Does how people see or interpret Jesus determine how they see or interpret his vision?
- "People buy into people before they buy into the vision."
- Jesus was seen and interpreted differently by different groups of people because of their understanding of he was and who the Messiah would be / look like.
- The names given to Jesus in the passage are these, cross referenced with the people who would have seen Jesus as that name or title::
- Lamb of God (sacrifice for all or scape goat) - John the Baptists disciples, because that is who he proclaimed Jesus to be.
- Rabbi (Jewish scholar or teacher, also used discipling as a key teaching method) - Jesus' disciples saw him as just their Rabbi at first but soon discovered he was more than just a Rabbi. Pharisees, because they believed he could be the Messiah if he was hanging around with sinners.
- Messiah (the promised and expected deliverer of the Jews) - Jesus' disciples, originally proclaimed as the Messiah but didn't fully understand until Peter proclaimed it (Matthew 16 v 13-20). Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, were all waiting for the Messiah but had different ideas of who he would be.
- Son of God (represents Jesus' relationship with God the Father) - John the Baptists disciples, because that is who he proclaimed Jesus to be. Anybody who understood he was the Messiah.
- King of Israel (the shepherd of Israel) - Zealots, Simon one of his disciples saw Jesus as this and so did the rest of Zealots they wanted Jesus to over through the Romans. Pharisees and Rulers, saw Jesus as a threat.
- So many different people saw Jesus differently but how did this affect how they understood his vision?
- Jesus' Vision
- Matthew 1 v 21 - "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
- Luke 15 v 3-7 - " 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
- Jesus came to seek and save the lost!
- Jesus sparked a global movement of Kingdom builders, originally called 'The Way' but now commonly known as the church.
- I believe this vision and mission Jesus had and did lines up with all of the names and titles Jesus was given but not some people’s understanding of those titles.
- So our understanding of Jesus determines our understanding of his mission and vision.
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