Jesus is hard to find these days, and that’s a source of lots of problems for contemporary evangelicals. The last several posts have identified our objective as becoming like Christ. Reaching that objective requires that we ask what Christ is like. Unfortunately, contemporary evangelicals have developed a distorted view of who he is. In fact, their portrayal of Christ often seems to be detached from the scriptural account and cast into something of a Mr. Rogers motif—always gentle, always kind, always loving. With Jesus, it’s always a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Because the contemporary picture of Christ is so skewed, I would encourage all of us to read through the Gospels again for the first time, that is, making a special effort not to read our perception of Christ into these accounts, but rather to read it as if you knew nothing about Jesus. As you read, ask yourself, “Just what is this Jesus like?”
I believe that through such an exercise most American Christians would discover a Jesus that they had not previously known. Philip Yancey has written the book, The Jesus I Never Knew. However, I’m not convinced that he went through the exercise described above to discover his Jesus. What we are really after is the Jesus we never knew but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did.
Such an exercise would reveal many dimensions to the character of Christ that are foreign to the contemporary evangelical Mr. Rogers perception. For example, in Mark 9:31, we find Jesus revealing to his disciples about His coming crucifixion. The next verse describes their response: “But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.” Could this be right? Could even the disciples of this always gentle Jesus be afraid to ask Him to explain what He was telling them? Why would they be so fearful?
The answer is found in a number of passages revealing that Jesus was very stern and confrontational with His disciples on occasion. In fact, we find Him interacting with them frequently enough in the Gospels to indicate that this was a significant dimension in His relationship with them.
Consider just one of these passages. At the beginning of Matthew 17 we find Jesus ascending into the Mount of Transfiguration. Meanwhile, back in the valley, a man brought his demon possessed son to the disciples of Jesus. They were not able to help him because of their lack of faith. Jesus, coming down from a mountain and encountering the situation makes this pronouncement, apparently regarding his disciples who are the topic of the preceding verse: “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” (Matthew 17:17)
Contemporary evangelicals would tend to rewrite the passage in therapeutic terms to say something such as: “Listen fellows, I know you have probably been struggling with some separation anxiety in my absence. It’s important that you understand that this inability to help isn’t your fault. Remember that you have made some great progress so far, and God isn’t finished with you yet. But right now I want you to realize that you are okay just the way you are.”
The approach taken by the real Jesus is hardly your Mr. Rogers response to the situation. In fact, some football coaches might view this as being a little over-the-top. Consider the fact that He chastened his disciples in public, in front of everyone. In light of the fact that this type of response was not an isolated case, is it any wonder that they were fearful in their interactions with Him.
The good news is that contemporary evangelicals have become just like Jesus. The bad news is that it’s the wrong Jesus. It is one of their own making. We need an evangelical reformation to help us find Jesus.