It does not surprise me that writing a column which is occasionally designed to be provocative sometimes results in people being provoked. What does surprise me is how often Christians who are upset want to question the validity or integrity of the Christianity of the people they are disagreeing with. "Mr. Robertson "(these people are always so polite), they say, "What do you think of Jesus Christ?". I am never quite sure if it is a question or an accusation. It seems as though they are saying, “if you thought as you should about Jesus Christ then a) you would not be writing about these matters and b) what you write would agree with me”. But let us be charitable and assume that my questioners are really interested in the answer. Let us assume that they want to know and share in some of my deepest emotions and that they are not engaging me in some kind of doctrinal litmus test. Let me answer the question.
Firstly I have to say that it is one of the most difficult questions that I have ever to answer. Why? Because it is so deeply personal and because there is the danger of using relatively meaningless religious clichés. There is also the danger of hypocrisy - telling people what you think they want to hear. And there is the danger of what I would call religious sap - sugary devotional language culled from a few 'spiritual' books which we think best express our devotion to Christ. Recognising these dangers let us try to avoid them and let me honestly answer the question.
It is a deeply personal matter. Something which I am not sure could or should be shared with others. To me it is at the level of being asked 'what is your sex life like?'. Not really a subject of discussion. The analogy is not so crude and irreverent as some might think - EP Thompson - in his massive work on 'The Making of the English Working Class', points out how sexual imagery and language was used during the Methodist revival to describe religious feelings. Those who have been brought up in the Angus Smith tradition of reading the Song of Solomon simply as a poem about Christ and the Church should also appreciate that. The Bible itself frequently uses the analogy of the most intimate human relationship to describe the connection between Christ and his people. So you will appreciate that, just as I am reluctant to discuss my relationship with my wife in public, I also bear a certain reticence in talking about my relationship with Jesus - not because I am ashamed but rather because it means so much.
"Ah," I hear you cry, "what about witnessing to Christ - surely you must speak about him". Indeed. I must speak about him. I must say who he is. I must declare what he has done. I must share his word. But so often these questions and these discussions are focused not on him but on us. "Mr. Robertson , what do YOU think about Jesus Christ?" - is that the question of a man who wants to know more about Jesus or the question of a man who wants to know more about me?
Another difficulty is in this whole idea of witness. If I speak of Christ in order to persuade someone else is there not a danger that I become just a salesman? It may be a subtle difference but is it not better to speak of Christ because of who he is rather than just in an attempt to persuade people. Let me put it another and more provocative way - is there not something tremendously artificial about being ‘trained’ to witness to Jesus Christ? Can you imagine a court ‘witness’ being trained to give testimony? Would that not be called coaching and by definition is it not almost an interference with the witness? Surely a witness tells of what they have witnessed? Do they need to be trained to do so? Does that not take away from the reality, spontaneity (mind you, one can be trained to be ‘spontaneous!) and effectiveness of the witness? Going back to the relationship between Christ and his people being analogous to the relationship between a man and his wife, does a man need ‘training’ to bear witness of his wife? But I digress. Enough explanations of why I find this difficult. What is my answer to the question?
I think of Jesus Christ as the most wonderful human being who has ever lived. No-one ever has lived such a selfless and sinless life as him. Whenever I read about him in his word I find myself amazed and attracted by his compassion, his love, his truthfulness, his anger, his poverty and his ability to communicate and challenge.
Jesus Christ is also the way I see God. He is God - indeed one of my favourite verses is in Hebrews 1 where we are told that 'he is the exact representation of God, the express image of his glory". If I want to know what God is like I just look at Jesus. At this point I find myself really struggling with the wonder of, as Rabbi Duncan put it, "the dust of the earth sitting on the throne of heaven" - or perhaps even more the one who sat on the throne of heaven , emptying himself and becoming the dust of the earth. Jesus is Lord. That does not detract from his humanity, in the same way that his humanity does not does not detract from his divinity. It's amazing!
That's why I have nothing in common with those 'religious' people who are prepared to deny that Jesus is God or who undermine his humanity. Christology is about Jesus. Therefore it is very important. Far more important than mere religious debate, or church denominations.
I was once at an ecumenical meeting when one of the clergy present spoke about 'his Jesus'. Apparently his Jesus was homosexual and sinful because that meant he could identify with him. It may have been his Jesus but it was certainly not the Jesus I know - it was certainly not the Jesus of the Bible. I do not have the liberty to reinvent Jesus in the image of whatever I, or any church want.
Jesus also scares me. Because he is alive and because he is for real. This is not just a philosophical or religious theory but this is something that is real, something that is here and now. I claim to be his follower but how rarely do I live as though he were alive! He is, and I need to live for him. Indeed I think that I can honestly say that Jesus is my life and the reason for living. He is the truth. He is the source of all beauty and goodness.
One other thing - I believe that he is the head of the Church. We have no right to put anyone or anything in his place - not a pope, not a minister, not a Confession, not a tradition, not a Church Court in his place. There are those who all too easily claim divine sanction for every action and every opinion. There are also those at the other extreme who are kind of Christological Deists. They believe everything about Jesus in theory, everything about him in the past. The difficulty they have is with Christ in the present. It is almost as though Christ started the Church and just left us to get on with it. We all to easily forget the promise of Jesus to send us his Spirit and the promise that he would be with us always. What a difference it would make to us if in all our worship services, discussions, church courts we knew the presence of the Lord.
What do I think of Christ? He is the best human I will ever know. He is God to be worshipped. He is my reason for living. He is the head of the Church. He loves me with a love that I have only begun to comprehend. He will feed, guide, lead, protect and care for all his people. He will come to judge the world and bring justice. In that day we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. I suspect we will all be in for a few surprises. Meanwhile it is an absolute joy and pleasure to serve him and live for him on this earth. He is Lord. He is my Lord (in the sense that he owns me and not that I own him). He is the Lord of all the universe and one day the whole cosmos will be reconciled in him. Worship!
Does that answer your question?
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