Are We Looking for Jesus in the Wrong Places?

 

Part 1 – The Foundation

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..."

(Hebrews 12:2)

There are certain passages of Scripture that we become so familiar with that we seldom stop to consider what they are actually saying. Hebrews 12:2 is one of them. We readily agree that we are to look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, but have we ever asked ourselves how we are to obey such a command?

The disciples had no difficulty understanding these words. They walked with Christ, listened to His teaching, witnessed His miracles, and followed Him wherever He went. We cannot do that today, for Christ has ascended to the Father. Yet the command has not changed. We are still exhorted to look unto Jesus.

If God commands us to do something, He must also provide the means by which we may obey that command. He has not left us to search according to our own imagination, nor has He left us to depend upon dreams, visions, emotions, traditions, or the opinions of men. If we are to look unto Christ, then God Himself must tell us where Christ is to be found.

The Lord Jesus Himself answered that question plainly.

"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 5:39)

The command to "look unto Jesus" is neither an impossible command nor a mysterious one. God has already provided the means whereby we are to know His Son. We are not directed to feelings, experiences, visions, traditions, or the opinions of men. We are directed to the Holy Scriptures, for they testify of Christ. If we neglect the Scriptures, we shall inevitably begin looking for Christ where He has never promised to reveal Himself.

There is our answer.

The Scriptures testify of Christ.

If we desire to know Him, understand Him, follow Him, and keep our eyes fixed upon Him, then we must search the Scriptures. Every doctrine, every preacher, every experience, every tradition, and every spiritual claim must be tested by the written Word, because it is the written Word that bears witness to the Living Word.

This immediately presents another challenge.

If Christ is revealed through the Scriptures, then why do so many believers find themselves distracted? Why do so many begin well, only to wander from the simplicity that is in Christ? Why are so many drawn after teachings, movements, personalities, and worldly philosophies that gradually shift their attention away from Him?

Perhaps the answer is not as difficult as we imagine.

John Bunyan understood something about the Christian life that remains as true today as it was when he wrote Pilgrim's Progress. Through the journey of a man named Christian, Bunyan portrays the many voices, temptations, and distractions that seek to draw believers away from Christ. His characters are memorable not because they belong only to an allegory, but because we continue to meet them every day. More importantly, if we are honest with ourselves, we may even discover that some of them have found a place within our own hearts.

Mr. Worldly Wiseman still offers advice that sounds wiser than God's Word.

Legality still persuades men that acceptance with God is found through their own efforts.

Talkative still fills churches with those who speak much about religion while knowing little of Christ.

Demas still beckons believers to pursue the riches and pleasures of this world.

Giant Despair still imprisons many of God's children behind the walls of doubt and discouragement.

Ignorance still convinces sincere people that sincerity alone is sufficient.

The names have not changed because human nature has not changed.

This study is not intended to examine Bunyan's literary genius, remarkable though it was. Neither is it an attempt to elevate Pilgrim's Progress to the level of Scripture. Rather, we shall use Bunyan's characters as mirrors in which to examine ourselves. Each one represents a distraction capable of drawing our eyes away from Christ. As we consider them one by one, we must ask ourselves an uncomfortable question: Have I listened to this voice? Have I entertained this way of thinking? Has this distraction, perhaps unnoticed, drawn my attention away from the One whom I am commanded to behold?

For every character Bunyan introduces, we shall return to the Scriptures, because it is there that Christ is revealed. It is there that error is exposed. It is there that every distraction is answered.

If we are truly to look unto Jesus, then we must continually return to the testimony that God Himself has given concerning His Son.

Signing off,

Tyrone Arthur