John 7:40-53

Division over who Jesus is -- John 7:40-53: There was division over the identify of Jesus. Some said He was a fraud and deceiver. Others said that He was the Prophet or that He was the Christ. He was both the Prophet and the Christ because those prophecies all refer to the same person. These religious leaders could have easily put forth the effort to learn who Jesus was but they did not. Instead they just rejected Him. Some wanted to arrest Jesus but no one laid hands on Him. They did not capture Jesus because of the power with which He spoke. "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man." (John 7:46) No truer statement has ever been spoken! I wonder if even we appreciate the greatness of His teaching. The Jewish leaders wanted to know how many people believed in Jesus. One of the believers was Nicodemus. He said that Jesus deserved a fair hearing and trial before he could be condemned. The Jews responded to Nicodemus by asking if he was also from Galilee. These Jewish leaders stand as evidence that when you do not want to believe in Jesus you can find many excuses as to why Jesus and His church should be rejected. The feast ended and Jesus was not arrested and so everyone went home.