URC Daily Devotion 3rd June 2025

St John 7: 14 – 21

About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach.  The Jews were astonished at it, saying, ‘How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?’  Then Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.  Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 

Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him. ‘Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’  The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?’  Jesus answered them, ‘I performed one work, and all of you are astonished.  Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath?  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.’

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill?  And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?  Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’  Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.  I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.’  Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.  Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?’

Reflection

Jesus was in Jerusalem for what has been referred to as the ‘harvest festival of the autumn’ – the Festival of Booths. In this context Jesus stood up in the Temple to teach. Very quickly there were those who questioned his academic background, his knowledge and his message. They questioned the authenticity of his words and Jesus  reminded them about the complexity of the Law and its application. The crowd puzzled over the question of his identity – these were people who knew their scriptures which warned of the dangers of false prophets. Whilst at the same time subscribing to the popular notion that the Messiah, when he came, would be mysterious in his origins so, could this be the Messiah?  

Questions, questions, questions. But the thread running through the passage could be summed up in the contemporary question, “who do we believe?”, “who is telling us the truth?”. Developments in technology have heightened our awareness as we ask it again and again of politicians, the media, the financiers and even Church leaders.

Jesus’ defence is to say ‘anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God… the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true and there is nothing false in him’. (v17) There are those of us who might want to say that such a statement is not too much help, we do not always find God very clear in his guidance and leading. We do, however, know that our relationship with God should be at the heart of how we behave, how we act and how we understand the world around us. The challenge for us is not just about what Jesus said and did but about where we are in our relationship with God.

Prayer
Challenging God,
we know the theory.
How your call to each one of us
is to be in relationship with you
glorifying you in all we do.  
 
We know the theory.
the practice we find challenging
We long to be close to you, help us,
as by your grace we strive to fulfil your calling. Amen.