Anchor My Faith

Is Jesus Your Choice?

Scripture: John 7:30-31

In the previous lesson, Jesus claimed that he was from the Father and sent by him. He also rebukes those in authority and the people for not accepting who he is and where he was from. When one overlooks the virgin birth or refuses to believe it, you end up with confusion over who Jesus really is. Without the virgin birth one connects Jesus to the wrong father. Without a virgin birth, Joseph becomes the father and Jesus becomes just another man. With the virgin birth, God becomes the father of Jesus and we have the sinless God/Man who purchased our salvation by his sacrifice on the cross. Without the virgin birth, Christianity becomes just another false world religion.

^{Jn 7:30} “So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”’

Those in authority were seeking to arrest him because of his reproof and for professing to be the Messiah. In their minds they could not comprehend that Jesus, born of Mary, could be the Son of God clothed in a garment of human flesh. How could the one who spoke the universe into existence possibly enter his creation as a man? This they could not believe and thus saw Jesus as a blasphemer, guilty of death.

Those who sought to arrest Jesus were restrained by the Spirit because “his hour had not yet come.” The Father controls the timing of events; he controls when we are born again, and he controls when Jesus will be arrested and when he will die. I believe he also controls when we die. Jesus was sent by his Father on assignment, and until that assigned work is finished, Jesus cannot die.

Division among the people continues and will continue until the last lost sheep is found and born again. There will be those who believe and those who do not. We have before us the evidence presented by Jesus as to who he is, and we must make a choice that determines where we will spend eternity.

As we close this lesson, we will look back to Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 and read: ¹⁵ “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”

During the exodus, Moses performed many miraculous signs, therefore, it would be expected that Jesus would also perform many miraculous signs also. This exodus of believers that Jesus was providing for is being established with many miraculous signs. Those in authority and the people should be able to compare Moses and Jesus and conclude that Jesus is who he says he is.

Conclusion

Who do you think Jesus is? Do you accept the evidence presented as true and are persuaded by it, or do you see it as unclear information to be rejected? As the disciples said in an earlier lesson, “Who else can we go to that has eternal life to give?”