Luke 10:16-20
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
From this side of the Resurrection, it’s pretty clear to us that Jesus is Lord. Prior to that, not so much. Ever since Abraham said yes to God, there have been true and false prophets in every generation. By the time Jesus joined us, there were people claiming to be the Messiah all over the place. Many people recognized Jesus for who he is before his death and resurrection, but it wasn’t as easy as it would seem.
After Jesus died for our sake and was raised from the dead for our salvation, it got much easier to recognize who he is. That doesn’t, however, mean that we all agree on how to follow Him, or on what God is saying to us today. False prophets remain alive and well among us in every generation.
The difficulty with false prophets is that most of the time, they are people of profound faith who truly believe that their message is from God. It would be so much easier if they were stereotypical villains with capes and curled mustaches…
In reality, each of us has been a true and a false prophet at some point in our lives and we will most likely be again. That’s because a prophet is someone who speaks God’s Word into current events. It’s not fortune telling, or some sort of ecstatic experience. Prophets remain grounded in worship, prayer and study so that they’re ready when God lays a message on their hearts. Because we’re human beings, our sinful nature often gets into the way and distorts God’s Word. That’s why there’s so much margin for error.
So how do we know which messages are truly from God? This side of the grave, we can never be certain, but there are ways to be discerning. Martin Luther said that a good Christian should live with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. We are called to prayerfully filter everything we see, hear, and read through the lens of the Gospel. Is this consistent with the teachings and example of Jesus? Anything that contradicts who we know Jesus to be is false prophesy and anyone who asks us to act in ways that are contrary to the Gospel witness is a false prophet.
This is difficult stuff that leaves us perched on a razor’s edge. Remembering that none of us has a full understanding of God’s will and that we’re all trying to be faithful at the same time can keep us from becoming too rigid. Staying immersed in our spiritual disciplines along with others in our faith community can help us recognize when Jesus calls us to humbly and firmly speak the Truth in Love.
Prayer: Lord God: You are God and I am not. Guide me in my constant struggle to hear and respond to your Word alone. AMEN