Who is this Jesus?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Before eircodes were created for each address in Ireland, our postmen and women had to be relied on to find each person’s house. 

With no road names, no house numbers, and many families of the same surnames living in the one area, the rural postie had to know every single person in their region! I once had a letter delivered to me referenced only by the nearest local amenity. Letters would also arrive with names misspelt or the right name with an almost correct address. 

You knew you were known!

With the advent of Tesco vans and online shopping, isn’t it just as well that eircodes were created before online shopping really took off during the lockdowns?

The theme tune for the popular American TV sitcom, Cheers, includes the line ‘you wanna be where everybody knows your name’. The regulars and staff share their experiences and lives over the 11 series enabling the viewer to not only know their name but also to feel as if they knew them as a person.

Getting to know someone takes time

Whether it’s a new colleague at work, a new neighbour, even just your wife or husband.  And of course the best times are when the more you get to know someone the more you have in common and the better friends you become. Other times it may be best to move on. 

With all famous people, social media and the tabloids would have us believe that they have the scoop on the real person. The phone-hacking scandal by News International invaded the privacy of individuals and ruined lives by publishing private details to the whole world.

Known versus too well known 

There’s a line between being known and being too well known. Jesus in the gospels is a fascinating person. He was so well known and ‘famous’ that he attracted attention wherever he went.  If there had been social media technologies he would have been trending on every media platform.  His words were compelling but often controversial. 

He received praise from the common people but would trust Himself to no one as he knew all people (John 2 v 24). Wherever He went huge crowds followed. These people wanted to be around Jesus. Thousands would follow him across land and sea as word spread across the region. Some would come for healing, some would come looking for more bread and others would marvel at His teaching as He spoke as someone with authority. 

Religious leaders in the most part came with questions to trip Him, trying to expose Him as a fraud and stop the crowds from following Him. When they couldn’t find a way to discredit Him, they plotted to kill Him instead. 

In his hometown of Nazareth, people couldn’t see past the fact that He had grown up in their town, they knew His mother Mary, Joseph the carpenter, his brother and sisters, (Matthew 13 v 54-56) so they rejected Him as anything other than the person they’d always known. You might expect the disciples to have known who Jesus was.  But even though they had knowledge their understanding was limited.

I love to read the story of Jesus asleep on the boat during the storm. He is awakened by the disciples frantically struggling to keep the boat afloat in the sudden storm. Doesn’t Jesus care they’re about to die!? What does Jesus do? He commands the wind and waves to cease!! And they obey! The disciples speak for all when they ask “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and waves obey Him?” 

It was a pretty big clue that the One who could control the weather must be someone who had authority over creation!

Sometimes you have to read a book twice

The first time you want to see what the ending is but when you read back over the clues to the ending are there for all to see. So it is in the Gospels.  Jesus’ miracles, His teaching, His claims to be the Son of Man are all pointers to who He is.

His strongest criticism is for those who were teachers of the Old Testament and should have known who He was yet refused to acknowledge Him. 

He reached out in compassion to those who came in faith, often marvelling at the faith of those who came for healing for their family or friends.

But most of the time it was to the disciples that He revealed the plan for His death and Resurrection. And even then they failed to understand until after the Resurrection. Jesus came to make God known not as an angel nor as a prophet, but as a member of the Trinity, God the Son. As he said to the disciples “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14 v 9).

Where to get to know him?  

Knowing Jesus is made possible by reading the Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew explains His life through the lens of Old Testament fulfilment so that Jewish readers would understand Jesus was the fulfilment of prophecy. 

The Gospel of Mark provides an eyewitness account focusing on Jesus as the Suffering Servant. 

The Gospel of Luke gives a historical account of Jesus’ life and the Gospel of John is slightly different in that it doesn’t give a synopsis of Jesus’ Life but instead focuses on Jesus’ teachings.

In a world of spin, counter spin, soundbites and headlines it’s refreshing to read about and know the real Jesus from accounts written almost 2,000 years ago.  Everyone might know His name, but how many can say they know Him? 

And in getting to know Him you realise that He also knows you.