The Manliness of Christ

Mark Dunagan
03/15/09 - Sunday Morning

It is significant that when Jesus asked His disciples “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13), that the common views of the time identified Jesus with such men as John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah (16:14). “Jesus was not only a man. He was a manly man – the crown and glory of humanity. Scant justice has been done to the Master by the many artists who have attempted to interpret Him on canvas. He has far more frequently been represented as womanly and weak than as masculine and manly” (The Incomparable Christ, J. Oswald Sanders, p. 69). I believe this false impression of Jesus is one among many things that keep some people from believing in Him. “When World War I was over, a sentence in the report of the chaplains of the services confirmed this impression. It said, ‘The average Tommy believed that Jesus was just and good but just a trifle soft” (p. 69). In contrast to believing that Jesus was rather weak or effeminate, the people who actually interacted with Jesus did not have this view of Him. Rather, when they tried to compare or identify Him with someone, they compared Him to the rugged John the Baptist, the courageous Elijah and the bold Jeremiah.

• John the Baptist

I find this comparison interesting, because many people today would probably say that Jesus was the very opposite of John, especially concerning how they presented God’s truth. Yet the people who actually heard and saw both men preach saw in Him the same preaching style. Jesus Himself said of John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?” (Matthew 11:7-8) “The region of country in which John preached, being overflowed annually by the Jordan, produced great quantities of reeds or canes, of a light fragile nature, easily shaken by the wind” (Barnes, p. 118). “Symbolic of a man who yields to popular opinion, veers with it, and has no solid convictions of his own. At this very moment John was in prison because he would not compromise... Herod's sin was passed by in silence by all the Jewish authorities and the whole Jewish nation but never for a moment by John” (Lenski, p. 431). The idea of being dressed in soft clothing “strongly suggests a person who knows the courtier's art of flattering kings whereby one secures to himself royal favor and promotions. The crowd knew that John had not yielded either to the popularity craze or to the craving for luxury, riches, or comfort” (Fowler, pgs. 495-496). Thus when trying to figure out who Jesus was, the people who heard Him preach put Him into the same category as some of the most forceful, bold, unapologetic, dogmatic, and unyielding individuals as they could remember.

• His Physical Endurance

“Have you ever endeavored to calculate the extent of His travels or the magnitude of His labors during His brief ministry? In the many tours recorded in the gospels as previously stated, it is estimated that He traveled on foot about two thousand five hundred miles during the three years, and we need not conclude that every journey was recorded. Those were not unbroken marches, for He constantly stopped to help and heal, to teach and preach” (Sanders, p. 71). We tend to forget about Jesus’ physical endurance when He was being tempted in the wilderness. Even before He encounters Satan, the text notes that Jesus had been in the wilderness, away from the comforts of civilization, and had been fasting for forty days and nights (Matthew 4:2; Luke 4:2).

• His Uncompromising Frankness

“Christ never concealed the cross to gain a disciple. No one ever left all and followed Him who did not have opportunity to count the cost. His followers must be intelligent followers. The emphasis of our day is rather on what one gains by becoming a Christian. Jesus never failed to emphasize the cost of following Him” (Sanders, p. 73). Jesus did repeatedly stress the cost of being a disciple. When someone came to Jesus and told Him they were willing to follow Him “wherever”, instead of saying, “That’s great”, He said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). “Before we feel too much pity for Jesus who had no comfortable permanent home or earth, we must ask ourselves who is really to be pitied: Him who knew how to detach himself from home so as to be free to prepare Himself and men for God's eternity, or us who are so attached to the loved and known, to home and family that we cannot respond to Jesus' call to service as we ought?” (Fowler, p. 67). Jesus did say things to people that would cool their enthusiasm, and the purpose for this was looking for a true follower and deepening their understanding of what serving God “wherever” really means. “He has less of creature comforts than the wild animals and wild birds. Jesus, constantly on the move, has no fixed home where he can lie down and take his rest. Shown by Jesus catching some sleep in the boat (8:23)” (Lenski, p. 339). “He is a stranger in His own world – a wanderer and an outcast from the abodes of men” (John 1:11)(Barnes, p. 88). “And another of the disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead’” (Matthew 8:21-22). 

