“Does the Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived? Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.” John 7:42-43 NIV
Have you ever been looking for something only to realize that it was right in front of your eyes the whole time? I know I have. This part of today’s reading reminded me of that. God’s people, the Jews, have been long awaiting for the Messiah to return and yet when He does and He stands before them, they do not believe. Now, it almost seems as though they are trying harder to make an argument for not believing as opposed to attempting to discover the truth. Had those who made this statement in the verse above also have the desire to know the truth, they would have found that Jesus did indeed come out of Galilee and out of Bethlehem in order to fulfill the prophecies earlier made.
May we not lose focus on who Christ is and what He has done, and may we also continue to seek Him and be wise to the truth.
Lock Your Wings 
Funny that verse stood out for me too: “So the crowd was divided about him.”
John 7:43 NLT
Division is human because it is our nature to hold fast to what we believe. Unity is divine because it means setting aside your personal desires for the benefit of others. Our current society climate is so segregated and divided. People believing in the vaccine, people denying the pandemic, people calling for strict protocols, people believing their rights are being infringed on. So much division whether Jesus was the Messiah, so much division whether vaccines are the answer. Regardless of the right answer, Satan uses division to separate us and causes us to turn on each other.
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