Seek the truth with sincerity

Text: John 7: 40-52

Focus: John 7:42

This passage shows how blind man can be to spiritual truth. Jesus is from the descendants of David and on top of that, He was also born in Bethlehem.

We often experience this blindness in our own lives.

It’s like someone who wants to buy a car. He takes a look at it and is convinced that it is the car that the Lord has brought his way. Then he asks his friends for advice and they discourage him from buying it. Yet, despite their advice, he goes ahead and still buys the car. Later he realises that he has made a mistake, but then it is too late.

We see something similar in the Jews’ reaction, but also in our own faith. In your heart you know that a relationship, a magazine or book or TV show make you feel uncomfortable, yet you keep watching or reading it. We even manage to justify it, like the Jews here, from the Bible.

We are blind because our desires blind us to the truth. We convince ourselves that we are in control of our circumstances. That is why Paul also warns the church in Corinth when he says: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10:12).

So, where do we get this power?

Our strength lies in the Word of God.

Jesus was an example to us in this. When He is tempted in the wilderness, the devil uses the Word to persuade Jesus to do wrong (also see Matt. 4: 1-11). However, because Jesus knew and understood the full scope of the Scripture, He could resist it.

In sincerity, without putting his own will first, Jesus sought the will of his Father.

The Word of the Lord is our sword. We need to know it well. The more the desire to know Christ becomes a reality in our lives, the more we will be able to resist and refute the desires that the devil presents to us through the proper use of the Scripture.

Therefore, it is important that we understand the glory of Jesus’ salvation through the Word and Spirit. Our love for Him must rise above all in our lives. This love gives us strength to resist the temptations and to follow Him as our Saviour.