Tuesday, January 19, 2016

WHO IS THIS GUY

John 7: 40-43     On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.



I hope it is not a surprise to you that so many people today struggle to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. When confronted with the words that Jesus spoke then and now, people are amazed. His claims are not that of other men who have come to prominence over the decades and millenniums. Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus’ words are spoken large crowds will gather to listen. In time only a few remain who believe what he says. Even fewer actually obey his commands. Few live their lives according to his standards. Fewer still speak to others about the monumental changes that occur in them and their lives after they believed.

Those who believe in Jesus understand that the misconceptions, doubts, and opposition from the crowds are normal now as they were then. Jesus himself was understood by some and rejected by others. Those who rejected him should have known better. The Jews were prolific students of the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. They believed they were God’s people. Yet with the knowledge they had, they failed to see and hear Jesus.

Jesus sets himself as the one who knows God and if they knew him, they would know the Father who sent him. In sending his Son, God was revealing himself to them and making himself known as he really was. Because of this, Jesus’ verdict (“him you do not know” vs.28) is not the closing of a door to God. Rather it is an all-or-nothing call to them to come to the true knowledge of that God whose people they claimed to be and whom they claim to know. Jesus calls them to believe in God in the sense of opening themselves to his gracious disposition that prompted him to send his Son into the world.

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