Thoughts on Christ

As I said in my last blog, I'm taking a class on the New Testament and one on C.S. Lewis. I really love both of these classes individually, but I especially love it when the two subjects collide. Currently in NT we are studying the gospel of Mark and in CSL we are reading Mere Christianity. In the second book of Mere Christianity, What Christians Believe, it talks about Christ and the culture He lived in. It was really interesting to me that in Jesus' time, no one would ever say God's name. I never knew that fact before and it really struck me in both of my classes when we talked about it. In Mere Christianity, Lewis says that when Christ said it, it either had to be true or He was basically crazy. Since the Jewish context in which Jesus lived had many conventions like this which Christ broke, it makes it a little easier for me to see how He was rejected by them. I love looking at things like this in historical context. It really helps me understand the events that occurred--better than I've ever seen them before.
Another part of this that I really loved was how Lewis went on to say that Jesus was so "down to earth" or something to that extent. That in spite of all of His convention-breaking He still accumulated followers and believers which has continued to this day. People were willing to get over initial shocks at His behavior and believe in Him throughout history. I thought this was really interesting and worth sharing. It really changed the way I look at the New Testament.