Who is the real Jesus?

TODAY'S READING: Mark 6:30-52
Have you ever looked at the disciples and wondered why they never got it? Here they are walking with JESUS! They are spending every day next to the Son of God. They sit and listen to Him teach. They see Him perform miracles. They watch His conflicts with the religious leaders. But yet, they don't seem to get it.
Here we see Jesus feeding 5,000 men (which means there were probably over 10,000 people there including women and children). Then we see Jesus walking on the water and calming the waves. They saw it all too, but look at their reaction. They are astonished. They didn't understand. Their hearts were hard. They didn't believe.
What!?! Does it surprise you that men who walked with Jesus every day had this reaction?
If you think about it, it might not be that surprising. I believe that most, if not all of the disciples had misconceptions of who Jesus was. Most were expecting a military leader who would defeat the Romans. They expected another king like David that would lead them to victory. We even see this in the crowd's reaction to Jesus during the feeding. "Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred." (Mark 6:39-40) These numbers reflect how military groups would have been organized back then.
Now let's look in the mirror for a minute. Do we misunderstand Jesus? Do we think He is someone different than He really is? Let's consider the possibilities...
Wish-granting Genie?
Nice teacher?
Insurance policy no matter how bad I live?
Rule maker?
Judgmental?
Many of us have misconceptions of Jesus. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure none of us completely understand Him. But I do know that Jesus wants us to see Him for who He really is. And that begins when we lay aside our own assumptions and let Him speak for Himself.
Who is your Jesus? Do you need to soften your heart and allow Jesus to show you who He really is? It could be life-changing.

shine!
Jason