Do You Believe?

What a week I have had! I think Satan brought out his big guns to purposely keep me off-center. To keep me from focusing on what is important. To keep my mind from Easter.

Yes, Easter is upon us, and we refer to the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday as Holy Week. Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey fulfilling Zachariah’s prophecy: “See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Yet we know how quickly the crowd changed. People who had shouted, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9) were soon shouting, “Crucify him…. We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15) They had no use for a Savior bringing redemption. They wanted more, and so they crucified the Son of God.

Good Friday was, indeed, a dark day for humanity. However, we know the story doesn’t end there. We know Easter morning is coming, but my mind keeps stopping on Saturday. The day of quiet. The day in between death and resurrection. A day to reflect on what Jesus did for us, and as I read through the accounts again, pain always grips me. Jesus willingly went through the worst death imaginable so that I could have eternal life.

A sinner like me.

What an incredible gift Christ offers us. They call organ donation the gift of life, but it’s only a temporary gift. One day the person who received the new heart or kidney will eventually die. The donated organ only lasts for so long, but Christ offer something so much better. He offers everlasting life: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Jesus asked this question of Martha at the tomb of her brother: Do you believe this? Do you believe I am who I say I am?  

A heavy question, but one that demands an answer.

John opens his gospel by telling us, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (1:14) If you have grown up in church, you probably don’t give this much thought, but friends, this is truly a mind-blowing concept. Jesus came to open the way back for us. He is “the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father as well.” (John 14:6,7)

Thus, to see and understand God, we must look at Jesus. He came to earth and said to people lost in darkness, “You want to know what God is like? Look at me.” He invites us to come closer, and we see this when Jesus encountered two of John the Baptist’s disciples.

It began when John told his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God (John 1:35). A statement which piqued their curiosity. Who was this man that John would speak of in such a way? They wanted to know more, so they followed Jeus.

I chuckle as I picture them trying to be sly as they stalked him around town. Stopping and pretending to look at something when Jesus would stop but never letting him get out of their sight. They wanted to know more, but they didn’t know how to approach him.

Then Jesus did something which is not surprising to us. He turned and spoke to them. He gave them an opening - an opportunity - to discover what they were seeking. Jesus asked the pair: “What do you want?” (John 1:38a)

And that is what God does; he always takes the first step. When we turn to him because our soul is pierced, God meets us. He will not leave us to search; he is the good Shepherd who goes to find us (Luke 15). As Saint Augustine wrote in his work, The Confessions, “We could not even have begun to see for God unless he had already found us.” God does not hide himself or keep us at a distance. No, we have a Father who stands waiting for us.

Jesus already knew the answer to his question, but he asked because he wanted them to consider what they were after. Were they looking for power, prestige, overthrow of Rome, or were they looking for God in a world which made no sense?

It’s a question that Jesus asks us as well. What are we looking for? What are we trying to get out of this life? The world offers a wide an assortment of answers. For me, Satan keeps whispering that security is the most important thing. Money in the bank and a stock portfolio that only goes up is all I need to be happy, to be fulfilled. I know where that can lead, though. When I chase after those elusive dreams, it’s never enough. I always need more, and at the end of the day I am left feeling empty and unsure.

So how did our two inquisitive stalker respond? They said, “’Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’” (John 1:38b)

To our modern ears, this seems like they were avoiding his question. It would be like me asking Kenny what he wants for dinner, and him responding, “Where are my keys?” However, to the ancient readier, they understood. The men were saying to Jesus that they didn’t want to just stand in the road and shoot the breeze. They wanted to meet Jesus, not as merely an acquaintance in passing, but as an intimate friend in his own house where they could linger in conversation.

Jesus replied, “Come, and you will see.” (John 1:39a) Here was the invitation. Here was their opportunity to come and find the answers that only Jesus had. The thing is “come and see” then leads to “do you believe”. The stakes are high because an encounter with Jesus forces a decision on our part.

I turn to C.S. Lewis so often when wrestling with this question because he breaks it down in a way that I feel we can all understand:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Mere Christianity)

It’s interesting to note that John goes on to tell us the men went and spent the day with Jesus and that, “It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.” (John 1:39b) Why would John include the time?

We know that Andrew was one of the men (John 1:40), but in his commentary, William Barclay makes the claim that it could be that John was the other. This is why he knew the very hour of the day because at that moment everything changed. At four o’clock on an afternoon in Galilee, life became a new thing for him.

So, on this day of waiting, Jesus asks each of us this same question: Do you believe? Do you believe he is the risen Son of God, our Redeemer, our Savior or do you not?

If you aren’t sure, he invites you to come and see. To move closer and discover for yourself who God is.

Have a blessed and joyful Easter!  Lisa

Discussion Questions

How does Jesus show us who God is?

If someone were to ask if you believed all this stuff about Jesus, how would you answer them?

How can you invite others to "come and see" Jesus?