Do I understand Jesus?

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As I was reading The Daily today over at jesusapp.me I got stuck on the idea of how we see Jesus.

I just finished reading the modern classic Creation Regained by Reformed theologian Albert Wolters. In the book, Wolters comes back again and again to the conviction that each of us has a particular worldview that defines the way we process and respond to information. That worldview defines the patterns we see in the world.

The problem that I struggle with in that reality is that Jesus does not follow our patterns. The Jewish leaders in the story today expected him to kill himself based on the pattern they associated his language with.

I often expect Jesus to look at me with disappointment when I don’t live up to his standard of righteousness, because that is the pattern I often have seen in leaders around me.

Jesus is truly nothing like the patterns of this world, but what an unexpected gift that continues to be.

What patterns in your mind does Jesus defy?

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In reading through John, I am surprised by how little Jesus is concerned with offending the religious leaders who take advantage of the vulnerable. He just tells them the truth and rescues the people they’ve been hurting. It’s immensely courageous, but sometimes I sense there’s a calmness to how Jesus does it.

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“I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.”

The religious leaders won’t seek Jesus where He has gone because they can’t know Him so they die in their sins, but his followers know exactly who Jesus is and where to find him.

The same words said to the same group but received with opposite meanings.

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