Key Thought

People can be so incredibly gullible about charlatans and scam artists, yet push away those who genuinely want to help them. Many people who followed false messiahs and false teachers rejected Jesus. As Jesus does so often in the Gospel of John, he emphasizes that when they reject him, they are also rejecting God, who sent him. Yet the very fact that they cannot and do not arrest him till it is God's timing is testimony that Jesus is who he claims to be. Jesus continues his emphasis on the importance of our decision about him and our relationship to him. We do not have God if we reject him. It may not be very politically correct in many places today, but Jesus' exclusive claims remind us that being politically correct is not nearly as important as being eternally correct.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

Later, Jesus talked to the people again. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. The person that follows me will never live in darkness. That person will have the light that gives life." But the Pharisees said to Jesus, "When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say that these things are true. So we cannot accept these things you say." Jesus answered, "Yes, I am saying these things about myself. But people can believe these things I say. Why? Because I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you don't know where I came from or where I am going. You judge me the way people judge other people. I don't judge any person. But if I judge, my judging is true. Why? Because when I judge I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, then you must accept what they say. I am one of the witnesses that speaks about myself. And the Father who sent me is my other witness." The people asked, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You don't know me or my Father. But if you knew me, then you would know my Father too." Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the temple area. He was near the place where all the people came to give money. But no person arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.

— John 8:12-20 (ERV)

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