Friday, May 29, 2020

Real Life Jesus



I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV

Most people cannot fathom what it is that I know.  When I tell them these things that I know I usually get a blank stare.  When I ask believers if they know Jesus, the typical answer is yes.  However, when I ask them if they REALLY know this man Jesus, they hesitate.  For to know a real life Jesus is to admit some things which we as Christians might not be ready to contemplate.  The traditional Christian identity of Jesus is one who is holy, perfect and without blemish.  I get it.  However, what if I were to introduce you to a radically new Jesus?  A Jesus who still held to His traditionally held identity, yet incorporated those traits and behaviors of His followers.  Would this sound like the Jesus you know?  Well, in order for us to understand fully the real life Jesus, we must first comprehend a key passage of scripture.  That scripture is from Galatians chapter 2, where the apostle Paul speaks to the truth of Christ Jesus that he himself had come to realize.  Paul tells us that it is Jesus Himself who lives in us today {Galatians 2:20}.  Now, our traditional Christian teachings tell us the story of how Jesus was tortured, crucified and three days later rose again.  This is where our perception of the reality of Jesus hits a fork in the road.  We're taught that after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven to be seated next to the Father {John 16:28}.  This is the identity of Jesus for all too many Christians.  Jesus remains in heaven, and we are here on earth.  This is not real life Jesus.  Paul understood real life Jesus.  He knew that, even though Christ has ascended into heaven, He remained in him as well.  Not only that, because Christ Jesus now lives in us, He experiences all which we do.  This is the basis of the radically new real life Jesus.

"I have seen two things that cannot reconcile.  A man dead without question, and that same man alive again.  I pursue Him, the Nazarene, to ferret the truth."
~Clavius~

In the movie Risen, the Roman centurion Clavius comes face to face with the reality of post resurrection Jesus.  He had witnessed the death of Jesus upon the cross, and was astounded to see Him alive once again.  Although a Hollywood adaptation around the events of the death of Jesus, this is a good illustration of the reaction many Christians have when confronted by a real life Jesus.  We see, but we also find it difficult to believe as it goes against the grain of all which we have been taught about Him.  So, what would think if I told you of a Jesus who made mistakes, farted on occasion and often lost His patience?  Would you be able to believe in such a idea of the Son of God?  Jesus making mistakes?  Jesus losing His patience?  How can this be?  As I said, the key to understanding the radical real life Jesus begins with Paul's scripture in Galatians.  For if we are to believe that Jesus indeed lives in us, then we must also accept the idea that He incorporates into Him all that we are.  We must agree that all of our faults, whatever they might be, have now become part of the identity of a real life Jesus.  Now, I know for a fact that Jesus, being human as well as the Son of God, must have displayed more than a few of those awkward human behaviors while He walked the earth.  I have no doubt that Jesus was teased, insulted and often tempted by women and drink.  After all, He was human as well.  A good thing to remember is that while Jesus was tempted by these, He never gave in to those temptations.  Knowing this, I find the identity of the real life Jesus to be all that more acceptable.  I know that Jesus is in me, and I also know that He shares in all that I am.  It is Jesus who loses His patience, gets angry and at times uses some colorful language.  If I believe that Christ is in me, then I believe that He shares in all that I am.  Jesus is not separated from me, as traditional Christian teachings tell us.  He is all that I am.  That is the real life Jesus.

~Scott~    

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