3/20/17
Tracy Marion
John 7: 14-36
Jesus Teaches at the Festival
In this passage, Jesus has secretly traveled to the Festival of the Tabernacles and begins teaching to the crowd at the temple. As it had before, his teaching amazed the Jewish leaders, and they wondered where he had acquired such knowledge. Jesus answered that the teaching was not his own, but rather, came from the one who sent him. Jesus admonishes them to “stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly” (v. 24). Some in the crowd believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but many others ignored the signs. They relied on what they had been taught—“when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from” (v. 27). Since they knew where Jesus came from, how could he possibly be the Messiah?
As we go through our lives, God places many people in our paths as teachers who have important lessons to share with us. Often, we are like those in the crowd at the Festival and fail to recognize these teachers as such because they don’t fit our idea of what a teacher should look like, sound like, etc. Or perhaps even more likely, we are like the Jewish leaders and refuse to acknowledge them as teachers because we don’t want to believe the truth they are trying to share with us. Everyone we meet, no matter their age, appearance, or occupation, may have something to teach us. It is our challenge to listen with an open heart, honestly seek the truth revealed by God, and align ourselves with God’s will for our lives.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the teachers you send into our lives. Help us to put aside any misconceptions so that we may recognize your words on their lips and continually try to discern your will for our lives. Amen.