Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God born in Bethlehem. He was baptized in the Jordan River and spent most of his time in Galilee. As believers in Jesus Christ, we do our best to know Him. We learn of Him, and we do our best to follow in the footsteps of His life and teachings.
My favorite story of Jesus’ ministry is the moment in John 5:1-15 where Jesus enters Jerusalem, the pool in Bethesda where a man had been waiting 38 years to be healed by its waters. Now, Jesus, fully capable of healing all who were there, sought out this one man. He asked him, “Do you wish to get well?” the man replied, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while * I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus responded, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
Immediately the man became well. Noticing this, he locked his gaze upon Jesus and did as he said. He picked up his pallet and walked to follow him.
Being that this was the Sabbath day, surrounding him were Pharisees who could not see the miracle that was performed on this man who had been faithful in waiting for the waters to heal him, nor could they recognize the Son of God who had entered their holy space. All that they could see was that he was breaking the rules of the Sabbath.
I love this story because it represents so much of how we experience life today. Who’s word do we value more? The voice that tells us to ‘pick up our pallet’ and follow Him? Or the voice that warns us about the consequences of breaking the rules? Which sounds more like faith… and which one sounds more like fear?
“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be.
– Brennan Manning
We unwittingly project onto God our own attitudes and feelings toward ourselves… But we cannot assume that He feels about us the way we feel about ourselves — unless we love ourselves compassionately, intensely, and freely. ”
To know Jesus is to also know where God sent His son to be born. I came across a History Article discussing what Jesus would have looked like. What these historians and archeologists found shocked me in a humble way… it made me wonder why so many artists depicted Jesus as looking European (fair-skinned) when we know he was from the middle-east, Palestinean. If this man was indeed born of a woman from Nazareth, he would not have been a fair-skinned man… he would have been of middle eastern descent, a darker brown skin. It all seemed like common sense when I read about this, and I feel saddened that more artists haven’t picked up on this important detail – because representation does matter as we seek to come together – all of us in all of our differences – pure in heart – as followers of Jesus, a son of a very loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother… Heavenly Parents who love and embrace all of their children.
I am grateful for the creators of The Chosen series who brought these historical accuracies to light for millions of viewers. I am grateful that they decided also, that representation matters in every detail as we seek to know Jesus.
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