A Trivial Question?

 

October 2023

Dear Friends

“What do you think of him?”  That’s the question that was being asked about Jesus all over 1^st Century Judea.  He was discussed down by the River Jordan (John 1:46), among the ethnic minorities in Samaria (John 4:26), by the festival crowds in Jerusalem (John 7:26) and by the religious elites at the temple (John 7:51). 

Aware of all the whisperings, Jesus asked his friends directly, "But what about you?  Who do you say I am?"  (Matthew 16:15).  He wanted to know if they thought he could be the man they were all waiting for – the ‘Christ’ promised by the prophets.  ‘Christ’ (or ‘Messiah’) means ‘King’, a royal Son with God’s authority to rescue a people who knew that their nation was in trouble - trapped by powers beyond their control and by the self-destructiveness that afflicts us all. 

Some people at the time thought that Jesus was a fraud or worse but others pointed to the evidence – would the real Christ do more miraculous things than Jesus had done? (John 7:31)  He opened blind eyes, but others testified to something deeper; that he had opened their mind’s eye to the truth and they knew their lives were changed forever (John 10:21). 

Amazingly, although this all took place in three short years and in one little corner of the Roman Empire, it wasn’t all that long before people all over the world would answer the question, “What do you think of Jesus?” with a resounding, “He is King of Kings forever, and my Rescuer and Lord!” 

Some people today hope that this delusion, as they call it, will wither and die as humanity throws off the shackles of primitive thinking but (despite what is happening in our culture in the short term) across the world there seems to be a continuing rise in those who believe that Jesus is the Christ of God.  Didn’t Jesus say that his kingdom would be like yeast that is mixed into a large amount of flour to work its way right through the dough?  (Matthew 13:32) 

What about you?  Who do you say that Jesus is?  It may seem like a trivial question but what if true life can only begin when this foundation block is in place?  (John 6:40)

Sincerely

Graham Burrows