We live in a society that seems to have a variety of responses to Jesus. One of the things I try to do every week is draw people to Jesus with my sermons and messages.

Even in our small community, I see different responses to Jesus. Some have told me that they don’t see any need for church or faith or Jesus. Others have a hard time letting go of the conveniences and routines (ruts) in order to allow him to reign in their lives.

Just this week, I had the opportunity to watch someone make the response to recommit their life to Christ and get back on track with his leadership.

But I realized this week that this variety of responses isn’t new. In fact, people have responded to Jesus in different ways ever since he walked this earth.

I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew recently, and read chapter nine. Over the past few days, I’ve been drawn back to it over and over, and finally saw a recurring theme in these few verses. Of all the stories shared in this chapter, each one of them reveals a different way that people responded to Jesus.

Let’s look at the different responses.

People were in awe of Jesus

In the first part of the chapter, Jesus heals a paralytic. First, he forgave his sins. But, when he told the man to get up and pick up his mat and go home, people responded with awe (Matthew 9:8). Often, in the Bible, awe and fear are similar and related. So, it may be safe to say that people feared Jesus.

People followed Jesus

In the very next verse, Jesus meets Matthew, the tax collector. When Jesus invited Matthew to follow him, he did so. And then he threw a party, inviting his fellow tax collectors to come and meet Jesus as well (Matthew 9:9-10).

People laughed at Jesus

The next passage tells of a ruler who had a sick daughter. He cam to Jesus, asking for help. But in the process, someone informed him that his daughter had died. Jesus continued to the man’s home anyway, and stated that the girl was not dead, she was simply asleep. Hearing this, the people who were there laughed at him (Matthew 9:18-26). I wonder what they thought when he raised the girl from the dead.

People pursued Jesus

The next part of this chapter tells of two blind men who asked Jesus to heal them. When he went indoors, they followed him in, not willing to give up. They pursued him, seeking their sight (Matthew 9:27-31).

People marveled at Jesus

As the formerly blind men were leaving, a man who was demon-possessed was brought in. Jesus drove the demon out of the man, amazing the crowd. They marveled at his power (Matthew 9:32-33).

People criticized Jesus

While many were amazed, others criticized. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being able to drive out demons only because he was the prince of demons. The Pharisees were critical of Jesus throughout his entire earthly ministry (Matthew 9:34).

In the space of less than three dozen verses, and apparently in a very short span of time, there were multiple different responses to Jesus, and across the spectrum of possibilities. Some people took Jesus seriously. Others didn’t. Some followed him for what they could get from him. Others simply followed. Some were amazed. Others were critical.

Everyone responds to Jesus. Each and every person has a response. Choosing not to respond is in itself a response. In fact, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus existed two thousand years ago. That is historically verifiable. What comes into play is what we do with that knowledge. How do we respond to Jesus? He made some extraordinary claims. He claimed to be God in the flesh. Is he really who he claimed to be? Do we accept that? Or do we deny it?

So the question we have to ask is this: How do you and I respond to Jesus? Regardless of how our friends, or family, or anyone else responds, how do you and I respond to Jesus?

Have you responded to Jesus? What was your response? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.