Year 8, Day 255: John 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

John 7 picks up where the last chapter left off.  The people are still figuring out who Jesus is.  Is He a fraud?  Is He really the Son of God?  Is He a curiosity that is worth being paid attention to for a little while and then forgotten once the newness wears off?  It seems like we can find people of each of these categories in this chapter.

Jesus gives us the great test for this debate.  In John 7:18, Jesus tells us that the person who is not from God is going to eventually focus on his own glory.  The person who is from God, however, will focus on giving the glory to God.  After all, if a person is truly from God, why wouldn’t he want the glory of the one who sent him?  If a person is truly from God, why wouldn’t he want the one who can bring Him into eternal life to receive the glory?  The person who is from God points us to God.

Naturally, there is more debate to follow.  Some people think Jesus has a demon.  Other people seem to think that He should be believed because nobody else could do the kind of deeds that Jesus has already done.  Other people want to see Him arrested and brought before the authorities.  It seems like there always was, and always will be, debate about the identity of Jesus.

I love the opinion of Nicodemus at the end of this chapter.  Nicodemus is one of the few people who have the courage to stand up to the religious leader’s opinion.  The religious leaders are seeking to kill Jesus.  After the debate among the people, they feel even more confident in their ability to expose and get rid of Jesus.  In this context, Nicodemus has the courage to stand up and speak.  Nicodemus wants the truth.  He speaks about Jesus’ right to a fair trial.  At this point in the story, Nicodemus may not yet be decided about who Jesus is.  He does want to find out the truth, however.

What is neat in this story is the religious leader’s reaction to Nicodemus.  They immediately discount his voice.  They discount his voice because he disagrees with them, he challenges them, and he isn’t pursuing their goals anymore.  They tell Nicodemus that they already know the truth.  They think that a prophet can’t come from and do what Jesus has done.  Nicodemus is discounted because of the closed minds of the religious leaders.

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