Some recognised, some doubted, and some wanted to take Jesus
John 7:40–44 (NKJV)
Israel is Divided over Christ
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
Message
I. Some recognised Jesus (40, 41a)
See v40, 41a.
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41a Others said, “This is the Christ.”
‘this saying’ is what Jesus said in John 7:37, 38.
‘the Prophet’ is ‘a prophet like me’ mentioned by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15,18, 19. Moses made water come out abundantly from the rock for them to drink when there was no water for them in the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 20:1-11). On the other hand, rivers of living water flow out of the heart of him who believes in Jesus (John 7:38). Jesus is ‘the Prophet’ like Moses.
II. Some doubted Jesus (41b, 42, 43)
See v41b, 42.
41b But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
Jesus was born in Bethlehem but Herod tried to kill Him. So, His parents took Him to Egypt to escape from Herod. After Herod’s death, they came back from Egypt and lived in Nazareth town of Galilee instead of Bethlehem town of Judea for their safety. This paragraph is based on Matthew 2:1-23.
But those who spoke in v41b, 42 didn’t know this. We see people are susceptible to bias and prejudice.
So, there was a division among the people because of Him (43).
III. Some wanted to take Jesus (44)
See v44.
44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
John 7:30 is similar to this verse. But John 7:30 adds ‘because His hour had not yet come.’ The Father has put times or seasons in His own authority (Acts 1:7). Only the Father can decide when someone is born or dies, for example. We may mistakenly think that the hour (or time) is controlled by us but it is by the Father alone.
