The Culture of Jesus - Part 2, the Divine (Spiritual) Culture

Part 1 was 'The Physical Culture of Jesus'.

Part 2 is 'The Divine Culture'.

In Part 1, the physical culture of Jesus helped us to understand "where Jesus was coming from" in an earthly sense. In this article, we will begin to explore "where Jesus came from", a very different perspective. Herein, we will begin to look at who Jesus really was. Each of us has our earthly roots, yet He had ascended from a culture far beyond what we could imagine, a divine culture that truly defined who this Master was and is to us.

Jesus only purpose on this earth was to reach out to us at our own level and tell us what His home not of this earth was like, and to invite us there by enabling us to become like Him, pure and cleansed in spirit, through His death and sacrifice for us. As we begin to learn about Jesus' divine culture, let's remember His physical culture. This enables us to better understand His words as we progress.

Some portions of this article are from a sermon preached some time ago by Ravi Zacharias, a christian converted about 30 years ago from Hinduism, based upon some of his personal knowledge and experiences.

Part 1 - Review of the Physical Culture

• Family Ties - Exceptionally strong in the East and Middle East cultures. The clan swallows up individuality, meaning that what is best for the family/family name far outweighs any personal needs.
• Social/Academic Status - Intellect is worshipped. Must be in the Top of their Class or very close to it, doing well is not good enough.
• The people in Jesus day had been looking for a Messiah, a King, someone to save them from their current "status" for generations. Had been prophesied to for 2,000 years.
• Then John the Baptist introduces this man called Jesus, from Nazareth (a city of low esteem, wrong side of the tracks), and the son of Joseph, a carpenter (low family professional status).
• These people were raised with sheep, and bloody sacrifices of their lambs.
• Jesus is introduced as the "Lamb of God".
• New thought is introduced that most understood the impact of, but few understood the real concept of... 'men sacrificing lambs (animals) to God was one thing, but now God sacrificing His Lamb (His Son) for men' was an entirely different concept.
• Andrew's question upon meeting this proclaimed Messiah, "Where do you live?" & the importance of that question in their culture for defining the social and political authority of a person.
• Jesus' reply "Come and see", the purpose being to begin showing Andrew and the other followers the spiritual home & authority that He came from, not the earthly home.
• Jesus' task was to lead them on a journey of thought, beyond the here and now, that would enable them to truly understand how He would deliver them according to the prophesies.
• Nathanael's response to Jesus - before meeting Him. His skepticism and cynicism with comments like, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?," and "Isn't He the son of Joseph the carpenter?"

Now - Part 2 - The Divine Culture

• Jesus' task was to introduce the eternal perspective of thought and heart that they had never had to consider with their earthly ways of sacrifice and traditional worship. He had to establish a personal responsibility for salvation within them and separate the family interest from the individual need to follow Him.
• Nathanael's response to Jesus upon meeting Him, and Jesus' response to Nathanael demonstrate this in the first chapter of John.

John 1:47-51: Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Jesus had seen Nathanael when Nathanael didn't even know he was being watched. In one of David's psalms, David confessed that he could not flee from God's presence, for God knew him in his inmost being: Psalms 139:7-10 "Wherever I go, You are there." Nathanael had just realized the same truth. Jesus also knew that Nathanael didn't think very much of Nazareth. Recognizing what was in his heart, when Nathanael said "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus challenged him and said "You believe because I told you I saw you under a fig tree. You shall see greater things than that... I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." John 1:50-51

Jesus, in short, said, "You are shocked because I revealed you to yourself? Wait until you see the full truth of who I am and where I come from!" He took Nathanael from explaining the lesser things to a destination of glorious insights. Jesus establishes a very personal knowledge of each of these who approach Him from their first sight of Him.

We just read about Nathaniel, and just before this, He has a similar encounter with Simon; John 1:41-42, He (Andrew) first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). Stop here for just a moment and note the parentage reference, "son of Jonah". The physical culture is always an important key point to remember when studying the Bible or the life of Jesus.

Back to the scripture, this is the same Simon that we see in Matthew 16:13-18, where it says: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Note the parentage references again; "Son of the Living God", "Simon Bar-Jonah", "My Father who is in Heaven". There's a consistent reference to parentage & heritage throughout these scriptures.

Jesus used this worldly understanding of culture to lead the apostles to realize & understand His divine cultural roots. And now, blessed is Simon Peter for recognizing the true parentage of Jesus, for taking that journey of thought and faith to a place beyond the here and now, and seeing Jesus as God's Son, not Joseph the carpenter's son or Jesus of Nazareth.

Here in John the first chapter, we have the account of Simon first meeting Jesus and Jesus calls him Cephas, which means "stone"; then here in Matthew's account, in an event that happens later between Jesus and Simon, we see Jesus calling him Peter, meaning "rock", because of the confession that Simon, now Simon Peter, has so boldly proclaimed. The confession, which Jesus says is the rock upon which He will build His church, comes from Simon, whom He called Cephas , or "stone", when they first met. Do you see the divine connection here?

Jesus knew these men & the roles they would each have before they ever came to Him. Just like He knew Nathanael before he came to Jesus... and just like He knows us before we come to Him. This divine journey of thought that He took them on is something that He still beckons us to come on as well. Yet, as long as we continue to think with the physical limits of when & where & time that bind us like slaves on this earth, we will never be able to understand or submit to the limitless, eternal, boundless joy of freedom that is in Christ and in God.

