Was Jesus Ever Taken Advantage of?

Was Jesus ever taken advantage of?

This may seem like an odd question, but it’s one I’m wrestling with in a very personal and practical way. You see, I just learned that I’ve been taken advantage of by someone. This person had been posing as someone with a chronic illness and in dire financial need. I and others rose to their alleged need by paying some of their bills, serving them and praying for them. This has gone on for a couple years. Now that their deceit has been exposed I feel violated, foolish and a tremendous sense of grief for them.

What should I have done differently? Did anything like this ever happen to Jesus? If so, how did he respond? How does he want me to respond? How do I guard myself in the future—or, should I?

These questions take me to Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6:27-31: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Jesus’ words really get under our skin because they demand living in a way that is far too vulnerable for comfort! If we live like that aren’t we opening the door for being taken advantage of? And yet he calls us to this lifestyle precisely because it demonstrates God’s character.

We can consider the question, “Was Jesus ever taken advantage of?” in two ways. First, because Jesus is God and therefore all-knowing and all-wise, we conclude that Jesus was never taken advantage of in the sense that he was fooled or that someone tricked him. John 2:24 bears this out when it explains, “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.” Jesus was fully aware of the motivations of their hearts.

There’s a second way we can think about the question whether Jesus was ever taken advantage of. This viewpoint does not result from foolishness, naivety or lack of knowledge, but due to his virtuous character.

For example, in John 5, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. One Sabbath day, Jesus told this man to get up, pick up the mat he was lying on and walk. The Jewish religious leaders reprimanded the man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. In response the healed man replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ So they asked him, ‘Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?’ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.”

Later on, Jesus found this guy in the temple and warned him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” At this, the man went back to the Jews and informed them that it was Jesus who had made him well. And as a result, the Jews persecuted Jesus for doing these things on the Sabbath. (John 5:1-16)

How could this guy turn against Jesus like this right after Jesus healed him? And, why did Jesus allow himself to be taken advantage of like this? Then something occurred to me. Every time one of us, who has experienced Jesus’ forgiveness for sin, rebels against him and willfully sins again—are we not taking advantage of our Lord’s grace and goodness? We are taking advantage of him, to be sure. And yet he humbly endures it when we defraud him and he remains gracious and ready to forgive when we return to him! 1 John 1:9 explains, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus asks us to endure the same treatment from others. In 1 Corinthians 6:7 he says, “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” Enduring this mistreatment from others allows us the opportunity to “participate in the sufferings of Christ.” (1 Peter 4:12-13.)

If we are living and becoming more like Jesus, it should not surprise us when we are taken advantage of like he is. May we also learn to bear it humbly like he does!

©2010 Rob Fischer