John 7:37-53 They Just Don't Get It

It was the final day of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles – the day when the priests would march seven times around the altar chanting Psalms 118:25, according to my commentary, which reads, “Please Lord, save us!  Please Lord, give us success!”  During the other six days, those priests had dipped water from the Pool of Saloam and poured it out, as a reminder of God providing water during the wilderness trek.

Standing right in front of them was the Son of God and they didn’t even know it.  In response to this chant, He answered, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.  If anyone believes in Me, rivers of living water will flow out form that person’s heart, as the Scripture says,”  He was talking about the Holy Spirit.

The Temple guards had been sent to arrest Him, yet watching all of this, they returned empty-handed, saying, “The words He says are greater than the words of any other person who has ever spoken!”

The leaders and Pharisees condemned them as fools.  Only Nicodemus was brave enough to say, “Our law does not judge a man without hearing him and knowing what he has done.”  They hopped on his words, saying, “Are you from Galilee, too?  Study the Scriptures and you will learn that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

All Nicodemus had to say was, “Jonah did.”  Of course, if they’d bothered to ask, they’d have discovered Jesus’ birthplace was Bethlehem of Judea.  But they didn’t want to hear that.

Father,  Satan does his best to put blinders on us.   He wants to hide inconvenient truths from us that would point us back to You.  One way he does so is by making us proud of our intelligence to the point that he makes us feel that we’re above all that.  But pride goes before a fall.  Keep us humble and willing to hear more from You each day.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford