Cry Aloud! (John 12:44-46)

44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."

These three verses nicely sum up all that Jesus has been teaching. His teaching is centered around himself. He points to himself and when he points to himself he is pointing to God the Father. When people see him they see the Father, who has sent Jesus into the world to do his bidding. He is the perfect representative of God on a mission to bring light to people living in darkness. This light is life and truth Jesus offers as eternal life to those who will believe in him and believe in God.

Yet he does not say this quietly but cries aloud this great truth clearly and plainly for all to hear. The puritan pastor Richard Baxter writes in The Reformed Pastor: “I marvel how I can preach . . . slightly and coldly, how I can let men alone in their sins, and that I do not go to them and beseech them for the Lord’s sake to repent, however they take it, and whatever pains or trouble it should cost me. I seldom come out of the pulpit but my conscience smiteth me that I have been no more serious and fervent. It accuseth me . . . ‘Shoulds’t thou not weep over such a people, and shoulds’t not thy tears interrupt thy words? Shoulds’t thou not cry aloud and show them their transgressions and entreat and beseech them as for life and death?” Jesus has no need to ask himself these questions for he does cry aloud.

Is there a place in your life when you need to cry aloud for Jesus? Speak to him about this in prayer.