Tidings for Tuesday
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? Matthew 16:13
Good Question! And the answers He received were rather enlightening, too. The disciples had the information that Jesus was requesting. They had heard people discussing their Lord and had remembered what people were saying. What about us today? Do we know what those around us think of the Lord Jesus?
Sadly, many know Him as nothing more than a curse word, to many more, He is the icon for their religion, and to others, He was a great teacher or wise guide, to others he was a prophet or messenger from God. How sad that so many think they know about him but are so far off the mark!
If He were just a religious icon, we could erect huge buildings in His honour, create ornate rituals and fashion glorious ceremonies and circumstance. There are some who do that. But they have missed the mark. Jesus never came to set up a religion, not even the Christian religion. Because the Christian religion takes the same approach to reaching God as all of the other religions, tossing in a few extra references to Jesus Christ, it is just as wrong as all the others. The pope is leading billions to hell on the platter of religion.
Even the Mohammedans acknowledge that Jesus was a prophet, although they reject His deity. Their false prophet declared that Jesus was a good prophet, too. But he was wrong, as he was wrong about everything else. Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God could not have been a good prophet if he was lying about that. So Mohammed was wrong either way.
What about your neighbours and fellow-workers? What is their estimation of the Lord Jesus? Ah, that is where we come in. The only way they are going to find out who He is is by watching us, listening to us, noting our Christ-like behaviour and compassion.
Listen to those around you. If they have the wrong opinion of the Lord Jesus, could it be your fault? -Jim MacIntosh