Course:Meetings for teaching/Life of Prophets/Jesus

Christ (Some Answered Questions, Chapter 6)

1 Afterwards Christ appeared, saying, “I am born of the Holy Spirit.” If it is easy today, among Christians, to acknowledge the truth of this claim, at the time it was very difficult. Thus, according to the text of the Gospel, the Pharisees said, “Is this not the son of Joseph of Nazareth, whom we know? How then can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”2

2 Briefly, this Man, Who appeared lowly in the eyes of all, arose nonetheless with such power as to abrogate a fifteen-hundred-year-old Dispensation, notwithstanding that the least deviation from its laws would expose the offender to grave danger and bring about his death and annihilation. Moreover, in the time of Christ the general morals and manners of the Israelites had become entirely confused and corrupted, and Israel had fallen into a state of utmost degradation, misery, and bondage. At one time they fell captive to the Chaldeans and the Persians; at another they were under the yoke of the Assyrian Empire. One day they became the subjects and vassals of the Greeks; another they were subjugated and humiliated by the Romans.

3 This young Man, Christ, through an extraordinary power abrogated the ancient Mosaic Law and undertook to reform the morals of the people. He once again laid the foundation of eternal honour for the Israelites—nay, He undertook to rehabilitate the fortunes of the entire human race—and spread abroad teachings that were not reserved for Israel alone but formed the basis for the universal happiness of human society.

4 The first to arise to destroy Him were the Israelites—His own people and kindred. And to outward seeming they indeed overcame Him and reduced Him to utter abasement, till at last they crowned Him with the crown of thorns and crucified Him. But this Man, while outwardly immersed in deepest affliction, proclaimed: “This Sun will rise, this Light will shine resplendent, My grace will encompass the world, and all Mine enemies will be confounded.” And even as He spoke, so it came to pass, for all the kings of the earth were unable to resist Him. Nay, all their standards were cast down, while the standard of that Wronged One was raised to the loftiest heights.

5 Is this at all possible in accordance with the rules of human reason? No, by God! Then it is clear and evident that this glorious Being was a true Educator of the world of humanity and that He was aided and assisted by a divine power.

Outline for Chapter on Jesus Christ

I. Christ Faced Enormous Obstacles and Overcame Them Tremendously

A. The Severe Obstacles and Resistance Faced by Christ

• Scorned origins and difficult claim: Proclaimed He was born of the Holy Spirit, a claim met with severe derision and incredulity by contemporaries who viewed Him merely as the ordinary son of Joseph of Nazareth.
• Lowly outward station: Appeared lowly and insignificant in the eyes of all, possessing no worldly status or political backing.
• Extreme peril of religious reform: Arose to abrogate an entrenched, fifteen-hundred-year-old Mosaic Dispensation—a system where even the slightest deviation normally carried the penalty of death and destruction.
• Corrupt and degraded society: Emerged at a time when the morals, manners, and social fabric of the Israelites were thoroughly corrupted, and the nation itself had fallen into a state of utmost misery, subjugation, and humiliation under successive foreign empires (Chaldeans, Persians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans).
• Betrayal and outward defeat by His own kin:

1. His own people and kindred, the Israelites, were the very first to arise to destroy Him.
2. To outward appearances, His adversaries triumphed over Him completely, subjecting Him to the crown of thorns, extreme humiliation, and crucifixion.

B. His Tremendous Triumph and Extraordinary Accomplishments

• Abrogation of the ancient law: Successfully altered and superseded the ancient Mosaic Law through extraordinary power.
• Moral and civilizational renewal:

1. Re-established eternal honor for Israel and reformed the corrupted morals of the populace.
2. Extended His mission beyond national boundaries to rehabilitate the fortunes and secure the universal happiness of all human society.

• Prophetic certainty amidst crucifixion: While outwardly facing utter destruction, He boldly proclaimed that His light would shine resplendent, His grace would encompass the entire world, and His enemies would be confounded.
• Universal spiritual sovereignty: Overthrew the standards of the greatest worldly powers; the kings of the earth could not extinguish His influence, while His own standard was elevated to the highest heights.

II. A True Educator Faces Great Obstacles and Overcomes Them

A. The Inadequacy of Purely Human Reason

• By ordinary human reason and natural worldly dynamics, a solitary, lowly youth rejected and crucified by His own people cannot conquer the world or found a universal moral civilization.
• Outwardly reduced to absolute helplessness, an ordinary human being would vanish into historical obscurity rather than cast down empires and reshape global consciousness.

B. The Proof of Divine Assistance

• Overcoming entrenched millennia-old religious codes, systemic moral decay, state-sponsored execution, and the resistance of imperial rulers without worldly army or wealth demands an extraordinary, supernatural power.
• The realization of His prophetic declarations across all continents serves as visible, empirical evidence of assistance by an all-conquering divine force.

III. Therefore, Christ Was a True Educator

• The Logical Deduction: Because Christ transformed the degraded state of humanity, established universal teachings that outlasted the might of earthly kings, and turned outward abasement into enduring spiritual conquest, it is clear and undeniable that this glorious Being was a true Educator of the world of humanity.