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Who was Christ to the religious leaders of His day?

Perhaps we might find a very good example of such a man in Nicodemus (Jn. 3). He was a Pharisee, the most religiously "correct" among the Jews. We learn about the nature of the Pharisees in the Book of Acts (26:5) where the apostle Paul was standing in his defense.

The problem with the Pharisees was that, although they pretended to obey the Law of Moses, they went overboard instead binding man-made traditions to a much greater extent than was required by God. As today, the Pharisees appeared to believe that God's Law should change with the culture of the day. To their credit, they were far more conservative in their doctrine than the Sadducees, those who denied the existence of spirits and any bodily resurrection.

Nicodemus was among a very select few Pharisees who were written about favorably in the N/T (Joseph of Arimathea being another). The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 23) contains some of the most scathing rebukes of the Pharisees perhaps ever written. Nicodemus' Greek name suggests that he was born outside Palestine and seems both powerful and wealthy. In fact, since he is called "ruler" by Christ, it is most likely that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Jewish Law. By referring to Christ as "Teacher," he was yielding to Christ as an admission of the Savior's greater authority over him.

Here is where we see the role of Christ to the religious leaders of His day. To those like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others, Jesus was no mere teacher. It was obvious to those with an ounce of faith that Christ had been sent by God. (To those w/o faith, Christ was perceived as an obvious threat to their power, as well as their relationship to the Romans.) While they had yet to recognize just how special Jesus was, there is little doubt they were transfixed on His prowess including His miraculous abilities - not least of which often left people in a quasi-hypnotic stupor. This was the case with the temple guard who returned without having arrested Him because "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks" (Jn. 7:46).

Christ was unlike any other teacher the jewsJews had ever seen. He spoke the truth. He was authoritative in His speech, and commanded a genuineness that no one else could previously have offered. Even His enemies recognized that His teaching was impartial, andimpartial; He conveyed His message plainly. His parables could be received by honest, faithful souls while excluding his detratorsdetractors from understanding. Lastly, His Message was compassionate as demonstrated with the sinful woman, possibly a prostitute, that came to wash his feet at a dinner party.

The miracles Christ performed, whether they be supernatural, "mighty works," "wonders" (having special effect on observers), or "signs" (pointing to an object greater than itself), all pointed to thedemonstrated Christ's identity as the promised Messiah. All told, some have estimated that Jesus performed upwards of 35 such supernatural effectssigns. Using hyperbolic language, the apostle John suggests that there were many more things that could be written about them (Jn. 21:25). As well, miracles are especially scarce in John's account.

All toldCumulatively, the evidences observed by the Pharisees was more than enough to convince them (Nicodemus uses the term "we know" (Jn. 3:2)) that Christ had "come from God" (3:2). Even His enemies were not so blind as to overlook that central point. If Nicodemus, the teacher (3:10, i.e. not just any teacher) was persuaded of Christ's true identity, what does that say about the rest of the religious aristocracy, and their appraisal of Messiah?

Who was Christ to the religious leaders of His day?

Perhaps we might find a very good example of such a man in Nicodemus (Jn. 3). He was a Pharisee, the most religiously "correct" among the Jews. We learn about the nature of the Pharisees in the Book of Acts (26:5) where the apostle Paul was standing in his defense.

The problem with the Pharisees was that, although they pretended to obey the Law of Moses, they went overboard instead binding man-made traditions to a much greater extent than was required by God. As today, the Pharisees appeared to believe that God's Law should change with the culture of the day. To their credit, they were far more conservative in their doctrine than the Sadducees, those who denied the existence of spirits and any bodily resurrection.

Nicodemus was among a very select few Pharisees who were written about favorably in the N/T (Joseph of Arimathea being another). The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 23) contains some of the most scathing rebukes of the Pharisees perhaps ever written. Nicodemus' Greek name suggests that he was born outside Palestine and seems both powerful and wealthy. In fact, since he is called "ruler" by Christ, it is most likely that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Jewish Law. By referring to Christ as "Teacher," he was yielding to Christ as an admission of the Savior's greater authority over him.

