1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
2) Scripture Reading
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” 46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” 47 The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you? 48 No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” 50 (Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, 51 “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52 They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee , are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee .” 53 Everyone went to his home.
3) Devotional: In this passage, the Pharisees and temple leaders sent men from the temple guard to arrest Jesus, but they returned empty-handed because they were astonished at the power and authority with which Jesus spoke. What ensues afterward is almost comical in the level of the Pharisees’ oblivious denial: they will hear nothing which challenges their power and contradicts their already-formed opinions about Jesus, and will justify away and argue down anything which contradicts them. It takes Nicodemus (who is a Pharisee and who met with Jesus earlier in John 3) confronting the other Pharisees with the writings of their own laws, which the Pharisees selectively interpret as it most benefits them, to bring their vendetta to a halt this time. It’s as if the Pharisees have already made up their mind about what the Messiah will look like long before Jesus appears, and because he does not fit their mold and because he challenges them, they will not even consider Him.
We have the same ability to do this with Jesus when he intrudes into the ordered ideals and preconceptions of our lives, and especially when he contradicts our values and expectations. In our modern culture especially, as we search and hope for Messiahs in every corner of life, we have often allied Jesus with many things that have nothing to do with the real Jesus. We often expect Jesus to sanctify our cultural, socioeconomic, and personal agendas of power and control, when He actually has intentions to the contrary. Sometimes, in arguing with ourselves and others about why the Messiah just wouldn’t look or act this way, we miss Jesus Himself at work in our midst.
4) Questions to Consider: Have you ever made a decision or formed an opinion about someone long before you meet them or give them a chance? What about God- what happens when He doesn’t act like you thought He would, or do the things you want him to, or appear how you are expecting Him to? How does this challenge your belief or faith?
5) Prayer: Jesus, help me never miss you at work, even when it contradicts my expectations and religious ideals, and give me the humility and perservance to be always found seeking you while you may be found. Amen.
