Then came the Jews round about Him, and said unto Him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. John 10:24
When a witness is about to give testimony in a Canadian courtroom, the court officer steps forward and holds a Bible out so the witness can place his hand on it to take the oath. To the court officer, and others in the courtroom, the Bible is just a part of the judicial process. During wedding ceremonies, the bride will often carry a white Bible as part of her arrangement. To the bride, and to others in the wedding party, the Bible is just a nice touch. Bibles are often given as gifts at graduation and other ceremonies. To the recipients, those Bibles are just pretty ornaments and mementos. In many a pulpit, the preacher will read a few verses from the Bible, then set it aside to tell his (or her) little lesson or illustration. To the preacher, and much of the congregation, the Bible is just an obligatory part of the religious process. To only a few, it seems, does the Bible tell us plainly that Jesus is the Christ.
Why do so few see what is so obvious in the Word of God concerning the Son of God? Too many will deny that the Bible identifies Jesus as the Christ. The so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, have rewritten the Bible to accommodate their claim that Jesus is not the Son of God. And they will receive the appropriate damnation for doing so. Like the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, people deliberately ignore the Bible’s primary message that Jesus is the Christ. These Jewish leaders had heard Him preach, and some had seen His miracles. They had His words, but still refused to accept His claim to Deity and to Messiahship. If they refused to heed His words, what more could Jesus do to convince them? And today, what more can we do to convince people about Christ than to present them with His words?
Despite the many who have not and will not accept The Lord Jesus for Who He claimed to be, there are the few, relatively speaking, who gladly receive His word. We who have come to know Him look into His Word and agree that He has told us plainly. We see in the Old Testament the pictures and shadows, the illustrations and promises, and rejoice at how plainly He has told us. We read of His life, His ministry, His death, and resurrection, and give thanks for the plain truth of the Gospels. We follow the epistles into the Revelation, and find the message plain again.
He has told us plainly, regardless of what the doubters and deniers say. His revelation as Christ causes us to accept Him as Lord. -Jim MacIntosh