(John 10:22-42)
This week we continued our study through John chapter ten. Yet again, we see Jesus in a tense conversation with a group of Jews. Surprise, surprise! However, this conversation is a little different in that it is clearly a turning point in the story of Jesus and His journey to the cross. This discussion sort of sums up what's been happening now for years; a rather vicious cycle.
In the beginning of this passage, the Jews ask Jesus to tell them whether or not He is the Christ. He explains AGAIN that He is and why they won't accept that, and once again they want to kill Him for making Himself equal with God in His claim to be the Christ.
This is the same vicious cycle they've been trapped in since Jesus came onto the scene. They know the scriptures and the prophesies, they know that when the Christ comes He will be from God and equal with God. The Christ is who they are waiting for. The problem here is not that they do not realize Jesus is the Christ, but rather that they do not want to accept Jesus as the Christ. Unfortunately they have formulated their own ideas of how the Christ will look and act and Jesus does not fit those ideas, so they choose not to accept Him for who He is.
We can consider this a turning point because we finally see what's really going on in the hearts of the Pharisees. They now know that Jesus is exactly who He has been claiming to be; He is indeed the Christ, but they do not want to accept Jesus for who He is and so they decide to kill Him. The plot for His arrest and death are in the passages shortly following this one.
So what does this mean for us? It's pretty simple actually. Jesus IS the Christ! He is equal with God. If we cannot accept that about Him, then we do not accept Him at all. We cannot accept parts of Jesus or allow some of what He says to dictate our lives, it's an all or nothing thing. Either we accept that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God who sacrificed His life in the place of ours and that ONLY through Him can we receive salvation and eternal life, OR we can have no part in any of Him or His kingdom.
The choice is ours to make!
Here are some things to think about this week...
1. Are there certain "things" or claims about Jesus that you would rather not accept? Have you actually accepted Jesus into your life for everything that He is, including Lord of your life?
2. Do you think that our current culture is in much the same state; realizing who Jesus is and not wanting to accept Him as such? Or, do you think that people don't actually realize and understand who He is? What is the difference then, in how we approach people with the message of Christ?
*Feel free to post any and all questions related to our discussion tonight in the comment area below. You can also share anything you learn while pondering the questions or engaging in the challenge. We are so excited to encourage each other and grow even more in our studying of God’s word throughout the week! This is a conversation! This is Transit Continued.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis passage was a turning point for me too. Honestly I have gotten so frustrated with how often we see Jesus have this conversation and how confused these people seem to be when it seems to me He is making Himself VERY clear.
ReplyDeleteBUT this time it hit me. It's not that they don't understand who Jesus is, it's that they don't want to accept Jesus as He is and for ALL that He is.
This I think makes a huge difference for me when sharing Christ with people. I think that in most cases it's not that people don't understand who Jesus is I think it's that they actually understand how powerful and Holy He is and the idea of giving their life to someone with so much power and authority is scary...and so they simply choose not to accept Him and to remain god of their own life.
I would love to hear thoughts then on how to approach conversations about Jesus knowing this. Knowing that in general people have a pretty good idea of who He is and are simply opposed to giving Him control of their lives....any ideas or thoughts?
In regards to witnessing to others, I don't think our generation is looking for facts about Jesus. We drive home information such as "We are all in need of a Savior" and "Jesus is Lord" and so on, but we just can't win people over with information.
DeleteFor example, which of the following makes you want to visit the Eiffel Tower?
The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris. It is 1050 ft tall and was constructed in 1889. The tower is the most paid monument in the world, with more than 200 million visits since its erection.
OR
I remember went I visited the Eiffel Tower. My friend and I had just bought a couple baguettes from a nearby bakery with an adorable striped awning, and I was standing, pastry in hand, at the base of the Tower. It's funny how small I suddenly felt! I ran my hand over the grooves of one of the legs and thought about how many marriage proposals had taken place here, and how many movies had been filmed here, and how many photos had been taken here. I was one of SO many who found a strange wonder in this tower. What was so special about it, anyway? Certainly there are monuments that are more intricately designed, or were more expensive to construct, right? I don't know if anyone can exactly place its mighty significance, but yet, there she stands, demanding some kind of homage trip from romantics all over the world. It's definitely a thing of beauty, something to be experienced.
I'm not quite sure if people know who Jesus is or not. I do know that people are looking for some kind of Spiritual Being. But I'm not sure why.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like people are searching just to say that they are searching because, from my perspective, they are not making the effort to figure out who this Spiritual Being is or, even if they have found out, are not making any effort in listening to/following this Spiritual Being.
This tells me 1 of 2 things. 1) People are just playing lip service to the idea of a Spiritual Being and lying to people or 2) people put there own selves in front of finding this out and doing what they are suppose to do. It all seems very interesting to me.
So would this be a communication thing that has to be addressed or is it a more deeply rooted worldview issue that our world has which says that you can "know" God or search for Him and still be alright in the end?
i just started goin 2 chruch and i LOVE JESUS!!!!! pray for me plz
ReplyDeleteits not leting my name show up :((( im amber <3333
Delete