Friday 13th October
Read John 7:40-44
“On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’ 41 Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’ Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants 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.” (NIVUK)
Jesus spoke like a prophet yet His words offered Messiah-like salvation. Two thousand years on and we know that Jesus was both, but expectations in the time He walked in Palestine were that Prophet and Messiah were not both fulfilled in a single person. Hence the division. Very quickly the debate around Messiahship was shut down because of the mistaken belief He was born in Galilee rather than Bethlehem.
But then, as now, Jesus words of comfort and hope, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” result in schism. Jesus divides people. I suspect one of the points John is making is that Jesus divides people less on what He says and how He says it then on who He is. We all need to make a decision about who He is. What He says helps us make that decision, and sometimes what He says forces people to walk away (cf John 6:60-66). But the real question always remains – who is He?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jABSW-UuT1o
