The Unknown Jesus

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am?” John 14:9

Philip had been around Jesus for some time by now. He had seen the miracles, watched the crowds recognise Him as the long awaited Messiah, and yet for all that Jesus was still a mystery to Philip. An enigma. A puzzle. An unknown. Why did Jesus have to tell Philip he still didn’t really know who He was?

Let’s not be too hasty to blame or criticise the man, after all we are no better in our modern church from those early followers who like Philip were still not sure what to do with Jesus. Like many who will be reading this, I have been in and around church most of my life, and yet can still miss the message of the gospel so easily. More than that, we can miss the whole reason for Jesus coming to this earth as the ‘God-Man’, fully God but fully Man at the same time.

Who else could forgive our sins and wrongdoings, except a perfect Man? Jesus is that perfect Man, as Philip would find out! I trust we can also find out who this Jesus really is, just like the early disciple.

The Journey - Mystery Tour

Have you ever wondered where your life is heading, or why a particularly unfair thing has happened to you, or someone close? If not, you are unique. Everyone I know at some point has found their journey impossible to figure out, and right then, at that time, we sink in despair with our head in our hands. It can look different when we look back. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but as you know, hindsight can only be valuable afterwards.

When I was younger, coach companies would organise ‘Mystery Tours’. These were great, because you didn’t know where you were going, but you did know you would be back home for tea time! It was safe, and exciting because everybody on the coach was in the same situation. Many a youth group would arrange a mystery tour, because it could be exciting and you might even get to sit close to, or beside your favourite girl.

We are in a slightly different place as a people of faith. This time we do know our destination, but we don’t know how we will get there. What route will life take us? In fact what happy and sad things will take place along the way? Will these things change us in a way that we become a different person? Maybe so. In fact, I would suggest, almost certainly so. A wise man once said, “It’s not what happens to us that makes us change for the better. It is how we react to them”. Wise words. This mystery tour can make us bitter, or better and it all depends on how we handle the unknowns.

When we are on our own mystery tour, it is important that we don’t judge the journey until we near our destination. You might not know where you are going, but keep in mind that God the Divine Driver does!

Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. John 14:5,6