“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the king of the wood and son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver. “If there is anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just plain silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver, “don’t you know what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”

Evangelicals have succeeded in doing the impossible: we have domesticated Jesus. We have sanitized him and made him “safe.” We have reduced him to a mascot for mere social etiquette. We have removed his edges and have censored his life in such a way that we are left with a respectable, nice, delicate, agreeable, presentable Jesus – the kind of person you would bring home to your mother.

But the Jesus of the Gospels refuses to remain caged in this way. A thorough reading of the Gospels quickly dispels the myth of the mild-mannered Messiah. Jesus was not always agreeable. He often said “no” to others’ requests (Luke 12:13-21). Sometimes he “checked out” when others were searching for him (Mark 1:37-38; Luke 5:16). He created disturbances on purpose. He was not bound by social customs. He did not pander to people’s expectations. He was angry at legalists (Mark 3:5) and other abuses of religion (Matthew 21:12-13). He was frustrated with his disciples (Mark 7:34, 8:12, 9:19). He described his generation as a bunch of whiny complainers demanding their own way and blaming everyone but themselves for their problems (Luke 7:31-35). His teaching was not always simple, accessible, or understood by many (Mt. 13:10; John 6:60). His message and behavior often offended people – including his family (Mt. 13:47; Mk 6:3), the religious leaders (Mt. 15:12), and his own disciples (John 6:60-66).

In Jesus Unplugged: Provocative, Raw and Fully Exposed, Bert Gary attempts to reintroduce us to the Jesus of the Gospels by expounding the “provocative passages in the Gospels, passages that have been avoided or sanitized over the years by pastors, teachers, and Christian writers” (4). In the introduction, he warns us that his book “is no daily devotional guide,” but rather, should be considered “a disturbing inspiration” (4).

The Crazy Christ

Jesus’ own family questioned his sanity because of his strange behavior. Early in his public ministry he was run out of his own hometown by enraged religious folk who did not appreciate his positive affirmations of God’s grace toward Gentiles (Luke 4:28-29). They attempted to stone him by throwing him over a cliff. He responded by moving to the more cosmopolitan town of Capernaum – “quite an outlandish thing for an orthodox Nazarene to do.

Jesus abandoned the rather strict, isolated ways of his hometown in favor of a very public lifestyle in a much more libertine community. Moreover, he associated with persons of disrepute regularly. He called together a tax collector, various fishermen, and a few revolutionaries to be his “disciples.” He told parables that seemed to them to reject the Nazarene brand of Judaism. He did not wash his hands ritually, he did not fast weekly, he ate with the unclean when he wanted to, he traveled among Gentiles and Samaritans, and he constantly broke the Sabbath. Lastly, he treated them – his family – in ways that must have seemed disrespectful; he did not just leave home, but he distanced himself from them and refused them on numerous occasions. (61)

Since Jesus was the eldest son, his departure from his family “would have been perceived to be abandoning the specific family responsibilities an eldest son must fill, especially after the death of his father” (61). Since his family refused to believe that he was a prodigal, they worried about his sanity. Seeking to help him, they sought to confront him with an ancient form of “intervention” (Mark 3:21). Apparently, they did not “get through” to him.

The members of Jesus’ family were not the only ones who believed Jesus was crazy. In fact, Jesus was often accused of mental instability and/or demonic possession (Matthew 9:34; 10:25; 12:24; Mark 3:21-29; Luke 11:15-19; John 7:20; 8:48; 8:52; 10:20). In ancient times, demonic possession and insanity were closely associated. People assumed that insanity was caused by evil powers.

Jesus’ lifestyle contributed to people’s accusations of insanity and demonic possession.

The irony is that while Christians have a big thing about image, propriety, and respectability, Jesus was downright reckless in terms of who he hung out with, what he did, and when and where he did it. So reckless was Jesus that he had a reputation for being a glutton and a drunkard (Lk 7:34; Mt 11:19), a Samaritan (Jn 8:48), a friend of rejects and traitors (Lk 7:34; Mt. 11:19), a lawbreaker and a sinner (Jn 9:24), and even possessed by demons (Jn 7:20, 8:48, 8:52, 10:20). (95)

Behind Jesus’ apparent insanity was a distinct sense of identity and purpose, a strong leader who did not need to be liked in order to fulfill his mission, and a passionate love for God and others expressed through death to self – even to the disregard of personal reputation – and gracious acceptance of others.

In the end, these qualities – mistakenly perceived as madness or possession – led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Yet, even this could not stop Jesus from demonstrating holy love: “But binding him did not rob him of his freedom. They beat him, but it did not rob him of his strength. They mocked him, but it did not rob him of his dignity. They found him guilty, but it did not rob him of his innocence. They killed him, but they did not rob him of his life. The world’s hate could not rob him of his forgiving love” (167).

The Scandal of the Crucified Christ

The message of the early church concerning God’s salvation through the crucified Christ did not remove the sting of its edginess. It knew that its message was not inherently respectable. It was an offense –a scandal – to reason and religious sensibilities. In ancient times, the subject of crucifixion was not brought up in polite discourse. The brutal torture of crucifixion was considered “off-color” and “inappropriate” for civil discussions. It is for this reason that Paul taught that “Christ crucified” was “a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:23). In Gary’s paraphrase, “The cross of Christ is moronic to the educated, and offensive to the religious” (103).

A crucified messiah is – from all human perception – a powerless, defeated messiah. Even worse, a crucified messiah is a God-cursed person, not a blessed person. Every faithful Jew knew that a person hung upon wood was God-cursed (or more literally, God-damned): “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). It is for this reason that the Jewish religious leaders did not decide to take matters in their own hand and stone Jesus (which was in their power to do – see John 8:7; Luke 4:29; John 8:59, 10:31, 11:8; Acts 7:58; 14:19; 2 Cor. 11:25; Matt. 23:37). Instead, they sought to thoroughly discredit him (and relieve themselves of any personal blame) by seeking his crucifixion by the Romans.

Fools for Christ

“How is it that the Jesus of Scripture is nearly unrecognizable to us – and especially those of us who grew up in church communities? How much of who Jesus was and what he really did has been censored to make it more palatable?” (106) And if the Jesus of the Gospels is unrecognizable to us, what does this say about our sense of what it means to follow Christ? What Christ are we following, if not the Christ of the gospels?

Jesus marched to the beat of a different drummer. Jesus heard music that others did not hear. He was not marching to his own individualistic beat at the expense of others; he was dancing to the rhythm of the kingdom of heaven. He was thought mad because “[t]hose who hear not the music think the dancers mad” (121). However, “[t]hose who understand the kingdom of heaven know that it is here among us, around us, and in us; those who see it are dancing, and those who do not are complaining about all the dancing” (126).

We, also, are called to hear the music of the kingdom and march – or better, dance – to its rhythm. In doing this, it is quite likely that others will think we are out of our minds. But, is this so bad? Especially considering what others thought about Jesus. Indeed, shouldn’t we assume that if we ourselves are not “fools for Christ” (1 Cor. 4:10) than we are probably not truly following the Christ who was mistaken for a fool.

Ponder for a moment what it might be like to follow Jesus and forget respect and acceptance and power. For that to happen, of course, Christians (and churches) would have to give away their reputations, their popularity, and in the end their very lives, just as he did. But by definition, is not that what we should be doing anyway, if we are really serious about following Jesus? Pondor what it might mean for us to abandon the respectable thing for the right thing. (174)

Quotes excerpted from Jesus Unplugged by Bert Gary
Review © Richard J. Vincent, 2005