Discernment, Beginning with “Who Jesus Really Is”

Christian Discernment Begins with Discerning “Who Jesus Is”

　　While living in the world, we cannot help receiving thousands of messages everyday, telling us how to behave and how to live. However, in the midst of so many voices, how should we practice discernment? As Christians, where should the primary discernment begin?

　　Christians, as the name suggests, are disciples who follow Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, as disciples and followers of Christ, do we know who Jesus Christ really is? This is a matter of life and death. Therefore, discernment must begin with “who Jesus Christ really is.” But, when we discern “who Jesus Christ really is,” perhaps we will arrive at a similar question: where do we begin? To put it simply, we must ultimately go back to the Bible, beginning with the four Gospels that testify to Jesus Christ as we go on a journey of discernment. Let us embark on a journey together by reading a passage from the Gospel of Luke to learn to discern “who Jesus really is.”

Discerning the Holistic Coherence of Three Passages

　　In the Gospel of Luke, after giving an account of Jesus’ baptism (3:21-22) and his victory over Satan’s temptation (4:1-13), it gives an account of Jesus who began his public ministry (4:14-21). When reading the three passages, generally it is agreeable for us to read and interpret these three events that took place under different scenarios independently. We can make an in-depth study of the meaning of Jesus’ baptism account. For example, we may say that it was the scene when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit by God the Father. We can make an in-depth study of the meaning of the account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. For example, we may say that it was a fight when Jesus submitted only to the word of God and not that of Satan. We can make an in-depth study of Jesus’ first sermon preaching, saying that it declared the good news: the ultimate promise made by the prophet Isaiah in those days which is now being fulfilled as “the new exodus.”

　　Admittedly, these respective interpretations are necessary and cannot be ignored. Yet, we still need to link these three passages or events together to ponder and discern the meaning implied. We do so because the gospel of Luke is trying to tell us a story about Jesus and not some piecemeal and unrelated information about Jesus. We must discern the holistic coherence of the story itself, mastering both the meaning of the story’s different passages respectively and also an integrated understanding of all the passages of the story.

Is Jesus Only the Son of Joseph?

　　In our sermon preaching, whenever we talk about Jesus’ public ministry and his first sermon, we always focus on Luke 4:14-21. Of course, to do so is necessary. If we do not read this passage carefully, it is not possible for us to understand why Jesus came into the world, what Jesus’ relationship with the Israelites was, or from an eschatological point of view, why Jesus came to be with us. To answer these questions, we need to interpret this passage of Luke carefully: Jesus entered into the synagogue on the day of Sabbath, turned open the Septuagint to the chapter of Isaiah, read out the related text (Isaiah 61:1-2, 58:6) and preached. However, who is Jesus? Based on what authority did he declare, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:21)? Jesus declared that the former prophecy of the prophet Isaiah had already been fulfilled. But did things happen that way? Was Jesus then surrounded by an outburst of clapping as all the people offered praise and thanksgiving to Jesus before they dispersed?

　　If we take an in-depth reading still further, we will come to two questions: Who is Jesus? Was he really supported by the masses? To this question we must clearly discern how it was. In fact, after Jesus’ declaration that today the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled, although all spoke well of him and were amazed at his gracious, powerful words, what naturally followed was many questions: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (4:22) This was a negative questioning. Then Jesus gave this group of people a negative response and that very response could well be associated with their initial negative questioning. As a result, it served to prove that it was a negative and not a positive question.

　　After giving an account of the response from the crowd, Luke recorded two consecutive responses that gave rise to an awful situation, “all the people in the synagogue were furious … got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff” (4:28-29). Isn’t there a big difference between this account and the account of when Jesus entered the synagogue, read aloud, and then declared, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”? As a result of the crowd’s negative question about whether he was merely Joseph’s son, Jesus’ response was unflinching, and showed that their words spoke their hearts, which were trying to challenge his authority and power: “Physician, heal yourself!” (4:23) Their intention is well reflected in this proverb. It was followed by “Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum” (4:23) which meant to make a challenge: “Do you have authority and power? Perhaps you did have authority and power there in Capernaum, but here in your hometown Nazareth, we all know who you are, merely Joseph’s son, what then can you do?” Jesus had unflinchingly, and explicitly brought to light what the crowd had intended but had not said. Who actually is this Jesus?

　　Things did not end there. Jesus seemed to gain the upper hand and went on to issue them a stern warning: God’s salvation will part from the Jews and come to the Gentiles. These were severe words. How could salvation come to the Gentiles?But in the hearts of the crowd, they would say: “Jesus, don’t ever expect what you did in Capernaum can be fulfilled here in your hometown.” What Jesus did was to point out further: “As in your hearts you refused my bringing God’s salvation to you, I could only then turn to the Gentiles.” In the face of such words, how could the crowd accept this? They refused to accept this because they did not believe in Jesus because they saw him as merely the son of Joseph. “Who do you think you are?” they would ask.

