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.