At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 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? 36 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’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 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.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Christ.”
Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
My Understanding: As I was reading this passage of scripture, the Lord put it in my heart how this passage of scripture described reasons why people do not believe in Jesus Christ. So, I would like to examine some of those reasons in light of these verses in John 7.
Some reasons why some people don’t believe in Jesus Christ:
Misinformation about Jesus Christ spread throughout (See vv. 25-27, 41-44)
• There were people who held to the notion that they would not know where Christ would be from, and since they knew where Jesus was from, they assumed he could not be the Christ. Still others had fixed in their minds that the Messiah was to come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, but they had obviously not done their homework to know that Jesus was from David’s family and had been born in Bethlehem, so they discounted him as being the Messiah, the Christ. It had indeed been prophesied of old that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (See Mtt. 2), so it was incorrect to say that they would not know where Christ would be from. Also, since it was true that Jesus would be and was born in Bethlehem, then it was incorrect to not do the homework to learn that he, indeed, had been born in Bethlehem. So, these people did not believe because they were misinformed and because they failed to do the homework – both to see that the scriptures prophesied the place of Jesus’ birth and to see that Jesus was actually of David and was born in Bethlehem.
• It appears to me that many people today fail to have true, genuine faith in Jesus Christ for many of the same reasons. Some don’t believe at all because of various reasons, one of which can be that they were misinformed and that they failed to do the homework to learn the truth. The one that concerns me the most is the misinformation that is being passed off as truth about salvation and that is that one can pray a prayer of acknowledgment of one’s sin and of belief in Jesus Christ but then continue to live a life of sin and feel as though he or she has his ticket into heaven. They have been misinformed about what true belief in Jesus Christ entails, which is faith = repentance and obedience, so they fail to have true belief. Many continue in this false belief because they fail to do the homework to find out the truth of what the Bible teaches concerning salvation. When we do the homework, and we study what God’s word teaches concerning salvation (the whole truth), we learn not only that salvation is by grace through faith but that genuine faith involves fruit, action, repentance (turning from sin), obedience, and walking in the Spirit.
They don’t understand Jesus’ words to them (See vv. 35-36)
• Jesus told the people, the Pharisees and the chief priests that he was only with them a short time, then he was going to the one who sent him, that they would look for him, but would not find him because where he was going they could not come. The Jews responded to Jesus’ statement by thinking strictly in human and earthly terms. They were thinking that he was talking about going somewhere on this earth and could not understand where he was going or why they wouldn’t be able to find him.
• I believe this, as well, is a hindrance to why some people don’t believe in Jesus Christ. So, we have to look at why they did not understand his words. He was speaking in a different realm, yet they knew the OT prophets who definitely spoke in a different realm. At least the Pharisees and the chief priests were not ignorant of the scriptures, so they were not without knowledge of the language of the prophets of old or the use of terminology that would indicate something beyond the natural realm. So, in their case, it was not ignorance that kept them from understanding Jesus’ words. It was spiritual blindness due to refusal to believe. Many today have much knowledge of the scriptures yet do not understand Jesus’ words to them, i.e. they do not take his words to heart and apply them to their lives because, although they are not lacking in knowledge, they block their minds and their hearts to hear the Spirit speaking, perhaps because they don’t like what the Spirit says.
They know Jesus intellectually (head knowledge) but not in their hearts (See vv. 28-29)
• They knew Jesus as a man and they knew his parents or knew of them. They knew his physical location, and they had heard him speak and had seen many of his miracles, so they were acquainted with Jesus on a natural human level. Yet, Jesus was letting them know that just because they had physical and natural knowledge of him did not mean that they truly knew who he was. In fact, he went on to tell them that he was not there on his own accord, he was from the one who sent him who is true, meaning God, and that they did not know God, but he did because he was from him and was sent by him. How that must have hurt their pride!
• Again, I believe that this can be a hindrance to true faith in Jesus Christ. People have head knowledge of him. They may have even prayed a prayer acknowledging that they know they are sinners and that Jesus Christ came to save them and that they believe that he came to save them from their sins, but the Bible says clearly that even the demons believe and they shudder and that many will come to the Lord on that day and say, “Lord, Lord..” but he will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” It takes more than intellectual knowledge and assent to have true faith in Jesus Christ. It is very possible to know of him, to know what the word of God teaches, to believe in our minds that he died for our sins and even to know that we are sinners in need of a Savior, yet never really know him. To truly know Jesus means to demonstrate that we believe by our actions through genuine repentance and obedience to his commands, not in absolute perfection, but through growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ in living in Christ’s strength and power what we say we believe by being dead to sin and alive to Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Jesus exposed what was in their hearts and minds and they hated him (See vv. 28-29)
• Another hindrance to true belief in Jesus Christ is pride and self-righteousness. Jesus knew what they were thinking. He knew what was in their hearts, and he exposed to them what he saw and they hated him for it and desired to kill him. He had told them that they knew him only on a surface level (human; natural), and then he told them who he really was and who he was from, which was God. Then came the punch! He told them they did not know God but he did. Ouch!! How that must have really injured their pride. They thought they were all knowledgeable and they thought they knew God and they prided themselves in that knowledge. How dare this son of a carpenter who came from Galilee tell them they didn’t know God but that he did! Pride and self-righteousness are great hindrances to genuine heart belief in Jesus Christ, demonstrated by our actions, and that can happen to us, too.
Refusal to believe due to pride and arrogance (See vv. 41-44)
• Actually, I believe this whole passage of scripture is a picture of people refusing to believe in Jesus Christ due to pride, self-righteousness and arrogance. They thought they were knowledgeable of the scriptures and that Jesus could not possibly be the Christ, but they failed to do their homework and they were misinformed. They hated him because he told them the truth about themselves and because he exposed their true hearts. The religious leaders were jealous of him and of the people’s belief in him and their desire to follow him. They were blinded by their pride and could not hear the Spirit speaking to their hearts the truths Jesus was telling them. They only heard through natural human ears, thinking and reasoning. Too much head knowledge can often be a hindrance to true heart belief. And, pride and arrogance coupled with self-righteousness can produce refusal to believe.
Yet, not everyone responded to Jesus’ words with disbelief. Many saw the miracles that he did and felt in their hearts that certainly the Christ would do no more miraculous signs than this man. On hearing Jesus’ words, some people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet,” while others said clearly, “He is the Christ.” They believed Jesus’ words when he taught them that if they are hungry or are thirsting after God or after true righteousness, then they should come to him for this drink. If they believe, said Jesus, “streams of living water will flow from within them.” He was speaking of the Holy Spirit of God which would be given them after Jesus had been crucified, had risen from the dead and had ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. Now we have that Holy Spirit within those of us who have genuine belief in Jesus Christ, and that Holy Spirit is there as a seal of God’s promise of eternal life to all who genuinely believe. Not only is he just present within us, but he is there to flow from within us as a stream of life within us, giving us life, victory over sin, joy, peace, assurance of eternal life, etc. Surely then we can rejoice at the greatness of God, not only in the things that are seen with our eyes (through the natural), but also through what he has done in our hearts and lives in delivering us out of bondage to sin and into his marvelous light through his salvation that he has provided through Jesus’ death on the cross. What wonderful assurances that provides for us who wait now for his return.
HOW GREAT THOU ART / Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
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