Nabeel Qureshi 1983 – 2017
Jesus’ death on the cross is not the end of the Christian message. The gospel is that Jesus then rose from the dead. Whereas every other life ended in death, Jesus’ death ended in life, and his resurrection is the basis of all Christian confidence.
Christ’s public ministry moves forward with even more miracles. He ends with a prayer request for us, to pray for laborers that will help with the spiritual harvest.
Christ’s death for our sins is sometimes referred to as vicarious atonement. He took responsibility for us when we were incapable of atoning for ourselves. That is a wonderful fact and an essential concept that is basic to the Christian faith. If you want, you can read more about it here.
Now we are going to talk about something else — vicarious faith — an idea central to the Christian life. Needy people are not always in a position to believe. They may need us to step in for them and take the responsibility upon ourselves to believe. Our faith can stand in for their faith, our prayers for their prayers. Matthew 9 shows us an extreme case.
18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. … 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.”And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.
The ruler came to Jesus on behalf of his daughter. She was dead. In the house was a lifeless, breathless and certainly faithless corpse. Her father reached out in faith when she was unable to believe for herself. The mourners were no help. Their expressions of grief were interrupted by their laughing at Jesus. But Jesus did what Jesus does and the girl arose. I want to exercise that kind of faith on behalf of others.
Like the famous porridge in the story of Goldilocks, a person’s response to Jesus can be “too hot” or “too cold.” Let’s take a look at a couple of examples before we determine what a “just right” response would be.
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
This scribe seems to have not thought his commitment through. His response is too hot, or overzealous, given his level of understanding. Jesus may made his home in Capernaum, possibly with Simon Peter and family, but the reality of his ministry meant that he didn’t often get back there at night. At a deeper level, we have to think through where our true home is. Paul reminds believers that our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). If we do not consider this reality, then we may find our commitment to Christ is superficial. It may not stand the test of time or the rigor of unforeseen trials.
21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Without going into detail, we can see that he is asking for a delay. Maybe it would be weeks or months, maybe a year or more. Here are some thoughts from Billy Graham. The man grasps that following Christ involves sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that he is unwilling to make. Unlike the overzealous scribe, this man is underzealous or too cold.
A Goldilocks response to Jesus needs to be carefully thought through rather than hasty. But it also needs to be willing to give whatever is necessary for the cause of Christ. This world is not our home anyway, so with that in mind, why wait? A true and thorough cost-counting will reveal that Jesus is worth more than anything or anyone that we might decide to place before him.
Central Reflections 