| Our Vision of Jesus Christ |
by David A. DePra |
| What would it have been like to walk with Jesus? That is, |
| when He was on earth as a man? What would it have been |
| like to be in the presence of a perfect human being; someone |
| who never once sinned? Imagine it. Never once did Jesus |
| utter a sinful word. Never once did He express anything less |
| than a Godly attitude. Even when He became angry He did it |
| in the spirit of love. From the time He was born until the time |
| He ascended, He did all things according to the will of God. |
| What kind of impact would being with someone like that have |
| on me? |
| Of course, we get a pretty good idea of what kind of impact |
| Jesus had on those around Him by reading the gospels and |
| epistles. He had such an impact that most all who walked |
| with Him for those three and one-half years were willing to die |
| for Him. But we see other things too. For instance, time and |
| time and time again the disciples simply could not grasp the |
| teachings of Jesus. They could not understand many things |
| He did and said. This should not be surprising, for again, we |
| are dealing here with perfection in human form. It would be |
| difficult to alway have a point of reference for what He was |
| trying to say. |
| It is a testimony to the love of God that despite that fact |
| that Jesus was perfect, and we are so imperfect, that He was |
| able to lower Himself to reveal to us that portion of Truth which |
| God ordained to reveal to us in this age. Of course there is |
| certainly much more which God has kept hidden from us. But |
| that is ok. It isn't for us now. We have what we need. |
| The disciples had difficultly, as do we, understanding some |
| of the things which Jesus said and did. He simply did not |
| agree with their idea of what a Messiah would do. Yet there |
| was something about Him which made Him irresistable to them. |
| Somehow, deep down inside, they knew. It was only at the |
| end of His ministry that Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, |
| Son of the living God." |
| Contrast the reactions of the disciples to those of the |
| scribes and Pharisees. Here was God personified in their |
| midst, the One for whom they had long waited. Not only did |
| they reject Him as the Messiah, and constantly come against |
| Him, they wound up calling Him a devil. |
| If there is one thing which all of this proves it is this: Our |
| moral and spiritual condition determines what we see when we |
| look at Jesus. Our heart attitude determines what we hear. |
| Jesus never changes. He was the same Person to those who |
| hated Him as He was to those who followed Him. It was the |
| condition of those who met Him that determined how they |
| responded to the visitation of God to them. |