Get Real November 23 Devotional
November 23, 2024
JOHN 8:19 | Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
Jesus bluntly tells his opponents that they do not know the Father. Now this is challenging for them and for us. Personal knowledge differs from factual knowledge. The Pharisees know a great deal about the God of Israel. They were students of the Law and the Prophets, they revered the patriarchs, they could quote scripture with ease. Yet something was missing. They know the facts but not the Father. They were strangers to God's heart, just like the dutiful elder brother in Luke 15. They were proud of their knowledge and their dutiful scrupulosity, but felt no concern for the lost and struggling. God’s graciousness and mercy were foreign to them—formal concepts that did not impact their souls or their outlook.
When Jesus healed someone they did not celebrate, but criticized, especially if it was on the Sabbath, and they fumed if he also offered the sufferer forgiveness.
When did your knowledge of God become a personal sharing in his heart and values?
