John 7:25-53 has Jesus out in the open at the Feast and the people are wondering where the Jewish leaders are. They were wanting to kill Jesus, but there He was, teaching in the Temple. The people asked “Could it be that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah”? But they quickly discounted that since they knew He was from Bethlehem/Nazareth and just couldn’t be the One. Jesus gets a bit provoked and challenges them with His credentials – that He was sent from God and that is how He knew the Scriptures and God.
As this happened, “Many from the crowd committed themselves in faith to him”. Jesus arguments were convincing and it was irritating the Pharisees who could sense things getting away from their control, so they sent their police to arrest Him. But Jesus rebuffed them. And He kept on speaking the truth of His salvation. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says”. Jesus is the source of life.
But it wasn’t unanimous about following Jesus. In fact, “there was a split in the crowd over Him”. Faith in Christ is a rather polarizing thing. It is a lot like being pregnant – you either are or you are not a believer in Jesus. There is no part way. Believing in Christ is all or nothing. You can’t have one foot in, and one foot out. There is no hedging your bets when it comes to salvation. Either Jesus is your Savior and Lord, or you reject Him. The police returned to the Pharisees empty handed as even they had been impacted by His words.
We do see that one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, speaks up for Jesus. He asks “Does our Law decide about a man’s guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing”? But he was the lone person standing up for Christ. The rest of the Pharisees cut him off and challenged his thinking. They were determined to find a way to silence Jesus before He eroded their power any further. So they all went home. Just picked up their toys and headed out of the Temple away from Jesus. I guess if they couldn’t see Him, somehow that would be better.
Arlin Sorensen's Thoughts on Scripture 