John 7:40-43 "Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. (41) Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? (42) Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? (43) So there was a division among the people because of him."
"So there was a division among the people because of him." I read
that verse and my heart breaks. I remember a question asked of the Corinthians
by the Apostle Paul, "Is Christ divided?" Of course the answer to
that is, "No, Christ is not divided." So what brings about division?
We have to answer that man is the cause of division, not the Lord. In fact, we
are told specifically that God is not the author of confusion.
When you read these verses, we see that each side of the controversy had the
facts. Jesus indeed spoke great words of truth which would make Him, not only a
prophet, but as the people said "Of a truth this is THE PROPHET."
Others said, "This is the Christ." Still others questioned the
validity of that because they could not see that Jesus fulfilled everything
that they were expecting to happen. He is indeed of the seed of David. He was
born in Bethlehem, the city of David. Did you notice? All three sides had the
truth, but their perspective was different.
I have been guilty of disagreeing with someone simply because they said the
same thing I said, but in a different way. Was this not happening? They each
had the truth, but came to a different conclusion. He's the Prophet. He's the
Christ. We don't know where this man was born, so He cannot be either of those.
I understand there are differences of opinions, but I can find some common
ground with all who profess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. I can find
common ground with all who declare the blood of Jesus Christ to be the means of
righteousness and forgiveness of sins. If God's people would focus on that with which we agree, there would not be so many disagreements.
Why do I go into such length concerning this matter? I know there are
those who disagree with the things I just said above, but Satan has done a
pretty remarkable job of causing separation among God's people. He has done a
pretty good job of sowing pride, strife, and discord over matters of belief. He
has caused many to forget who is the true enemy. There is a world of those who
hate the Lord and hate us as His people. Let us not give them
"fodder" to feed their hatred and accusations.
Let us turn our focus back to Jesus, the Christ. Let us come to the conclusion
that is found in the Song of Solomon 5:16, "His mouth is most sweet:
yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O
daughters of Jerusalem." Tell me about your vision of Jesus and His
grace upon you.