By Paul Patterson
There were things I loved about this chapter and things I didn’t. I didn’t love the bit about different “Jesuses.” Of course, the author is right that we tend to personalize and individualize Jesus by focusing on this or that aspect of his person—‘tender’ Jesus, ‘radical’ Jesus, ‘teacher’ Jesus, ‘quiet time’ Jesus, etc. What’s wrong with all of these—what they all have in common—is that they tend to see Jesus as an example to be followed. And the author seems to fall into the same trap by saying that what we really need is to put all of these aspects of his person together and to follow that. Now, Christ certainly provides an excellent example for us to follow; but that isn’t primarily why he came, because in our sin we couldn’t follow him if we wanted to! He came as a savior—to transform us into the kind of people who can follow him. What we really need is to submit ourselves each day to Christ the Savior, and everything else will follow.
I did, however, appreciate the author’s emphasis on Jesus as the personal embodiment of the kingdom of God. This has serious implications for how we Christians look at the world: it means that the kingdom is already present, while at the same time it’s not yet. The kingdom is already present because Jesus (the kingdom personified) is present. He inaugurated the kingdom by reconciling people to God and to one another (which must include the poor, the broken and the marginalized—see Luke 4), and he is still engaged in this business of reconciliation. At the same time, the kingdom is not yet present because Jesus has not yet appeared in glory. Injustice persists, people are still marginalized, systems are still broken. To quote one of my favorite bands (Radiohead), “everything is wrong.” And only God Incarnate can make it right again—which he will do, at his appearing.
Why is Jesus able to make everything right again? Precisely because he is God Incarnate. In assuming flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity transformed (at least in principle) all matter. One day he’s going to fashion for us new bodies and a new earth, and he’s going to use the stuff of these bodies and of this earth to do it (at least that’s my reading of 1 Corinthians 15). William Pannell (in the interview) is therefore right to emphasize Jesus’ humanity. I think he’s also right that many Evangelicals haven’t made much room for it in their theology. But our present and future hope lies precisely in the fact that God became human!
Some Discussion Questions:
1) Are you (or your youth group) ever guilty of focusing primarily on the ‘example’ aspect of Jesus?
2) What version of Jesus do you usually find yourself striving to follow? How is that working for you?
3) Does your youth group lean more in the direction of Christ’s divinity or humanity? Why do you think that is?
4) Does your youth group lean more heavily in the direction of the “already” or the “not yet” of God’s kingdom? Again, why do you think that is?
5) What misconceptions do you think your youth may have concerning the second coming, the resurrection, and the afterlife?
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In response to #3, I think it depends on which portion of Scripture we're dealing with. Due to our finite understanding of an infinite God, we stress the humanity or divinity of Jesus based on our perceived needs, rather than recognizing our constant need for all of Jesus; the example that he sets and the ability he grants to live in a way that is pleasing to him.
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