Do You Now Believe?

Jesus warned his disciples that he was getting ready to leave them and of the kinds of things they would face once he was gone. He told them that they would be put out of the synagogues and that whoever killed them would think he was offering service to God. And they would do these things because they did not truly know God the Father nor Jesus, their Messiah, the Christ who they had been promised. And after he said much more, then his disciples claimed that they believed that he had come from God. Then…

“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’” (John 16:31-33 ESV).

Prior to Jesus letting his disciples know that they were all going to desert him, he told them what was going to happen to them once he was gone. And then, even after he told them that they were all going to desert him, he let them know that they were going to have tribulation but that they were to take heart, because Jesus overcame the world. So, in their specific case, even though he let them know that he knew that they would desert him, he gave them the assurance that they would still be his disciples.

Now this is not to be taken as a general promise to everyone who claims to believe in Jesus Christ, that if after they claim to believe in him that they can then desert him by continuing on in their sin and that they will still be secure. And that is apparent by the things that Jesus said all throughout the New Testament. For the things Jesus said would happen to them after he was gone were things that did happen and are still happening, even some here in America, to those who are following the Lord in obedience.

But a couple of things were standing out to me about this passage of Scripture. The first was that after they claimed to believe that Jesus had come from God, Jesus said, “Do you now believe?” But then he told them that they were all going to desert him. So I don’t think he was asking them to tell him if or if not they believed, for they already said that they did. I believe this was a kind of question like, “Really? Do you really believe?” But then he let them know they would desert him, which would show what?

For what this reminded me of, but not exactly the same as their situation, is all the people who claim to believe in Jesus but then immediately they do desert him because they keep right on in their sin and they don’t submit to him as Lord, and they don’t surrender their hearts and lives to him to do his will, for they feel as though they got their “ticket into heaven” and now they are good to go. And many people are telling them that they are, and that they can live in sin and still have eternal life with God. Wrong thinking!!

Another thing that stood out to me is what Jesus said about how, even though they deserted him, that he was not alone for the Father was with him. And this, combined with him telling them that they would be kicked out of synagogues and put to death for the sake of him and their faith in him, led me to think about how we are being treated and will be treated when our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ and when we are following him in his ways and in his truth and righteousness.

Sometimes we will also be deserted by friends and family and others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and they will turn against us. And there may be times when we are all alone, for we have no one to give us the support and encouragement that we need. But we have to keep standing even if all desert us like they did to Jesus, for if we are his and we are following him, he will never leave us nor forsake us. We are not alone, even if all people desert us and leave us alone and/or turn against us.

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Video Talk

https://youtu.be/bkKC5Zx-psE

Caution: This link may contain ads

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

Caution: This link may contain ads