At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. John 10:22-26
Today we find Jesus at the Feast of Dedication, what we know as Hanukkah. Once again He has the Jewish authorities questioning Him. If only Jesus would tell them He is the Christ, they would believe. If only that were true. Jesus had been doing nothing but telling and showing the Jewish people who He was. He had claimed to be one with God, to be God. He had healed the sick and brought sight to the blind. The dead had been raised and the good news preached. All things Isaiah had written that the Messiah would do.
I think the hardest thing in the world to open is a closed mind and that is what the priests, scribes and Pharisees had. Their minds were not only closed but locked tight. It did not matter who Jesus was, what He said or did, there was no way they were going to accept Jesus as the Christ. Scripture is full of people whose hearts are hardened but I think none more so then the hearts and minds of the Jewish authorities.
We run into this same issue today. Some people just cannot accept the existence of God. For them Christianity or any religion is just a bunch of myths. Others may be open to some religions but are completely closed off to Christianity. Now I can understand people of another religion being unwilling to listen to the truths of Christianity but I find the people who rule out anything other than natural causes to be particularly closed minded.
When anyone takes the stand that miracles cannot happen and that everything has to have a natural explanation they have closed the door on religion and will refuse to believe a miracle even when they experience one. In doing so they inadvertently give up finding out why. They can tell you what the universe is made of but they cannot tell you why there is a universe. They can tell you what makes up the human brain but they cannot tell you why we have a mind.
When you witness to someone who has a closed mind you need to not get frustrated. The best one can usually hope for is a small crack in the door. Just maybe something you say will stick and hopefully they may seek further information. Most closed minds will be like the Jewish authorities; they will witness the event but refuse to believe.
Have a blessed day,
David
