Jesus and Mental Health
John 10:20 states, “He (Jesus) has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Mark 3:21 states, “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He (Jesus) is out of his mind?”
Who is Jesus? An insane person, demon, or the son of God.
Mental health and who you are go hand-in-hand. Mental health is not so much dependent on your positive behavior as it is on who you are. Jesus was the son of God and mentally healthy prior to behaving perfectly.
Christian Mental Health and Design
When you think about mental health-think about design: who you are and what you are designed for. Who you are shapes what you are designed for, always in this order. I am designed to be loved by God, to be with Him. This truth exists apart from you thinking about it, behaving towards it, away from it, desiring it, believing it, or feeling it. In other words, what you do does not change this truth. If I am designed to love God so that God will love me then I am functioning out of a design that says: what I do, think, feel, desire will cause me to be who I am. Behaving and thinking differently can help with seeing who you already are, a son or daughter of God, but not make you one!
Let’s consider Jesus. When Jesus wept over Lazarus dying-he was still mentally healthy. When Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days in the wilderness-he was still mentally healthy. When Jesus was angry with the money changers in the temple-he was still mentally healthy. Jesus was right to weep; he was tempted; right to be angry, and simultaneously mentally healthy in all these.
A Christian is someone who‘s sins have been paid for: past, present, and future. She’s a child of God loved by God (1 John 3:1). She is seen as righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 2:16). No longer under the law (Romans 6:14). All these things are present tense reality.
Nothing was off with Jesus‘s mental health. Like him, It is possible for you to be sad, angry, happy, or tempted, and mentally health at the same time. Be encouraged. Learn more by going to our page on Christian Counseling.