You have to decide what you will do with Jesus.
John 7:37-38 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! 38 Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'"
John 7:40-46 When the crowds heard Him say this, some of them declared, "Surely this man is the Prophet we've been expecting." 41 Others said, "He is the Messiah." Still others said, "But He can't be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born." 43 So the crowd was divided about Him. 44 Some even wanted Him arrested, but no one laid a hand on Him. 45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, "Why didn't you bring Him in?" 46 "We have never heard anyone speak like this!" the guards responded.
"Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me!" Jesus made an offer to the crowd that should have been great news but there was only a handful of people that saw it that way. Jesus invites us to come to him if you are thirsty for spiritual things, if you are thirsty for a full pardon for your sin and if you crave a relationship with your creator then come on down. Get yourself a taste of living water that can satisfy!
Everybody that has been introduced to Jesus must react, the claims that he made about himself cannot just sit there without a response, the crowds in the temple that day were split into four groups:
The Convinced
"This is the Messiah! The one that we have been waiting for since Moses told us about him." They thought that John the Baptist was the prophet but now they are sure that Jesus is the one that they have been anticipating. (Deuteronomy 18:18, John 1:21)The Contrary
This group is bent on tearing down the people that are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Without looking at the facts they make a crazy remark about where Jesus was born. "You convinced people, what's wrong with you? You think Messiah comes from Galilee?" They didn't use the fact checker to see that Jesus really did fulfill the prediction about the birthplace of the Messiah.The Confused
This group is stuck in the middle, there are the believers and the unbelievers and then there are the ones that are not sure what to think. Why didn't the guards bring Jesus in? It sounds like they are not sure about who he is and if he really is the Messiah then they don't want to mess with him.The unbelievers ridicule the believers and also the confused. The religious leaders let the soldiers know who makes the decisions about spiritual stuff. The common everyday people can't decide for themselves, they need us to tell them what God is doing, there are still a lot of cults and religious systems that operate that way.
The Contemplative
It's been almost three years since that night when he visited Jesus. He was doing his own research to decide for himself what the truth is about Jesus. He is a thinking man and he wants to learn the truth instead of letting somebody else in his group of friends decide for him.| How Will You Respond? |
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| Matthew 27:22 Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” |
Thank you Lord for your offer, I am so thankful that I am a part of the convinced crowd, help me tell others the good news and open their heart to get the facts and accept your offer.
