I found myself nodding, underlining, and muttering Yes!

on almost every
page. Jesus Journey has a vitally important message. Intelligent, relevant, and
passionate, Trent Sheppard exposes our dualisms, provokes dead religion, and
liberates our deepest humanity. This book has the power to reintroduce you to
the one you always longed to know.
P E T E GR EIG, 24-7 Prayer and Emmaus Road

In this immersive experience of a book, Jesus life leaps right off the page and
into our lives with disruption and hope and healing. Jesus Journey reminded me
of not only why I follow Jesus but why I love him so.
S A R A H BESSEY, author, Jesus Feminist and

Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith

Trent Sheppards new book, Jesus Journey, is a wonder. Its an invitation for both
Christians and non-Christians to explore the incidents, people, and circumstances
of Jesus life to understand how they impact our lives today. Anyone interested
in a well-grounded exploration of both the historical Jesus and the Christ of
faithfor they are one and the samecant find a better guide than this book.
R OBERT J. H U TCH I NSON, author,

The Dawn of Christianity and Searching for Jesus

Like Paul commended Titus to the church in Corinth and Phoebe to the church
in Rome, I commend my friend Trent Sheppard to you. Trent is the real deal.
Hes taught multitudes, and his mind runs deep with the things of God. His
message will inform, inspire, and ignite your walk with Jesus. Read and be blessed!
L OR EN CU N N I NGH A M, founder, Youth With A Mission

Read this book and see Jesus from new angles; he lives on its pages. Trent
Sheppard brings us into the wonderfully unsettling place of drawing near and
seeing Jesus more clearly.

T H E R EV ER EN D T I MO T H Y CL AY TON, Rector

of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church on Bostons

North Shore; author, Exploring Advent with Luke

My good friend and kingdom-coconspirator Trent has authority in painting a

portrait of Jesus because hes fought so hard to stay right on his heels. I want
to see and know the man I have given my life to following, and Jesus Journey
adds a beautiful brushstroke to my portrait of the real, raw, relatable, freckled,
passionate, all-powerful King Jesus. I will joyfully never see him the same.
B R A D COR R IGA N, member of the indie band Dispatch;

founder and president, Love Light & Melody

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In a time when the church is waking up to our call to image God to the world,
this book is a gift. Through brilliant storytelling and without compromising
the divinity of Jesus, Trent brings the reader face to face with this unique,
compelling, Jewish man from Nazareth. Be prepared to gaze upon Jesus in ways
that will change you forever.
M AU R EEN M ENA R D, Director of Christian Formation and

Discipleship, University of the Nations, Youth With A Mission

Jesus Journey opened the eyes of my heart to see the Word who became flesh
like never before. Its such a tragedy that we can become so familiar with Jesus
story that we miss the majesty and wonder of who he truly is. Jesus Journey took
my heart on a journey from familiar to fascinated. This is the kind of book that
goes beyond just filling your head with information; it leads your heart into an
encounter with the real and living God.
J ONAT H A N H ELSER , singer-songwriter

of the viral hit No Longer Slaves

Jesus is and always will be the greatest leader the world has ever seen, and Trent
explores the practical, faith-in-action elements of Jesus life and humanity that
should inspire each of us to go and make an impact in our communities. Jesus
is the transformer of lives, and Jesus Journey shows us what it practically means
to follow him in a deeper way.

B R A D L OM EN ICK , former president, Catalyst;

author, H3 Leadership and The Catalyst Leader

In an age of division within the church and tension with the world, Trent
Sheppard draws us back to the compelling personality and beautiful humanity of
Jesus. Beyond being a beloved campus minister, Trent Sheppard is a theologian
rich in profound godly insight. While reading, I recalled my first love for Christ.
After reading, I love him more. A gift to the church and the world.
K ELLY MONROE K U LLBERG, coauthor and editor,

Finding God at Harvard; founder, The Veritas Forum

Here is iconoclasm: recovering the real Jesus out of religious iconography.

