Has anyone ever tried to read the Bible more specifically the Gospels and seen what Jesus said and did and came away with this feeling, this guy speaks in riddles, he’s just plain odd or weird. I know I have, I mean lets consider his actions and sayings for a moment shall we? “if anyone wants to come after me, they must deny themselves, take up their own cross and follow me.” Ok, so your saying, we have to die in order to follow you? Many have taken this to believe die to our own wants and desires in order to seek after his. Still, he’s asking something that on its face is just a bit strange if you consider it.
“I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Really? That’s not a good calling card, not the best way to build a following, saying that families will be divided
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” OK, this is something we can get ahold of, that one makes sense. Want to see God? Be pure in heart. I’m not saying it’s easy, but its something that we can start with.
“in the kingdom the last will be first, and the first will be last.” What? OK, does Jesus make a rabbit of making contradictory statements?
However, his statements were not the only thing that were weird, his actions were as well. Consider in the upper room, and he gets up from the table, and goes to wash his disciple’s feet. Peter who was one of his friends, speaks up, “Lord are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus being his rather odd self-answers “if I do not wash you you have no part of me.”
Peter realizing that what Jesus is doing is something that a lowly servant would be tasked with. He doesn’t want that, not by the one he believes to be the Son of God, so he speaks up, “Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and head also.” In other words, hey, don’t do a servant’s job, if your going to do that, give me a bath.
Now Jesus did eventually explain his actions by saying “just as I have done for you so you should do for each other.” However this was such an odd thing for him to do, but it was not as odd as how Jesus ended his time on Earth.
If you look at Jesus and how he died, and why he died, this I believe is the most odd, the most weird, because Jesus died as the bible says died for us, while we were yet sinners. And further that we love him, because he first loved us. Lets face it, He didn’t die for us because we were chasing after God, or even interested in him, he didn’t die for us because we had things figured out, and just needed an extra push to get in to Heaven, he died for us, when we were hateful, sinful, in some cases angry at God he died for us when we were as far away, as anyone could be, and yet he chose to die for us.
And this death, this choice was accepted by God the Father, by Jesus’s resurrection from the dead on the third day.
Does this all sound weird to you? I get it. Jesus when first looked at can be a bit odd, but I challenge you to get to know him. He is a bit different, but he did something for you that no one else could do, he loved you so much that he made a way for you to get in to Heaven, and gave you a way to overcome the curse and power of Sin.
The bible says in romans 8:1 “if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised him from the dead we will be saved.” This is the gospel in a nut shell, the fact that we are Sinners, in need of a savior, we could not please God on our own, and so Jesus ied for our sin, paying a price we deserved to pay.
If you have read this far, and know this to be true, that you are a Sinner, and you want to come to get to know Jesus as savior, you can do so at any time, by praying something like this.
God, I am a sinner, I have done a lot of things wrong in my life, and I can not do things on my own to get right with you. I need a savior, and I believe Jesus died on the cross for my Sin, paying my price and was raised from the dead, and that he will return one day. I accept his sacrifice on the cross for my sin, and ask him in to my heart. Thank you Lord for what you did on the cross, I love you, and want to follow you.”
If you have prayed that prayer then the bible says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, and everything is made new. The bible also says that God no longer sees your Sin, but you now are right with him, because of Jesus paying your price.
I hope this has ben helpful to you, and if so, please leave a comment below
God bless, Teresa Blaes
