John 3:16-21

January 29, 2008

I’ll try to get back in the swing of things today by posting a couple of reflections from John 3.

In this short passage, what I took note of especially were Jesus’ words in verse 18,

Whoever believes in him (The Son) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The magnitude of this claim is remarkable. No leader of any religious movement has ever said something so amazing. No ordinary nice, kind human teacher can get away with saying something so extraordinary, which is what makes the line of argument that Jesus was only a good moral teacher a ridiculous one. What kind human teacher says, ‘If you do not believe in me, you are condemned. ‘ A person’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

Over the centuries, there have been many people who have claimed to be God, or a god.  Without exception, all of them have done little but influenced a few unstable people in their own generation.  Once they died, they had no enduring legacy but to be thought of as a fool.  In history, Jesus Christ alone has claimed to be the litmus test of whether a person has life or death, and had a remarkable influence on millions of people in countless generations and cultures for 2000 years.

The influence of Jesus and the astounding claims of Jesus have never been repeated since His ascension to heaven.  May God open blind eyes to see that no ordinary human teacher can say, ‘Believe in me, and you will have eternal life,’ without being a wicked liar or a delirious lunatic.

 

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Gospel of John, Seeking Him 

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