V ISH A L M A NGA LWA DI, author,

The Book That Made Your World

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ZONDERVAN
Jesus Journey
Copyright 2017 by Trent Sheppard
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
ISBN 978-0-310-34776-7 (softcover)
ISBN 978-0-310-34772-9 (ebook)
Unless otherwise marked, Old Testament quotations are from New Revised Standard
Version Bible. Copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise marked, New Testament quotations are from The Kingdom New
Testament: A Contemporary Translation by N.T. Wright. Copyright 2011 by Nicholas
Thomas Wright. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked The Message are from The Message. Copyright by
Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are
offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement
by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers
for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Charles Brock | Faceout Studio
Cover photo: Zwiebackesser / Shutterstock
Interior design: Kait Lamphere
First printing December 2016 / Printed in the United States of America

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C ON T E N T S
Authors Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Introduction: Jesus Had an Aunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
PART1: JESUS, M ARY, A ND JOSEPH

1. One Hundred Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2. Oh, Mother! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3. Defending Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4. Joseph and Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5. Bluntly Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6. Everyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
7. Wiser and Taller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8. Family Ties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

PART2: JESUS A ND A BBA

9. Self-Aware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
10. Second . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
11. (On and On) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
12. Hungry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
13. If You Are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
14. Eat, Jump, Bow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
15. Real Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
16. Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

PART3: JESUS A ND HIS FR IENDS

17. His Cousin, of Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

18a. Nicknamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
18b. Sons of Thunder (and Their Mom) . . . . . . . . . . . 123

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 19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.

Contagious Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Mary, Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Contagious Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
But Was He Funny? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Human Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

PART4: BLOOD, SW EAT, A ND TEARS

25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.

Holy Fury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Holy Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Jesus and Judas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Eating the Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Another Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Sharing the Burden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
No Escape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
In the End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

PART5: BR EAK FAST ON THE BEACH

33. Silent Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

34. Good Morning! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
35. Sunday Rising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
36. Biology 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
37. The Gardener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
38. New Rules for a New World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
39. Ascension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
40. In the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

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PARTONE

JE SUS, M A RY,
A ND JOSEPH
Isnt he the handyman, Marys son?
M A R K 6 : 3

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CHAPTERONE

ONE H U NDR ED DAY S

Jesus came to the town where he had been brought up. He
taught them in their synagogue, and they were astonished.
Where did this fellow get this wisdom, and these
powers? they said.
Isnt he the carpenters son? Isnt his mother called
Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judah?
And arent all his sisters here with us? So where does he get
it all from?
M A T T H E W 1 3 : 5 4 5 6

Practically speaking, we know about Jesus of Nazareth because of

two things: his community of followers and the stories they told
about him.
Those stories came to us through four ancient documentsthe
gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Johnand while their accounts
agree on most things and disagree on some things, whats most surprising to me is how little of Jesus life they actually tell.
Think about it. Jesus lived for approximately thirty-three years.
Thats about twelve thousand days. Of those twelve thousand days, if
you add up each and every story the gospel writers tell, those stories
account for no more than a hundred days of Jesus lifetotal.
One hundred days out of thirty-three years.
Thats it. Thats what we know. Thats all the Bible tells us.
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30 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Which just begs the question: What was Jesus doing for most of
his life?

ONE OF T H E WAYS W E CA N BEGI N TO A NS W ER T H AT QU ES-

tion is by considering how Jesus ministry was accepted in his hometown.

Nazareth was a relatively small place in Jesus day. About three to
four hundred people made up the entire community. Neighbors knew
each other in Nazareth. They shared meals with one another. Their
sons and daughters played together.
This ancient village, tucked away in a volatile corner of the Roman
Empire, is now inextricably linked to the most famous figure in
history.
Even though Nazareths most well-k nown son would in time be
called Christ (or Anointed King) by hundreds, then thousands, and
now millions of people, he is also known by a simpler name, Jesus
of Nazareth, a decidedly humble title forever connected to the little
community where he grew up.
But, according to gospel accounts, Jesus hometown had a hard time
accepting his ministry. Luke describes it like this:
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the sab-

bath, as was his regular practice, he went into the synagogue and

stood up to read. They gave him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He
unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The spirit of the Lord is upon me
Because he has anointed me

To tell the poor the good news.

He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners

And sight to the blind,

To set the wounded victims free,

To announce the year of Gods special favor.

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One Hundred Days |31

He rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant, and sat down.

All eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Today, he began, this scripture is fulfilled in your own

hearing.

Everyone remarked at him; they were astonished at the words

coming out of his mouthwords of sheer grace.

