In Whom Do We Rejoice?
In Whom Do We Rejoice?
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of the one who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his abiding word in you, for you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.”-John 5:30-38
Spend time reading the above passage from John…then read it again, and again, and again. Here we see Jesus providing a sharp correction to the Jewish authorities in telling them that they did not have the Father’s word abiding in them. Here, as religious leaders, Jesus points out that the very scriptures they were supposed to know and understand have fallen on deaf ears and hardened hearts because they have failed to believe in the testimony pointing them to their Lord and Savior…standing directly before them. He even doubles down on that sentiment by pointing to John the Baptist and showing their folly in the fact that they “were willing to rejoice for a while in his light”, yet were seeking to murder Jesus for claiming to be the Son of the Father. The irony of that is that John specifically provided testimony that Jesus’ claims were true…so they were directly ignoring the testimony of the one in whom they were rejoicing.
Brothers and sisters, it can be easy to dive into scripture and look in on a moment like this and think to ourselves, “Wow, how foolish can a person be. The Jewish authorities were face to face with their Savior, and they not only denied him…they ended up killing him. What fools!” But we must pause and recognize that every time we hold to the words of an author, a blogger, a video minister, a brother, a sister, a pastor, a famous Christian…we are doing the very same thing as them. Jesus alone deserves that honor, as his is the only testimony that matters. It is His testimony in which we must rejoice, and the only one in which we can find everlasting hope and eternal life!
“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”-John 5:43-44
Let us not rejoice in idols or be spellbound by false glories, wandering aimlessly and without hope; rather, let us heed His testimony and find ourselves at the foot of the cross, rejoicing in the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Your brother in Christ, Zack Fugate
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of the one who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his abiding word in you, for you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.”-John 5:30-38
Spend time reading the above passage from John…then read it again, and again, and again. Here we see Jesus providing a sharp correction to the Jewish authorities in telling them that they did not have the Father’s word abiding in them. Here, as religious leaders, Jesus points out that the very scriptures they were supposed to know and understand have fallen on deaf ears and hardened hearts because they have failed to believe in the testimony pointing them to their Lord and Savior…standing directly before them. He even doubles down on that sentiment by pointing to John the Baptist and showing their folly in the fact that they “were willing to rejoice for a while in his light”, yet were seeking to murder Jesus for claiming to be the Son of the Father. The irony of that is that John specifically provided testimony that Jesus’ claims were true…so they were directly ignoring the testimony of the one in whom they were rejoicing.
Brothers and sisters, it can be easy to dive into scripture and look in on a moment like this and think to ourselves, “Wow, how foolish can a person be. The Jewish authorities were face to face with their Savior, and they not only denied him…they ended up killing him. What fools!” But we must pause and recognize that every time we hold to the words of an author, a blogger, a video minister, a brother, a sister, a pastor, a famous Christian…we are doing the very same thing as them. Jesus alone deserves that honor, as his is the only testimony that matters. It is His testimony in which we must rejoice, and the only one in which we can find everlasting hope and eternal life!
“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”-John 5:43-44
Let us not rejoice in idols or be spellbound by false glories, wandering aimlessly and without hope; rather, let us heed His testimony and find ourselves at the foot of the cross, rejoicing in the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Your brother in Christ, Zack Fugate
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