John 7:40-52

John 7:40-52

Therefore after hearing these words, some out of the crowd were saying, “This is truly the prophet.”  Others were saying, “This is the Christ.”  And they were saying, “For the Christ does not come out of Galilee?  Did not scripture say that the Christ comes out of the seed of David and from the village Bethlehem from which David was?”  Therefore a schism became in the crowd because of Him.  And some out of them were desiring to seize Him, but nobody cast a hand upon Him.  Therefore the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees, and those ones said to them, “For what reason did you not bring Him?”  The officers answered, “A man never spoke in this manner.”  Therefore the Pharisees answered to them, “And you all have not been led off of the path?  Did not any out of the rulers or the Pharisees believe in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed.”  Nicodemus, the one who came to Him earlier and who was one out of them, spoke to them, “Does not our Law judge a man except that it should hear from Him and it should know what He does?”  They answered and said to him, “Are you not also out of Galilee?  Investigate and see that out of Galilee a prophet is not being raised up.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I love that John is honest.  A schism occurs in the crowd because of Jesus.  Isn’t it interesting that the Son of God actually divides people?  If you think about this, this is the story of Jesus’ life.  Jesus heals people and the crowd and the spiritual leaders are divided.  Jesus miraculously feeds people and the crowds are divided.  Jesus teaches in the temple and the crowds are divided.  This is the reality of Christ.  We’d like to think that the Son of God united people.  In truth, Christ divides the world up into those who humbly believe and those who do not.

Do you think of Jesus as a figure about whom there is division?  How can this help us understand division in the world today – maybe even within our own churches?

Second Thought:

The officers sent to arrest Jesus come back to the Jewish leaders empty handed.  They were awed by Jesus’ ability to teach.  When they heard Jesus teach, they knew better than to arrest Him.  However, the Jewish leaders accused the officers of being dumb and easily persuaded.  The Jewish leaders dismiss the testimony of these officers because they do not want to hear it.  Their minds had already been made up.  The testimony of the officers falls on deaf ears.

Why do leaders often not listen to the testimony of people who are below them?  Do you think this is a common trait among leaders?  What can a leader do to avoid this problem?

Third Thought:

 The Jewish leaders even ignore one of their own who steps up.  Nicodemus – who came to Jesus in John 3 – steps up to defend Jesus.  He reminds the Jewish leaders that the Law cannot be used to judge anyone unless the person’s testimony and example should be lifted up and compared to the Law.  The Jewish leaders have to know he is right, because rather than argue with Nicodemus they attempt to shame him.  They ask if he is also from Galilee.  It is an insult to Nicodemus’ intelligence.  As they were not willing to listen to testimony, they also will not listen to reason.

When do you experience leaders not being willing to listen to reason?  Do you think this is a common problem among leaders?  What can leaders do to avoid this problem?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 7:53-8:11