Based on John 7:14-24 (New King James Version)
“Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, ‘How does this Man know letters, having never studied?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?’ The people answered and said, ‘You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.’”
There are a lot of things that can be seen in this passage, but we will only see a few. One of the things that needs to be seen is that although Jesus was 100%, He was also 100% God. There was a very different process in the Lord as compared to our own. He did grow up humanly speaking just like all of us, in terms of His human body. El also developed just like us in His intellectual capacities. For example, he learned how to speak and express Himself. But, He starts showing His divine aspect in the knowledge of the things of God, and in His revelation. And here is where the big difference between Him and us lays.
They themselves (the religious) noticed that there was a very advanced level of learning, despite the fact that He did not follow the steps they did. The Lord was not taught the Scriptures by the learned Jews. He did not study in their schools. He never obtained the credentials that people of education would acquire during those days. His humble background did not afford Him that possibility, especially since that type of thing was reserved for people of wealth and position. Carnally speaking, the Lord was none of those things, but rather, quite the contrary.
So then, how did He know what He knew, and even more, how did He learn to do what He did? The answer is very simple, and it lays in His divine nature. Jesus was (and is) God. And as God, He naturally possessed the knowledge of God; it was in Him. And to understand even more, He was (and is) the Word of God. John said this of Him when God revealed it to Him: “In the beginning was the Word (speaking of Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:1-3. So then, even though He was speaking about His Father, Jesus could not avoid speaking of Himself, because He was much God as God the Father. So then, when He would reveal the Father, He could not avoid speaking of Himself, because He was the Word of God. And moreover, when everything was created, God the Father created everything in conjunction and through the Lord, when He “spoke” things into existence. The Lord was the vehicle (per se) through which creation was possible. In other words, without Jesus, God the Father could not have created anything, because such “word” would not have existed. And here is where we see the integrity of the being of the Trinity, but in particular, the dynamics between God the Father and the Son (Jesus). Even though they are two very distinguishable beings, both are part of the integrity of one another; both are necessary to one another. Without the thought of God the Father, the Son cannot do anything, because the initiation of all divine thought originates from the Father. But also, without the Son, God the Father cannot turn his thoughts into a reality in the physical and spiritual universe. This is what the Jews refused to believe, because they had the capacity to understand these concepts. But, even though they refused to believe, and even killed Him, the Truth that Jesus is God could not be covered nor stopped because the Truth is unstoppable, especially the Truth that God is God, and nothing or no one can change that.
The other truth that could be seen here is the issue of whether a person aligns with the Lord or not. As we read in today’s passage, and we have seen at other occasions, there were very few people that would listen and accept Jesus. There were more enemies than friends, and such were His enemies that they finally killed him. The irony (although when the truth is seen, there is no irony) was that the religious were the ones that hated Him, and they hated Him until death. Why? Because they were simply not aligned with Him. Even though the religious said they believed in God, and that they respected and taught the things of God, they were quite far from God Himself. How does that happen? One of the main things that determines this is the intention of the heart, or the “why” things are done. The pharisees did not do things for God, but rather, to make themselves stand out and shine, to have dominion over the people, to have good economic status, etc.; the same reasons for why many people do it today. If the Lord were here today on earth, the religious would try to kill Him again, and the majority in that group would be priests, pastors, preachers, ministers, etc. Everything would repeat itself all over again just like before. There are many that seem like followers of God, but it’s only an appearance. How do I know that? Easy, because if all those people were with God, they would do just as God commands. And everyone of us that truly look to love and follow God would be united in harmony doing what the Lord desires. Many times, these religious people focus on things that are not very important, and they push aside that which is of extreme importance to God. For the Lord Himself said this: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” Luke 11:42.
What is finally the will of God? Exactly what the Lord Himself did on earth. The Lord taught that the most important thing was to love God above everything else, and second, to love our neighbor as ourselves. The Lord taught about eternal life, the will of God, and He helped everyone in need, those that had enough faith so that God could work in their lives. The Lord did not fight to construct buildings, or to make His fame grow throughout the world, or for material things, or for human flattery, or for positions of power, etc. He did not speak to people to flatter them, but rather just to tell them the Truth. And His fruit was: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; the fruits of the Spirit. And if we have His same feeling, then we would be doing and showing the same things, and it would come out of us naturally because these are things He produces in us; you don’t have to force them.
So then, are you aligned with the Eternal God, with Jesus? Lord bless! John