Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | December 9, 2010

“so that you may know and understand” Jesus

Today’s devotion is John 10:30-39.
 
31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
                               

 32  Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father;  for which of them are you stoning Me?”

 33  The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy;  and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

 34  Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?

 35  “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

 36  do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

 37  “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

 38  but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

 39  Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.”  John 10:30-39.

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We are reminded of the following Scripture which clearly state that one of the purposes of the miracles and other works of Jesus was that these miracles and other works testified or witnessed or provided evidence of Jesus’ divine nature:  “so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”  

John 5:36
[Witness of Works]  “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish–the very works that I do–testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
                                                 
John 10:25
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.”
 
One of the lessons that we can learn is that when we read Scripture, we should focus on, and ask ourselves: “What does this Scripture tell us about Jesus?”
 
For example, the Scripture for today taught us about Jesus’ divine nature. 
 
For another example, the sermon that I heard last Sunday was on Luke 2:21-35 which tells us of the account of the parents of Jesus bringing Jesus for His circumcision “to carry out for Him the custom of the Law” including Simeon’s praise for seeing Jesus.  The minister reminded the congregation that this Scripture taught us that Jesus perfectly obeyed the Law and that salvation is from the LORD personified in Jesus.  “For my eyes have seen Your salvation,”  Luke 2:30.
 
On the other hand, Jesus admonished those Jews who were busy searching the Scriptures (and probably took pride in that fact alone) but who were unwilling to come to Jesus and believe in Him.  “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;  it is these that testify about Me;  and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”  John 5:39-40. 
 
In conclusion, it is easy to shake our heads, say “tsk, tsk”, thinking how foolish those Jews were, but it also is not sufficient for us today to faithfully attend church or to faithfully read Scripture.  We should humbly use this Scripture for today to renew our dedication to read Scripture and hearing sermons with the goal to know and understand what the Scripture and sermons teach us about Jesus so that we believe Jesus more.

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