Four Options



John 7:37-52
37On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51“Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” 53Then each went to his own house.

There are very few times in Jesus’ story where He actually stands up and demands attention. We’ve already seen Him create a scene in the Temple as He chases out the money changers and tips over some tables, whip in hand. In our reading for today He raises His voice and demands the crowd hear Him. His message is much the same as the one He delivered privately to the Samaritan woman at the well. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

The next few verses display the four different responses people have to Christ’s simple message. These are the same responses available to us today.

“He’s the Prophet.” Even some of the non-Christian religions, such as Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism, are willing to recognize Jesus as a “good man” and a prophet.

“This is the Christ.” There are true believers wherever the Word of God is spoken. Some who heard Jesus’ words in the crowd that day believed in Him as their Savior in the same way that we hear those words and believe today.

 “He can’t be the Christ, can he?” The agnostics don’t want to believe but the evidence moves them to question what they are hearing versus what they think they know.

“Arrest him!” Atheists have always been with us. The Pharisees were unwilling to believe and so they did not. It was their will to silence Jesus forever. They didn’t even want to hear His voice. Atheists today are much the same. It is my observation that they would rather shout you down or cast derisive words than hear of Jesus.

Ultimately, Jesus does make a demand. With which portion of the crowd are we going to identify ourselves?

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