My son-in-law is from Brazil, therefore English is his second language and he doesn’t always understand our idioms. At a family birthday party recently a family member said to him, speaking of his one-year-old son who had not managed a nap that day, “Aw, he’s pooped.”
“Twice today,” was the humorous reply. My son-in-law misunderstood the term “pooped.”
Understanding what someone really means can be a challenge even when both parties speak the same language. We each have personal history, experiences and expectations through which we interpret the words of others, and it is way too easy to misunderstand.
Jesus was misunderstood by almost everyone in his day.
First century Jews had plenty of history behind their understanding of Jesus. Unfortunately much of it was of their own making. It took some doing to get them to see Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah. Jesus had to reframe their thinking, and some of them followed him, like the disciples, while others did not, like the Pharisees.
JESUS ACCORDING TO THE PHARISEES
An exchange in John 8 is particularly revealing of the unbelief of the Pharisees. Jesus was telling the Pharisees who he was, and they could not understand his words. Jesus said, “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you…..Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. (v. 37, 43) Jesus had further strong words for the Pharisees. “You are of your father the devil…Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (v. 44, 47) The Pharisees were infuriated.
They were interpreting Jesus from their place of power and position, and they felt threatened by him. Jesus knew that, of course, and he regularly challenged them. They were not asking Jesus questions to truly understand who we was, but to find wiggle room in his words. Good luck with that.
JESUS ACCORDING TO THE DISCIPLES
The disciples, on the other hand, believed Jesus but they did not understand some of his words terribly well either. Jesus told his disciples multiple times that he was going to suffer and die at the hands of men, but they couldn’t make sense of it.
“‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.’ But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.“ (Luke 9:44-45)
It’s actually kind of comical. On the way down the mountain after the transfiguration, when Peter, James and John had the incredible experience of seeing Jesus dressed in bright white while chatting with Moses and Elijah, Jesus told them not to tell anyone “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. “ (Mark 9:9-10)
I imagine their conversation going something like this: “Jesus can’t mean that he is really going to die, can he? No, that’s impossible. Surely not. Therefore, ‘rising from the dead’ must mean something else. What could it be?”
Neither group fully understood Jesus. They both interpreted his words based on their own desires and expectations.
The Pharisees were blind to his identity because they had already decided that Jesus was not the Messiah, and they were looking for ways to prove it. The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they didn’t want to believe what that would mean.
WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?
The same misunderstandings are common today.
Some people have decided that Jesus is a great teacher or a prophet, but they will not allow for the possibility that he is God. They read the Bible with that frame of reference, conveniently overlooking aspects of Jesus that point to his divinity.
Christians believe Jesus is God. That’s what it means to be a Christian. As Christians we have the great gift of the Holy Spirit to help us understand what Jesus said, but when studying the Bible we face the temptation to interpret Jesus’ words according to our desires. Many a Christian, including myself at times, has said, “Jesus couldn’t have meant that! It must mean something else. What could it be?”
Interpreting Jesus’ words today can be a challenge. He was speaking in an ancient language to people living in a dramatically different culture. Even so, he was pretty clear about who he was and what he was going to do. If we understand Jesus’ identity correctly, then with humility and the Holy Spirit we will grow in our interpretation of the Scriptures as a whole.
Both the Pharisees and disciples had pre-conceived notions about who Jesus was, and Jesus surprised them all. Jesus is God, and no amount of arguing would change that. Jesus is the Messiah, and he shocked everyone when he died on a cross for the sins of the world. That was always the plan.
What words of Jesus do you find challenging or difficult to understand?
Connecting Dots...to God 
Hi Judi,
I think you certainly heard of the Unjust Steward parable.
Jesus reminded me a crucial truth by this simple parable of the steward. Here is how I understood it:
[1] The rich man in this parable refers simply to God.
[2] Its steward is any human, including me.
[3] In this parable, the stewardship reflects the human’s free-will on earth; one of the greatest God’s gifts.
[4] The end of this stewardship occurs at the death of one’s body.
[5] The goods that the steward is responsible of, in this parable, refer to whatever a human has in his life. But, at the death of his human flesh, whatever he still has will be taken away from him for good (the end of his stewardship). In other words, all ‘material’ goods and skills I have now are actually not mine but of God, otherwise I would be able to keep them for eternity.
