Detecting Enemies — John 7:47-52
How accurate is your enemy detector? John 7:47-52 increases our understanding of two building blocks of daily life in Christ: Pushback and Fullness.
Pushback. In John 7:47-52, Nicodemus speaks up and says that Jesus deserves a fair trial, but the chief priests and Pharisees will have none of it. Furthermore, they claim scriptural support for their pre-judgement of Jesus, because, they assume, a prophet does not come out of Galilee. Hadn’t they ever read Isaiah 9:1-7, which clearly says the Child who will be born for us will shine with great light in the region of Galilee?
How does their unjust vitriol toward Jesus and their biblical ignorance impact Nicodemus? Perhaps he thought: “I have always respected these men as religious leaders and scholars. Now I’m beginning to doubt whether they are as devoted to Scripture and to God’s truth as they claim to be.” Well, that’s one positive byproduct of pushback: We discern who are God’s friends and who are God’s enemies.
Who is pushing back on you right now? On the surface, do they appear to be God’s friends or God’s enemies? Below the surface, which are they?
Fullness. Despite all the pushback Jesus receives in John 5-7, the Lord never backs down. No matter how much He is questioned, accused, and is in danger of arrest or stoning, Jesus refuses to be less than who He is — the Messiah, the Son of God sent by the Father to do and say all the Father gives Him. Jesus never allows His identity to be fractionalized.
Will we back down? Will we define ourselves as less than children of God (John 1:12), who have been sent as Jesus was sent (John 20:21)? Fullness or fraction?
This is post #10 in an ongoing dialog about the Gospel of John occurring online at www.philbickel.com, Facebook, and Youtube. You’re invited to join the conversation.
A catalyst for the dialogue is a free 97-page ebook by Phil Bickel, Fullness or Fraction in the Gospel of John, which introduces readers to 10 essential building blocks of life in Christ.