Not All Will Believe

Not All Will Believe

 If you ever feel discouraged because family, friends, or coworkers refuse to accept the gospel, you may take some comfort from the fact that even Jesus’ own brothers did not believe that He was the Christ (John 7:5). Even though they had seen His miracles and listened to His teaching, they still balked at the idea of placing faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

 This is important to notice, because it shows that the person who hears the gospel bears responsibility for responding in faith, while the person who shares the gospel bears responsibility for communicating with faithfulness. If we as believers ever start holding ourselves responsible for whether unbelievers accept or reject the message of Christ, we are headed for trouble!

 That’s not to suggest that we can be careless in our witness or ignore our credibility. Notice that Jesus’ brothers rejected Him in spite of His works and words. Is that true of us? Or do people dismiss our faith because our lives show little evidence that what we say we believe is true or that it makes any difference to us?

 Eventually, at least some of Jesus’ brothers did believe in Him. James, probably the oldest, became a leader in the church (Acts 15:13–21) and wrote the NT letter that bears his name. Likewise, the author of Jude may have been the half brother of Jesus.