Head Knowledge of Jesus Versus Heart Knowledge

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: John 8:13-30

 

Isaiah 6:10

“Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

(NKJV)

 

In the information age, information about the historical accounts of Jesus is now available in the Bible and through archeological evidence. However, the evil and sin prevalent in our world also provide evidence that many do not understand who Jesus was, the Messiah, the Son of God, and God in the flesh, who came to save us from sin. Head knowledge of Jesus is important, but it takes believing in the death, burial, and resurrection in one’s heart to be saved (Romans 10:9-10).

 

The Pharisees attempt to discredit Jesus' witness, claiming He only bears witness of Himself, making his witness untrue (John 8:13). Jesus defends the credibility of His witness by claiming His witness is true because He knows where He came from and where He is going, something the Pharisees do not understand (John 8:14). Jesus continues by saying they judge according to the flesh but that He judges no one (John 8:15). Jesus claims that if He were to judge, the judgment would be true because it would not be His judgment alone but in agreement with God the Father who sent Him (John 8:16). Jesus reminds them that scripture states that the witness of two men is true (Deuteronomy 19:15) with Jesus bearing witness of Himself and God the Father also bearing witness of Him (John 8:17-18). The Pharisees then ask Jesus where His Father is to which He tells them they do not know Him or His Father for if they knew Him they would know His Father (John 8:19). Jesus spoke these words in the treasury and no one laid hands on Him because His time had not yet come (John 8:20).

 

Jesus once again spoke of His going away and that they would seek Him but could not go where He was going (John 8:21). This caused the Jews to wonder if Jesus intended to kill Himself (John 8:22). Jesus continues by telling them that they are from beneath but that He is from above and that He is not of this world (John 8:23). They will die in their sins if they do not believe that Jesus is He, the Messiah (John 8:24). This prompts the Pharisees to ask Jesus who He is to which He answers with who He has said He is from the beginning (John 8:25). Even though Jesus has many things to judge concerning the Pharisees, He only speaks what He has heard from the Father (John 8:26).

 

The Pharisees did not understand that Jesus spoke to them of God the Father, with Him telling them that when they lift up the Son of Man, they will know, a reference to his crucifixion (John 8:27-28). Jesus concludes by telling them God, who sent Him, is with Him and will not leave Him alone because Jesus always does what pleases Him (John 8:29). Because of these words of Jesus, many came to believe in Him (John 8:30).

 

One can know about Jesus academically through the study of scriptures, but belief that brings salvation comes when one understands who Jesus is and that He is the Son of God sent from above. In previous conversations with the religious leaders, they could not believe Jesus was the Messiah because He did not come from Bethlehem (John 7:40-43). They were unaware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because Mary accompanied Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of the Roman census (Luke 2:1-7). The religious leaders also believed they knew Joseph was Jesus’ father meaning Mary was not a virgin and could not have been the one to give birth to the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14). These religious leaders had academic knowledge of scripture telling them where the Messiah would be born and that He would be born of a virgin but could not connect Jesus with these prophecies. They knew about the Messiah but could not connect Jesus as the Messiah in their hearts because their eyes were blinded as foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).

 

One can know about Jesus academically through the study of scriptures, but belief that brings salvation comes when one understands who Jesus is and that He is the Son of God sent from above. One advantage to living in the information age is easy access to information, including the Bible. Anyone with a smartphone has access to numerous translations of the Bible on their phone, but information is useless unless one accesses it and applies it to their lives. The Bible contains all the information one needs to understand that Jesus is the Messiah sent to save the world from sin and the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus Himself challenged the religious leaders of His time to search the scriptures for if they did, they would discover they speak of Him (John 5:39). I challenge everyone reading this to search the scriptures and settle in your heart that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the soon and coming King, and Prince of peace bring salvation to this fallen world (Isaiah 9:6).

 

If you believe in your heart that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave but have not made a public confession of this belief, I invite you to pray with me now,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

I invite you to let someone know of your decision or to comment on this post about your decision. I also encourage you to become involved in a Church that teaches the Bible and follow through with baptism. May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.