“I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus (John 14:6)

What you seek is standing right in front of you. –Jesus

In today’s language, we want what the religious scholars were seeking in Jesus’ day— “proof of life.”  What does proof of life mean?  Today, when someone is taken, we want evidence indicating that the victim is alive and well. Typically, a ransom demand is made in exchange for the loved one taken from us.  But the ransom demand will not be paid until there is confirmation, “proof of life,” that the hostage is still alive; usually in the form of a photograph with the victim holding up a current copy of a newspaper. 

For example: “I will not pay the ransom until I have proof of life” meaning I will not do what you say until evidence is given that you do indeed have what I want back.

Also: “Taylor, I will not pay your rent until I have proof of life; call your mother.”

We are all hostages of sin.  God wants us back.  Jesus came to pay the ransom demand for our sins so that we will be set free.  The proof of Life is Jesus’ resurrection from death to life everlasting!  This new, set free life, involves relationship with the One who loves us most.

Listen in as Jesus explains the ultimate “proof of life” to those demanding an answer.  Little do they know that the real Proof of Life everlasting is standing right in front of them!

Matthew 12, The Message

Jonah-Evidence

³⁸ Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees cornered him. “Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?”

^39-40 Jesus said, “You’re looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. The only proof you’re going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish’s belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave.

^41-42 “On Judgment Day, the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about ‘proofs.’ On Judgment Day, the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that will condemn this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’

^43-45 “When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.

“That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Here is more proof of eternal life given to us by God through Jesus His Son:

Jesus paid the ransom for our lives.  God has done this through Christ, His Son, who is our ransom. Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

^“Foryou know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake”.  1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT

Why?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

The ransom has been paid in full.  The transaction has been made.  We have been rescued and set free.  We have life forever with Jesus! 

So, why go back to being held hostage by our captors of evil that leads ultimately to our death?  Jesus explains that this act of running back to our old sin nature and habits bind us even tighter making us worse off than we were before coming to Him to be set free.  Yikes!

How can we avoid being recaptured? 

• Ask the Holy Spirit to fill and feed our souls.  He eagerly stands ready to teach us the ways of God.  We will not remain “vacant” but filled with God’s glory as we grow in His character.

• Do what our enemy hates most:  Our enemy hates believers on their knees before God crying out in Jesus Name!  So, keep a clean house by consistently being with God to know God more.  There is nothing better in this life than developing an intimate relationship with God, our Father in heaven by talking and listening for His response to us daily.  God loves to hear from us…just like our parents did when we became adults.  

• Pray like Jesus!  Jesus taught us how to pray…see Matthew 6.  The enemy hates Kingdom of God thinking and behaving!  “Your Kingdom come; your will be done…”

Our enemy hates God-focused people because we are harder to distract!  So, stay focused on what Jesus calls living abundantly.  Proof of eternal life has been generously giving to us by the ransom Jesus paid for our lives.  We who believe that Jesus is not only Savior, but also Lord of our lives, are “evidence” of Kingdom of God thinking and doing.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” –Jesus (John 10:10 NKJV)

Lord,

You are Life to me.  You are Hope for the world.  I pray that those held captive by the enemy right now will stop and realize that all they need to do is call out in Your Name, repent, believe, and be set free!  YOU are our proof of Life eternal!  Yes, and Amen!

In Jesus Name, Amen