interactions

I’m still trying to read through the Gospels before Easter.  It is a long process, and it may not be completed before April 4, but I’m getting as faras I can.  The other night in bed I told Hubby that I usually skip the Gospels because so many times I don’t understand what Jesus is saying.  I’d rather read Paul or the black-and-white book of James, books that explain to me what Jesus said.

Hubby put down his book and looked at me, concern clouding his face.  “I’m concerned.  You don’t like what JESUS says?”

It’s not that I don’t like His words, per se, it’s just that sometimes I DON’T GET THEM.  I’m in good company, though.  If Jesus’ disciples–the 12 men He hand-picked to walk with Him and learn directly from Him for three years–sometimes scratched their heads and said “Huh?” I feel that as long as I come before our Father with an open, humble, and questioning heart I can also sometimes say “Whaaaa?”

Such as when Nicodemus went to Jesus.  Nicodemus started off by saying they (he and the fellow members of the Jewish ruling council) knew He was a teacher who’d come from God, to which Jesus responded “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

To which I say: Whaaaat?  Where did that come from?  How did Jesus go from Nicodemus’s statement to His own response?

Hubby thinks that Jesus must have known Nicodemus’s heart, his true intentions for coming to Jesus, and in the interest of efficiency Jesus cut to the chase.  To me it is much like when He interacted with different teachers of the law in Mark 2: “Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts.”  So this must be why Nicodemus didn’t shake his head and say “What?  That’s not where I was going.”  Nicodemus understood why Jesus responded that way because that had been the true question of his heart.

Yet with others Jesus is more gentle.  With the Samaritan woman He nudged her along but didn’t engage in a theological discussion as He did with Nicodemus.  He wasn’t content to leave her where she was but gently helped her open her eyes to His love.

Then with the crowds He is even more gentle in His explanations, not obtuse at all.  Not always, but sometimes. Do you know how much I love you? The parable of the lost sheep. And another example: The parable of the lost coin. And again, this is how much our Father loves you and rejoices at your return: The parable of the prodigal son.

So in all this I’m learning that Jesus takes us where we are.  Super smart and very studied?  Expect deep discussions, a la Nicodemus.  Probably uneducated, living in sin and simply going about your business?  Jesus meets you during your daily chores.  Following Him, seeking to learn more?   Parables to break down how much our Father loves you.  Never is He content to leave us be, but He always meets us right where we are.