Read John 12:44-49. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
Reflections on the Word.
Do you have a famous quote that you remember from a movie, a line from a poem or from a historical figure? I remembered Patrick Henry words, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” or from my generation, by President John F Kennedy, “My fellow countryman, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Jesus reminds His followers and listeners to remember this: The words of Jesus are the words of the Heavenly Father. Jesus is quoting word for word the message that the Father has for us: “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”
As followers of Jesus, to dismiss the words of Jesus is dangerous. To ignore the words of Jesus is not just rejecting Jesus’s word but is also rejecting the message of the Heavenly Father. Quite often, I think the words of Jesus in the Gospels are just Jesus’ words. They are and they are so much more as they come from the Heavenly Father. Truly, it is God’s word to us.
Are there words of Jesus that you and I don’t agree with? What do we do when we disagree with Jesus’ words? Do we just skip over them and get on with our lives? One day, however, the Heavenly Father will ask you and me, why did we disobey His Word? What are we going to say when He reminds us of John 12?
Let’s ask ourselves, if the words of Jesus are the words of our Heavenly Father, what should our response be to Him? Are we truly obeying the Heavenly Father just as Jesus obeyed the Father? What are you doing with the words of the Heavenly Father? Are we honoring Him by obeying Him or dishonoring Him by ignoring and rejecting His Words? Let’s honor our Heavenly Father and obey His message to us.
-Kingston