Who is Jesus?













Who is Jesus?










Who is Jesus?




Did Jesus exist? What have people said about him? What did he say about himself? Was he the real thing, crazy or a deceiver? What is it that make so many believe in him? Can they all be wrong?  











































Notes for leaders


There is material for two main approaches here. It is mostly apologetic material, which is important for all young people whether or not they are Christians. There are also some suggestions for reflection or going deeper. 


Look out for the true/false game inspired by C. S. Lewis’ ‘poached egg’ quote. Some of us are so familiar with what Jesus said that we can overlook how strange, even ridiculous, his claims can appear to others.


    

  • Starters and activities for youth groups
    • 

  • Did Jesus exist?
    • 

  • Quotes and opinions about Jesus
    • 

  • Jesus – mad, bad or God – Discussion notes
    • 

  • printer friendly pdf at the end of each section
    • 

























Choose your aim. Which would most benefit your group? Or do a mix and match.


A. Was Jesus a real person? Looking at evidence and legacy.


B. Who was he really? Ancient and modern quotes looking at how different people see Jesus.          Was he mad, bad or God?


Starters and games


Real / Not real


    

  • Who’s real, who’s not?
    • 

  • How can we tell? Evidence and legacy
    • 



Choose famous characters whom your group recognise and make a set of cards.  This could include or exclude legendary and fictional characters.


Either:


    

  1. Ask them to sort the cards into real/not real.
    2. 

  2. Ask them to put the cards into groups according to how much evidence they think exists.
    3. 



Suggestions, in approximate order of reliable evidence


    

  1. Winston Churchill: Very real & much evidence.
    2. 

  2. Mother Teresa: St Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. Very real & much evidence.
    3. 

  3. Jesus Christ of Nazareth: Plenty of authenticated evidence, comparable with the modern age, more than for Julius Caesar. He left an incredible legacy of teaching.
    4. 

  4. King John: Real, but the popular view has become entwined with the Robin Hood legend. Historical sources give very different information about him.
    5. 

  5. William the Conqueror: Real but sources are limited.
    6. 

  6. Julius Caesar: Real but sources are limited. Born 100BC.
    7. 

  7. St Nicholas: Real but stories vary. (Nikolaos of Myra, 270- 343 AD was a Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor. Numerous stories, some miraculous, are told about him. His legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus.)
    8. 

  8. Queen of Sheba: Real but became legendary.
    9. 

  9. King Arthur: Probably real but became legendary. Little real evidence
    10. 

  10. Robin Hood: probably a mixture of tales based on certain types of people.
    11. 

  11. Loch Ness monster / Big Foot / Yeti
    12. 

  12. Father Christmas / Tooth fairy
    13. 

  13. Sherlock Holmes / Dr Who
    14. 



Artists impression of Jesus


Show them a range of different pictures of Jesus and ask them to guess who it is.  Possible sources: www.rejesus.co.uk/expressions/faces_jesus/  www.revelationillustrated.com


A basic introduction


What is Jesus famous for?  They might suggest:


    

  • Teaching
    • 

  • Miracles
    • 

  • Followers claim that he rose from the dead.
    • 

  • Other?
    • 



More games ideas in the pdf below. 


 


Games-based discussions


Write the quotes on a flip chart or board; or use hand-outs; or PowerPoint presentations.


Game: ‘Who is Jesus – people’s quotes’. Match the quote with the speaker.


Game: ‘What did Jesus say about himself?’  True/false game


What did Jesus’ followers say about him?


What do you think?


Details in the quotes section.


 


Reflective activities


This section has suggestions for finishing the session with a short time of reflection. You may wish to change the mood of the meeting with soft music and/or lighting to calm them if you wish to finish on a more serious or prayerful note.


If your group needs something other than the apologetics approach, there are some ideas here on how to do that, or use a follow-on topic.  


Spiritual/meditative ideas


Song: ‘The Outlaw’ by Larry Norman (from the album ‘Only Visiting this Planet’)


Play this or another reflective piece of music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cq6SFHlkHc


Full lyrics on http://www.songlyrics.com/larry-norman/the-outlaw-lyrics


‘The Outlaw’ has 5 verses with the following themes.


Some say he was an


    

  • Outlaw
    • 

  • Poet – could calm a crowd, make the waves stand still, spoke in parables.
    • 

  • Sorcerer/man of mystery – miracles
    • 

  • Politician who spoke of being free
    • 

  • Son of God, a man above all men, came to be a servant & to set us free from sin.
    • 



Song: Or ‘Avenue’ by the Tribe (from the album ‘Raise your Game’)


The Tribe – Avenue – YouTube


Reflect 


    

  • Who is Jesus to you?
    • 

  • The thing I most admire about Jesus is….
    • 



 Bible bit 


Jesus makes some staggering claims about himself, particularly in the book of John.  Some groups may want to take a closer look at some of these. Perhaps from one of these:


John 1:1-18      John 6: 35-40 (or 32-42)      John 8:12-20


 Mysteries about Jesus? 


