TUESDAY TUNES - "What If"

Last week my brother was telling me about the Thomas Jefferson Bible. The Wikipedia article says this: The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists.

I had never heard of this until last week, so I asked my super-smart theologian hubby about it. He hadn't heard of it either, so he decided to do some research on it. Apparently this book is public domain, so he easily found it for free download. You can read Matt's review about the TJB here.

I have heard more than a few people say that Jesus was a great teacher. That his lessons of love and peace are what we should take away from his life. I have to respectfully disagree.

The point of the Thomas Jefferson Bible is that is strips the gospels of content that points to the divinity of Christ. The TJB isn't exactly incorrect - just incomplete. You see, thinking that Jesus was just a good man or just a great moral teacher is like worshiping the Jesus in the Thomas Jefferson Bible - it strips Jesus of his divinity.

Was Jesus a good man? Yes. Was he a great moral teacher? The best! Was he so much more? Absolutely.

Jesus didn't come to wag his finger and tell us to play nice with each other. Jesus didn't come to gather us together for a big group hug. My hubby said last week that, "Jesus didn't come to make us all hippies!" Peace, love, happiness - these are all good things, but let's not patronize Jesus by thinking that's all he came to do. Jesus came to redeem us...to reconcile us to God.

Here is a C.S. Lewis quote from Mere Christianity that I really love. Matt used this in a sermon recently, and it stuck with me.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a good moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

The divinity of Jesus is what makes him special. It's what makes him more than just a great moral teacher. It's what makes him my LORD.

So today (yes, I know it's late...sorry - I've had a busy day!) I want to Tune Nichole Nordeman's song "What If." What if Jesus is more than we ever thought he was? I'm fairly certain He IS more...and then some! Enjoy...

Nichole Nordeman - What If
From the album Brave

What if you’re right?
And he was just another nice guy
What if you’re right?
What if it’s true?
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it’s true?

What if he takes his palace in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

(Chours)
But what if you’re wrong?
What if there’s more?
What if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?

What if you dig, What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig?
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions inside
That’s all you find

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Then folklore that must be told and retold

(Chours)

You’ve been running as fast as you can
You’ve been looking for a place you can land so long
But what if you’re wrong?

What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?