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John 7:25-36 (ESV)
Jesus at the Feast of Booths (continued)
Can this be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Officers sent to arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Have you ever heard the phrase “peeking behind the curtain?” The phrase comes from the movie Wizard of Oz when the main character Dorothy peeks behind a curtain and discovers that the great and powerful wizard Oz is nothing more than a very normal ordinary person.
I was thinking about that as I read the passage because in a sense, Jesus is asking the crowd to peek behind the curtain and know who He truly is and the One who sent Him.
The question of Jesus’ identity continues to persist in this passage.
After all the conversation in the chapter so far, many in the crowd are beginning to wonder if Jesus might actually be the Messiah. In fact, many in the crowd question if the religious leadership might be hiding the fact that Jesus is the Messiah.
As the discussion persists, some in the crowd mention the commonly accepted doctrine of the time which held that no one would know where the Messiah came from. This common belief conflicted with what they know about Jesus, that He is from Nazareth.
That’s when Jesus speaks up. He affirms that they do know where He comes from but that they don’t know the full story, they don’t know where He truly came from (remember the prologue of John’s Gospel; John 1).
The crowd thinks that they know Jesus, they think that they know where He is from, but they are only scratching the surface and have little knowledge and understanding of Jesus' otherness and His relationship to His Heavenly Father.
This is the point which Jesus brings to their attention. The true problem here is that the people don’t know God. They know something about God and about their history with the Lord, but they don’t really, truly, have that relational knowledge of God. This is why they can’t make the connection between Jesus and the true God.
As the conversation goes on, some are catching at least a glimpse and a hint of who Jesus is and are beginning to believe. They are seeing the signs that Jesus is doing, and they are starting to make their first steps of belief.
Of course, all this unsettles the religious leaders who seek to arrest Jesus, but once again we are told that the hour has not yet come which is the hour of His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
And did you catch the note of irony when the crowd mentions that Jesus might disappear into the Dispersion and teach the Greeks (vs 35)? That’s exactly what happens as the Gospel goes forth in Acts. However, before that Gospel can begin its unstoppable journey, Jesus must first take up the cross and then be raised up on the third day.
As I consider the passage this morning, I’m thinking that we’re a lot like the crowd. The crowd thought they knew what to expect in the Messiah, but Jesus challenged them to peek behind the curtain of their assumptions and truly see Him and the One who sent Him.
We are not all that different. You see, there’s a real danger for those of us who have been Christians for a long time. We’ve read the Bible, we’re familiar with the stories, and so we think we know Jesus, and we think we know God and all that we’re supposed to do and be.
The challenge before us then, is to always ask the Spirit to help us truly see Jesus, to peek behind the curtain so to speak. We must get still and silent. We must be open to know Jesus, letting Him speak into and challenge our hearts, and learn anew who God is, who we are, and who we are to be in relationship with Him.
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott
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