Believe

We're once again taking a look at one of Jesus' conversations. This one is with the crowd that enjoyed his miraculous feeding of the five thousand. As you'll see, Jesus has to deal with a problem that came up all too often during his ministry. The people did not understand him. He had spoken to them about working for the right kind of food, something that we looked at last week. They missed his point, and their question shows it. But Jesus doesn't give up in exasperation. He teaches them where they are and tries to move them forward. So, listen as I read our text, John 6.22-29.

Jesus spoke about working for the right food. But instead of thinking about what Jesus meant by the word 'food', they latched on to the word 'work'. And so, missing his point, they ask their question. 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?' That is to say: 'So, Jesus, what is it that God requires of us? What is the work that we need to do?' And without missing a beat, Jesus answers their misguided but appropriate question. 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.' This is the sentence that we are going to focus on this morning. I want to particularly consider this word 'believe'.

Let's start with this. In the Greek language that John used to write his Gospel the word 'believe' and the word 'faith' are the same, except that 'believe' is the verb form of the word and 'faith' is the noun form. But John never uses the noun form of the word in his Gospel. That is, he never writes 'faith', as in 'faith in Jesus'. He will always use the verb form as in our text 'that you believe in him whom he has sent.' Is this significant? I think it is. John is emphasizing this idea: believing is something that requires action. It is something you do. So, for John, believing is always a verb, a word of action. That is a needed emphasis these days where all sorts of people 'have faith'. And they 'have faith' in all sorts of things. But in so many cases the 'faith' that they have is merely some ideas or even just feelings about life. That's not good enough for John. Believing is something that you do. It requires action. So, no 'couch potato' believing for John.

Now, what sort of action does John have in mind? To believe has to do with trust. I have been taking my cars to the same repair shop for twenty-something years. Because of what I know, I have decided to trust the mechanics there. I have entrusted my cars to them which means that I have entrusted myself to them. That is not something that I have done just once. I do it every time my car needs the attention of a mechanic. I believe certain things, and as a result I act in a certain way. I trust. That's what John is talking about. Believing has to do with trust.

Now, John often adds a little word when he writes 'believe'. And the word is 'in'. And, again, we see that in our text, 'that you believe in him whom he has sent.' This makes (let's call it) 'the target' of the believing very clear. So, when it comes to my cars, I believe in my mechanic. Now, I believe certain facts about him, his training, his ability, his honesty. And that is good. But it has to come down to believing in him as someone I can entrust my car to. So, I believe facts, and then I believe in a person.

John is repeatedly writing about believing in Jesus. There are lots of things to believe about Jesus. We label those things 'the Gospel'. And it is necessary to accept those things as true, to believe them. But believing those things is different from believing in Jesus. A person does not become a Christian because he believes certain facts about Jesus. Even Satan believes those facts. A person becomes a Christian when, because of those facts, he believes in Jesus. Being a Christian isn't about facts known. It's about a person who is known - and trusted. It's about knowing someone and acting to entrust yourself into the care of that person. Facts are important, but facts cannot do anything. They cannot save. But Jesus saves.

The Scriptures oftentimes use marriage as a picture of the relationship between Jesus and his Church, and that is very instructive. Some guy can be aware of lots of facts about a certain woman. He can even accept them all as true and accurate descriptions of that woman. That's all very good, but obviously, there is no marriage. He might date that woman and get to know her, but there still is no marriage. Let's say that at some point he asks her to marry him. But even if she were to say, 'Yes', and they wed, even that does not make a real marriage, a marriage as God intended. They could live for years as friendly roommates, legally married but not really. Real marriage is about more than that. Real marriage is about two people entrusting themselves, body, soul and spirit, to each other. It is a very personal thing that involves the whole person. That's what believing in Jesus is about. Entrusting yourself to Jesus, body, soul and spirit - person to person.

Next thought. When I take my car to the repair shop, I am entrusting myself to the mechanic as a mechanic. I trust him to take care of my car. I don't entrust myself to him for anything else. I don't go to him for financial advice or pointers on my golf swing. That would be a mistake. But it's good and right to entrust myself to him as a mechanic. There have been those who have made this kind of mistake when they have decided to entrust themselves to Jesus. There have been some who were willing to entrust themselves to Jesus simply as a miracle worker. This describes many in the crowd in our text. As I mentioned last week, all they were interested in was more free food. 'Jesus, do another miracle.' There have been those who have been willing to entrust themselves to Jesus as a good teacher. When the rich, young ruler came to Jesus, he was willing to be taught by Jesus. 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' But Jesus told him that he wanted to be more than the young man's teacher. He wanted the man to be devoted to him as his Lord, more devoted to him than to his money. That's when the man walked away. Is Jesus a miracle worker? Certainly. Is he a good teacher? Absolutely. But Jesus calls people to believe in him as something much more than either of those.

