The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as
your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I
testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from
and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am
going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do
judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father,
who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses
is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who
sent me.”
John 8:13-18
I wanted to focus on the statement in the middle of this
text about judging. There is no question
that the Pharisees made themselves judge and jury regarding Jesus. They knew Him because He grew up among
them. He was the carpenter’s son, in
that Joseph worked with wood. For Jesus
to say and do the things He did was offensive to the powers that be. The Pharisees knew Jesus for who He appeared to
be, but their arrogance begat spiritual blindness that made it impossible to
see His true nature. We judge people
today with the same blindness. We must
see others as God sees them.
The standards by which mortal man judges is based on their
limited ability to discern the true nature of a thing or person. Our limited mental capabilities are laced
with predetermined notions and acquired prejudices that taint our view of
things. Judging by human standards is
nothing like Christ. As He states, He
judges no one. There will be a time for
that at the end of the age, but until that time Christ liberally administers
grace and mercy to those who seek it.
In John 10:30 Jesus clearly proclaims, “I and the Father are
one.” What a glorious truth. Add the Holy Spirit and you have the Blessed
Trinity of God. It’s interesting to me
that it’s so easy for those who have opened their spiritual eyes to see that we
serve One God who is in reality 3 in 1.
The Holy Spirit, which comes into us when we receive Christ and the gift
of forgiveness He graciously provides through His blood, enables us to see that
which was hidden from us prior to salvation.
God the Father sent God the Son to come pay the sin debt of man with His
very blood and then when accepted, placed God the Holy Spirit within the soul
of a man, making him more alive than he has ever been. New life comes through Jesus, and Him alone. Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
