After all they had been through together, all the miracles, teachings, campfires, long walks, times amid the multitudes, and quiet, private moments, the disciples still didn’t quite get it.
Right up until the end of Jesus’ life, there were more than a few misunderstandings flying around among his closest friends about just exactly who he was and how it all was going to work. Three years they had accompanied Jesus. His great expedition became theirs. They were there; they witnessed the lion’s share of the work of Jesus, more moments of healing and teaching than could possibly be recorded (John 21:25).
Yet in the late hours of Jesus’ life, one of his closest friends requested of him, “Show us the Father.” Jesus basically replied, “I did,” likely with one of those classic Jesus smiles…
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8–14 NKJV)
If they can miss him, what chance do we have of seeing him for who he truly is?
“The Father and I are one,” Jesus said in John 10:30.
We have all misjudged Jesus. In discovering that I also had him wrong, I have found out that he cares a lot more about setting the record straight than I do about getting it straight. Lovingly setting me straight is high on his list, and doing it with love, kindness, mercy, and grace seems to be his favorite method.
John Eldredge wrote in The Way of the Wild Heart (Fathered by God):
Wherever you are in your ability to believe it at this moment in your life, at least you can see what Jesus is driving at. You have a good Father. He is better than you thought. He cares. He really does. He’s kind and generous. He’s out for your best. This is absolutely central to the teaching of Jesus, though I have to admit, it never really struck a chord in me until I began to think through the need for masculine initiation, and came straight up against the question, “But who will do the initiating?”
In your time alone with God:
What is your perception of Jesus? What image of him do you carry in your heart?
Is your image of Jesus and your image of the Father the same? Why or why not?
