Devotional - John 7:45-53 - Five Typical Arguments

Passage To Study:

John 7:45-53

[45] Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” [46] The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” [47] Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? [48] “Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? [49] “But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” [50] Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, [51] “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” [52] They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” [53] And everyone went to his own house.

What are the facts of the passage?:

(Verse 45) - The officers sent to apprehend Jesus return without Him and the Jewish leaders question them as to why they failed to bring Him in.
(Verse 46) - The officers respond that they were convinced by His words that He was from God.
(Verse 47-49) - The Pharisees respond badly. Their answer is more a rebuke of the soldiers than an answer to the solders assertion. They accuse them of being deceived and say that only those who don't know the Law would follow Christ. In between, they argue that no Pharisee has followed Christ and that should show them that there is no substance to Him.
(Verse 50-51) - Nicodemus tries to speak up by arguing that the Law would command that Christ at the very least be given a hearing. This was a rebuke of their pre-judgement, albeit a weak one.
(Verse 52) - The other Pharisees respond by giving two more arguments, blind favoritism and Historical precedent.
(Verse 53) - They then stomp out of the meeting and head for home.

What do those facts mean?:

(Verse 45-46) - We must first observe who it is that is in view here. These were solders, military men who were hardened to the realities of their trade. These were men who the Pharisees thought they could trust or they would never have sent them ln the first place. These men should have done their job dispassionately and professionally.

That they were moved by Christ's words is not completely surprising, though military men are not known for their sensitivity or for their spiritual responsiveness. That they listened and took them to heart is certainly within the realm of belief as they were, after all, the words of the Son of God. However, that they were moved enough to fail, to a man, to do their human duty, is astounding! It is virtually unprecedented and accounts, in part, for the evident anger of the Pharisees in the next verse.

This is only a part of the cause of the wrath of the leaders, and actually is but the trigger for it. The anger of the Pharisees is largely due to who Christ was, what He said and what the implications of His message were. If He was right, they were wrong. If He gained power and influence, they lost it. If God was on His side, then He (God) wasn't on theirs! It is easy to understand why this would have frustrated and angered them.

It is easy to understand, but impossible to excuse! What they should have done was go and hear for themselves and honestly evaluate what Christ was saying to see if it measured up to the revelation of God. The contrast between these leaders, who should have been receptive to, even eager to hear a message from God! No matter what the tradition or habit of their lives, the truth of God should have caused them to abandon any duty they felt to human position or tradition.

That is the effect it had on the soldiers. Those "ordinary" men saw the difference between human duty and truth, and they followed after the truth. We should note that nothing is said here one way or the other about how it was that they were able to respond positively to Jesus' words. It is a mistake to conclude that because these ordinary men were able to respond that either that ability was a natural part of their make-up or that such an ability is the possession of all men. This passage gives us no information whatever concerning those topics. We would need to look elsewhere for that information.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

I must be certain that I am not hard-hearted. I also need to be aware that many of those who resist God do so for a variety of reasons, most of them no more valid than these.

What should I do in response?:

I must make every effort to combat those arguments against belief, but remember that ultimate the salvation process is a matter between God and the individual. I must allow it to be so.

Day

Five Typical Arguments