Divided Opinions About Jesus

John 7:40–53
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Being much concerned about the rise of denominations in the church, John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, “Are there any ... More

Division

In yesterday’s passage, Jesus gave an invitation, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37b-38 NKJV). This invitation divided the people. Some thought He might be the prophet foretold by Moses (Deut. 18:15, 18). Perhaps they thought this because He claimed to be able to give living water. Just as Moses gave manna, Jesus had given bread (John 6:11). Moses gave water from the rock, and now Jesus was claiming to give living water. However, there were others who thought He might be the long-awaited Messiah (the Christ). Apparently, they were expecting two different individuals to fulfill both roles.

The crowd was also divided on what to do with Jesus. Some defended Him, but others wanted to arrest Him (vv. 40-44). The crowd’s divided opinion enabled Jesus to continue His ministry without immediate arrest. The temple guards, who had been sent to arrest Him (v. 32), returned to the Jewish council meeting empty-handed (vv. 45-50). Nicodemus, a member of the council, spoke up in Jesus’s defense. Our Law doesn’t let us condemn people before we hear what they have to say. Nicodemus did not feel that the council was giving Jesus an honest hearing. But the rest of the council simply ignored him. They told him if he would search the Scriptures, he would discover that no prophet had ever come out of Galilee (vv. 52-54). It’s unclear, what they meant by this claim, as at least three prophets had indeed come out of Galilee: Jonah, Hosea, and Nahum. The Messiah was to be born into the Davidic family and to be born in Bethlehem. Of course, both of these were true of Jesus, but the crowd refused to accept those facts.

Application

The religious leaders were set in their religious beliefs and were not about to change their minds concerning Christ no matter what He said. I need to be careful that this doesn’t happen in my life. I should be willing to change methods of doing things but not biblical doctrine and principles.

John 7:40-53 (English Standard Version)

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