Now they get down to it, “Hey, isn’t this Jesus guy the man our leaders are trying to kill? But here he is, preaching in public, and they aren’t doing anything. What are we supposed to make of that? Have they decided, then, that he really is the Messiah? How could they? We know that Jesus is from Nazareth, but no one will know where the Messiah came from.”
Jesus answered, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I’m from, but that’s not a problem, because I’m from God. Oh, but that’s right, you don’t know Him. But I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent me here to you.”
The people were not pleased that he said that, and they tried to make trouble for him. But others believed in Him. They were going by the evidence. Again, faith is never blind; it is based on evidence and knowledge.
Now the Pharisees decide to get involved, and they sent men to arrest him. I’ll be curious to hear what the charge is. Meanwhile, Jesus keeps teaching.
“I’ll only be here a short time, then I’ll be returning to God who send me to you.” There seemed to be quite a bit on confusion: some believed, and some didn’t. Some understood what he was saying, and others not.
Then on the last day of the Feast, Jesus stood to make a cryptic appeal to those who were there in Jerusalem: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me…streams of living water will flow from within him.” Granted, it’s a riddle that’s tough to grasp right away, so John (the writer) explains it: “But this meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”
At least some got it. They concluded Jesus was a prophet. Still others said, “He’s the Messiah!” Still others said, “But the prophecies don’t say the Messiah will come from Galilee! They say he’ll come from Bethlehem and be from David’s line.”
And the people were divided about who Jesus is. Nothing much has changed. Even nowadays some people say he’s a prophet, some say he’s God, and others accuse him of being an imposter. This is the purpose of John’s gospel, to give evidence to who Jesus really was—the Son of God, and that you might believe and have life through his name.