It’s a little shocking to see unbelieving scholars and historians try to figure out who Jesus is, because they seem to weigh every imaginable possibility except the truth. They’ll parse and examine every word of his, every strong claim and bold promise, and they still won’t even entertain the possibility that he was the Son of God. And you have to wonder, how could this unbelieving world be so blind? For that matter, when Jesus said he was going where the unbelievers couldn’t follow, how could they completely miss the fact that he was talking about going to the Father’s side? Paul was right—it’s as if a veil lies over their hearts!
It turns out, when you read the gospels with eyes of faith, everything Jesus said makes sense—whereas if you can’t conceive of him being the Messiah, so many of his words become nonsense. If he was just a guy who taught crazy things and then died, what in the world could he mean by saying he was going to the one who sent him? The Jews thought he just meant he was going somewhere else in the world. But if he in fact was who he said he was, it becomes clear he meant his earthly ministry was temporary, and he’d soon be home with the Father. So where do you think Jesus is now: decomposing somewhere, or seated in glory at the right hand of the Father?
Either way, time will prove his glory. Hear these words from Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” In other words, everyone will one day see Jesus for who he truly is, regardless of whether we believed it beforehand or not. So in fact we can heed Jesus’ words in this passage and know where to find him now. He was on Earth for only a short time, but now he dwells in eternal glory with God the Father, and he invites those who know that he is true, and know that he is Lord, to join him in that glory.
