Provocative.

Provocative is a word that usually has a negative connotation. It's something or someone that causes a person to be annoyed or angered. Provocative is used in sexual contexts as well. Generally, if something is provocative, it garners a strong reaction of some kind. However, when you think about the root word here, it is all about provoking isn't it? And is that a bad thing? Is it bad to provoke a reaction?

In a world that doesn't seem to care about much anymore, is it wrong to push toward thinking or wrestling with concepts? It seems that anytime we get a bit uncomfortable with an idea we call it provocative. I think this is exactly what we need sometimes. We need to be uncomfortable. We need to wrestle. We need to be provoked from our mental/emotional/spiritual couch.

Isn't this what Jesus was all about? Didn't he provoke? Certainly his hearers were angered by his teaching and heart for the marginalized. They wanted him dead after all! "Once again the people picked up stones to kill him" (John 10:31). On the other hand, many were changed forever because they were provoked. Think about Nicodemus, or Zacchaeus, or Matthew, or the woman at the well. These people had strong opinions. They were smart people. Yet, they were provoked into a reaction. More than this, they were provoked into a choice.

Jesus is provocative. He demands our attention. He warrants our wrestling. He certainly deserves more than casualness. He refuses to be compartmentalized. And he does all of this with a gentle and peaceful tone. Christ's fine balance of strong and gentle, man and God, king and servant put him way outside our understanding, and that's why the world finds Jesus to be so provocative.