February 12
Bible Reading: John 7:1-9
John 7:5, “For not even his brothers believed in him.”
Mark 3:21, “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind.’”
A common concern runs through the many prayers I’ve heard over the years–the concern for the salvation of unsaved family members. Be they parents or children or siblings, it is both natural and understandable that the believer in Christ should yearn for their salvation. Our text reminds us that there is good reason to remain hopeful.
At this point in his ministry, Jesus’ own brothers were not believing. In fact, on one occasion, the family tried to intervene because they thought him to be crazy. Imagine that! They’d spent more time with him than anyone else. They’d grown up with him, heard him speak, and watched him do amazing things, but still they were unbelieving. They could not have had a better witness than Jesus himself, having walked with truth embodied, but still they were not saved.
Their experience reminds us of an important truth. Faith cannot be conjured up, figured out, or passed from person to person. Saving faith is a gift of God (2 Peter 1:1; Ephesians 2:8). It is as Jesus elsewhere explained, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:43). It is very possible to grow up in a Christian home and go to church every week, and even know a lot about Jesus, without possessing saving faith. But the Spirit is ever able to convict of sin and open blind eyes to the truth of the gospel!
As John Piper explains, there is good reason for hope: “The story of Jesus’ brothers can actually give us hope for our loved ones. At the time his brothers claimed that Jesus was ‘out of his mind’ (Mark 3:21), it must have appeared very unlikely that they would ever become his disciples. But eventually they did! And not only followers, but leaders and martyrs in the early church. The God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ shone in their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of their brother, Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6). So take heart! Don’t give up praying for unbelieving family members. Don’t take their resistance as the final word. They may yet believe and be used significantly in the kingdom!”
John Piper
No amount of religious advantages or privilege can substitute for the convicting and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
to me he hath made known,
nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
redeemed me for his own.
Refrain:
But “I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I’ve committed
unto him against that day.”
I know not how this saving faith
to me he did impart,
nor how believing in his word
wrought peace within my heart. [Refrain]
I know not how the Spirit moves,
convincing us of sin,
revealing Jesus through the Word,
creating faith in him. [Refrain]
I know not when my Lord may come,
at night or noon-day fair,
nor if I’ll walk the vale with him,
or meet him in the air. [Refrain]
LookingtoJesus 