Today’s reading: 2 Kings 8; John 7
I don’t have much to say about the reading today, but there is one statement Jesus makes that fits with what we talked about yesterday in John 6, and that I think is really important, both to recognize, and to not misconstrue.
When Jesus gets up and is speaking at the feast He says, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”
This is important because, for those who are genuinely seeking the truth, God has given us more than sufficient evidence for Biblical faith, but that evidence is not “proof” as some seek proof. Some think that because they can find a question they can’t with assurance answer, or because they can find a question for which God is only one possible answer, there is no proof of God and therefore belief in Him is foolish. I would agree with the first part of their conclusion, that there is no full proof of God, but I disagree that this makes belief in Him foolish. We have no “proof” of many of the things we take for granted, like gravity, but the evidence weighs heavily enough that we believe in it without proof. And I would argue that, so too, God has given us more than sufficient evidence for an informed faith, even when there is not the “proof” that some seek.
This is where Jesus’ statement becomes so important. The question His declaration puts before us is, “Why are you asking questions and seeking answers in the first place?” Many of the leading Jews in Jesus’ day were not asking questions to understand if He was the Christ, but to try to invalidate Him as the Christ because they didn’t like the implications of it being true. What Peter told us yesterday, at the end of John 6, is that Jesus had already done more than enough to validate His identity, such that the open questions, of which there were still many, could not invalidate who He was. So for those who were genuinely looking or the Messiah, and genuinely open to what the Scriptures taught about him, it was undeniable that Jesus was who He said He was. But for those whose will was not to do God’s will, but to maintain their own status/position/lifestyle/will, they could ignore all the evidence and focus on whatever question was left unanswered, no matter how small it was in comparison to the mountain of evidence on the other side, and leverage that into an argument for unbelief.
The same question is before each of us today as well. God has provided us with an abundance of evidence for His existence, for the Bible being His Word, for Jesus being the Messiah, etc. but are you willing to approach that evidence honestly? Are you willing to seriously weigh the evidence God has given us and consider what may then be true, or have you already decided in your heart that this is false? If it is the latter, realize that no amount of evidence will ever be sufficient for you, there are still people who believe the earth is flat after all… But if you are willing to approach the question honestly, and allow the evidence God gives us to be the evidence that it is, Jesus says you will be able to know whether or not what He says is true.
I would like to stop there, but I do need to make one more clarification before we close today. Jesus is not saying here that if you blindly trust what He says, then you will obviously know it is true, nor is He saying that if you just want to follow God enough, you will not have questions. There are some religious people who will come to your door offering you new teaching and revelation and telling you that if you read it in faith, God will reveal to you that it is true, completely divorced from any need for rational thought or consideration. I just want to be abundantly clear that this is not what Jesus is saying here, and this is not the teaching of the Bible. God gave us the ability to think and reason, and He expects us to use that capacity in regard to our faith as well.
Jesus is not saying to leave your mind at the door and just want to follow God enough to ignore your doubts and questions. He is saying that if you approach Him with integrity, seeking to know truth, not just seeking to invalidate His claims, it will be clear to you where the evidence points.
No comments:
Post a Comment