JESUS WAS A MYSTIC EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE SON OF GOD. Unfortunately, Too Many People Suffer Because Rather Than Seeking To Know The Truth They Fall Prey To Easy Listening Memes Or Jingles Jangled Near Their Ears. The quest for truth should never be quenched, but we need to understand that throwing the baby out with the bathwater is not seeking truth.

Was Jesus a mystic?

Happy Riches, Answer requested by Jack Bakewell

The subject of Christology within Christian Theology includes Low Christology and High Christology. Low Christology looks at Jesus in His human form. High Christology considers Jesus as the Divine, the pre-existent Son of God.

If a person were to consider Jesus of Nazareth from a low Christology, then in all probability a discussion upon mysticism would be deliberated upon. For, from a human perspective, Jesus demonstrated insight into mysteries that transcends human knowledge. This is what some people regard as mysticism. However, if this were to entertain notions of occult rites and practices, then there is no evidence of such. The only rites that Jesus introduced, apart from baptism into His name, was that of partaking of the bread and the wine. The rest of Jesus’ message was merely a reinforcing of the Ten Commandments—emphasizing his Lordship of the Sabbath, justice, faith and mercy—and the invalidation of animal sacrifices by speaking of the New Testament (covenant) that He was to effect through His death and resurrection.

When considering Jesus as the Word of God made flesh, there is no mystic element to be found, for we are talking about God Himself becoming human and dwelling among men and women. When reading the Gospels, there are three gospels that view Jesus from a low Christology (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and the book of John that presents a high Christology. Theologically, the four Gospels are often viewed as Jesus being presented as a son of David, a Roman citizen, a natural man and a spiritual being. This may seem a mystical approach to the Gospels, but this does not mean that Jesus was a mystic. This is just a human’s view of what it might mean to be orientated towards spiritual matters, and the true realities, rather than possessing a materialistic worldview that ends in a life of futility, because of people being born only to suffer and die without any ultimate purpose.

For anybody with a material worldview, a person who is spiritually orientated is a mystic. This is similar to the way an obsessive inventor is thought to be eccentric by people who do not understand the possibilities that he sees in the contraptions he is building or the projects that he is working on for the good of humanity. Likewise, a person who thinks in terms of value, when it comes to buying and selling on the stock market, does not understand that building a company based on human values could be possible—all the share trader understands is profit and loss from a monetary perspective, rather than developing a long term business that might employ 100,000 people and assist in supporting another 1 million people with a means of living.

Contrary to popular opinion, reality is spiritual rather than biological or material. What humans perceive as mystical is really individuals who have an otherworldly view of existence. However, in the case of Jesus of Nazareth, though He appears to be a mystic to those who do not seek to understand the truth, He is actually the Creator of Life in human form. This might seem mystical and a mystery to most people, but in reality, this is the truth that provides hope for all of humankind.

Written Jul 8 · Answer requested by Jack Bakewell