Some of the crowd therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is the Prophet.” Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “No, for is the Christ going to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. Some of them were wanting to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
John 7:40-44
Introduction
After Jesus gave the teaching that faith in Him would result in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the people became very confused. Like earlier in their discourse, they allowed their extra-biblical teaching inform their idea of the Messiah. They began to recognize how Jesus fit the bill, but found themselves getting caught up in a specific interpretation of scripture as though that interpretation was the scripture itself.
Micah 5:2, for instance, is a passage we all read during Christmas time.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from everlasting,
From the ancient days.
They knew the Messiah would arise out of Bethlehem. But what they failed to recognize is that scripture necessitates the Messiah would also begin His ministry in Galilee.
The Christ? Galilee?
Another passage we read all the time during the advent season is Isaiah 9:2. The great composer George Handel incorporated this beautiful passage in one of the most chilling and magnificent pieces of music written in the English language in his Messiah. The verse tells of the people who formerly walked in darkness witnessing a great light shine upon them. A light that brings them great joy and salvation.
This image of the light is something John directly picks up on in his introduction to the gospel when he explicitly calls Jesus the light. This light. But the verse immediately preceding it reads as follows:
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
So then, is this a contradiction? Micah 5 says the Messiah comes from Bethlehem, but Isaiah 9 says He comes from Galilee.
Or does it?
Galilee is obviously the focal point of this passage in showing where the ministry of the Messiah begins, but that is just it: His work begins in Galilee. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, but minister from out of Galilee. And that is precisely what Jesus did.
No one laid hands on Him
Some miracles occur by extraordinary means, like the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), fire raining down from heaven (1 Kings 18), or the miraculous healings Jesus performed. But other miracles occur by ordinary means. Think back in your life and consider all the times the Lord has given you relief from out of a trial, provided for financial needs in the final hour, or even prompted a good friend to call when you needed it most.
The Lord loves to bless His children through ordinary means. And He demonstrates His power in this way, too. There are times when Jesus escaped from out of a murderous crowd supernaturally (Luke 4:29-30), but in this instance it was much more ordinary. The people simply did not try to grab Him even though some wanted to.
Do not discount all the ways the Lord provides for us ordinarily. If you really start to consider it deeply, you will find that His ordinary provision is so prevalent and pervasive that we might even call it ordinary. This is the comfort found in the sovereign God of scriptures. He commands the very tides of history to favor His children (Romans 8:28). And He always fulfills His promises.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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