Sunday 1st October
Read John 7:11-13
“Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, ‘Where is he?’
12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’
Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people.’ 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.” (NIVUK)
Jesus was right to worry about the intentions of the Jewish leaders. They were on the lookout for Him. For the general public though it was still unclear whether Jesus was good or evil. An Eden contrast indeed! But Jesus’ reluctance to go up to Jerusalem because of the leaders’ murderous intent is shared by the people, who also fear the leaders.
I wonder sometimes if we, who have already decided that Jesus is ‘a good man’ (v12), are less than public with this news ‘for fear of the leaders’ (v13)? If so, we are not the first. The question is what we do once we have recognised that we are more silent than perhaps we ought to be with this good news.
