2 January 2024 John 1:19-28
“There is one among you whom you do not recognize….”
Why not? Why don’t we recognize him?
If the Priests and Levites did not recognize the Messiah, it could only have been because:
a. the Messiah was hiding
b. the Messiah was in disguise
c. they were looking in the wrong place
It is doubtful that someone with a mission like the Messiah’s would be hiding or in disguise. His whole purpose is to be seen and recognized. So, it is far more likely that the Priests and Levites, and the authorities who sent them, were looking in the wrong place.
It is still the Messiah’s purpose to be seen and recognized. If we do not see him, the likeliest reason is that we are hiding, or asking the wrong questions, or looking in the wrong place.
In his essay “Man or Rabbit?” C.S. Lewis describes the people who ask, “Isn’t it enough just to live a good life? Do I really have to make up my mind about Jesus?”. The short answer is, “Yes, you really do,” and for two reasons. First, not to do so is dishonest. Christians claim there is a door, behind which is the secret to all the peace, joy, purpose, and meaning in the universe. That claim is either true or it is not. If it is true, then it is the truest thing in the world, and every honest person will want to know, it and shout it from the housetops. If it is not true, then every honest person will want to denounce it for the vulgar humbuggery that it is. What is not honest, what is callow, shallow, hollow, and barely human is to whine, “Do I really have to look? Do I really have to decide?”
Not only can you not honestly avoid the occasion of opening the door and deciding about Jesus, you cannot reasonably avoid it either. To the person who asks, “Can’t I just live a good life?” ultimately comes the question, “What happens if I don’t? Suppose I decide not to live a good life – is there any real consequence?” If you say, “No, there is no real consequence, nothing really happens,” that is the same as admitting that it makes no difference if you live a good life or not. It doesn’t matter if you live for self instead of others, if you take instead of give, if you hate instead of love. The question, “Can’t I just live a good life?” makes no sense. If, on the other hand, you say there is some consequence to living a bad life, then you are admitting that sin is a problem, and only someone with sufficient moral authority can do something about it, or there is nothing but negative consequence for many, perhaps all. But then, of course, you have to make up your mind about Jesus, because he is the one with the moral authority to do something about sin.
“There is one among you whom you do not recognize….”
If you do not see Him, it is only because you are looking in the wrong place, asking the wrong questions.
It is because you are being neither honest, nor reasonable.
There is a door, behind which is the secret to all the peace, joy, purpose and meaning in the universe.
The one behind it is eager to meet you.
So….
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