Isnt this Josephs son? they said. (Luke 4:1622)

One of the reasons Nazareth was astonished by what Jesus was

saying and doing is because they knew him. Its likely that the families
of this tightknit Jewish community had known Jesus since he was a
little boy.
Isnt this Josephs son? they asked. Or, as the gospel of Matthew
puts it, Isnt he the carpenters son? The insinuation, it seems, is that
surely Jesus should be following in the footsteps of Joseph, plying his
trade as a carpenter in the family business, because apparently, up until
now, thats what Jesus had been doing.

T H E G OSPEL S TOR I ES W ER E GI V EN TO US I N T H E GR EEK

language, and when they refer to Jesus background in carpentry, the

word they use is tekton. (Heres what that word looks like in Greek:
.)
Now, tekton does not necessarily mean carpenter, as in a person who
makes and repairs exclusively wooden things. Instead, tekton means
something more general, like craftsman, as in a person who works
with their hands.*
Because the gospel writers make no specific reference to wood or
stone, we can assume that Jesus may well have been capable working
with both of these materials, and perhaps with metal too. The point is
* Our English word architect comes from the Greek word arkhitekton, which basically
means master builder. Heres how it works: arkhi- (chief ) + tekton (craftsman) = chief
craftsman.

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32 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

not whether Jesus was a woodworker, a stonemason, or a blacksmith.

The point is that Jesus was a workman. He had a trade.
While Jesus was growing up, there was a significant building project
just north of Nazareth in a bustling city called Sepphoris. One cant
help but wonder if young Jesus worked for a time in Sepphoris, about
a twenty-minute walk from his hometown, as an apprentice craftsman
alongside Joseph and other builders from Nazareth:
Imagine him there, carefully measuring each cut of the cedar,
sweat dripping from his brow, his back, the creases of his elbows,
sawdust clinging to his clothes: Can you see him?
Trained as a tekton and surrounded by other day laborers: Is this why
Jesus later seemed so at home with blue-collar workmen in his inner
circle? Is this why his down-to-earth and deeply insightful parables
include imagery of storage barns and watchtowers, millstones and
splinters, earthy objects so familiar to the life and trade of a builder?
Is this one of the reasons why the Nazarene was such a magnetic
figure in the first century, a true man of the people, in the best sense
of the phrase, because he really was one of them?

SO TO A NSW ER OU R QU EST ION: W H AT WA S J ESUS DOI NG F OR

most of his life?

Jesus was doing what each and every one of us does. He was working
and resting, learning and growing, eating and thinking, laughing and
mourning, and day by day discerning his vocation, and Jesus was doing
all of that with friends and family in the enjoyable and challenging
context of the community he called home.
Heres the vital point for you and me: all of life was important to
Jesus because all of life is important to God.
Jesus was no more holy as a rabbi (teacher) than he was as a tekton,
was he? Of course he wasnt. In the same way, regardless of what you
do todaywhether thats writing a paper, planting a garden, preparing

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One Hundred Days |33

a work proposal, or parenting a childwhat youre doing is important

to God because its part of being human.
And Jesus understands exactly what that means.

Ponder. What part of being human is it most difficult for you to

imagine Jesus participating in with you? Why is that?
Pray. Give thanks for your everyday, ordinary life,* and then ask
God to open your eyes to the overlooked wonders and underappreciated people all around you.
Practice. Visualize each and every part of your day (your relationships, your mealtimes, your work, your play, etc.), and invite God
into all of it.

* The phrase everyday, ordinary life comes from Romans 12:1 in The Message, and the
complete passage reads like this: So heres what I want you to do, God helping you: Take
your everyday, ordinary lifeyour sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around
lifeand place it before God as an offering.

