July 12
________________________________________HE WHO SENT ME IS TRUE
25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? 27 However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” 28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”– John 7:25-29
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In this account, some of the people of Jerusalem exhibit more wisdom than the Jewish leaders. They were wondering why the leaders didn’t recognize the Christ. They were also intrigued why the leaders were allowing Jesus to speak publicly if they didn’t think he was the Prophet. It is interesting to hear the leaders think out loud what Scriptures says in verse 27, that whenever the Christ comes, they won’t know where he is from. They didn’t know that they didn’t have control over their actions because they fit God’s plan to fulfill what was written in Scriptures. The leaders were unable to stop Jesus from publicly teaching because they saw how much following He had. They were afraid of the power of the people who were believing Jesus. In those days, capital punishment was standard in Rome. The Romans built prisons mainly to hold the accused awaiting trial. Executions were public, and the means of execution were deliberately agonizing for the condemned and frequently entertaining for the bystanders. Execution scenes were even used for household decoration. Despite this, Rome set the standard for Western civilizations of governing by written law rather than the whims of the current ruler. This is why the Jewish leaders carefully acted so that they can expose a breaking of the law by Jesus. They were catching Him in the act of defiance or non compliance to the law. In verse 28-29, Jesus declares that He is from God. This must have prompted them to persecute Jesus, but in the following verses after these one, we know that they weren’t able to take action. It wasn’t time yet. God only allows things to happen according to the timing in His plan.
Jesus exposes once again their blindness to see that He is the Son of God. He openly exposes their unbelief which blinds them to see the truth right before their very own eyes. They fail to recognize Him because they didn’t believe. They didn’t realize that they were only players acting out their roles in the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation.
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REFLECTION
• How do we know if someone is from the One true God?