We all know Jesus the Savior, Jesus the Teacher, etc. But do we know Jesus the Rebel? Have we heard of Jesus the Troublemaker, the Rabble-rouser, the Menace?
We (or at least I) usually think of Jesus as a meek, gentle, nice “guy.” He was–but not always.
He wasn’t afraid to tell the truth, to point out wrongdoing, to socialize with those viewed as terrible sinners (tax collectors, Samaritans, prostitutes, etc.), to go against what was normal. He taught things that were different, even opposite, from what people had been taught for years. (For example, Matthew 5:38-41.) He called the Pharisees hypocrites/snakes/liars and told people not to be like them. He destroyed the money-changing tables and drove the sacrifice animals out of the temple. He was a rebel.
Of course, He wasn’t exactly a rebel because He was doing God’s will. But according to the world’s opinion of what was “right” and acceptable at that time, He didn’t cut it; He didn’t fit in.
And neither should we.
We shouldn’t fit in; we shouldn’t follow the world’s ideas of what to do, what to do, what to be, etc. We should be different; we should stand up for the truth, for God. If that makes us rebels (again, according to the world’s opinion), then so be it! If we’re really followers of Jesus, then we should be like Him. And He was not some quiet, wimpy, go-with-the-flow, be-like-everybody-else person!
So. . . BE A REBEL!
