Responding to Jesus Part 1 - "The Human Response"

 

     As Jesus continues to be active in and through His church, the reactions and responses seem to increase the disunity and harmful beliefs concerning Jesus and His church. I also think that disunity is present in my own heart. As one following Jesus, I am constantly responding to where He is going and what He is doing. My responses are at times pleasant and adoring. However, at others times my responses are confusing and painful.
     We must be honest in our responses to Jesus even if we do not particularly like them or have them on purpose. We as humans have a nature that wants to push back against how Jesus operates in the world and in our individual lives. True as well is our desire to please Jesus because we love Him and appreciate the grace that He continually pours into our lives. Within this struggle, we can be thankful that God helps us past our human response to Jesus. 

     Matthew chapters 8-10 help us understand this vital truth. Prior to this section in Matthew, we read what is referred to as Jesus sermon mount. As the gospel writers often do, Matthew takes his readers from a teaching of Jesus, to a correlating action of Jesus. This present action in chapters 8-10 is a series of healings that exemplify the sermon on the mount and display the nature of Jesus and His ministry. As this takes place we notice various responses to the actions of Jesus. As you notice these responses, you may find how you are currently responding to Jesus in our own life. The positive reactions are fine and well, but what do we do with the negative? What follows in this post is a look within chapter 8 that causes us see how God helps us past our human responses to Jesus. 

God helps us by telling us the truth about following Him. Matthew 8:1-22. Three healings in Galilee that prompted some to say that they would follow. The first was the healing of the leper in verses 1-4. Her we notice the question of willingness and the truth that Jesus ministers to the outcast. The lepers of Jesus day were some of the most rejected people of the time due to their illness. The second was Jesus healing of the Centurions servant through which we see that Jesus operates from a position of authority. The third healing was of Peter's mother in law and many others around her that displayed the reality that Jesus' ministry the taking on of our illnesses and diseases. The human response to these miracles was to follow Jesus in order to gain healing. However, Jesus quickly disposes that motivation by revealing that following Jesus would not be a venture into a life of comfort.  

     Secondly God helps us passed our ham response to Jesus by working in our lives when we think all hope is gone (8:23-27) Here Jesus calms the storm when his disciples accuse Him of not being aware of their situation. Have you ever felt like your life was falling apart and Jesus was asleep? This is a common human response and God helps us through it by His presence and authority. As He does so we live in amazement and wonder concerning the nature of Jesus. 

     Finally, God helps us through our human responses to Jesus by ruling over evil. As we see in the passage, not everyone is thrilled with how Jesus response to evil. Some will tell Jesus to leave. Do you ever feel this way? As Jesus deals with evil in your live do you find yourself displeased. Some times Jesus deals with evil by allowing it to exist. This is very painful for us as we follow Him, and we need the God's help to keep going, while our human response is to reject Him. 

     How are you responding to Jesus at this point in your life? Are you willing to follow Jesus wherever He may go? Are you responding with wonder and amazement concerning His nature? Are you asking Him to go away? God must move us past our natural inclination because our natural response to Jesus is often with a sense of self preservation. This is why, Jesus reminds us that "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16: 24 (ESV)