John 12:42-50 Walk in the Light
“Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
When we hear of secret believers in closed countries such as North Korea, we might think that this is a modern phenomenon; however, it’s not. Even in Jesus’ day, there were religious leaders who were honestly hungry for God and were seeking God. But there was a problem: these men lived in mortal terror that they would be excommunicated and thrown out of the synagogues.
How tragic! These men are revered teachers and scribes, they have families and great reputations. When these men walk through the streets of Jerusalem, people point to them, greeting them effusively, and giving them honor. Now these men have a big problem: the Holy Spirit is tugging on their hearts while their fears are actively opposing the Holy Spirit.
“Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Jesus knows the names of these secret believers. But these men are facing a choice with eternal consequences: either they choose to believe Jesus and receive what he is saying or they reject Jesus’ message, thereby rejecting Jesus’ Heavenly Father and the chance for eternal life.
It’s tough to realize that many people might listen to Jesus and still refuse to believe. We want to believe that if we were in that crowd, nothing would keep us from believing Jesus. We want to believe that certainly we would be faithful, no matter what. But is that really true? We have an unparalleled opportunity to study Jesus’ words, for we have many different versions of the Bible and we can easily find one that will speak to us. Are we studying Jesus’ messages or are we merely brushing over them?
Now, a second question: if we are preaching or teaching, how disappointed are we when we do our very best to present the claims of Christ, only for someone to ignore us or to reject us outright?
Remain in ministry long enough, and you will definitely face rejection. Sometimes those who are closest to coming into the Kingdom are also fighting the hardest to keep from travel those last few centimeters into eternal life. Under such circumstances, it is tempting to become discouraged and to give up; however, such a decision would prove eternally fatal for any number of people.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a famous British evangelist of the latter part of the nineteenth century. At one point, Spurgeon was so popular that his sermons were printed in the local newspapers. Despite these successes, Spurgeon frequently struggled with depression. When someone cried “Fire!” during one of his sermons in a crowded building, many people were injured or killed. At the time, there were those who wrongly blamed Spurgeon, even though he had nothing to do with the panic.For the remainder of Spurgeon’s life, he would weep whenever he remembered this incident. Spurgeon could have allowed this tragedy to drive him out of the ministry, but he did not. Many came into the Kingdom of God simply through reading Spurgeon’s sermons. One believer even came to Christ through picking up a dirty torn copy of a Spurgeon sermon from a gutter, thinking he was going to wipe his shoes with it.
When people reject you or question you, remember that they did the same thing to Jesus. Don’t become discouraged but remember those poor religious leaders who favored the praise of men more than the praise of God.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to continue to follow your Light. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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