John 7:40-52

40 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.


Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"

46 "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards replied.

47 "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. 48 "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 "Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?"

52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."



Dig Deeper
It quickly became clear that this guy didn’t want any actual debate, he wanted everyone to agree with him. I was watching a television show that was supposed to be a forum where the host/ moderator asked questions and fostered a debate between himself and his four guests. The topics were usually centered around political and social issues that were quite controversial at the moment. What became painfully obvious after watching the show for just a couple of times, however, was that the host, who was also the creator of the show, did not want real debate. He usually stacked the guests so that anyone who disagreed with his positions would be outnumbered four to one, or at least three to two. Whenever anyone did disagree with the host, though, he would not actually challenge their position in a logical manner. He would generally resort to calling them hicks, idiots, simpletons, or something similar. Anyone who held differing political or social views would also incur his wrath and be subject to his name calling. He didn’t want real debate or a truly open marketplace of ideas, he wanted allegiance to his ideas and he would basically attempt to intimidate and belittle anyone who might dare disagree with him.

Whether they liked it or not, the chief priests and the Pharisees simply could not control public opinion. They were certainly very influential but they couldn’t determine what each and every person might believe about Jesus. It certainly seems that, above all else, they didn’t want to investigate Jesus’ claims and have an open and public discourse with him. That might be too risky and definitely would be too hard to control. What they would do instead is what so many people like that television talk show host did. They sought to discount, intimidate, and belittle anyone who might cross them or think differently. Perhaps using the authority and influence they did have, to intimidate people, would keep belief in this dangerous man to a minimum.

The danger, of course, was coming from the fact that some people were beginning to believe in Jesus, despite his difficult and challenging words. The reaction of the crowds and people of Jerusalem was all across the board, as reactions to Jesus continue to be to this day. Some thought he was demon-possessed, some thought he was worthy of death, some thought he might be the Messiah, and some were now saying, "surely this man is the Prophet," while others said, "He is the Messiah." This was actually two different lines of thought, as most Jews in the first century, though certainly not all, believed that the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and the Messiah were two different figures.

It is of great importance to John that these people came to belief in Jesus based solely on faith in his words. There were no great signs that convinced them. It was simply the power of what he was saying. John uses the theme of belief in Jesus’ word throughout his gospel. Jesus was the logos, the word that had become flesh. The matter of belief in his life, for John, comes down to whether or not people will have faith in the words, the logos of Jesus (Jn. 2:22; 4:39-41, 50; 5:24, 37-38; 6:60; 8:31-32, 37, 43, 51, 55; 10:19; 12:48; 17:14, 17; 20:29) or are they looking for something more, something more in line with their expectations.

The response to the idea that Jesus is might actually be the Messiah, shows just how varied the beliefs in the Messiah were in the first century and how across-the-board the reactions to Jesus were. Earlier, some had disavowed that Jesus could be the Messiah because no one would no where he came from (7:27). Now the objection is that it was well known that Jesus had come from Galilee. He couldn’t be the Messiah because he was from Galilee in the minds of some. Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem? (Likely they were referring to Scriptures such as 1 Sam. 20:6; 2 Sam. 7:12; Ps. 89:3-4; Mic. 5:2). John surely expects that his readers are familiar with the other Gospels and the fact that Jesus was, in fact, born in Bethlehem but grew up in Galilee. Thus, the objection raised here is actually confirmation of his Messianic claim. The real issue is not where Jesus was born, however, but whether or not they would have faith in him. The reactions remained mixed. Some believed, others wanted to get rid of him, but his time had not yet come so no one laid a hand on him.