    

  • When does he first appear in the Bible?
    • 

  • What does he look like?
    • 

  • How many names/titles does he have?
    • 

  • “When he appears – we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
    • 



Prayer theme – that we would get to know Jesus better in the future than we have in the past. 


Printer friendly pdf: Who is Jesus? Starters and Activities for Youth Groups






















Did Jesus Exist?




Jesus’ legacy of teaching


Jesus left an extraordinary legacy of teachings. If these are not his teachings, then whose were they? They had to be the work of someone who stood out as being different from anyone else in that culture. It is universally recognized that these teachings are recorded in the New Testament documents. 


Most of the New Testament was written or influenced by eyewitnesses. Gospel writers Matthew and John were Jesus’ personal disciples and Mark was a close friend of the disciple Peter.  It takes time and imagination for myths and legends to evolve.  In the case of Jesus, the time gap is too short for this as many eyewitnesses were still alive when the accounts were written.  Leading archaeologists1 are now certain that all the New Testament documents were written between 20 – 50 years of the events. 


Luke’s writings have been scrutinized by researchers who have concluded that ‘Luke is a historian of the first rank whose work is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness.’2


Sources


[1] Professor William Albright; Dr John Robinson


2 Sir William Mitchell Ramsay


 


Evidence from other historical sources


What evidence do we have that Jesus existed? Well, there are a number of reliable historical documents as well as the legacy of his teachings as recorded in the gospels.  Examine the quotes below.


    

  1. The Talmud, – Jewish holy book 2nd century AD/CE
    2. 



This has a number of hostile references to Jesus.  It says that he was the “son of an adulteress” and claims that his father was a Roman soldier. 


“On the eve of Passover, they hanged Yeshu.  He practised black magic and led Israel astray.”


This quote reflects Mark 3:22-30.  As the Jewish day started at sunset, it was indeed on the eve of Passover that Jesus died. The use of the word ‘Yeshu’ rather than ‘Yeshua’ (the Greek word for Jesus) means – may his name be wiped from History.


    

  1. Tacitus, a Roman historian, 56-120AD
    2. 



“Nero falsely accused and executed … the people called Christians (concerning the fire of Rome). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.”


    

  1. Pliny, Roman Governor, 61-113AD
    2. 



 “Christ is worshipped as a god.”


    

  1. Mara bar Serapion, a Syrian philosopher wrote in 73AD:
    2. 



“For what advantage did the Jews gain by the death of their wise king? He lived on in the teaching which he had given.”


    

  • How reliable do you think each piece of evidence is?
    • 

  • Which one do you think is the strongest?
    • 



Conclusion 


No one today, seriously doubts whether Jesus existed as a historical character.  Both Roman and Jewish historians refer to him.  The quote from the Talmud is very helpful in this respect.  It represents the view of the contemporary Jewish authorities, who were Jesus’ enemies at that time.  People who don’t exist don’t acquire enemies.  


Printer friendly pdf: Did Jesus Exist? Historical Evidence


(If you think I’ve left out Josephus, look at the pdf!)






















Quotes and Opinions about Jesus




What have people said about Jesus in general over the years?


    

  1. He didn’t exist.
    2. 

  2. He did exist but he was just a good man, like the Hindu teacher Gandhi. His disciples made up stories about him and turned him into a legend after his death.
    3. 

  3. He was bad. The Jewish authorities certainly thought this. 
    4. 

  4. He was mad. Romans such as Pilate may have considered him so.  He must have been delusional to have said the things that he did unless they were true.
    5. 

  5. He was God: the disciples, his cousin John, his brothers – eventually.
    6. 



Discussions and games


The quotes here fall into three groups. They can be used to promote discussions. Some can be presented in the form of guessing games. With the 10-14 year olds in particular, I like to do a true/false game based on what Jesus said about himself. That can be funny as well as thought provoking.


Write them on a flip chart, board, flash cards, hand-outs, or PowerPoint presentations.


What have specific people said about Jesus? 


This could be done as a ‘Match the quote with the speaker’ game. Add clues if needed.


