Crazy

John 7: 19b-20

‘”Why are you trying to kill me?”

“You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”’

I suspect that calling someone “demon-possessed” 2,000 years ago would be similar to calling someone “crazy” today.

Why are you trying to kill me?

You’re crazy! Who is trying to kill you?!

As we have seen throughout our study of John, Jesus demonstrates again and again that he is God by knowing things only God could know. He knows the hearts of men, and he knows that the Jewish leaders are plotting to kill him. The crowd, on the other hand, has no idea what is going on. “Who is trying to kill you?” they ask. They do not realize that within a short time they will be shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

So where do we go with this? Why would anyone want to kill Jesus? He is the opposite of a threat. Instead of hurting, he heals. Instead of stealing, he gives. Instead of bringing fear, he brings hope. And yet, because he is the Son of God, he also turns the Jewish idea of who God is upside down and inside out. It is this turning upside down and inside out of centuries of Jewish thought and beliefs that has caused such turmoil and resentment.

Jesus never responded to the aggression of people with anger or violence. Yes, he did become both angry and violent when he cleaned the temple, but that is not quite the same. There he was protecting his Father’s house. When the authorities finally came to take him away to be crucified, he did not resist. Instead, he responded as he always did; with love, truth, and kindness.

Q: How does Jesus want us to respond to an aggressive, abusive, and violent world?