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So, in my Christology class we were supposed to read this book called Jesus Through the Centuries by a fellow called Jaroslav Pelikan. In his book, he goes through various ways in which people have looked at Jesus. Each chapter has a title (like "True Image") and that chapter deals with how Jesus fits the title in, how the title falls short of describing Jesus, how people have come into conflict with the title, or how people have better come to know Jesus by approaching him that way, and so on. We were supposed to choos 2 titles that appealed to us and 2 that did not appeal to us and explain our reasoning. I thought I'd share one of my choices with ya'll, and maybe see what title (from the book or from anywhere else that you please) appeals to you all the most, or in some way describes how you best identify with Our Lord. Some examples from the book were: King of Kings, Light of the Gentiles, The Rabbi, The Son of Man, Christ Crucified, Bridegroom of the Soul, Divine and Human Model, The Universal Man, Mirror of the Eternal, Prince of Peace, Teacher of Common Sense, and the Liberator. There are many, many others out there, so don't feel constricted. Ultimately, each of these in some fashion answers the question "Who do people say that I am?" from a more personal perspective. So, without further ado, here's my bit on Jesus as the True Image:
One of the earliest ways of viewing Jesus was to see him as the True Image, that is, as the true image of God. God himself has always been an invisible mystery to the universe, having no physical qualities to observe with the senses. Even so, the Bible tells us that God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). It is in this way that God became the original artist, creating an image of himself in mankind. Yet, he was still an invisible God, and the Logos was his image: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth…” ( 1 Col. 1:15-16). God was only able to be known to mankind as much as God was willing to reveal himself to mankind. The greatest way in which God chose to reveal himself to creation was through the Incarnation of the Word.
Being created in the image of God, mankind was essentially an image of the true Image, that is the Son of God, since it was through the Logos that man was created. Being made in God’s image, man shares in the reasoning ability of the Word. Being made in the likeness of God, man once shared things before the Fall with God, such as immortality and incorruption. Once man sinned, he fell from this state and into corruption, losing within him his likeness to God. It was for this reason that the Word, the true Image, had to become incarnate. The image of God in man had been distorted.
At the Incarnation two important things happened. First, the Word of God, in taking on human nature, restored the image within man that had been lost through sin by the indwelling of his own divinity within the human body that was his own. Second, by becoming embodied in the person of Jesus, the Word became the visible image of the invisible God. “He became Himself an object for the senses, so that those who were seeking God in sensible things might apprehend the Father…” (Athanasius 43). Through the Incarnation, God now had a body in the person of Jesus. He made himself an image to behold.
It is the humanity of Jesus that made God something to be known. Being human and becoming tangible, he could also be depicted. Like all things that can be seen, Jesus could also be represented through artistic endeavors. Though the Bible commands that no one make images of anything on, above, or below earth, Christianity has a rich tradition of religious artwork. Unlike Judaism of the past or Islam which came after it, Christianity is not solely a religion of the book. There is more to the faith that holds not only the Bible to be the inspired word of God, but that Jesus himself is the living, breathing Word made flesh. The Word made God visible and material in the person of Jesus. As it has been explained by Jaroslav Pelikan, the threat many iconoclastic people have felt from depicting Jesus is art is “ a deep-seated aversion to the material and physical aspects of his person” (Pelikan 88). Some are frightened at the idea that God would dishonor himself by becoming man, and as they shun the material representations of him, they shun the redemption and sanctification of the body that he achieved through his Incarnation. They insult his divine wisdom at best and deny the truth of the Incarnation at worst.
The idea of Jesus as the True image appeals to me because at its core is the underlying truth of the Incarnation: that God became man so that man could become like God. The use of images speaks to the truth that does not deny the human and material nature of Jesus. We can imagine what Jesus may have looked like because we know that he looked something like us. Being like us in all but sin, he shows us that our humanity was worth saving so much that he was willing to be one of us, die for us, and give us - every part of what it means for us to be human - the hope of the resurrection.
Works Cited:
- Athanasius, St. On the Incarnation (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei). New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary P, 1975.
- Pelikan, Jarslov. Jesus Through the Centuries. Chicago: History Book Club, 2005.
- The Bible (pick your own flavor)
One of the earliest ways of viewing Jesus was to see him as the True Image, that is, as the true image of God. God himself has always been an invisible mystery to the universe, having no physical qualities to observe with the senses. Even so, the Bible tells us that God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). It is in this way that God became the original artist, creating an image of himself in mankind. Yet, he was still an invisible God, and the Logos was his image: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth…” ( 1 Col. 1:15-16). God was only able to be known to mankind as much as God was willing to reveal himself to mankind. The greatest way in which God chose to reveal himself to creation was through the Incarnation of the Word.
Being created in the image of God, mankind was essentially an image of the true Image, that is the Son of God, since it was through the Logos that man was created. Being made in God’s image, man shares in the reasoning ability of the Word. Being made in the likeness of God, man once shared things before the Fall with God, such as immortality and incorruption. Once man sinned, he fell from this state and into corruption, losing within him his likeness to God. It was for this reason that the Word, the true Image, had to become incarnate. The image of God in man had been distorted.
At the Incarnation two important things happened. First, the Word of God, in taking on human nature, restored the image within man that had been lost through sin by the indwelling of his own divinity within the human body that was his own. Second, by becoming embodied in the person of Jesus, the Word became the visible image of the invisible God. “He became Himself an object for the senses, so that those who were seeking God in sensible things might apprehend the Father…” (Athanasius 43). Through the Incarnation, God now had a body in the person of Jesus. He made himself an image to behold.
It is the humanity of Jesus that made God something to be known. Being human and becoming tangible, he could also be depicted. Like all things that can be seen, Jesus could also be represented through artistic endeavors. Though the Bible commands that no one make images of anything on, above, or below earth, Christianity has a rich tradition of religious artwork. Unlike Judaism of the past or Islam which came after it, Christianity is not solely a religion of the book. There is more to the faith that holds not only the Bible to be the inspired word of God, but that Jesus himself is the living, breathing Word made flesh. The Word made God visible and material in the person of Jesus. As it has been explained by Jaroslav Pelikan, the threat many iconoclastic people have felt from depicting Jesus is art is “ a deep-seated aversion to the material and physical aspects of his person” (Pelikan 88). Some are frightened at the idea that God would dishonor himself by becoming man, and as they shun the material representations of him, they shun the redemption and sanctification of the body that he achieved through his Incarnation. They insult his divine wisdom at best and deny the truth of the Incarnation at worst.
The idea of Jesus as the True image appeals to me because at its core is the underlying truth of the Incarnation: that God became man so that man could become like God. The use of images speaks to the truth that does not deny the human and material nature of Jesus. We can imagine what Jesus may have looked like because we know that he looked something like us. Being like us in all but sin, he shows us that our humanity was worth saving so much that he was willing to be one of us, die for us, and give us - every part of what it means for us to be human - the hope of the resurrection.
Works Cited:
- Athanasius, St. On the Incarnation (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei). New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary P, 1975.
- Pelikan, Jarslov. Jesus Through the Centuries. Chicago: History Book Club, 2005.
- The Bible (pick your own flavor)
