Unexpected (Mark 8)

I love Jesus. I don’t say that in a cute engraved plaque you can buy in a cheesy Christian bookstore way. I say it in a, “Jesus was the coolest man to ever walk the planet” engraved plaque you can’t buy in a cheesy Christian bookstore way.

Jesus is so not what people make Him out to be. In today’s reading (Mark 8) we see Him:

• allowing His friends to be “the hands” that perform a miracle (8:1-9)
• “sighing deeply” in annoyance at the Pharisees (8:11-12)
• completely unwilling to do what people want (8:12-13)
• basically calling his friends a bunch of idiots (8:17-21)
• spitting in some dude’s eyes (8:23)
• asking people not to let anyone know He’s the Messiah (8:30)
• calling His best friend “Satan” (8:33)
• and trying to scare a crowd of people out of following Him (8:34-38)

Now seriously, if someone were to make up a Savior, would He do any of those things? Jesus was always doing the mysteriously, deliciously, shockingly unexpected.

And so, if we claim to follow Him, could the same be said about us?