A City of Skeptics
“And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him: for some said, He is a good Man: others said, Nay; but He deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews.” John 7:12-13
At this time, Jesus was traveling from village to village in Galilee in order to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Him. Jesus knew that it was not yet time for Him to die. On this particular day, the Jews were celebrating the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. This was a feast to commemorate Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness following the exodus from Egypt. They would make booths in which to stay for seven days while in Jerusalem. The feast was also a harvest festival where thanksgivings were made to God for His blessings on them, and the people also prayed for future blessings. Each day a priest would take water from the pool of Siloam into the temple and pour it out at the altar. The people would then recite Isaiah 12:3, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”.
Jesus’ brothers urged Him to go into the land of Judea in order to celebrate the feast. They said to Him that if He really was who He said He was, then He needed to prove it to the world by making Himself known openly. Their statement indicates that even Jesus’ own half-brothers didn’t believe that He was the Son of God. Jesus told them to go on into Judea without Him because they had nothing to fear. The world was not after them; it was after Him because He was the One who pointed out the sinful ways of the world’s inhabitants. He then said that He would come later when the time was right.
Soon after they left, Jesus did go, but He went in secret. The Jewish leaders looked for Him and asked others if they had seen Him. There was much discussion going on about Jesus among the people. Some said that He was something like a scam artist who deceived the public. Others praised Him as a good Man. But these conversations were only carried on in the privacy of homes or booths among folks who trusted each other. No one even mentioned the name of Jesus out in public. The Jewish leaders could make it difficult for anyone who even uttered the name of Jesus. The leaders had no desire to see Him, hear Him, or even hear about Him unless, of course, someone presented some hard evidence against Him so that the leaders would have cause to arrest Him.
Finally, though, Jesus did appear in the temple and began to teach those who were present. His speech was so knowledgeable and eloquent that the people were in disbelief. How could One say the things that Jesus was saying without a formal education? To answer them, Jesus said that He was not teaching His own thoughts, but those of God, and that if anyone will do God’s will, he or she will recognize the doctrine of God. He also said that a person giving his own ideas is trying to get praise for himself, but anyone who is seeking to honor the One who sent Him is a good and true person. He asked them if Moses gave them the law, and then chided them for not obeying the very law that they prided themselves in, and instead were trying to kill Him for breaking the law.
Likely with preposterous looks on their faces, the people then accused Jesus of being possessed with a demon and asked Him who it was that was trying to kill Him? Jesus answered them (paraphrasing), “I healed a man on the Sabbath, and everybody got all upset. Moses gave you circumcision as it was commanded even before Moses, and if the correct time for circumcision falls on the Sabbath, you don’t hesitate to go ahead and circumcise on the Sabbath, which is what you should do. But why condemn me for making a man completely whole and well on the Sabbath?” He then said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”. Humans are notorious for judging on the appearance. We don’t take time to think it through, find out the facts, and weigh the evidence before jumping to conclusions.
Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem asked if Jesus was not the man whom the leaders were trying to kill. They also couldn’t understand if this was so, how could Jesus preach in public, and the leaders didn’t say anything to Him. Could it be that the leaders knew He really was the Messiah? But how could He be? They knew where Jesus was from, Nazareth, so when the real Messiah comes, He will just appear, and no one will know from where He came. (That could be how He comes the second time). Jesus said to them (paraphrasing), You know Me and where I came from. He who sent Me is Truth and you don’t know Him. But I do, because I came from Him and He sent Me”.
At that, the people tried to capture Him, but God prevented them. But there were others who believed in Him because of the miracles that He had done. They wondered what other miracles He needed to do to prove Himself. When the Pharisees heard that, they were highly offended and sent officers to arrest Jesus. He then said to the people that He would only be with them a little bit longer, but then He would go back to the Father who sent Him. He told them that they would look for Him, but not be able to find Him because where He was going, they could not come. They talked among themselves as they were perplexed about His destination, and why they would not be able to find Him. They even wondered if Jesus would go to the Gentiles and teach them.
Next time: Jesus, the Living Water