Apr
09
2007
We Believe in the Jesus of History
“I am the root and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star.”
- Jesus to John the Apostle (Revelation 22:16)
Many world religions downplay the importance of “history,” considering it a subject unworthy of much fanfare. Christianity, however, claims history to be of vital concern because God has acted within our world. Christians worship a God who took on flesh, who walked on the earth in a specific place and a specific time in history.
At the end of Revelation, Jesus asserts that He is the Root and the descendant of David. It is amazing that as Jesus declares His divine identity and authority, He points to a specific time in the past. Here, the eternal Son of God, the One who precedes David tells us He descends from David.
This paradox showcases the heart of the Christian faith: the staggering claim that God chose to become Man and enter our world to bring redemption. We do not worship a Jesus that we conjure up in our imaginations, a “timeless” savior that floats from generation to generation and culture to culture changing as He goes. The truth we must never forget is that we bow the knee before a first-century Palestinian Jew!
We cannot and should not try to separate the “Christ of faith” from the “Jesus of history.” We believe they are One. The Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee, who taught in the synagogues, who fed the multitudes and who suffered on the cross – we believe to be God in the flesh and exalted Lord of the world. Our faith lies ultimately in a historical person.
Jesus claimed to be the bright Morning Star, that speck of light in the heavens declaring that the morning sun will soon appear. Jesus gives us hope that our world – time and space – our history rests in the hands of God. Resurrection morning changed the world forever, ushering in the beginning of God’s new creation. Resurrection morning also changed the way we look at world history. As Christians, we do not only look at Jesus in light of history; we look at history in light of Jesus.
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog