No man ever spoke as Jesus!

John 7:40-53

40 Those in the crowd who heard listened to Jesus were saying, "This has to be the Prophet." 41 Others said, "He is the Messiah!" But others were saying, "The Messiah doesn't come from Galilee, does he? 42 Don't the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah comes from David's line and from Bethlehem, David's village?" 43 So there was a split in the crowd over him. 44 Some went so far as wanting to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

45 That's when the Temple police reported back to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, "Why didn't you bring him with you?" 46 The police answered, "Have you heard the way he talks? We've never heard anyone speak like this man." 47 The Pharisees said, "Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? 48 You don't see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? 49 It's only this crowd, ignorant of God's Law, that is taken in by him-- and damned."

50 Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. 51 "Does our Law decide about a man's guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?" 52 But they cut him off. "Are you also campaigning for Jesus? 53 Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee."

Food for thought!

Something consistent happened throughout Jesus' life: the people who listened to him end, some impressed others depressed; some end liking him even more, others hating him even more. Some thought that he was the Anointed One of God but others argued about whether or not the Anointed One of God must come from Bethlehem. Simeon told Mary and Joseph: mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed and destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against." (Luke 2:34); Peter puts it this way: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do." (1Pt. 2:7-8);

Here is tragedy. A great religious experience ended in the aridity of a theological wrangle; a great sermon had done more harm than good. It is not uncommon even among us, to like the preaching and hate the preacher.

That is what above all we must avoid. Jesus is not someone about whom to argue; he is someone to know and love and enjoy. If we have one view of him and someone else has another, it does not matter so long as both of us find him Saviour and accept him as Lord. Even if we explain our religious experience in different ways as we do, that should never divide us, for it is the experience that is important, and not our explanation of it. 

This is what the Policemen were saying, "Have you heard the way he talks? We've never heard anyone speak like this man." They had gone out to arrest Jesus and had come back arrested by Jesus, because never in their lives had they heard anyone speak as Jesus. Really to listen to Jesus is an unparalleled experience for any man.

This is what Nicodemus was saying, "Does our Law decide about a man's guilt without first listening to him?" He was telling us all, not to condemn anyone without first listening to his or her story.

I once read this from a book:

Someone's wife, Rhonda, was struggling to get answers concerning her credit card account, the customer service representative at the bank helping her made promises to respond to her inquiries but then failed to do so. Exasperated by the lack of communication, Rhonda left a pointed voice mail message expressing her displeasure with the unprofessional treatment she had received. The next day, the rep called to humbly apologize and explained that she had been out of the office for several days due to her young daughter’s sudden death and subsequent funeral. Rhonda felt awful and learned a powerful lesson against condemning people without first listening to their story. To this day she will reply, “You don’t know what they might be going through today,” when someone cuts her off in traffic or fails to deliver on a deadline.