When Jesus is a Stranger

I heard a lot about Jesus growing up, but it wasn’t until one day during my senior year of high school that I actually invited Him to walk with me on my journey.

Oh boy.

I thought at first that He must have misunderstood me. You see, I just wanted someone cool to hang out with.

He had other ideas.

He said, “Let’s go THIS way.”

And my life has never been the same.

I’ll be the first to admit that the reason I have joy, hope and peace in my life is because of my relationship with Jesus.

But I’ll also admit that while getting “saved” is the easiest thing for someone to do (for us at least; it cost Jesus His life), actually living as a follower of Jesus is utterly impossible without divine intervention.

It takes the miraculous work of God to begin to untwist our selfish hearts so that we can truly love Him and others.

It’s not easy to follow Jesus.

The first disciples lived and worked alongside Jesus, and yet at times He seemed a stranger to them.

Peter even rebuked Jesus when Jesus shared the full extent of His mission; That He would be killed and then raised from the dead.

Jesus’ reply?

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:23 NLTse)

That’s sometimes how I have felt about Jesus as I have travelled this journey of life.

I have this idea of who Jesus is, and then He comes in and turns it up on its head.

As my friend Matt puts it, “We build this house of cards and proudly show it to God. He nods, and says, “That’s very nice.” He then takes a deep breath and says “Watch this …”

Is that what many of the first disciples felt during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Morning?

Does Jesus appear a stranger for a while because we simply cannot wrap our minds around what He is doing? Or maybe we just don’t want to know?

Maybe we sometimes want to say “Lord, please just leave me alone.”

It is hard to follow Jesus when He leads us into unfamiliar territory.

We can take comfort, however, in the fact that He DOES indeed know where He is going, and that He really does want us to be with Him.

Even though the road is hard.

Especially because the road is hard.

As Palm Sunday approaches, we will touch on these thoughts of when Jesus seems a stranger.

Relevant Verses
Matthew 16:21-27
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

John 12:12-36
Jesus’ Triumphant Entry
The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,
“Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

Jesus Predicts His Death
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”
Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.