Lesson 23 - Looking for Jesus, His Day and Times

Jesus and His Handlers

Years ago, a friend handed me a photocopy of that famous painting of a red haired Jesus, on his knees, hands clasped, looking upward to Heaven with an imploring gaze. Underneath he had added the following caption: “Father, I know I volunteered for this assignment, but they are so dumb, dumb, dumb!”  I have a feeling Jesus just may have said something just like this in Aramaic, and he was probably referring to his disciples.

Some of these disciples were family, some were previous disciples of John the Baptist Jesus’ deceased cousin, and all of them misunderstood Jesus.

His family was recorded as believing he was crazy and weird. When he was asked to come home, be with family and accept the required family obligations, Jesus replied that those who were listening to his talk and following him were his family. A lovely philosophy, but a slap in the face to his biological family standing outside the hall.

The cousins that chose to be his disciples must have been seen by their families as weird outsiders, also. They had to expect a lot from Jesus to make up for their decision to rebel from family expectations.

John’s ex-disciples who chose to turn to Jesus, were expecting another apocalyptic prophet. The gospels pretty consistently show them questioning and just not ‘getting it’. These were politically involved rebels expecting the world to self-destruct any moment and looking for a messiah to appear - that soldier to lead the battle against oppressors, and /or the high priest to re-establish the ‘correct’ Judaism in the Temple.

For three years Jesus was on what must look surprisingly similar to a modern political campaign tour in hostile territory. Rally after rally, staying at town after town, home after home. Hounded, hated and longed after.

Jesus’ frustrations came right through the gospel writings. After all, these were the men who were his closest students, confidantes, and arrangers of where he taught and where he stayed. They brought people to him, and then they jealously kept others away, especially children. These were his disciples who he depended on. These were his handlers. . .And they just never really understood him. 

Questions to Contemplate and Discuss

1.     How do you feel when others are constantly arranging almost every detail of your life?

2.     Do you think the disciples were a well oiled coordinated group as they helped Jesus tour? Or do you see contentious and varied individuals struggling to get their agendas fulfilled? And what might each of these possibilities look like?

3.     Did you serve on a board, be a part of a group effort, plan a political event, or anything like these? How did you enjoy working with others and what parts did you not enjoy?