Seeing Jesus Through Doubting Eyes

A thoughtful reader of the Bible sometimes finds it hard to reconcile the Christ portrayed in church with the one we read about in Scripture. The Jesus of the Bible acts so strangely. His words are stranger still. The values and strategies that shaped his ministry seem counterintuitive, if not completely contrary to the spirit of the modern age. It is a wonder we feel so comfortable talking about him, not to mention speaking for him. Perhaps we are too comfortable. Could it be that we have missed something?

In Unfollowers: Unlikely Lessons on Faith from Those Who Doubted Jesus, Derek Cooper and Ed Cyzewski observe that in the Gospels, "Jesus consistently defied people's expectations of what the Messiah would be and do." This was the majority of those who heard Jesus. The authors characterize these "unfollowers" as "rather indifferent, not choosing to follow or oppose Jesus but always grateful for a free lunch or a nifty miracle story." Although he did not initially identify with them, Cyzewski credits the Bible's non-followers of Jesus as a surprising and much needed source of insight into his own spiritual life. "Years of studying the people who got it right only resulted in convincing me that I was right" he explains. "Studying the people who got it wrong provided the most effective insight into the flaws of my own heart."

Unfollowers focuses on "the people who got it wrong" in the Gospels and invites us to see these familiar stories in a new light. When we see ourselves in their stories we are able to better understand their reaction to Jesus. We also begin to see ourselves more accurately. We would like to think that if we had been present when Jesus ...

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