Each one of us has different strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. We have different personalities. We've studied and experienced different things. We've mixed with different people and been members of groups with differing cultures, expectations, and focuses. These things combine to form the worldview by which we operate and process new information.
Our worldview is like a lens through which we see the world around us. If you've switched lenses on a camera, you know that the same scene can look very different from one lens to the next! Or think of cellophane. Looking through different colour pieces provides some pretty drastic differences in appearance. Perhaps you've noticed that a single remark made in a group can elicit a great variety of responses around the room. The speaker gives the remark based on his worldview, and each hearer listens to it through his own worldview. It is probably worth noting that our communication skills also have an impact. Sometimes it's incredible how much gets lost in translation. On occasion I've witnessed a listener repeat back what he heard the speaker say, and been absolutely dumbfounded how he came to such a conclusion because the two statements were worlds apart!
Sometimes I ponder how we can effectively communicate our point so that everybody is on the same page. It can be hard when we all perceive things so differently. And the bigger the topic, the harder it gets. I feel for authors and pastors and anyone trying to impart knowledge on massive and complex subjects.
I remember reading material by some of the famous theologians of old when I was younger and complaining that they were too depressing and seemed to have missed the joy that the Bible said Christians would have. (1 Peter 1:8, Romans 14:17, Nehemiah 8:10) When I tried recent publications they seemed to be happier, but had compromised on both power and holiness. Could it be that each of us discovers gaps in our own understanding and focuses on filling those, and others from different backgrounds (and with different gaps) are unintentionally misled?
Although declining numbers of people identify as Christian, most of society still has some opinions about Jesus, and they are quick to remind us of those anytime we say or do something they don't like. Of course, society isn't a very reliable source of theology.
It's true that Jesus was (and is) perfectly loving. Children came to Him during His earthly ministry and He made time for some of the outcasts and most obviously sinful people in the society of those days. But He never compromised His holiness or truth while doing so. He walked this earth in sinless perfection, 100% God and 100% man at once.
"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”" ~Matthew 21:12-13
Can you imagine if He did the same thing in today's times? This doesn't quite sound like the Jesus of storybooks, but it is what God saw fit to record for us in His Holy Word. We must not pick and choose the bits we like and just leave the rest. If we want to know all we can of Jesus we must take into account all of the information available to us. We can't exclude awkward passages like Matthew 10:34-39, and Matthew 23. They might not align with society's opinions but that's okay. We aren't following society, we're following Jesus.
Jesus never commanded us to go forth into all the world and twist Scripture so no one would be offended, and I suggest we probably shouldn't do so, since He didn't either and we're supposed to become increasingly more like Him.
"Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat, poor enough to sleep on dirt and borrow a coin for a sermon illustration, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood" ~Max Lucado
Of course, I haven't given a full picture of the Saviour here; that wasn't my intention. I only wanted to highlight some of the passages I don't recall hearing mentioned all that often, but are still important for truly understanding who Jesus really is. As I was saying earlier about lenses, if you've had different experiences and had these passages drummed into you at the expense of other ones, this might not be the most useful article you've ever read. Let's dig into our Bibles and search out the full story. I don't want a counterfeit "Jesus" of my own construction. I want to know and follow the Jesus of the Bible, who sits at the right hand of God.
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." ~Colossians 3:1
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