Who is Jesus

John 7

Now that we are moving into chapter 7 we find that many people are now questioning Jesus authority. In verse John 7:25-27 we see the inhabitants of Jerusalem questioning among themselves that maybe, just maybe, their leaders know or even have a hunch that this man could be the Christ, the AV puts it like this “Do the rulers know indeed that this is very Christ?”, drawing attention to the fact that the Jews thought they knew what 'very Christ' meant. The Jews had been taught about the living God and His rescue package for centuries and now that it was here under their noses very few recognised it. I suppose the question for us today is do we recognise and know the Messiah or are we conditioned to think that He will appear in a certain way or do we just think He has arrived and that we do not need to do anything else?

I suppose chapter 7 shows us that many people were divided as to who Jesus was. There were those who perceived that he was demon possessed John 7:20. Some thought he was the messiah but doubted even their own thought because they had fixed ideas that the messiah would come in a certain way and they would not know where he came from John 7:27. 

The real problem that people had was that the establishment, the leaders, the Pharisees, did not believe and therefore cast doubt on the whole question. The Pharisees believed that they had the answers, after all they had studied intently, the trouble was they listened to men and not to God. They couldn't even get it right when it came to the tradition of circumcision, believing that it was Moses who instigated it when in fact it was God through Abraham (John 7:21-24) that was the architect of the act in order to seal the covenant between Himself and Man. It was Moses who declared, through spiritual insight, that this act was indeed an act that needed to be accomplished in the heart not in the flesh.

The key to knowing Jesus lies in John 7:17 where Jesus says “If any is willing to do his will (Gods) he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.” Here in this verse we have Jesus pointing out spiritual truth. The key to John's gospel has been to point men and women to Jesus now here in John 7:17 we see Jesus pointing out that what he speaks is of God and can only be known by those who will do his (Gods) will. The original Greek for 'will' has the present continuous tense and the word 'do' has the infinitive mood so when put together there is a sense of urgency in the will do, it is a constant continuous action, one that changes our direction and understanding. It is in the 'will do' that we know whether the doctrine is of God. The 'will do' is quickened by faith. As everything is spiritual the 'will do' has to be a spiritual action. Spirit communes only with spirit.

In John 7:28 Jesus point out that the people can know who he is and where he is from, that is physically, yet he says “the one who sent me is true and you don't know him”, that is they did not know him in the now, in the present, spiritually. Do we know him and where he is from in the now, spiritually?

In John 7:31 it is recorded that many believed because of what Jesus had already done, why is it that some people take more convincing than others?

In all of this confusion and muddle at the end of the feast Jesus stood up and cried saying “if any thirst let him come to me and drink” John 7:37. He also says in John 7:38 that belief in him will result with a flow of LIVING WATER, a baptism that had not yet been witnessed but would come at Pentecost. Have we heard the cry “If any thirst” and if so do we believe and are we witness to the LIVING WATER flowing out of our depths that not only changes us but changes and enthuses those around us? Do we still doubt who Jesus is even though we have had him pointed out to us or are we those who have said YES I see him, believe in him and will follow him whatever the cost?