Arguing with Jesus

One Sunday morning, years ago, I found myself a guest speaker for the Young Adults class at the First Baptist Church downtown. I had become friends with the couple who hosted the class, and they invited me to teach a lesson on “The Fruit of the Spirit” from Galatians 5.

My presentation was well received, and I ended with a few minutes to spare, so I asked if anyone had a question. Immediately a young lady in her mid ’20’s raised her hand. “What do you believe about baptism?” she demanded. This took me by surprise, because nothing in my lesson had touched on baptism. I asked, “Do you have a New Testament?” “Yes,” she answered.

“Turn to Mark chapter 16,” I said. She flipped over to that passage. “Now, would you read verses 15 & 16 out loud?” She read, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

She looked up at me, face flushed with anger, and exclaimed, “That’s just your opinion!” “Ma’am,” I said gently, “I didn’t say anything. If you don’t like what you just read, be careful. You might find yourself arguing with Jesus.”

I wish I knew how the young lady responded to my comment, but at that point the class dismissed, and for some reason I was never invited back.

That experience reminded me that all of us need to beware of reading our Bible through the “filters” of assumptions and attitudes that prevent us from fully comprehending its message. Our Lord frequently quoted the words of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving” (Matthew 13:14). One thing is for sure: any time we find ourselves arguing with Jesus, we need to reexamine our beliefs.