What We Should Know About OUR Jesus! #6

What We Should Know About OUR Jesus!

Judge

For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me. -- John 5:20-30; King James Version (emphasis mine)

I was dancing around my bedroom once, moving my lips to a great song by the great country band, Alabama. My friend had just gotten a video camera (this was in the days before everyone had one). Apparently he had pulled the sneak routine and planted himself, along with his camera, and filmed me dancing around in my "not-ready-to-be-seen-in-public" outfit. He came into the house and said, "What were you singing?" "What do you mean?" came my quick-questioning-wanting-to-be-innocent reply. He pulled the camera from behind him and erupted into laughter. "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT!?!?" I shouted. "You," he continued to laugh, "in your drawers, dancing around like an idiot!" With my straightest face, and quickest wit, I said, "But you don't have the song!" "I don't need the song," he said as he ground in his words, "because I've got the tape, your dance, and your underwear!"

What's this illustration have to do with "Judge" might be a question in your mind? A lot of things really. It was evidence which people could view and make a decision about. I could be judged by what was seen. Some would judge I was nuts. Some would say I had talent. Some would say I need professional help. SOME near-blind soul may have thought I was cute. (All would say I needed more sun!)

Here, today, we have a potentially scary devotion...

Jesus has had all judgement appointed to Him. The Father did that (go argue with HIM if you don't like it!). Jesus will serve as Judge in many capacities, but the one most frightening to me is the fact that He will judge our works. He will look at the evidence of our lives and that will serve as proof about how we believed about Him and how (if) we loved Him. If you don't believe me, take a look at these passages of Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, Romans 14:7-12. If we need further proof, read Matthew 7:16-23. That's just plain old sobering.

Unlike the poor, unfortunate souls who had to endure the video that was taken of me--those folks NEVER had the full story--Jesus KNOWS it all! We can't fool Him! He not only views the outer evidence, He knows the inner motivations. What's that mean? It means that we can't just do good stuff and hope that will get us through. It must be outer works that flow from inner works. Our good stuff must come from the Spirit at work within us to be acceptable in the Judge's sight.

Today's passage comes from a part of John's Gospel where Jesus was talking about His equality with the Father. That should be clear. Still, the aspect of Jesus as Judge is very important.

At the final judgement every person's life will be laid bare by the Judge too (Revelation 20:11-15). Not only will Christ judge the Christian's fruit, He will make the final judgement, deciding who will be cast into hell for eternity. He, above all, should know those who have trusted themselves to Him.

It is true that Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. It is true that He pleads our case. It is true that He makes peace between God and man. IT IS ALSO TRUE that He is Judge. We need to realize every element of the character and offices of our Lord.

He is Judge. Dad made Him that. He will look upon the evidence of our lives and Judge. Here, in closing, is a very sobering question that I heard posed once: "If you were on trial, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian?" The Judge will know.