Could this be the Messiah
Could It Be the Messiah?
John 7:14-15 With the Feast already half over, Jesus showed up in the Temple, teaching. The Jews were impressed, but puzzled: “How does he know so much without being schooled?”
16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The crowd said, “You’re crazy! Who’s trying to kill you? You’re demon-possessed.”
21-24 Jesus said, “I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.”
This is what used to be referred to in Vaudeville as “a tough crowd.” Jesus teaches at the Temple, His teaching is clearly something they have not heard before, yet still they doubt.
Have you ever received knowledge from God that was beyond what you could understand, and certainly beyond what you could explain? When you received this supernatural knowledge, what did you do with it? Did you hide it because you did not know how others would react, or did you share it, trusting that God would open eyes and hearts to receive a new word?
Jesus plainly teaches that what He is saying comes directly from God, and that the test of His oratory is that He does not try to elevate Himself but instead points to the one true and living God. He then goes on to point out that He is doing nothing different than Moses did, yet Moses is considered a great Patriarch while Jesus is vilified.
Are you still trying to keep the law, hoping your obedience will set your feet on the pathway of holiness? Or, have you developed a head and a heart for Jesus, who came to set us free from the law of man and instead yoked us to Himself through the act of grace?
May you know Jesus, the Messiah, as the one who came to set the captives free.
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Seeking Holiness 