Chapter 18

The Jesus Thing

Matthew 23:13–36 recounts a tirade directed at some scribes and Pharisees by a very angry and frustrated religious radical. Among other things, he called them hypocrites, blind guides, blind fools, serpents, a brood of vipers, and goes on to ask them how they were going to escape being sentenced to hell. He was chastising them for leading people away from God instead of to God. His name was Jesus.

Understanding the story of Jesus can be clouded by seemingly impossible events. Events like being born of a virgin. Events like feeding five thousand people with a handful of loaves and fish. Events like raising Lazarus from the dead and, ultimately, Jesus’ own resurrection. There are those who say that the stories of Jesus in the Bible are not literal, but composite and embellished.

Jesus’ role was that of a messenger. All other things notwithstanding, we have his message. Regardless of how it was presented, regardless of our beliefs about the messenger, we have received the message. And our spiritual denial has rejected it.

Jesus was not considered to be a religious leader during his time within his religion. His voice was one of radical dissent. He said what he believed to be true and he said it to the religious leaders. He persisted in saying it even though he was threatened and eventually crucified. Jesus was a messenger whose message was meant to reconcile a fallen humanity with their God.

Just as alcoholics and addicts resent being confronted about their illness or behavior, Jesus’ peers resented his challenge to their spiritual denial. Because he was perfectly healthy spiritually he was willing to subject himself to that resentment– even though it led to his death. He told the world what it needed to hear instead of what it wanted to hear. Because of his love for God and the world he could do no less.

Without minimizing the agony of being crucified, countless other people have died more painful and lingering deaths. Without minimizing his willingness to die for others, countless people have voluntarily and intentionally given their lives to save others. The true significance of Jesus was his perfect spiritual health. His sense of identity was firmly established in being a son of God. His sense of worth was firmly established in God’s love for him. His sense of security in God was unshakeable in the knowledge that no force on earth could ultimately threaten him. His resurrection was a demonstration that spiritual health can survive physical death.

His message is still here for us to accept or reject. In Matthew 12:32 Jesus said that whoever speaks against him will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. The Holy Spirit is available to all people– Christian and non-Christian alike—desiring to lead us to spiritual health. It’s the spiritual voice I’ve mentioned throughout the book. Call it by any name you know.

Many, if not most, Christians would say that Jesus died for their sins. What does that mean? I knew someone who said that he was a Christian because he could do anything he wanted and he’d be forgiven. I think it’s more accurate to say that the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity to be forgiven for our sins. If we respond to the Spirit, establish a personal relationship with God and begin to take spiritual nourishment, we can become healthier. Short of that, spiritual starvation is inevitable.

Another issue with “Jesus died for our sins” is that it’s commonly skewed in such a way as to suggest that we played into God’s hands by crucifying him. God sent him—we killed him—we’re saved—done deal. It was because of our rejection, however, that he was crucified. We aren’t blameless in that. It wasn’t an act of faithfulness on our part. It was the result of our rejection. While that was a universal rejection, rejection of the Spirit is a very personal one. We each have the choice to accept or reject the Spirit—and then to live or die with our decision.