When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (John 10:19-21)Reactions to Jesus were mixed. It is the same today. Some thought he was a great teacher and obviously from God. Others thought he was crazy. The same Jesus, the same messages, heard by different people with different perspectives.
It is the same today. Some hear Jesus and hear something fresh and new, words flowing from God. Others hear restrictions, negatives, things they are not allowed to do. Some hear freedom, others hear a mean old God telling them they cannot have fun.
But how is it that two people can hear the same thing and make such radically different conclusions?
People hear Jesus, as they do everything else, through the filters of their own desires, what they themselves want. They also hear him according to a preset filter, one that says, No matter what he says I will not like it.
My son would decide in advance whether or not he liked a certain food. Then he would pick up a bite of whatever it might have been, look at it, shake his head, then eat it. Afterwards, he would shake his head again. He had decided he wasn’t going to like it and didn’t. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The food was doomed from the beginning.
When people hear Jesus, they usually go to hear what they want to hear. If he agrees with them or they can twist what he has to say to fit their ends, he is good. Otherwise, he is bad and they want to have nothing to do with him. In fact, some of his most vocal users are those who do not like him most of the time.
They will use him when they can, pluck verses out of context, or sometimes just assign a certain motive to him regardless of whether or not he would ever say such a thing.
It used to bother me how people could read what Jesus said, or when they heard him speak, could either twist him or completely disregard him.
But they can. And I try my best to keep faithful to him and what he says and Listen to him (Mark 8:7).
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