Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. – John 7: 40 – 43

Reflection

Today’s Gospel reflection sheds light on the controversy regarding the Identity of Jesus, that occurred whilst He lived on earth.

The controversy was a fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy in Luke 2: 34 – 35 that Christ would be a sign that would be opposed so that the hearts of many would be revealed.

Interestingly, this controversy about Jesus, was even more prominent amongst the teachers of the law at the time. These were people who knew the Scriptures so well, and actually used it as a basis for discrediting Jesus.

What they failed to realise was the hidden meaning of Scripture, and the hidden identity of Jesus.

They took Jesus on face value, and because they were mostly offended, by what He had to say, they refused to dig deeper into Who He really was.

They simply knew Jesus as a Galilean from Nazareth, for that was where His family lived. But actually, anyone who knew Jesus well, knew that His family roots were in Bethlehem.

Joseph and Mary were from the family of David, as Matthew tells us clearly in his genealogy narrative about Jesus (Matthew 1: 1 – 17).

So, Jesus indeed was the fulfillment of Scripture, but because they were blinded by their own pride and self-knowledge of Scripture, they failed to see this.

This misunderstanding and confusion about Jesus, continues even in our time.

The world refuses to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and sadly even in some church groups, the true identity of Jesus is clouded and cloaked by the deception of the leaders who use Scripture as a basis for promoting error.

The good news is that Jesus assures us that “by their fruit, you will know them… because a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” Matthew 7: 15 – 18

So today, let us ask the Lord for the humility to learn from Him and from those who faithfully walked the path before us.

Let us also pray for the gift of discernment to understand Scriptures fully in the Light of the Church’s teachings as revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Almighty Father, we acknowledge that Your Son Jesus is the Living Word.

We come before You today o God, for Christ says no one knows the Son except the Father.

Father please reveal to us Who Your Son Jesus truly is, just as You revealed Him to Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth, Simeon, Peter, and all the apostles and disciples of old.

We want to follow see Jesus clearly, love Jesus dearly, follow Jesus nearly.

Open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to understand Jesus truly revealed in Scriptures, that our lives may be filled with eternal gratitude for Your love and glory.

Amen.

 

Always & Forever,

To The Lamb.

With all my love.

17-March-2018