The witness of others

This past week we talked about the parable of the two sons contained in Matthew 21:28-32. Jesus was rebuking the chief priests and teachers of the law because they say yes to God but never do anything about actually following God. Jesus points out in the passage that even though they saw the change that came over tax collectors and prostitutes who repented when John the Baptist came, they still did not follow after God. Not only did they have the message of John, they had been able to see the fruit of the message by the change in these "sinners" lives. Maybe you are out there and you don't know if you can trust the message that has been written to us in the Bible. I challenge you to take a look at the change that it has wrought in people who have followed it. I was reading in John 4 and it talks about Jesus' interaction with a Samaritan woman. She later goes into the town and tells everyone about Jesus. On the basis of her testimony, the people come to meet Jesus and they end up saying this. It is no longer because of what you have said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.(vs 42) They saw a change in her life and wanted to find out more and once they encountered Jesus they had their own experience with God and were changed. Don't be like the chief priests who rejected both the message and the fruit of the message. Say yes to God and then do what he commands.