Living the Resurrected Life Day 2: Look at Him

“Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!"”

‭‭John‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Let us begin our word for today by considering a couple of familiar scenarios.

Have you ever been in a relationship with a person for a long time, yet came to realize that you did not really know who they were? There are many complex reasons this can happen. But, for our purposes, let it suffice to say that whether a person has a secret life into which we never entered, or they changed from who they once were, and we did not follow that process, or we saw them through a “lens” we developed early on, never allowing consideration of any evidence to the contrary, that person we think we know, may actually be a “stranger” to us.

Another scenario for our consideration is the phenomenon of feeling as though you know someone, although you have only observed them from a distance without any true personal interaction.

One of these situations we see is the phenomenon of thinking you “know” an actor or actress well because you have seen many of their movies or studied their lives by way of media. However, the person we think they are, may be very different from who they really are.

Now, how do these scenarios fit in with what the Lord would have us know about knowing Him?

In order to truly know the Lord, we must not allow our false assumptions, or neglect concerning our seeking of Him, make us think we know Him when we do not. Indeed, Jesus warned that there are some people who think they know Him, think they are in a relationship with Him, who are not.

““Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this scenario presented by Jesus, these people apparently routinely broke God‘s laws, clearly indicating they thought that He would not notice, or they were willingly ignorant of His commands. Sadly, their disobedience indicated that they didn’t know Him, and He did not know them (in terms of having an actual relationship).

In our opening scripture, we see that Pilate presents Jesus to the Jews, telling them to look at Him. His purpose for doing so was in order for them to rightly determine what should be done to Him.

Now, when a person hears about the Lord, whether they know it or not, our Lord is being presented to them in order that they can determine what they will do with Him. But even after salvation, the invitation is ongoing to truly look at Him. Our response to the invitation to look at our Savior, and our resulting reactions to what we see, will determine whether or not we truly know Him.

There are some truths we must know as we look at our Lord in order to truly see and know Him. We will begin our consideration of those truths next time.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!