Jesus said, “you are not willing”

Yesterday the blog post was called, He is willing, He is waiting.

It is interesting that after I completed that post, part of my reading was John 5. In John 5 notice how Jesus says, “you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal Life.” Jesus is addressing very religious people, they were not casual in their desire and zeal to have eternal Life. They searched the Scriptures; they didn’t just casually read the Scripture.

Jesus goes on to point out to them, even though He knew they wouldn’t receive it, that the Scriptures are pointing to Him.  Jesus makes it clear to them that He is the Way to Eternal Life, yet, they cannot see the forest through the trees because they are so wrapped up in their “religiosity”.

But, what makes this exchange more interesting to me, today, is what Jesus says after He tells them that the Scriptures are about Him…He says, “But you are NOT WILLING to come to Me that you may have Life.”

John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Now compare the seemingly most religious of the day, the same ones that condemned Him for healing on the Sabbath and making Himself equal to God,….compare this to the sinful women at the well who leaves a prized procession behind to immediately tell others about this Man that is offering Living Water, Eternal Life, to all who are willing to come and drink freely.

John 4:7-29 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Jesus tells the Truth to the religious, yet they refuse to come to Him. Jesus also tells the Truth to those that are not under an illusion that they are not sinful. Jesus meets both the religious and the wretch right where they were at in life, both presented with the simple Truth of who He is and what is necessary for them to inherit Eternal Life. Don’t both groups have the same opportunity to drink freely from the Living Water? Aren’t both equally condemned if they refuse to repent?…one from trying to earn their way to Heaven by ritual and religion; and the other from a life spent feeding the lusts of the flesh.

This reminds me what I learned early on in prison ministry….the average person on the street needs to be convinced that they are sinful, they cannot earn their way to Heaven,  and they are in need of the Savior; the average inmate needs to be convinced that the Savior is willing to forgive them if they will surrender their life to Him.