John 7:25-26
So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Messiah?"
Who is Jesus? It's a simple question. A question Jesus put to his disciples. "Who do you say I am?", he asked them. We know what they claimed and what Peter said…"You are the Christ." But the passage from John today again raises the question. Jesus is openly challenging the people and authorities fully knowing that they will not kill him because "his hour had not come." Their faith and their abilities to reason were put to the test.
So the question today for you and me is, Who is Jesus? We know that he was a teacher. We know that he was a physician, healing the sick. We know that he clarified the law, in fact, challenged it and brought more clarity. We know he could control the weather, could control nature, change water into wine. We know he was prayerful. But do you know him? We know he was a man and we know that he his God. Fully man and fully God. How can this be? Most of us go through life, going through the motions, going to church regularly, doing good deeds, keeping a decent prayer life. But the question remains, "Do you know Jesus?" Do you trust him? Do you have faith in him? Do you have a personal relationship with him? Would you know Jesus if he walked right past you? I hope to my soul that I would. He might just walk right past you in the form of someone hungry, a staff member in need of counsel, a homeless person. Verse 26 reads "Could the authorities have realized that he is the Messiah?" Could you?
