Citizens of the Kingdom Part 4

I ended the previous article by stating that a question came to mind during my study for this series. It was actually two questions. First, “why didn’t Israel’s leaders and many of the people recognize Jesus as their King?” Second, “are there ways we don’t recognize who Jesus is today?” I hope to answer both questions in this article.

Honestly, I had a pretty good idea of the answer to the first question. Jesus clearly stated why the Jewish leaders and other Israelites didn’t believe in Him. After Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted Him. When Jesus proclaimed His relationship with God the Father, they sought to kill Him because He was making Himself equal to God. Jesus then detailed His role as the Son. During this discussion, Jesus stated why the Jews don’t believe in Him.[1]

Jesus said the Jewish leaders searched the Scriptures for eternal life but didn’t see that Scripture testified about Jesus. These leaders and teachers also didn’t have a love of God in them, and they received glory, i.e., praise and honor, from one another but didn’t seek it from God.[2]

For example, the Jewish leaders thought Jesus couldn’t be the prophesied King because He came from Nazareth. They never bothered to determine where Jesus was born. They didn’t even think back to the time of His birth to consider there was a census when every Israelite went to their ancestral home to register. They knew Scripture but didn’t question their assumptions when faced with the claims and miracles of Jesus.

Not only did the teachers of Israel refuse to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but they also prevented others from entering.[3] They were more interested in the traditions of men than the truth of Scripture.[4] The leaders laid heavy burdens on the people which they were not willing to take on themselves.[5] Jesus stated that the people of Israel were like sheep without a shepherd.[6]

While we see the cause of why the people of Israel misunderstood Jesus’ identity, it may be helpful to see how they viewed Jesus. I won’t footnote all the following examples because they are easy to find as you read the gospels.

Most of the leaders and teachers of Israel refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah or even a prophet of God. Sadly, they often attributed Jesus’ teaching and miracles to acts of the Devil. They demonstrated their hard hearts when they asked Jesus to state whether He was the Messiah, and when He said He was, they sought to kill Him.

The people, those not formally trained in the Scriptures, had varying views of Jesus’ identity. Some believed Jesus was John the Baptist, risen from the dead, Elijah, or a prophet like the ones of old.[7] While Jesus was a prophet, even with some of the attributes of the ones of old, He was much more. Jesus was The Prophet that Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18.[8] Some people recognized Him as this Prophet but again didn’t understand the full extent of this identity.

Even Jesus’ followers didn’t fully understand who He was. Peter made the good confession that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah), but the disciples, along with most of Israel, thought the Messiah or coming King would restore Israel’s sovereignty immediately. Some even sought to take Jesus forcefully and make Him King. During an encounter with two of His disciples after His resurrection, Jesus chastised them for not knowing or believing what Scripture revealed about Him. He then explained everything about Himself, from Moses to the prophets.

So, what about people today? There are many ways the world misunderstands Jesus. But, instead of looking at how all people view Jesus, I will focus on professing Christians. Remember, Jesus came to His own people, and they did not receive Him.[9] The failure of Christians to know Jesus and to be known by Him leads to all sorts of issues for the church.

Before we answer the question about how Christians view Jesus today, let’s briefly examine the time between Jesus’ earthly ministry and the present. A cursory view of history shows that professing Christians over the centuries misunderstood and distorted Jesus’ identity. Christianity was misused to justify all sorts of atrocities. People have carried out much evil and hypocrisy in the name of Jesus. Some of this evil continues. Some people blatantly misrepresent Jesus by distorting Scripture.

Jesus warned His disciples,[10] and the apostles warned the early churches[11] that people purposely wanted to deceive the saints. These warnings are for the church today. For example, some “health and wealth” preachers twist the Bible and prey on people’s weaknesses for their own gain. Sadly, because many Christians are biblically illiterate, they are ignorant of these heretics. It is well-documented that many Christians don’t know Jesus very well.

In a 2009 survey, 39% of American Christians believed Jesus committed sins while He lived on earth.[12] One of the essential attributes of Jesus was that He was without sin in His humanity.[13] In a more recent survey of Evangelicals, [14] 56% responded that God accepts the worship of all religions, contradicting Jesus’ claim that no one comes to the Father but through Him.[15] An astounding 73% percent agreed with the statement that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” In addition, 43% agreed that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.”  Again, the Bible shows that Jesus is God and that instead of being a created being, He is the creator.[16]

The people with the wrong views of Jesus mentioned above may not be Christians. However, they may believe in Jesus but have yet to be taught the whole truth about Him. The same surveys show that most Christians have a good understanding of who Jesus is, even if that understanding is incomplete.

For those who gather with the church but are not yet Christians, grasping who Jesus is and all He has for them will be difficult. The Apostle Paul wrote that a “natural man,” i.e., non-Christian, cannot understand spiritual things because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.[17] So, the church must help people believe and receive Jesus. Then we must continue accurately portraying Scripture so they know Jesus better and their place in His Kingdom.

Even well–meaning teachers in the church can fail to present Jesus and the Bible accurately. It is difficult to give an example because many of the problems with our theology are regarded as true or orthodox. Part of the purpose of this website is to help the church take a different look at our assumptions and traditions, which may not be entirely biblical. I am not saying I have all the answers, but it is crucial to ask questions to challenge the practices that may not align with God’s best for us who believe.

The church must reexamine how we interact with the Bible. There are technical ways to read and study the Bible, and I have previously referenced some ideas in this regard.[18] But our engagement must be more than an intellectual endeavor. We must seek God in His word. The Bible contains information for transformation and edification.

The stakes are high for the church to know Jesus and represent Him accurately to the world. If we misrepresent Jesus within the church, we will stunt our growth as saints. If we fail to help people see the actual Jesus, they may have a false sense of being Christian. Jesus warned that on the judgment day, many will call Him Lord and declare all the things they did in His name, but He will tell them that He never knew them and they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.[19]

I encourage everyone to assess their engagement with the Bible. One question to ask yourself is, how much time do I spend on other activities compared to time with Scripture? It is easy for us to devote time to social media, fantasy sports, hobbies, etc. These activities are often good, but if you are not also devoting time to knowing Jesus and all He has for you, you are not going to experience the fullness of life in His Kingdom.

Sometimes, especially in social media, we come across ideas and teaching which is detrimental to our Christian life. In a recent service with our church, the pastor taught from Psalm 1. The opening lines of this poem stress the contrast between listening to the wrong people versus contemplating Scripture:

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.[20]

I hope and pray this article has been helpful. As citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom, we have everything we need for life and godliness. I hope your engagement with the Bible helps you discover all that Christ has for you. God bless you as you continue to seek Him.

[1] John 5
[2] John 5:39–47
[3] Matthew 23:13
[4] Matthew 15, Mark 7
[5] Matthew 23, Luke 11:37–54
[6] Matthew 9, Mark 6
[7] Mark 6:14–16, 8:27–30
[8] John 6:1–14, Acts 3:17–26
[9] John 1
[10] Matthew 7:15–20
[11] For example, 2 Timothy 3:10–17 and Titus 1:10–16, and 1 John 3:4–10
[12] Most American Christians Do Not Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exists, Barna, April 13, 2009
[13] Hebrews 4:14–16
[14] The State of Theology, 2022, Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research
[15] John 14:1–6
[16] John 1
[17] 1 Corinthians 2:14–16
[18] For example, see, I Just Became a Christian, Now What? – The Bible, on this website (gtdavis.com, Our Life in Christ)
[19] Matthew 7:21–23
[20] Psalm 1:1–3, ESV