We Are Not Of Those Who Shrink Back…

“But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved”

– Hebrews 10:39

In Jerusalem the crowds had gathered from all around the Roman Empire to celebrate passover, some had traveled for days or weeks before reaching the city walls. Some had come for religious reasons, some simply out of tradition and others just to see and partake in the excitement of being in such a place with so many other people or because they were told “Jews like to party”.

On Easter sunday the crowds will gather again much like they did two thousand years ago. There will be those who have traveled across the states, those who took extra vacation time just so they can be with family. They will file into church wearing the best of whatever they own, some come for what they consider religious reasons, others will come for the sake of an age old family tradition and still others come confused with how chocolate, baskets and bunnies have to do with the once a year church visit that is awkward, boring and often feels meaningless.

Back two thousand years ago, to those outside of the Jewish faith the passover was just a time when everyone ate nasty yeast-less bread and rehashed the story of how Moses led them out of Egypt. It carried little meaning to those who did not understand the significance of how God had led his people out of slavery and toward the promise land. I imagine the routine of the passover became mundane and faded to just something families did every year. It lost it’s meaning even though the story was told. Even in my own life I have been guilty of showing up on Easter morning bored and uninterested. There are times I’ve felt offended by the fact that people are more fake about their faith on Easter and Christmas than any other time of the year. It’s as if they do not choose to believe any other time.

Following Jesus is not a once a year thing.

In the crowds of people that had gathered in Jerusalem for the passover there were those who had come because they believed this was the time that Jesus was going to rise up as their fearless leader and over throw the Romans. There were those who had followed him simply because he healed them or satisfied their hunger. There were those who followed just for the excitement of the crowds that seemed to be amazed by him. But there were a few who really believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the savior of his people. Not a savior over Roman oppression but a savior over sin, guilt, shame and separation from God.

For those few who really truly believed they were going to quickly learn that following Jesus was not going to be a once a year thing, it was not going to be an easy thing and it was not always going to be that exciting either. When Jesus was arrested the people that were following Jesus seemed to shrink. There were those who had shouted “Hosanna in the highest” when he had entered the city but found themselves screaming “Crucify Him” by the end of the week. There were those who wanted to follow Jesus when it seemed safe, comfortable and the popular thing to do, but when things changed they were quick to shrink back and run away.

People are no different today as they were two thousand years ago. There are still those who only follow Jesus because he healed them or satisfied their hunger, there are those who think the crowds that gather on Christmas and Easter are exciting, and those who come once a year because they respect anyone who does something to cause a holiday.

But who are we.

Who are we in this story. I love how the writer of Hebrews speaks of the supremacy of Christ and assures his reader that Jesus is the son of God. He reminds them of why Jesus came to live and died and rose again. Then he goes on to speak of those few that continued to believe in Jesus after many had given up…

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

• Hebrews 10:32-36,39

After Jesus death and resurrection it was still not easy to follow Jesus. There was no once a year follower of Jesus. It was either all in or all out. The risk was high and the cost was at times your own life, yet there were those who did not shrink back. When Jesus was crucified there were many who just gave up, they shrunk back, he did not do what they thought he was going to do so they gave up on him. I believe there are those who think they are following Jesus, but know nothing about him and there are those who as they get to know him and everything he did they choose to leave him, but we do not have to be those people.

We have a choice to follow Jesus everyday, learn more about him not for the sake of knowing facts, but for a relationship with him.

The early followers of Jesus did not always know what they were going to be getting into or what God was calling them to do, however, they made a choice to follow any way. Following Jesus is a learning process. It takes time, we have no need to shrink back or throw away our confidence. For those who believe we have ten thousand reasons to tell the world about Jesus. There will always be those who only come to church on Easter or Christmas, but there is no reason that that should be the only time all year that they hear or see Jesus.

 

We are not of those who shrink back from carrying the good news to the world. The good news of love and hope. The world two thousand years ago was in desperate need of hope and an example of love. Jesus calls us to carry that same message to our world that is longing for some hope and is often confused about love. We need to remind those who believe that we are not of those who shrink back.

 

-Caleb Ross Hunter