Did Jesus Expect Too Much From People?

7/26/2022

Look around you and judge, now that fifteen centuries have passed, take a glance at them: which of them have you borne up to yourself?

Upon my word, man is created weaker and more base than you supposed! Can he, can he perform the deeds of which you are capable?

In respecting him so much you acted as though you had ceased to have compassion for him, because you demanded too much of him—and yet who was this?

The very one you had loved more than yourself! Had you respected him less you would have demanded of him less, and that would have been closer to love, for his burden would have been lighter.

The lines above are from Dostoevsky's Legend of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov. In them, the grand inquisitor rebukes Jesus for valuing humanity too highly and expecting too much from fundamentally "weak and dishonorable" men.

And what constitutes the "too much" Jesus expects from mankind? In two words, freedom and love:

Thou didst desire man's free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide.

The essence of the kind of faith Jesus expects from his followers is that it be:

directly known
freely chosen
keenly discerned
internal / internally-validated
personal
experiential
heart-centered / love-centered
creative

The totality of these aspects combine to form the unconquerable conviction that whole value of man is intrinsically connected to his freely chosen, creative participation in Creation -- in his participation in divine life and heaven.

When you stop to think about it, Jesus's high expectations don't seem that high at all, but they do entail relying on the internal rather than the external and taking personal responsibility for one's choices and faith.

Nevertheless, the grand inquisitor is quick to point out that that only a few "chosen ones" are capable of such things; the vast majority of humanity inevitably falls by the wayside:

"In what way is the weak soul to blame for not having the strength to accommodate such terrible gifts? And indeed, did you really only come to the chosen ones and for the chosen ones?

But if that is so, then there is a mystery there and it is not for us to comprehend it. And if there is a mystery, then we were within our rights to propagate that mystery and teach them that it was not the free decision of their hearts and not love that mattered, but the mystery, which they must obey blindly, even in opposition to their consciences."

Unlike Jesus, the grand inquisitor expects little from the "weak souls" but vows to correct Jesus's overestimation of humanity by providing a purpose for those unable to follow Jesus freely:

And that was what we did. We corrected your great deed and founded it upon miracle, mystery and authority.

And people were glad that they had once been brought together into a flock and that at last from their hearts had been removed such a terrible gift, which had brought them so much torment.

Were we right, to teach and act thus, would you say?

Did we not love mankind, when we so humbly admitted his helplessness, lightening his burden with love and allowing his feeble nature even sin, but with our permission?

The grand inquisitor presents himself and his institution as loving and merciful and Jesus's expectations as unrealistic, even cruel.

Is the grand inquisitor correct? Does Jesus expect too much from people?

9 Comments

Gunner Q link

7/27/2022 02:17:36

The Inquisitor's mistake was claiming people are unable to meet Christ's demand. The truth is, most people are unwilling. The temptation to treat with God as an equal is universal, timeless and insulting.

But GI has a point. People are not naturally self-motivated, and God does suspiciously little to motivate people towards Him. It must be like a plutocrat wondering if that peasant girl likes him for who he is, or for what he can do.

Francis Berger

7/27/2022 06:48:41

@ Gunner - Yes, that's a good observation. It's not that people are unable -- they are unwilling.

We have to meet God halfway, and that requires much individual effort from us. It requires our freedom, but as the GI notes, most people do not wish to be free.

Stick figure

7/27/2022 16:00:04

Yes and no.
First off, Jesus doesn’t “expect” anything in the sense presented. Jesus preaches the truth as it is. The fire does not light because I expect it to, I expect it to light because it is charcoal soaked in lighter fluid and I put a match to it. The great lie of the evil one is to suggest that good can come from anything other than goodness.

So the Creator of all things visible and invisible tells us how it gon’ be. This is a different kind of “expectation”. Now that we have the proper perspective let’s answer the question.

When a son gets a bicycle the father says, “I expect you will be able to ride this someday and then you can go places on it.” Can the son jump on the bike and ride in a race? No. Does the father expect too much? No.

