Food for Soul! 25

Jn 7:40-53

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 happens throughout this gospel: the people who heard Jesus talk always end, some impressed others depressed; some end liking him even more, others hating him even more. After hearing Jesus, some people thought that he was the Christ, others not; and there followed a wrangle about whether or not any Christ could ever come from Bethlehem. 

Here is tragedy. A great religious experience has ended as a theological wrangle; a great sermon has done more harm than good. It is not uncommon even among us, to like the preaching and hate the preacher; to like the message and hate the messanger. Things have not changed much.

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' message, because never in their lives had they heard anyone speak as he did. 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 the people who should have known better, the high priests and Pharisees. Sometimes, even today, those in the churches and communities that should know better are the worst christians. Their argument was "Nobody who is spiritually and academically of any account has believed in Jesus. Only ignorant fools accept him." It is indeed a terrible thing when a man thinks himself either too clever or too good to need Jesus Christ--and it happens still.