4. Jesus and the
people...John 7.40-53
There is a bible truth
that many of us tend to overlook, and that is, that Jesus did not
come to our planet to live a passive and uncomplicated life; He came
delivering truth in our society, and He came to be Truth to our
society! Now when truth is presented, it always provokes a response,
just as we read in vs. 40 and following, so we are going to examine
several observations concerning the three groups who were represented
at the Jerusalem temple that week.
(a) First of all, there
were those who were delighted...vs. 40
These were the common
people, and just like many common, ordinary people today, they were
impressed-by, and gladly received the words of life from the very Son
of God. You see, the Jews had been waiting on the coming of Messiah
for centuries, and no prophets had come out of Israel since Malachi.
These people were very much aware that Holy Spirit had been the
Source of prophecy in Old Testament times, and they were ready, just
like we're ready today, anticipating a fresh outpouring of the Spirit
of God on His people. Apparently, these commonplace worshippers were
expecting more than a political revival, but a spiritual revival in
the hearts of people, as well. So when they heard Jesus speak of the
outpouring of the Spirit, as we read-of back in vss. 37,38, they
began to have hope that He was, at least, "the Prophet"
(6.14, 1.21, Deuteronomy 8.15), or maybe even the prophesied Christ
Himself!
You know, there is just as
much anticipation today, at least with my church, of the soon second
coming of the Lord, in all His glory! That's a day I'm looking
forward-to, and I trust you are too. However, we mustn't forget that
our words are cheap; it's our actions that prove our heart's desire.
There is no indication that any of this crowd actually
followed Jesus as a result of faith. In fact, quite to the contrary
as we read in the next few verses that...
(b) There were those who
were divided...vss. 41-44
Actually, the gospel of
John records three divisions concerning the Jews. The first,
recorded here, concerns who Jesus is; the second, as recorded in
9.15,16 is concerning what He did, and the third is represented as a
terrible contradiction in scripture...His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem, found in 12. 12,13, at the beginning of Passover week and
His horrible crucifiction, before the week was even ended! Yes,
there was plenty of division concerning our Lord, just as there is
today. But we need to remember that, to be divided means that we
have to choose sides...Joshua 24.15..."choose you this day whom
you will serve".
The church should be
divided from the world, but there should never be divisions in the
church! But you know, near the beginning of His ministry, as
recorded in Matthew 10.34,35, Jesus said..."Think not that I am
come to send peace on earth, but a sword. For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father, the daughter against her mother and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies shall be
that of his own household", and that's the way it has become, in
this age as well as the last. But back to our scripture...
Take a close look at
7.41-43...these words are recorded for our learning; don't brush them
off; we need to take the time to seriously examine ourselves once in
awhile, because there are people today who, just like these mentioned
here, know what the scriptures say and yet, still give no earthly
evedence of having ever been born again! I trust that you know
today, that you need to experience Jesus personally, for yourself; we
need a heart-knowledge of the Truth that is Jesus, and that is
something that no amount of schooling can ever give us; and that's
where those Jews stumbled. You see, they knew from their Old
Testament studies, that Messiah was prophesied to be descended from
David, and to be born in Bethlehem, but so far as they knew, Jesus
was from Galilee, and they never made it their business to look any
further than the end of their noses. It's no wonder that Israel is
still to this day, in the spiritual dark concerning Jesus!
Finally, there is a third
group of people that stand out in the final few verses of this
chapter...
(c) There were those who
were deceived...vss. 45-53
The disturbance that Jesus
brought to the religious community is very evident in this last
passage, and this is not the first time I have referred to it. Jesus
is not present during the exchange that is recorded between those
disturbed officers and those deceived chief priests and Pharisees.
As we read in vs. 32, the temple guard had been sent out in mid feast
to arrest Jesus, and had returned empty-handed on the last day (vs.
45), and it wasn't because they couldn't locate Him...it wa because
they were so taken with His teaching (vs. 46)! There's no denying
the fact, from the info that we have, that Jesus' teaching was pretty
appealing; it had to be, for those temple police to have been so
impressed. And then, of course, there was the observation in vs. 44
that, none could take Him, and not for lack of effort. You
see, His time had simply, not yet come!
The God of this book is
more that a name on a page...He is supreme in His power, and in His
authority, and in the control of these universes! That's a hard
lesson for us to understand, regardless of how often we hear it, so
those Pharisees cried out..."Are you also deceived?" They
were of the opinion that a thinking person would never be receptive,
even to the living words of living God, and in fact, few religious
leaders of their day could be found to be followers of the Christ of
God. They were far too self-satisfied to see that they needed the
Saviour. In fact, they were very sensitive to the fact that Jesus'
followers appeared to be from the common people (vss. 48,49). To
those Pharisees, nothing could be worse than to find harlots and
publicans entering the Kingdom of God, while they were left on
the outside. But there was one who had had a personal experience
with the Lord, and we have run into him before, back in chapt. 3.
This is the one ray of light in this whole dark picture; although he
didn't take a very strong stand, he nevertheless did reveal a work of
grace beginning in his heart. Eighteen months had passed since that
meeting recorded in chapt. 3, but God always works according to His
own good pleasure, as impatient as we may sometimes be.
You know, those well
educated men didn't even know their own history (vs. 52), becuse the
prophet Jonah had come out of Galilee, and likely, others as well.
So at that, "every man went unto his own house"; the feast
was over and, as we read in chapt. 8.1..."Jesus went unto the
Mount of Olives", and next...
His meeting of "the
adulterous woman", as recorded in the first eleven verses of
chapter 11.
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