Jesus was incredibly controversial in His time here and He continues to be just as controversial today. Why is that?
When I read the Gospels, it is clear that, generally speaking, people either loved, hated or were indifferent to Jesus. He was loved for his message of hope and his generosity in healing and feeding people. That’s the easy part to understand.
The difficult part is understanding why he was hated. Here are some reasons, which are by no means exhaustive. He was hated because He didn’t do everything the people wanted Him to do. People wanted different, specific things from Jesus, but as a whole the people wanted Jesus to overthrow the Roman Empire. He wouldn’t do it. He could’ve, but didn’t. Instead He taught,
John 18:36 – “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Despite all else He did, this was reason enough for many to turn away from Him.
Jesus was also hated because His teaching differed from the mainstream religious teaching of His day. The religious authorities of the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees had greatly distorted the Scriptures and as if that wasn’t bad enough, they added a multitude of religious teachings that they taught had the same weight and authority as God’s Word.
Jesus not only tore down their false teachings but also reprimanded them for those teachings. He said things of them like,
Matthew 15:14 – “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
When Jesus didn’t toe the religious line, the murder plots soon began.
I’ve saved what I believe to be the main reason why people hated Jesus for last. Jesus was hated because He denounced sin. Nobody was offended when Jesus healed a disease. Nobody was offended when Jesus provided a free meal. People were offended by the truth. Today, people are still offended by the truth.
Try it out. If you do things to help people, they are generally thankful and appreciative. If you couple your good deeds with the message that all people are sinners who are helpless and hopeless unless they turn to Jesus, and ONLY Jesus in faith and repentance…brace yourself for the backlash.
To most of the Jewish people that Jesus preached to, the message of repentance was offensive because they didn’t see any need to repent. They were descendants of Abraham. They believed their birthright was eternal life. They did not believe that they needed to put their faith in Jesus or repent.
What about people today? For most, if you don’t lose them with an explanation of faith and repentance, you’ll likely lose them with the exclusivity that Jesus demands. The most offensive thing that Jesus is know for today is His teaching,
John 14:6 – I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jesus was polarizing then and He is polarizing today because He demands that you make a decision. Are you with Him or against Him? The line is drawn. He drew the line. I pray that you choose life.
If you want to follow Jesus and give your life to Him, give me a call or send me an email. Schedule a time to come and discuss what it means to be a Christian. I’m here for you, but more importantly, Jesus is here for you. He’s calling your name.
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
