Images of Jesus Christ are interpretations of His life and work, as seen through the fallible eyes of human beings. The Bible is the source for our information on Jesus and interpretations of the Bible have shifted drastically over the 2000 year history of Christianity. Keeping in mind that these images are skewed, we can find examples of where images of Jesus have made positive and negative contributions to Western Civilization.
Negative Images
The end of the book of Matthew (chapter 28, verses 18-20) states:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus railed against people who were legalistic (the Pharisees) and He consistently showed mercy to people. Yet some Christian interpreters took the Great Commission of the end of Matthew to mean they were to force people to convert to Christianity. Many of the negative images of Jesus derive from Christian interpretations of scripture that focus on the Great Commission and exclude the ways He dealt with people. Even today, non-Christians may not want to listen to the Christian message because it has been presented by people whose actions are not like Jesus's. This problem covers a lot of territory, including the Crusades, the forced conversion of enslaved people in the Americas, and the forced conversions of Native Americans during the colonization process.
Positive Images
A major force during the 20th century was that of non-violent resistance to oppression. This process helped free India from British rule under the leadership of Gandhi and was central to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s contributions to the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Gandhi was not a Christian; nevertheless, he was strongly influenced by what Jesus had to say about turning the other cheek in chapter five, verses 38-39 of Matthew:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
King was, in turn, influenced by Gandhi.
Non-violent protest works because it puts the protesters on the higher moral ground than the oppressors. The image of the small Ruby Bridges walking to school, accompanied by federal agents, while protesters made threats on her life, embodies the concept of non-violent resistance. Bridges and other children who integrated schools for the first time in the United States as the Little Rock Nine were polite and didn't return threats or escalate violence.
Another facet of Jesus's positive image is His essential compassion for people. The first four books of the New Testament recount many events, such as when Jesus healed people, spent time with the reviled people in His society (prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans), and prevented punitive people from blindly carrying out the law.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8: 2-11
Jesus lived a life of love and demonstrated a love that was without fear. He cared for people despite criticism, wept at their sorrows, and was sad for their spiritual limitations, which were the limitations that put Him on the cross. Even while dying a horrendously painful death, Jesus asked God to forgive the people who crucified Him.
Humans have fear in our lives, but through Jesus's example, some people, such as Mother Teresa, manage to overcome those fears in order to make other people's lives better.
Taken on its own terms, the Bible is a book written for human beings describing actions well beyond a human's ability to grasp. It's unsurprising there would be many struggles to comprehend who Jesus is, and the misunderstandings have been worse than tragic. At the same time, those who focus on Jesus's love have been a part of liberation and freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment