John 12:44-50 - And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46 I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day. 49 For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Lord Thank You for this day. Thank You for Your mighty love and your awesome holiness. Thank You for taking us as we are but loving us enough to not leave us that way. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Today we read Jesus' final words to the public here in the book of John. He addresses the crowd one last time. He knows many he speaks to now, will be the same who call for his death in a short time. These same crowds will demand Barabbas' release so that Jesus may be murdered upon the cross. Yet, we do not find Jesus judging or condemning them. Nope…. We find Him crying out to the crowd one last time to believe.
Christian, do you find yourself judging or condemning those who don't believe in Jesus? Openly or even in secret maybe? If so you're on extremely dangerous ground as that is not the example our Lord and Savior set for us. Not at all.
Just as Jesus says in today's verses, what judges is His Word. Not us. Who are we to condemn anyone, no matter who, no matter what? Yes, we call out evil and false teaching, but condemning someone is not ours to do. We're called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus. We're to bring His Word and Truth to the crowd. Beloved, are you doing that? Are you sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you burn with desire to reach those in darkness? It is the heart of God. How do we know that?
John 3:16-17 - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
David Guzik put it this way: "The incarnation wasn’t necessary if Jesus came only to judge. He didn’t need to add humanity to His deity to do that, but He did need to do it to rescue humanity."
Just some things to think about.
That's all for today's journey. Don't take my word on a single thing. I beg you, get into the Word yourself and let God show you directly.
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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