Tuesday, February 11,
2014
Some in the crowd thought Jesus was the
Messiah; some thought he was the prophet to come. The religious leaders
refused to entertain any of those thoughts, and there were some who just plain
didn't know what to think.
Theologian C.S. Lewis described the available
choices: Jesus was liar, lunatic, or Lord.
A liar would not have gone to the cross.
(Neither is he a “great moral teacher”).
A lunatic is simply mad, and may have been
deluded enough to want to die.
A Lord - really God – that's the choice which
makes you gulp; it becomes really problematic if you believe, because then
you have to do something. Inaction is
not an option. A “Lord” you cannot
ignore; a “Lord” is someone you serve!
Therein you have all the possibilities:
Jesus was either the Messiah or not.
So, if Jesus was, or if He wasn't, there
are really only these two choices: believe or do not believe. It comes down to a “leap of faith”! (Doesn’t it always?).
So…Today…for YOU…
Those who thought he was the prophet to come
before Messiah were just a little misguided. Jesus could straighten them
out (and did).
The religious leaders chose disbelief
because they had something to lose, a vested interest. As prominent,
well-educated and connected, they were running the show among men. To
place faith in Jesus, they would have to give up the power their earthly status
commanded. They refused to believe; their choice is common and legion today.
Those who just didn't know what to think, or
just didn't want to think about it, were also making their choice; to put off a
choice is to make a choice, nonetheless. There is no fence upon which you
can sit when it comes to Christ. He is either your Lord or your Judge.
Alas, the “don’t bother me about Jesus; I
don’t want to think about all that” crowd is in the majority today.
The ones who (rightly) thought Jesus to be
Messiah, Christ, were in for a tough time following him.
In the end it made little difference what
any of them thought; Jesus is who He is, no matter what we think.
All thought is like that. You can
imagine an elephant is a chocolate croissant; that doesn’t make him less an elephant
(nor easier to consume!). You can try to
ignore the elephant, but that doesn’t work for long.
So...Today....For YOU....
What do YOU think?
How much real "thinking" have you
done about whether Jesus is God?
If you've not made the decision
to follow him, you have made the decision to refuse faith.
Or you simply haven't thought seriously; genuine
faith in Christ always leads to following Him as Lord.
Title Photo: http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/fro11fta/files/2011/10/choices.jpg