[6] The lord’s debtors refer to other humans in one’s life.
[7] Naturally, Jesus calls all material things that a living human may have ‘the mammon of unrighteousness’ because they are actually God’s goods not his.
So, Jesus went on saying:
“And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely”.
In fact, I used to live as the unjust steward did by helping others, whenever possible, by using God’s goods which I am responsible of during my temporarily stewardship on earth.
And, to make the truth of this parable even clearer, Jesus added:
“Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (by using God’s goods before the end of stewardship); that, when you fail (when you die), they may receive you into everlasting habitations (God’s Spiritual Realm of Love, the Everlasting Life) “.
But I am afraid that those in charge of your Church (actually of any Christian Church/Denomination around the world) have their good reasons not to approve the truth of this parable as I see it. I mean; I understand if you will decide not to keep it on your pages.
Kerim Fahme (or just KerimF, my usual username)
Hi Judy,
Since I was teen, I used to hear the notion of ‘Fear of God’.
But does ‘Fear of God’ exist in Jesus’ message, no matter how the word ‘fear’ is interpreted?
Jesus says:
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear ‘him’ which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
When someone loves another ‘really’, it means he trusts his will to no limit. Therefore, real trust and any sort of fear towards another cannot co-exist for the same person at the same time. This is why Jesus used the word ‘love’ only in His first greatest advice.
The question is now: To whom does the word ‘him’ in the mentioned saying above refer?
If it refers to our Father in Heaven (or Him, Jesus, since their Will/Power are unified by the Holy Spirit), what prevented Jesus to say it clearly while he used to be very clear in all he says? In fact, nothing prevented Him because the word ‘him’ refers simply, as we will see, to ‘a human’; a deceiver.
But to understand the saying above well, one needs to understand first what the word ’hell’ means in Jesus’ message. But its real meaning, as revealed by Jesus, opposes the main interests of those who are created to play the powerful rich deceivers who have to control their multitudes by fear.
Let us revise what is the common point in Jesus’ sayings that describe the ‘Hell Fire’:
[1] “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
[2] “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
[3] “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.”
[4] “Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.”
[5] “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
I hear in them just ‘burning’ things that became not useful anymore; much like it is done on earth to return things, no more useful for anything, to their raw state. Also, in these sayings, there is no sign of torture or the like.
We may conclude that Jesus’ Hell is simply the returning back to the state of void (state before birth). In other words, one’s body is destroyed in ‘Hell’ at its death. And one’s soul is destroyed in ‘Hell’ (as if it didn’t exist) when he didn’t have the chance, anytime in his life, to feed his soul by living God’s Unconditional Love towards some personal enemies.
Let us note that although there are sayings, on the Gospel, in which Jesus refers to hell as a place of torture or punishment, this hell’s image is not supported by Jesus by any real/earthly example as He did for the ‘Everlasting Fire’ or ‘Hell Fire’. I am afraid that the reasons for which they are added on the Gospel are off topic here.
I hope this clarify the kind of deceiver that Jesus is referring to by the word ‘him’ in the above saying.
Salut,
Kerim Fahme
Hi Judy,
If you don’t mind, I like to raise another point.
Why it is really hard for many people around the world understanding “Son of God”?
If someone introduces himself as ‘son of desert’, do we hear him say that ‘desert’ is his father or mother?!
If a kid is called ‘son of sin’, do we hear that ‘sin’ has to be his father or mother?!
It was obvious to know that ‘desert’ and ‘sin’ cannot be a parent because the world knows in advance the meanings of ‘desert’ and ‘sin’.
