Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked, “Is it so bad to be misunderstood?” He went on to point out, “Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh.” Apparently, being misunderstood puts us in some pretty good company.
Consider Jesus, the only person to ever live a perfect life. For Him, it started at the age of 12—when He stayed behind in Jerusalem after the annual Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41-50). His parents, who were a day’s journey into making their way back home to Nazareth, suddenly realized Jesus was missing. They were understandably concerned and upset, and began frantically searching for Him. Three days later, they found their young son back in Jerusalem remaining in the temple with the religious teachers, but they clearly didn’t get why He was there (Luke 2:50).
Then there was the time Jesus remained in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were out to kill Him. When it came time to travel down to Judea for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where Your followers can see Your miracles! You can’t become famous if You hide like this! If You can do such wonderful things, show Yourself to the world!” (John 7:3-4). Even His own brothers misunderstood His true mission (John 7:5).
It’s never fun to be misunderstood, especially over something important. I’m fairly certain that Jesus didn’t enjoy it. But perhaps Emerson was on to something. To be misunderstood for the cause of our great Savior shouldn’t sow seeds of doubt and discouragement in our hearts.
For as Emerson put it, “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Jesus is our great example! (1 Peter 2:21).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 2:21-39
More:
What do you make of the reaction Jesus received when He returned to His hometown Nazareth to announce the start of His ministry? (Luke 4:14-30).
Next:
When have you been misunderstood due to your faith in Jesus? How will you present the greatness of Jesus to others today?
GChoo on June 11, 2011 at 9:12 am
Jeff, thank you for today’s message. I believe ‘misunderstood’ is one subject that has destroyed so many relationships, family and friendship, even between countries in this world.
I definitely have had many such experiences of being misunderstood, and that had brought alot of heart pain and broken friendships not only with non christians but christians alike. Many a times, the more one try to put it right, the worst the situation becomes. It does not mean when we are christians our lives will all be good. We live and experience as everyone in this present world. It is only when we learn to follow in Jesus footsteps that we will not sow seeds of doubts and discouragement in our hearts, and be able to leave those misunderstandings to God who knows everything and everyone’s deeds. In doing so, we will enable God to heal us and give us peace of mind to move on.
Thank you for the scriptures to direct us to God’s truth and how to deal with being misunderstood.
mike wittmer on June 11, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Thank you for this encouraging word, Jeff. It’s good to remember that we are only responsible for what and how we communicate, not necessarily for what others see or hear.
Another thought–given the many errant interpretations of Scripture that exist in our world, it seems that God is continually misunderstood!
daisymarygoldr on June 13, 2011 at 9:58 am
Jesus is indeed our great example! Like Joseph in the OT, our Lord was misunderstood by His own brothers. It is noteworthy that He never once attempted to clear the misunderstanding. Jesus was also not offended by this but it did grieve Him as He observed that a prophet is not honored in “his own family” (Mark 6:4).
True, Jesus did not retaliate but left it for God to bring justice. And by His death on the cross, He bore God’s justice, so that all those who had misunderstood Him may receive God’s mercy. Jesus understands without the Holy Spirit the natural mind of man is unable to understand spiritual things about His true mission. Hence, He did not hold anything against them but prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Similarly, when we are misunderstood for the sake of Christ, we must not take it personally. It helps to remember, people cannot understand us without the revelation of God’s Spirit. We do not seek to be justified. Instead we simply forgive. And like Jesus we should intercede—for God to have mercy on those who have misunderstood us. And through it all, we need to be patient and allow the Holy Spirit to help us endure the pain of being misunderstood.
Thankfully, in the case of Joseph and Jesus, the misunderstanding got resolved. It was not until after His resurrection, that His brothers finally knew Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. Once they understood the reality, they were so humbled by the truth. Both James and Jude bestowed the highest honor on their wronged brother and identified themselves as His slaves (James 1:1; Jude 1)
And so, when misunderstood we must understand the other person’s ignorance of spiritual matters. There is no point trying to explain ourselves. We need to accept misunderstanding and just let it be. We don’t give up hope but longingly look for that day after resurrection—when all our painful sorrow will turn into blissful joy as all misunderstanding will be resolved and forgotten forever. Thanks for the encouragement, Jeff Olson!