"Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the
Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His
teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
Jesus taught as one with authority. Not complicated or complex. He had a message for every man. That's right, but, to say he was simple and plain is not the case. He was enormously different. He asked embarrassing questions and regularly rebutted his disciples who just didn't get what he meant.
Have you ever been frustrated, a little unsure of the reality of Jesus? We ought to explore what is really going on with Jesus, or we just might miss Him!
John 6:60-65 talks about some of the disciples giving up on Jesus, so they walked away from Him (v 66). What happened to those people there? They gave up on Jesus because they couldn't get Jesus. Have you given up on Jesus? I pray not...
Many times in the gospels, we are not entirely sure of what Jesus is going for. Why is it sometimes so difficult to understand Jesus? Sometimes I get it, and sometimes I'm not exactly sure. Whats really going on here. Am I just missing Jesus? Here are a few examples of Jesus unique and very different understanding of His teachings that can boggle the mind today in our culture if we are not careful.
Luke 8:21. "My mother and brother are those who hear the word of God and do it."
So wait a minute Jesus, I thought that family and marriage is good, and a priority that people do for and care for family members? Now your saying only those who hear and do Gods word are His family? The short answer is - YES! Its not about family. A very cutting statement by Jesus.
Luke 8:18. "The one who has more gets more? The one who has less it will be taken away."
Wait a minute. That isn't how that works. Can you imagine in school, Johnny, you made a A+ on your test. So we are going to send you to extra tutoring having more learning opportunities. Suzy, you made a C- on the test. No more tutoring for you. In fact why don't you go home and get out of school. We don't care about you, your out of here! That isn't how you do it, what do you mean Jesus?
So wait a minute Jesus, I thought that family and marriage is good, and a priority that people do for and care for family members? Now your saying only those who hear and do Gods word are His family? The short answer is - YES! Its not about family. A very cutting statement by Jesus.
Luke 8:18. "The one who has more gets more? The one who has less it will be taken away."
Wait a minute. That isn't how that works. Can you imagine in school, Johnny, you made a A+ on your test. So we are going to send you to extra tutoring having more learning opportunities. Suzy, you made a C- on the test. No more tutoring for you. In fact why don't you go home and get out of school. We don't care about you, your out of here! That isn't how you do it, what do you mean Jesus?
Mark 2:25. In the Old Testament, David does something he's not supposed to be doing by breaking into the house of God, the Temple where only the Levite Priests were allowed, And he ate the showbread out of hunger, but Jesus is OK with it on the Sabbath. We are talking about breaking the Law of God yet Jesus seems to make no never mind what the Pharisees think. And why is this? Because Jesus is now at this point in time Lord of the Sabbath, God in the flesh and He can pick and choose how he wishes to apply the Law within the culture of His day and the purpose of His coming.
Luke 7:19. Are you really the Messiah? There is something we today need to be careful about when reading and understanding the scriptures when Jesus is teaching. Its very easy for us 2000 years removed to assume the early disciples knew and trusted Jesus with whatever He taught and wherever He went as they trailed behind Him. This is not the case! In actuality, the followers of Jesus at that ancient time were scared to death and didn't trust Jesus new teachings nor in what sort of dangerous situation they may find themselves. They had the Romans in front of them and the Jewish elders and teachers of the Law behind them. It must have been a tumultuous time of hourly trial constantly looking over ones shoulder! Hence, are you really the Messiah Jesus?
Mark 8:27. "Who do people say that I am?" Peter says, "you are the Christ." You got it Peter, go preach it and tell everybody. Then Jesus says, don't tell anybody Peter, better keep that under wraps. What? I thought you were here for everybody to know that you are the Christ?
What do we want Jesus to do? We want Him to proclaim His Lordship and say YES. But Jesus never does things like that, not ever. But we today are on the other side of the cross. Our culture is much different than the first century disciples so it was very difficult for our ancient brethren to get Jesus.
Luke 24:19-24. There was no proclamation and celebration of the resurrection. Disciples were unsure of the reports He resurrected. They were not sure how all of this worked. It took Jesus to finally put it all together for them.
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart
to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have
suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and
all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27.
What did the apostles do when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden? They ran out the back door in confusion!
John 6:14-15. Jesus withdrew to the mountains by himself. The "M" word Messiah in his world means something different than to us. In our world it means Savior of our sins. In His time it meant they were going to have an earthly king and kingdom, They were going to get rid of the Romans and take back the country. Those people were affected by their culture and it effected what Jesus could and could not say to them. This is important to understanding Jesus, because its still true today...
Matthew 7:7. Teaching on prayer. Have you ever read that prayer and thought, Jesus is giving you a blank check in prayer? Anything I ask for Jesus is supposed to give me right? Where does that thinking come from? Isn't it an American culture where we have prosperity preaching screaming a health and wealth gospel where books abound telling us to pray to God like a Genie? Rub the lamp just the right way, and if we rub hard enough, he has to give us all that we want?
Have we ever stopped and listened to Jesus on prayer? Have a look at the Lords prayer in Matthew 6. How many provisions for physical stuff is in that prayer? ONE. His teaching on prayer is a world of difference from American prayer. What preconceived ideas are you seeing in Jesus? Is he a white middle class Republican? We need to stop and listen to Jesus, one word at a time.
Jesus uses scripture to sift people in the telling of a farming story in Matthew 13:1-9, the parable of the sower.
