Whom Do You Seek?

John 18: 3-4 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

Whom do you seek?  Seems to be an easy question. John 18:3-4 has a band of soldiers, with Judas in the lead looking to apprehend Jesus. They are on a mission. Their mission is to bring Jesus to the chief priest and Pharisees so that He can stand trial.  And the soldiers show up armed and ready to deal with any troublemakers.  An odd perspective, given Jesus has been preaching in the temple with no one confronting Him and no violence being displayed. (See Matthew 26.)   Yet this oddity brings us to ask the basic question. Whom do you seek?  Do you seek the Jesus who agrees with everything going on in your life?  Or do you seek the Jesus that holds you accountable for how you really are?  Let’s explore these options a bit.

            Many believers look at Jesus as a nice guy. He went around doing miracles, healing the lame, bringing sight to the blind, curing the sick and so forth.  He spoke to crowds, and he fed the thousands from just a few loaves and fishes.  He would be characterized as a nice guy by some.  And he would be easy to get along with and cause no pain in their lives.

Others seek the Jesus we really need.  In the earlier paragraph I mentioned that this Jesus holds us accountable for how we really are.  I say this not as a means of causing a guilt trip.  Rather, this Jesus is the Real Jesus.  This was the Jesus that withered the fig tree for not bearing fruit. This is the Jesus that said it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.  This is the Jesus that cleared the temple of moneychangers, and others who would seek to profit off the adversity of others.  This is the real Jesus and it is the Jesus you and I really need.  This same Jesus suffered the cross for you and I.  This Jesus knew beforehand what was to transpire when he stepped out and asked the question “Whom do you seek?”  That Jesus is the full on no holds barred Savior you and I need because we are so lost in sin that without That Jesus we are lost.  And not in a ‘my GPS led me astray’ lost.  I mean lost as condemned to an eternity of separation from God our Father because we cannot save ourselves.  We are born sinful by nature and remain so to the very end.  And in answer to that problem, God gave His only Son to die a horrible death on the cross so that sinners like you and I could be saved.  That same Jesus asks each of us today the question, “Whom do you seek?”  We need to seek the Jesus that takes us out of our comfort zone and challenges us to live two basic commandments.  We are to love God with all our heart, sole and mind. And we are to love one another as we love ourselves. It’s a simple set of directions that can change how we live our very lives.  My friends, that is the Jesus we really need.

Prayer: Lord and Giver of Life, we look to the cross for salvation. We look and marvel at the love and sacrifice of our Savior.  And we are truly humbled.  Help us to grasp fully the love You have for us, and guide us as we seek to share that love and to share the Gospel with those who do not know of Your love. We ask this in the name of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, Amen.