To Receive or Reject

In John 12, Jesus was wrapping up His ministry because, as we studied last week, His hour had come in which to truly glorify the Father.  His words, as recorded in verse forty-eighty, were part of a final appeal to the Jewish populous.  Jesus knew that He was heading toward the cross, and therefore, was making one last effort to make people understand who He was and why He had come.   But the question is, do we understand?  Like the Jews of early A.D., we have walked with Jesus throughout His ministry, as we’ve studied the gospel of John.  We’ve watched as Jesus turned water into wine, healed the sick, fed the thousands, made the blind see, and declared that He is the I AM.  Therefore, Jesus’ words in John 12:48 apply to us also.  Have we received or rejected Christ’s words?  Or as literally translated from the Greek, have we taken hold of the teachings and signs Jesus performed or have we disesteemed or brought to naught the things that He said and did while on earth?

These are simple “yes” or “no” questions.  There is no middle ground.  The one thing that sets Christianity apart from all other world religions is our belief in who Jesus is, that He is fully God while also being fully man.  So where do you stand?  In the deepest recesses of your heart do you believe that Jesus is 100% God or do you doubt?

Those who reject Jesus’ words have a judge, the word that He has spoken which has been written down for our sake.  Therefore, since we’ve read the Scriptures and studied the life of Christ we have no excuse.  For we know exactly what Jesus did and said, and therefore, now have a choice:  to receive or reject, to take hold of or disesteem.  And the decision we make now will, in the last day, be brought to judgment against the words Jesus spoke and which we’ve read.

So this week’s question is….have YOU received God’s WORD?  Have you made it an integral part of your everyday life?  Have you accepted and put your faith in the One who wrote it?

I’m sure that most of you can answer these questions with a whole-hearted “Yes!”  However, does that mean that you are honoring and valuing God’s Word as highly as you should? The Bible is alive and active, and as we learned this week, will judge on the last day.  Therefore, take it seriously! The Greek word used for reject in verse forty-eighty literally means to set aside, disesteem, neutralize, cast off, or bring to naught.  Therefore, we can “reject” God’s Word without actually disbelieving it by the way we regard it.  The Bible is not just another book; it is the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, and the only offensive weapon in our spiritual arsenal. So while you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, are you esteeming His words as your life-giving water and spiritual bread?  And are you valuing it by devoting quality time to it?

In closing, I exhort you to treat the Scripture with the respect and honor it deserves, and to show your reverence for it by the time you dedicate to it, for it is God’s divinely breathed WORD!​

“I have come into the world as light, 
so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” 
~John 12:46

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Author's Note~
Thanks for joining me in my study through the first twelve chapters of the gospel of John! I have decided to continue this study through the rest of the book, but will be taking a break for Thanksgiving and the Christmas season.  Therefore, I shall resume writing weekly applications from this wonderful gospel in January of 2016.  So join me then for the grand culmination of Jesus' earthly ministry and His final exhortations to His disciples, which includes us!