Who Is This Jesus

 Michael Sprague

A lawyer asked me this basic question. If Jesus was ordinary, plain and unimpressive in his physical appearance...why did big burly fisherman leave their nets and follow him and business sharks in the marketplace leave their cash registers to follow him? Great Question.

My answer... Who is the real Jesus?

When it comes to the real Jesus … no one is more surprising, baffling, rattling, frustrating, astonishing and compelling.

He was born some 20 centuries ago to an impoverished couple in an obscure part of the planet. He never traveled outside his region. He didn’t write a book. He didn’t have a home. The Romans didn’t consider him significant enough to record his execution in their records. Jesus stepped into a world with a rigid religious establishment, a pagan empire and political parties of all stripes. Normally at odds with each other, these powers conspired to literally take Jesus out.

Jesus had no political base. No army. No resources. No voting bloc. No motorcade or secret service. No spin. No swords. His only weapons were a serving towel, a blood stained cross, an empty tomb, a bunch of scars and a handful of insignificant ragamuffins who didn’t start out too hot but ended up out-praying, out-thinking, out-serving and out-living everyone and turned the world upside down.

Jesus befuddled everyone in not fighting but giving up his life. He didn’t get all bent out of shape every election cycle. He prayed more than he talked about praying. He built bridges rather than throw rocks. He blessed more than cursed. Love him or hate him… the truth is you can never be the same after an encounter with Jesus.

Jesus had the nerve to hang out with the wrong crowd and sketchy people…the lost, the lame, the irreligious and misfits flocked to him. He blew people away by saying that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of the religious leaders. Oh how he could tick off powerful people and the respectable folks always seemed threatened by him. Jesus didn’t play by the rules… that is religious rules. In fact he was the enemy of dead religion.

Jesus' teaching drove people crazy. Think about it. He was always saying upside down stuff. If you want to find your life, you must lose it. If you want to live you must die. Love your enemies. Up is down and down is up. Bear your cross and serve instead of be served. You couldn’t help but scratch your head…yet it seemed so life-giving.

His scandalous message is that the Shalom of God is available to every human being through him. Amazing Grace is available to all. He didn’t come to start a religion but to build a relationship. He offers the Grace Plan, not the Human Performance Plan. Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He is none other than the sin-substitute, the Savior and the hope of mankind. His invitation is, “Follow me.” 

I hope to inspire people of all backgrounds to consider, wonder, dialogue about and know the person, life and teaching of Jesus.