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CHAPTERT WO

OH, MO T HER!
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were
also invited to the wedding.
The wine ran out.
Jesuss mother came over to him.
They havent got any wine! she said.
Oh, Mother! replied Jesus. Whats that got to do with
you and me? My time hasnt come yet.
His mother spoke to the servants. Do whatever he tells
you, she said.
J O H N 2 : 1 5

Nonverbal communication accounts for most of what we sayour tone

of voice, facial expressions, the look in our eyes, even our postureand
one of the real challenges in reading the gospel accounts is that they
rarely include these sorts of nonverbal clues.
Consider that perplexing wedding scene at Cana, where Jesus and
his mother share what appears to be a testy interchange. Jesus seems
to resist, even bristle at his moms insistence that he help remedy an
embarrassing situation for the bride and groom.
Oh, Mother! Jesus says. Whats that got to do with you and
me? My time hasnt come yet. (You can almost hear the borderline
exasperation in Jesus voice, cant you?)
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Oh, Mother! |35

But Mother Mary, for reasons unseen, understands this curious

response from her firstborn differently. Instead of hearing no, she hears
yes. Instead of being hurt by her sons blunt response, Mary is somehow
now assured that Jesus will intervene.
Do whatever he tells you, she instructs the waiting servants.
So what made the difference? What did Mary experience in this
unusual interchange with her son that so many of us miss?

I F A PIC T U R E IS WORT H A T HOUSA N D WOR DS, T H EN T H ER E

must be inestimable value in imaginingpicturing in our mindsthe

vivid and telling expressions that crossed Jesus face every day (and
still do).
Before we explore this ancient wedding scene a little further, though,
lets first continue with Johns narrative:
Six stone water-jars were standing there, ready for use in the Jewish
purification rites. Each held about twenty or thirty gallons.

Fill the jars with water, said Jesus to the servants. And they

filled them, right up to the brim.

Now draw some out, he said, and take it to the chief steward.

They did so.

When the chief steward tasted the water that had turned into

wine (he didnt know where it had come from, but the servants who
had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom.

What everybody normally does, he said, is to serve the good

wine first, and then the worse stuff when people have had plenty to
drink. But youve kept the good wine till now!

This event, in Cana of Galilee, was the first of Jesus signs.

He displayed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. (John

2:611)

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36 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Now, other than that confusing conversation with his mom at the
start (and dont worry, well get back to that critical point), its hard not
to like Jesus in this story, isnt it?
Think about it: the most famous figure in history doesnt launch his
public career by healing someone, casting out demons, or delivering an
inspiring speechyes, those things take place in time toobut here,
at the celebration in Cana, the first of Jesus signs is turning water
into wine to keep a party going strong, rescuing a bridegroom and his
bride from certain shame on their wedding day.
A Jewish wedding in the first century was a village affair, with
celebrations lasting up to a full week. It was the honor and responsibility
of the bridegroom and his family to host. When the wine runs out and
Jesus decides to intervene, he does so quietly. He doesnt take the honor
away from the bridegroom:
When the chief steward tasted the water that had turned into wine

(he didnt know where it had come from, but the servants who had
drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom.

What everybody normally does, he said, is to serve the good

wine first, and then the worse stuff when people have had plenty to
drink. But youve kept the good wine till now!

Isnt that just like Jesus? Saving the day by turning water into wine,
honoring the bewildered bridegroom before the chief steward and all the
guests, and letting only the servants and his disciples in on the secret.

BU T W H AT A BOU T MOT HER M A RY A N D T H AT A BRU P T BEGI N-

ning? If the narrative lands on such a high notew ith the party saved,
the servants stunned, and the disciples believingthen why the negative note at the start?
The only way I can understand that important part of the story is

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Oh, Mother! |37

by recognizing that something nonverbal took place between Jesus and

his mom in that moment. There must have been something in the look
of his eyes, in the tone of his voice, in the expression on his face that
communicated more than words could say to Mary.
This moment in Cana marks a significant turning point in Jesus
journey, which is most likely why it is referred to in John as the first
of his signs. From here forward, Jesus is steadily moving toward his
destined vocation as Messiah.
Remember, while the disciples (and probably his mom too) understood the role of Messiah to mean something like Conquering King
(the one who would defeat Rome), Jesus understood the role of Messiah
to mean something more like Crucified King (the one who will be
killed by Rome).
Jesus knows, in the deepest part of him, that once this journey
begins and his identity as Messiah is revealed, it will ultimately lead
to his suffering and death. Because thats what being King looks like
for Jesus: the journey begins at a party, but it leads to the blood, sweat,
and tears of the cross.
No wonder hes a little abrupt with his mom.
Amazingly, even as his initial response flashes with the agony that
awaits him, something in Jesus face seems to soften at the same time,
and his mother, this brave woman who has known him since birth,
sees it.
While we cannot know for sure what passed between Jesus and
Mary in that poignant moment, with a wedding party and the weight of
the world hanging in the balance, I think it is safe to say that something
in the look of Jesus eyes clearly communicated, Dont worry, Mom.
Ill take care of ita ll of it.
Do whatever he tells you, Mary says to the waiting servants.
Water is transformed into wine, a wedding party in Cana is saved,
and King Jesus begins his three-year journey to the cross, all of it
turning on a silent exchange between a son and his mother.

