Quickly now, without thinking about what’s the “right” answer, tell me this: How do you react to Jesus? Suppose you hear a bit of his teaching or some of his life story. What’s your knee-jerk response?

 

For me, it depends on the context. But I do recognize some basic tendencies I have. And they’re remarkably like the reactions that people in the Bible had to Jesus.

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I have problems, but not like Samson. As anyone who’s heard Bible stories knows, Samson was a super-strong man, empowered by God’s Spirit. But we can’t read his story without also noticing what a mess he made of his life.

 

Samson appeared at a time when God’s people were oppressed by the Philistines. Many Israelites became collaborators. Some intermarried with Philistines and adopted thei...