Seven Things You May Not Know About Jesus

Wed Aug 26, 2015 7:12 pm

The Old Testament points forward to Him. The New Testament points back to Him. But all Scripture points to Him, as Jesus said in John 5:39.

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Time has no meaning to Jesus
According to Colossians 1, when God created the world, He created it by, through, and in Christ. This means that all time, space, and matter are all in Him. Thus Jesus is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, all at the same moment. Consequently, the crossing of the Red Sea and the consummation of the ages are all “now” for Jesus. He not only sees the end from the beginning, but He stands at the end and the beginning at the same moment. What an awesome Lord!

Jesus sang on the cross
First-century Jews always sang the Psalms and they were sung in their entirety. Jesus is found quoting the Psalms during His darkest hours on Calvary, and Jesus sang the Psalm on the cross.

His 12 disciples were teenagers
In the first century, when a boy reached his early teens, he became a man. Women married at around age 13. Renowned scholar Craig Keener, argues that the twelve disciples were most likely in their late teens.

The risen Christ was … fragrant!
Just before His death, Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with a very potent perfume. When His body was taken down from the cross, Nicodemus put 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes on His body (the amount that was used for kings). Thus when Jesus rose again from the dead, He was fragrant. Paul makes mention of the fragrance of the resurrected Christ in 2 Corinthians. The Psalms also allude to it prophetically. The fragrance of resurrection has spiritual implications that we explore in Jesus: A Theography.

Jesus had a keen sense of humor
Since we live in the 21st century, we easily miss the use of humor that Jesus regularly employed. Suffice it to say that He was a master at irony and wit. Many of his sayings indicate this.

Jesus completed the story of Israel
Most Christians are aware that Jesus fulfilled certain prophecies in the Old Testament. But the fact is that Jesus not only completed the story of Israel, but He re-played it down to the details.
For instance, Jesus was tested in the wilderness for 40 days just as Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus experienced the exact temptations that Israel experienced in the wilderness. In fact, what Jesus said to Satan on three occasions were direct quotes from Moses to Israel during Israel’s wilderness temptation. Jesus chose twelve disciples, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel. And on and on.

Accepting Him is a political statement
First-century Jews believed that the Messiah (which is translated “Christ”) was to rule the entire world and save them from their enemies. First-century Gentiles knew that Caesar was Lord (or Emperor) of world. He was also regarded as the Savior of the people who brought peace to the empire. Whenever a new Emperor took the throne, the Emperor’s emissaries heralded the news of the new Caesar. The word they used for this news was “gospel.” When the early Christians preached to the Jews, they announced the “gospel” that Jesus was the Messiah – meaning, He was the Ruler and Savior of the world. When the early Christians preached to the Gentiles, they proclaimed the “gospel” that Jesus was the new Lord of the world who was also the Savior who would bring peace. So saying that Jesus is Christ and Lord in the first century were high-octane political statements that resulted in riots and persecution to those who claimed such.

~These and other surprising facts about Jesus can be found in Jesus: A Theography.