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38 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Ponder. If Jesus is alive, there is a look on his face right now. What
do you think it is?
Pray. Ask Holy Spirit to help you reimagine the stories of Jesus
that you would learn to recognize the look in his eyes, the expression
on his face, even the tone of his voice.
Practice. With this new way of reading in mind, quiet your soul
for three minutes and reread the story of the wedding feast in Cana
in John 2:110.

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CHAPTERTHREE

DEF E NDING M A RY
Isnt he the handyman, Marys son?
M A R K 6 : 3

Mark was the first of the four gospel accounts to be written, and its quite
a big deal that the author includes a description of Jesus as Marys son.
In the ancient world, you rarely (if ever) described a person in a
historical record by the name of their mother. It was almost always by
the name of their father. When you come to a similar account in the
gospel of Matthew, for example, Jesus is called the carpenters son.
In the gospel of Luke, he is Josephs son.
But here, in this standout moment in Mark, Jesus is called Marys
son. Why?
This unusual description in the earliest gospel reflects a controversial
issue that dogged Jesus for most of his life. To put it bluntly, people had
legitimate questions about what they perceived to be Jesus illegitimate
background.
Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding his birth, Jesus
may well have been known as a mamzer (pronounced mom-zer) his entire
life. Mamzer is a Hebrew word, and its use in reference to Jesus means
there were serious questions about who Jesus father was.
All languages have a word for mamzer, explains pastor John
Ortberg in Who Is This Man? and all of them are ugly.5
Theres a telling story in the gospel of John when some religious leaders
39

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40 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

openly confront Jesus over this point. In three different translations of John
8:41, here is how the most intense moment of that confrontation reads:
There wasnt anything immoral about the way we were born!
We arent illegitimate children! (NLT).
Were not bastards (The Message).
Regardless of how you read it, the accusation is the same, and, as
you might expect, that sort of talk sets Jesus off. According to John,
Jesus fiercely responds to the leaders, You are from your fatherthe
devil! (8:44).
Lets be clear about what is happening here: That is a son defending
the honor of his mother. Jesus is striking back at the suggestion that
Mary had in some way been immoral. Because, as we all know, you
dont talk about someones mother.

W HEN I WA S N I NE Y E A R S OLD M Y BEST F R IEN D BE AT U P T HE

school bully. At the time, it was one of the greatest days of my life.
The school bully that year was a kid named Calvin. Whenever our
teacher left the classroom, Calvin selected some innocent soul to make
suffer. If youve ever been bulliedbecause of your size, your looks,
your familythen you know the panicked feeling that rushes your
chest when a teacher steps out of the classroom and a bully takes over.
It was that sort of feeling I was experiencing one day when our
teacher disappeared through the classroom door to speak with someone
in the hallway. While I had managed to avoid Calvins ire that year so
far, I knew my time was coming, and I sensed it was here at last.
For whatever reason, though, Calvin directed his gaze that day
toward my best friend, Steven Shinn, instead.
Steven was one of the biggest kids in class, but he never hurt or
bothered anyone. He was a tall, sometimes hefty, sometimes lanky kid
who drank more milk than anyone I knew. In my eyes, my best friend,