Listen again to what he told that crowd. 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.' Jesus offers himself as someone who has been sent on a mission by God, and he calls people to believe in him as such. And what is the mission? It's to rescue the world, to fundamentally change it. So, first, Jesus acts as Savior of the world, dying a hellish death as a substitute for sinners. That deals with the debt of justice that we all owe to the Father. But that's not all. Jesus fulfills the rest of the mission by being Lord of the world. In this way he leads those who believe in him from death into the fullest expression of life. Jesus is on a mission, and he pursues that mission as Savior and as Lord. And that is how he offers himself. If someone is going to believe in Jesus in the way that Jesus calls for, he will entrust himself to Jesus as Savior and as Lord.

Now, it is very important to understand what comes next. When someone believes in Jesus in the sense that John has written, he is taking a risk, and it's important to see it that way. Someone who believes in Jesus is betting that Jesus is the true Savior and the rightful Lord. And when he does that he is betting a lot. What if God is a Muslim? Or a Buddhist? What if this Jesus thing is all wrong? What if we have made a terrible mistake by believing in him? There is risk in believing in Jesus. There is also risk in not believing in Jesus. Risk is inevitable, and it should be squarely faced. The decision to believe in Jesus is supremely serious, and coming to grips with this reality is often what makes the difference between someone who is in for the long haul, whatever the cost, and someone who is just along for the ride. Following Jesus involves risk. And that changes it from being some merely religious thing to do into something much more profound. Believing in Jesus is betting your life, now and forever, on him.

There are those who try to hedge their bets. They believe in Jesus for some things - like getting to heaven - but for other things, for much of the rest of life, they entrust themselves to something else. That won't work. To be sure we all start there, but becoming mature in our believing is a matter of seeing our hedging for what it is and turning away from it. It's a matter of jumping in with both feet. That's the kind of believing that Jesus calls for.

Let me bring that home in this way. When are you to believe in Jesus? And the answer is obvious: all the time. You are to believe in Jesus as Savior all the time, and especially those times when you see your sin more clearly. There is forgiveness because Jesus is the Savior. Jesus has also come as Lord. A person's believing in Jesus as Lord shows when Jesus commands him to do this or that, and he does it.  That's also believing in Jesus. It's important to understand that believing in Jesus as Lord, that obeying him, will always involve risk. Sometimes it will mean a relatively small risk while at other times the risk will be great. But there will always be some risk. What if he wants you to do 'A' and 'B' would have been the better choice?

I want to lean on this aspect of believing because, if you are like me, you have been taught to avoid risk as much as possible. We have been taught to play it safe. We are to anticipate problems and have appropriate resources at hand, just in case. So, most of us have heard about the importance of being responsible. What that means is never taking risks. Or to say it differently, don't do anything foolish. If you do, and it doesn't work out, you will be shamed by those who know about it. And yet, through his apostle, Jesus praises the glories of what so many think of as foolish.

          For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

          For the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

          But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

It was because someone did something foolish, because someone took a risk, that I stand before you today as a Christian. I was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother, neither of whom was practicing the religion of their youth. For the first eight years, my life was devoid of any religion. The first step to change that occurred when a neighbor asked my parents if he could take my brother and me to Sunday school. Now, understand what he did. He approached a Jewish man and a Catholic woman for permission to take their two boys to a fundamentalist Baptist church. How foolish! Whatever possessed that man to do such a thing? Didn't he realize how angry those parents might get? I am profoundly grateful that Mr. Simmons took the risk.  Where would I be if he hadn't? And I'm thinking that he took the risk because he believed in Jesus.

The point here is not that you have to go searching for some foolish, risky thing to do. Absolutely not! The point here is to make you aware of what you have heard over the years. You have been told that you should to avoid risk. That's a problem. How can anyone hold on to that way of thinking and still believe in Jesus in the way he expects? I make this point so that when it seems that Jesus is calling you to do something that looks foolish to 'responsible' people, your first response won't be to dismiss it because, 'That's too risky'. It is my hope that, acknowledging the risk, you would then set out to evaluate the situation; you would work to see whether Jesus really is calling you to do that. Believing in Jesus will mean that you will need to take risks at times. You may need to risk your comfort or your happiness, your reputation or your future. But what risk is that when compared to the risk that you are already taking, the risk believing that God is a Christian God and that Jesus is his Son; that God's name is not Allah but Jehovah? You're already risking this life and the next. What's a little more?

There are two questions that fit here. I think that these are worth pondering.

         

          Is Jesus worth risking everything for, if that's what he calls me to do?

          If I lose everything, will he still take care of me?

Believing in Jesus - entrusting yourself to him whole-heartedly, jumping in with both feet, being ready to risk everything you love - is hard. And that's why it's good to remember that it isn't something that you do on your own. In fact, you can't do it on your own. Jesus said so. 'Apart from me you can do nothing.' So, believe Jesus when he tells you that. And then, tell him, 'Lord, I want to believe in you completely, better than I do now. But I can't do that. I don't even know where to start. So, please be gracious to me. Tell me what to do, and then please give me the ability to do it.' And as we, together, pray like that, we, together, will become another tool in his hand as he works to change the world.