What shall I do with Jesus? -- The disciples

The fourth group we will consider are the disciples of Jesus. In John 6, some of the followers of Jesus wanted to turn away from Him once they learned of His demands. He said in vs. 53, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” Jesus was saying metaphorically that if they wanted to be His disciples, they must partake of Him fully and follow Him completely. But they misunderstood Him by thinking that He spoke literally of His flesh and blood. For this reason, John 6:66 says,“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

Before someone becomes a Christian, they must count the cost (Luke 14:28-30; Matthew 6:33; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 12:1-2; 2 John 9). A Christian may have to endure persecution or ridicule from a lot of sources in order to serve the Lord (2 Timothy 3:12). A Christian may also have to undergo many physical trials which are natural to life (Matthew 13:21). All of these may pull the Christian away from the Lord. Jesus said,“No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). If we turn back from the Lord, we cannot be saved. The theory of “once saved, always saved” is not found in the Bible (2 Peter 2:20-22). As Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Will you follow the Lord and be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10)? Will you have the fortitude be strong and follow the Lord? What will YOU do with Jesus?

Kyle Campbell

What shall I do with Jesus? -- The Jews

The third person or group of people we will study in our series is the Jews. The Jews wanted to crucify Him. Matthew 27:22 says, “Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.” The Jews had sought to kill Jesus for quite some time (John 5:16, 18).

Now no one can literally crucify Jesus again. But the term “crucify” is used in a metaphorical way in the New Testament. That is, its use represents something other than a physical crucifixion. For instance, Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” It is very plain from this passage that the crucifixion mentioned here is not literal, but it is a very graphical way to depict the seriousness of falling away.

Someone who has fallen away to sin has figuratively crucified someone who was once their Savior (2 Peter 2:20-22). This passage directly opposes the “once saved, always saved” doctrine of the Calvinist. According to the Bible, when you turn away from Jesus after becoming a Christian, you might as well pick up the nails and drive them back in His hands. Will you do that? What will YOU do with Jesus?

Kyle Campbell

What shall I do with Jesus? -- Judas

The second person we will study in our series is Judas. He will always be remembered as the one wanted to sell Jesus. Matthew 26:14-16 says, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”

One of the strongest impulses in American society is the drive to make money. But the desire for money, or covetousness, is condemned in the Bible. Paul wrote, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). In Colossians 3:5, covetousness is ranked along with idolatry and fornication.

How many of us would sell the Lord for money? We work and work and work, and for what? A few luxuries in this life that will never go over to the other side with us. Job declared that he came from the womb naked and he shall return to the earth in the same manner (Job 1:21). Jesus said, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). Will you sell out the Lord in order to make a little more money? What will YOU do with Jesus?

Kyle Campbell

What shall I do with Jesus? -- Pilate

In the last article, we introduced a study which asks the question, “What shall I do with Jesus?” The first person that we will study is Pilate, who wanted to stay neutral toward Him. In Matthew 27:24, the Bible says, “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” Although it was expedient for Pilate to remain neutral, the fact was he could not. He allowed the Jews to make the decision to crucify Jesus.

We cannot remain neutral toward Jesus. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). He also said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30). Paul said we are either servants of sin unto death or servants of obedience unto righteousness (Romans 6:16).

So there is no neutral ground where Jesus is concerned. Of course, you could reject Him, but you could not reject Him and still please God. If you want to go to heaven, Jesus is God’s only spokesman to us now (Hebrews 1:1-2). Paul said, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Our mediator is not Buddha or Mohammed; it is Christ. What will YOU do with Jesus?

Kyle Campbell

What do you see?

Have you looked in the mirror lately? Most people do. A mirror helps one examine their outward appearance so that they can help themselves look presentable. If one really cares how they look, and something needs fixing, they more than likely will stand in front of the mirror until it is fixed. The fact is people will go to great lengths to make sure their physical appearance is the way it should be. Unfortunately, not many people truly care about their inward appearance, the part God sees (1 Samuel 16:7; Hebrews 4:13).

So what do we use to look at our heart? What is our spiritual mirror? James 1:23-25 says, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” Our mirror is the gospel! It contains guidelines for living a holy life. Therefore, we may use it as a mirror to examine the appearance of our heart. One would normally not look at a physical mirror, see something wrong, walk away, and forget about it. However, many do this spiritually by being a hearer and not a doer. When they read the scriptures and see something wrong, they walk away and forget about it without fixing the problem. However, if we want to be pleasing to God, we must read the scriptures daily to examine ourselves spiritually. If what we see is good, we should strive to continue in it. If not, we should fix it. It’s as simple as that!

Jonathan Glaesemann

What shall I do with Jesus? -- Introduction

Of all the questions in the Bible, one of the most significant is the one Pilate asked the multitude in Matthew 27:22. As our Lord stood before the governor and was questioned, Pilate found Him to be innocent of any political or military threat to the Romans. He then asked the question, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”

After one has learned the truth about Christ, one can never be the same again (John 15:21-22). One is either better by obeying or worse by rejecting the knowledge of Jesus (John 9:39-41). On a spiritual plane, this question means a great deal to each one of us. Whether you want to or not, you have got to answer this question some time in your life. I cannot answer the question for you, nor can any of your friends, loved ones, etc. answer it for you. Paul said in Romans 6:17, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” You must answer the question because it is you that must obey from the heart!

Now, you must answer very carefully, because this is not a trivial matter. It is a matter of the greatest importance because it deals with eternal life (John 14:6; Ephesians 1:3, 7; 2 Timothy 1:8-10). Over the next several articles, we will consider how some different people in the New Testament answered this question and together we will see if our answers are the same.

Kyle Campbell