John 7:32-53 “The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”
Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “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.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Who Is He?
Therefore, many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So, there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
Rejected by the Authorities
Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”
Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” And everyone went to his own house.”
One of the tragedies surrounding the story of Jesus is the hard-hearted attitude of those who claimed to be waiting for the Messiah. These gentlemen had STUDIED THE SCRIPTURES AND THEY WERE SURE THEY KNEW EVERYTHING! Too bad, they really had terrible memories and didn’t know that much.
There are two arguments being used against Jesus here: Authorities don’t realize that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and is a direct descendant of David. They think Jesus is from wide spot in the road up in Galilee and assume he was born there.
Second argument: no prophet has ever come from Galilee. BRAAACK!!! LOUD BUZZER SOUNDS! Both Nahum and Jonah came from Galilee and their home towns are also closely associated with Jesus’ ministry.
“Nahum was from the small village of Elkosh (Nahum 1:1), a small fishing village at the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee. However, his preaching ministry may well have been in the larger city some six miles to the east, a city which still bears his name, Capernaum, or Kfar Naum (“city of Nahum”).
Jonah was from another small village, Gath-Hepher (2 Kings 14:25). By the time of the first advent this village had disappeared and had been replaced by another one only three miles distant, Nazareth.
Thus we see the linkage between these three Galileans. Jonah was from the area of Jesus’ boyhood home and Nahum preached where Jesus preached, in Capernaum.
Both Jonah and Nahum have two other points in common. They were both prophets to the northern kingdom of Israel and are the only minor prophets to address their prophecies to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria.” https://www.heraldmag.org/1997/97mj_4.htm#:~:text=While%20no%20future%20prophet%20was%20predicted%20to%20arise,were%20closely%20connected%20to%20the%20life%20of%20Jesus
Shockingly, it is the pagan soldiers and the general public who realize Jesus is something special. When the soldiers are sent to arrest Jesus, they refuse, saying that nobody has spoken as this man does. These guys might not live perfect lives, but they know holiness when they see it. Many in the general crowds are also convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, for they have seen the miracles and have heard his teaching. And there’s another thing: the crowds and the soldiers have been with Jesus while the religious authorities are sitting safely in their offices. But Nicodemus HAS met Jesus personally and he is the only major religious leader to question these false assumptions. Nicodemus KNOWS that Jesus is the Christ but nobody’s listening to him.
What can we learn from these verses? God has a nasty way of turning our cherished notions on their heads and refusing to participate in our prejudices. There is a story told of a missionary in South America whom God called to work with members of another Chrisitan group. “But God,” the missionary argued, “I don’t believe the same things those people do.” “Well,” God replied, “I don’t believe everything you do either, but I still work with you.”
As servants of the One True Living God, we must make sure that we are listening to God and not to other people. We must continue to examine our beliefs, discarding anything that does not please God.
In the end, many of the common people will believe in Jesus, as will many of the soldiers. “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54
We must listen to God and not to other people. Sometimes God will use others to guide us, but if their thoughts fail to line up with the Bible, trust the Bible. But get rid of your prejudices. God isn’t interested in them and won’t bless them.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to listen to You alone and to get rid of any beliefs that don’t line up with You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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