In His walk on earth, He often “upset the apple cart.” Examples abound. When he called Matthew the tax collector as one of His disciples, He shocked everyone. The Romans enlisted Jewish people to collect oppressive taxes so the Jewish community hated Tax collectors who were considered traitors. Yet, Matthew responded to Jesus’ call, invited Him to dinner in his home, and traded his former life for a transformed life.
For new hires, companies look for employees with skill, harmony, team work, and mutual respect. Yet, the twelve disciples that Jesus chose could not be more different and basically unskilled for the tasks ahead; the fishermen, the tax collector, the beloved John, the deceptive Judas, the doubting Thomas. It’s safe to say that their backgrounds and personalities created internal discord.
Why would Jesus bring together men of such diversity? Might it be a life lesson in forging unity as they walked together for three years? Think of Jesus’ teachings. They overflowed with lessons in building good relationships and holding fast to Kingdom principles. And of course, His own life was THE example for all. By the time Jesus ascended, then the day of Pentecost, the disciples had grown to be a cohesive group of leaders with one goal in mind: sharing Jesus’ transforming life throughout the known world. They operated in different roles exercising their individual strengths for the Kingdom but their message of salvation was the same.
We have the Gospel and New Testament today because Jesus left His imprint in His disciples and so many other Jewish men and women who served as the foundation of our Christian faith birthed in the cradle of Judaism. Our Jewish Jesus practiced His Jewish faith as a Rabbi and often visited The Temple in Jerusalem. Imagine the astonishment of the religious leadership and the vendors in the Temple when Jesus walked in, threw tables and coins everywhere and accused them of dishonoring God. I’m sure the person-to-person news cycle in Jerusalem harshly criticized our Lord for His unusual, angry, and disruptive actions.
Think of Him thirsty at a well in Samaria and his subsequent conversation with the Samaritan woman. Jesus and His disciples were on their way from Jerusalem north to the Galilee. Samaria was the short cut. First, much discord existed in Israel about Samaria and Samaritans. And, as a Jewish Rabbi He was not supposed to talk to woman alone. Much less drink water from an unceremonial cup. Even His disciples were shocked when they returned from a nearby city. Gossip could have traveled faster than lightning. Yet, the encounter with the Samaritan woman resulted in salvation and His teaching among the Samaritans for two days.
At the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were desperate for a King. The Roman oppression created dangerous hardships for most of the population. They longed for a King who was visibly regal, crowned, powerful, and ready to rescue them. On Palm Sunday, the crowds treated Him like a rock star when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Yet in a few days’ time, He shredded their hopes, wore a crown of thorns, and blood-soaked garments as He dragged His cross through the streets of Jerusalem. What sort of King was this?
Imagine another kind of shock and awe after His grim, violent crucifixion when they learned He was a King who rose from the dead, walked and talked among His friends for 40 days, then ascended to sit at the right hand of our Father in Heaven.
Let’s make room for our “unexpected Jesus” by abandoning the boxes we put Him in and remember that He was God in human flesh. He experienced emotions we experience yet He was wrapped in Perfection. He carried out actions and plans that looked like defeats and disruption but produced glorious results. That God became human flesh “to restore our souls” to Him is a mystery for our finite minds. Yet it is a reality. It is a majestic gift that He came to live among us, to redeem us, and then to send His Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel us all the days of our lives until we are with Him in eternity. #JesusDisruptionsArePurposeful
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Colossians 2:9
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”
Hebrews 2:17
“For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
Philippians 2:6-7 "For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his privileges as God's equal, but stripped Himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born a man."
