Observation: As the Jewish leaders question Jesus, they directly ask him if he is the Messiah. His answer is interesting. He tells them (correctly) that, if he were to tell them so, they wouldn't believe him. However, he also says that "if I question you, you will not answer." What would Jesus have asked them?
He would have asked them about their understanding and expectations of Messiah. He would have asked them, according to their own study of the scriptures ... Where does Messiah come from? What are the signs of Messiah? What will Messiah do? What is the message of Messiah? How will Messiah liberate the Jews? What is the relationship between Messiah and the gentiles? How will Messiah suffer? How will Messiah die? And if they were to answer such questions, they would have only discovered that Jesus had - and was even now - actively fulfilling every prophesy about Messiah.
The Jewish leaders would refuse to answer Jesus' questions because the truth wouldn't have aligned to their lives, which was to be the ones who directed the religious activities of the Jews. The answers would have forced them to at least reassess the truth about Jesus, and even if while they hated the world order as it currently stood under Roman rule, they had no intention of allowing it to change for the better and disrupt their lifestyle.
Application: As I look around at what people are doing and saying in the world, this reality is clear ... people are unhappy, angry, fearful, frustrated, and discouraged by the way the world is going. Those same people have no intention of seeking something better that would bring them joy, peace, comfort, hope, and encouragement.
The material comforts of the world are so strong that they cause people to reject the idea of even questioning the assumptions they have. Instead, people accept the burdens of rampant mental health issues, deadly violence, and painful sorrow. They just assume this is how life works, and maybe complain that they wish it was better even to the point of joining some 'cause' to address symptoms of the issue. But they refuse to answer the questions Jesus sets before them in the form of an intelligently created universe, rational logic about a loving God, and the promise of hope found in simple faith, all backed up by documented proof about such promises.
Every day, people reject change for the better, in favor of known hardships, because they simply don't want to risk the material world they (falsely) think they understand.
Prayer: Lord, I believe Jesus is the Messiah, and I hope I have understood your questions and thus prioritized by life accordingly. Please, may we begin to see revival in our world today, and may people begin to understand that there is a better life if they would only consider your questions and your promise. Amen.
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