by Jacob Ninan
John the baptiser was specially raised up by God to be the one to announce the Messiah to the people, and anointed by the Holy Spirit even while he was in the womb. God revealed to him that when he saw the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove on a Man, that would be how he could identify the Messiah. When he saw it happening, John publicly pointed to Jesus as being the expected Messiah (Jn.1:32-34). And yet, afterwards, when John was put in prison by Herod and he could not see any rescue coming from God, he began to wonder if Jesus was really the Messiah. From the prison he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus whether He was really the One they had been expecting (Matt.11:2-6). The reply he received from Jesus was not what he expected, that rescue was on the way, but it was encouragement not to get offended with Jesus. What Jesus did, to confirm His identity, was to point to the miraculous signs He was performing. What a challenge it was for John, to continue to trust in Jesus as the Messiah, looking at the miracles He was doing for others, even when the miracle he wanted in his personal life was not happening!
As long as we are discussing about the problems of the world, we can talk about different philosophies and interpretations of passages in the Bible. But things become personal, and difficult, when we get affected personally. Those are the times when our faith in Jesus gets really tested. Would we be willing to hold on to the truths about Jesus which we have learnt from the Bible and seen in the lives of others, even we can't see them happening in our life? When he tested Job, Satan thought that even though Job could overcome the loss of his children and his wealth, he would fall when it affected him personally (Job.2:4,5). In the chapter on the heroes of faith, everything looks fine as long as God helped people with miracles, but in the end we find that there were other people who got God's approval for their faith, even when they did not receive the miracles that they were hoping for (Heb.11:39). We can't boast that even if others fall away, we won't! Peter said that, and see what happened to him. If we think we stand, let us take care lest we should fall.
Look at some of the ways in which the Jews got offended with Jesus and let us see if we can identify with them. They thought they knew where Jesus was from, and concluded from that this proved that He could not be the Messiah (Jn.7:27). But actually they were totally ignorant of the fact that Jesus had come from the Father and He was not just a Man as they thought (vv.28,29). When some of them began to assume that He was the Messiah, others pointed out that the Messiah had to come from Bethlehem and not from Galilee (vv.41,42;). They did not know that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem. When some people began to believe in Jesus, the Pharisees tried to point out to them that the important people among the Jews did not (vv.46-48). When Jesus said that He was the bread that came down from heaven, they could not believe that, because they thought they knew His family very well (Jn.6:41,42). Many people who had been following Jesus after they saw Him feeding the multitude, got offended and left Him when He began to talk about spiritual things using figures of speech, such as saying that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood (vv.53,66). Another statement from Jesus that really upset the religious leaders was that He promised to raise up the temple three days after they pulled it down (Jn.2:19-21).
These people looked at Jesus from a natural point of view, thinking of Him as just another man. They did not understand the implications of the signs which Jesus performed nor the words He spoke. Those who understood them began to believe in Him. The others looked at Jesus from the limits of their knowledge and did not acknowledge that there were things about Jesus that they could not figure out. If they had realised that and started looking for a better understanding of what was going on, they too could have come to know Him.
There were many others who saw what Jesus did and listened to what He taught and came to believe that He was, as He claimed, the Son of God. When the majority of the crowd left Jesus, Peter admitted that he did not want to go anywhere because he had understood who Jesus was (Jn.6:68,69). From a small interaction that the Samaritan woman had with Jesus at the well, she was able to conclude that He was the promised Messiah (Jn.4:28,29). The man who had been born blind whom Jesus realised that Jesus was a Prophet (Jn.9:25). The sinful woman who received forgiveness of sins from Jesus and who poured out a perfume on His feet was transformed by that experience (Lk.7:37-39;47). What great and learned men could not understand from their scholarship and experience, poor, humble people could see (Matt.21:31). The single, outstanding reason for this was that those who considered themselves to be great could not bring themselves to admit they were sinners who needed a Saviour.
It is not enough to see Jesus as a great teacher who taught new and profound things, because that cannot explain the miracles that He did. We cannot also dismiss Him as a good man who went around helping people, because of the statements He made about Himself claiming deity. If we put together the miracles that He did and the statements He made about Himself, and look at the sinless life He lived, we will have no option but to conclude that He was actually who He claimed to be, the Son of God.
If we come to that conclusion, acknowledging that Jesus is the all-knowing, almighty, all-wise, loving Son of God who gave His life for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be restored to a relationship with Him, our response must not be merely thankfulness. We must humble ourselves before Him and become willing to do anything and everything He tells us. We will be willing to deny ourselves in order to do His will. The mark of true belief is the desire to submit to Him in everything (Jn.14:15). At that point God will also begin to relate to us in a supernatural way, giving us revelation of His truths, drawing us into a relationship with Him, and transforming our old sinful life to become like Him more and more.
The problem is that many people want Jesus only for His miracles, and some people merely admire His teachings. But if they are not willing to submit to Him, that shows that they have not understood who He is.
But when we have seen Jesus for who He is, and chosen to have Him as the Saviour and Lord of our life, there will still be many things that we cannot understand, there may be doubts that come into our mind concerning different situations, things may not go according to our plans or prayers, etc. But we can hold on to our confidence in Him and confess, "I know whom I have believed."