He Is

Devotion by: Kari Lervick

John 7:40-53

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’

When I first saw the title of this devotion, I thought about all of the words I’ve heard complete this statement over the years: “He is the Savior”, “He is the Son of God”, “He is the Messiah”, “He is the Lamb of God”, “He is the way, the truth, and the light”… The list seems endless. But the ending to the statement “He is …” caused a lot of contention and disagreement in the crowds that day. Some of the people were convinced he was a prophet. Some knew he was the Messiah. The temple police were unsure, but sensing something special about Jesus, they were afraid to arrest him.

My daughter received her first Bible last weekend. I used her new Bible to look up this passage and gather my insights about these verses and the theme. As I read through John 7:40-53, my eyes glanced over to the next page. The passage that mirrored those that I was reading was John 8:12 – “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” It seemed appropriate that, after contemplating the angst caused by the ending to the statement “He is …”, there is a passage that clearly lays it out for us:
“I am …”.

PRAYER: Dear God, let us find clarity and strength in the words of your son, Jesus Christ, during our confusing and troubled times. Amen.