Scroll down to see and play Audio.
Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.
In many parts of America, today is the beginning of a new season. No, I’m not talking about spring or summer, I’m talking about “Phase One” of emerging from the COVID-19 shut down. I wonder what this will look like in your town this week, if you live in a place which begins to emerge from the dark tunnel of the past many weeks?
For the disciples and women who had been good friends with Jesus, this Monday would the 4th Monday since Easter Sunday… what was life like for them? For the women especially, it had been weeks since they’d seen Jesus. None of these friends knew for sure if or when they’d ever see Jesus again? Each day was filled with uncertainty and so many questions without answers. Can we put ourselves in their sandals, my friends?
Because of his very special friendship with Jesus, I believe John in particular was spending LOTS of time in deep reflection over the past several months that he had spent with Jesus. John replayed over and over in his mind things he’d heard Jesus say, or things he’d experienced with Jesus. I’m focusing these days with you my friends, on some of the things that John alone has written about Jesus. These are the things I believe kept John awake at night in these weeks after the resurrection, as he tried to make sense of it all.
Let’s return today to John chapter 6, and pick up John’s account where we left off yesterday. Jesus had just finished making four powerful statements to the people about eternal life found and secure only in Him. John writes in vs. 41: “At this time the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He said ‘I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He say “I came down from heaven?” Oh my friends, there it is. . .the age old question that’s at the very core of everything. WHO is Jesus?
For these people, and even John and the disciples, Jesus sure looked, and in many ways acted, like everyone else, a normal human being who needed food, water, rest, friends, etc. But the miracles Jesus did and often the things He said, especially when talking about God as His Father. and heaven as His home, sure complicated things and often confused the people. It so often left people scratching their heads, trying to make sense of it all. What words do you use, my friends, when you describe WHO Jesus is?
Did you notice the people claimed to know Jesus’ earthly family, personally? That’s because Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Tiberius were 5 of several fairly small towns, all within a few miles of one another, near Lake Galilee. People knew each other and of course Jesus was becoming fairly famous in those parts. So we can imagine their confusion at His words and even His miracles, right?
Look at Jesus’ response to these people: “Stop grumbling among yourself, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) Can you see John rubbing his chin as he remembers Jesus saying this to the people and their confusion. What could Jesus possibly mean? Do you see three powerful God-truth statements here that you and I must wrestle with today in 2020.
First, that any person comes to trust in Jesus ONLY if God the Father has done a work in them which enables them to take that faith step. You see, it is NOT natural. In our natural way of thinking we will NEVER understand the incarnation of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus or come to Jesus and trust Him for our salvation, without God’s help. We naturally will attempt to find our way to God on our own, earning God’s approval and acceptance by our own wisdom or efforts. We will try some religious traditions or rituals.
But Jesus very clearly declared, several times, HE is the ONLY way to God. (John 14:6) And here Jesus adds, and coming to Jesus and trusting HIM, as the only way to God, is ONLY possible if GOD is working in your heart and mind, to give you the ability to believe the truths about Jesus and trust your life to Him! Did you get that? You might want to look at 2 Corinthians 4:4 here, as there the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, helps us understand there is a veil that blinds our minds from understanding the Gospel. And Satan is the one who blinds our minds.
Second, Jesus said that He, the Son of God, came to earth sent by God the Father. God used Mary, miraculously impregnated by the Holy Spirit to bring Jesus through a normal human birth experience so Jesus would have a normal human body. But Joseph had nothing to do with Jesus’ conception. Joseph was NOT Jesus’ biological father. Jesus did not have a human, biological father. Jesus is God incarnate, “Immanuel”, God with us! And Jesus left His eternal glory in heaven, to come to earth, taking on a human body, so He could fulfill the mission God the Father entrusted to Him. . .becoming the Atonement Sacrifice for the Redemption of the human race, from the sin condemnation that we all have, one person at a time!
Thirdly, do you see Jesus said, for a third time (vs. 39, 40) that “I will raise him up at the last day.” This is more than a promise that every person will experience a resurrection to eternal life after human death. This promise, by the way, is very important my friends. The Bible teaches that each and every human being who has ever lived, will experience life eternal. Did you get that? The soul and spirit of every person, will be reunited with a resurrected version of their human body.
Please note there are two separate resurrections. The first will be for all people who have trusted in Jesus (1 Thess. 4:13-18), and they go to be with God forever. The second resurrection is at the end of time. (Rev. 20:5,6,11-15) This resurrection is for all those who have NOT trusted in Jesus Christ, and after their judgment and their names are not found in the book of life they will be sent into hell forever and ever!
God designed us to live forever in one of two places… either heaven with God the Father, God the Son Jesus, angels, and all others who have trusted in Jesus for their salvation OR the other eternal destination, HELL, with Satan, the demons, and all people who have NOT trusted in Jesus Christ for their salvation. PLEASE understand this my friends!
It is vital my friends to understand, both place are literal, real places…heaven and hell.
And every person created and birthed by God, is designed immortal, and will spend all of eternity in one of those two places.
And be sure to understand this my friends: in God’s great, unlimited love for humanity, He has given to every person, the privilege and the right to decide which place will be their eternal home! No one can decide it for another person. You can only decide it for yourself. But… NO decision is a decision, do you understand that?
We all struggle with procrastination. The eternal destiny for you, me and every person WILL BE HELL unless we decide to trust Jesus for our rescue, our salvation. That decision changes your eternal destination from hell to heaven. No decision is a decision. If you die before you have decided and trusted Jesus, then your hell destination remains unchanged. It is vital, essential, we all understand this.
That is why Jesus promised that “I will raise him up at the last day.” It’s Jesus’ promise that HE will assume personal responsibility to make sure that any person who has trusted in Jesus WILL absolutely be ‘raised up’ by Jesus, and brought to heaven in their last day, the day of their death. Please, please understand this my friends… your life, your eternal destiny hinges on your decision and action regarding Jesus Christ!
This is so important I feel led to stop right here and urge you to talk with Jesus right now. Are you absolutely certain you have trusted Jesus fully for your salvation and He has saved you, and heaven is a certainty for you?
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.