John 7:25-31 – Knowing God deeply

As we examine John 7, we find essentially three groups of people: the Jews, referring to those religious leaders that harbored intention to get rid of Jesus, and they made no secret about it. Then there was the crowd, people who did not know much about the teachings of Jesus or the intention of the authorities. These people were willing to listen and even ready to believe in Him. In John 7:25, we see a third group of people. They were the common people from Jerusalem. They did not belong to those that wanted Jesus dead. But they were aware of the plot to kill Jesus. They saw Jesus and heard His teachings and were somewhat sure that He was the One that the Jewish leaders were looking for. It’s apparent that they were impressed by Jesus’ words and actions. For Jesus was not afraid to talk overtly despite the awareness that there was plots to kill Him. So these people put two and two together and thought that Jesus was the Messiah, but wondered if the authorities had arrived at the same conclusion. The true state of their hearts was found in verse 27. They were confused. They knew Jesus was just a Galilean carpenter. But they also knew that when the Messiah appeared it would be a sudden appearance. They were indeed stumped.  

So Jesus, who was still teaching in the Temple, responded with a loud shout. He said, “Yes, you know Me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but He who sent me is true. You do not know Him, but I know Him because I am from Him and He sent me.” The Lord spoke with great emphasis and emotion to enlighten them. He asserted that He came from God and God was the One Who had sent Him. He did not come on His own accord. He told them that had they known God, they would have been able to recognize Him. What was Jesus saying in all these? He was telling them that they were indeed ignorant. However, the issue of their ignorance was not about Jesus but God. The real reason for their inability to recognize Jesus, the true God, underscores the fact that they really did not know God, the Father.

Jesus, in verse 29, then made known His origin, His authority and His mission. Remember Jesus and the Father are one. He now comes to make the Father known. Knowing Jesus is knowing the Father. At this juncture, they wanted to seize Him but no one made the move because His hour had not yet come. It tells us that it was not God’s time for the sacrifice of Christ as yet. The divine moment for His death and resurrection had not arrived. Note in verse 31 we are told that among the uncommitted in the crowd that were listening to Jesus, there were those that believe in Him because of the signs th

The fact is this: if we want to have a deeper knowledge of God, we need to know Christ Jesus more. By knowledge we mean experiential knowledge. So are we coming to Jesus daily to relate and fellowship with Him? Let’s make time, undivided time, to meet Him and to be quiet in His presence to listen to Him. Then to act on what we have heard. This will enable us to come into a deeper knowledge of God. Are we willing to make the sacrifice of time?