The Pope introduces Jesus

The first comments the Pope offers about this Jesus of Nazareth are directed towards a promise from Deuteronomy. This seems a strange place to start for a book about Jesus, but the significance of this origin is quickly made clear.

The promise the Pope begins with is one which declares that one day God will raise up a prophet like Moses. This man will fulfill the role of the prophet which is unique to Israel. This unique role is not an office that can be likened to other religions or other ‘soothsayers’ or ‘fortune tellers’, for the prophet of Israel is not mainly concerned about future events.

The prophet, according to the Pope, is “not to report on the events of tomorrow or the next day in order to satisfy human curiosity or the human need for security. He shows us the face of God, and in so doing he shows us the path that we have to take” (2007: 4). These other soothsayers and fortune-tellers are in contrast to the prophet of Israel because the Israelite prophetic office is defined by the life and character of Moses – one who spoke to God. Thus, the prophet is defined by relationship to God, by being able to hear God, and by being able to see God.

The insight here is sharp. In his juxtaposing of soothsayers and Israelite prophets, the Pope finds that the prophets go far beyond mere future telling. Though they do speak of the future it is clear that “the future of which he speaks searches far beyond what people seek from soothsayers. He (the prophet) points out the path to the true ‘exodus’ which consists in this: Among all the paths of history, the path to God is the true direction that we must seek and find” (2007: 4).

What is important here is that the office of the prophet is directly tied to the fact that a prophets speaks to, and knows God. He converses with God as a friend does with another friend. Remember the story of Moses asking to see the glory of God (Ex. 33:18-23)? God only allows Moses to see his back from the cleft of the rock saying that ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live’ (v. 20).

Now, relate this story to the promise that one who is greater than Moses will come one day. It can be seen that what was refused to Moses - namely face to face relationship – will be granted to the one who is greater than Moses. “This naturally entails the further expectation that the new Moses will be the mediator of a greater covenant than the one that Moses was able to bring down from Sinai” (2007: 6). The promise of a greater prophet tells the people of Israel that one will come who knows the heart of God and will be equipped to guide the people towards Him.

Then in John we see that Jesus is the only one who has ever seen God, “No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known” (John 1:18)  It is clear then, that this Jesus is the fulfillment of the promised prophet. He is the one who lives in the most intimate unity with the Father. For the Pope this is central to the understanding of Jesus. “We have to start here if we are truly to understand the figure of Jesus as it is presented to us in the New Testament: all that we are told about his words, deeds, sufferings, and glory is anchored here” (2007: 6).

Because this is the one who calls all men to follow him, then the claim that the ‘filial relationship’ between the Father and the Son is central to all that Jesus is also relates directly to the disciples who would follow. “The disciple who walks with Jesus is thus caught up with him into communion with God. And that is what redemption means” (2007: 8). The one who is greater than Moses has come, and he has come from the Father, and he has shown us the way to the Father. To follow Jesus is to follow him into a face-to-face relationship with the Father. This is what defines Jesus and this is what defines his disciples.

In John’s Gospel, after Jesus has washed the feet of his disciples he tells them once again that he is leaving them to go to the cross but that he will send another, the Holy Spirit, and that he will not leave them as orphans (Jn. 14). Then Judas (not Iscariot) asks him ‘Lord, how will you manifest yourself to us and not to the world?’ And Jesus gives him this for an answer:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and more our home with him”

The promise that one who is greater than Moses will come is fulfilled in Jesus, the one who has seen God. Now this Jesus promises to his disciples that we too can now dwell with the Father. And dwelling with God is the gift of eternal life given to all who love him.

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