ROLES OF JESUS

Keating [standing on his desk]: Why do I stand up here?
Dalton: To feel taller!
Keating No! [dings a bell with his foot]: Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. — Dead Poet’s Society

1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Luke 9:18-20

Teacher. Rabbi. Messiah. King. Savior. Redeemer. Friend. Christ. Servant. Son. Prophet. Man. God. Rebel. Revolutionary. Priest. Intercessor.

The roles of Jesus. All true.

But what if I don’t see them all? What if I believe in him, but only one part of him? Or in only three parts of him? What if I love Jesus the man? Will he accept that love? What if I follow Jesus the rabbi? Does that following meet his command to “Learn of me”? What if I believe in the teacher? Is that faith sufficient?

What part of Jesus is the integral part? What role is the right role? Which must I believe in?

Is it enough to see him as savior even if I cannot see him as teacher or man? What if I see him as prophet and revolutionary but do not see him yet as Messiah? Is that sufficient?

Who claims the right to determine how we must view Jesus to be acceptable to him? Have we taught as doctrines the precepts of men (Matthew 15:9)?

Did his words, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me,” define how we come through him? Did those words tell us how to understand his way, to grasp the truth, to live the life?

We don’t like the Jesus others see if they see something we don’t or only see one facet of his person. We say, “That’s not enough,” and they must believe these ten points about Jesus or they can’t follow/believe. “You’re out!” we yell.

Does anyone really see all of Jesus?

Furthermore, does anyone love all of Jesus? The very hard parts? His teachings, for instance. When they call us to die, do we really love and believe in that? Do we embrace the savior but reject the one calling to die?

We must see Jesus as fully as possible, but we cannot dictate what of Jesus others must see. He didn’t grant us this authority. When asked if many were being saved, Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:23,24), essentially saying, “Don’t worry about others. Worry about you.”

If we see him, we’ve begun looking at the truth. Maybe we don’t see all of it, but we see enough to move forward. He’ll instruct us. And perhaps we can learn from each other about Jesus. The Lord. The rabbi. The teacher. The rebel and revolutionary. The man. The King. The friend. The redeemer. The son. The person.

What in your mind is the principal role of Jesus? Why do you think this?
What other roles do other people see Jesus playing?
Why do you think certain roles are more important than others?
How did Jesus identify himself, and what roles did he emphasize?
Does seeing Jesus differently equate to seeing all of him?

Adam