“The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:24-27 NLT
Jesus interacted with the crowds around Him in those days in Jerusalem and He made a significant claim about Himself, that he was the promised Messiah. But is spite of all he had said, the people were unconvinced. They had heard Him say, “ … If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me” (John 8:42). And then there was the time when He said, “ … I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” (John 8:58). On His journey to Jerusalem from Galilee, Jesus spoke with a woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria, and Jesus’ statement about Himself couldn’t have been clearer. We read in John 4:25-26, “The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”” Jesus never wavered in telling people about His Person, His pedigree and His message. The problem for the people of His day was not that He wasn’t speaking plainly, it was because their expectations of who the Messiah would be didn’t fit in with His narrative. Also, most of the Jews of Jesus’ time were looking for a political and cultural saviour, not a Saviour from sin. They wanted Jesus to throw off the yoke of Rome and establish Zion as the capital of the world. They could not see how the meek and lowly Jesus could possibly do that. Even after His resurrection, the disciples were still expecting Jesus to bring about a political solution to Israel’s occupation and free it from a foreign power – Acts 1:6, “So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”” Jesus’ reply was recorded by Luke just before he was taken up into the clouds, never again to walk this planet until he returned as the conquering King. Acts 1:7-8, “He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””
Jesus could never be accused of not speaking plainly about Himself. The problem was that the people weren’t listening. At the present time the UK’s political leaders and prospective election candidates are saying much about themselves and their policies. The speaking appears to be plain but in reality much will never be repeated or will be shrugged off as election rhetoric. Very few people actually believe that what is said will actually happen. Empty promises would sum up most of the election talk. Jesus was never like that. His manifesto was clear – believe in Me and You will inherit eternal life. John 3:16 again, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. We pilgrims also have a plain message. To those around us we repeat what Jesus said about Himself and in everything we say we point to Him as our Saviour, the One who took on the punishment we deserved for our sins so that we could inherit eternal life. Who is there in our circle of friends and family who we know needs to hear some plain talking about Jesus? They may protest about the message, but we see beyond the immediate claims that we don’t know what we are talking about, to the time when they too accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Jesus persevered with His claims about Himself and about His message to His needy people, and even in His last day he still maintained that he was the Messiah, the Jewish King long awaited. In Mark 15:2 we read, “Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it””. Pilate believed Him and added a name plate to the cross of Jesus’ crucifixion “And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”” (John 19:19). Right to the end, Jesus was the Messiah. And the people of His day missed the coming of their Messiah and instead crucified Him. A tragedy for them, but an event that brought salvation for mankind, past, present and future. Jesus said, “ … I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”” We have the light, folks; let’s turn up the wick and brighten our world.
Dear Lord Jesus. We echo the words of the Bethel song, Gratitude – “All my words fall short, I got nothing new, How could I express, All my gratitude?” But at Your feet we can worship the King of all kings. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 