As a young adult, Jesus dueled with the devil, offering quick fixes, and came back from the desert committed to staying with his ministry and purpose until he made it to Jerusalem. We are mature when we accept things and people the way they are, rather than make them what we want them to be . The consistent rap against the adult Jesus was that he welcomed and accepted all the wrong kinds of people. Mature people accept true authority in others without adoles cent rebellion and also without caving in . Jesus was a genius at sorting through the good in his tradition and keeping it true and fresh and not caving in to the silly and stale stuff.
Mature people accept themselves as having authority, without bravado and without guilt .
Jesus transformed lives and the word around him, but showed, in the end, that one who leads must be last in line and servant of all. Mature people are positively defensive. I mean that they defend against their own unacceptable urges and from outside attacks . Jesus was occasionally angry and showed it, and he knew how to stand up against sabotage from friend and foe alike. But all of that he controlled, channeled, and trimmed toward his larger purpose.