Cluck, cluck

Question: Does Jesus cluck his tongue and shake his head in dismay and disapproval when we seek him out to ask for a miracle? No, seriously... Does he?? Does he breathe a deep sigh of disappointment?

How does our 'precept,' our preconceived concept, our subconscious response, affect the way that we read and interpret scripture?

Recently, a group of my friends were looking at John 4 in the Bible. As a precursor to discussion, we viewed a clip in one of the "Gospel According to John" movies.

The story goes like this. Jesus had been travelling, town to town, with his disciples. He had been teaching, and he had been doing miracles. He had been 'being' Jesus. Everywhere you read about Jesus, he was teaching, and doing miracles. As a result of this, crowds were beginning to form when he was nearby. Word spread when he was on the way somewhere. We begin John 4 with Jesus on the move. As per usual, news preceded him, and a wealthy man heard he was on his way. This wealthy man, so happened to have a son that was near death from a fever. He had heard enough times that Jesus was a healer, so he went to meet Jesus on the road. We read later in the story, that it was more than a day's journey to meet up with him. He sought Jesus out specifically for a miracle. He made a very specific request that Jesus come with him to his home and heal his son.

Now here's where precepts come into play. Reading only this far, I would say that this man showed faith. He BELIEVED that Jesus was a healer. He BELIEVED that Jesus healed everyone that came to him. I am not saying that he had no doubt at all, but, if he had no faith at all, he would not have left his dying son's side. He would not have sought Jesus out. He had enough faith to 'risk' leaving his son to go find Jesus. His faith led to action. I would say that he had an accurate understanding (though not necessarily complete) of who Jesus was and what he was about. I would admire him, and love Jesus.

But, the next line of the story puzzles me. Jesus hears him out and then says "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe."

Sometimes I wish the Bible was written out more like a screenplay, where it described the expression on Jesus face when he said something, the tone of his voice, the posture, but it leaves much to the imagination. The actor, playing the role of Jesus, had a screenplay, where the writers told him that Jesus should 'tsk' and shake his head in dismay. He should breathe a deep sigh of disappointment before uttering these words. The statement is interpreted by the movie makers as a chastisement. Question is: Is that really the expression, the tone, the inflection Jesus used? Could there be another way to see this?

Eugene Peterson, in his book called 'the Message' also interprets it this way. In fact he takes it up a notch from there. NIV says 'you will never believe,' Eugene says 'you refuse to believe'. These are not parallel statements. The verse just previous to that is also interpreted in a harsh, tongue clucking way, while the NIV simply says that the people welcomed him because of the things they had seen in Jerusalem. What precept are Eugene and the writers of the screenplay using? Seemingly, the same precept that our discussion leader has.

This really upset me. I mean, really upset me! It made me angry! I am generally one who is slow to anger, but, I could hardly remain in my seat! I did so only because I wanted the discussion to play itself out, to see if it took a different turn, another approach eventually... but it never did. Days later I'm still angry.

I DO NOT SEE JESUS AS ONE WHO CLUCKS HIS TONGUE AND SHAKES HIS HEAD IN DISMAY! Why on earth would I be in love with a man who clucked his tongue, shook his head in dismay, sighed deep breaths of disappointment, and chastised me, when, with my daughter at deaths door, I reached out to him to save her?? IF this really IS how he responds, then I'm in trouble. I cannot understand this thinking! IF this really IS how he feels about us reaching out to him in a desperate time to do what we've seen him do countless times, with countless people, then WHY ON EARTH would he reward my despicable behaviour by healing my child?? For that is exactly what he did! He healed the child! OF COURSE HE DID! He healed EVERYONE that came to him!! This bit of good news was all but put aside! This is a story of TRIUMPH! Of HALLELUJAH's!! Of EVANGELISM! And he and ALL HIS family BELIEVED!! AMEN!!

But... alas... because of a precept, commonly held, this was not a story of triumph, but rather of shame, of a clucking tongue, a dismayed shaking of the head, a deep sigh of disappointment. I should be ashamed of asking... I should avoid asking... I should desire to see the big picture... the blessing in the suffering... I should bow my head, I should not come boldly, I should accept sickness, I should 'resign' myself to the 'will' of God. I should lower my expectations. My God is not a genie in a bottle, what was I thinking? Who do I think I am? I should have stayed home! A truly mature believer would never....

Now, I know that anger is not an appropriate response. I am struggling to come up with a better way to feel about this. In this moment I firmly believe that the screenplay writers, Eugene, and our group discussion leader, have misrepresented the true heart and nature of my God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to EXACTLY represent and demonstrate the heart of God. He did that by preaching AND by healing. He healed all the time. More times than could be documented should the whole sky be a scroll, and the ocean full of ink. God's heart IS to heal! God's heart IS for us to seek him out! God's heart IS for us to come boldly to his throne of grace! God's heart IS to respond to our faith! God's heart IS to PROVE himself faithful! God's heart is for us to LIVE and to live more abundantly!