Journeying with Jesus, His 5th Invitation:BELIEVE WHO I AM BY WHAT I DO
I was first introduced to Jesus by a youth leader. I liked the Jesus he talked about. I wanted to know more. I bought a Bible and began to read the gospel of John as the leader had encouraged me. The more I read, the more Jesus’ teaching and miracles fascinated me. I began to wonder what I was to do with all I was seeing Jesus do?
In John chapter 5 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to a pool where sick people gathered, hoping to be healed. Jesus saw a man, an invalid for 38 years, lying by the pool.
“Jesus asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’. The man answered, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk’. At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (John 5:5-10).
A simple word from Jesus completely changed the circumstances and trajectory of this lame man’s life. Who is this Jesus?
Turns out the Jewish authorities considered the healing not a source of joy, but rather of condemnation. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath —a serious violation of first century Jewish law.
Look closely how Jesus responds to the Jewish leaders. “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” Jesus called God his own Father, which made him equal to God. This infuriated the leaders.
Instead of backing down, Jesus continued,
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does….For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it….He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”
As I thought about the things Jesus did, and how he explained the things he did, I found myself at a crossroads. What was I going to do with Jesus?
Then I found a Christian author, Josh McDowell, who really clarified this question. He said, “Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, or Lord!” Wow. Jesus did the things only God can do. In doing so, he claimed to be doing the work of his father. Jesus was either a big liar, out of his mind, or actually the Son of God.
The answer was obvious. Jesus is the Lord.
Are you curious about Jesus like I was?
Do you like what you hear others say about Him?
Are you wanting Him to be Savior, Lord and God?
Or are you letting him be a wise and powerful teacher but not more?
Listen to how Jesus addressed Philip, one of the 12 disciples, who was struggling to believe Jesus was the Son sent from God.
“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father….The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe in me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:8-11).
Jesus gives you an invitation to believe Him for who He is, for what he proclaimed and taught, and because of the evidence of the miracles he performed.
Jesus’ greatest miracle was rising from the dead. The evidence of his resurrection, coupled with the many testimonies of those who saw his miracles, are your witnesses to Jesus being who He says He is in the gospels.
I invite you to respond to Jesus’ invitation: Step over the line from liking Jesus and enjoying His amazing teaching to being your Savior, Lord, and the way into a rich life with God!
All our counselors at Renewing Life Center have taken this step. If you want to explore your own life situation with one of us, we would enjoy meeting with you.