Silence and awe was all I could offer. No longer was I the teacher. For God was teaching me through the youth I was called to shepherd. Like the saying goes, the teacher had become the student.

We started out the evening playing songs that represented our experience of love. Some of them were upbeat, others painful and sad. We began discussing what these differences meant in regard to love. After all, everyone had picked a different song, everyone had a different experience and understanding of what this term meant.

The discussion was one I will never forget as one youth summed it up this way, “Love is like a finger print. Everyone has one and they are all different!”

The conversation then shifted to the author of 1 John’s proclamation “God is love.” As we applied this definition of love to God and Jesus we (or perhaps I) sat in awe as we began to grasp just how much Jesus truly loves us.

Jesus 2.0
“Jesus,” as the old hymn goes, “Just give me Jesus.” Not to disregard God the Father or God the Holy Spirit, but Jesus is often the focus of our theology when it comes to youth ministry. We focus on this man from Nazareth and the incredible sacrifice He made for all of us on the cross. For better or worse in our work with youth when introducing them to the Triune God who is at work in the world, we usually start with Jesus.

The question is, “Which Jesus?” I often ponder why our youth have such a struggle building a relationship with Jesus. How come they don’t get it?

The answer, I believe, lies in the fact we often present a Jesus of our own design rather than the One who lived 2,000 years ago and continues to work in the world today.

When I go on retreats, I am always curious to hear the speaker. I wonder how he or she will go about introducing God and Jesus. While I never would say anything — and I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong — a part of me cringes whenever I hear a speaker start taking one verse from a gospel here and meshing it with another verse from a different gospel (the main exception being they are discussing the same story about Jesus found in each gospel).

Different verses are used in combination to make the speaker’s argument and prove without a doubt the point they are trying to make about Jesus. We use this formula over, and over, and over. It’s so tempting to try and create one narrative that will pull our youth into the story of Jesus. Especially when we have a hard time getting them to read Scripture in the first place.

Jesus 4.0
It’s been my experience that when we begin to pull this story from Matthew and tie it in with this story from John, we end up creating an incomplete picture of Jesus. If we are really honest, we might admit we create our image of Jesus. In reading the four gospels, we begin to identify certain stories with our own.

By trying to present a unified narrative of Jesus’ life, we end up losing some of the depth the four gospel writers present us. It is this practice that often leaves our youth hung out to dry as they find it hard to relate to the Jesus presented through a single lens, the speaker’s own personal experience of Jesus.

In keeping the richness and depth of Jesus’ life, we have to let each gospel writer tell his story of Jesus’ life. Only then do we discover a Jesus who loves every finger print.

Examining Jesus’ death is a perfect example. Each author is trying to communicate a truth about who Jesus was and is, but we seldom hear it because we combine all the elements into one narrative.

Sometimes our youth need to hear Mark’s voice as Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?…Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed His last” (Mark 15:34-37). Youth need a Jesus who struggled with life as a human being, an image of Jesus that allows them to ask the hard questions, “How come I don’t feel that God is always there?”

Other times our youth need to hear the voice of John, who wrote, “When Jesus had received the wine, He said, ‘It is finished.’ Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). Youth need a God who can transcend their problems so they know God is able to overcome life’s difficulties. God is the Superhero who comes in at the end and saves the day.

The author of Matthew wrote, “Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed His last. At this moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:50-51). Youth nee to know God is not apathetic. Jesus’ death was not for nothing; God does care and takes notice when sacrifices are made.

Finally, there is Luke in which the author wrote, “Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into yYur hands I commend My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46). Youth need to know they can trust God. When all the cards are on the table, they do not have to fear what will take place because God can be trusted even in death.

When we start trying to combine stories from the different gospels, we sometimes present a Jesus who is only interested in providing us salvation. Or we give youth a Jesus who is only interested in calling them to serve others.

Each gospel has a story to tell. Each gospel is Jesus’ fingerprint, a fingerprint we lose when we try to combine them into one story. Only when we give each gospel its due and live with the tension each creates do we find a Jesus who is diverse enough, human enough and God enough to relate to all our youth.