JE 7
June 7
John 7:40 to end. The enemies of Christ dispute concerning him.
We here read of the effect of the discourse Jesus delivered in the presence of the officers that came to take him. Many people were there, and they expressed different opinions concerning him. Some thought he was the prophet, or the messenger that was to be sent before Christ, to prepare his way. (Mal. 3:1.) These people did not know that John the Baptist was that prophet. Others thought that Jesus was the Messiah. There was another party that made objections to this belief. They imagined that Jesus had been born in Galilee, though he had only been brought up there; and they did not know that he was of the family of David.
They remembered that the Scriptures had prophesied that the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem, of the family of David; therefore they thought that Jesus could not be the true Messiah. But had they made diligent inquiries, they would have found that the reports concerning him were false, and that he had been born in Bethlehem, and was of the family of David. These people were much to blame for their negligence. How many people are now in error, because they have not made diligent inquiries! They believe the reports they hear against the ministers of Christ—they believe the objections that infidels make against the Bible, and they never examine into the truth of these reports and objections. They do not consider the importance of the subject, or they would not be able to rest until they had discovered the truth.
We find that the officers returned to their masters without having taken Jesus. The reason they gave for their conduct was, "Never man spoke like this man." They had been awed by the power of his words. When God pleases, he can make the words of his servants strike awe into their enemies, so that they dare not lift up their hands against them. Scoffers have sometimes entered into the assemblies of God's people with an intention to hurt them, and have been constrained to give up their designs. A daring sinner once prepared a weapon with which he intended to murder a holy man who came to seek the lost among the haunts of vice. He heard him read Isaiah 54. Struck by the words, "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper," he renounced his purpose, and even confessed his guilt.
In the conclusion of the chapter, we find an instance of the power of divine grace. Nicodemus, who was once so timid as to go to Jesus by night for fear of the Jews, was grown so bold as to acknowledge him openly in the midst of the council. He was himself one of that council, called the Sanhedrin, composed of seventy chief people among the Jews. There have always been some among the honorable of the earth who have done homage to the Lord of glory. Such people are exposed to sharper trials than those in humbler stations, and they require a very large measure of grace to enable them to remain firm amid the derision of their equals in power and grandeur. But God is with them when they stand up in the midst of their enemies, and he will defend his defamed servants. What would a Father feel who should overhear one of his children pleading his cause with rebellious brothers! Does not our God listen with delight to all who take his part when men rise up against him?