Jesus Christ made waves wherever He went.
He once said of Himself, in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” He stirred people up, leaving no one a comfortable place “on the fence” to sit idly by.
As His public fame grew, people flocked to Jesus from every corner of Israel to see him for themselves and get what they could from this seemingly inexhaustible supply of wisdom, teaching and miracles. Most came for the wrong reasons.
Committed Jews and their religious leadership were on the lookout for a long-anticipated military/political leader who would throw off the shackles of their Roman captors and restore Israel to national greatness. They were focused on earthly, temporal glory.
But Jesus steadfastly refused to satisfy their thirst for vengeance and power. Instead, his “gentle and humble in heart” approach enraged them. They missed the point.
The common people wanted physical healing for their various sicknesses. Some were tormented by demons and wanted immediate deliverance. All they could see were their physical sicknesses, while Jesus was focused deeper into their pervasive sin-sickness.
The people wanted temporal, external blessings, but Jesus was calling attention to their spiritual peril and their desperate need for eternal salvation. They, too, missed the point.
Still others wanted a Messianic “Sugar Daddy” who would make them feel good about themselves and provide “goodies” to satisfy their every whim. Most who came for fleeting temporal blessings left empty-handed, having missed the whole point of Jesus’ spiritual message.
So, what was Jesus looking for from people who approached Him?
Late into Jesus’ public ministry, a lawyer approached Him for the purpose of testing Him. As written in Matthew 22:36-38:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.”
Jesus was continually astounded at how religious men of his day made having a relationship with God so complicated — endless “works of righteousness,” interminable prayer-babbling, fastidious law abiding, rules, regulations, traditions, etc.
Jesus swept all of that away, saying that God wants something far more precious, far deeper down, than their religious conformity. He wanted their hearts.
Our hearts are the “core” of our being and everything else is “context.” God can work with a man or woman whose heart belongs to Him even if the externals are weak or nonexistent — those will come in time.
But if a person’s heart is not really His, all the externals, the religiosity, the outward conformity means nothing. That was the fatal mistake made by the Pharisees.
Yet all the people of Jesus’ day had access to the Old Testament scriptures that promised true, lasting change for anyone who came to God for salvation from their heart. For instance, Ezekiel 36:26:
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
The greatest promise for authentic, revolutionary, eternal transformation lay right before them in black and white, and most missed it. For the willing who come to Him, God would wash them clean, remove their heart of stone, and give them His heart in exchange — a heart “of flesh,” tender, turned toward God, always ready to listen to the Voice of its Shepherd.
How About You?
Have you come to Jesus with your heart in your hand? Have you left your good deeds, days sober, new leaves turned over, excuses, accusations, blaming, etc. behind? Have you come to Him empty-handed, by yourself, with your heart in your hands, ready to give it to Jesus unconditionally?
He promises to treat your heart with the greatest of care and transform your life from the inside into conformity to the image of Christ.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son …”
— Romans 8:28-29
— D.C. Collier is a Bible teacher, discipleship mentor and writer focused on Christian apologetics. A mechanical engineer and internet entrepreneur, he is the author of My Origin, My Destiny, a book focused on Christianity’s basic “value proposition.” Click here for more information, or contact him at don@peervalue.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.