John 7:32-36

John 7:32-36

The Pharisees heard the crowd grumbling about the things of Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers in order that they should seize Him.  Therefore Jesus said, “Yet I am with you all a little more time, and I go to the one who sent me.  You all will seek me and you all will not find me.  And where I am you all are not powerful enough to come.”  Therefore the Jews said to each other, “Where is this one about to go that we will not find Him?  Is He about to go into the Diaspora of the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this word that He said, ‘You all will seek me and you all will not find me’ and ‘Where I am you all are not powerful enough to come?’”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When the crowd begins to ask questions, the leadership responds.  When the crowd begins to wonder why Jesus isn’t being taken into custody the Pharisees and the other religious leaders sent officers to arrest Jesus.  However, it is clear that the Jewish leaders were not obedient to God because they act in the wrong time.  It is not the right time to arrest Jesus, so Jesus is not arrested in spite of the action of the Jewish leaders.  Our task as spiritual people is not to react to the grumblings of the world but rather to synchronize ourselves with God and live out of His will.

Which is easier for you: react to the people around you or react to God’s will?  Why is that one easier?  What can you do in your life to increase the likelihood of reacting to God’s will and synchronizing your life to His?

Second Thought:

Jesus is also blunt about our humanity here.  Where He goes, we are not powerful enough to follow.  Many translations say we are not “able” to follow.  Able is a good translation, but I prefer “powerful enough.”  The Greek verb there is dynamai (δύναμαι).  You can see that this is the root word for our English word dynamite.  We are not talking ability in this verb as much as we are talking power.  Human beings are not powerful enough to go to the Father.  It just isn’t in the cards.  We need help from God.  We need Christ.

Why is it hard for us to acknowledge that humanity is not powerful enough to reach God?  How does this point also point us to submission and humbleness before God?

Third Thought:

The end result of this passage is that the Jewish people were confused.  Understand that their confusion comes because they would not let go of their own understanding.  Because their expectations brought them to a place where things had to happen in a particular way, they ended up confused.  With God, we must rely upon His understanding.  If we wait until everything makes sense up front, we will never do anything with God!  Hindsight is when things make sense the best to us.  We must go forward in trust with God, not complete understanding.  The way to God is through belief and faith, not full understanding.  Understanding typically comes after we have lived out of our faith and belief.

Where are you susceptible to leaning upon your own understanding?  Where are you susceptible to being confused because you desire full understanding more than you desire faith and belief?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 7:37-39