The Jesus you don't hear about...

As we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Christ this weekend I think it important to look at His life. We look at the crucifixion and resurrection but Jesus also did some things while here on earth that just doesn’t quit fit the mold we think Jesus should fit…

³⁴ “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ Your enemies will be right in your own household!’                                                                                                   Matthew 10:34-36 NLT                                                                   

I remember once having a conversation with a Pastor and we were talking about counseling and some of the models of teaching recovery works. And we came to the place where I had to say, “Brother we can have models and their good, we can have twelve step programs and they are good, but we must put Christ first or they will not work.”

So whatever you are going through, believer or un-believer. Christ has the answer and is the answer.

What struck me as funny is when this Pastor looked at me and said.. “Do you know what Jesus did when He was mad?...” I’m thinking…prayed…it’s what I do… He said “When Jesus was mad He Healed people”…. And I believe He did…I told this Brother that we also see this Jesus who is Mean and Wild sometimes! Jesus made some pretty wild statements, chewed some people out and sometimes  Jesus just went off! .

¹³ It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. ¹⁵ Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. ¹⁶ Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”  ¹⁷ Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”                                                      John 2:13-17 NLT

Let’s put this in perspective…If I came into church and seen something that infuriated me and then slung over the tables and began whipping people…YOU would say “That boy’s got problems…”

What was it that set Jesus off? We are taught that Jesus was more like Gandhi or some other leader who says “ Why can’t we all just get along…” Jesus wanted Peace but He also knew that sin and righteousness, good and evil would always be at war!

Ever had somebody say ”You just need to take the high road”? I use to think “How stupid” until I watched an old Western one day and realized that you get better aim at you enemy if your above them…

Point being why didn’t Jesus take the High Road..why didn’t He just…Pray for them? Why throw over the tables and start swinging a rope around?

Because the real Jesus Christ’s character and nature is one that He despises injustice, He despises the lying and the stealing, He despised Status Qou religion. He despised sin...

Jesus identifies the problem and does something about it…LOVE is an action word…Love goes beyond talk to actually doing something…this is why we celebrate the resurrection…


So how did Jesus fix the problem…

 ¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.                                                                                                         Colossians 2:12-15 NLT

So you think your smart?

In a society that teaches us that knowledge will fix all things there is a problem...

 ²⁰ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 1 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)

I have personally known some highly intelligent people, even with degrees...who have fell to sin. Which proves that the addicting power of sin can render even the "intelligent", stupid...point being our need is a spiritual one... smart or dumb, rich or poor, everyone needs Christ to break the bondage of sin.

Killing God...

²⁴ “They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased. ²⁵ Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
 ²⁶ “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies. ²⁷ So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.   Nehemiah 9:24-26 NLT


Anybody catch that? God blessed his chosen people, provided for them, cared for them...and they chose to rebel. And isn't it funny how rebellion leads them back into bondage? These are just a couple things that stand out to me...my main point is verse 26. They turned on God's word and killed the ones who was trying to help them...
I sadly see this all to often today. If you take a stand with God you will be called judgmental, a hater, unloving, etc. If you look objectively at this scripture you will see God is sending Prophets to tell the people to repent because judgement is coming. So the try to kill God...seriously...this is not the words of the Prophets, this is God speaking through them...they are servants carrying out a message that the people don't want to hear. They kill one and God replace's them. All of them with the same message, turn back to God...
Let me ask this. Who are you mad at that has told you the truth from scripture? It's not them that's the problem...it's God! Take it up with Him!
PJ