April 29 - We Know Jesus

April 29 – We Know Jesus

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will search for me and you will not find me’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” (John 7:25-36)

The Jews had quite a few preconceived notions regarding the Messiah.  For some … Jesus didn’t match up, for others … He was more than they expected.

There were those who knew where Jesus was from and couldn’t imagine that He was the Messiah.  Others saw all of the signs and wonders that He had performed and figured that the Messiah couldn’t do much more than that.

All of those preconceived notions didn’t do anyone any good because they simply didn’t understand.  All the words of the prophets that were read over and over aloud to the people didn’t trigger a sense for many that the Messiah had come, that the kingdom of God was now present on the earth.  They just couldn’t see it.

There were a very few who were able to see through the veil and recognize Jesus for who He was.  He was God’s Son – the Messiah.  They were expectant and willing to accept that He was doing things among them that no man had ever been able to do before.  He said things with authority that surpassed the greatest scholars.  He loved in ways that few could comprehend. 

I am regularly entertained by those who think that the signs are pointing to the return of Christ and give a specific date.  You see, the Jews who studied the Torah, the Prophets, the history, all thought they had it figured out and God was not about to be bound by their very human, very small understanding.  When He was ready, when His time was right … Jesus came to earth.  And then earth waited … nearly 30 years … before He began His ministry.

There are billboards popping up in cities right now predicting the end of the world on May 21 or some such date.  If God has given a special word to whatever group it is promoting this date, I will simply be thankful for what He has given us and look forward to being with Him throughout eternity.  Otherwise, on May 22, I will wake up and continue my life as it is.

The one thing that Jesus taught in this passage is that He didn’t come on His own.  No matter what we think we know – we really only know Him.  Through Him we know the One Who sent Him.  That’s what we know.  As for the rest … I’ll leave that to God.