Here is where we see the role of Christ to the religious leaders of His day. To those like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others, Jesus was no mere teacher. It was obvious to those with an ounce of faith that Christ had been sent by God. (To those w/o faith, Christ was perceived as an obvious threat to their power, as well as their relationship to the Romans.) While they had yet to recognize just how special Jesus was, there is little doubt they were transfixed on His prowess including His miraculous abilities - not least of which often left people in a quasi-hypnotic stupor. This was the case with the temple guard who returned without having arrested Him because "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks" (Jn. 7:46).

Christ was unlike any other teacher the jews had ever seen. He spoke the truth. He was authoritative in His speech, and commanded a genuineness that no one else could previously have offered. Even His enemies recognized that His teaching was impartial, and He conveyed His message plainly. His parables could be received by honest, faithful souls while excluding his detrators from understanding. Lastly, His Message was compassionate as demonstrated with the sinful woman, possibly a prostitute, that came to wash his feet at a dinner party.

The miracles Christ performed, whether they be supernatural, "mighty works," "wonders" (having special effect on observers), or "signs" (pointing to an object greater than itself), all pointed to the Christ's identity as the promised Messiah. All told, some have estimated that Jesus performed upwards of 35 such supernatural effects. Using hyperbolic language, the apostle John suggests that there were many more things that could be written (Jn. 21:25).

All told, the evidences observed by the Pharisees was more than enough to convince them (Nicodemus uses the term "we know" (Jn. 3:2)) that Christ had "come from God" (3:2). Even His enemies were not so blind as to overlook that central point. If Nicodemus, the teacher (3:10, i.e. not just any teacher) was persuaded of Christ's true identity, what does that say about the rest of the religious aristocracy, and their appraisal of Messiah?

Who was Christ to the religious leaders of His day?

Perhaps we might find a very good example of such a man in Nicodemus (Jn. 3). He was a Pharisee, the most religiously "correct" among the Jews. We learn about the nature of the Pharisees in the Book of Acts (26:5) where the apostle Paul was standing in his defense.

The problem with the Pharisees was that, although they pretended to obey the Law of Moses, they went overboard instead binding man-made traditions to a much greater extent than was required by God. As today, the Pharisees appeared to believe that God's Law should change with the culture of the day. To their credit, they were far more conservative in their doctrine than the Sadducees, those who denied the existence of spirits and any bodily resurrection.

Nicodemus was among a very select few Pharisees who were written about favorably in the N/T (Joseph of Arimathea being another). The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 23) contains some of the most scathing rebukes of the Pharisees perhaps ever written. Nicodemus' Greek name suggests that he was born outside Palestine and seems both powerful and wealthy. In fact, since he is called "ruler" by Christ, it is most likely that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Jewish Law. By referring to Christ as "Teacher," he was yielding to Christ as an admission of the Savior's greater authority over him.

Here is where we see the role of Christ to the religious leaders of His day. To those like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others, Jesus was no mere teacher. It was obvious to those with an ounce of faith that Christ had been sent by God. (To those w/o faith, Christ was perceived as an obvious threat to their power, as well as their relationship to the Romans.) While they had yet to recognize just how special Jesus was, there is little doubt they were transfixed on His prowess including His miraculous abilities - not least of which often left people in a quasi-hypnotic stupor. This was the case with the temple guard who returned without having arrested Him because "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks" (Jn. 7:46).

Christ was unlike any other teacher the Jews had ever seen. He spoke the truth. He was authoritative in His speech, and commanded a genuineness that no one else could previously have offered. Even His enemies recognized that His teaching was impartial; He conveyed His message plainly. His parables could be received by honest, faithful souls while excluding his detractors from understanding. Lastly, His Message was compassionate as demonstrated with the sinful woman, possibly a prostitute, that came to wash his feet at a dinner party.

