Biases that we Create According to our Personal Desires

In Luke 24:17, Jesus questions two of his followers about their conversation as he walks beside them along the road. The men did not recognize him while seeming sad and shocked at the same time that He had not heard of the crucifixion. They used doubting degrees of emotion expressing how they had hoped that He was the Messiah, who had come to rescue Israel in verse 21. Their latest report came from the women who stated His body was missing and the angel appeared to them saying that He is alive (22-23).

     Jesus called the people foolish, because they did not conceive all the writings of the prophets. He told them that it was clearly foretold He must suffer. He explained to them the writings of the prophets. They did not recognize him until they broke break and He disappeared before them. In the culture the men were living in at this particular time the Jews were not accepting of a suffering Messiah. They wanted a reigning King to deliver them from the Romans. The Jews were only accepting of their personal needs in the present, and it blinded them spiritually to the true Messiah. Jesus was not what they had hoped for. The culture rejected him just as Isaiah 53 predicted that they would.

      Through proper research we must seek a general approach according to Shaughnessy & Zechmeister & Zechmeister (2012). In our personal view of thinking we can mistake misleading evidence by not fully researching or clearly evaluating the claim. This was the exact point that Jesus made to the followers in (Luke 24:26). Intuition alone is not enough to base clear evidence without doing careful research, because very often we can be distorted by cognitive biases and should proceed to consider all of the evidence that is available. (Shaughnessy & Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2012).

      There appears to be a biased situation between Martha and Mary in (Luke 10:38-42). Martha is more concerned with the preparation of Jesus being in her home while her younger sister Mary sits at his feet hanging on every word He speaks. Martha grows frustrated and tells Jesus that he needs to tell Mary that she should help pitch in with what needs to be done. Jesus responds to Martha from Luke 10:41 “Martha, Martha, “the Lord answered you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

      Martha was blinded by preparing to have Jesus in her home more than the presence of His fellowship. The preparation of business had little value or concern over the blessing of fellowship with the Lord. The smaller details can blind us from the larger existence of the truth. Mary considered all things and discerned what was more important of the two.

References:

Shaughnessy & Zechmeister & Zechmeister (2012), Ninth Edition, Research Methods in Psychology.