What did they think about Jesus?
Two years ago, I wrote a post called “What did they think about Jesus?” Have you ever stopped to think about what people thought about Jesus? Or, have you asked yourself what people today would say about him if Jesus walked among us physically today? Should they be thinking and saying the same things about us?
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What did they think about Jesus?
A friend at “amateur” published a post called “Looking Back“. She says:
It’s hard for those of us with many years of hindsight [believing that Jesus is God the Son] to see what a truly hard-to-take-in thing Jesus’ appearance was. Surely He stood out, being the only sinless person around; people would know there was something different about Him, but with a human’s inability to recognize Truth — even those of us after His death who have the Holy Spirit to nudge us with it have problems sometimes seeing it — it still would have taken faith to believe He was God.
I’m not sure that this was her intention, but this statement made me wonder what the people of his day would have thought about Jesus.
We know they thought he was a drunkard and a glutton because he hung out at the homes of “sinners”. We know they thought he was a blasphemer because he considered himself to be the son of God. We know they thought he would be an earthly king because he talked about the kingdom. What else would the people of his day have thought about Jesus?
Would they have thought he was a push-over because of the way that he loved people unconditionally?
Would they have thought he was a little “touched in the head” (crazy?) because he was homeless and wandered around from place to place?
Would they have thought he was brash because he did not try to hide what he was feeling from people and actually said what he thought?
Would they have thought he was an adulterer because so many women stayed around him?
Would they have thought he was insolent or cynical because he questioned the accepted religious traditions?
Would they have thought he was not serious enough because he spent time with children?
Would they have thought he was simple minded because he told easy-to-understand stories and did not pontificate on deep theological truths?
Would they have thought he was a terrible leader because of the followers that he chose?
Would they have thought he was wrong because he died?