AP

John 7:12-13  Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him.  Some said, “He is a good man.”  Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”  But no-one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

“Who IS this man?” was the burning question on everyone’s lips as Jesus moved among the people, teaching and healing, in Jerusalem and Judea.  The power of Jesus’ presence among them was such that it was impossible just to ‘ignore’ him!

And God tells us in his Word that when he RETURNS IN POWER, which could be ANY TIME now, it will also be impossible to ignore him!  As the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11).  In our Creator’s Eternal Plan this final event at the end of human history is inevitable.

When he comes, it won’t be enough just to join with those who say, “He is a good man”.  He IS that, but he is much MORE than that.  He is GOD THE SON, and the ONLY SAVIOUR.  John tells us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to SAVE the world through him.  Whoever BELIEVES IN HIM is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:16-19).

These are strong, important words, with far-reaching, eternal consequences!.  How sad it is that people continue to ignore Jesus, or treat him as irrelevant, or shake their fists at him in defiance of his claims because they don’t want to submit to his right to rule their lives, not taking to heart the message of Psalm 2:1-3, 11-12 – “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.  ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’ … … Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

Paul solemnly warns us all: “For [God, the Creator, who calls us to repent] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31).