Jews Who Were For Jesus

Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
–Acts 10:43

A number of years ago the blockbuster movie “Titanic” told the story of one of the worst disasters of the twentieth century. However, the screenwriters missed perhaps one of the most dramatic scenes in that story. Several days after the Titanic’s sinking, the owners of the cruise ship, the White Star Line, were charged with the responsibility of informing people around the world whether their loved ones on the ship had survived or perished. So they set up a large board outside the offices of the White Star Line in Liverpool, England. They divided it into two columns. The column on the left was labeled “Known to Be Saved,” and the other column was labeled “Known to Be Lost.” As the messenger would emerge from the White Star office carrying the name of a passenger, people assembled around that sign to see which column the name would be placed under. Interestingly, just a few days earlier, the more than fifteen hundred passengers on that cruise ship had been enjoying all kinds of different experiences. Some were enjoying first-class service; others were in second class or third class; some were in steerage. But after the ship sank, there were only two categories: Known to Be Saved or Known to Be Lost.

In our world today, people also have a diversity of experiences. People experience diversity in religion, ethnicity, and economic background. But at the moment of death, there are only two categories that matter: saved or lost. That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14. Jesus said there are two roads, and only two roads, that lead to two very different eternal destinies. He said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” There are only two roads: the road to eternal life, and the road to eternal death.

Even though Jesus could not have been clearer about this, there are still people who argue against the belief that there is only one way to heaven. One reason they argue against this belief is that it’s incomprehensible that so many people could be on the wrong road, that so many people could be headed toward hell rather than heaven. Jesus said the majority of humanity is on this highway to hell, and everyone on the highway to hell shares this one common characteristic: although they have embraced different lies, they have all rejected the same truth. And the truth that everyone headed to hell has rejected is that Jesus Christ is the only means by which a person may be saved. Jesus could not have been clearer. In John 14:6, He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” When people say to you, “Your religion, your faith is too narrow,” you can say, “Yes, it is. It is very narrow.” Jesus said, “There is only one way through the gate into heaven, and it is through Me.”

***

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Jews Who Were For Jesus” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2015.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.