“Humans are conditioned to notice only certain things. . . . Additionally, we naturally seek out evidence that confirms our ideas and desires. . . . But if you had to pick out all the aspects of the Messiah in a Bible captcha, would you be able to unlock the code? Could you distinguish the true images of Christ from the fakes to fully experience eternal life today, right on earth?”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
“[Jesus] said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”- Luke 24:44-45 (NIV)
In Chapter 3 (“The Christ Captcha”) of The Missing Messiah, Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore talk about the very frustrating security tool known to humans as the captcha. The term stands for Completely Authentic Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. In other words, you need to distinguish “the thing” from “not the thing.”
Thus, Kyle and Mark note, this demonstrates our lack of ability to see what’s right in front of us. Because we tend to perceive what matches our expectations. Psychologists refer to this as perceptual set. Furthermore, we naturally seek out evidence that confirms our ideas and desires.
In conclusion, the authors observe, we tend to interpret data in ways that help us make sense of the world as we understand it. Or want it to be. In addition, our contexts, cultures, and experiences influence this conditioning.
As a result, Kyle and Mark comment:
“What did Jesus say about his role? What did he remind his followers of? In this chapter we’ll examine the main conversations Jesus had about his messianic mission. There are seven passages, like captcha, that the New Testament uses to form the portrait of Jesus the Messiah.”
Today’s question: What aspects of the Messiah would you pick out in a Bible captcha? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A flowing stream: living water”