If you put an old man in a short-skirted cheerleader outfit, most people driving by will think they saw a young woman. Researchers have proved that we tend to see what we expect to see. Our expectations limit what we experience. That’s the reason so many of Jesus’ neighbors from His hometown didn’t “see” Him!
” When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. “ (Matthew 13:53-58)
The people that knew Jesus as a little kid, mostly couldn’t “see” Who He was! Why not? They were limited by their expectations. They were blinded by what they thought they knew about Him.
People have that same problem today. When people think they know everything there is to know, they rarely learn anything new. That is true for most hard core atheists and it is also true for most dogmatic theologians. If Jesus hasn’t surprised you and confounded you, perhaps you haven’t really “seen” Him. Put down your preconceived ideas of what is possible, and let Jesus show you Who He is!
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