Who is Jesus?
That is the question we discussed recently in a class I teach at my church. If he were 
conducting his earthly ministry among us today, what identity would he adopt? Would he be a liberal Democrat? A conservative Republican? Would he like the music I like? Who would his favorite authors be? What movies would he watch? Would the TV shows that annoy me annoy him too?
Our group was studying the book of Colossians. It is a letter Paul wrote to a church he had not established personally. He was thrilled that they were followers of Christ, but they had some misconceptions about Jesus’ identity that he wanted to correct.
What he says about Jesus contains no big surprises for us today, but in those early days of Christianity, many false ideas about Jesus were floating around. Paul wanted to be sure they were following the real Jesus. I want to follow the real Jesus too.
Who is the Real Sherlock Holmes?
Which brings me to Sherlock Holmes.
I enjoy reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about this great detective, so a few years ago I bought an acclaimed edition of much of the Sherlock Holmes canon that had just been published, a two-volume boxed set that boasts 56 short stories, more than 700 illustrations and more than 1,000 annotations.
The editor of those volumes, Leslie Klinger, includes an essay called “The World of Sherlock Holmes,” in which he documents the popularity of this fictional character and the intensity with which his fans follow him. Sherlock Holmes is one of the top three most well-known fictional characters in the world (along with Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus). The character has spawned more than 2,000 imitative stories from writers and filmmakers across the world.
Thousands of articles and books have been written about Sherlock Holmes across the years, and Klinger writes that the topics of analysis seem endless. There are classic issues, such as Watson’s wounds and marriages, Holmes’s Great Hiatus, and so on, and writers have also ventured into more unexpected areas.
As Klinger explains, people often want to impose their own interests onto Sherlock Holmes. He explains, “Such a formula follows the logic, ‘I am interested in the study of X. I am interested in the study of Sherlock Holmes. Therefore, Sherlock Holmes must have been interested in X.”
What kind of speculation has that approach led to? Klinger writes, “Scholarly works have demonstrated that Holmes was a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a druid, an agnostic, a Catholic, a Stoic, a deist, an atheist; that Holmes studied medicine, law, music, graphology, phrenology, early computer science, astronomy, numerology, and endless other subjects; that Holmes travelled to Russia, China, India, Tibet, the South Seas, America, Canada, Japan; that Holmes was an American (a thesis asserted by no less than Franklin Delano Roosevelt), a Canadian, a Frenchman.”
Making Jesus in Our Own Image?
That makes me wonder, is that what Christians too often do with Jesus? Are too many of us following a Jesus made in our own image—a Jesus on whom we imprint our own interests and prejudices and quirks—rather than following the real Jesus of Scripture?
Have we made him what we want him to be, which is often a person like us, only a little better? If so, how can we abandon that false Jesus and follow the true one? I don’t know an easy answer. I think we always have to be alert to the possibility of our own misconceptions. Immersing ourselves in Scripture and in prayer, challenging our own assumptions, and testing out our ideas about him with other believers may help us stay close to the real Jesus.
Comments 8
This is a great post! I have friends who claim to have read the Bible from cover to cover many times (like I have) and don’t think they will find anything new in going back and reading it again. I think we need to, though. We need to keep asking the questions you have asked here. How much of our own preconceptions are we reading into the accounts of Jesus? When I was sixteen, it was typical to hear that Jesus was a hippie, or that he would have been against the war in Vietnam. Today, I don’t think that such a statement is that easy to make. I would, unfortunately have to say the same thing today to people who believe that if Jesus came back to 2013, he would be a Republican (or a Democrat). I like the parallel to Holmes, especially with the new BBC 21st century version.
Author
Tom,
Yes, I think the temptation is for us to try to make Jesus more like us rather than to make ourselves more like him. I have enjoyed looking into the Sherlock Holmes “community,” which has so many parallels to the church.
Like your post and it certainly rings true. During my years of trucking I used to jokingly say when asked, “I attend the church of the 80 foot parking lot.” Which was how big the parking lot had to be for me to park my truck. Many people were very uncomfortable with that answer. Saying I followed Jesus was almost as bad. People wanted the name of a church so they could put you in the appropriate pigeon hole. Then you were no longer a threat to them. I discovered people do not like talking to people they can’t figure out. It makes them uncomfortable.
P.S. Nice seeing you again at the BRMCWC. Hopefully next year I will be ready for a review…
Author
Turtle,
I enjoyed talking to you again at Blue Ridge also! I hope your writing is going well this summer. Hope we can both go to Blue Ridge again next year.
Good food for thought, to quote the cliché. I like the fact that Jesus cannot always be “pinned down.” he is his own man, and cannot be pigeonholed (as one post commented). He is beyond anything or anyone we can name. He is the “other,” the one we try to emulate but so often fail in the attempt.. The only secret (which is not really a secret) is to study his word carefully and hopefully get a little glimpse of him as he really is. I wonder what Sherlock Holmes thought about Jesus?
Author
Yes, I wonder what he thought about Jesus too. Apparently there are all kinds of theories about that! Thanks for being part of the class that prompted this post. The Spectrum class keeps challenging me to stay spiritual alert!
Many people in class tell me how much they enjoy your teaching. And I am sure you see that the class is growing week by week!
We’ve had some good discussions!