Believing In Jesus Is Not Enough (John 8:12-59) Series

But the idea of Jesus' word making no progress in them, works brilliantly in the gospel of John as a whole. No one who comes to Jesus understands everything all at once, immediately. Everyone comes to Jesus with a partial understanding of who he is. They see some of the light, but not all. And this is completely okay. What Jesus wants to see, is progress. As you learn more and more, you should find yourself coming closer and closer to Jesus. You should find yourself walking in his light, understanding who he really is. We evangelicals tend to place so much emphasis on the importance of making a "decision" for Jesus. And sometimes it works that way.

But other times, coming toward Jesus is more of a process. And when I look at the people in my life, who I am trying to lead toward Jesus, this is exactly how it looks. A few of them, I want to just stand behind them, and give them a final, unexpected shove. I can see their progress, and I'm excited about it. I can see that the Father is drawing them, and they are coming closer. And for me, for now, today, that's maybe enough. As long as there's progress, there's hope.

But that's the basic problem for the Judeans. As they learn more and more, and face Jesus' word about who he is, and what he offers, it's too much. They got just close enough to Jesus, to reject him. To try to kill him. But this idea of progress, is really important for the book. I'd say more, but I'm totally coming back to this next week.

If I could leave you with just one thing today, it would be this: please, don't make so much of a single verb. It's not enough to "believe in" Jesus. It's not even enough to "give your allegiance" to him. To be Jesus' disciple, and stay Jesus' disciple, you need to grab this whole cluster of verbs. "Come to" Jesus. "Follow" Jesus. "Give your allegiance" to Jesus. "Abide with" Jesus. And, now we learn, "keep" his word. Pick up this cluster, hold them in your hands, and do them. This is what Jesus wants.

Do this, and you will be truly free from sin and darkness. You will walk in the light. You will never see death. You will know Jesus, and the Father.