The miracles Christ performed, whether they be supernatural, "mighty works," "wonders" (having special effect on observers), or "signs" (pointing to an object greater than itself), all demonstrated Christ's identity as the promised Messiah. All told, some have estimated that Jesus performed upwards of 35 such supernatural signs. Using hyperbolic language, the apostle John suggests that there were many more things that could be written about them (Jn. 21:25). As well, miracles are especially scarce in John's account.

Cumulatively, the evidences observed by the Pharisees was more than enough to convince them (Nicodemus uses the term "we know" (Jn. 3:2)) that Christ had "come from God" (3:2). Even His enemies were not so blind as to overlook that central point. If Nicodemus, the teacher (3:10, i.e. not just any teacher) was persuaded of Christ's true identity, what does that say about the rest of the religious aristocracy, and their appraisal of Messiah?

Source Link
Xeno
Xeno
  • 9.9k
  • 15
  • 66
  • 121

Who was Christ to the religious leaders of His day?

Perhaps we might find a very good example of such a man in Nicodemus (Jn. 3). He was a Pharisee, the most religiously "correct" among the Jews. We learn about the nature of the Pharisees in the Book of Acts (26:5) where the apostle Paul was standing in his defense.

The problem with the Pharisees was that, although they pretended to obey the Law of Moses, they went overboard instead binding man-made traditions to a much greater extent than was required by God. As today, the Pharisees appeared to believe that God's Law should change with the culture of the day. To their credit, they were far more conservative in their doctrine than the Sadducees, those who denied the existence of spirits and any bodily resurrection.

Nicodemus was among a very select few Pharisees who were written about favorably in the N/T (Joseph of Arimathea being another). The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 23) contains some of the most scathing rebukes of the Pharisees perhaps ever written. Nicodemus' Greek name suggests that he was born outside Palestine and seems both powerful and wealthy. In fact, since he is called "ruler" by Christ, it is most likely that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Jewish Law. By referring to Christ as "Teacher," he was yielding to Christ as an admission of the Savior's greater authority over him.

Here is where we see the role of Christ to the religious leaders of His day. To those like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others, Jesus was no mere teacher. It was obvious to those with an ounce of faith that Christ had been sent by God. (To those w/o faith, Christ was perceived as an obvious threat to their power, as well as their relationship to the Romans.) While they had yet to recognize just how special Jesus was, there is little doubt they were transfixed on His prowess including His miraculous abilities - not least of which often left people in a quasi-hypnotic stupor. This was the case with the temple guard who returned without having arrested Him because "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks" (Jn. 7:46).

Christ was unlike any other teacher the jews had ever seen. He spoke the truth. He was authoritative in His speech, and commanded a genuineness that no one else could previously have offered. Even His enemies recognized that His teaching was impartial, and He conveyed His message plainly. His parables could be received by honest, faithful souls while excluding his detrators from understanding. Lastly, His Message was compassionate as demonstrated with the sinful woman, possibly a prostitute, that came to wash his feet at a dinner party.

The miracles Christ performed, whether they be supernatural, "mighty works," "wonders" (having special effect on observers), or "signs" (pointing to an object greater than itself), all pointed to the Christ's identity as the promised Messiah. All told, some have estimated that Jesus performed upwards of 35 such supernatural effects. Using hyperbolic language, the apostle John suggests that there were many more things that could be written (Jn. 21:25).

All told, the evidences observed by the Pharisees was more than enough to convince them (Nicodemus uses the term "we know" (Jn. 3:2)) that Christ had "come from God" (3:2). Even His enemies were not so blind as to overlook that central point. If Nicodemus, the teacher (3:10, i.e. not just any teacher) was persuaded of Christ's true identity, what does that say about the rest of the religious aristocracy, and their appraisal of Messiah?