Psychologists say all of us hold on to “mental models” of people we know. Due to the overwhelming amount of information our brains must organize, we tend to defend the established way we see something or someone. Even when we get new information that challenges our mental model, we hang on to what we’ve come to believe is the truth.
A great example of this is Richard Jewell, a private security guard at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He discovered a pipe bomb, alerted police, and helped evacuate the area before the bomb went off. In the media, he was initially celebrated as a hero. But
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the FBI grew suspicious and pointed to Jewell as a suspect. Though he was never charged with a crime, the cloud of suspicion around Jewell gave people a “mental model” of him as a terrorist—even after the real bomber admitted the crime.
This dynamic explains why few of us have an accurate grasp of Jesus. Once our understanding of him is established, we tend to ignore or tune out new information that doesn’t fit. One way to get rid of these mental models of Jesus is to blow them up, as if we were demolition experts. Ask these three questions whenever you read anything about Jesus in the Bible:
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What did Jesus really say? (What was the context of his remarks—who was he speaking to, where was he speaking, and why was he speaking?)
What did Jesus really do? (In the context of “normal behavior” in Jesus’ culture, what impact—both positive and negative—did his actions have on people who heard him?)
How did people really experience Jesus? (What array of emotional reactions did people have to Jesus, and why do you think they reacted that way?)
—99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living
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roof, a six-lesson