A Light Worth Following - 3/19/2023

Mar 19, 2023

As we read this passage Jesus is still standing in the temple courtyard after riding down the Mount of Olives. He fully understands that this may be His last moment to speak to these people. He hopes to reach their hearts before they decide to harden them. As we read this passage, we find that there is a group who have seen the signs and miracles of Jesus, listened to His teaching, and continued to make an active decision not to repent therefore becoming blind and hard-hearted. We are then told of another group. They experienced all the same opportunities to see and hear Jesus, and they believed, but they loved the approval of men more than God, so they believed in secret. Barclay says, “Secret discipleship is a contradiction in terms for, either the secrecy kills the discipleship, or the discipleship kills the secrecy.” Finally, Jesus cries out, inviting all listening to follow Him as He follows the Father. He is the Light that will guide us out of the darkness (deception, spiritual confusion). Jesus had come into the world as “Light” (v46), so humans could see the complete revelation of the heart of God.