John 7:40-49 -- Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is the Prophet.” 41 Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” But others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? 42 Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 And some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” 46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken in this way!” 47 The Pharisees then replied to them, “You have not been led astray too, have you? 48 Not one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!”
50 Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
That's a lot of verses today, but that's the ground we covered this morning. We continued following Jesus and find His words and actions have caused quite a stir!
First, we see many outspoken sides to the crowd. Some called Him Prophet. Others the Christ/Messiah. There were questions and doubts. There were even some who wanted Him arrested. However, no one laid a hand on Him. Not the crowd and not even the temple guards who were sent out earlier.
Second, we see those temple guards/officers returning to the Pharisees and religious rulers empty handed. This doesn't sit well with the Pharisees who didn't just want Him arrested, they were set on killing Him. They belittle the guards, and we see a holier-than-thou mentality appear as they say, "Not one of us has believed Him.". They had made their minds up and were bent on His death, no matter what.
Lastly, knowing the mindset of the Pharisees shows us just how much of an impact Jesus had on Nicodemus as we see him speak up. The Pharisees had just slammed the temple guards. Berating and belittling them for even considering what Jesus had said. Here is Nicodemus, who was a high up ruler (John 3), speaking up to question how they're handling things. Now, the Pharisees turn and attack even one of their own. "Are you from Galilee too?", they snidely remark. Then even tell him to go back and read the scriptures. Wow...
They dismissed Jesus because He did not follow their manmade rules and dared to confront them on their wooden religious ways. They dismissed the crowds as not knowing the law and being accursed. They dismissed the temple guards as gullible and not as good as themselves. Then they even dismiss their own as ignorant for even questioning how it was being handled.
Seems everyone's big hang up was where Jesus came from. What would've happened if someone had taken the time to talk to Him and ask Him where He was born? What if just one person took the time to ask? What if they'd gotten to know Him enough to find out Joseph was from the line of David? All these simple facts could've changed everything; however, we see most make up their minds with the half info they have and never bother to go deeper.
Christian, go deeper. Don't be satisfied with knowing just what you hear on Sunday or even Wednesday night! Go deeper! Walk with Jesus every day! Get into the Word and get to know Him more! Get to know God's heart and character! See Him, hear Him! He's right here and alive!
Well, that was a ton today, but it was an adventure! Go have your own adventure with God! Don't take my word on any of it. Take His word!
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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