about Jesus
Who is Jesus?
Many people have a picture in their head of Jesus being some guy, standing in a marketplace or on a hilltop with his arms spread wide, delivering a sermon or saying somethin nice and gentle like, “Turn the other cheek” or “Do to others what you would have them do to you” or something grandiosse like “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses himself?” or Blessed are the peacemakers…”
Jesus’ words are real and powerful. He urged people to get ready for God’s kingdom and told them what it would be like. Jesus taught how life was to be lived. He challenged established ways of thinking and shook people up to look at life differently. He spoke words that gave people direction, purpose and fulfillment. He cut straight to the hear of the matter.
He revealed the emptiness of trying to find satisfaction in possessions, friends, money and career. He revealed the futility of striving to work towards self-perfection. He exposed the shallowness and hypocrisy of some religious zealots who had wrung all the love and dignity out of their faith and relationship with God and turned it into a legalistic chore.
Jesus, was God’s Son, and while he was on the earth he was born into a the humble family of Joseph and Mary, soon to be a carpenter’s son. He didn’t show up as a trained theologian, yet he astounded everyone with his knowledge, insight and wisdom. Everywhere he went people gathered to hear the amazing thoughts, innovative ideas and life-changing teaching that came out of his mouth. The scenes surrounding Jesus were very similar to what we see today when a hot sports team or when a rock star comes to town. There was alot of buzz around Jesus. He obviously had something special.
People turned to Jesus for guidance about how to live, and they have been doing that for two thousand years.
Some of his messages were quite blunt and challenging. He didn’t beat around the bush when he spoke about matters of everyday living: marraige, love, divorce, giving, making promises, judging others or revenge. He spoke out against hypocrisy and religious pretension. He spoke out against evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, being mean, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride and foolishness.
He told people to reconcile broken friendships, to care for the needy, to pray simply, to be faithful in marriage, to be people of their word, to love their enemies, to be humble. He told people not to worship money, or to judge others, or to be hung up on food and clotes, not to be proud and boastful and arrogant, and not to be sexually immoral. He boldly spoke out against injustice. He encouraged people to be compassionate.
Jesus framed all of his ideas in terms of service to God and others. He said that the most important thing in life is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind…and to love others as much as you love yourself. He put his words into action by mingling with the outcast, downtrodden and rejects of that society. He touched lepers, spoke to prostitutes, dined with despised tax collectors, and mixed with the sick, the blind, and the deaf.
Jesus was a gutsy speaker who pulled no punches.
He was particularly critical of the unloving and rigid hypocrisy of some of the religious leaders. He referred to them as the blind leading the blind. At other times he called them heartless, show-offs, hypocrites, and fools. In that era such criticism of leaders was scandalous and shocking.
Much of his teaching was radical and controversial, often going against the grain of cultural and religious wisdom. In that society, when people were hung up about rules and rituals relating to food, he said that it was not what people eat the makes them unclean, but what is in their heart and what comes out of their mouth. In an era of violence and racial tension under and occupied nation, Jesus told his followers to love their enemies.
His thoughts and actions were thought to be radical…extreme…unheard of. They proclaimed the arrival of a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God, with Jesus as the King.
In short, Jesus was a square peg in a society of round holes.
He did not compromise his message for the sake of making people feel comfortable. He openly spoke about something that has almost become a dirty word in our society…sin. He said that the muck in our lives stops us from being in relationship with God, and that we need to have that sorted out. We need to turn away from the misleading and bad things of the world and get back on track with God.
There are many unpleasant and dark things in the world, from biggies like war, crime and murder, through to everyday nasties like gossip, pronography and broken relationships. We have all seen tha haunted faces of refugees, victims of landmines, of AIDS and famine. There is greed, selfishness, and “false prophets” wh promise a fast buck for no effort. The poor are exploited and the rich use their privilege to further their own ends. Integrity on a personal and a national level is under threat.
None of us is perfect and we all have junk in our lives.
Jesus wants people not just to go with the flow. He encourages us to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable so that our lives will radiate characteristics of God’s spirit in being loving, joyful, peaceful,patient, kind, good faithful, gentle and self-controlled. We are to be people who are compassionate and loving, who stand up for justice and reject hypocrisy.
What He says to us today is, put other people first. Love God. Do what is right. Be an honest person, Don’t cheat on your taxes. Be truthful in your business dealings. Have a good look at yourself before you go mouthing off at someone else. Don’t get caught up in in gossip or get drunk at the office Christmas party and put yourself in a compromising position. Be content. Don’t be argumentative or swear at someone just because they cut you off in traffic. Be sincere. Be grateful. Stop thinking only about yourself. Be generous, support worthwhile charities, and don’t make a big deal out of it. If you see someone who’s down, ask if you can help out. Be thankful for your family and your job. Be faithful to your partner. Don’t pollute your head with rubbish. Don’t use your tongue to destroy, but to build up. Know that God is in control. Thank God.
Jesus’ followers live in the real world with all its pressures, demands and stresses.
Jesus offers a framework to help people navigate life and be effecctive, balanced, dynamic, capable human beings. For two thousand years, Jesus has been teaching people all about life.