Since the father is correct that riding the bike is both possible and good for the son, and the son cannot ride the bike now, what happens? The father says, “I’ll teach you if you want.”

“Ok,” says the son.

Now the father holds his son on the bike and pushes him along.

“Ok,” says the father. “Hold the handlebars steady!” He lets go.

The bike coasts for a bit and then the boy overreacts and falls into a ditch. He scrapes his elbow on some thorns.

“Ow!” says the boy. “I can’t do this!”

“Sure you can,” says the Father. “Get back on the bike and we’ll try again. I expect if you keep practicing you’ll get it by the end of the day. Then we can ride out to the orchard and pick apples.”

And thus we see that the Father is correct to expect his son to do something the son can’t do.

7/27/2022 16:16:16

@ Stick figure - The Grand Inquisitor is a master rhetorician, so the manner in which he presents things is slippery, to put it mildly.

I like your analogy. It matches following Jesus freely and using his image as a guide. It also syncs well with the reality of spiritual learning.

However, it requires that the son be interested in seeing the good in the father's expectation. He has to be freely and genuinely interested in getting on the bike rather than just looking at his father with a bored expression and declaring that he (the son) would rather stay inside and play video games.

7/28/2022 07:14:57

Exactly. It’s impossible without help, and the difficulty is in accepting the help that is freely offered.

bruce charlton

7/27/2022 16:58:13

The deepest truth is that Jesus made things extraordinarily *simple* - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" John 10: 27-8; and "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20: 31) - indeed, that simplicity is the problem.

So simple is Jesus's work and message, that people can't believe it, and insist upon something extremely complex.

They ask for some specific answer, argument and rule for every possible (and imaginary) question and eventuality. They ask for a cure to the world's ills, and demand a 'system' that will 'make' all Men into Christians.

Perhaps the special nature of *these* times is such that we may be able to shake free for centuries of obfuscation (as well as expedient or dishonest misrepresentation) and (re-) discover that simplicity - each for himself.

Of course, 'simple' does not mean 'easy' - but it does imply a straightforward, albeit tough, choice; which when made correctly will be followed by more such straightforward-tough choices.

7/27/2022 17:51:02

@ Bruce - That's the answer. As Gunner pointed out in his comment above, it's not that people are unable -- they are unwilling.

People can't believe Jesus's message. They demand the Grand Inquisitor's coercive miracle, mystery, and authority model instead.

The further development of Christian consciousness hinges upon the (re)discovery of Jesus's simple, straightforward message and the straightforward "tough" choices that follow.

Stick Figure link

7/28/2022 07:23:35

This is very dangerous and wrong. I understand that Francis Berger has already declared this is “the answer” and…you’re all risking damnation.

I disagree that it is the simplicity of Christ’s message that causes people to reject it. This implies that Christ was bad at messaging and ought to have communicated differently. The problem is that “believe Jesus is the Christ” does not mean, “believe in Jesus”. It means “believe that Jesus, and only He can save you, such that you willingly reject all other paths of seeming salvation and throw yourself on His mercy.”

THE PROBLEM IS NOT SIMPLICITY IT IS PRIDE. To say the problem is the simplicity of the message is a form of pride. There’s no problem with the message. The problem is wholly with the listener.

7/28/2022 07:58:07

@ Stick figure - I'm afraid you have misconstrued what Dr. Charlton means by problem.

The problem is not the simplicity of the message -- the simplicity of the message is accessible, wonderful, powerful, beautiful, profound. Thus, as you say, there is nothing wrong with Christ's messaging. On the contrary, it is the best messaging man has ever experienced.

The problem is people's unwillingness to embrace the simplicity of the message -- for a variety of reasons, pride among them.

You are basically saying the same thing Dr. Charlton is. You have just tripped up a bit on by what he meant when he said "problem".

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Did Jesus Expect Too Much From People?

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