Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
8 10 2026
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Then the Dead Walked in Jerusalem…So Why Didn’t Everyone Believe? Part 2 of 2
One question has stayed with me since writing Part One.
How could people witness the dead walking through the streets of Jerusalem
and still not surrender their lives to Christ?
Jesus Himself answers that question. Miracles may open our eyes, but they don’t always open our hearts.
They were never the destination.
They were signs pointing us to Someone infinitely greater.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus spent so much of His ministry talking about invitations rather than miracles. One of His most powerful illustrations is found in Matthew 22, where He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a king preparing a wedding banquet for his son. Everything was ready. The feast had been prepared. The invitations had already gone out. The King simply asked those who had been invited to come.
But they didn’t.
One was too busy with his business. Another had a field to tend. Others simply ignored the invitation altogether. Can you imagine receiving a personal invitation from the King Himself and deciding that today’s schedule was simply too full?
As unbelievable as that sounds, I wonder how often we do exactly the same thing. We become consumed with careers, finances, family responsibilities, health concerns, and the endless demands of life. None of those things are wrong. But even God’s good gifts become dangerous when they quietly replace the Giver.
The tragedy in Jesus’ story wasn’t that the invitation lacked sincerity. The tragedy was that people simply valued other things more. Yet what happened next reveals something beautiful about the heart of God. Instead of canceling the wedding, the King sent His servants into the highways and byways to invite anyone who would come. That’s our story. None of us deserved an invitation, yet by His grace we’ve been forgiven, adopted into His family, and promised a place at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
But Jesus wasn’t finished.
One man accepted the invitation but refused the wedding garment the king had provided. He wanted the celebration, but he wanted it on his own terms. He wanted the privilege of the banquet without receiving what the king freely offered.
I have often wondered if that doesn’t describe much of modern Christianity. We love the promises of Christ. We want forgiveness, peace, purpose, and the assurance of heaven. But surrender? Dying to ourselves? Treasuring Christ above everything else? Those are conversations we often avoid.
Amazingly, after my heart attack, I thought I would get lost in introspection. Instead, I found myself examining my life as though it were molecules under a microscope. Why was I really a Christian? Had I done enough? Then another question surfaced that cut much deeper: “Dennis, do you treasure Christ Himself above everything He gives you?”
I was asking myself some very hard questions, and I wasn’t settling for easy justifications or self-congratulatory answers. I was looking honestly at the good…the not-so-good…and the places where Christ still wasn’t first. It was during that season that God began showing me there is a world of difference between appreciating what Christ has done for me and actually treasuring Christ Himself.
The more I’ve come to know Him, the more I’ve realized that heaven is beautiful because He is there. Forgiveness is precious because it restores me to Him. Eternal life matters because it means I will spend it with Him.
Years ago, I read a statement by John Piper that simply put into words what God had already begun teaching my heart.
“The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God.”
I had honestly never thought about my faith that way before. Like many believers, I understood that Christ died for my sins so I could go to heaven. That is gloriously true. But Piper forced me to ask a much deeper question.
If heaven contained every joy imaginable, but Christ Himself were not there, would it still satisfy me?
That question exposed something in my own heart.
Heaven is not the treasure.
Christ is.
Forgiveness is not the treasure.
Christ is.
Peace is not the treasure.
Christ is.
Eternal life is not the treasure.
Christ is.
Everything the gospel gives us is precious because every gift leads us to the Giver. The destination has never simply been heaven.
The destination has always been Jesus Himself.
That is why the closing chapters of Revelation move me so deeply. Heaven erupts with praise:
“Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:6–7)
I’ve officiated enough weddings to know there’s one moment everyone waits for.
The doors open, the bride appears, and every eye turns.
Beautiful as that moment is, every wedding on earth is only a shadow of the one still to come.
One day the Bridegroom Himself will receive His Bride. There will be no more sin, no more death, no more funerals, no more broken relationships, no more wandering hearts.
Everything we have longed for will finally be fulfilled
because we will be with Him.
Perhaps that’s why Matthew recorded that the dead walked
through Jerusalem after Christ’s resurrection. Yes, it declared His victory over death.
But it also pointed beyond that day to the day when death itself
will be swallowed up forever. The empty tomb was never intended
to be the end of the story. It was the beginning
of the greatest invitation ever extended to mankind.
The invitation still stands.
The table is being prepared.
The Bridegroom is coming.
The question is no longer whether God has spoken. The question is whether we have accepted His invitation and discovered that His greatest gift was never merely forgiveness or heaven.
His greatest gift is His Son.
Who else is worthy kari Jobe, Cody Cames,
Thank you for spending these few minutes with me today. My prayer is that these devotionals don’t simply give you something to think about, but draw you into a deeper love for Jesus Christ. If someone forwarded this devotional to you and you’d like to receive future devotionals each week, you can subscribe here:
If you’d like to go even deeper, I’d love to invite you to join me beginning Tuesday, September 1st, for my free six-week online course, Discovering Jesus. We’ll meet Tuesday evenings from 7:00–8:30 p.m. as we explore the foundational truths of our faith and, more importantly, deepen our relationship with Christ. You’re welcome to invite your spouse, family members, friends, or neighbors. I’ll provide all of the materials at no charge. Just let me know.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus…because He truly is the Treasure.
Blessings,
Dennis Piller
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