The Temple guards, who were sent to arrest Jesus, were those who didn’t lay a hand on him. John takes special care to draw attention to the fact that they weren’t rebuffed because the venue was too public or because those who favored Jesus protected him and repelled the guards. No, they were deterred simply by the power of his words. These were no simple muscle head guards, by the way. The Temple guards were chosen from among the Levites. They would not have had the Scriptural knowledge of the priests themselves, but they were trained in the Torah and they would have heard all kinds of teachers and rabbinical debates. They were fairly well-schooled men who stood awestruck at Jesus’ words in such a way that they were rendered incapable of doing their job. They had never heard anyone speak the way that Jesus did. We aren’t told that any of them specifically came to faith but they were certainly struck by hearing Jesus’ words, and as Paul would later write, faith comes from hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).

The guards have just given high praise to Jesus’ words but the chief priests and Pharisees want no part of it. They don’t ask what he said that might have been so convincing, nor do they go and investigate for themselves. They won’t even consider what Jesus has to say. This response is sadly mimicked by many today who reject the entire concept of Jesus as Lord without ever actually knowing much about what he said or what he truly called his followers to be. The Jewish leaders, though, rather than considering Jesus’ words resort to intimidation and minimizing the credibility of those who believe in Jesus. Their immediate question insinuates that those who believe have only been deceived, the guards have not been tricked as well have they? After all, the people who really know their stuff, the true experts in the Scriptures, you don’t see any of them being so foolish as to believe in this drivel.

This is not an appeal based on fact or proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, but simply the dismissive attitude that the really smart people didn’t believe in him so why would the guards. They next turn to the tactic of heaping insults, scorn, and abuse on the crowds that are believing. They are not experts. They don’t know anything. They are a mob that knows nothing of the law. They are the very ones who have brought all of the trouble on Israel in the first place. They don’t know the law, therefore they don’t follow the law in the proper way that the Pharisees and the chief priests do, so they are under a curse anyway. Why would anyone want to side with a bunch of superstitious, ignorant fools? The irony is that it is God who makes the wisdom of the world look foolish (1 Cor. 1:20). The leaders who are so sure of their own wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures are the very ones that are missing the boat. The ones that they are accusing of being foolish and under a curse are the ones who actually have the opportunity to find and embrace the truth.

Just when we think that the Jewish leaders are at their most condescending, we are re-introduced to Nicodemus who we have not heard of since his encounter with Jesus in chapter 3. Nicodemus came to Jesus in the dark during that incident but now perhaps he has stepped into the twilight, so to speak. He was, as we learned in chapter 3, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council; he was one of their own number. Nicodemus certainly doesn’t make any grand statement of faith at this point or number himself among Jesus’ disciples but he does call for fairness based on the common ground respect for the law that they share. He has, perhaps seen the hypocrisy of the others and is not impressed. They have made a judgment on Jesus without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing as the law demands. He has exposed that the supposed guardians of the law do not hold themselves to the law. Rather than listening to Nicodemus’ appeal for law-abiding and cautious behavior, they resort to the same tactics of intimidation and belittlement that they used on the guards. Why would Nicodemus stick up for this would-be Messiah? Is he from Galilee too (a modern-day equivalent would be like asking someone in America if they are a hillbilly from West Virginia or someone in Africa if they are a villager from Cameroon)? In their anger, they retort that a prophet does not come out of Galilee. In their haste they demonstrate that despite their alleged expertise, they have made an error, for Jonah came from Galilee (2 Ki. 14:25) and possibly so did Elijah (1 Ki. 17:1) and Nahum (Nah. 1:1). The so-called experts have appealed to their earthly wisdom, but are wrong on nearly every single point.



Devotional Thought
The Jewish leaders met the growing belief in Jesus with intellectual intimidation, scorn, and by heaping abuse on those who would believe. Those same tactics of intimidation and abuse are often used against Christians today where the world often accuses Christians of being superstitious, foolish, backwards, or just plain idiotic. Are you ever tempted to cower from those attacks? Can you get intimidated by the "intellectual" prowess of those who criticize your faith? The way to truth that is found in Jesus is based on belief in his word not what the intellectuals of the day are saying. Be confident of that and don’t waver in the face of criticism.