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by Sandy Shaw
In John Chapter 7 and at verse 43, after Jesus had called the people to come to Him and drink and be satisfied, the people were divided. We are designed to be satisfied. When God created us He created us perfectly and if there had been no ‘Fall’ then we would never have experienced dissatisfaction.
Jesus has been speaking about the coming rivers of the Holy Spirit, and John is able to testify about knowing these refreshing streams for some sixty years. It started that day in the Temple in Jerusalem and it has never dried up. Many can testify to that.
Do not judge a man by where he has come from, but by where he is going.
He comes from Galilee. It is NOT the Christ then. O, they did not know. Nor did they know their Bible. Jonah, Hosea, Nahum, all came from Galilee. Such was the snobbery of those men, so this cannot be the Christ.
And, Jesus does not say anything to prove who He is. Sometimes Christ remains surprisingly silent.
v.45 – The guards who were sent to arrest Jesus came back and said – We could not do it. You should have heard Him TALK! They were nearly there, getting Jesus silenced and out of the way. A warrant had been issued for the arrest of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
v.47 – Has He deceived you too? Has He fooled you soldiers? None of us believe in Him, and this crowd is just an ignorant rabble! What a way to speak of your people!
These religious leaders are so proud and sarcastic and cynical. None of us believe in Him!
v.50 – There was one Pharisee feeling a bit uncomfortable – NICODEMUS.
This can happen to us at times. People around are making jokes about Jesus Christ, or God, or heaven, or about the Bible, and we feel uncomfortable, and there can be times when we don’t know exactly what to do.
Yes, even after being baptised in the Holy Spirit we can continue to feel uncomfortable in certain situations, and we do not always know what to do – when to speak out, or when to remain poised and silent.
v.51 – Nicodemus speaks up. We are a counsel. We are a court. Should we judge Him before we hear Him? Should we not know exactly what He has been doing and saying? Is Nicodemus not trying his best, as far as he could at that time, to get these men to listen to Jesus? Is Nicodemus not trying his hardest to get them to hear the Son of God? These are the Pharisees, the leaders of Jerusalem.
He was weak in a sense, but we can understand that.
A man without the Holy Spirit is weak, and Nicodemus had six months to wait. He is mocked and laughed at. Do you come from Galilee too? Look into it and you will discover that no prophet comes from Galilee, but they were so terribly wrong. Nicodemus must have told John this later on.
There was another Pharisee who said Jesus cannot be the Messiah – Saul of Tarsus – and one day Saul met the risen and living Jesus, and then a man called Ananias came to help Saul prime his pump.
What makes a man is not where he has come from but where he is going.
People like to celebrate His Birth – some know a little about the Cross and the resurrection – but few are interested in where Jesus is today and what He is doing, now.
Be among the few. Drink deeply, and flow. Pour out upon others, His Peace – His Power – His Healing.
Drink – be filled – satisfied – and overflow.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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