Tuesday, March 9: John 7-reactions to Jesus

Jesus is the central figure in the Christian religion. And as I read this chapter I thought, ‘hmmm,’  reactions to Jesus haven’t changed in 2000⁺ years. The range of reaction to Jesus in this chapter is as broad as it is in our day.

Jesus is a good man (12): I hear that all the time. People talk about Jesus, the good man, who taught about love. Like Ghandi or Buddha or (fill in the blank), Jesus was one of the great people of history and should be honored and remembered for His goodness.

Jesus deceives people (12): He is demon-possessed (20): The sense I get from the text is that these people were saying Jesus was deluded, a bit crazy, He had thoughts of grandeur, He deceived Himself and others who followed Him. Dare I say He was a Jim Jones kind of person? And certainly I have met people who think a person is nuts to believe what Jesus taught. Their worldview is such that God, if He exists, can’t be a person so Jesus was off His rocker to say what He said about himself.

Jesus is a prophet (40): This is quite prevalent today. People hold that Jesus is a holy man. This can be similar to being a good man but with an added dimension of “divine” inspiration. People with a bent toward the spiritual will call him a holy man, people with a humanistic world view call him a good man. Did you know the Koran refers to Jesus as one of the great prophets?

Jesus is the Christ (41): Christ means ‘Savior’. That title can be endowed with divine attributes but it need not be. Many Jews in Jesus’ day were awaiting the Christ who would come and liberate them from Roman oppression, a warrior leader who would expel Rome from Palestine and reestablish the Jewish state. As a title unto itself, Christ does not necessarily imply divine personhood. There are books about Jesus as CEO, a great leader, etc.  That kind of thinking falls into this category.

I pondered all of this because what we think about Jesus, more to the point who we believe Jesus to be, is the core belief of the Christian faith. People are all over the map on Jesus. Where are you? Who do you believe Jesus is?

John is writing his gospel so that we believe Jesus is a good man, yes, but more. That Jesus is a prophet,  yes but more. That Jesus is the Christ, certainly, but even more. That Jesus is the son of God, God in human flesh. Listen to John’s own words from Chapter 20:27-30:

Then Jesus [after the resurrection] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus, like Thomas I shout out for the world to know Jesus you are My Lord (the one who calls the shots in my life, the one who directs my path) and My God (the one I worship and adore). You Jesus are the center of my faith, the one who saved me and who guides me. To You Jesus I pledge my allegiance. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit I pray, amen.