jesus means this much (11-21-06)

What does Jesus 'mean' to you?

Most responses would not be too likely to stray too far from the very familiar bible verse, John 3:16. We don't often recognise Jesus as being much more than someone who died for 'me.' To be absolutely certain, Jesus most assuredly did die for 'me', but I think it it vital that we push through this individualism and realise that He is also so much more than that! Not only is He Lord of my heart, He is also Lord of the entire universe.

The Gospel-writers wanted to direct their audience to the true Jesus. The Jesus that the Holy Spirit had been (and still was) opening and renewing their minds to see more clearly. Not just a one-sided, prop-up Jesus, to give the intellectual nod to, and/or give a nice, warm and fuzzy hug. Instead they wanted them to see a full-fledged, exasperating Jesus, to worship, adore and serve - indeed, to die for.

This, I think, is why the Gospel-writers didn't simply provide us with a handful of happy texts telling us only that God loves us (or a list of texts about how to discover the secret Jesus, as in the later-written Gnostic text, the Gospel of Thomas). Instead, they wrote Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Instead of giving a list of things to believe about Jesus, or whatever, they wrote stories - indeed, true stories. These stories - in very different, yet complimentary ways - have much more to say about Jesus than simply that he died for 'me.'

Instead, the Gospel-writers drew upon the rich story of their people (Israel), and presented Jesus as the centre, the theme, the end, the solution, the climax - even the very point! - of this story. In other words, for the Gospel-writers, all who Jesus was/is and all that He accomplished had eclipsed and surpassed the meaning of the entire story of Israel!

For example, everything that the Temple had ever meant or stood for, was trumped by Jesus. The author of Matthew records Jesus declaring that He was 'greater than the temple.' (12:6) John's Gospel tells it more explicitly, "Jesus... said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up...' ...but He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this..." (2:19-22)

The New Testament way of speaking about this 'trumping of meaning' is called 'fulfilling.' This is one area in which I think we may need to re-evaluate our thinking. I think the writers of the New Testament saw Jesus as 'ful-filling' the meaning of not just a few 'proof' verses here and there, but the Old Testament as a whole! I think He means that much!

Take Isaiah's Suffering Servant imagery in chapter 53, for example. We often reduce the entire passage down to a few verses, but the image of the Suffering Servant is not just in a few verses in this chapter. It is a broader, much larger image (beginning in ch. 42), thought by many to represent the entire nation of Israel itself, or a specific leader at the time. With our limited perspective, we may not know what each and every verse meant at the time, but I suspect the writer knew. I've heard people say that Jesus must have been un-attractive based on the verse that says, 'there is no beauty that we should desire Him'. I don't think that's the point. I think the point is this: The Gospel writers saw Jesus as 'trumping' the meaning of the Suffering Servant. Every single scrap of meaning that the Servant imagery had, is even more fully realised in Jesus. He is the personification of Suffering, and the personification of Service. Indeed, the word became flesh!

What I'm suggesting is that Jesus doesn't merely 'fulfill' a verse here and there, but rather He embodies the entire story of Israel. Every holy place (temple, Jerusalem, etc.), every role (prophet, priest, king), every event (passover, sabbath, etc.) and every other symbol (covenant, manna, law) finds its substance in Him! He is the Tabernacle, the Sacrfice, the High Priest, the Passover, the Sabbath, the Law, the Covenant, the King, the Prophet, the Warrior, the Slave, the Lamb, the Messiah, the True Israelite, the Son of Man, and so on... (The writer of Hebrews moves from symbol to symbol in similar fashion, yet in meticulous detail.)

May we see Jesus for all that He is. May we see Him as so much more (and no less!) than our personal, individual Jesus. May we see Him as some-One to live and die for.