May 5, 2023

Listeners And Leaders - Three Groups of Each

“Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, ‘This certainly is the Prophet.’ Others were saying, ‘This is the Christ.’ Still others were saying, ‘Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’ So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.” John 7:40-44 (NASB)

      In my experience in leadership, There are typically two groups of people who are listeners, and those who want to solve an issue without investigating first. The listeners want to hear all before they decide. Others are those who have made up their mind and decided what course of action, even before they have all the facts. The first group normally does better, while the latter causes further chaos. Either way, trouble begins when the two clash. Depending on the maturity of the leadership will then depend on how bad it gets from there. Today, there is a problem with the leadership, and it is brewing into a hornet’s nest.

      Three groups of people appear in this passage. First, there are those who believed Jesus to be a prophet, or a forerunner to the Messiah. They proclaimed, “This certainly is the Prophet.” Although not totally convinced Jesus was the Messiah, they believed Jesus to be sent from God. Secondly, these are believers of Jesus (or Messiah). They are those who state, “This is the Christ.” These who heard Jesus speak were amazed at how He handled the authorities with such skill that they were taken back when He spoke. These we can refer to as part of the remnant of Israel who would believe upon Jesus Christ. They were thirsty and sought the Living Water when Jesus gave the invitation. The third group though, were a little more conflicted. They were called “others.” The “others” questioned Jesus’ background by referring to Old Testament scriptures. In their views, they were mostly correct, however, if they would have fully investigated Jesus’ claims, they would have discovered He met both qualifications. Jesus was from the lineage of David (Matt. 1:1, Luke 1:32, 3:23, 31, and many others). Jesus was also born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1, Luke 2:4-7, 11, 15). They assumed since He was raised in Nazareth, He must have been born there. These were assumptions which were never investigated fully. These three groups within the crowd came to differing conclusions. There were also three groups from yesterday’s reading as well. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the temple guards. These groups were becoming more and more angry by Jesus’ actions. Three were listening to the words of the Messiah. Three weren’t listening but plotting on how to lay hands on Him. It is interesting how the Lord used these illustrations in threes over the last few days. The issue at hand for the leaders of the three groups is the increasing conflict which is brewing in the crowds. Because of this, the leaders wanted to seize Him for making claims He was God.

      One thing is true, when Jesus spoke truth, darkness hated it. It was working on a plan. Superstitions are always cruel for those accused. Jesus was not taken once again because it was not in the Father’s plan for Him to be arrested… yet. When God sets a timeline for events in His will, they cannot be changed. Mankind couldn’t interfere with God’s set timetable. I would ask you today, “What crowd do you find yourself?” Are you a believer in Jesus the prophet? Or is He Messiah? Or does His story not line up, so you won’t believe. I challenge you to investigate the Scriptures for yourself. Time is running out, so be sure…