We Speak of What We Know
We’ve all been amused, or perhaps irritated, by people who go on at great lengths about things of which they know little or nothing. Just as, I suspect, others have responded to us at times. Humans seem to have a propensity to participate in conversations whether or not they have any worthwhile insight to contribute.
In John 3, we find Jesus being interviewed by a religious leader named Nicodemus. As the exchange of ideas progressed, he confessed that he didn’t understand what Jesus was telling him. In response, Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.”
Pharisees, like Nicodemus, were used to basing their teaching on insights gained by comparing the writings of respected teachers of the past. They depended heavily on the thinking of others to shape their own teaching. Jesus had a distinct advantage having had personal experience with the truth He was presenting. He went on to say: “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”
Let’s say you’re planning on taking a trip. You have two people trying to tell you what to expect and how to prepare. One knows what he does because he read some books based on another book about the place. The other person had actually lived there all his life and was visiting your part of the world for a while. Which of the two would you expect to be the more reliable source of information. You don’t even have to think about that.
Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus that if he wanted to know about heaven, God, life, spiritual reality, and so on, that he should consult someone who had come from heaven, knew God intimately, was the source of life, the essence of spiritual reality, and so on. In other words, Nicodemus had come to the right person.
But Jesus didn’t leave it there. He went on to explain something that was crucial. Referring to a historical event which Nicodemus would know well, Jesus said: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
In this declaration of truth, Jesus established His authority to speak of spiritual life because He had come from heaven. What’s more, He clarified that the first step in gaining the spiritual life of which He spoke was believing in Him, accepting that He was God’s messenger and the message He brought. We know that Nicodemus took that step. Have you?
