I am sure you have experienced the feeling. A favorite book is made into a movie, and then you find out who will play the starring role. “No!” you think. “Not him!” He is too old, too young, too scrawny, too short, too “pretty.” Whatever it is, you had already pictured the character in your mind and since this actor doesn’t fit your preconceived notions, you are not happy.
It doesn’t really matter when it comes to movies. It might very well matter when it comes to the Lord.
I am sure we all picture Jesus in our minds. Most of the time we need to scrap the picture entirely. He was Jewish. He was probably medium height for the day, which is considerably shorter than nowadays. Isaiah plainly says he would not be handsome, and even that is predicated upon that culture’s view of things. He certainly wasn’t pale and blue-eyed with a medium shade of brown hair as he is so often shown in pictures.
He also didn’t act the way we think he did. Too often we let modern society’s view of a milksop color our views of how he spoke and taught, how he interacted with others, and the emotions he might have shown. Yes, he could be incredibly gentle, even with the sinners and especially with women and children. But he could crack a stinging verbal whip as well.
One of the ways I study, especially a passage that is already familiar to me, is to choose a word in it and look for every other use of that word I can find, trying to discover something new, or a deeper way of looking at a verse or event.
Take the word “cry,” which is nearly as often translated “cry out.” Strong’s says the word means “scream” or even “shriek.” In Mark 9:27 two blind men cry out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us.” In Mark 9:24, a desperate father cries out to Jesus because of his fatally ill child. In Matt 27: 23 the mob cried out, Let him be crucified. In Acts 19:28 and 32, in the midst of a riot and confusion, people cried out.
Now let me make it even more obvious for you. That Greek word is krazo, from which we get the English word “crazy.” Are you getting the picture of what a person who did this would look like? His voice would not be quiet. His face would not be calm. His actions would definitely be agitated. It would probably not be a pleasant experience to be anywhere near him. I learned all this years ago when I was studying John 7.
Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught…John 7:28. Yes, it is the same word. Jesus was not a mealy-mouthed preacher. He could rant with the best of them. Even his apostles occasionally followed his example (Acts 23:6). No, this was not his only method as we have indicated above, but it would be a good idea to examine the people who caused this reaction in him. I wouldn’t want him to speak to me that way.
Don’t let a mistaken view of the Lord make you take less than seriously the things he says.
…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 2 Thes 1:7,8.
Dene Ward
It doesn’t really matter when it comes to movies. It might very well matter when it comes to the Lord.
I am sure we all picture Jesus in our minds. Most of the time we need to scrap the picture entirely. He was Jewish. He was probably medium height for the day, which is considerably shorter than nowadays. Isaiah plainly says he would not be handsome, and even that is predicated upon that culture’s view of things. He certainly wasn’t pale and blue-eyed with a medium shade of brown hair as he is so often shown in pictures.
He also didn’t act the way we think he did. Too often we let modern society’s view of a milksop color our views of how he spoke and taught, how he interacted with others, and the emotions he might have shown. Yes, he could be incredibly gentle, even with the sinners and especially with women and children. But he could crack a stinging verbal whip as well.
One of the ways I study, especially a passage that is already familiar to me, is to choose a word in it and look for every other use of that word I can find, trying to discover something new, or a deeper way of looking at a verse or event.
Take the word “cry,” which is nearly as often translated “cry out.” Strong’s says the word means “scream” or even “shriek.” In Mark 9:27 two blind men cry out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us.” In Mark 9:24, a desperate father cries out to Jesus because of his fatally ill child. In Matt 27: 23 the mob cried out, Let him be crucified. In Acts 19:28 and 32, in the midst of a riot and confusion, people cried out.
Now let me make it even more obvious for you. That Greek word is krazo, from which we get the English word “crazy.” Are you getting the picture of what a person who did this would look like? His voice would not be quiet. His face would not be calm. His actions would definitely be agitated. It would probably not be a pleasant experience to be anywhere near him. I learned all this years ago when I was studying John 7.
Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught…John 7:28. Yes, it is the same word. Jesus was not a mealy-mouthed preacher. He could rant with the best of them. Even his apostles occasionally followed his example (Acts 23:6). No, this was not his only method as we have indicated above, but it would be a good idea to examine the people who caused this reaction in him. I wouldn’t want him to speak to me that way.
Don’t let a mistaken view of the Lord make you take less than seriously the things he says.
…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 2 Thes 1:7,8.
Dene Ward
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