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In the Word
by Chuck Livermore
Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. John 4:43-45 NKJV
John writes something very interesting in this passage. He states that Jesus knew a prophet has no honor in his own country, but then states that the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen all the things He did in Jerusalem. This is reminiscent of the passage in John 2:23-25. There, it is stated that many believed in Jesus but He didn’t commit Himself to them because He knew their hearts. Here, we see something similar. The people of Galilee received Jesus because they had seen what He did at the feast. However, Jesus knew their hearts and He knew their honor and acceptance would wane at the first instance of controversy. We will see this later in chapter six when many will reject Jesus because of the controversial things He says.
What about you? Are you a fair-weather Christian? Are you all “hallelujahs” and “praise the Lord” around your church family, but you avoid the opportunities to stand up for Jesus around the water-cooler at work? Do you quickly excuse yourself and leave if the topic at the lunch table turns to religion? We don’t have to be confrontational or unnecessarily offensive, but it shouldn’t surprise our co-workers if they find that we are Christian. How many of the people you see outside of church would be amazed to find out that you are committed to Christ?
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