Jesus Of Nazareth Analysis

Biblical scholars, everyday Christians and even non-believers often dispute about the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Beginning this journey of truth, one must begin with his or her own initial interaction with Jesus. Author Philip Yancy’s first depiction of Jesus developed, like many Christians, in early childhood Sunday School classes. As a child, Yancy believed Jesus was simply a man similar to that of Mister Rogers who brought comfort to many, but remained removed from personal interactions. When he attended Bible college, this depiction was challenged. Both the Mister Rogers and “United Nations” versions of Jesus conflicted with what he was experiencing at Bible College. After watching several documentaries and dramatic movies depicting

As with many Christians, Yancy developed a “remote and two-dimensional” version of Jesus through church teachings. Logically, this could not be the case, as Yancy notes, Jesus had thousands of followers. Yancy changed approaches. He analyzed and researched Jesus of Nazareth as a reporter would. He examined and scrutinized numerous accounts of Jesus’s physical appearances, personality, miracles and teachings. He even questioned the experiences of a member of the crowds that followed Jesus and even one of the disciples. He ended this chapter by noting Jesus’s motivation for choosing whom he calls “losers” as

My journey to further understand who Jesus of Nazareth is began, like Yancy’s, in Children’s Church in the basement of the church that my ancestors worshiped in when they were emancipated. My version of Jesus had dark, nappy, unruly hair, piercing eyes and, of course, he was black. Black Jesus developed in my life similar to Black Santa. My Caucasian friends had their blue eyed, rosy cheeked jolly man, but I knew both Jesus and Santa were black. Like Yancy, I had a blind trust in the adults guiding me as to who both my savior and present bearing Santa Claus truly were. Yancy utilized a unique technique of viewing Jesus through the lenses of several different filmmakers. Often, the movie clips provided a juxtaposition of preconceived notions and a fresh image. He stated that the films “helped to strip away the patina of predictability that had built up over years of Sunday school and Bible reading.” I agree that this method is necessary. The various perspectives provide bases to find correlations and similarities while weeding through the extremes. Nonetheless, Jesus, like Yancy stated, was a Jewish man with middle eastern features including a