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Defending Mary |41

Steven, was a gentle giant, the kind of kid who rarely got upset, but
when he did, he would cry.
When Calvin taunted Steven that day, calling him all sorts of names,
I knew it was affecting him, because Stevens eyes were filling with
tears. I wanted to intervene, to somehow make it stop, but I was afraid.
We all were.
The problem with a bully is that tears can embolden them. Once
Calvin realized the effect he was having, he decided to push even further
by saying something about Stevens mom.
Ill never forget what happened next.
Steven closed his eyes for a moment and the tears brimmed over.
Without saying a word, he took Calvin by his shirt collar with one
hand and by the inside of his thigh with the other. Steven lifted Calvin
off his feet, held him briefly above the ground, and thenin a raw
and wildly inspiring feat of nine-year-old adrenalinemy best friend,
Steven Shinn, threw the school bully into a desk.
At that moment, as if on cue, a roomful of nine-year-old kids went
ballistic. In our little world, dominated by fear for far too long, the tide
had turned at last, the school bully had been defeated, and we were
freeyes, finally, free.
I still remember that amazing moment as if it were yesterday. Kids
were cheering, tears were streaming, and I was in the back of the
classroom yelling, Yes! Yes! Yes! Because I had never been so proud
of my best friend.
Calvin never bullied Steven again. (For the record, he never bullied
me either, because I was Stevens best friendsee how that works?)
The school bully had learned an important lesson: you dont talk about
someones mother.

J ESUS DI DN T DECK T H E R EL IGIOUS LE A DER S W HO DISHON-

ored his mom, but the important question for you and me is this: Did
he want to?

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42 | Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

When you witness raw moments of emotion like this in the gospel,
with Jesus fiercely defending the honor of his mother and going so far
as to say these leaders were fathered by the devil, you understand that
Jesus was a man of great passion.
He didnt float through the first century as an emotionless, ghostlike
figure exercising some sort of divine, escapist exemption from real
feelings. On the contrary, Jesus was known for his tears (like my friend
Steven) and for his frustrations, he was known for his witty sayings and
his sometimes-cutting convictions.
Why have we sought to transform Jesus into someone else, into this
stoic, emotion-free figure we so often assume him to be?
I was recently discussing this question with a close friend, and
shortly after our conversation he related to me (via email) the following
story about his father:
When my dad was a young boy, maybe six or eight years old, his

parents made him attend Sunday school. He remembers his teacher

telling him Jesus was perfect, and Jesus never sinned. He never did

a bad thing or had a single bad thought. So we should all try to be

like him.

My dad said that presentation pretty much made him give up

on the idea of Jesus right off the bat... He could not identify with
this personor really even with the idea of this person.

One of the reasons why good-hearted Sunday school teachers,

professionally trained ministers, and plenty of other people, too, unintentionally mute Jesus emotions is because we are afraid of what those
emotions might mean.
If Jesus actually wanted to punch the leaders who were talking
about his mom, we reason, wouldnt that mean he was somehow
subject to the power of sin?
No, it would just mean he was in no way immune to the power of
emotion! It would mean, actually, that Jesus felt things deeply, like

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Defending Mary |43

we all do, but that, thankfully, he was not controlled, consumed, or

mastered by those feelings.
Now, as to what Jesus would say to my friend Steven about how he
handled that situation when we were nine, I cant say for sure. But I
can tell you this: Jesus didnt like it when someone talked smack about
his mom.

Ponder. Given his curious birth, what do you think it was like for
Jesus growing up?
Pray. Ask Holy Spirit to help you know how to respond when you
are bullied by someone in power, when you are unjustly accused or
deeply misunderstood.
Practice. In some simple way, like sharing a meal with someone who
needs a friend or by reaching out to someone who may feel alone,
spend time with the vulnerable today.

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JESUS JOURNEY
Shattering the Stained Glass Superhero and
Discovering the Humanity of God
By Trent Sheppard
Jesus was human, like you and me. If the gospel is true,
he still is.
Christians worldwide believe that Jesus is God. But this
belief wasnt the starting point for Jesus earliest
followers. While Jesus humanity was a given for the
disciples, his divinity was a truth they grew into believing-it was a journey of faith. As Christians today, we are also
called into a faith journey--this time, to rediscover Jesus
humanity.
Yes, we believe that Jesus is God, but do we truly believe
that Jesus is human? And if so, how does that transform
our own experience of being human?
Through eye-opening yet down-to-earth reflections, Jesus
Journey invites you to encounter Jesus again--as if for the
first time--by experiencing his breathing, heart-beating,
body-and-blood, crying-and-laughing humanity.
Join Bible teacher and storyteller Trent Sheppard as he
shines new light on the vibrant humanity of the historical
Jesus through an up-close look at Jesus relationships with
Mary and Joseph, with the God he called Abba, with his
closest friends and followers, and how, ultimately, his
crucifixion and resurrection finally and forever redefine
what we mean by the word God. Come encounter the
human who radically transforms our view of God.

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