John 7:25-31

John 7:25-31

Therefore some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this one whom they seek to kill?  And look, He is plainly speaking and they say nothing to Him.  Perhaps the rulers have truly known that this one is the Christ?  But we know from where this one is.  But whenever Christ should come no one knows from where he is.”  Therefore Jesus cried out in the temple while preaching and said, “You have known me and you have known from where I am.  And I have not come from myself; but the one who sent me is true – whom you do not know.  I know Him because I am from Him and that one sent me.”  Therefore they were seeking to seize Him, and nobody cast a hand upon Him because His hour had not yet come.  Yet out of the crowd many believed into Him and they were saying, “When the Christ comes will he not do more signs than this one did?”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In the beginning of this passage, it appears that the people were considering Jesus.  They are curious as to why the religious leaders don’t arrest Him even though Jesus is plainly teaching out in the open.  However, the crowd talks themselves out of seeing Jesus as the Messiah.  They think that because they know Jesus and His upbringing and his origins that He cannot be the Messiah from God.  Again we see the danger of leaning upon human understanding.  When we think we have things figured out, we miss what God is doing in our life.

When are you likely to think you have God’s plans figured out?  When are you most likely to get that point wrong?

Second Thought:

Jesus again makes it clear.  He has come from God.  The crowd may know His human origins, but they are missing His divinity.  Jesus is from God.  His authority is from God.  His identity is from God.  Everything that has salvific importance is from the Father in Heaven.  He is both fully human and fully divine.

Why did the Jewish people have difficulty seeing Jesus’ divinity?  In what ways might this have actually made it more difficult to see Jesus as the Messiah if you would have lived during His lifetime?  Is this a reason for us to feel blessed in that we live after these events have happened and been explained to us?

Third Thought:

At the end, John gives us a note about the belief of the crowd.  We should be careful to not make too much of the word believe.  The people believed Jesus’ teaching and his challenge to the Jewish leaders.  But they clearly did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  After all, the reflection that they leave us with is, “When the Christ comes…”  In other words, they didn’t see Jesus as the Christ.  Even though the crowd believed what Jesus said, they still did not see Him as God’s Messiah.

Is it easy to believe Jesus’ words but not put them into action?  Is it easy to think about Jesus as a good teacher and an incredible man and yet still not change your life in order to follow Him?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 7:32-36