Jesus Encountered

What Did Jesus Do?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is they that bear witness about me.
John 5.39

Though Jesus did not come seeking the spotlight, He wasn’t about to hide His light under a bushel (John 8.12; Matthew 5.14-16). The Lord wanted to be encountered by people. In John five Jesus holds up three different witnesses whose testimony, if received, pointed directly to Christ.

The first witness was John the Baptist. (John 5.32-35) John came and testified to the light and the truth of Jesus; and he had a certain audience for a time. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1.29) But John was not embraced by the religious leaders, and ended up being executed while imprisoned by Herod. The second witness leading to an Encounter with the truth of Jesus as God’s Son was the very works of the Father that Jesus performed. (John 5.36) Finally, Jesus cited the Scriptures, particularly the books of Moses, as unmistakable witnesses that lead believers to encounter and know Jesus as the Messiah.

Yet even a parade of witnesses cannot prevail upon those who, because they are far too secure in their own truth, are blind and deaf to The Truth. But make no mistake, Jesus came to encounter and be encountered. And, as just pointed out above, the Father supplied ample witnesses whose only purpose was to facilitate encounters with Jesus. The key was that of all who encountered Jesus, only those who believed could see, hear, understand, and accept the testimony of the witnesses.
Others dismissed John as a wild ascetic; wrote off the works of Jesus as demonic; and appropriated the books of Moses to prop up their personal perspective on faith.

The witness of John is perpetuated by those who continue to affirm Jesus as the Lamb of God. The witness of Jesus’ works continues in the work of the kingdom performed by the Body of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the witness of Moses abides in the Old Testament, now affirmed by the words of the New.

Genuine encounters with Jesus always involve the revelation that He is the Son who was sent by the Father. This is the essential content of Christian witness. And that’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4