For all of you who have some knowledge of the bible. Think with me for a moment about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes. They were the religious groups who were the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people. Can you imagine how many were changed that day at Pentecost? Even Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night, was curious who Jesus was, but still didn’t want to be caught meeting with Him during the daytime. We know that a man named Simeon and a widow lady by the name of Anna were righteous, and identified the Lord when they saw Him as a child. But all the people around the area where Jesus grew up, did not know they had the Messiah in their midst. That’s the way it was supposed to be of course, but how did those who believe, come to believe? I was reading this passage this morning and realized the effect Jesus had on some of the people: “In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him. Then turning to His disciples He said privately. ‘The eyes that see the things you see are blessed! For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.” Luke 10:21-24From the time of His birth, He was revealed to some but not to everyone. Shepherds first got to see the Messiah, the Son of God. Three wise men got to see, and the two I listed above, but not many others. When Jesus was twelve and was left in Jerusalem, and when His parents went back looking for Him, they found Him in the temple, talking to the “religious” men and they didn’t recognize Him. You can tell people about Jesus all day long, but do others see Jesus in you? Does the Holy Spirit reign within you to reveal the Father still to others. When He says no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone whom the Son desires to reveal Him to, we know that it is the work of the Holy Spirit still present in the world today, still revealing the Father to some, and not to others. But we have been given the charge and the wonderful opportunity to be a glimpse of Jesus to those who are lost, and it doesn’t matter if they are kings or paupers. It doesn’t matter if they are pastors or janitors. But the question will always remain, do we reveal Jesus at all? Is our behavior better than that of the Pharisees? Is our humility genuine? Is our love for others real? It’s only real if we live not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. For it is the Spirit who calls out from the believer, to those seeking truth. There are some to whom the Spirit will reveal even when we are not there, such as the one who reaches out from the depths of despair to humbly come before the Lord, unassisted, yet broken and desiring to know the truth. But God does want us to be the representation of Christ here on earth. I wonder if I am doing a job worthy of the call given me? I wonder if you are doing the job worthy of the call given you? Today I am going to open myself up a little more to hopefully reveal the reason for the hope that exists in me. I hope you will too. May there be someone today that God has been waiting for you to reveal Him to, so that they too will come to understand who the Father is, and who the Son is. Pastor Andy
Barnabas Man 