John 2: 23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.
When people began to see Jesus doing miraculous things, they wanted to jump on the "bandwagon," then maybe they could get some of those "miracles" done for them or their families. They were drawn by the thought that someone was actually doing something "out of this world" and their commitment to follow Jesus involved "what have you done for me lately". Jesus knew that kind of commitment was not really commitment at all. In today's world, Jesus would be seen in a Facebook or Instagram post, and His number of "followers" would be just as superficial as they were then. Jesus knew this because, as it says in verse 25, He knew what was in people's hearts. No we see why scripture tells us to "guard our hearts." Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Remember, we are talking about the Son of God and God knows our hearts and even the best of disguises put out by us are soon discovered and exposed by our lack of follow through when it comes to true commitment. Many began following Jesus, but there would be few who would stay with Him to the end. The problem is in the heart. Jeremiah 17: 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jesus knew who would stay with Him and who would fall to the side. Every once in a while, Jesus would "stir the pot" to see what comes to the top. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your way, take up your cross, and follow me. That statement thinned out the ranks considerably because it was getting close to "crunch time," and the ones who were following out of a wrong motivation would fall to the side and quit following Jesus.
One time another statement by Jesus helped fine-tune the life commitment it would take to become a believer and in Matthew 7: 13-14 said the following. 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. Jesus was never found "sugar coating" anything that dealt with following Him, and we can see the reason. HE KNEW WHAT WAS COMING! And it wasn't good for Him or His followers. We say we want to follow Jesus, but do we really? If so, then take up your cross and follow Him, and don't fall away when the journey gets tough. Words are easy, but life commitment takes much more than words. When we commit to following Jesus, it must be from a pure heart, a commitment that is lasting and true. Why? Because Jesus knows your heart. Jesus Knows It All!!
Today's Message,
David Warren
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