Misunderstanding Jesus

Jesus was frequently misunderstood. On many occasions, his listeners failed to comprehend what he was saying or misinterpreted his words. After his resurrection, they also failed to recognize him. Here’s a list of examples in the Gospels.

1. When Jesus was twelve years old he said to his parents, “‘Why were you searching for me? . . . Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he was saying to them” (Lk. 2:49-50).
2. His family went to take charge of him because they thought he was “out of his mind” (Mk. 3:20-21)
3. The teachers of the law accused him of being possessed by Satan (Mk. 3:22).
4. His disciples didn’t understand the meaning of the parable of the seeds and sower (Mk. 4:1-20).
5. His disciples didn’t understand the meaning of the parable of the weeds (Matt. 13:24-30, 36).
6. His disciples didn’t understand how people can be defiled by what comes out of their mouths (Matt. 15:11, 15).
7. When Jesus warned against “the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” his disciples thought he was talking about literal bread, but he was talking about “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:5-12; cf. Mk. 8:14-21).
8. After Jesus predicted that he must suffer many things and be killed, Peter rebuked him because he misunderstood what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah (Mk. 8:31-33).
9. Peter, James, and John didn’t understand what Jesus meant by “rising from the dead” (Mk. 9:9-10).
10. Jesus said to his disciples, “‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (Mk. 9:31-32; cf Lk. 9:43-45).
11. Jesus told his disciples, “’We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about” (Lk. 18:31-34).
12. Jesus told his disciples to buy a sword, they responded “Look, here are two swords.” Jesus replied, “That’s enough!” Then when one of them used his sword to cut off the servant’s ear, Jesus said, “No more of this!” then he healed the man’s ear (Lk. 22:36, 49-51). Jesus’ life and teachings shows that he didn’t mean for his disciples to literally use their swords in defending him.
13. When Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”), the people standing near his cross thought he was calling for Elijah (Matt. 27:46-49).
14. After Jesus’ death, two of his followers said, “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Lk. 24:21). They misunderstood Jesus’ mission in thinking that he was going to free Israel from Roman domination.
15. When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple,” the Jews thought Jesus was talking about the building, but he was referring to his body (Jn. 2:19-21).
16. Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a literal second birth, but he was teaching about being born of the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-9).
17. The Samaritan woman thought Jesus was talking about literal water, but he was referring to spiritual life (Jn. 4:10-15).
18. When Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” the disciples thought Jesus was talking about literal food, but he was talking about his Father’s work (Jn. 4:31-34).
19. After Jesus talked about “the bread from heaven” the people asked him for physical bread, but he responded, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:32-35).
20. When Jesus said, “whoever obeys my word will never see death,” his audience concluded that he was demon-possessed because they thought he was referring to physical death (Jn. 8:51-52).
21. The Pharisees didn’t understand Jesus’ parable about the shepherd and stranger (Jn. 10:1-6).
22. Martha thought Jesus’ statement “Your brother will rise again” referred to “the resurrection at the last day,” but Jesus raised Lazarus shortly afterwards (Jn. 11:23-44).
23. None of the disciples understood why Jesus told Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” They thought Judas needed to buy something for the festival or give something to the poor (Jn. 13:28-30).
24. The disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ statement, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying” (Jn. 16:16-18).
25. After Jesus’ resurrection, his followers failed to recognize him. For example, the two disciples didn’t recognize him while they walked with him (Lk. 24:15), Mary thought he was the gardener (Jn. 20:15), and the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus standing on the shore (Jn. 21:4).
26. The book of John ends with a final misunderstanding. Responding to Peter’s question, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus says, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Then John states that Jesus’ words caused a rumor to spread among the believers “that this disciple would not die.” The author attempts to dispel this rumor with these words: “But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’” (Jn. 21:22-23). Think about this: Jesus has risen from the dead, John is at the end of his Gospel, and Jesus’ words are still being misunderstood.

While all four Gospels agree that Jesus was misunderstood, John paints the strongest portrait of Jesus as a misunderstood figure. From start to finish, Jesus seems to be speaking another language and all kinds of people cannot comprehend what he is saying.

What does this mean for us?

We are probably still misunderstanding him.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.