04/02/18 - Luke 22

April 2, 2018 – Luke 22

Jesus answered, "If I tell you that I'm the Messiah, you will not believe me... But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."  Luke 22:67, 69

It’s not Jesus’ claims that prove His identity.  Jesus is Lord because He WAS what He claimed.

Don’t just say it … show it!   That’s not just a catchy phrase from a song, or a motto for a Midwestern state.  It’s the expectation of every human when it comes to outrageous claims by another.  Rightly so, we don’t believe everything we hear.  We want to see it before we believe it.

Jesus didn’t bother trying to prove Himself to men, He just WAS Himself.  He didn’t claim to be the Son of God, Jesus WAS the Son of God.  He didn’t only claim to be the resurrection and the life, Jesus actually ROSE from the dead and Lived forever.  We don’t believe Jesus because of His claims, we believe Him because of His flawless actions.

But HERE’S THE THING:  Jesus is done making claims and done proving them.  He’s already finished His job.  He came, He lived perfectly, He taught us everything we need to know, He died on the cross in place of each of us, and He rose from the dead.  Now, Jesus sits on the Throne of God and has completed everything He needs to do until the Father sends Him back.  Jesus doesn’t need to Say it or Show it --- He has DONE IT!

But as humans, we don’t want a faith based on past proof.  We are looking for a present-day, personal act of proof from God before we’ll follow Him.  Not that Jesus needs to die on the cross again and come back to life three days later… but can’t He just show Himself in a tangible way to prove He really exists and is Lord over my circumstances?

I was one of those – crying out to God in my despair as a young man, wanting God to show Himself in my hour of need and prove to me I could trust Him.  Thankfully, Jesus didn’t obey my instructions.  Instead, He brought me peace and walked me through the problem.  Instead of proving Himself, Jesus GAVE ME HIMSELF.   A living Savior can do that.  What I have discovered along with millions of others, is that the Jesus who died for me is now living with me, and that’s better proof than more claims.

The Best Proof for our doubts is not more outrageous claims nor miraculous interventions.  The Best Proof is a personal relationship – when Jesus doesn’t just tell about Himself, but gives me Himself.  After all, that’s really what a relationship is:  giving yourself to another. 

Jesus doesn’t have to Say it or Show it – He IS IT!  You can ignore the claims and discredit the miracles, but you can’t eliminate Him.  Jesus is Lord, not because He claimed to be, but because that’s who He has always been. 

And when the judgment day comes that we face Him, Jesus won’t ask us to claim anything or show Him anything.  He will already know our decision – because He will know who we ARE as well.  Don’t just claim to be a Christian, or try to prove it by some action … Be It: a worshipper and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.