Jesus and IdentityPart 2 in the series Was Jesus Effective? Did Jesus have a clear concept of his own Identity? He certainly seems to have had some kind of concept of identity, and at times used different analogues to try to convey some part of this to his followers. Here are a few quotes of Jesus relating to his identity. I am the light of the world. – Gospel of John, chapter 8 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. – Gospel of John, chapter 14 I am the door. - Gospel of John, chapter 10 I am the vine. - Gospel of John, chapter 15 I am the good shepherd. – Gospel of John, chapter 10 I am the bread of life. – Gospel of John, chapter 6 Jesus refers to himself on numerous occasions as “the son of man” Jesus claims to be the son of God – Gospel of John, chapter 10 and 17, Gospel of Luke, chapter 22 "I am" – Gospel of John, chapter 8 He was sent from heaven – Gospel of John, chapter 10 To sum up Jesus’ statements about himself he saw himself in three roles. One role was oriented toward leadership. His use of names “the way”, “the truth”, “the door”, and “the light”, present a model of Jesus as guiding his follows to truth, enlightenment, and effective living. Another role is that of nurturing and caring for those in need. He uses the names “the good shepherd”, “the vine”, and “the bread of life” to show his role as caregiver, protector and provider. The third role Jesus presents is that of god. Interestingly, Jesus did not seem to present a clearly defined body of teaching on theology or the nature of god. He certainly stated that he was god; but also implied rather intriguingly and contrary to current typical Christian doctrine, that we all as humans are somehow gods, but also that he as “the son of god” is somehow higher in the “theological hierarchy” than the regular god-ness which applies to all of us. Now, I am sure that many readers will balk at this, and rightfully so - this is controversial stuff! Please don’t take my word for it, but go check out John chapter 10. Jesus here states that he is god as all men are gods, quoting an Old Testament scripture from the book of Psalms, chapter 82. Further discussion of this particular statement will ensue in a future article. Jesus also indicates that he existed in some kind of heavenly dimension prior to his life on earth, and that he was specifically sent to earth for a Purpose. So what was Jesus’ concept of his own identity? Leader, provider, and heavenly god. Sounds like he had a pretty clear concept of his identity alright. So did he effectively carry out his roles based on his identity? We’ll come back to this question in the conclusion of this series. Incidentally, you may want to follow up on some of the above quotes. You can find the exact chapter and verse references here, then read your own bible to ensure we are not altering the text. ... more in this series Was Jesus Effective? Identity Awareness Values Enlightenment Purpose Wisdom Intent Strength Conclusion
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