Jesus Is Freaking Me Out!!

Every once in a while, Jesus would really freak out the people who were seeking answers from Him. In fact, most every time Jesus would freak out those who were seeking His truth, and by the way, I am one of those. Jesus knows our human nature, and He also knows and teaches that we are in a spiritual battle in our faith walk. Duh... In John 2, Jesus "freaks out" some of the religious leaders of the time. John 2: ¹⁸ But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” ¹⁹ “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” ²¹ But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.

Jesus was met with skepticism at every turn, and it was usually those who should know better who were the skeptics. Are you a skeptic? Time to change and just believe. Skeptic (def) - a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions. What is your inclination? Is it to believe all the Bible or just parts you can accept with human reasoning? As Jesus did more and more miraculous signs, people's reactions were noticed, and Jesus saw into their hearts to see if their belief was real and complete. The following scripture in John 2 says a lot about them, and sadly enough, a lot about modern-day Christians. John 2: ²³ Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. ²⁴ But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. ²⁵ No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

Jesus "knows" human nature, and His great truth that tells us to have faith is much deeper than just "believing." It is a total change in the "structure" of our beliefs, and it sometimes takes a "shaking" in our soul to get us to that type of faith, and when we do, our faith walk takes a huge step heavenward. Paul taught the believers in Philippi to direct their thinking on heavenly things, and then God would be with them. Philippians 4: ⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

This is a different "knowing" because this knowing accepts what Jesus teaches, even the things that freak me out. The final invitation from Jesus is one that knows human nature and the frailty of our faith. When Paul says we are in a spiritual battle, he was helping those who might be thinking from human reasoning to deepen their faith, and their faith walk would grow stronger. His message of encouragement for us is found in Ephesians 5:¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.²⁰ And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have faith and don't get freaked out by the ways Jesus is teaching us to trust His Spirit and live IN that Spirit. He knows our weaknesses and continues to grow us in our faith walk anyway. Time to respond to what Jesus is trying to teach us, and not freak out!!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren