John 3:36, “Jesus said to them, “But I say to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe.”
For more than six months a chauffer had been driving a learned professor from one speaking engagement to another where the professor gave the same speech each night. One night on the way to one of these engagements the driver said, “I’ve heard your speech so often, I think I could give it and no one would know the difference.” And so, when the banquet began it was the driver seated in the place of honour while the professor sat at the back of the hall in the chauffeur’s uniform. After the dinner the driver got up and gave the professor’s speech flawlessly, and when he had finished there was a standing ovation. The emcee then got up and said, “ladies and gentlemen, I notice that we still have a few minutes and since we have such a brilliant mind with us, why don’t we take some questions from the floor. A man got up and asked a complicated question, and in a flash of brilliance the driver said, “That question is so simple I’ll bet my driver could answer it.” And seeing his chauffer in trouble, the kind professor did just that.
There is a big difference between knowing the facts and knowing what they mean. For example, many people know the facts about Jesus — that He died on the cross and was raised from the tomb three days later, but maybe they don’t understand what those events mean to them. You see, Jesus gave up His throne in Heaven, lived a perfect life (because we can’t), and then gave that perfect life on the cross as the substitute for you and me. He took the punishment we deserve for our sin and rebellion against God, and God ratified His sacrifice by raising Him on the third day so that by simply repenting of your misdeeds and believing in Him as your Savior, you will not perish but receive eternal life.
You may know the facts, but knowing them won’t save you. It is when you see that He did this “For you,” so that “you” might be saved that it stops being generic facts, and becomes personal. The facts are in the Bible so that you may believe in Jesus and be saved. John 20:30 says this, “Now Jesus did many other signs that are not recorded in this book; but these (facts) are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”
Amen.
Clint Magnus writes the semi-regular From the Pulpit column