WHEN NOT TO BELIEVE JESUS
If I am not acting as my Father would, do not believe me. John 10:37, N.E.B.
Imagine the setting: Jesus is speaking to a very religious people, but He keeps saying things that seem to contradict much of their religious practice and beliefs. They don't know how to evaluate what He tells them. For example, they have believed that they must not do anything on the Sabbath that could even be thought of as work--not even healing sick people. They hold this conviction because they do not wish to displease God, who is the authority behind the Sabbath command.
But Jesus, who also claims to hold God and His law in very high regard, seems almost deliberately to flaunt His freedom from these traditional Sabbath constraints. He goes out of His way to heal people on the Sabbath, even asking one to carry his bedroll across town as joyous evidence of his healing. How does the common person process these conflicts? The religious leaders say Jesus is wrong. Tradition says He is wrong. Those who interpret the fine points of Scripture say He is wrong. Most other authoritative religious documents pronounce Him to be wrong. Yet something powerful that cannot be ignored is happening through Him. What is the reference point for deciding?
Jesus offers a single criterion, a universal reference point, that is equally powerful in our own time. He says simply, "What would My Father do?" Measure every teaching, every behavior, every attitude, by the values and attitudes of the Father. Is this the kind of thing the Father would do? Does He love people enough to heal them on the day He designed to spend with them?
Of course, in order for a person to use this as the final guide for his life, he must know to some degree who the Father is. He must know the difference between God as portrayed in Scripture, and the "God" often portrayed by religious leaders, and "folklore theology" drifting around among church people. Jesus knew about this problem. He knew that many of the very people He was talking to didn't understand their Father. But in challenging them to weigh His teaching against the character of God, He was pulling their attention to where it belonged in the first place. And we today need to become skilled in weighing all that we are by our growing understanding of the character of the Father. He is Himself the truth.
If I am not acting as my Father would, do not believe me. John 10:37, N.E.B.
Imagine the setting: Jesus is speaking to a very religious people, but He keeps saying things that seem to contradict much of their religious practice and beliefs. They don't know how to evaluate what He tells them. For example, they have believed that they must not do anything on the Sabbath that could even be thought of as work--not even healing sick people. They hold this conviction because they do not wish to displease God, who is the authority behind the Sabbath command.
But Jesus, who also claims to hold God and His law in very high regard, seems almost deliberately to flaunt His freedom from these traditional Sabbath constraints. He goes out of His way to heal people on the Sabbath, even asking one to carry his bedroll across town as joyous evidence of his healing. How does the common person process these conflicts? The religious leaders say Jesus is wrong. Tradition says He is wrong. Those who interpret the fine points of Scripture say He is wrong. Most other authoritative religious documents pronounce Him to be wrong. Yet something powerful that cannot be ignored is happening through Him. What is the reference point for deciding?
Jesus offers a single criterion, a universal reference point, that is equally powerful in our own time. He says simply, "What would My Father do?" Measure every teaching, every behavior, every attitude, by the values and attitudes of the Father. Is this the kind of thing the Father would do? Does He love people enough to heal them on the day He designed to spend with them?
Of course, in order for a person to use this as the final guide for his life, he must know to some degree who the Father is. He must know the difference between God as portrayed in Scripture, and the "God" often portrayed by religious leaders, and "folklore theology" drifting around among church people. Jesus knew about this problem. He knew that many of the very people He was talking to didn't understand their Father. But in challenging them to weigh His teaching against the character of God, He was pulling their attention to where it belonged in the first place. And we today need to become skilled in weighing all that we are by our growing understanding of the character of the Father. He is Himself the truth.
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