“Who does he think he is?” This is the response as translated in “The Message” version of the Bible heard from those in Jesus’ hometown when they see Jesus’ healings and miracles. If we were to hear these people’s reaction to Jesus today, that is what we would hear.
“Who does he think he is? It’s just Jesus, you know, Jesus, the son of Mary. I heard that Joseph isn’t even his father. No, it’s true. Look at him, strutting about. I remember when he couldn’t even hit a nail with the broadside of a barn. Miracles! Ha! The only miracle is that he’s still alive. Jesus, who does he think he is?”
You know how these people think. You have run into these people before, haven’t you? They would see Jesus amaingly stilling the storm with three simple words and they would respond, “It’s a good thing the storm calmed down when it did. Look at Jesus…the idiot’s standing up in the boat. Everyone knows you don’t stand in a boat!” When the loaves were multiplied to feed 5000 people, they would quip, “it would be nice to have some bruscetta with this, the bread’s a little stale.” And upon discovering the empty tomb, “Dang, I didn’t think it was possible, he really was late for his own funeral.”
You know how these people think. They will go through their entire day blind to everything God is doing around them. Jesus is just Jesus. Miracles are completely missed, and the bread before dinner is cut too thick. They would never see Jesus as God’s Son, their healing as God’s handiwork, and their thick bread a gift in a world where so many starve with nothing.
Maybe, I should just stop there. Because, if I continue, I think that it might get a little personal. Because, if I continue, I might have to consider how often I’ve taken time to see the work of God throughout my day.
Really? The thick bread wasn’t the cook’s hatred of me, but was a really a gift from God? Really? The dollar that I plunked in the cute little girl’s can truly helped a cancer patient live one more day? Really? The dollar would have helped just as much had I put it in the old, overweight, sleepy guy’s can? Really? The great opportunities of freedom and education that our nation provides is not just a gift of God to me, or to us, but to the whole world? Really? We should share? Really?
Maybe, I should stop, before I really get into it, before I really start pointing out the missed gifts, the missed opportunities, the missed works of God, and the missed challenges. Maybe, I should stop before I really get into it and start stepping on you. It might just cause you to say, “We knew him from the start of his ministry. We helped to shape him. Who does he think he is to talk to us like that? The hypocrite, who does he think he is?”
I could just shut my mouth now. It would stop me, but it wouldn’t stop God. God would still be working wonders for you, whether you saw it or not. God would still be working wonders for your enemy, whether you liked it or not. Jesus would still be sending out despicable, “no faith” people such as the disciples (that is what Jesus calls them in the gospel of Mark after-all) to say wonderful things and to do amazing works, whether you liked them or not.
I just heard from Mike. He was an acquaintance from a long time ago. I would say “friend,” but I’m not sure that I ever wanted to claim him that close. The guy proudly referred to African Americans with the “N” word, spoke openly about the need to kill all gays, and Jews, and women who didn’t know their place in the kitchen. He thought all the way from the first Gulf War that the way to solve the Iraq problem was the nuke-em all, and he didn’t care that children would be killed at the same time. He felt up girls in the halls of the school and swore allegiance to the flag of the white states of America. The guy was a little behind the times.
But, I did spend time with him, talk to him, and laugh with him since he was in a lot of the same activities as me. However, I learned one thing during all that time: there was no convincing him otherwise of his harsh beliefs. Most of us who knew him were convinced that he had little to “no faith,” “no love,” and “no sign of God.”
As I was saying, I just heard from him. He is now a soldier in Iraq. He related a story from earlier in the war. On a mission, he saw a little girl playfully running toward open gun fire. This “no faith” man, this “nuke-em all” guy, this hate filled being ran into the open gun fire and grabbed the little Iraqi girl, swinging her around the corner into safety.
"Just who does he think he is?"
Maybe, he is a disciple of Christ. Maybe, all of us are, if we were to just look close enough.
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