FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear Parishioners,
What is it about Jesus Christ that sets Him apart from all other religious leaders in history? Well, of course, to Christians, the answer is easy: All the other religious leaders may have been good people; Jesus was and is something more: He is the God-man. But is there anything that a nonChristian can see in Jesus that might indicate that He is more than just a great teacher and leader? Let’s take a look at His life and teaching as it’s revealed to us in the gospels, and let’s for the sake of argument, set aside for a moment His purported miracles and the remarkable way in which He seems to be the living fulfillment of so many Old Testament prophecies. Let’s instead focus simply on what He taught and said about Himself.
The first thing we notice is that no sane, decent person ever said about themselves the kinds of things Jesus said about Himself. In fact, this was precisely what got Him into trouble with the religious authorities of His day. He claimed the right to forgive sins, a power reserved to the Almighty (Mark 2:5). He said He was Lord of the Sabbath, which had been instituted by God (Luke 6:5). He told His disciples that He and the Father were one (John 10:30) and that those who saw Him, saw the Father (John 14:9).
The crowds who heard Him, we’re told, were astonished at His teaching, for He taught with authority and not as other teachers did (Mark 1:22). It was said of Him, “Never has anyone spoken like this” (John 7:46). Not without reason have writers like C.S. Lewis and Peter Kreeft argued that, given Jesus’ habitual manner of teaching, it’s not permitted to us to say that He was just another great religious thinker. His assumption with authority associated with God alone and His explicit claims to be one with God—things shocking to the religious sensibilities of His audience—leave us with only these alternatives: Jesus was either bad, mad, or God; a liar, a lunatic or Lord. But no one said He was bad; He never acts like a lunatic; it looks as if He must be what Christians say He is.
Add to His teachings, the records of His miracles, His fulfilling so many prophecies, His followers going to their deaths in their belief that He had risen from the dead after being crucified, and Jesus appears absolutely unique in the annals of recorded history. Indeed, no one ever spoke as He did
Peace,
Fr. Monteleone
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