A Stolen Jesus

At one time or another you may have heard the statement, possibly in a sermon or in conversation, about a “stolen Jesus.” If one should ask, “Can Jesus really be stolen?” we would have to answer, “Certainly not!” How could it even be imagined that a holy divine Being would permit Himself to be stolen. Such a thing is not possible.

When with His human nature He was dwelling upon this earth, the inhabitants of Nazareth, filled with wrath against Him, intended to cast Jesus down headlong from the brow of the hill whereon their city was built. But He passed through the midst of them and went His way. Nobody could touch Him, the Son of God, without His permission. After He had died on the cross, the Triune God still did not permit the body of the Lord Jesus to be stolen. It was great foolishness of the Sanhedrin to place a watch at His grave there in the garden of Joseph of Arimathaea in order to prevent anyone from stealing the body of Jesus. Had not He, whose divine nature is always present with Him, legions of angels at His disposal to constantly protect that grave? Nobody could lock Him in, nor could anyone lock Him out The story afterwards told by the watch (as recorded in Matthew 28) regarding the stealing of His body was nothing other than deceit and a lie.

Today, whenever mention is made of stealing Jesus, it is then meant in a spiritual sense. Can anyone steal Him spiritually, and in such a way truly possess Jesus as a Savior for his soul? No, neither is that possible. Christ received all those for whom He prayed and died from His Father, as is plainly revealed to us in John 17. Nobody can in reality have any saving profit of Jesus in a deceitful way, and not one of God’s people would have their Savior but in a way of truth and justice. Their great concern is often whether their experiences are according to God’s Word and whether their faith is genuine.

If Jesus the Savior is not received as a free gift of the Father and accepted by a sinner through faith, then all boasting of possessing Him is only imagination at best. There will always be some who pretend to have Christ as their personal Savior, but who know inwardly that they are strangers of Him. Such are known by God, and sometimes by men also, as deceivers of their own souls. Others (and to such we fear belong a great many in our days) imagine that they possess Jesus and talk about Him as their Savior out of ignorance. They act, and appear to be convinced, that anyone can own or apply the Son of God for himself or herself at will, not considering that which we read in Romans 9:16, “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that shew-eth mercy.”

All who possess Jesus without having received Him by the free grace of God, even though it may be as a result of gross ignorance, are to be warned in love that they are walking about with a “self-stolen” Jesus. This can never be beneficial, and can only be a hindrance to seeking and desiring Him in the right way. Yes, to possess Jesus in such a deceitful way has put multitudes at ease and at rest, and, we fear, has led legions to cry out eternally, ‘Too late, too late.” Therefore God’s servants must warn of the great danger of having nothing more than a stolen Jesus.

Those who are not in agreement with this biblical doctrine suspect that we consider the act of the woman who came behind Jesus and touched the border of His garment as an act of stealing. (See Luke 8.) Far be it from us to even think or explain that she was trying to steal Him or anything from Him. To the contrary, it was her great faith in Jesus which enabled her to believe not only that He could, but that He would also heal her. Therefore the Lord Jesus said to her, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (verse 48). One who steals, or intends to do so, lacks saving faith, not believing that our God is an all-knowing God and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The words of Ephesians 4:28 are also applicable here, “Let him that stole steal no more.” What a blessing could be expected if all that was obtained by false accusation would be restored fourfold, as Zacchaeus did. To such Jesus still says “This day is salvation come to this house,… for the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:9-10). Such lost ones include all spiritual thieves made honest.

G. Feyter serves as elder in the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Fort Macleod, Alberta.

One who steals, or intends to do so, lacks saving faith...

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