An intriguing title I trust. A number of years I was receiving treatment from a chiropractor in the local university area. On the way to appointments I regularly walked by an optometry office and there was a sign in the window advertising glasses frames, Oakley I believe. The caption on the poster was, ‘Disruptive by design.’ It captured my attention. They were obviously using it as a marketing tool. Which isn’t in and of itself a bad thing. They were being strategic in how they sought to reach their customers
Which leads to me wondering how many of us have ever thought of Jesus as strategic. Scripture says He was born, “In the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4) That is strategic. Jesus came on the scene when Rome had built an expansive empire that allowed for far flung travel and the spread of the gospel. Strategic. Scripture also says Jesus was the ‘lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). That is long term strategic planning! Jesus also arrived on the scene at a time when things looked hopeless for Israel as a nation, which stirred up a longing in people’s hearts for a messiah deliverer. John the Baptist was born and called into his ministry to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry (Mark 1:1-4), another strategic aspect.
Now we need to address what this has to do with being disruptive. Jesus was disruptive by design; He was being strategic. As part of the Trintiy, He was part of the planning of when He would be born, to whom and where. Other than His birthplace being prophesied, the other aspects of Jesus’ incarnation were disruptive. For example, He was conceived in a young virgin, in an unimportant town in an unimportant area in Israel. In His ministry He wanted to capture attention and get people to think differently, to step out of dysfunctional religious traditions and embrace not the kingdom of Israel but the kingdom of God.
Jesus was consistently disruptive in challenging the way people saw things. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 challenged the traditions and practices of the day. His parables were often pointed stories that challenged the religious establishment. In short, Jesus’ ministry disrupted the status quo, challenged people on how they saw the world, from the most broken and hurting to the loftiest, in terms of cultural status. In the culture of the day if someone touched a leper, they became unclean. Jesus touched lepers and they became clean! Jesus championed the outcasts but also sought out wealthy people like Zacheus the tax collector and brought salvation to his house. In John 3 when Nicodemus came to Jesus by night his worldview was significantly disrupted.
So now some questions for us. Are we furthering His kingdom and functioning like Jesus or seeking to fit in and get along? Are we asking the right questions and saying the right things that extend His kingdom in our world? Are we thinking strategically about how we impact those around us? After all, if we reflect on Jesus’ prayer for us below it is clear that He expects us to walk in a such a way that He is revealed through us.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20–26 (NKJV)
Simply some things to consider.
