How Did Jesus Do That?
Jim Ladd
There were two consistent reactions to the life and ministry of Jesus when He walked the earth. The religious leaders and experts had a consistent frustration with Jesus, while messed up and wild “sinners” were irresistibly attracted to Him.
And ever since the birth of the Church, Christians have consistently elicited the opposite of those two reactions.
We have got to figure this out.
Religious leaders and experts consistently accused Jesus of being an offensive and unacceptable representation of God the Father. The accusations included being soft on sin, partying with sinners, drinking too much wine, keeping all the wrong company, and refusing to hold a high moral standard that confronted and rejected sin. They could not, for example, get their arms around His willingness to soil his own purity by letting women of ill repute touch, anoint, or cry with Him.
The Pharisees’ idea of Holiness was the idea of separation. They believed that being set apart from sin, sinners, disgraceful environments, and law-breakers was an integral part of being Holy. And, if you had to be near them, you should at least condemn them, differentiate yourself from them, and call them out in rebuke.
On the other hand, highly public sinners found Jesus to be irresistible! Prostitutes, tax collectors who betrayed their own people for profit, women caught in adultery, people who shacked up rather than have a Biblical marriage, demon possessed people, and other gross sinners absolutely LOVED being around Jesus. They felt seen, loved, cared about, and known without being rejected or used. They wanted Him at all of their dinner parties and found Him to be the one truly good person who actually saw them as people of dignity and value.
Religious experts hated this.
Here is what I want to know: How did He do that?
I am persuaded that God is calling us to figure this out and to get it right. To join Jesus in eliciting these same reactions, as a general rule, in our lives. Here are some of the defining principles that created this reality:
Jesus saw all humans as image-bearing children of God who are deeply loved and wanted by their Father.
Jesus spotted abuse of power and called it out for what it was.
Jesus ignored the preferences of the powerful, wealthy, and self-righteous and gave Himself generously to the needs and hurts of the disenfranchised.
Jesus didn’t give two cents for the opinions and validation of others.
Jesus did not honor the traditions of men or the expectations of the religious establishment.
I am sure there are many more, and I think us joining Jesus in this posture is essential to our effective witness in this culture, and in finding the joy of an accurate sense of self in the Kingdom of God.
Some day, right here in the Pacific Northwest, a group of wild sinners at a party will say to one another, “This party is a drag, man. We need us some Christians up in here!”
That is when we will know that we are closer to holiness than we have ever been.