And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? Matthew 21:10
Despite the great commission that the Lord Jesus gave His disciples before He ascended to Heaven after His resurrection, it has taken until recent years for the Gospel to reach the remotest corners of our world. But reach it has, and now only a tiny number of small tribes has yet to have access to the glorious glad tidings of Jesus Christ. Missionaries and Bible societies have zealously spread the Word, and throughout many lands, preachers of the Gospel remain active and distributors of Bibles continue their great work. With such an all-encompassing spreading of the Word, it would seem that nobody anywhere would have reason to ask who Jesus is. Sadly, untold billions remain ignorant of Who Jesus truly is and why they should care. And many of those poor people are all around us today.
Jerusalem was the centre of the worship of God; the temple was there with all of its offerings and ordinances; the Word of God was there, with the faithful scribes diligently copying and preserving. But the city that was so blessed in terms of having so much about God available was made to ask ‘Who is this’ when the Son of God arrived. The crowd that accompanied Him was of little help, identifying Him only as Jesus the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. So why should they care? They had seen prophets before, although this One was reported to be capable of performing miracles. For many of those people, the question ‘Who is this’ was just another way of saying ‘Why should I care?’ or ‘What is He doing here?’ For others, the question was asked out of curiosity and nothing more. Still others, and probably a tiny percentage, asked the question hopefully ‘Is our Messiah truly come?’ The Gospel is greeted with these same attitudes today.
For many today, the Gospel is shunned as an unwanted intrusion into their sinful lives, and an unwelcome reminder of an eternity for which they are unprepared. Perhaps the largest percentage are those who are mildly curious and blandly indifferent. As far as they are concerned, Jesus is a remote religious figure and somebody for the religious to be concerned about, but they just don’t have the time or interest for any of that. This apathetic group is the vast majority. The sole purpose of preaching the Gospel is for those who truly want to know Who Jesus is. These people are concerned about their latter end, guilty about their sin, and anxious to find the truth. For them, the message of Who Jesus is comes as a wonderful revelation. It is the joy of every preacher and witnesser of Christ to hear such a searcher ask Who Jesus is.
We know Who Jesus is. Let us seek for others who also want to know. -Jim MacIntosh