We are surrounded by a religious world that probably would view Jesus’ answers as harsh and unnecessarily driving away someone who is seeking. The critic might say that Jesus should have been more patient or understanding with these men or not laid such demands on them so soon in their spiritual quest. Yet Jesus is uncompromising with vital principles. A key word here is first. This man thought his request was both innocent and reasonable, but it did contain a deadly principle, what the world considers important thingsmay be put before following Jesus. Our duties toward Jesus must come before even duties toward our family and friends. “The soul of this man's father was beyond his son's reach; let him attend to his own soul” (Lenski, p. 344). “Let nothing interfere with your following me. Some observe that this was a critical time of decision for this disciple; he was in actual danger of burying himself while burying his father” (Boles pg. 197). “Of all filial (family) duties perhaps the most binding (in the Jewish frame of mind), while the burial would take place within twenty-four hours after death at the latest, all the ceremonial observances connected with the burial and consequent purifications would have taken many days” (P.P. Comm., p. 327). Would this man meet temptation by family at the burial to stay and not follow after Jesus? Did this man feel pressure from his peers, “What would they say if I was not at my father's funeral”? Christianity isrealistic. Your presence at their funeral may comfort mourners, yet makes no impact upon the dead individual. There will always be the spiritual dead to take care of burying bodies.

• His Denunciations

The tendency of our day is to emphasize the positive and to stress what people of different faiths have in common. Yet Jesus did not follow either of these principles, rather here is what He said about religious Gentiles: “Therefore do not be like them” (Matthew 6:8)

Concerning the Pharisees and scribes He had many harsh words, including an entire chapter of denunciations or woes (Matthew 23).

• “They do all their deeds to be noticed by men” (23:5).
• “You shut off the kingdom of heaven from men” (23:13).
• “You make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” (23:15).
• “How shall you escape the sentence of hell?” (23:33).

In addition, His denunciations went far beyond just the Pharisees; He actually labeled His contemporaries as a generation of vipers (Matthew 16:4). He denounced the popular religious leaders of the time, political leaders, and the populations of entire cities (Luke 13:34; Matthew 11:21-24). It is therefore clear that Jesus did not go around saying positive things about everyone He met and He did not just “accept people as they are”.

• His Resolute Courage

“The highest form of courage is not that of the blind enthusiast who in a moment of exaltation runs great risks, but that of the man who though clearly foreseeing the consequences of his action, nevertheless continues unwavering” (Sanders, p. 70). From the very beginning, Jesus knew that His choices, dedication to the truth, honestly, bluntness and conviction would lead to His dead at any early age (John 2:19; Matthew 16:21). We might think we deal with a lot of stress, yet every day of His life Jesus knew what lay ahead of Him – the cross. Imagine staying on the right course, preaching the truth, not compromising and yet knowing that none of this dedication would remove the fact that you would face an early and a very painful death.

• His Continued Utterances

“He is a strong man who will voluntarily speak words that must inevitably bring on him dire and painful consequences. And yet the Lord never withheld” (Sanders, p. 71). Before Annas, the high-priest, Jesus said, “I have spoken openly to the world, I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret” (John 18:20). “There were always plenty of Pharisees or other authorities present when Jesus taught His doctrines” (Butler, p. 363). “His speaking had been open and non-secretive. Whoever wanted to listen, whether at synagogue or in the temple, was welcome. What a contrast between his open teaching and the strictly executive sessions and secret plottings of the Sanhedrin!” (Hendriksen, p. 397). The verse infers that Jesus had taught the same truths no matter who was present; all audiences received the same truth. He equally said that He came to “bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37). No matter who Jesus was around, He testified to what the truth was and He never forgot or compromised this very important task.