"Tell us plainly..."

Good Morning,

John 10:22-42 (NIV)
The Unbelief of the Jews
Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true." And in that place many believed in Jesus.

So, we've gone out and tried our best to evangelize as we know we ought to do. We try to explain who Jesus is, why He came to this earth, and what it means to all people. We're prepared with Bible verses from the Old Testament that give prophesy as to the coming of the Messiah. We show the other Bible verses in the New Testament that prove, at least to believers, that those prophesies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We give our own personal testimonies and experiences of how the Holy Spirit has touched us and of the things God has done in our lives. We pour out our hearts and minds to explain the importance of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and receiving God's free gift of eternal salvation. We do all of this and even more to try to convince unbelievers that they need the Lord. Yet they still don't believe and they still even scoff at us for what we believe.

When that happens to us we need to remember these words in John chapter 10. I mean, these people that are written of, the people Jesus was talking directly to, failed to believe and accept Him...just as people do today. And, these Jews who could see, hear, and touch Jesus did not believe in Him. They witnessed and experienced the miraculous deed that Jesus performed and they did not believe in Him. I must assume that they even felt God through Him and could sense the power that flowed out of Him. Yet, they did not believe their own eyes and ears and physical experiences.

So, why are we surprised that people today would not believe what we present to them concerning God and His plan of salvation? Why do we wonder that people refuse to accept that Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died in order that all of mankind who would believe on Him would be saved? We really ought not to be so perplexed by the "failure" of our words and actions. What we say and do are NOT a failure in any way. It is what Jesus told us we should do. We are His hands and feet here on this earth who represent Him and repeat His words and promises to the world. It is our job, in the here and now, to be obedient to God's commands and speak His words. It is God's job, by the touch of the Holy Spirit, to do the convincing.

Let us not be saddened nor discouraged when our words seem to fall as silence in the ears of those who refuse to listen. Let us not be saddened or discouraged when our actions appear to be totally unnoticed in the eyes of the world.

Our job is to present the Gospel. It's God's job to do the convincing.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David