Muck and Mire

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

MUCK AND MIRE

 John 7:30-36

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?" 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33 Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."  35 The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" 

NIV

Here again, is evidence of his divine nature. How it is possible for a crowd to attempt to seize him and not a single person laid a hand on him? If the crowd was looking for a miracle they just were in the midst of one, but it appears they were blind to this miracle, yet were saying that when the Christ does come he will do more miracles then this man. They were most likely thinking of the words of the Prophet Isaiah.

 Isa 35

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution, he will come to save you." 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.  8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.   9 No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. NIV

We can see why they thought the Christ would be a whole lot more spectacular than this Jesus who did a lot more talking and fewer miracles then they expected. However, when we see those words of Isaiah we see Jesus, of course, that is in retrospect, which this crowd did not have that advantage. But think about it, because of Jesus being the light of the world and because he is in us and has declared that we are the light of the world and that we would do even greater things then he did, we can see how that would be. The world is a dark place and in the darkness, people are blind. Their ears are deaf to the truth, because of the blindness of their minds. They cannot and do not speak anything about the truth. They are crippled by living in sin and cannot walk on the highway of God. They live in dry and parched darkness. They are feeble and weak and so much more. But the point is that when we shine our light, the light of Jesus into their darkness, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, their voices will find joy and praise, the crippled will be able to get up and walk on the highway to heaven. They will be among the redeemed. The people were looking for all that and more from being in the presence of Jesus, but it appears they were not about to leave their darkness because of unbelief. They could not see with spiritual eyes or hear with spiritual ears. Jesus spoke plainly about what was going to happen, but they missed it. Jesus makes it clear that some will never find him and therefore some will never be able to go where he is going. They just did not get it. Anyone who stays in the darkness of their mind cannot see Jesus and if someone cannot see Jesus, they cannot go where he is. Our world is not different today than it was when Jesus walked the earth. People are still looking for the supernatural, but trying to find it everywhere other than through Jesus. People want signs and wonders, but they are blind to the truth. They want to hear supernatural stories, but they are deaf to the truth of Jesus. How can we shine our light, how can we improve their taste, if we are the salt of the earth? If Jesus cannot win some over, how are we supposed to? That may not be our concern. All we should be about is being that light and salt and let the Spirit do the rest. Sometimes it is difficult to know we are on that highway to heaven yet can see so many still stuck in the muck and mire of their darken life.