The Real Jesus

Take out your Bible...

Now go to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These pages are the foundation of our faith. Right here, in these four biographies, we have the real account of the man, Jesus Christ. We sing thousands of praise songs about Him, we pray in His name, Jesus is supposedly the center of our faith, and our lives. We trust Him for salvation and we call ourselves Christians or "little Christ’s." But how often do we actually find the time to read about the man? Is it possible to miss Jesus? In the midst of Christianity could we actually be missing who He really is? Is He even interesting to us anymore?

I would tend to believe that if you've grown up in the church, you have it the worst. You would remember all the Sunday school flannel graph stories about Jesus feeding the five thousand, or walking on water, turning water into wine, healing people... We've heard the stories hundreds of times, and we may think we know who He is already. Somehow Jesus becomes this very nice and domesticated Mr. Rogers type of fellow.

The problem with this is that no one would crucify Mr. Rogers.

My challenge to you is this: take your bible and the next few minutes and read along with me just a couple accounts of how wild and crazy Jesus actually was when he walked the earth. He never met people’s expectations. He defied, offended, and blasted the religious people of His day and it is my prayer and hope that we will begin to wake up to the real person...

Read Matthew 8:1-3 - Leprosy 
Here we begin at the end of this sermon that Jesus is doing called the Sermon on the Mount. There are massive crowds of people following and listening to Him at this point. Now, you have to understand that leprosy back then was not only a physical disease, but there was a huge social stigma attached. You would be cast out of society; you would have to shout "unclean! unclean!" when you were around people, and you were not able to worship in the synagogues which was HUGE for someone who was Jewish. It was thought that having this disease was your fault. A result of you or your families sin, so you deserved it. It was also thought that purity would not affect your impurity, but the other way around.

v.3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

There is no way, no possible way to communicate 2,000 years later the audacity and outrage of this. The controversy and the complete offensive nature of this act! You did NOT touch someone with this disease! Let alone someone with Jesus' stature. Jesus could have healed this guy long distance. I mean he's Jesus; all he has to do is say the words. But he makes it a point to actually touch him! Unfortunately we think, and are taught, that we have to get cleaned up before we show ourselves to Jesus. We think we have to get our doubts answered, and get our life together, and fit in with the church crowd. And this thinking would be the same for the religious people back in the day. But Jesus was so revolutionary. Your impurity doesn't affect Him, His purity affects you. What Jesus is saying here is "I am willing! You need me because you can't clean yourself."

 

Read Matthew 8:5-13 - The Centurion
There's all sorts of background that we miss 2,000 years later. At this point in history, Rome has conquered the known world and occupies Israel. The Romans were godless (gentiles), and how can Israel be ruled over when they are supposed to be God's chosen people? Now, a centurion was like a Roman captain. Enforcing Caesars laws, backing the tax collectors... The Jews hated these guys. Read verse 8-9. The centurion knows how authority works. He knows that all Jesus has to do is say the words and it will be done. Jesus is astonished by this mans faith and even says, with ALL these (Jewish) people following him that he had "not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Imagine you are a Jew, your people have been waiting for the messiah for thousands of years, and Jesus says this to someone who was not only gentile, but a Roman soldier, a centurion. Crazy. When Jesus walked the earth he didn't care who you associated with. He didn't care if you were religious, or if you had any bible school, or if you were the only Christian in your family... Jesus came to destroy the religious impulses that somehow try to justify us before God, and replace it with something infinitely better.. Himself.

How far have we come from knowing, celebrating, and worshipping the real Jesus to just taming Him down and softening him up? When He walked the earth He was far more radical and gracious to those he hung around with. If you're skeptical of Christianity, been hurt by the church, come from a broken home, are trapped by addiction... you just have to know that the real Jesus would have loved hanging out with you! The church will let you down; Christianity won't change your heart. But He is more loving and gracious than you could possible imagine. He is alive, and He is willing to renew and cleanse you. 

My challenge would be this. Read these four biographies about the man, Jesus Christ. Ask questions, find answers, and build your faith on Jesus.

in Him,
Steve Smith
Student Ministries Intern