Scholars Denying the Creed of Jesus

Anthony Buzzard

Scholars use a lot of (I think wasted) energy trying to find out what Jesus “really said” while believing that they have to guess at this, since they conjecture that no one knows if Jesus said things reported of him in our Bibles, or whether the later church put words back in his mouth! You can imagine how devastating their technique is to the comfort and instruction which many of us seek in Scripture and the precious words of Jesus, the Master teacher.

The “scholarly” technique has worked its mischief in key passages. Thus in Mark 12:29 where Jesus defined the true God with crystal clarity as “ONE LORD” (not three Lords) the otherwise very valuable Word Biblical Commentary says: “A scribe is impressed with Jesus’ ability and so asks him which commandment is the first of all” (so far so good!). Then the commentator makes this extraordinary observation about “Jesus’ affirmation of the Shema, which is neither remarkable nor specifically Christian…” (p. 261). Did you catch that? Ponder it long and hard! Jesus’ own definition of GOD and his endorsement of the Shema, “the Lord our God is one Lord,” is not Christian?! So then the teachings of Jesus are not Christian. This is a shocking indication of what entrenched tradition and some scholars are up to! They deny to Jesus the right to define the true God. They deny to Jesus what Jesus said is the most important issue for us all. We seem to be dealing here with the awful prospect of what Jeremiah called “the lying pen of the scribes” (Jer. 8:8).

This dismissal of Jesus puts churches into serious theological jeopardy, since on their books today is a denial of the very definition of God provided by Jesus. A Triune God, about whom Jesus never said anything, has replaced the Jewish-Christian definition of God endorsed by Jesus himself. A revolution will occur when churchgoers vociferously complain that their cherished, traditional view of God is at variance with Jesus’ definition of the true God.

The greatest of all commandments, Jesus said, is “Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord” (Mk.12:29). That is a unitarian, non-Trinitarian definition of God. Why then do people claiming to be following Jesus abandon his unitary monotheistic creed? This is a very simple and liberating question. Most seem not to want to venture an answer to this not complex question: Is the creed of Jesus in Mark a unitarian or Trinitarian creed? What do you think? Was Jesus a Trinitarian? If not why are you? Ask your friends and acquaintances this fascinating question, and prepare for a stimulating conversation, or perhaps a stunned silence!

Buzzard, Anthony (2013, January). Cause for Alarm. Focus on the Kingdom Magazine – Vol. 15 No. 4