This is an interesting question, and it’s worth thinking about. If you consider yourself to be a Christian or a follower of Jesus, then it seems automatic to answer that you like Jesus. At the same time, it’s important to remember that He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
When the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests and other religious leaders of His day interacted with Jesus, it was usually less than cordial. They routinely confronted Him with their law, religious conformity, pious expectations, landmine questions and power conundrums. On the flip side, Jesus tweaked them regularly when He healed on the Sabbath, caroused with suspicious characters and routinely forgave people whom the religious people considered really sketch.
In looking at the relationship dynamic between Jesus and the religious leaders, we can see some consistent themes. As for the religious people in Jesus’ day, I think that in general, they had a power agenda. They didn’t want to lose their power, and they wanted to have control and power over Jesus. As for Jesus and His interactions with the religious folk, it could be easy to see that He tweaked their piety. As an example, He healed the man with the withered hand, smack in the middle of the Synagogue on the Sabbath. When I watch and read Jesus’ interactions with the religious people, these cause me to think about Jesus’ motives, particularly as a contrast to the motives of the religious people. If the religious folk had a power agenda with Jesus, what was His agenda with the religious people?
There are plenty of examples of Jesus being confrontational and even rude with the religious people in His day:
- Matthew 23 is filled with Jesus exposing lots of yucky stuff in the lives of these religious leaders.
- In John 8:7, Jesus tells the religious leaders that they can throw the first stone against the lady caught in adultery as long as they’re without sin.
- When the Pharisees confronted Jesus about His disciples not washing their hands, He answered in Matthew 15:3, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
Jesus is definitely prickly in His interactions with the religious folk. But I think we can see His pure motive to reach and reconcile these people when we look at Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. This is a really powerful conversation, and Jesus makes it clear that God’s heart is love for the world, and that’s why Jesus came to the earth to express God’s love for humanity – John 3:16-17.
So what does all of that mean for us today? I think it is similar to Jesus’ time. Many religious folks want to use Jesus for their agenda. Such agendas can include political manipulation, money schemes, moral superiority, justifying exclusive actions and attitudes, along with lots of other yucky stuff. Consequently, such behaviors can sully who Jesus really is.
This brings me to the question at the beginning of this blog. Do you like Jesus? If we really like and even love Jesus, then let’s reflect on Him for who He really is rather than “using” Jesus for power, control, manipulation and distortion. Let’s keep loving Jesus as the essential theme in our lives!
3 Responses
I love my Savior Jesus and talk to Him in prayer and reading His Word. I attempt to attend a church that preaches the Word and has songs and fellowship of other Christians.
Do I like the Lord Jesus? Good question! As a sort of young born again man, who came to his faith in prison, I can say YES.
I was going through the worst time of my life and my relationship with my family really sucked at this time. I was approached by two Christian brothers that put a seed in my heart. They watered it and it grew in the fertility of my broken and desperate life. Jesus lifted a great weight off me and replaced it with a view of the “narrow gate” that leads to the life He has given me (us).
I believe loving Jesus is loving ourselves truly. Every good human will like Jesus Christ, He is the only one who gave mankind a new direction of love and peace, and the changed the human history with the message to forgive our own enemies.
This is the most difficult thing to forgive our enemies but if we do, it will release us from the cage of hate and depression. Its very true that religious people use the name of Jesus for manipulation to control people and for their political power. There are many churches who support killers, oppressors and persecutors, like now in these days we know the western world strengthened the muslim world. Those who persecute christians and kill innocent people. Jesus said to forgive our own enemies, not the enemies of God or enemies of humanity who kill innocent people. But the Church use this statement for their political gain. Then Most of the churches love to preach in the church buildings or in healing seminars they do not want to reach to the unreached because its difficult and risky for life. They every Sunday preach to christians who give them tithe and offerings. Its good to pray together and have healing seminars and churches but its our duty to share the gospel with those who do not know the truth about Jesus Christ. The disciples of Jesus Christ reached to the world and changed nations and today there are 2.5 billion christians but these billions couldn’t transform one nation even. We all who love Jesus Christ need to do what He really wants from us. Matthew 24:14 should be our goal, to reach to the unreached, to welcome the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 If You want to welcome Jesus Christ then first do what he told us to do. The namely churches do not want end to come, but those who love Jesus are waiting for Him. They know the end is actually the end of tears and worries, the end is for the world not for the believers. Let not be the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests and other religious leaders but little disciples who love Jesus and obey His commandments.