Taking Jesus Serious

-Bill Petite

We live in a society were most people (the unsaved) don't take Jesus serious. Those who are not Christians believe Jesus was just a man or some fictional character created by the men who wrote the Bible. Most Atheists really believe this to be true; some might believe He was a man who walked the earth at one time, had a following and was dramatized as a god. Many people in this world don't buy into God, Jesus or any god other than themselves and most don't want bothered with the Jesus fairy tales. Have you ever tried to talk to someone like this about Jesus? It is amazing. They simply don't want to hear anything about Him and they will not hesitate to tell you so. We can't force Jesus on anyone; if they don't want to listen, we need to move on. There is a scripture in the gospel of Matthew concerning this,

 Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.  MT 6:7  NLT*

When we continue to tell someone about Jesus who really doesn't want to hear it, we are giving the gospel to someone who wants nothing to do with it and will begin to trash it and walk all over it. The person will begin to attack the gospel, turning on the one attempting to share and it can get ugly. So, when a person says no and doesn't want to hear anymore, don't cast those pearls to the swine and give the person the opportunity to harden their heart any more than it might already be. There is always a possibility of another occasion which they will be more willing to hear. We need to take Jesus serious in every area of life.
I love reading the gospels; I love reading those passages where Jesus speaks, the accounts of His working and His teaching. I love those passages where He tells the Pharisees how far off the mark they are, how legalistic they are and that He truly is the messiah. These  passages describe the authority of His teachings, instructions and warnings. Do we take these passages and His words serious when we read them? Do we grasp the importance of what He says to us in the gospels? We need to understand that these are not just some words in a book to be read when we get time. We must know how much Jesus loves us and understand the truth and meaning behind everything He says to us in these words, in this book! In John 17, He prays for us, those of us who are Christians today, right now. Read that chapter slowing and understand and grasp the love in those words. After Jesus prayed for Himself and His disciples, He then prayed for all Christians,

 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.  I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. JN 17:20-21

Can you sense the fact that this is personal? When you pray for a friend or family member, that is personal and sincerely out of love. That is the same thing here. I remember the first time that sunk in as I was reading it; Jesus, the Son of God, is praying for me! Are we taking Jesus serious?
The Apostle Paul committed his entire life to serving Jesus. After he was saved, he immediately began to teach the gospel and never looked back. As a missionary/church planter, he suffered some terrible persecution. It didn't stop him or slow him down. I can't admire and respect his work enough and sometimes wonder why I can't even have a fraction of the faith and commitment he had. I pray at times that Jesus would give me just a small portion of the faith and commitment Paul had in his work for Jesus. He is one of the best examples of taking Jesus serious. Can you imagine the work we could do if we were as committed as Paul was? I know there are some Christians in this world who are and they too are suffering for the work they are doing but they will not stop or slow down. When they are thrown into prison for this work, it doesn't stop. They continue that work behind the walls of the prison. I know there are super faithful and committed Christians in this world but what if there were more? I put this question to me first and then to anyone reading this post. I don't want this writing to sound as if I have arrived at the finish line of God's work and there is nothing else for me to accomplish for Him. I am very far from it! I pose these questions only in the hope of getting more Christians to think, consider and act upon what Jesus has said to us in the gospels and other parts of His word.
I was teaching last week and used the reference of Jesus sending out the 70 disciples. The Lord put it on my heart to emphasize the fact that He has given us authority to do His work, but also the most important thing concerning our salvation. I want to place that passage here for the purpose of context concerning the authority He has given us.

 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!  Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.  But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”                      LK 10:17-20 

Jesus told these disciples that they should rejoice most concerning the fact that their names are recorded in heaven! We should not go about boasting and bragging about the work we are doing for Him as if we are the power behind it. Jesus has given the authority over the enemy to us but when and if we distort that by testing the Lord, we are in for a fall. That is pride, not faith. When we take Jesus serious concerning the authority over the enemy, we need to be wise enough to know we are to yield to the Holy Spirit in those situations and not our own power. Concerning this passage, William MacDonald says in his Believers Bible Commentary,

It is as if He were saying, "Yes, you are quite heady because even the demons have been subjected to you. But just remember, pride is the parent sin. It was pride that resulted in the fall of Lucifer, and in his being cast out of heaven. See that you avoid this peril."          William MacDonald, Believers Bible Commentary, p. 1409

The passage in Proverbs tell us that pride goes before the fall. We must be careful as we go about doing God's work for Him. I have witnessed many who have attempted to steal the show from Jesus and suffered the consequences.
Finally, and probably most important, love. The love which Jesus displayed for us by dying on the cross, dying in our place, for our sin is the ultimate display of love. We know this, or we should, and we need to fully and completely understand what Jesus means when He tells us the following in His word,

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  JN 13:34-35 

We are to love each other as He loved us. Now, I am going to admit right here, right now, I fall short of this far too many times. There are times when I am just self involved and miss it, blow it and feel the conviction. Think, consider what He is saying. Love each other as He loves us! This means not to only love your friends but also your enemies. Your enemies! Can you love that one person who simply drives you crazy or the one who treats you like you are lower than dirt? How about the one who is always super mean to you? Yes, that is what Jesus is telling us to do. So, are you now ready to take Jesus serious? I worked in the same office with a young woman who was excited about reading the Bible and getting to know more about God. She asked me if her and her soon to be husband would be married in heaven and when I told her there is no marriage in heaven, she freaked out! She just could not accept that. She had to be married in heaven. When I explained the fact that they would be both be in heaven if saved, that simply was not good enough and didn't want to hear anymore about it. She was not ready to take Jesus serious. We cannot afford to make that same mistake. When we go to Church to worship, consider what the words to the song or hymn you are singing are saying. Do you understand what you are singing? Consider what the pastor is saying as he teaches from God's word. Do you understand what it means? If you don't, then talk to him or another leader in the Church or a mature Christian. We must take Jesus serious or we are simply going through the motions. If a person is not saved, going through the motions will not get them saved! If you haven't done so yet, start taking Jesus serious.

*All scripture NLT