for where you are and what you are going through. He isn’t ok with the brokenness of the world. And he is looking for a people who will help usher in the kingdom of heaven here on this earth. A kingdom that is full of life, and beauty. A kingdom that is hopeful and loving. A kingdom that is full of the presence of the Lord. . . . .