The Man Nobody Knows

A Galilean village refuses to admit Jesus and his disciples when they seek accommodation for the night. The tired, angry disciples want God to destroy the disrespectful village. Misunderstood by his disciples, Jesus quietly travels on. 1,800 years later, President Abraham Lincoln also refuses to get upset when General McClellan treats him disrespectfully. A great leader is superior to personal resentments and petty annoyances. He knows that misbehavior will bring its own punishment; for example, no miracles would be performed in that Galilean village.

“Stripped of all dogma,” Jesus’ life is “the grandest achievement story of all!” (9). There has been a literary overemphasis on Jesus as the Son of God. This book will emphasize the human side of the Son of Man and not assume that Jesus knew everything from the beginning of his life. This is not a chronological biography, but a portrait. Sometime in Jesus’ first 30 years, “the eternal miracle” occurred: “the awakening of the inner consciousness of power” (11). In the present, at a gathering of distinguished men who have risen from obscurity, one wonders how the eternal miracle occurred in their lives when they realized they were greater than their origins?

Jesus admires his older cousin John the Baptist and is baptized by him. After Jesus’ initial enthusiasm, he is tempted by Satan, who is either “a personality or […] an impersonalization of an inner experience” (15). Any great man of genius, such as Abraham Lincoln, experiences doubts. During Jesus’ 40 days and nights, he is tempted by the possibilities of material success and political leadership. Finally, Jesus experiences conviction—the essence of leadership for every visionary man—that he has a calling.

Jesus had the voice and manner of a leader—the personal magnetism of overwhelming sincerity. The first element in Jesus’ success was his authoritative conviction, which even impressed the older judge, Nicodemus. The second element was Jesus’ remarkable power of selecting men, recognizing potentials hidden within them. The 12 men he chose had not been successful at anything. The way Jesus formed a victorious organization that conveyed his message around the world is the most amazing example of “executive success” (23). Jesus and the anonymous Roman Centurion who was present at the crucifixion and declared Jesus to be the son of God understood each other because they were both executives with authority. The third element was Jesus’ vast patience in training his disciples. He maintained his faith in them, an executive management principle, despite their mistakes. Jesus knew that Simon would learn from the shame of his mistake of denying Jesus. Jesus renamed him Peter (“the Rock”).

The Bible presents men of contrasting executive abilities. Despite the various strengths of Samson, Moses, and John the Baptist, these men could not organize. Moses took his father-in-law’s advice and associated himself with a partner, Aaron. The partners’ strengths and weaknesses were complementary, so the two men achieved more together than they could have on their own.

Jesus travels with a company of Galilean pilgrims, spending nights in tents under the open sky, to visit the Temple at Jerusalem. Seeing the moneychangers extorting people at the place of worship, Jesus angrily overturns their tables, striking blows with a little whip. Although pictures traditionally explain Jesus’ triumph by showing him with “a halo around his head,” the simple, impressive truth is that the “flabby” priests and moneychangers saw the blazing moral purpose in Jesus’ eyes and “the muscles hard as iron” (37) in Jesus’ arms.

For some people, it is irreverent to suggest that Jesus was physically strong, but he had toiled for years as a carpenter in his father’s shop. Theology has glorified Jesus’ mother, Mary, and the feminine influence in worship. The influence of Joseph has been omitted, yet he must have been a fine father since Jesus used the word, “Father,” as an exalted term for God.

Painters have misrepresented Jesus as soft and frail, lacking in muscle, with “a woman’s face covered by a beard” (43). However, Jesus’ appearance must have differed from these artistic portrayals. Four aspects of Jesus’ experience provide the evidence for this assertion. First, Jesus’ health flowed into others to restore their health. Jesus could not have been a physical weakling when he convincingly commanded the man who had been sick in bed for years to rise and walk at Capernaum. Second, Jesus appealed to a variety of women, from Martha to Joanna, and “no power has fastened the affection of women upon a man like manliness” (48). Third, Jesus had a lifetime of outdoor living and walked from village to village: “He was the type of outdoor man whom our modern thought most admires” (52). Fourth, Jesus’ energetic activities gave him nerves of steel. When Jesus fell asleep in the boat on the lake and a fierce storm arose, the disciples became terrified. They awakened Jesus, who remained calm and quietly issued orders; whether it was a “miracle or not,” Jesus provided “one of the finest examples of self-control in human history” (53).

Jesus exhibited tremendous courage, knowing the forces of opposition against him in his final year of public work. When Pilate, fat with self-indulgence and colorless from indoor living, faced Jesus, tall, bronzed, and hard from days in the open air, Pilate recognized Jesus’ perfect strength and assurance.

Historical depictions of Jesus contradict is real nature as “the friendliest man who ever lived has been shut off by a black wall of tradition” (58), and the world has been robbed of the joyful laughter of a great companion. The Gospel writers were simple men who emphasized the sad events leading to Jesus’ death because these are what impressed them the most. Therefore, the preceding, happier days became less important. The life of Jesus as it has usually been told is like presenting the biography of President Lincoln by focusing only on the details of his assassination and omitting his earlier life.

However, Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a wedding celebration at Cana. When the bride’s mother ran out of wine for her guests, Jesus used his power to prevent the party from failing. Jesus transformed six pots of water into wine. The Old Testament prophets, as well as John the Baptist, were stern, moral men who focused on denouncing sins. Jesus focused more on God as a loving father who wanted his children to be happy. Jesus was not a social outsider. He enjoyed attending feasts and dining at people’s homes. He did not keep all of the stipulated fasts, to the extent that John the Baptist questioned Jesus’ conduct. Jesus told the parable of the proper elder son and the prodigal younger son; the father was so overjoyed at the younger son’s return and repentance that he threw a welcoming feast for him, instead of punishing him.

All people who achieve something disregard criticism. Some of Jesus’ humor was likely lost as a result of his chroniclers’ literal-mindedness. During the tense years of the Civil War, President Lincoln’s Cabinet members were scandalized when he read from a book by humorist Artemus Ward and laughed out loud. The president described the laughter as medicine to ease the strain he was laboring under. Jesus’ disciples were also shocked at how the important Jesus allowed himself to be easily interrupted. A mark of greatness is accessibility. In contrast, Judas was always extremely busy trying to get money. Jesus allowed joyous little children to come to him. Jesus stopped walking when a blind beggar called his name—when there was a need, he had time.

After Jesus’ death, the distortions began: “He who had cared nothing for ceremonies and forms was made the idol of formalism” (87). He who had loved the crowds, gathered children, and celebrated the calling of new disciples was misrepresented. Even at the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples to be of good cheer and tried to lift up their hearts with the joy of faith.