The Story Week 24: Jesus – No Ordinary Man

Jesus created disturbances where ever he went.  He spoke and crowds came to listen.  Many left in awe, others left in anger.  He spoke in parables and many could not understand what he was saying including the disciples.  He ate with sinners, healed those condemned as sinners and outcasts, the blind, lepers, cripples he even ate with those dreaded IRS agents of the day, the tax collectors. Jesus was certainly not an ordinary man.
Then we have the disciples crossing the sea and a storm hits and threatens to swamp the boat and what does Jesus do he commands the winds and the waves to “be still”.  No ordinary man.

In his sermon on the mount and the beatitudes this “extraordinary” man turns our understanding of what it means to be blessed upside down.  The poor, the meek, etc.  But ultimately everything comes down to this statement that Jesus makes that many today do not want to hear just as many turned away back then.  Jesus says to all of us, “I am the only way.”  He is the bread of life, and if we feed on this bread we will live forever.

We want ordinary bread, we want Jesus and our own way, we want to worship God and our idols of wealth, status, power, freedom, happiness, and fame.

At some point we are  faced with having to answer this question, do we want to follow the one that God the Father sent?   We have to decide do we believe and will we follow with singular devotion this most extraordinary man.  Belief means making a commitment, belief means faithfully following Jesus with singular devotion.