I think I’m safe in saying that more books have been written about Jesus Christ than any other person in the history of humankind. And what do we know about Jesus? The truth is, not that much. We are almost exclusively reliant on the gospels in the New Testament for information about Jesus, and it’s debatable as to how much of that information is a true, historical record of real events that took place in the life of Jesus, and how much is the creative endeavour of the gospel writers who were seeking to describe the experience of God that people had when they encountered Jesus.
With that being said, Jesus must have been an amazing individual. We can assume he possessed an incredible aura or presence that drew people to him. And clearly he must have been a powerful communicator, given that so many people became his followers after hearing him speak. Some aspect of God must have been revealed to people through their encounters with Jesus. That’s what set him apart from others.
Compare Jesus with the person of King David. David was a much loved, revered and respected figure in Jewish history. While still a young man who tended his father’s flock of sheep, he was chosen by God to be king of Israel. But we don’t hear of people experiencing a revelation of God through an encounter with David. Yes we know that people believed God was with David and the army of Israel whenever they went into battle with their enemies, but that wasn’t the same as the experience of God that people obviously had when they met Jesus.
We also know that David was a flawed human being. The events involving David with Bathsheba and the death of her husband Uriah are a perfect example of someone taking advantage of a power imbalance in a relationship (in the case of David his position as king) to satisfy their own selfish desires. This was not something that Jesus did, or was even tempted to do.
The sense we have of Jesus is that he was completely selfless in his relationships with others. In fact, we can say he transcended the traditional barriers of humanity that separated people. He socialised with those on the outer margins of society (the tax collectors and sinners), he engaged with Samaritans and Gentiles, he spoke with women and valued children, and he touched lepers. He showed genuine love and compassion for all people, regardless of gender, race, wealth, status or political persuasion.
He was truly set apart from all others in the history of humankind.