1. On the eve of Passover, they hanged Yeshu. He practised black magic and led Israel astray. The Talmud – Jewish Holy book 2nd century CE


2. Jesus is/was one of the prophets. Christians and Muslims


3. “Jesus was a very good soul. He was an inspiration as a teacher. I do think a lot of the things he says are actually nonsense when you examine them.”  Stephen Fry, atheist, actor, TV presenter.


4. When I was growing up, I was religious in a passionate way. Jesus Christ was like a movie star, my favourite idol of all. Madonna, pop star


5. “I knew there had to be more important things than tennis or money. So I thought I’d give Jesus a chance… What Christianity has offered me is peace of mind and the understanding that it’s not a big deal if you get beat.” Andre Agassi, tennis star


6. I know men and I tell you, Jesus is more than a man. Comparison is impossible between him and any other human who ever lived, because he was the Son of God. 
Napoleon Bonaparte, military ruler


7. Hardly anyone who hears the full story of Jesus and learns the true facts of his life & teaching … walks away with a shrug of the shoulders, dismissing him as unimportant. They know instinctively that they are dealing with a most remarkable greatness.
Eugene Peterson, pastor, writer, theologian


8. “Thou hast formed us for thyself and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” 
Augustine, one of the early Church fathers


9. For me, the life of Jesus Christ, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people. Queen Elizabeth II


10. Choose between
• A lunatic who might think he’s a poached egg
• The devil of hell, a deceiver. 
• This was and is the Son of God.


The full quote is: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he’s a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell; you must take your choice. Either this was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But don’t come up with any patronising nonsense about his being a great moral teacher. He hasn’t left us that option.” Professor C S Lewis                                                                           


Is C S Lewis right? That Jesus could not possibly just have been a good teacher when you examine the things he said such as those below.  See notes below. 


 


What did Jesus’ followers say about him? 


We have records of the following astonishing statements from Jesus’ closest friends and family.


His cousin John who was the same age:


“He is far greater than I am for he existed long before me.”  John 1:15


“Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  John 1:29


Nathanael, a disciple, during his first ever conversation with Jesus:


            “Teacher you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”  John 1.43-51


His contemporaries in general: Matthew 16:13-17


‘Later, Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him –


They answered “Some say you are John the Baptist.  Others say you are Elijah, and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets………….


And what do you think? Asked Jesus them.


Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Matthew 16:16


Peter also said: “You have the words that give life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One  from God.”  John 6:68


At the Last Supper: Disciples: “We can see now that you know all things.  You can answer a person’s question even before it is asked.  This makes us believe that you came from God.” John 16:30 


On Easter Sunday, Thomas: “I will not believe until I see the nail marks… My Lord and my God!” John 20:25, 28


John the disciple, in later life: “When he appears – we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2


This last verse implies that although John spent 3 years with Jesus, he felt there was much he did not know about him.


 


 Astonishing claims


What did Jesus say about himself?  Was he weird or wonderful? 


Some of us can be so familiar with what Jesus said, that we do not see how crazy some of his comments would sound to a newcomer. 


This can be done as a true/false game by rearranging the order.  


Here are some of the true ones:


    

  1. He who has seen me has seen the Father (God) John 14:9
    2. 

  2. Before Abraham was born, I am. John 8:58
    3. 

  3. I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do. John 6:38
    4. 

  4. I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. John 6:35
    5. 

  5. I am the light of the world John 8:12
    6. 

  6. That he was the long awaited Messiah or Saviour of the world. John 4:25-26
    7. 

  7. That he could forgive sins. Mark 2:5
    8. 

  8. That he would return in glory as a King and judge the world. Matthew 25:31-32
    9. 



    

  • Does this make him sound like any normal good teacher? If it doesn’t, we are left with Lewis’ suggestions of mad, bad or God.
    • 



“He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he’s a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell; ….  Either this was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”


Suggestions for the false ones to mix in with the true ones. (Include anything which might be topical for them)


    

  1. I am an astronaut from another planet.
    2. 

  2. I rob from the rich to give to the poor.
    3. 

  3. I am just Incredible.
    4. 

  4. I am the Wonder of the Universe
    5. 

  5. I am only interested in good people.
    6. 

  6. I am the Lord of the Rings
    7. 

  7. I am a poached egg.
    8. 



    

  • What do you think, about who Jesus is, or was?
    • 



 Printer friendly pdf: Quotes on ‘Who is Jesus?’


Who is Jesus? Quotes to use for a display






















Jesus – Mad, Bad, or God? Discussion Notes




What have people said about Jesus?


