Common sense

We can only see things through our familiar cultural lenses. It is difficult for us to make sense of Jesus because of our current social expectations and our common sense. Jesus was aware that he had only a short time here. He also was aware that his actions and events in life had to be corresponding to the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. In our ordinary sense, we feel that Jesus was showing a bit of hurry in his life. He seemed to be unnecessarily angering the Jewish religious authorities. He seemed to be unnecessarily causing provocations. In fact, we feel this way because of the kind of survival tactic that is deeply rooted in us. We are wired to keep sorrows, opposition, rejection, danger, and death away from life. Only according to this innateness can we think and understand things. Beyond that, it is difficult.

I remember reading somewhere in a poem: "Even if one has got only a tart apple and a copper pot to boil it and has to eat it from dirt, still the desire to prolong life on earth is the one common thing in all the people I have ever seen."

We are all programmed that way. It seems that such a desire was lacking in Jesus. Or, he must have placed his sense of mission above his survival-drive. Since he was not preoccupied with living a little longer, he must have thought that his mission was to tell the truth no matter what, and to expose the wrongs and evils that religion had incurred. But such a mentality is completely alien to us, who are always 'wired' to be safe. That is why it's difficult for us to understand Jesus!