Observation: In three different ways, as the Pharisees are questioning him, Jesus explains that the reason they don't understand that he is the Messiah is because ... they don't really know the Lord. The Pharisees ask for deep explanations and for miracles. They say they need more than Jesus' word. And Jesus responds that yes, they do need more, but they should already have that 'more' in the form of the word of the Lord. In this he says they have the word of 'two or more'. In the works of the Lord, Jesus shows that they already have great miracles and wonders around them, but they are tied to only understanding mundane things and therefore are asking for mundane logic.
This is not a one-time event for Jesus. Over and over, Jesus explains the nature of the Kingdom of God, and then shows how he himself is the fulfillment of that kingdom. Meanwhile, most don't make the connection. They are impressed by the teach, marveled by the miracles, but then want an explanation for how and why all these wonderous things are occurring, while the explanation is spelled out by the Lord himself already. Even John asked the question, but at least he understood the response when Jesus told John's followers to simply report the actions they were observing.
In other words, we need to believe in the Lord as our context to understand Jesus as Messiah, and we need to have Jesus as our Messiah to fully know the Lord. If someone completely rejects the existence of God, they cannot make a leap that says Jesus is the son of that same God.
Application: I saw a quick thumbnail in social media yesterday that was a challenge, claiming there was no evidence that God exists. I thought to myself ... well, yes, if you absolutely throw out all the evidence, then it's true that there is no evidence. In my mind, I even thought how it was like the OJ Simpson trial. Once the court and the jury rejected all the evidence that proved OJ was at the murder scene, with a knife, wearing clothes soaked in the victims' blood, then fled from police while admitting to what he had done ... once you throw all that out, then there's no evidence he did it.
And once you throw out all the evidence that the Lord is a powerful, loving God, who created the universe, defined a direction and purpose for mankind, shows us abundant love, and offers us a chance to reconcile and receive salvation through faith, then yes, there is no evidence of God. If a human rejects all the evidence, then logically they will reject the Lord, and thus reject Jesus.
I see the proof of the Lord everywhere. I have experienced him in my life. I have heard his voice. I see his fingerprints all over creation. I hear of the order and motion of bodies throughout the known cosmos, the symbiose between huge plants and microscopic organisms, the interconnected functional complexity of the organs in a living body, the wonder of organic memory, the scientific principles that govern energy ... and I can't place any other context around these things that doesn't involve an all-knowing and loving creator.
My heart breaks for those who reject all the evidence. Yes, they are missing out on eternal salvation because they'll struggle to ever make a leap to believe in Jesus. But right now, today, they're missing out on existence itself, and the wonder of the Lord's love manifest in our amazing world. This isn't a happy accident. It is a gift of love.
Prayer: Lord, I see your hand in everything, everywhere, all as evidence of you and your greatness and your love. Again today I praise you and worship you. May your evidence be ever before my eyes, and your spirit ever within my heart. Amen.
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