Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest man who had lived (MT 11:11). John the Baptist, it is well-known, said that he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals (MK 1:7, LK 3:16, JN 1:27, AC 13:25).
So if we are less than John, and John isn’t worthy to untie Jesus’ shoelaces, how can anyone think that they are worthy of Jesus? (If John was wrong when he said this, or if Jesus disagreed, then he surely would not have called him the greatest of men without at least fixing this discrepancy).
The Bible says many times that Jesus loves everyone, but how much can he love them if he considers them unworthy of him?
He also said that anyone “who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (MT 10:37-38, RSV).” This is kind of an odd thing to say (that non-Christians are unworthy of Jesus). If this unworthiness is only temporary (i.e., they become worthy of Jesus once they accept him), isn’t it an irrelevant thing to say? If it is permanent, how could he fulfill his implied mission to convert the world to Christianity?
2007-05-01 16:05:28 · 25 answers · asked by Dan X 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Pinkstealth
I'm not sure what you mean by "Mercy seat," but for someone who warns not to believe the non believers, you yourself are quite unfamiliar with the Bible. John the Baptist is New Testament. he was a contemporary of Jesus. We know that their age difference was less than 9 months (their mothers were pregnant at the same time. John baptized Jesus, and Jesus heard the news when John was beheaded. All of this occurs in the New Testament.
Perhaps when you said he was OT you meant that he was a reincarnation of the OT character Elijah. Though John denied being a reincarnation of Elijah, Jesus stated that he was. But I don't think this is waht you really meant, and even if it was it doesn not contradict that John's quote comes from the NT, not the OT, so your argument falls down.
2007-05-01 16:42:05 · update #1
Remember, Luke 18:14,
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
freakin morons give me a thumbs down! grrr lol
2007-05-01 16:08:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
Your original premise is in error....remember it was not Jesus who said that John was not worthy, it was John himself....
So we are not "less than John"...
Jesus does love everyone, (after all, he is part of the Trinity who created us) and died "that *all* might be saved."
Jesus didn't have an "implied mission to convert the world"---ha!
I am not sure of your motives in posting this "question." A lot of the things you are thinking about could more readily be addressed at the source---
2007-05-01 23:15:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Humbling isn't it?
What Jesus and John are both convening is that love of things, either material or family does not come before our relationship with Jesus or Jehovah, Jesus's father.
Adam put his relationship with Eve above his relationship with Jehovah, thus tossing all of mankind into sin and death.
Jesus was the worlds Greatest Teacher.
He did so by word and by setting the example for us all to follow.
2007-05-01 23:12:41 · answer #3 · answered by Here I Am 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This may help clear it up for you:
Notes for Verse 37
Verse 37. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me -- (Compare De 33:9). As the preference of the one would, in the case supposed, necessitate the abandonment of the other, our Lord here, with a sublime, yet awful self-respect, asserts His own claims to supreme affection.
Notes for Verse 38
Verse 38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me -- a saying which our Lord once and again emphatically reiterates (Mt 16:24 Lu 9:23 Lu 14:27). We have become so accustomed to this expression -- "taking up one's cross" -- in the sense of "being prepared for trials in general for Christ's sake," that we are apt to lose sight of its primary and proper sense here -- "a preparedness to go forth even to crucifixion," as when our Lord had to bear His own cross on His way to Calvary -- a saying the more remarkable as our Lord had not as yet given a hint that He would die this death, nor was crucifixion a Jewish mode of capital punishment.
2007-05-01 23:17:44 · answer #4 · answered by John 1:1 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please allow me to preface by saying that I am not a theologian at all.
I don't think that we are worthy of Jesus, nor can we be. By the sins we commit in our day-to-day lives we make ourselves unworthy of God's grace. However, part of the miracle of God's grace and Jesus's presence in our lives is that if we accept him, we receive grace although we are not worthy of it. It is a gift that we cannot possibly earn or repay, that Jesus gives us out of love for all humanity.
2007-05-01 23:12:45 · answer #5 · answered by terrierhead 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Never can be. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be. I'm sure He appreciates every effort.
That's the whole point in believing in Him - recognising that it's only through Jesus' Atonement which "makes up the difference" between our efforts and the perfection that He has demanded.
2007-05-01 23:07:52 · answer #6 · answered by MumOf5 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We are worthy of Christ. We are unworthy of His love, however. That is because we are all sinners. Yes, even those who have been saved by Him.
Romans 5:8 says this:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
It is through accepting Christ's death on the cross for our sins that we become worthy of Him.
2007-05-01 23:11:42 · answer #7 · answered by Oklahoman 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well if you are christian you always put God and Jesus first before anything. for me it is God, then my husband, and then my children. God is the reason for the things you have now. when you are a christian, you live the life, it's not something you can just turn on and off, just because you don't feel like doing the right things today-God wont mind, he knows your busy, WRONG!!! no one said it was an easy walk.
2007-05-01 23:25:06 · answer #8 · answered by Katie A 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Am I the only one who finds the "we're not worthy" attitude confusing and depressing? I keep thinking of Pain and Panic in "Hercules" as they grovel and cry out "We are WORMS!!!!" and I'm having a hard time understanding how someone can want to stay in a relationship like that.
2007-05-01 23:15:56 · answer #9 · answered by Nandina (Bunny Slipper Goddess) 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Absolutely no one is worthy of Jesus, but he is giving us a chance to redeem ourselves and he gave us that by dying on the cross. IF we have faith in him, he will purify our hearts, so if we DON'T believe in him as our Saviour, our unworthiness will last forever.
This is just what I believe...
2007-05-01 23:11:46 · answer #10 · answered by milestailsprower 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
we are unworthy of Him, He wasn't sent here to convert the world to Christianity. He was sent here to save His people from their sins. He did what He came here to do. without His sacrifice, we would all be condemned to hell. what better reason to love God and Son before all others. Christians follow what He taught. there were no Christians before He came.
2007-05-01 23:14:11 · answer #11 · answered by alienmiss 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