　　Who is Jesus? The Jews in Nazareth considered him to be merely the son of Joseph and so they did not accept his proclamation: The prophecy of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled today. If we are like the Jews in Nazareth in former times who only knew that Jesus had gone into the synagogue, read out a passage from Isaiah and proclaimed that the salvation promised in the scripture has been fulfilled today. Then who do we think Jesus is? Can we believe what he proclaims? Can we accept him? When we read on further, we will find out that the attitude of the Jews in Nazareth towards Jesus was undoubtedly negative. However, Jesus was also very blunt with this group of people, unflinchingly bringing to light what they did not themselves say. Elijah, in Israel’s time of famine, was commissioned only to the Gentiles in the region of Sidon where he served to help a poor widow. Jesus quoted Elijah’s story to respond to the crowd of Jews, implying that God’s salvation had been rejected by the Jews but was received by the Gentiles. Reading up to this point, how would we see Jesus after treating the Jews this way? Who actually was Jesus?

Looking at Who Jesus Is Based on a ‘Three-fold’ Relationship

　　The Jews in Nazareth considered Jesus to be only the son of Joseph, but what about those of us who read this text today? The record of Luke does not simply provide this text to tell us about Jesus’ identity, but then why is it that we do not always go back and forth between texts when we read the Bible? Why is it that we keep an eye on this passage only without referring to the texts before it at the same time, for example, the temptation of Jesus, or even Jesus’ baptism, to have a coherent reading?

　　Going back to these two passages and studying closely, we immediately see who Jesus is through Luke’s disclosure of Jesus’ “three-fold relationship.” After Jesus’ baptism, “And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” (3:21-22) This passage illustrates Jesus is the beloved son of the Heavenly Father. But Luke went on to say, “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph.” Luke has already told us: The Heavenly Father declared Jesus as His beloved son and yet people regarded him as the son of Joseph. Jesus is the beloved son of the Heavenly Father. This is the “first-fold” of the relationship which decides Jesus’ “second-fold” relationship: his relationship with Satan. Although Satan’s temptation takes three forms which include turning the stone into bread, enjoying all the authority and splendor, and God’s fulfillment of Jesus’ acts to display his power. Satan essentially only had one goal: to trapp Jesus into refusing to be an obedient son who would keep following the Heavenly Father, or to make Him a disobedient son of the Father. In this temptation, we can see that obedience is a manifestation of the son of God. Why is it that Jesus was the beloved son of God? It is because he obeyed the Heavenly Father, resisted the cunning temptation of Satan, and thus became the beloved son of the Heavenly Father.

　　Who is Jesus? We see that the Gospel of Luke gradually discloses Jesus’ identity. This is not an abstract identity which involves a relationship with the Heavenly Father, a relationship with Satan, and a relationship with the Holy Spirit, which is the “third-fold” relationship. When Jesus was baptized, was it not the Holy Spirit that descended on him? When Jesus was put to the test, was he not filled with the Holy Spirit? We can say that Jesus counted on the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be the beloved son of the Heavenly Father. Along with the descending of the Holy Spirit, the proclamation of the Heavenly Father, and Jesus’ resistance of Satan in the wilderness, what we call the son of God is revealed. The “son of God” is not merely a name, but has specific meaning. We can see the specific meaning only when it is manifested by a specific event. By means of the Holy Spirit, Jesus triumphed over Satan’s temptations and showed that what he should be called is the son of God. Of course, the story has not yet come to an end. After that, Jesus showed who should be called the son of God throughout his entire life. Therefore, Luke went on to tell us, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” (4:14) This time it involved Jesus’ relationship with the Jews and the proclamation incident along with the ensuing confrontation inside the Nazareth synagogue further demonstrates what it means to be the son of God.

It Is a Priority of Discipleship to Discern Jesus’ Identity

　　What kind of son of God can we see here? Accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus went into a synagogue to preach on Sabbath. However, because the Jews regarded him as merely the son of Joseph, Jesus debunked their disbelief and the rejection inside their hearts. Along with their disbelief and rejection, he thoroughly illustrated the matter: As the matter stands, deliverance could only go to the Gentiles. The son of God was rejected by the people of God. The rejection can be seen from how they behaved: the people in the synagogue were furious, drove him out of the town, and wanted to kill him. Who is the son of God? In his relationship with the Jews, Jesus, the son of God, showed that he was the one to be persecuted and even to be killed. Is it not that the son of God is the one who delivers the good news to the people of God? In the beginning, is it not that Luke wants to tell us that Jesus was the one who declared that salvation would be fulfilled? But then Luke took a U-turn as the Jews simply took Jesus as the son of Joseph. Jesus declared that salvation would then go to the Gentiles and he became the person who declared the good news to the Gentiles. But it was also because of this reason that Jesus, the son of God, was to be persecuted, rejected, and even killed.

　　Who is Jesus? What kind of God is Jesus? The story that Luke writes does not stop there. We will have to read on to continue. Luke went on to say, “But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (4:30) Jesus had to walk on and we have to follow him and continue to read on in order to be able to answer more fully: who is Jesus after all?

　　Discerning the identity of Jesus has always been the priority of discipleship. Only through reading the Bible over and over again can we make a proper discernment. In the olden days, the Jews killed Jesus because of a mistaken discerning of his identity. Today, as Jesus disciples, what have we learned in the study of discernment?