DO YOU(REALLY) KNOW JESUS?

(7-minute read)

Relationships regulate our behaviour. Whether the relationships are familial, romantic, friendships, or professional, they come with pretty clear social norms and expectations that guide how we should behave. In professional relationships, there are expectations around timeliness, integrity and productivity. In a family, we expect parents to parent their young children and not the other way round. Within a marriage, people (even if unhappy together) are expected to remain faithful to each other. In healthy friendships, we expect reciprocity of care and concern. 

In our relationship with God, however, things are a little more nebulous. Sure, we say ‘Thank God!’ when things go our way even though God is hardly involved in our lives. We casually use words like ‘God’s call’ to replace ‘personal choices’ to avoid taking responsibility for making questionable decisions. We imagine that God will be happy with us when we play the role of the dutiful spouse, the supportive parent or caregiver, the hardworking employee, the dedicated church worker, and the active grassroot volunteer. Yet, have we ever wondered if we really know Jesus. 

When we make Jesus’ teachings fit our simple narratives of what’s right and wrong, we act as though we are beyond reproach. Believers who really know God are not obsessed with neat and nice ideals of life outcomes. They know that God’s goodness is often unrecognizable and incomprehensible when they are going through trials and they understand that ‘the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult’ (Matthew 7:14). Although we don’t talk much about it, there is normative tension in our relationship with God. Where we experience conflict between our thinking and His Word, the Word should take precedence over our opinion. 

Many people in biblical times were impressed by Jesus’ teachings in the same way that we are easily impressed with preachers who possess the rare qualities of clarity and simplicity. In more than one instance, after the Lord taught on a Sabbath, the people “were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.”  But people’s relationship with Jesus was largely ambivalent because they didn’t quite know what to make of Him. As soon as He spoke on controversial subjects like being rejected by the people in His hometown, the adoring crowds turned into adversaries who wanted to push Him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30). 

Yet, wherever He went, the people “were amazed at His teaching, because His words had authority.” (Luke 4:32). But we cannot be content with being one in a crowd who marvels at Jesus’ teachings as though we are faceless followers on TikTok, Red Note, or YouTube.

Indeed, God sent His only Son to us so that we will really know Jesus.

If you really know Jesus you will know….Who He Is

First, let’s clarify who Jesus is not. He is not the alter ego that is often depicted as an angel appearing opposite a devil on our shoulders. Neither is He a superhero who dazzles us with His superior power. 

When we see impressive public figures on social media often enough, they become familiar to us. When we hear famous names often enough, we feel closer to them even though we have never met them, much less ever spoken to them in person. In the same way, Jesus – our Lord and Saviour – can become so familiar to us that we forget who He really is in the ordinary moments of our lives when we pray, and in our daily conversations with people. Ergo, in Jesus's hometown of Nazareth, while “everyone spoke well of Him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from His lips”, He was such a familiar figure that people had questions about His authenticity, “How can this be? Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22).

If we really know Jesus and who He is, we won’t need to go out of our way to bring up the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life for us in our conversations and relationships. Comparatively, it takes little effort for us to mention the names of pastors, mechanics, doctors, insurers, or psychotherapists into our conversations with others, yet we are less spontaneous talking about the healer, restorer, and builder of broken dreams and relationships in our lives. 

Ironically, in Jesus’ days, the ones who recognised His deity were not His followers, but the demonic spirits that had possessed a certain man. They knew exactly who Jesus was the instant that He showed up. Their immediate response was, ‘Jesus of Nazareth!... I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’’ (Luke 4:34 NLT). 

What about us? Are we able to recognize Jesus? Perhaps He is the cue to action when it slipped your mind to show concern to someone. He is the reason your kitchen was not on fire when you forgot to turn off the burner beneath the pot. In a moment of agitation towards someone, what came out of your mouth was a gentle truth that diffused the tension. If we put everything down to ‘luck’ or our moral goodness, we will never be able to describe how Jesus shows up in our everyday life.

If you really know Jesus you will know….HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY

Luke 4:31-36 recounted Jesus’ encounter with a demon-possessed man in another synagogue where He was teaching. This was in Capernaum, away from His hometown. Once again, the crowds were fascinated with His teachings “for he spoke with authority”. What they failed to realize was that it was more than just His words that carried authority. His Presence And His Name also carried authority.

Just consider how many times the demon-possessed man had visited the synagogue and listened to the religious teachings there. Yet no one could tell that he was controlled by an evil spirit. But as soon as Jesus was present, the evil spirits could not remain still, silent and hidden. So they blurted out and exposed themselves!

The evil spirits knew they had no power to remain in the man when Jesus was around. And they came out without harming or hurting the man. Still, the people failed to see the power and authority in Jesus Himself, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” (v36).

Let’s not forget that only Jesus could turn water into wine at a wedding in Cana. And it wasn’t just a bottle of wine, but the equivalent of over 130 standard 750ml bottles of wine (John 2:1-11). Only Jesus could raise Lazarus from death to life. Not mere minutes after he took his last breath but four full days after he died when discolouration, bloating and decomposition had already set in. 

Resurrected, Christ now has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Indeed, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.” (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT). 

Such is the power and authority that Jesus, the Son of God, is given. 

It is sadly revealing when all we know about Jesus are the stories we have heard because we have almost no recent conversations with Him. We won’t know God better by chasing prophecies, consuming copious Christian content, or hobnobbing with evangelists. 

Without exception, the only way to know Jesus better is to read the Bible and study the Word of God, take regular rest from frenetic living to spend time with the Lord, and make it a daily habit to reflect and be very present in our lives in order to train ourselves to see God more clearly in our day-to-day existence.

So if you really know Jesus, it will be evident in your prayers, revealed in your character, attitude and choices, and alive in your conversations.

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 22 February 2025.