John 7:1-53

It was time for the feast and the debate was to go or not to go. Jesus decided to go "in secret" so as not to attract too much attention but then ends up teaching publicly in the temple so I am not sure what the point of secrecy was. At any rate, there were several reactions to Christ and His teaching by several different groups presented in this chapter.

HIS BROTHERS WERE DOUBTFUL: It is amazing to think about Jesus having siblings and, at least for me, brings up questions of what that household was like with all these boys growing up in it. Brothers tend to know way too much about one another, and no matter how much they mature and accomplish great things with the passing of time, it is impossible to erase the images of "indian torture" and "nugies." Imagine if your older brother were God. I am sure that Mary and Joseph had told them all about who Jesus really was. But it appears that in adulthood there were still many doubts in their minds.

THE CROWDS WERE DIVIDED: Many of the people who heard and saw Jesus believed. However, many dismissed Him as the Messiah because He did not fit with their understanding of Scripture. Some thought He was a good man, others thought He was evil and still others thought that He was crazy. Amazingly, it does not seem that much has changed in the two-thousand years since this festival. All of these debates continue to rage to this day. However, the most dangerous and illogical position of that or this day is the position of seeing Christ as merely a good man. He must either be God as He claimed to be, a wicked deceiver of multitudes or a raging lunatic that mistakenly thought He was God. It astounds me how this debate could exist in the midst of all the miracles He performed and the clarity of His teaching. Yet, still today with all the evidence that supports the Scriptures there are so many who reject Him. I am so thankful for the honor of knowing Him.

THE SOLDIERS WERE DISTRACTED: The soldier went out to arrest Jesus but when the heard Him speaking and saw how the crowd responded to Him, they came back empty handed. They had never heard or seen anything like this before. Christ was well aware of what He was doing and what they were doing. His time of crucifixion had not yet come, so He continued to confound the authorities and their attempts to kill Him until the time was right. The Lord's teaching is life changing and captures the attention of the hearts of men. We must allow the teaching of God's Word to capture our minds as well.

THE PHARISEES WERE DECEITFUL: The Pharisees had to make a choice. Either submit to Christ and obey Him as their Lord or deny His authority. Since they were not about to do the former, rejection was their only option. Not because Christ did not meet the Scriptural qualifications of Messiah or because He had not proven Himself repeatedly, but because they did not want to surrender their power or change their lives. They led most of a nation astray with their lies and hatred. They loved their power and they coveted the influence they wield over the people and were not about to give it up. May we never be so desirous of the comforts and pleasures of this world that we are ready to lies to ourselves about what we know to be true.

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