"Why does Jesus speak to them in parables? Mark 13:11-15. The reason Jesus speaks in parables is because it has a filtering effect. He is filtering out people who don't really have an interest in the kingdom of God and who don't want to know the truth. He wants to find out who really has an interest in Him.
Jesus is not interested in amassing huge crowds. In John 6:15, notice He withdrew again by himself to the mountains. It's not about how big a group He can get. Same thing when they all saw him in the boat on the other side. In John 6:22-26 He left the whole crowd because they didn't seek him for his signs, but because they were filled with bread. They and we look for Him for the wrong reasons. He is sifting us out!
Too few people wanted Jesus - Luke 9:57. When we obey Him we expect Jesus to say congratulations. But He says in Luke 9:58, NO! Do you really want to be with me... "Have you counted the cost?"
Jesus operated with the perspective of obedience. Matthew 26:42
"Let this cup pass from Me, but... Not My will but thine be done."
Jesus emphasis in His ministry is about obeying God. John 5:30
"I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."
Many say they want to obey God. But what they really mean is, I want to obey God if it is convenient, it doesn't change my life, and it doesn't get in the way of everything I want to do. We hold different priorities. Its about my rights, what I want, being noticed and popular, making my life good so on and so on.
When Jesus comes in and starts talking about obedience and obeying the will of God, we say, "Hmmm, I don't know about that. I don't understand you Jesus. Maybe I will take a rain check on that one."
Look at Matthew 19:9,
“And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Wait a minute Jesus, my spouse doesn't meet my needs. I'm tired of Him and I have met this other person that is so much fresher, new and exciting. I just need to be with this person. I know that you want me to be happy? I don't really understand this teaching in Matthew 19. Who can get what Jesus is saying?
See how we are being sifted?
Do you want Jesus? Do you want to be obedient to the will of the Father? Do you want Jesus. Now can you see why Jesus said, "Those with more, they get more..." Why? Because those who really want Jesus get closer and closer to Jesus and they understand more of His will and they obey Him more and more. They continue to get closer and closer to Jesus learning even more of His will like a snowball effect, and it builds and builds towards a greater righteousness in Christ. The more I know about Jesus the more I want to know. And the more I know the more I realize I don't know...
It's really easy for people to come to Jesus on pretend notions. They like to play games and come to church Sunday morning because its a social thing to do. Consequently they don't really understand Jesus. They miss him as He continues seeking the next hearer and doer.
Sifted - Sifted - Filtered Out!
If your having trouble "getting Jesus." Stop right there. Ask yourself, "Do I want what Jesus wants?" Do I want to fully follow Him. Am I really trying to obey God. Are my priorities comfort, pleasure and fun? When Jesus' priorities are holiness, faithfulness, godliness and obedience, DO I WANT JESUS? Or is it possible Jesus is sifting me out of the kingdom of God?
Jesus is incredibly profound. There is a depth to Him unlike any teacher ever, unlike any person ever. He is unlike any person who has lived which means we can keep reading and every time, we learn more again.
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Luke 4:1-8. - The temptations of Jesus at the hands of the devil. In these passages Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy about the disobedient Israelites in the wilderness wandering. Where is Jesus? He is returning from Jordan being led by the Spirit into the wilderness and what does he do? He is completely obedient. If you look at the end of chapter 3 - The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Then if you notice in Matt. 4:3, And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
In Luke 3:38 the son of Adam, the son of God, that's a "disobedient" son of God. In Luke 4:3, that's the "ultimate" Son of God obedient in all things.
In Luke 3:38 the son of Adam, the son of God, that's a "disobedient" son of God. In Luke 4:3, that's the "ultimate" Son of God obedient in all things.
Sometimes if we don't get Jesus it's because we don't want to read Him again and again and again. We don't want to keep thinking and pondering and studying. This is not the attitude we want to have about Jesus.
So, will I come to a point and say, "Well, I'm not going to read the gospels because I'm just not going to understand Jesus." Well no, you can get Jesus. Most of what He says is tremendously straight forward. For an example, look at Matthew 28:18-20.
You want to be a disciple of Jesus? What do you need to do?
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
How do you become a disciple of Jesus Christ? You are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and taught to observe all things that He has commanded you. Now that wasn't hard at all was it? In fact that would be hard to miss.
The truth of the matter is, those three verses are not the sum total of all that Jesus is teaching. There are other things Jesus does, and there are other teachings contained in the gospels. And sometimes those are a little harder to understand. Sometimes that means to understand Jesus we re going to have to break free of our culture and the presuppositions we bring to the text. Sometimes that means we have to go through the sifter. Do we really want to pursue Christ and obedience? This means we have to keep studying, thinking and pushing so that we can get Jesus. And when we do that it will mean there will be more we find that we need to get then.
Nearly all the disciples of Jesus were confused upon hearing Him and they turned away from Him. And today, if I don't have questions after meeting Jesus, maybe I haven't, really, met Jesus? (John 6:66)
You can get Jesus - The closer you get to Jesus the more you get Jesus, and the more you'll want to be with Jesus.
Finally, with all that we need to do to get Jesus, if we take a superficial view of things, if we are satisfied with just a little bit of knowledge, we have not really encountered Jesus Christ, the real Jesus of the gospels, the real Son of God who always makes us think and ponder and who always challenges us. And who always makes us come back for more. That is what it means to "get Jesus."
By Mark Roberts
JustChristians.com
