Most of us make a disastrous mistake when we read about Jesus in the Bible. We imagine he is just like us.

If you’ve been exposed to Jesus through the Church, over time you start thinking he shares your philosophical and political leanings. Surely Jesus looked, acted, and talked like you do, even though he lived over two thousand years ago. And the strange thing is, on some level you know that isn’t true but it’s comforting to believe Jesus shares your views. Why does that happen?

We all read the Bible through a filter. What I mean by that is the way you read the Bible highlights some aspects of Jesus and darkens others. Things like your culture and — yes — your personal preferences all play a part in how you understand scripture. They teach you how to read and interpret the Bible.

Since we love to make Jesus in our own image, here are 7 inconvenient truths about him most people overlook.

Jesus lived in a completely different reality

Have you ever been to a third-world country?

It’s astonishing how different people live in underdeveloped parts of the world. As Westerners, we’re so swallowed by our culture it can be easy to forget a different world exists outside the one we inhabit. Visiting a third-world country is the best way I can think of to understand the difference between Jesus’ world and ours today.

Jesus didn’t only live in a different time, he lived in a different reality. What I mean by that is Jesus’ world was so different than ours you can’t understand it unless you intentionally try. How do you do that? There are many great books about Jewish culture two thousand years ago, and they can change the way you read the Bible.

Jesus was Jewish

You might think this one is obvious. But if it were obvious to everyone, we wouldn’t have pictures of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jesus hanging in old church basements.

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, who lived during the time of the Roman Empire. He lived and taught like many other rabbis of his time. It’s impossible to fully identify with the Christ of history because you aren’t a first-century Jew. As Christians, our understanding of Jesus comes through what we read about him in the Bible. That’s why learning about the culture of first-century Palestine is essential to understanding the Bible.

Many Christians today unconsciously (or sometimes consciously) make Jesus in their image. The temptation is to imagine he was just like you and me, but he wasn’t. The good news is he doesn’t need to be just like you and me because, while cultures have changed many times over the millennia, human nature has not changed.

Jesus speaks to us down through the ages because his teachings pierce the heart of human nature.

Jesus was apolitical

Jesus did not share your political ideology. He was neither capitalist nor socialist, Democrat nor Republican, left-leaning nor right-wing. Why do I say that?

These political terms didn’t exist in Jesus’ day. He was a teacher in a Jewish religious system consisting of three classes: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

It’s comforting to think Jesus shared your political ideologies. But Jesus’ loyalty was only to God. He showed loyalty to God was more important than loyalty to a political system. That explains why, when he was on trial he told the Roman governor Pilate:

“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:38, NLT)

It’s odd how some churches blatantly ignore Jesus’ non-patriotism and display both the cross and the American flag in their sanctuaries. Aside from that, any time a group claims Jesus had inclinations toward their ideological preferences you should be suspicious.

Jesus was a disappointment

During about three years of public teaching and ministry, Jesus was a constant disappointment to His followers. Let me explain what I mean.

It appears there’s nothing Jesus enjoyed more than subverting people’s expectations of who he should be. Many first-century Jews hoped Jesus would be their long-awaited Messiah, a savior-deliverer who would throw the Romans out of Israel and reestablish the Jewish monarchy.

At one point, Jesus was so popular for his teachings and miracles, the people wanted to force him to become King.

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15, NLT)

Every time it looked like Jesus would fulfill other people’s expectations of him, he did something else. He frustrated even his closest followers, disappointing everyone who hoped he would change their circumstances.

Why didn’t Jesus wave his hand and make everything better for everybody? That’s a question a lot of us still struggle with today. But here’s what I’ve learned.

Following Jesus doesn’t magically change your circumstances, it teaches you to how to thrive and find grace where you are. Often, God doesn’t deliver you from your circumstances, but through them.

Jesus was relatively unimportant in his lifetime

As twenty-first-century Westerners, you and I live in a globalized world. As the pandemic of 2020 taught us, what happens in a distant part of the world can affect us all.

And aside from that dramatic example, the internet and social media make worldwide communication instantaneous, unlike any other time in history. The average person can reach someone they’ve never even met before.

When I say Jesus was relatively unimportant in his lifetime, I’m talking about his reach. Here’s a man who — as far as we know from the Bible — never traveled outside his home country in Israel. He was an itinerant teacher on the fringes of a fringe society. The people attracted to Jesus were mostly peasants and displaced individuals who didn’t fit into the larger political and religious system.

As Jesus gained popularity through his teaching and miracles, he still only garnered the attention of a small part of a larger population. When the religious leaders handed him over for trial by the governor, Pilate, he found Jesus more of an amusement than a threat.

The name Jesus carried little significance until after his death and resurrection. His first followers dedicated their lives to spreading Jesus’ teachings throughout the known world. Jesus is the ultimate example of the power of living out a divine, focused purpose.

Jesus didn’t start a new religion

Jesus wasn’t a Christian.

Let that sink in for a minute. The religion which bears his name was an unintended side-effect of Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus was Jewish and part of the Jewish religious culture.

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” (Matthew 5:17, NLT)

In the decades following Jesus’ resurrection, the people who chose to follow his teachings started formalizing them. The Jewish communities that formed to worship Jesus soon learned they had no longer had a place in the synagogues. As a result, they built communities of Christ-followers called ekklesia or gathering. It was later translated to “church.”

I’m oversimplifying a lot of history here for the sake of space. But when people today blame Jesus for starting a religion that killed thousands and forced people to convert from “pagan” religions, that’s false. The human desire for power is what corrupts a religion.

Jesus is bigger than your beliefs

Many Christians love to say “Jesus is for everyone.” But I’ve discovered what they usually mean is Jesus is for everyone as long as you believe like us.

Jesus is bigger than your beliefs about him.

That’s uncomfortable for most of us. We’re taught there is only one way to understand Jesus, and that way needs to align with whatever denomination or group is doing the teaching. But no group, denomination, or sect has a monopoly on Jesus.

You can learn a lot by listening to differing opinions and perspectives on Jesus. I don’t mean anything goes, but by broadening your perspective you can help you build a more robust faith.

The reason I’m fascinated with the Bible, its culture, and history, is because learning about it helps me understand my faith better.

Since the earliest stories in the Old Testament, humanity has tried to make God in their image. Your culture, background, and presuppositions act as a filter for your understanding of Jesus and his role in human history. Pay attention to the parts that make you uncomfortable what you discover may surprise you.