When someone gets a medical diagnosis that involves the possibility of major life changes or possible death, many people go get a second opinion. I had a second opinion concerning a medical issue a couple of years ago. The first doctor I saw recommended, even pushed for, a particular procedure. It was that pushiness that I didn’t like. The procedure was very risky, and I didn’t have confidence in the doctor. He might have been an extremely competent doctor, but there wasn’t trust yet. I did some reading on the procedure and I wasn’t convinced the outcome was as sure as the doctor had stated. And the risk was definitely a problem. So, I sought a second opinion.
Sometimes other people give you their opinions without you even asking for their opinion. And when you hear the opinion, you know it isn’t true because they have left out some really important information that you know but they don’t. If they did know, they would change their opinion.
We have been watching the TV show Chuckon Netflix. Chuck becomes a spy by accident and must keep it a secret from his family in order to protect them. His family thinks he has lost his motivation to reach his full potential. But if they knew he was a spy, everything would make sense. That one piece of information would change their opinion.
Jesus and His disciples are overcome with the crowds that are gathering. They are so overwhelmed that they aren’t able to eat. His family has heard about what is happening and they think He has gone crazy. They are on their way to collect Him and stop the activity.
We read today about the teachers of the law coming on an official investigative reporting trip. They have been sent from Jerusalem. If you remember, Jerusalem is the religious headquarters of Judaism. The Temple is there and many official training programs are there. If you want to become a Jewish scholar, a specialist in interpreting and applying the Scriptures, Jerusalem is one of the top destinations.
Jesus’ teaching and the miracles that He does to substantiate the substance of His teaching have come the attention of the religious leaders. They have gotten reports from the field and they want to send an official investigative team to find out for themselves. They have an opinion about Jesus formed from a distance, formed from secondhand information. They want to validate their opinion. So they come.
Their opinion of Jesus is that He is working for Satan, or one of His chief demons. They can’t reconcile Jesus teaching with theirs. They don’t have this kind of power and they are in the positions of power in Jewish circles. So they must label the source of Jesus’ power as foreign to their understanding. So that is what they do.
This second opinion about Jesus is just as wrong as His family’s. You see neither His family nor these religious scholars know one important fact: Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh, heaven on earth. If they knew this, their opinions would change.
Sometimes I wonder if things would be different if I had trusted that first doctor and had the risky procedure. If it was successful, my life might be very different, living without the residuals of this issue. But I will never know. I still don’t have all the facts.
The Arnold Journey 