Text: John 7: 25-31
Focus: John 7:29
Although the Jewish Council was convinced that Jesus was a false prophet, they could not give any evidence of this. On the contrary, all the evidence testifies to the fact that He is the Messiah. Therefore, the crowd (in vs. 31) says that when Christ comes, He will do no more miracles than Jesus. Jesus’ power over sickness and death is proof that He is Christ.
We live in a time where the divinity of Jesus is being questioned. As believers, we are bombarded with similar questions. One of the big reasons people often lash out against believing, is their own pride. We see it here with the Jews.
The people ask in verse 25 whether the Jewish Council has now come to faith, that they allow Jesus to act in public. The council’s pride is at stake here. How do they allow something like this?
Jesus confronts the crowd with three proofs that He is Christ.
1. The descent of the Messiah
The crowd was confused because they thought the Messiah would appear only one day without anyone knowing where He came from. Jesus’ answer in verse 28 indicates that although the crowd thinks they know Him, they do not really know anything about Him. He comes from the Father and his mother can testify to that (Lk. 1:26-38).
2. Divine conviction
It is striking that people come to faith in this chaos. When dealing with Jesus and being honest with themselves, they cannot help but acknowledge that He must be the Messiah.
3. Divine control
What is also clearly emphasised here is that God is totally in control. They want to capture Him, but because it is not yet His time, they could not. At the time appointed by the Father, Jesus surrenders Himself to be crucified. It testifies that He is totally in control of the situation.
All the evidence testifies to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah.