JESUS THE PERFECT COMMUNICATOR

The biblical underpinning of Christian communication is Trinitarian Communication. The Trinitarian communion shows a going-permanent communication between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father continually communicates to the Son and the Son, in total obedience, communicates everything of what he has heard from His Father to the world.

The Logos (Son) communicated flawlessly and successfully the message of the Father to the world and the people, and, therefore, Jesus was known as the perfect communicator of God. This reflection aims to scrutinize Jesus’ title as the ideal communicator of God. As far as this reflection is concerned, the following points will be taken into consideration; namely, Jesus is the revealer of the Father and the people’s life, situation, context, cultures were the point of departure of His communication.

Jesus is the Revealer of the Father

Jesus’ fundamental mission to the world is to reveal the face of the Father, to reveal to us His love. The fourth Gospel shows us the biblical foundation of Jesus as the sole revealer of the Father as it says: “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him (John 1, 18).”

The source of Jesus’ love to us comes from the Father’s love through their Trinitarian relationship. Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est, wrote, “This love of God has appeared in our midst. He has become visible since He ‘has sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him’ (1 John 4, 9).” (Benedict XVI, 2005:17).

The love of the Father thus becomes flesh in The incarnation of the Son. The Father, who is love, sends the Word, a Word which communicates His love and His very self.

As the sole revealer of the Father, Jesus does not simply communicate the concepts or ideas and instructions to His listeners. Jesus’ communication indeed, as described eloquently by the Pastoral Instruction Communio et Progressio, is “More than the expression of ideas and the indication of emotion. At its most profound level, it is the giving of self in love. (Communio et Progressio number 11).

How did Jesus, as the perfect revealer of the Father, communicate this ‘giving of self in love’ in His mission? The gospel of Mark shows us the spiritual life of Jesus, in and through which He revealed the love of the Father. “Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed” (Mark 1, 35 ). 

In other accounts of the Gospels, in a profound moment of silence, Jesus prayed solemnly before making important decisions in His life. Not only that, but Jesus also taught His disciples how to pray (Matt 6, 9-15). His profound belief, Jesus, through constant prayer, received the Love of the Father and thus received the spiritual nourishment for His mission to communicate the Good News to the people.
The People’s Life, Situation, Context, Culture: Point of Departure of His Communication

Jesus demonstrated He was the perfect communicator through His missionary approaches. Jesus specialized in custom-made communication. The people’s lives and their needs were the points of departure of His touch. He recognized and respected their world view, culture, knowledge, and experiences. He talked about the people’s language, using familiar terms (the Kingdom of Heaven), joint issues, and typical images (bread, water, wine) to communicate God’s good news.

Despite being a perfect communicator, Jesus was also a stimulating communicator. This refreshing model of communication offered a transformative purpose for people’s life. Emphasizing on the importance of every single process in touch, Jesus established a considerable opportunity for His listeners of life’s nourishment to think of the implication of His teaching for their lives.

After walking and calming the storm, Jesus asked the panic-stricken disciples, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). To the ruler whose riches got between him and God, Jesus commanded, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22).

The unforgettable stories of healing throughout the gospels depicted Jesus as a powerful and perfect communicator. Embracing the sick wholeheartedly by touching their hands softly was how Jesus communicated His powerful manner. Utilizing the Greek expression, haptesthai (to the touch), demonstrated that Jesus' touch cured people of various infirmities and restored life to the dead. Simultaneously, Jesus recognized the condition of the sick. (Eilers, 2014)

His remarkable appearance as a powerful and perfect communicator is also perceived when the crowds were amazed at His teaching. Matthew tells us that “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching because He taught as one who had authority, not as their teachers of the law” (Mat 7:28-29).

The Word of God is the ultimate reason behind Jesus’ teaching became so powerful. Mastery of communication is also the other reason that Jesus’ communication pattern was so powerful and exciting. To be great communicators in our missionary activities means that most of all, we are called to bring God, speaking the truth in our communication as well as master the skills necessary for communication interactions. 

Jesus is “The Perfect Communicator’ who communicates to us the love of the Father. In ly always sharing the love of the Father, He correctly identified the people’s physical and spiritual needs, significantly recognized the culture, views, and customs of the people. These features were starting points of His communications. Like Jesus, we are called to be a ‘perfect communicator’ in our missionary undertakings.