    

  • He was just a good man, like the Hindu teacher Gandhi. His disciples made up stories about him and turned him into a legend after his death.
    • 

  • He was mad. Romans such as Pilate may have considered him so.  He must have been delusional to have said the things that he did unless they were true.
    • 

  • He was bad. The Jewish authorities certainly thought this. 
    • 

  • He was God: the disciples, his cousin John, his brothers – eventually.
    • 



 


Was Jesus just a good man, a great moral teacher?


Jesus’ moral teaching is universally accepted. Many people therefore believe that he was a good man. Some believe that his disciples possibly made up stories about him later, turning him into a legend. 


Islam for example teaches that Jesus was a messenger of God – a prophet, a good man, and a teacher.  It claims that Christians have changed the Bible so that it is not accurate.  For example, it teaches the idea that Jesus did not die on the cross, but was transported to heaven beforehand and Judas took his place in disguise.


Stephen Fry, a well-known actor and atheist, describes Jesus as “a very good soul…  an inspiration as a teacher.” Adding, “I do think a lot of the things he says are actually nonsense when you examine them.”


C S Lewis, a professor, writer and an atheist for many years, says that to call Jesus just a ‘great moral teacher’ is not an option. His famous quote on Jesus is:


“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he’s a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell; you must take your choice.  Either this was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut him up for a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.  But don’t come up with any patronising nonsense about his being a great moral teacher.  He hasn’t left us that option.” C S Lewis ‘Mere Christianity’


 


Was Jesus mad?


Was C S Lewis right?  That Jesus could not possibly have been just a great moral teacher.  When you examine the claims that he made about himself, they are really eye-raising. Let’s look at a few key ones. He claimed that:


    

  • He had come down from heaven.
    • 

  • He existed before Abraham who was born 2,000 years before him.
    • 

  • He would return to earth one day as King and judge the world.
    • 

  • He was equal with God.
    • 

  • He could make a life changing difference to people’s lives.
    • 



Does this make him sound like any normal good teacher? Was he delusional unless these claims were true?  People such as Pilate may have considered him so.   


 


Was Jesus bad?


Contemporary Jewish authorities certainly thought that he was bad.  They said that he was in league with the devil which was how he could perform miracles.  He claimed to be one with God which is blasphemy and a serious offence.  They saw him as leading people astray.  They considered him dangerous as his activities could have incurred the wrath of the Romans which could endanger the whole nation.  Their holy book, the Talmud from 2nd century AD/CE has a number of hostile references to Jesus. 


At his trial there were 3 charges against him:


    

  • He threatened to destroy the Temple.
    • 

  • He claimed to be equal with God.
    • 

  • He stirred up the people against the Romans.
    • 



If he was not the Son of God, then perhaps they were right, that he was both evil and dangerous.


 


Was Jesus God? 


The Egyptian Pharaohs and the Roman Emperors tried to convince people that they were gods, with limited success. We certainly don’t worship them today. Jesus’ disciples and family were very down to earth people. Some of them knew intuitively from their first meeting that he was a man like no other. That no one like he, had ever walked the earth before, that he was as much God as he was man.  This surely created a sense of ‘I can’t be seeing and hearing, what I think I’m seeing and hearing. It just isn’t possible’. It took time to fully grasp. Over the course of three years, they accepted that Jesus was not only the long promised Messiah, but also that he really was ‘One’ with God. That God had somehow found a way to enter this world as a human being.


John the Baptist, his cousin, ‘sees’ this at his baptism, but he has doubts later on and has to be reassured. Peter also ‘sees’ it, but his faith in Jesus still falters at times. Jesus’ family thought he had lost his mind and tried to organise an intervention at first, but James later became the leader of the Jerusalem church and wrote a letter that’s in the New Testament. This belief changed their lives and subsequently the lives of millions of others.  


 


Did Christians change the stories, making Jesus into a legend? 


There are four accounts of Jesus’ life which tell us the important details, all based on first-hand memories.  Matthew and John were Jesus’ personal disciples and Mark was a close friend of the disciple Peter.  Luke interviewed as many eyewitnesses as possible. There was not sufficient time for myths and legends to have grown up about Jesus, as too many of the eyewitnesses were still living when the accounts were written. These have been reliably dated to within 50 years of the events.


There is also firm evidence that the original texts have been faithfully copied over the centuries, with only minor clerical errors that make no substantial difference. Occasional translation errors have been corrected in modern times.  No one had anything to gain by changing the original account, or by giving their lives in support of a lie.


 


Conclusion 


Could Jesus have been just a good teacher? If not, was he mad, bad, or authentic?


    

  • What do you think? Take your time! It’s a very important question.
    • 



Printer friendly pdf:Jesus – Mad, Bad, or God? Discussion Notes


 












	
	



	
	



			

			
		
	



	
 
	


	



			
			
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