Jesus' Identity always under fire

 "At that very moment he received in the Holy Spirit and said,"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will" (Lk. 10: 21).

  Ever since God the Father wanted the truth to be hidden from a certain category of people, "the wise wnd the learned", and reveal it to the "childlike" there has been a battle being waged by the wise and the learned srsagainst divine revelation and all that is genuinely spiritual. Today's wise and the learned are scholars and experts think that they are able to teach God a thing or two. Practically everything in the Bible they are able declare unhistorical and invite everyone Religion and everything spiritual. They say  they are authorised to do so because they undertake a  critical study of everything and offer unbiased opinion but in absolute terms. There are many such who peroclaim that Jesus could not prophesy, or work miracles or heal people  except what was psychosomatic. These trendy teachings are coming now in a more systematic manner from a group of scholars known as the "Jesus Seminar" founded by a certain Robert Funk along with about 200 others, some of whome are known professors in Sacred Scriptures. Their efforts have led to the denial of   everything prophetic and miraculous in the Gospels and many of the sayings od Jesus, as well as, the facts about his birth, death and resurrection.

  Now it is usual to hear from Scripture professors that Jesus did not prophesy about the destruction of Jerusalem; but those who wrote the Gospels added these events in the form of prophecies after the incidents had taken place. Going in search of a historical Jesus, they end up denying everything about Jesus and finally losing faith. Jesus could not compromise on the fundamental teachings about his Gospel that centred around the one truth, that he was the Son of God. At the same time, he did not allow this information to reach the "wise and the learned" for their intensions were evil.

  One maybe shocked to know that the worst name that could be uttered, Jesus pronounced as he rebuked Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. you are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do"( Mt. 16: 23). This was really startling; but Jesus did want his real identity as the Saviour who would die to save the world, to be sacrificed. He had come from the Father only for this. For this, miracles and prophesies were signs and proofs. Now, to deny these things, as is not uncommon these days, especially during certain seminars, is to invite that condemnation, "Get behind me Satan". Jesus wanted Peter to have the answer clear to the question, "What do you say about the Son Man?" The complete answer would include also his death and resurrection that Peter could not accept at first. That was the most important of the catechism lesson given by Jesus to the Apostles.

   We need today to be on the alert and hold firmly to our faith in Jesus both human and Divine. Paul had expressed it powerfully, "We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1: 23-24).