Uncommon Man: Biography of Jesus Christ
An Uncommon Man
Over two thousand years ago there was an uncommon man. An itinerant teacher. A full and beautiful human being, somehow God-indwelt. He walked the solid ground of Galilee operating as a Jewish Rabbi, eating, drinking, teaching, and offering invitations for those who would hear: “Follow me!”
Who was this man, really? What did others say about him at that time? What did He believe about Himself? And perhaps most importantly, what did God say about Him? (quick link: go to complete list of resources)
The layers...
It’s unfortunate but probably inevitable that every culture (including sub-cultures such as the Christian culture) has added layers of their own upon the true, real portrait of Jesus of Nazareth. Intellectual, spiritual, scholarly, rational, and even cultic movements birthed over time chase or attempt to propagate their own “real” biography of Jesus Christ.
Movements exist, some mistaken, some describing him so radically true that the truth of them vibrates with the absolute hearts of His followers been made to resonate with the glimmering golden pitch of heaven.
Movements exist, some ugly, some seeing His beauty so clearly that the earth’s physical barriers to the supernatural become “thin” as the glory of the Creator shines as a slight reflection upon the faces of those that follow Him.
Movements exist, some simply evil, some so good that the taste of them, even one modest silvery-sip makes one at once both inebriated with God gratification and yet parched with a ravenous yearning for more.
....And stripping them away
In this swampy uncertainty there is a path past the deliberately deceitful, beyond the naively wrong, and through the culturally-crusted layers to the true portrait of this magnificent man.
We can discover in a way that makes the most sense of all the pieces, the very nature of the man, the core of his teaching and the truth of his deeds.
Depending on your situation, you may need to look at a biography of Jesus Christ from a perspective outside the Bible.
Or, you may want to look at the core statements of the Bible regarding his very identity, for example what is "The Christ" in a biography of Jesus Christ? Like me, you may want to know, what did Jesus really teach in order to follow Him better? We may even be surprised at how little, how much, how partial or impartial, how complete or how lacking the answers line up with our own beliefs or the beliefs of our church or fellowship.
The Journey is no small task. It is best viewed as a journey of discovery that will take time and tools. Nor do I pretend to have definitive answers. I don’t believe any one person could give them all.
I do intend, however, to somehow clear a bit of the path, to machete-away some of the overgrowth, so that your journey to, and perhaps with Jesus Christ may be among those for whom it is good, and true, and beautiful.
Additional Resources
Part of the journey of discovery of the biography of Jesus Christ is viewing many other bits-and-pieces about Jesus that come up in places like popular culture, music, recent discoveries and compelling studies and books and even oddities. We'll keep a list here and keep adding them!