by Josh Pease
I love talking with my friend Tim, if for no other reason than he asks the best questions.
Tim isn’t a Christian, although he’s moving quickly in that direction. He’s also super brilliant[1] and seeking to learn as much as he can, which led to a classic Tim question when we were talking the other day: “Why is Jesus always so confusing in his answers? Why doesn’t he just come out and SAY stuff, rather than messing with everybody?”
It’s a question I think about a lot – and extremely relevant to those of us who are pastors. My best answer to Tim’s question is this: that in a crowd of people asking “What do I do to be saved?” Jesus was questioning their fundamental assumptions.
“What do you do?” Jesus’ non-answers say in return. “What can ANY human do that is good enough to reach God?” Which is why he tells the rich young ruler, “No one is good except God.”
If Jesus gave a list of commands to be followed, he would have only been playing into a Pharisaical culture that told people, “Righteousness is accomplished through a well-documented series of moral guidelines.”
And so Jesus gives a lot of half-answers … beginnings of ideas with no clear ending … broad-sweeping statements with little explanation of how … why? Because the only action step that was sufficient was for people to drop their lives and follow after Him. In other words, Jesus wasn’t calling people to a reorganized moral code, but to a relationship with the Father through Him. Jesus’ seeming aloofness was actually giving people the opportunity to pursue HIM … not just his ideas.
This is important because we face the same problem today. Pretty much everyone likes Jesus the moral teacher[2], it’s Jesus as sovereign Lord that is far more uncomfortable.
So the question becomes “does my teaching lead Tim, and the rest of my church, to Jesus … or to some nice ideas about how to be “good.” At the end of the day am I teaching people about sex, money, relationships, careers, or even theological precepts about books in the Bible … or am I using all these things as windows, as opportunities, to push aside the muck of the world we live in, uncover Jesus, and say “it’s HIM you want.”
I’m still wrestling with how to do this, but I’ve decided this recently: I’m never again going to give a talk that doesn’t end, in some way, by pointing to Jesus and saying “but if you don’t get that it’s all about Him, then none of the rest of this matters.”
Because the truth is that my friend Tim doesn’t need yet another wise, moral philosopher to learn from[3].
Tim needs to fall in love with a Savior.[4]
[1] Tim’s idea of small talk: his theories on how science misunderstands what gravity truly is. My idea of small talk: the “Parks and Recreation” episode from last night.
[2] Also Jesus the homeboy, Jesus the Shepherd, and Jesus the pasty white guy with Fabio hair.
[3] He already has me for that … kidding … mostly.
[4] Follow-up to this: had a conversation with Tim yesterday, and while I’m not sure EXACTLY where he’s at, I think he has moved into a relationship with Jesus. I’m trying to give it space to breathe and let God tell Tim’s story, but already I see signs that Tim is becoming a disciple. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
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