Misunderstood

Misunderstood

When I was thirteen, a boy named Phil asked me to go steady. I said an emphatic, expressive, dismissive no. That’s because he was whispering when he asked, and we were in the middle of a science test. He said, “Do you want to go steady with me?” But I heard, “Do you have the answer to number three?” I wasn’t interested in cheating, even though Phil was pretty cute. If I’d understood the question, I might have said yes. But I misunderstood.

Don’t you hate being misunderstood? I do. I hate it most of all when my intentions are good and my words are carefully selected, but the wires get crossed somehow and communication falls flat. After I waved Phil off in science class, I learned that I hadn’t properly understood his request. But no amount of fixing could get the moment back. Not only did he now think I wasn’t girlfriend material, he also had reason to believe I thought he was a cheater!

I could have helped myself by asking, “What did you just say?” But I thought I’d understood. As a grown-up I’ve experienced plenty of times when clarification could have been just as useful, when it might have been good to step back and say, “What did you mean by that? I’m not sure I understood you.” But I don’t always ask. And others don’t either.

As frustrated as I am at times by my own inability to communicate, I can’t begin to imagine how Jesus must have felt. His words and actions were nothing but good. He came to seek and to save the lost. And those who should have been most open to his good news rejected it outright. He was kissed by a friend and betrayed to his enemies. Misunderstood. He was charged as an insurrectionist because he agreed that he was indeed a king. Misunderstood. He was put to death as a common criminal because he didn’t behave like people thought the Messiah should. Misunderstood.

Christ was misunderstood, but God made no mistake. He knew exactly what he meant to do and why.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:3, NASB