That You May Believe - 13

"THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE"
They Did Not Believe In Him Part Two

We continue our lesson on why many did not believe in Jesus and why many today reject Him. We will look at two additional problems that people have for not believing in Jesus, a hardened and prejudice heart and intellectual pride.

There is also the problem of the hardened and prejudiced heart. Many were blinded by prejudice. The Pharisees were hardened by their traditions, making them blind to the miracle Jesus performed - Jn 9:13-16 "The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So the people took the man to the Pharisees. They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, "Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off, I could see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus doesn't come from God. If he did, he would not break the law of the Sabbath." Others asked, "How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?" Since the Pharisees could not agree among themselves," They were so hardened by their prejudices they were willing to kill Jesus despite His signs - Jn 11: 46-47 "Others went to the Pharisees and told what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, "What should we do? This man is working a lot of miracles." , 53 "From that day on, the council started making plans to put Jesus to death." They even were willing to kill Lazarus - Jn 12:9-11 "A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. He was the reason that many of the Jewish people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus."

Many are hardened by their prejudice today. Their prejudice for their traditions, creeds, denominations, etc. Their prejudice for their beliefs (e.g., evolution, humanism) which justify their lifestyles. Making them unwilling to study the Bible, to see whether their cherished beliefs are true. Yet Jesus warned about the dangers of hard hearts and blind eyes - Mt 13:15 "All of them have stubborn minds! Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered. They cannot see or hear or understand. If they could, they would turn to me, and I would heal them.""
Perhaps contributing to such prejudice and hardening of the heart is another reason why many did not believe because of intellectual pride. Some were afraid of being thought of as foolish. A tactic used to persuade the soldiers not to believe - cf. Jn 7:45-48 "When the temple police returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked, "Why didn't you bring Jesus here?" They answered, "No one has ever spoken like that man!" The Pharisees said to them, "Have you also been fooled? Not one of the chief priests or the Pharisees has faith in him." Thus an appeal was made to the "wisdom" of the rulers.

Many today are hindered by intellectual pride. They don't want to be thought foolish by their professors in school. They are impressed by the many "wise" and "mighty" people who do not believe in Jesus, especially the elite media or the secular left. -- Yet God has purposely chosen foolish things to save man, to confound the arrogant and proud "scholars" of the world - 1 Co 1:18-21 "The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work. As God says in the Scriptures, "I will destroy the wisdom of all who claim to be wise. I will confuse those who think they know so much." What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him. Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach.", 26-31 "My dear friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world didn't think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of power, and not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to him. You are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy. So if you want to brag, do what the Scriptures say and brag about the Lord."

Many of the same people who reject Jesus out of intellectual pride are often guilty of rejecting Him for a reason that many people do, ignorance! They were ignorant of the facts, leading to wrong conclusions - Jn 7:40-43 "When the crowd heard Jesus say this, some of them said, "He must be the Prophet!" Others said, "He is the Messiah!" Others even said, "Can the Messiah come from Galilee? The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of King David. Doesn't this mean that he will be born in David's hometown of Bethlehem?" The people started taking sides against each other because of Jesus." They thought Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. There are many today rejecting Christ out of ignorance. They have not read the New Testament. They have not consider evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They have listened to what religious leaders have taught or what a creed or doctrinal book has taught them. They have rejected misconceptions or caricatures of Jesus Christ and His church -- Unlike the noble Bereans, they make little effort to get all the facts - Ac 17:11 "The people in Berea were much nicer than those in Thessalonica, and they gladly accepted the message. Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true."

Do you believe in Jesus? If not, why not? Could it be a lack of spiritual perception? Could it be out of fear or moral cowardice? Could it be a misplaced love? Could it be a prejudiced or hardened heart? Could it be out of intellectual pride? Could it be simply out of ignorance? Don't you want to believe in Jesus? Remember what He offers you Fellowship with God ("No one comes to the Father except through Me.") Salvation from sin ("If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."). Guidance throughout life ("He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness."). Spiritual sustenance ("He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."). The abundant life ("I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."). Immortality ("I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.") Let the Word of God, in particular the Gospel of John, give you the evidence necessary to believe in Jesus, that you might have life through His name! So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Ro 10:17 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. - Jn 20:30-31

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~