Day Twenty Four: Is He The Judge Of The World?
We often hear people say things like “God wouldn’t judge me, he accepts me as I am.” Phrases like this are often meant to give license for all types of wickedness and unrepentance; for those with some knowledge of the Bible, they might turn to John 12:47 as a defense for this logic, as Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” However, this would be taking that verse dangerously out of context.
Jesus has told those listening that he has “come into the world as light” and that he is “shining in the darkness.” The problem is not the light; there is more than enough light, but the problem is that not everyone wants to see.
The purpose of the light was not to judge; it was to save! God came to save his people; he did not drop pamphlets from heaven or send a heavenly servant. In the person of his son, he came to save us.
When Jesus says that he “did not come to judge the world but to save the world,” he is telling us of his patience with the world. As God of the universe, he could easily destroy those who refuse his first offer of grace, but instead, in grace, he waits.
In the words of Matthew Henry, “He did not strike those dumb or dead who contradicted him, never made intercession against Israel, as Elijah did; though he had authority to judge, he suspended the execution of it, because he had work of another nature to do first, and that was to save the world.”
This is very good news for those who will walk in the light of Jesus’ words, but for those who ultimately reject those words, the words that they reject will become their judgment.
As we are now more than halfway through the Lenten season, these words mark the last words that Jesus speaks to the crowds in Jerusalem before his earthly freedom is stripped away. The next time that the people of Jerusalem will see him, it will be as a prisoner, standing before Pilate. He will be on trial, and anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of law. Nevertheless, there is a trial already underway; Jesus, the light of the world, is staring into the darkness, and darkness is staring right back.
All of us, as we read this passage, are likewise on trial as we read these words of Jesus and must choose a side. What if Jesus is the light? What if seeing him did mean seeing the father? What if hearing his words and not believing them means that those words will judge him in the end? The light is shining, will you come or remain in darkness?
Jesus has told those listening that he has “come into the world as light” and that he is “shining in the darkness.” The problem is not the light; there is more than enough light, but the problem is that not everyone wants to see.
The purpose of the light was not to judge; it was to save! God came to save his people; he did not drop pamphlets from heaven or send a heavenly servant. In the person of his son, he came to save us.
When Jesus says that he “did not come to judge the world but to save the world,” he is telling us of his patience with the world. As God of the universe, he could easily destroy those who refuse his first offer of grace, but instead, in grace, he waits.
In the words of Matthew Henry, “He did not strike those dumb or dead who contradicted him, never made intercession against Israel, as Elijah did; though he had authority to judge, he suspended the execution of it, because he had work of another nature to do first, and that was to save the world.”
This is very good news for those who will walk in the light of Jesus’ words, but for those who ultimately reject those words, the words that they reject will become their judgment.
As we are now more than halfway through the Lenten season, these words mark the last words that Jesus speaks to the crowds in Jerusalem before his earthly freedom is stripped away. The next time that the people of Jerusalem will see him, it will be as a prisoner, standing before Pilate. He will be on trial, and anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of law. Nevertheless, there is a trial already underway; Jesus, the light of the world, is staring into the darkness, and darkness is staring right back.
All of us, as we read this passage, are likewise on trial as we read these words of Jesus and must choose a side. What if Jesus is the light? What if seeing him did mean seeing the father? What if hearing his words and not believing them means that those words will judge him in the end? The light is shining, will you come or remain in darkness?
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