The Real Jesus

Will the real Jesus please stand up?  In the 1950’s there was a show called “To Tell the Truth” which featured 3 people who all claimed to be the same individual. A bio was read about that individual at the beginning. A panel of celebrities would ask all three of them questions, the real person had to tell the truth, while the other two could bluff. The two impostors received so much money for every wrong guess, so it was in their best interest to be convincing.  The goal was obviously to guess who the real person that fit the bio was, so the more accurate information that you got, the better your chances were.

I think that we live in a world where many churches give a partial view of who Jesus is, causing us to have a false perception of Him.  There is no question that Jesus had a heart for humanity, that he loved us, even to the point that he would sacrifice Himself to cover our sin. We are told in

Matthew 9:36
³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

We know that He can relate to us.

Hebrews 4:15
¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

And I could quote a lot more Scripture showing the compassion that Jesus had for humanity, but that is the side of Jesus that we know and understand, and have been constantly fed.

What is often lacking in Christianity today is the side of Jesus that shows how uncompromising He was toward sin, and His aggressive behavior to confront it.  While we may have heard of it in passing, how often is the John 2:13-17 preached?

John 2:13-17
¹³ The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus was so bothered by the behavior that was taking place that He took the time to MAKE a whip, then act upon his frustration.  It was a righteous anger that was justified.

When Jesus confronted the Pharisee’s, he was not the kind and companionate Jesus that is portrayed in our churches today, he was direct and condemning of their behavior.

Matthew 12:34-35
³⁴ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

In Matthew 23, he condemns the Pharisee’s 7 time, and six of them he starts out with….
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

On the third woe, he calls them blind guides in stead of hypocrites, but the idea is still the same, it was not the loving companionate Jesus that is constantly portrayed in our religions today.

As you read through the gospels and the New Testament as a whole, you will see that Jesus and the early church was much harsher on continued sin than what our world would like us to believe. Way harder than we are today. Jesus had compassion on those who didn’t know better, because their sin was out of ignorance, but He NEVER expected us to stay in that sin.  If we did, there would be consequences.

While I cannot, nor would not attempt to deny the compassionate side of Jesus, I believe that it is important that we also share with people all of who Jesus was. True love and compassion will confront sin, not allow people to wallow in it.

If the real Jesus were to stand up, it would be the one who loves people enough to confront their sin. The question that we should ask ourselves is, would we recognize that Jesus?

Thank you for reading this, as always, I would encourage you to spend time in His Word, in prayer and in the fellowship of other believers.  And if you haven’t visited already, I would encourage you to come visit our little church on the hill, it’s worth the drive.

 

Bro. Jason