February 20, 2026 | Be Connected
Confusion Over the Heritage of Jesus
Scripture: John 7:37-52(NIV)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Devotional
So far in John 7 we have seen…
…confusion over the identity of Jesus (“He is a good man,” “He is a deceiver,” “He is demon-possessed,” and here “He is the Prophet,” and “He is the Messiah.”),
…confusion over the ministry of Jesus (Did He have the authority to do miracles and the right to do them on the Sabbath?),
…and confusion over the message of Jesus (“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?’”).
Now we see confusion over the heritage Jesus promised to His followers (“What did He mean when He said, ‘Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’?”). They just couldn’t wrap their minds around what Jesus was saying. The Apostle John clears up the confusion in verse 39: “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”
A few days ago we looked at some questions about the person and works of Jesus. Now, think about these questions related to the words and promises of Jesus:
Who is Jesus?
Why did Jesus come?
What did Jesus say?
What did Jesus promise?
Which of these questions are you wrestling with most? Which brings you the greatest confusion? The biggest comfort? The most joy?
As a response to the identity and activity of Jesus, some wanted to worship Him and others wanted to seize Him. Some proclaimed Him the Messiah and others said He was demon-possessed. Still others took the middle ground and just said He was a good man. What about you? Who do you say Jesus is?
