August 14, 2023
Rejecting Jesus is Rejecting God
“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” John 12:48-50 (NASB)
Several years ago, in the gym working out with my best friend, we heard a man say the G. D. word. My friend stopped his workout and went over to talk to the man. I thought, “O. K. here comes a fight.” When my friend approached him, he asked him: “Are you O. K?” The man said “Yeah, why?” He said, “I heard you call out to Jesus, and He asked me to come over and see what you needed.” The man apologized for the words. My friend said, “Let me know if I can help you in the future.” The man was astonished and left speechless. None of us need more condemnation in this world. It’s bad enough now without Jesus condemning it…
“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him…” The Pharisees did the same thing when John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to meet with Jesus. They asked Jesus, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” (Luke 7:19). When the John’s disciples met Jesus they saw, “the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30). “That very word of Christ which one rejects will confront him and accuse him to the Father ‘at the last day…’ There is no escaping it. And yet Jesus himself will bear witness for or against the one whose conduct has already revealed his attitude towards the message of God (Matt. 10:32; Luke 12:8f.).”[1] If Jesus will bear witness against those who reject Him, it is a rejection of God as well, as Jesus only spoke for the Father. Walvoord says, “Since Jesus is God’s Word (Logos) to people, God spoke decisively and finally in Him (Heb. 1:1–3). The issue is the command of the Father. To obey the Father is to come to eternal life (John 12:50). To reject the Father’s word—which is Jesus’ very word (v. 48; cf. v. 50b; 7:16; 14:10, 24)—is to abide in death. Moses predicted the coming of the great Prophet (One who would speak for God). Moses said, “You must listen to Him” (Deut. 18:15). Condemnation at the last day is the penalty for rejecting the One whom the Father sent (Deut. 18:18–19; John 3:18, 36; 5:24).”[2] God’s revelation through Christ was a positive one. He came to save, not judge. Unfortunately, those who rejected Jesus’s message through the hardening of their hearts, ultimately will face God’s judgment. This is why Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).
The invitation of Christ is tempting. Sometimes it is rejected by questioning God. I heard a person say; “Why would God send people to hell?” To answer the question, a probing one must be asked: “If God is a loving God, why would one reject the loving Hand of God?” We can argue about what we think about God, but if God is God, why would He need to answer to us? If He were to come to our beckon call each day, He would become a personal genie, not God. The fact is, God is God, whether we disagree with Him is up to the individual. It still will not change what is ahead in eternity. He controls that arena. We don’t…
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 12:48). Broadman Press.
[2] Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 319). Victor Books.