John 7:40-53
When the
crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “This man surely is the
prophet who will come just before the Messiah.” Others said, “He is the
Messiah.” Still others, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?
For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal
line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where David was born.” So the
crowd was divided about him. And some wanted him arrested, but no one touched
him. The Temple police who had been sent to arrest him returned to the chief
priests and Pharisees. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” they demanded. “He says
such wonderful things!” they mumbled. “We’ve never heard anything like it.” “So
you also have been led astray?” the Pharisees mocked. “Is there a single one of
us Jewish rulers or Pharisees who believes he is the Messiah? These stupid
crowds do, yes; but what do they know about it? A curse upon them anyway!” Then
Nicodemus spoke up. (Remember him? He was the Jewish leader who came secretly
to interview Jesus.) “Is it legal to convict a man before he is even tried?” he
asked. They replied, “Are you a wretched Galilean too? Search the Scriptures
and see for yourself—no prophets will come 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 messenger. 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 our 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, "He says such wonderful things!” they mumbled. “We’ve never heard anything like it." 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 people that should know better, people in our churches and communities and families, are sometimes missing the point. Their argument was "Is there a single one of us Jewish rulers or Pharisees who believes he is the Messiah? These stupid crowds do, yes; but what do they know about it? A curse upon them anyway!" 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.
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 messenger. 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 our 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, "He says such wonderful things!” they mumbled. “We’ve never heard anything like it." 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 people that should know better, people in our churches and communities and families, are sometimes missing the point. Their argument was "Is there a single one of us Jewish rulers or Pharisees who believes he is the Messiah? These stupid crowds do, yes; but what do they know about it? A curse upon them anyway!" 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.
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