Believe

What would it take for you to believe or how many miracles would you have to see for you to believe?  Back in Jesus’ day when He walked the earth people were always seeking for signs; they knew Jesus and the signs that He performed but they still wouldn’t allow themselves to believe but instead they hardened their hearts.  Think about the Pharisees, they knew that Jesus came from God, how do I know this?  Read John 3:1-2, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’”

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and when He came to Jesus He said we know you came from God, he didn’t say I know you came from God, so if they knew what was the problem?  They hardened their hearts because they were jealous because Jesus had a greater following than they had and also because Jesus was doing far greater things than they could do.  One of the problems the Pharisees had was that Jesus was far more interested in the people and the

Pharisees were stuck in man’s tradition and the law, trying to make the people keep the law to which the Pharisees added about three hundred laws themselves.  The strange thing was they were bent on the people keeping all these laws but they couldn’t keep them themselves.

Read Matthew 23:1-7, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

Now read verses 13-15, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”   If you would like, you can read the whole 23rd chapter of Matthew and you will get more of an idea of the kind of people these people where.     

There are a lot of people around today that are teaching the same things; that you must keep the law and teaching that good works is all you need to do.  They have heard of Jesus and have even seen and heard of some of the miracles that have been done through Jesus, but they still will not believe, but instead they harden their hearts and live in unbelief.  My question is; what about you, what will it take for you to believe?  With the historical facts and the archeological proofs today and the Word of God, what will it take for you to put your trust in Jesus?  

Jesus made this statement in Matthew 12:38-42, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

The Word of God says that today is the day of salvation.  Jesus said that the Son of man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, prophesying His own death, but that wasn’t the end, Jesus did rise from the grave and this is a true account of what happened.  Jesus was the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice who takes away the sins of the world.  So what will it take for you to believe?  Something for you to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super, super day!!