Have You Tasted Jesus ?

At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called ‘Baptist Day.’ On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors on a grassy picnic area. Every ‘Baptist Day’ the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education centre. One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr. Tillich spoke for two and a half hours trying to prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection, the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who in fact, never rose from the dead, in any literal sense. Then he asked if there were any questions? 

After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped woolly white hair, stood up at the back of the auditorium. “Docta Tillich, I got one question,”he said, as all eyes turned towards him. He reached into his lunch bag and pulled out an apple, and began eating it. “Docta Tillich…” Crunch, Munch… “My question is a simple question,” Crunch, Munch… “Now I ain’t never read them books you read…” Crunch, Munch… “and I can’t recite the scriptures in the original Greek…” Crunch, Munch… “I don’t know nothin’ about Niebuhr and Heidegger” Crunch, Munch… He finished the apple.     “All I want to know is: This apple I just ate – was it bitter or sweet?” Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and replied in exemplary scholarly fashion: “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.”The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tilich and calmly said, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus.” 

The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform. Have you tasted Jesus? “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes in Me shall never thirst. But I say unto you, that you have also seen Me, and believe not. All that the Father has given Me shall come to Me; and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:35-37) 

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

‘Taste and see’ means, ‘Try and experience. You will never know how good He is until you experience His goodness. You will never experience His goodness until you try Him. He is the ‘bread of life’ and the ‘water of life.’ 

‘The man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with just an opinion.’ 

Taste Him today. You will see that He is good. 

- Pastor David Goudy