For
the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am
doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You
have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does
his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures
diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the
very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to
come to me to have life.
It is closing in on Christmas
season and at some point soon you will probably drive by or see a Nativity
Scene at a church or on a street corner, maybe even in your own yard or on a
table or dresser in your house. Many people, Christian or not, religious or
not, know the Christmas story in some form or fashion; yet many of those same
people do not believe Jesus is who the Bible says he is.
The truth is, a quick look into the writings of ancient non-biblical historians will
show that there was a man named Jesus who lived and was crucified by Pontius
Pilate precisely when the Bible says it happened. I don’t have time to get specific on all the
history stuff, but the point is, there is not any real argument that can say
Jesus didn’t live and live an extraordinary life, nor is there any argument
that can really dispute his death on a Roman cross. My point is that Jesus’ life and death are
undisputed fact.
However, I
don’t find it odd or even out of the ordinary that people today, despite
historical evidence, don’t believe that Jesus is who the Bible says he is or did
what the Bible said he did. It don’t
find it odd mainly because the many of the people who were literally in the presence of
Jesus, the people who actually watched him perform the miracles he performed
couldn’t even believe that he was who he said he was. These were people who would have known the
prophecies about the coming Messiah by heart.
These were the people who were waiting for the Messiah to come. They stood by and watched Jesus fulfill
prophecy after prophecy and yet they still would not believe he was who he said
he was.
With all this
in mind; today I was reading in the Gospel of John and read the above statements by Jesus
from John 5 and it hits me...its not that
they didn’t see Jesus or experience his works and miracles, it’s not even that
they weren’t really hoping for the Messiah to come because I believe they were
still hoping; Jesus says, it’s not that you didn’t see me doing the work my
Father has given me to do…the fact is you simply don’t believe that Salvation
comes from me and therefore from the Father.
You have found other things to place your hope and trust in. You have found new Saviors.
The problem of
faith in the world and even in the church today isn’t that people don’t believe
Jesus came, lived, did all he did, and died, which is what I originally thought. I think the problem is that we have found new
Saviors. We have found other things to
place our hope and trust in. Things
like money, possessions, stock market, bank account, or careers. We have found new saviors in athletic figures,
actors/actresses, music stars, college football teams, boyfriends or
girlfriends, government or government figures, and the list goes on. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that the
person/place/thing that you place the most value on is where your heart will be
also.
So, with this
season that reminds us of the TRUE SAVIOR that came to the world to bring all
things back to a right relationship with the Father through his life, death,
burial, and resurrection; where do you place your hope? In WHAT or WHOM do you place the highest
value? Have you found a new savior or is Jesus the Savior of your life? Does your checkbook and calendar reflect
Jesus as Savior or is it something or someone else? As I said last month… ask yourself, To Whom
or What do I Bow my Knee?
