John 10 has a passage where Jesus is talking about Himself and His kingdom. "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
Now, it is most likely (and fairly clear) that He is talking about redeeming the Gentiles, but it's always fun to look at that verse from the oddest angle. (Like the X-Files angle. Can you imagine the episodes you could write with that one?)
In John 12 we see a character swipe at one of the disciples. John explains that Judas objecting to the jar of perfume broken and poured out on Jesus (as it "could have been sold and the money given to the poor") was really a ruse. "He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it."
This begs the question: Why was Judas allowed to be part of the twelve? Did they all know what a scalawag he was? Perhaps Jesus kept him around solely to fulfill his destiny as betrayer. It's hard to imagine him amounting to much, but maybe he did have interest in the Lord. Maybe he did learn some things. I still think he was a jerk.
Again we see that a large number of people were putting their faith in Christ. This is cool. It's funny, but apparently it was the testimony and miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead that convinced a lot of these people. Folks were coming out to see both Him and Jesus. They were celebrities of their time. Even some of the Jewish leaders believed in Jesus, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; "for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."
That is a harsh judgment but something those men needed to consider and take seriously. If Jesus is Who He said He was, then we all must consider how we will respond to Him. The right choice, I believe, is to surrender to Him, worship Him, and obey Him. The "Amplified Bible" definition of believe (the Greek word used in John 3:16) is to "cling to, trust in, and rely on." It is an active faith, not just a mental assent thing.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at November 7, 2005 09:37 AM