John 7:1-24
Dear RTB’ers,
John gives us a clearer picture of the crowd’s emotions toward Jesus than do the Synoptics: And there was much muttering about Him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, He is leading the people astray.” (v. 12) Two thousand years later the crowds are still split, not only politically, but also spiritually. I can imagine the difficulty that people in Methodist churches had when they voted for or against leaving the Methodist denomination (especially those across the highway from our church). To follow break-away leaders or to stay behind…? Some twenty years earlier, churches in our own denomination had split from the Episcopal Church following decisions that came out of the 2003 General Convention. Back in Jesus’ time, no doubt many faithful Jews were choosing to follow their Sanhedrin leaders, while other faithful Jews were intrigued by this new voice, Jesus. But saying that Jesus had a demon (John 7:20), I think that was too much!
Blessings.
See also: