Judgement

Let’s talk about Jesus again today. He spent His first year of ministry in Judea, the southern part of Israel. Then, He left Judea and went north, probably because the Jewish leaders were becoming aware of His preaching on repentance and the kingdom of God—and they didn’t like it. You see, in general, the Jews (including those leaders) saw no reason for repentance of sin. As a reminder, repentance means acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness…confessing and asking God for forgiveness…and turning away from sin to God. The Jews saw no need for this. Why? Because they believed they were already good with God since they were the descendants of that great man of faith, Abraham. They believed their DNA—that being the physical descendants of Abraham—automatically made them right with God. Jesus was telling them the opposite. They were not right with God. And neither was anyone else without repentance. Jesus taught that everyone must repent because no one is right with God who does not. This made the Jewish leaders mad. So, Jesus left and went to Galilee.

In Galilee, He kept on preaching about God and repentance. He worked all sorts of miracles. The miracles were not done to impress the people but to let them know that Jesus was God. He had come from heaven so that they would believe in Him and receive the forgiveness of sin He spoke about. Some believed, but most didn’t. Why? Because they thought they were fine. They didn’t need to repent, and they didn’t need forgiveness. They were good with God.

Fast forward about a year. Jesus is now back in Judea, just outside the city of Jerusalem. It’s the night before He was crucified. He knows everything that is about to happen (Jesus is God, so He knows all, sees all). Jesus is praying. He’s so troubled, so agitated by what will happen that He’s sweating blood (Luke 22:44). If you know anything about crucifixion, it’s not hard to imagine why Jesus is so stressed that He’s sweating blood. But it’s not the physical pain and torture that’s got Him sweating blood. It’s the coming wrath of God…it’s complete separation from God, as Jesus pays the price for the sin of those who believe in Him. He’s sweating blood because He alone understands what this means. It’s almost more than He can bear. Now, if Jesus Christ sweats blood over the punishment of God for sin and separation from the love of God, think how terrifying it is. So if you refuse to repent and believe in Jesus—what do you think awaits you? If Jesus can barely take it, how can anyone?

In the same way that the Jews trusted in their DNA to save them, we soothe ourselves by saying God is love and Jesus is love. And that is true. God is love. Jesus is love. But God is also holy. And the only way for anyone to be right with a holy God is to confess sin and repent, and believe in Jesus as the Son of God, Lord of your life, and Savior. Holy God does love you—in fact He loves you so much, He made the way for you to be right with Him. That way is Jesus. Jesus is God’s gift to sinners. If you reject Jesus, you reject God. If you decide God is all love and no judgment, you lie to yourself. Now I know, no one likes to hear this kind of message. But is it better to believe lies that are soothing but false? Or to hear truth and believe? You decide. If you need prayer or a Bible, let us know.