Lethal Conviction (John 17-18)

“We live in an imperfect World; it is therefore difficult to try to live a perfect life.” This is a popular worldly belief, and ironically, it is the standard of the world! One word for this is COMPROMISE.
And it begins with how the world want you to see yourself; not how you see yourself (using the Bible as your standard). How do I see myself? Soon it will be winter...how I dread winter! It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade during Jerusalem’s Feast of Dedications. The Jews wanted Jesus to tell them plainly if he was the Christ!
But they had the scripture! What about the miracles Jesus did in God’s name...not enough evidence? “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall never perish...” John 10:27-28. I am blown away by Christ’s conviction in verse 30: “I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.” What a lethal conviction! This is how Jesus sees himself (supported by scripture). But that was not the way the Jews wanted him to see himself! In verse 33 we see that “AGAIN the Jews picked up stones to stone him...” So that was not the first time! Matt.13:55: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” This is how the Jews saw Christ!
Why was our Lord and saviour condemned to death? What exactly did he do? I must have stepped on someone’s toes lately when I tried to analyse myself to the person: I was becoming shockingly ‘controversial’ and reasons ranged from the absurd to the unimaginable. At the end of the day all I could see was a rudderless space of threatened and lost souls desperately in need of the gospel of Christ. I decided to be analogical in my self-analysis by posing a very harmless but thought-provoking hypothesis: “Do you want to see a successful leader? Start from his/her home. Charity begins from home!” I concluded with a self-diagnosis- TRYING TO LIVE A PERFECT LIFE IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD. Will there be controversies? Yes! Am I scared of controversies as a result of my DANGEROUS CONVICTION? No! Am I ready to suffer for my conviction? Yes!
John 18: 29-40: Pilate asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” The Jews had no answer! Their reply: “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” Can we imagine, Christ a CRIMINAL! Jesus could have backed down when Pilate went back inside the palace and asked him if he was the king of the Jews. But Jesus made his situation ‘worse’ (surely not) by saying “my kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” What a DANGEROUS CONVICTION! How we TRUE disciples of Jesus underrate our spiritual capabilities (Philippians 4:13)! When we are no longer conscious of whom we are we begin to COMPROMISE. The injured toes (not intentional though) actually advised that I did as others did and that would end my controversies. “Do as we do!” How did I step on this person’s toes? The individual has no family unit and a bad example for the children that are being reared. Challenge: I need to break this person’s wall of FALSE religiosity and pray for an honoured invitation to Church one of these days.
The Jews preferred Barabbas, a rebel and criminal, to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ- what a shame! It is no different today- how we are made second/third class citizens in our society, where we work, in our family, etc. How we are constant targets of slander, hatred, humiliation, bully, harassment, discrimination, victimisation, etc. All because of the FAITH that we profess!
Luke 20: 41 Then Jesus said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
David calls him ‘Lord. How then can he be his son?’ This man Jesus! This is LETHAL CONVICTION in action! Jesus was talking to those who eventually succeeded in condemning him- teachers of the law. Do I FEAR my enemies? The Bible says FEAR NOT! Matthew 13: 58: Jesus did not do many miracles in his home town and in his own house because of ENVY shown by his own people. FAITH IS ABSENT IN ENVY. It is therefore not a surprise that Jesus’ kinsmen’s envy prevented Christ from doing many miracles in his own home. What a TRAGIC IRONY!
I am not of the world any more than Jesus is of the world. Christ’s prayer is not that God take me out of the world but that he should protect me from the EVIL ONE. True Disciples of Christ are not of this world, even as Jesus is not of it. Jesus has prayed that GOD should sanctify us by the TRUTH because His word is TRUTH.
INSIGHT: If CONTROVERSY= RIGHTEOUS FOCUS + BIBLICAL CONVICTION, then I’d rather be controversial. What matters is HEAVEN, not my materialistic losses as a result of my LETHAL CONVICTION.
Peace!