Encouragement
Who is Jesus to You
John was Jesus’ cousin and probably, His playmate. (At least from time to time. They didn’t live in the same town.) John made a statement about Jesus that stopped me in my tracks. He didn’t just say it once, John said it twice.
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So why am I asking you who is Jesus to you personally?
Because I believe that you are hungry for more of Him! And the times we live in demand that we live from our relationship with Jesus. I’m convinced that Holy Spirit isn’t finished revealing Jesus to you. Revealing Jesus is one of His roles in your life.
As I studied John, Jesus’ cousin’s, story, I was so impacted! Words like “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Wow. Not new words to me…just fresh words.
It slowed me down long enough to pray, Jesus I want to know you…really know you. I want more than knowing about Jesus. Our world is in desperate need of Jesus. If all we know about Him is hearsay, then we can’t be much help to others.
But when we spend time with Him, listening to His voice in Scripture and prayer, then we leave with more than words. We exit our time with Him, with strength that comes out of our relationship with Him.
Let me share with you what I saw in John 1
The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem wanted to know…so they sent priests and Levites to ask John himself.
Who are you, John? There must have been a hint that they thought he might be the promised one from God. The crowds that came…the baptisms? Could John be the Messiah.
19And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” 20He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”
21“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”
There’s no Identity Crisis here!
John knew who He was. He recognized himself in Isaiah 40:3.
24Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. (Don’t miss that. They didn’t know who Jesus was.)
27 He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the World!
This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
I myself did not know him,
What?
Let’s skip down a little further.
Did John just repeat himself?
Yes, he did!!! What?
Dear John, (my first dear John letter) you didn’t know Jesus?
Let’s stop here. What does John mean? They were cousins. Somewhere around 6 months apart in age. Surely, there were times they played together as children. So what is John saying?
You can know about someone without knowing them personally.
Let me explain. If I asked you, do you know Michael Jordan?” You would probably answer something like, “Yeah! Yeah! It was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is a legend.”
While it is true you know about Mr. Jordan, that doesn’t mean you know him personally. You might know all his stats from his legendary basketball history, but you don’t know him unless you’ve spent time with Him. Unless you’ve built a relationship with him.
John knew him as his cousin, friend and Mary’s Son, but he didn’t know Him as the Savior of the World.
John is saying, I didn’t know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”
Do you see that?
He knew that God wanted him to baptize people, but he had no idea that God would use his obedience to reveal Jesus as the Messiah.
Then he repeats himself again,
32 I myself didn’t know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John said, I didn’t know him, but “I have seen and I testify.” I know Him now. “I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
And what about you, do you know Him?
I’m not talking about the twisted view that our culture has painted of Him, but do you know Him personally.
We can’t afford to put Him in our little box as if we could pull Him out when it’s convenient and return Him to that box when we want to do things our own way.
Never stop growing in your relationship with Him.
- Go to Scripture with fresh eyes. Allow Holy Spirit to show you Jesus like never before.
- Listen to His words. See His actions, His passion, His works and ways. Come hungry to Scripture and feast, not just satisfy an appetite, but feast. Don’t singularly feed your mind with information, but feed your spirit, nourish your mind, nourish your spirit with the wisdom and light of Jesus.
- Grow in your love for Him. Don’t let your love dimmish! Guard your heart.
Who is Jesus in your life? Who is He to you?
Is He your
way, your truth, your life.
bread of life.
living water.
They tell me that often we confuse hungry with thirsty.
Yet, because we think we are hungry we will overeat, instead of satisfying our thirst with water. I am convinced we are doing the same thing
Way too often we think we need a new something or other. We feel empty, so fill it with a good movie. We feel lonely so we go shopping and try fill the loneliness. I am convinced that way too often what we are feeling is the need for more Jesus. We need His fellowship. We need to access His joy, His peace, His Presence.
Do you know Him?
In probably the greatest sermon I have ever heard in my life Dr. S.M. Lockridge asks that question, “Do You Know Him?” then continues with powerful declarations of who He is.
I’m including the link, but I want to share a few.
He’s the sinner’s Saviour.
He’s the centerpiece of civilization.
He’s unparalleled.
He’s unprecedented.
He is the loftiest idea in literature
He’s the highest personality in philosophy
He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology
He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour
I wonder if you know him today
Dr. S.M. Lockridge
These are a few of Dr. Lockridge’s description of who Jesus is; but I must ask you one more time…
Who is Jesus to you?
It’s so good! Here’s the link.