Why Do You Believe in Jesus, Even Though You've Never Seen Him? | Matthew 20:29

[00:00:00] Real Truth Daily This is Daily Truths with Dave Ahlman.

[00:00:08] Hi everybody, welcome back to Daily Truths.

[00:00:10] Why do so many people not follow Jesus today?

[00:00:14] I mean, it seems pretty obvious to us who are believers in Christ that they should, that

[00:00:19] they need a relationship with God, that they should want to go to heaven and I'm sure most

[00:00:24] people in America have heard of the gospel at least once, right?

[00:00:28] So why in the world do so many people not follow and believe in Jesus?

[00:00:34] Well, listen to this.

[00:00:35] This is from Matthew chapter 20 verse 29 and as they were going out from Jericho, a great

[00:00:45] multitude followed him.

[00:00:48] Hmm, a great multitude.

[00:00:51] That was then.

[00:00:52] Why were so many people captivated by Jesus Christ back then, but so few, comparatively

[00:00:58] speaking, at least percentage wise, don't follow him today.

[00:01:03] On a given Sunday there's a lot more people that attend football games and watch football

[00:01:07] games than go to church.

[00:01:10] Even the biggest mega church is outnumbered by all the people that go to NFL football games

[00:01:14] on a Sunday morning.

[00:01:16] Why is it?

[00:01:17] Why is it 75% of people in America stay home on Sunday mornings and don't go to church?

[00:01:23] Why is it that even though we have amazing preachers today, they don't captivate an audience

[00:01:29] like Billy Graham did some 30, 40 years ago where stadiums were filled night after night

[00:01:34] after night.

[00:01:35] What is happening?

[00:01:36] Why did so many people when Jesus walked the face of the earth were captivated by what

[00:01:42] he said and followed him and even committed their life to him even before he was crucified?

[00:01:48] Why is that?

[00:01:49] Well, here's why.

[00:01:51] They had a face to face encounter with Jesus.

[00:01:54] They saw the miracles themselves and if they didn't see the miracles by word of mouth

[00:01:59] they heard about the miracles and they wanted to see them based on what they had heard

[00:02:03] from other people.

[00:02:04] So masses as it says here, multitudes followed him.

[00:02:08] Now where did this happen?

[00:02:10] Jericho is about 20 miles north east of Jerusalem.

[00:02:13] You look at the map here and you can see where it is.

[00:02:16] So Jesus was heading out of there and I'm sure many of the people from Jericho and I think

[00:02:20] he might have been heading towards Jerusalem.

[00:02:22] Many people from Jericho were following him again.

[00:02:25] Why?

[00:02:26] Because they saw the miracles, they witnessed the events, they saw with their own eyes

[00:02:31] that he had raised the debt and all these different things and so they said, we're in.

[00:02:37] Now here's a question for you.

[00:02:40] Why do you follow Jesus when you haven't seen him?

[00:02:43] You haven't had a face to face encounter with him.

[00:02:46] Well, here's what it says in the book of John chapter 21 beginning to read at verse 24.

[00:02:56] This is the disciple, namely John who bears witness of these things and wrote these things

[00:03:02] and we know that his witness is true.

[00:03:05] What's he talking about there?

[00:03:06] He said, I've seen the miracles.

[00:03:09] I witnessed what he did.

[00:03:11] I witnessed his death and then imminent resurrection.

[00:03:14] I've seen it all.

[00:03:15] Then he goes on to say this in verse 25 and there are also many other things which Jesus

[00:03:20] did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would

[00:03:25] not contain the books which were written.

[00:03:28] So in other words, we just have a highlight reel in the New Testament of what Jesus did.

[00:03:32] St. John is saying he did so much of the stuff that I haven't recorded here but I'm a witness

[00:03:37] to all these things.

[00:03:39] Now it says this just a chapter before when it says this in John chapter 20 verses 30

[00:03:45] and 31.

[00:03:46] Listen to this, many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples

[00:03:52] which are not written in this book.

[00:03:55] Now listen to what John says in the next verse I love this but these have been written.

[00:03:59] In other words, what you've read in this book in the book of John, these things have been

[00:04:03] written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing

[00:04:09] you may have life in his name.

[00:04:12] Think about that somewhere along the history of your life whether it was in Sunday school

[00:04:18] or a preacher or obviously your baptism and then being cultivated in the faith, someone

[00:04:24] taught you the teachings of the Word of God, someone informed you of the truth of scripture

[00:04:31] and knowing indeed that what is recorded in the Bible?

[00:04:36] Or eyewitnesses to even though 2,000 years of past were in, we're believe.

[00:04:42] We're part of the masses like in the early church like in Jericho where the masses follow

[00:04:47] Jesus because they were eyewitnesses to what had happened.

[00:04:51] What John is saying is I'm an eyewitness to all these things and I write it so that you

[00:04:56] might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[00:05:00] Do you know what?

[00:05:01] That's what we believe.

[00:05:03] The Holy Spirit has removed the blinders of unbelief and then called catered us with

[00:05:08] saving faith, looking at the life, death and resurrection of Jesus whereby we say even

[00:05:14] though we've not had a face to face encounter I believe in Jesus Christ.

[00:05:19] So here's the thing, pray that more and more people might come to faith through the proclamation

[00:05:26] teachings and truth of God's Word.

[00:05:28] There's a reason I call this daily truth and I've talked about it many times because

[00:05:32] even in churches today many people water down the truth or compromise the truth but

[00:05:38] not on D.T.

[00:05:39] And I believe as the Word of God has proclaimed the Spirit will do His work.

[00:05:46] And so if you have someone in your life that maybe needs to hear what I have to say and

[00:05:49] again, oh by the way folks have found out that the Bible, listen to this is the most accurate

[00:05:57] book of antiquity regarding history.

[00:06:02] Like people who aren't believers in Christ have made that assertion.

[00:06:06] What's that tell you?

[00:06:08] That God's behind it, that the author of the Bible is a Holy Spirit and we should

[00:06:13] believe what it has to say.

[00:06:15] So I hope that comforts you today.

[00:06:17] I hope that solidifies your faith.

[00:06:19] I hope that helps you understand why how blessed we are.

[00:06:23] That's the spirit of God got a whole of our hearts and helped us to see the Jesus is

[00:06:28] we claim to be.

[00:06:29] So bask in that today and enjoy that today and share that with someone today.

[00:06:34] Jesus Christ is the way, the truth in the life and no one comes to the Father except by

[00:06:39] faith in Him.

[00:06:40] Have a great day in Christ and that is today's daily truth.

[00:06:45] Thank you for tuning in to daily truths with Dave Olman.

[00:06:48] Pastor Dave Olman is the pastor of Mount Hope Church in Boulder, Colorado.

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