Sermons of Jesus – on Judgement and Resurrection
Bible Passage: John 5:19-47
Although Jesus did speak about judgement and resurrection in this passage, I found my mind wandering to two other topics as I read the passage. But this has very much to do with the future judgement of God and our resurrection to the heavenly kingdom.
Who Are You Pointing To?
31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.
~ John 5:31-32
Jesus was telling us that only God could bear witness that He is who He said He is.
This same Jesus also tells God in Heaven… He intercedes for us… to witness that we are indeed on the side of God.
What is the reason we are here on earth?
What is the meaning of life?
The answer to life is….
What is your answer?
The answer to life is Jesus. He is our all in all. He is my first and last. He is evermore. He is… the list just goes on and all.
It’s all about Jesus.
So everything we say or do… we should be looking to Jesus.
And we should also point people to Jesus.
If we truly believe in Him and the witnesses that we have around us that tells us of Jesus – do we point others to Jesus too? Or are we pointing in the wrong direction and not at Jesus and Him alone?
We have witnesses around us telling and confirming to us about Jesus. We should believe. And be that witness to others too. So that they too can escape from the judgement and resurrect together to the Holy City of our Lord Jesus!
“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
The above words are taken from John 5:40.
One of the ways to learn is to challenge our own ingrained perceptions and examine our insights critically. Many a times we learn best when we are faced with critical situations or come across a dilemma… cause that is when we will dig deep and critically reflect on what we know and believe in. And perhaps learn and grow.
When Jesus healed on a Sabbath, He actually challenged the deeply held beliefs of many of the religious leaders in those days. And they hated Him for it and wanted to kill Him (John 5:16-18).
Jesus answered with these famous words….
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
~ John 5:39-40
People of all times have tended to turn to religious traditions, prophetic leaders, and holy writings for guidance in life. But they do not necessarily turn to God Himself.
Jesus rebuked His listeners for looking for life in all the wrong places. His words were validated by His deeds and signs- all confirming that He indeed is the Son of God sent by the Heavenly Father. Yet, still many people did not believe Him.
What about us today?
Being “religious” isn’t the point. Jesus calls us to “come” to Him.
When we read this passage, we would often associate this with the unbelieving people of the world or those who have rejected Christ. But are there not times in our lives that we fail to show in our actions and deeds that we love the Lord but still remain consistently and vigourously religious?
We attend almost all services. We even go for the Home Fellowships. But our life has no evidence of Jesus anywhere.
Why?
Because we are not willing to really come before Jesus – so that we may have life.
So let us draw near to Jesus today.