In general, to Pagans and Jews, then to Muslims (therefore, to most atheists too), the notion of ‘God’ or ‘the Creator’ refers to a ‘One-of-His-Kind’ Supernatural Being. But this image of God has nothing to do with Jesus’ message that focuses solely on the power of the Spirit of Love (known as the Holy Spirit) which unifies two independent beings if accepted in them. Therefore, if God refers to ‘One Being’ only, this God, no matter how good he might be, has no choice but to love himself, that is, to be selfish. Let us be rational, there is no true love between a master and his slave/follower; a master is good only if his slave/follower is obedient. In fact, True Love cannot exist in a family if the husband or his wife insists to play the master of the house. Let us recall what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit: “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
Based on Jesus’ message, ‘God’ cannot be just ‘One Being’, or, obviously, a ‘parent’ of Jesus (as ‘desert’ and ‘sin’ cannot be a parent). The true image of our Creator has to include the Ultimate Spirit of Love, the Holy Spirit. In fact, even in the material world, if we remove the ‘chemical love’ from human’s life, the great majority of humans would have no reason to work hard and look for survival… I witnessed this fact many times, in person. Also, in the material world, if a client contacts just one of two partners who founded a company, he is actually contacting their company that represents their ‘one will’.
Similarly, in the spiritual world, ‘God’ is the ‘One Will’ of our Father in Heaven (not incarnated) and Jesus (incarnated) who were unified, before Creation, by the Holy Spirit. So, it was natural for Jesus to say: “I and ‘the Father’ are one”. Please note that, on some English Gospels, if not all, ‘the Father’ is replaced with ‘my Father’.
For instance, I am afraid that those who are of this material world cannot get well this image of God which is based on the Ultimate Spirit of Love, the Holy Spirit. They are much like Nicodemus to whom Jesus said: “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”
Kerim Fahme
Hi Judy,
I am 73 and this is the best post I read about Jesus, ‘Are You Rightly Understanding Jesus’.
Sorry, since I was teen, I used to be rational in whatever I think of (so my favorite is Mathematics). Therefore, I knew Jesus is ‘my God’ based on ‘logical reasoning’, not faith, because whatever I have discovered in me and the real world, I heard Jesus ‘only’ saying it though after about 2000 years (even after transmitting the Gospel by the imperfect humans from one generation to another).
Jesus reveals (on the today’s Gospel) many crucial natural truths that ‘no one’ in the world dares (or is allowed) to repeat openly and clearly (as Jesus did) before the world’s multitudes. The reason is simple. Spreading the knowledge of these truths opposes the interests and dreams of the powerful rich Elite groups anywhere in the world. But, at the same time, no ruling system in the world dares banning printing them in one form or another. This is why I had the chance to know Jesus from reading the Gospel only.
One may think that I am somehow exaggerating about Jesus’ truths. As one example (since there are many), let us examine the natural truth which is revealed very clearly by Jesus Christ and opposes the strategies of the today’s most powerful richest World’s Elite:
“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
I guess you, like almost all formal Christians around the world, cannot, even if you want to, understand this saying as I do since I am an independent student of Jesus; a neutral observer who is no more of the world.
Jesus, in this saying, confirmed clearly that John the Baptist is the greatest Jewish Prophet. But what was the main mission of this greatest Prophet? It was to prepare the Jewish people for the arrival of Jesus among them. This implies that the main mission of all previous Jewish Prophets cannot be greater than of John the Baptist. And, at the arrival of Jesus, this mission was fulfilled for good. Therefore, the Jewish teachings became, after Jesus’ arrival, much like the school teachings without which one couldn’t continue to join a university and be professional in a certain field. And, at best, his schoolbooks join his good souvenirs since he, the professional, can no longer see them as scientific references at work. By the way, some school teachings had to be made ‘incomplete’, if not ‘wrong’, to help the kids learn science in steps (on request, many examples could be presented). Also, Judaism, inspired from Heaven, was very important though for the ancient kids of humanity only (our past ancestors). In fact, Jesus message that focuses on God’s Unconditional Love towards all others, good and evil, updated the Jewish teachings and let most of them be irrelevant, if not obsolete.
Now, I am somehow curious to know, if you don’t mind, how you understand this Jesus saying. But I also understand that someone may not be really free and independent as I am (a student of the free independent Jesus, my God) and has, therefore, to be silent or, at best, repeat what some others have said about the topic in question.
In any case, I wish you continue doing what you think is good for you and others.
Kerim Fahme (born and live in Aleppo city – Syria)
“”I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12)
I believe in Him, but I’m certainly not doing the works He did…as yet.
I wonder about those words too, Larry. What he said is pretty clear, and yet we don’t experience it. Why? Perhaps you’ve got the answer…”as yet.” Or I wonder if Christianity here in the US is underdeveloped.