Author: Jeff Englund

John 7: 47- 48

 “‘ You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. ‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?’”

 

Yesterday Nathan commented, “ … even the Pharisee’s couldn’t avoid the fact that something supernatural was going on – they just responded by claiming it was the power of Satan.” Yes, even the Jewish leaders could not deny the signs that Jesus did, but they could rationalize about why he was able to do them. If he wasn’t the Messiah, and they could not afford for Him to be the Messiah, then he must represent the other major supernatural power that they know about, Satan. Anyone who doesn’t “see” this “truth” has been “deceived.”  Continue reading “Rationalization”

John 7: 32, 44-46

” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?’

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.”

 

The way John tells this part of the story makes me smile. In verse 32 he tells us about the temple guards being sent out to arrest Jesus. It is not until twelve verses later the temple guards show up again without Jesus. What were they doing all of this time?

Apparently, based on what they told the Pharisees, they had been listening to Jesus. Think about that for a moment. Armed men sent out to arrest Jesus are stopped from doing their job by the power of what Jesus was saying.  Continue reading “Power”

John 7: 40-43

” On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

Others said, “He is the Messiah.’

Still, others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.”

What do we know about Jesus so far from John’s Gospel? He has changed water into wine in Cana. He has cured diseases and made the blind see. He tells people that their sins are forgiven. He cleaned house in the temple courtyard. He has gathered people to him called disciples who are convinced he is someone special. Oh, and he is really good at ticking off the Pharisees.  Continue reading “Incognito II”

John 7: 39

” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

This verse follows Jesus telling the people at the festival, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” In verse 39 John explains that Jesus was referring to the Spirit that would be given after Jesus had ascended into heaven. Now, about 2000 years later, the Spirit of God has been moving through his people for a long time.  Continue reading “Rivers II”

John 7: 37-38

” On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” 

How are we to take this guy seriously? Living water? Really??

The metaphors that Jesus used to describe where he was from and what he was doing on earth were difficult for people to understand. Honestly, they still are difficult. Yet he had a message he was trying to convey. Continue reading “Rivers”

” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’
The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?'”

Where is Jesus going? We have noted several times that Jesus speaks like he is from another place, and not of this world. Now he is speaking like he is going to a place different from this world. Continue reading “Door”

John 7: 28a – 31

“’I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.’

At this, they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?’”

A while back I wrote about Smudge the cat. Smudge belongs to the neighbor but for personal reasons having to do with a lot of competition for attention in that house, Smudge likes to visit us and loves attention. A little scratching behind the ears and Smudge is putty in your hands purring like a kitten. So while Smudge isn’t our cat, you might say she’s our friend.

One of the things about having a cat for a friend is that you become the recipient of signs of their affection. Cats are generous. They like to bring gifts and leave them on your doorstep. Of course what a cat might think is a wonderful gift is probably not the same thing that you would want for a gift. In Smudge’s case, she is a good hunter, and she proudly brings us the trophies she has brought down herself.  Continue reading “Signs”

John 7: 27-28a

“”But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.”‘

Over and over again we have noted that Jesus speaks from a different point of view than the rest of us born on earth. He speaks as one who has already been to heaven, who existed before Abraham, and who knows God personally. Yet in this passage Jesus says, “… you know where I am from,” meaning that they knew he was from Nazareth in Galilee. For once he speaks as an earthling instead of someone from Another Place.  Continue reading “Earthling”

John 7: 25 – 26

“At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?’”

Ooooh, Ouch! That had to hurt when the Pharisees heart that being whispered about. Have they concluded he is the Messiah indeed? That kind of raises the question of what would it take for the Pharisees to conclude someone was actually the Messiah? For example, would they have accepted the claims of someone who had the right pedigree and wore the right clothes? Would they have accepted someone who taught the people that they should continue with the old covenant temple worship? What else would they have needed to convince them that the one who claimed to be the Messiah was really from God?  Continue reading “Messiah”

John 7:24

“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

There are many references to “judging” in the Bible, but perhaps the most famous and most used is found in the first verse of Matthew, chapter 7: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Yet here, in this verse in John, we hear Jesus saying, “… judge correctly.” What gives?

Clearly, Jesus’ words suggest that there are correct ways of judging and incorrect ways of judging. Continue reading “Judging”