the day jesus lost his mind
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
John 10:14-18
First I want to ask a question. How many of you have or had someone in your life that drove you crazy? Your children don’t count either! When I say drive you crazy, I mean crazy to the point where you blow up at them too!
A few years back there was a co-worker whom I served alongside at my job who was that person. This individual was hired about a year and half after I was. In the beginning, we didn’t interact at all because of our positions but eventually he changed positions and he and I would interact.
Now, I am willing to say that he is, for the most part, a nice individual. He was pretty easy to get along with and he was nice to the customers we served, for the most part anyway. That’s the problem I ran into with him.
He seemed to have this ability to be nice to some people (for no apparent reason whatsoever) and be rude and disrespectful towards others (for no apparent reason.) On several occasions, he said and did things which should have gotten him fired but he remained employed.
The co-workers would argue with him and complain to management even though nothing was ever done against him. Honestly, when he and I first met, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. However, as time went on and I began to see his character unfold, I found myself losing my temper.
It was the funniest thing really. He and I could be having a good day when he said or did something and it just irritated me and it would cause tension between us. There were times he would yell at me and I rarely, if ever, yelled back. I raised my voice here and there but never yelled.
There was a particular day when things came into perspective for me. I don’t remember the exact date but for me it was another typical day, another typical Friday. I went through my normal routine of waking up, working out, eating, watching the young child I watched, doing school work and then I was off to work.
Work was just another typical average day when bam-he opened up his mouth and set everything negative in motion. To be honest with you, I don’t remember what he said or what he did that caused the anger monkeys in me to go off but they did.
In spite of all issues he and I had, I always did my best to maintain my cool. I always tried to deal with the situations with a degree of professionalism. I tried, as much as I could anyway. As the shift went on, an older gentleman approached me. He had completed his purchases and I was just making sure everything was in order before he exited the building.
After I finished, he smiled at me and said four words that changed my perspective that day. He looked at me and said, “Smile, its Good Friday!” Good Friday was a day unlike any other. Good Friday was a day of torment, torture, and a day to remember how deep the love of God really is.
My perspective changed to realizing that Good Friday was the day Jesus lost his mind. And Jesus brings crazy to a whole new level! 2 Corinthians 5:15 “He (Jesus) died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”
[Jesus is crazy enough to die for EVERYONE!]
Jesus died for everyone, including the co-workers who drove me crazy and the people who cut me off when I’m driving. How in the world they have obtained their driver’s licenses is beyond me! He died for those who would live simply to hurt other people. Jesus is crazy enough to die for those who live in opposition to who he is and what he did. He died, not for a select few, but for all!
Jesus died for our sins before we even committed them!
[Jesus is crazy enough to rise from the dead]
Jesus didn’t simply die for people, he came back for people! Jesus’ final cry on the cross was, “It is finished!” The work of salvation has been completed by the Son. The curse of the law and the power of sin broken because of Son of God came and fulfilled the obligations necessary for a once and for all sacrifice.
The resurrection from the dead was the Father’s response to the Son’s cry, “It is finished.” Jesus is alive, Jesus reigns forever, and Jesus defeated death. Jesus now lives in the hearts of those who received him. The one thing God wants from us is to believe in the one he sent. (John 6:29)
[Jesus is crazy enough to give us new life]
God, in the Person of Christ, did more than simply die on our behalf and secure victory via the resurrection but also enables us to live for him! We are given a new life that we might respond to living the way Christ lived-by loving others.
God asks us to forgive others-even our crazy co-workers, our leaders, our supervisors and everyone else we can’t stand. Jesus lost his mind on Good Friday because that’s what love does. Love makes you crazy enough to give people a new start. Love compels you to reach out to others. Love is willing to fight the battles we can’t win and love never fails.
