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Seeing Jesus as He Is
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”
John 10:31–33
One of the great tragedies of the way Christmas is celebrated in our culture is that Jesus in the manger becomes just another decoration along with reindeer, snowmen, and Santas. He was far more than just a baby born in unusual circumstances—He was the very Son of God. The refusal to accept Jesus for who He truly is did not start in our generation. It was the same during His life and ministry.
When Jesus went to the Temple for the celebration of Hanukkah (called “the feast of dedication” in John 10) and taught there, the religious leaders tried to stone Him to death. According to Jewish tradition, the Holy of Holies was defiled by Antiocus Epiphanes, who erected a statue of Zeus and sacrificed pigs on the altar. The blood of the pigs ran down upon the stones that formed the floor. After the revolt of the Maccabees when the Temple was cleansed, there was a dispute over those stones.
The argument was made that since they had been in the presence of God’s Shekinah glory, they were holy and could not be discarded. But because they had been defiled, they could also no longer be used. The agreement was made to set the stones aside, and let the Messiah determine what should be done with them when He appeared. It is possible that it was these very stones the Jews grabbed when they wanted to stone Jesus in the Temple for declaring Himself to be God and the Saviour. The Messiah was in their midst, but they refused to acknowledge who He was.
John 10:31–33
One of the great tragedies of the way Christmas is celebrated in our culture is that Jesus in the manger becomes just another decoration along with reindeer, snowmen, and Santas. He was far more than just a baby born in unusual circumstances—He was the very Son of God. The refusal to accept Jesus for who He truly is did not start in our generation. It was the same during His life and ministry.
When Jesus went to the Temple for the celebration of Hanukkah (called “the feast of dedication” in John 10) and taught there, the religious leaders tried to stone Him to death. According to Jewish tradition, the Holy of Holies was defiled by Antiocus Epiphanes, who erected a statue of Zeus and sacrificed pigs on the altar. The blood of the pigs ran down upon the stones that formed the floor. After the revolt of the Maccabees when the Temple was cleansed, there was a dispute over those stones.
The argument was made that since they had been in the presence of God’s Shekinah glory, they were holy and could not be discarded. But because they had been defiled, they could also no longer be used. The agreement was made to set the stones aside, and let the Messiah determine what should be done with them when He appeared. It is possible that it was these very stones the Jews grabbed when they wanted to stone Jesus in the Temple for declaring Himself to be God and the Saviour. The Messiah was in their midst, but they refused to acknowledge who He was.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Let us never lose sight of the true nature of Jesus Christ, or of the reason for His coming to the world.
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