To be like Christ; to teach others; to live according to God's will; to even understand our own salvation, we have to understand that our thinking MUST change to an eternal perspective and see things from Heaven's point of view, not the world's... "putting off the old man and putting on the new man" as we are told in Ephesians and Colossians. It is then, and ONLY then that can we prioritize our life, our goals, our work, and our purpose according to God's purpose for us as individuals, each with our own gifts to offer in His service. If we hope to ever attain happiness and cease pursuing it, we must understand and live by that eternal perspective. In the U.S., our constitution gives us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and now globally, through God and our Savior, Jesus the Christ, we have the hope of attaining it.

I believe that Jesus came as a vision of our perceived earthly weakness in order for us to understand God's strength and power over all that we know in our limited minds. Anyone would have expected a great and glorious King on this earth to be socially & politically strong and have influential parents and live a high lifestyle, and even moreso in the eastern culture. We would expect Him to have the ability to get laws changed and be powerful enough to deliver them, because that's the way the world thinks. But He wanted us to think the way that God thinks, the eternal perspective; the "forever with Him" concept, instead of placing value among the things of this earth that will pass away. So, He came in a very unexpected way so that we could see God in Him, and know Him for who He really is, not for what He has or how He looks. Have you ever noticed that we are never given a detailed physical description of Jesus? He wanted us to see His heart, the heart of God, not a physical form.

It was through His earthly disadvantages that we are shown God's conquering advantages. By showing us how much He could do in God against what we thought were all odds, Jesus revealed to us how little we can do in ourselves, no matter how great we think we are. Through His strength to overcome every temptation, every evil, even death, was revealed the true level of our weaknesses and our true need of a Savior, a sacrifice that we could NEVER make.

Have you ever asked God, like Andrew did, "Where do you live?"... or cried out "Where are you?", only to discover that He lives within you, everywhere you go He is there just waiting for you to follow Him home? Have you ever asked, like Nathanael, "Can anything good come from this?", and then found out later that He knew you before you knew Him? Have you ever figured out that in all of your struggles, He was already shaping you into that person that you would have to become to serve him in the role that He already knew you would take?

Our culture perishes, this earthly, physical culture that we know, whether from the East or the West. The culture of the world is dying each and every day. It had a beginning, and it will have a definite end. There is time, and space, and motion... and all of these earthly-defined boundaries, yet, it all fades and decays with every passing minute. The reality you know right now is temporary. You sitting here right now, is just a blink of an eye... a mist... a vapor, then it's over and you're gone from this earth, never to return and no second chances. You are doing now all you will ever get to do on this earth. This may be your last minutes. Do you ever think about that? Do you live every day, every moment, like it is your last?

Our culture perishes, but, Jesus' home lasts forever. It is renewed with the glory of God's presence forever. There was no beginning, and therefore will have no end. There are no bounds, no limits of time, nor space, nor motion. It comes closer to being your only reality every second, and is certain to overcome & replace the reality that you know and understand right now, regardless of how hard you resist it or how rich or poor yuo are.

Whether you like it or not, whether you're ready or not... Eternity is coming. Death is coming, as a welcomed promotion if you're one of His faithful children in spiritual battle everyday, but either way, Death is coming to take you home. It's only a bad thing if you're not ready. Place your value, the things that matter to you, in God's house, and it will all be yours to claim and keep forever. Place your value anywhere else, and you will claim nothing... your whole life will be lost and wasted with nothing to show for it and no hope forever.

When you meet this Jesus that we have learned more about, which culture will He know that you place value in? Have you boldly proclaimed Him as God's Son, as his apostles and other believers did, no matter what the cost on this temporary earth, because your riches are stored eternally? Or have you continued to see Him as Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, the carpenter, as His enemies did right up to His death? Are you thinking from His home, or from yours? While He is watching you now, even when you don't think about it, what does He see in you? As other people are watching you, even when you don't realize it, do they see Him in you?

Consider this last thought... In God's eyes, there is no staying neutral to avoid conflict. He says that either you love Him and despise Satan, or you love Satan and despise Him. You are either for Him or against Him... Against Him, you will die. For Him, you will live beyond anything you can possibly imagine. You cannot serve two masters. There is no such position as neutral. There is no such thing as an undercover Christian.

If you have an interest in the Bible, missions work, or religious matters, you will most likely enjoy and learn much from these sites: http://www.missionsworks.org You may also want to visit my blog: http://360.yahoo.com/brantdeth

The sites are designed to teach, but also to provide numerous resources on the Restoration Movement that took place in America's early history. There are several resources that you can access from the site, as well as some very basic biblical teaching that may enlighten you or others about just what the Bible tells us, without interjection of man's creeds or opinions.

I am also working on a book of my own that should provide some interest to a wider audience, whether believers or not. The book briefly addresses some of man's theories (Darwin, Uniformitarianism, Existentialism, and others), the age of our earth (and universe as a whole) by genealogical and secular historical perspectives, and other interesting aspects of our being.

At some point, though not ready yet, MissionsWorks.org will also provide an interactive living map of where missions works are being performed globally.

Any thoughts, comments, or feedback is always appreciated! What would you like to see me write about? Let me know! God Bless You!

Dr. D