- “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 ESV
- “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” John 17:20 ESV
- “Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. “” John 20:29 ESV
A CHRISTIAN MESSAGE
By WARD PIMLEY
Pastor, Journalist, Author
SUMMARY
TOGETHER, THOSE VERSES reveal a glorious pattern: Christ prays for future believers, His word reaches us, He beckons us and waits patiently for us to answer, and those of us who trust Him–even without having seen Him physically–live in communion with Him.
COMMENTARY
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is addressing the faithless church in Laodicea, the apostate church. He is holding out hope for them, for just as He did with the woman caught in adultery, He is more interested in saving souls than He is in condemning people or even rebuking them.
He says, “I offer Myself to you. I will not force Myself on you but will graciously extend My hand. If you will hear my voice, see My hand, recognize My offer, and accept My gift, I will not turn you down.” He tells us He’ll come in–gladly, warmly, openly–and eat with us. We’ll become friends. However, He remains more than a friend: He also is our Lord (leader) and Saviour (ransom).
This is more than a salvation from judgment, which is the absence of a negative; this is an offer of friendship, which is the presence of a positive.
When this promise is married to that of John 17:20, in His High Priestly Prayer, He is extending that same offer of friendship to those of us who were born 2,000 years later, who did not have the privilege of seeing the Man Jesus in His earthly walk, but who knew Him only through the words of those who had seen Him.
We see something else: The Godhead is willing–eager, even–to work salvation through the words and deeds of mere humans, of us. Fortunately, our forebears carried the mantel. Now, we must pick it up and carry it forward for others.
We see that even in the Messiah’s agony, He is thinking about us and praying for us to the Father. When was the last time any of us prayed for someone 2,000 years from now while we were facing a personal agony, a trial, or a tribulation? I know I haven’t.
Remember the words of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 (also Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15)–Go and tell the Gospel to every creature–to everyone! I am with you!
Finally, in John 20:29, when He faces the disbelief–and then the honorific of Thomas, “my Lord and my God!”–He says it is a blessing for Thomas to believe because he has seen but even more blessed will it be for those of us who believe without having seen.
CONCLUSION
While we have not seen Him in the flesh, as did our forebears, we do see Him today through the Holy Spirit. Faith, born through apostolic testimony, becomes the door opened to the unseen Saviour.
MESSAGE FOR ME
JESUS IS CALLING ME to do for others what He has done for me, and what He has commissioned those who walked with Him to do for those who would come after them. [Jesus does not just call pastors and theologians to carry the Word but all believers. We need to be partners or co-workers in the harvest field.].
Since I am living proof of the work that has gone before me, I have no excuse for not carrying the mantel forward. The good news for me is this: Jesus promises to go with me. He says, “Lo, I am with you, even to the close of the age.”
I presume that’s forever, but it could mean the end of the Church Age (the Rapture). Either way, He has promised not to leave us as orphans but through the Holy Spirit, to live in our hearts. He is there to guide us, to comfort us, to console us, to encourage us, to teach us, and to share time with us. He also is there to remind us that He advocates for us to the Father.
PRAYER
HEAVENLY FATHER, Lord God, Creator of the Universe – Accept our worship, our praise, and our adoration. You alone, O God, are worthy; You alone, O God, are good. You have called us to be Your friends, while You died to ransom our souls and stand patiently outside the door, knocking, and waiting for us to hear Your voice and open the door. Lord, forgive us for our faithlessness, our wanderings, our disrespect, our disobedience, our willfulness. When I think of my sins, I am ashamed. I ask you, humbly and, if only mentally and in my heart, on my knees before You: Please grant me Your mercy and Your grace, and empower me, O Lord, to extend mercy and grace to others. In the mighty name of Jesus, the Messiah. AMEN
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 