Seeking Jesus and getting nothing - Ruminating in the Word of God.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 23:8-11,

"When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time
he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he
hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many
questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the
teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then
Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him."

Here is a man who took great interest in Jesus, but to no avail. His
interest was in the miracles Jesus performed and apparently little
else other than having some questions answered. He had a personal
encounter with him and it made no difference in his life. How is this
possible? After not getting what it was he was interested in, he was
reduced to ridiculing and mocking the Son of God. Herod missed the
reason Jesus came - it was not for entertainment.

Perhaps this is instructive of an important point. Jesus "came to seek
and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10. What is lost are the souls of
mankind. All have sinned and all face condemnation following this
life. Jesus came to pay the penalty for the sins of all and to offer
God's forgiveness if we place our faith and trust in him. Jesus said,
"Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
John 5:24. When we embrace Jesus Christ in faith we are forgiven all
our sins and immediately enter into God's family. Our outcome,
following this life, changes from a fiery lake of burning sulfur
(Revelation 21:8) to heaven itself.

There may be many reasons why someone might take an interest in Jesus.
Just as Herod's interest in Jesus' miracles resulted in nothing for
him, so those who approach Jesus for some other reason than to find
forgiveness, to embrace him as the Son of God and trust in the
sacrifice he made of himself on that cross, it will do little good. He
can be sought for developing good, ethical principles. He can be
sought to bring peace to the world. He can be sought to bring
financial security, he can be sought for health, he can be sought to
provide a job, a spouse, sanity to our families, direction for our
children. While it is certainly true that he can provide all these
things, if these are the things sought and not Jesus himself for who
he is and what he has done, our interest in him will do just as good
as it did for Herod.

This morning I am reminded that Jesus came first and foremost as our
Savior, not as an errand boy to tend to our wants and desires. He
loves us and has tremendous compassion for us. He does many things for
us. But if we don't approach him as the savior of our souls, we just
may find ourselves in Herod's shoes.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com