What Were the Scariest Words of Jesus?
WHAT WERE THE SCARIEST WORDS OF JESUS?
Usually, "crazy one" doesn't carry a positive connotation. It may remind of us a crazy cross-eyed uncle who lived in a van down by the river, but in this case, crazy means something entirely different. The video above was an advertisement launched by apple in 1997 when Steve Jobs returned to Apple inc. Jobs wanted to celebrated uncommon leaders and thinkers. Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lennon, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, and Pablo Picasso were just a few highlighted in this video. Why did they run this ad? What did this have to do with computers? They were announcing to the world that they wanted to be one of the crazy ones. And they meant it! Really! It was something that they valued profoundly, and during that time, Apple was pretty crazy. It made customers fall in love with them and simultaneously led many employees beyond exhaustion. Many Apple employees weren't wanting the crazy hours that came with being one of the crazy ones!
There is one name that didn’t make the list.
As I look back on this video, one thing strikes me as odd. There is one name that didn't make this list. It is Jesus. Jesus wasn't pictured, quoted, or mentioned. How could this be? Now, before we start another Apple conspiracy theory, they would have had a hard time digging up real-life footage of Jesus. No matter what the reasoning for the exclusion, it is impossible to deny that Jesus was one of the crazy ones. He was one of the misfits and rebels. Jesus was one of the square pegs in the round hole. He saw the world differently and acted in ways that no one expected.
Just a quick trip down memory lane confirms this.
a quick trip down memory lane
Jesus…
Made a whip from cords and drove his people from the temple
Jesus healed on the sabbath when others thought it was "wrong."
Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners despite the pervasive belief that "sin rubs off on you."
Jesus made enemies of the religious leaders when conventional wisdom would have been to befriend them and leverage their power.
Jesus befriended the poor, widows, orphans, children, and powerless.
Jesus taught everyone to love enemies
He told people not to build treasure on earth
He healed one of the very soldiers sent to arrest him.
He died on the cross for those who were persecuting him, and for people who would continue to betray him.
(I could do this all day)
It is with the "crazy" moments of Jesus playing in our heads that we consider the two scariest words that he ever uttered, "Follow Me." Why are these words so frightening? To follow Jesus, we must be remarkably uncommon! Sometimes the idea of following Jesus should make us wet ourselves! If we are honest, there are times when we don't REALLY expect ourselves to follow him. We don't REALLY expect ourselves to change. Instead of changing our lives, we make tweaks to our image of Jesus, so it becomes a little more palatable to follow him. We mentally round the otherwise dagger-like edges of Jesus' life to make following him easier. Have you done this? Ask yourself, does your life look quite ordinary in comparison with Jesus'? (insert guilty gulp here)
What does it even mean to follow Jesus?
What does it even mean to follow him today?
Are you an uncommon follower of an extraordinary Savior?
It means...
living in a listening posture each day with God's spirit.
when God calls, we immediately turn our ear to him.
we watch God closely.
when he moves, we move right with him.
when he speaks; we listen and obey.
when we face difficulty, we follow closer and persevere.
when he does something crazy, we become crazy with him.
It means we trust God when he leads us into some interesting places.
Are you living an ordinary life? Are you playing is safe? Are you following a mild-mannered Jesus? Or… Are you one of the crazy ones? Do you see the world differently? Are you an uncommon follower of an extraordinary Savior?
CHEW ON THESE TWO QUESTIONS:
IS THE WAY YOU FOLLOW JESUS LEADING YOU TO BECOME AN UNCOMMON FOLLOWER?
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THIS WEEK TO BE AN UNCOMMON FOLLOWER OF AN EXTRAORDINARY SAVIOR?
- Joel Singleton
