Day 1
Scripture:
Therefore the Jews started grumbling about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
(John 6:41-42)
Reflection:
When I finally opened a Bible and started reading the Gospels for myself, as a young adult atheist in France who was considering the claims of Christianity, I was expecting to find the boring platitudes I thought I remembered from my childhood. What I found instead was that Jesus was a gripping character. He spoke with wisdom and authority, navigated tough conversations, and had everyone wondering, “who is this man?” I was captivated.
So much of the drama in the Gospels revolves around the followers of Jesus discovering him and trying to answer that question: “who is he?” As good professing Christians today, we know the correct theological answers to that question: Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the savior of the world. But because we already know this, we fail to appreciate the shock and awe that Christ’s followers experienced when they began to catch glorious glimpses of his identity.
When Jesus started making some amazing and unexpected claims, many people who knew his background struggled to overcome their familiarity: “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know?” they asked in the Synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus had just claimed to be the bread of life that comes down from heaven to feed people in such a way that they will never hunger and will never die! It’s hard to swallow if you know his mom and dad indeed.
The same thing happened in Nazareth at the Synagogue. Jesus had just read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah declaring that “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And just like that, he added: “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled”! But while the crowds “were amazed”, they also asked “isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:23). The barrier of familiarity stroke again.
Thankfully, familiarity doesn’t have to prevent knowledge of Jesus. His hometown didn’t recognize his identity, but his own mother, Mary, knew full well who he was. She had been told in detail. When Gabriel announced to her that she would bear Jesus, he called him “the son of the Most High”, and said “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33) He will be called “the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
And the Shepherds who came to her after the birth told her he was “a savior,” “the Messiah,” “the Lord”! (Luke 2:11) That’s quite the resume, and Mary “treasured these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19). So, I take it that it’s possible to be very intimate with Jesus, and yet overcome familiarity to recognize him for who he is, and marvel as we should. Yes, he’s the Jesus you heard about in Sunday school, yes he’s the Jesus whose stories we feel like we heard a million times. But let’s have a closer, fresher look at the stories of when he first appeared, and marvel with those who saw it: did he really say that? Did he really do that? Who then is this man?
The Holy One. The Christ. The Son of God.
(John 6:41-42)
Reflection:
When I finally opened a Bible and started reading the Gospels for myself, as a young adult atheist in France who was considering the claims of Christianity, I was expecting to find the boring platitudes I thought I remembered from my childhood. What I found instead was that Jesus was a gripping character. He spoke with wisdom and authority, navigated tough conversations, and had everyone wondering, “who is this man?” I was captivated.
So much of the drama in the Gospels revolves around the followers of Jesus discovering him and trying to answer that question: “who is he?” As good professing Christians today, we know the correct theological answers to that question: Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the savior of the world. But because we already know this, we fail to appreciate the shock and awe that Christ’s followers experienced when they began to catch glorious glimpses of his identity.
When Jesus started making some amazing and unexpected claims, many people who knew his background struggled to overcome their familiarity: “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know?” they asked in the Synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus had just claimed to be the bread of life that comes down from heaven to feed people in such a way that they will never hunger and will never die! It’s hard to swallow if you know his mom and dad indeed.
The same thing happened in Nazareth at the Synagogue. Jesus had just read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah declaring that “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And just like that, he added: “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled”! But while the crowds “were amazed”, they also asked “isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:23). The barrier of familiarity stroke again.
Thankfully, familiarity doesn’t have to prevent knowledge of Jesus. His hometown didn’t recognize his identity, but his own mother, Mary, knew full well who he was. She had been told in detail. When Gabriel announced to her that she would bear Jesus, he called him “the son of the Most High”, and said “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33) He will be called “the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
And the Shepherds who came to her after the birth told her he was “a savior,” “the Messiah,” “the Lord”! (Luke 2:11) That’s quite the resume, and Mary “treasured these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19). So, I take it that it’s possible to be very intimate with Jesus, and yet overcome familiarity to recognize him for who he is, and marvel as we should. Yes, he’s the Jesus you heard about in Sunday school, yes he’s the Jesus whose stories we feel like we heard a million times. But let’s have a closer, fresher look at the stories of when he first appeared, and marvel with those who saw it: did he really say that? Did he really do that? Who then is this man?
The Holy One. The Christ. The Son of God.
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This devotional is written by Guillaume Bignon, author of Confessions of a French Atheist
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