Misfits
John 5:30-47
Photo by Angel Sanchez on Unsplash
Do we need to recognize that Jesus is from the Father in order to believe what he says is true?
“Ican do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” - John 5:30-47
According to Jesus in today’s reading, the Pharisees will believe someone who comes speaking in his own name, but they won’t believe him speaking in God’s name.
So, why is this a problem?
Speak in his own name for those who fail to see who he truly is.
Wait, what?
We have this problem all the time. And this problem existed throughout history. Those God chose to speak for Him were rejected. The prophets were not special. They didn’t come from God, but were chosen by God to speak for Him. Not an easy job, right?
Jesus said that all of us who believe in Him are called to proclaim the Gospel to the world. So, we are the prophets of God.
That sounds like a big job, and it is. People will ask by what authority we speak, and we can say by the authority of Jesus Christ.
Of course, they may wave a hand or finger at us and walk away, but that doesn’t change anything. We have credibility through Christ.
So, why did Jesus bother to challenge those who opposed him? He could have simply smiled and walked away.
He told us to do that, didn’t he? Turn the other cheek.
I think he wanted us to be willing to stand up for what we believe in, to be willing to make sacrifices, to be willing to die for it.
No one wants to make sacrifices anymore. We don’t want to be the one who stands out for being different. We all want to fit in.
The prophets didn’t fit in. They were the misfit toys in God’s toybox.
That’s what we are when we defend our faith against all odds. We are the misfits. We don’t fit in.
I guess we’ll just have to live with that for now.
More to come...