Sermon July 6, 2014 The Many Faces of Jesus Part One: The Historical Jesus

Scripture Lesson: Micah 4: 1-5
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

About 2,015 years ago or so, we don’t know the exact date because people did not keep records as we do today, a baby boy was born to a Jewish family in Palestine, a remote, rural, agricultural province of the Roman Empire. He was named Jesus. Because he was Jewish, he was circumcised and he went to the synagogue and the Temple for worship and the required festivals.

In that context, babies were born into two kinds of families – peasant artisan families who were poor, or aristocratic elite families that were rich. Jesus was born to a poor family. as were most of his followers during his lifetime.

There is also agreement that he was a teacher/preacher/prophet figure. But he was by no means alone in that role. The people of Palestine were chafing under Roman rule, like the Ukrainians under the Soviets in the 30’s. Or the American colonists under English rule in the 18th century. The rights of the Jews in Palestine were curtailed and they were being squeezed for money and labor by the Romans. Of course, bad times heighten the desire for deliverance. The Jews were hoping and praying that the promised Messiah would come to end their oppression and misery. And there were many who vied for that role. Would-be Messiahs were common in Jesus’ day. He was not the only candidate for Messiah.

In addition, we want to remember that this was a primitive society in which there were many healers and miracle workers and exorcists. The people did not have the scientific information that we have today about health, biology, and mental illness, etc. so there were those who were credited with having the ability to heal and cure others. This was not uncommon.

There is historically verifiable evidence that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem as an enemy of the Roman state when Tiberius was Caesar of the Roman Empire and Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea. Crucifixion was a punishment for treason, so in some way Jesus was perceived as a threat to Roman domination.

As a Jew in that context, we know that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek or Hebrew, but a more local dialect, Aramaic. This was a preliterate context in which only 3% of the Jews could read any words, copy a word, and perhaps write their name. They were from the upper crust elite. So we know that Jesus could not functionally read or write. A stunning, incredulous idea for people like us who are used to everyone who’s anyone knowing how to read and write.

So, we have no writings from Jesus. Or from any eyewitnesses to his life. The gospels were written between about 70 and 95 CE, in Greek, decades after Jesus’ death, based on oral tradition and various written documents that had begun to circulate. There are references to Jesus in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus who was born after Jesus was killed. There are some references to Jesus and to Christians in Roman texts of the second century. But there are no written, direct, first hand, eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus. Again, that is just the way things were then. Most people left no writing. Most people were not mentioned in any records that were kept. So there is no paper trail directly back to Jesus, much as we would like there to be one.

“Just the facts, ma’am,” was a catch phrase for Joe Friday and his colleagues on “Dragnet.” Given what can be known from archeology, inscriptions, the few preserved written records, New Testament sources, other first and second century documents, there is precious little factual, historically verifiable information that can be known about Jesus. We know he was born and he was male. We know he was an observant Jew which makes it hard to understand how the religious movement gathered around him promoted anti-Semitism. But Jesus was a Jew and and he was considered a teacher and prophet and that he, like many of his day, expected the end of the world imminently. We know he spoke Aramaic and could not read or write. We know he lived in a remote rural province that was under the thumb of the oppressive Roman Empire. We know he was crucified, a victim of capital punishment. So, those bumper stickers, “My boss is a Jewish carpenter” and “Jesus was a low wage worker”? They’re not far off.

There is much more that can be said about Jesus and we will look at some of that in the weeks to come, but to begin, we must honestly recognize what we can factually know about the historical Jesus. That undergirds the faith and hope of our witness as followers of Jesus seeking to bless the world with divine love and peace as he did. Anything else that is said about Jesus must take the historical Jesus into consideration and should not be in conflict with the facts that we have such as they are.

Several years ago, I was part of an interfaith conversation at the University of South Florida for high school and college students. During the question and answer time someone asked about the views of different faiths regarding homosexuality. When it was my turn to respond from the Christian perspective, I shared the range of views within the Christian tradition from those who see homosexuality as a sin, going against the intentions of the God of creation, to those who see it as part of the glorious diversity of God’s creation and accept it as a natural part of the fabric of life. When I said this, a hand shot up. A high school student stood up and informed the group that what I said was not true. She told us that, “Jesus said that homosexuality is a sin. He said it. That’s what true Christians believe.” I mentioned that there are no references in the Gospels or in the New Testament to Jesus saying anything about same gender sexual activity. The student was undaunted and went on: “I know Jesus said it. My pastor told us that’s what he said, so I know he said it.” I encouraged her to go home and read her Bible.

There are so many things that we can say about Jesus. There is a myriad of facets to his influence on religion and human history. There are various faces of Jesus that speak to the spiritual needs of humankind. And we will explore some of those aspects of legacy of Jesus in the weeks to come. But behind it all, there is a person. And the little that can be factually known about this historical figure needs to be incorporated into our understanding of who he is and what he means to us and the world. Amen.