Seven

Chapter Seven starts the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus goes to the Feast of the Tabernacle, and despite his efforts to remain reclusive, he ends up teaching in the temple and the Pharisees hear about him. They try to take him, but they fail because Jesus' time had not come.

What I find interesting are two simple passages they say pretty much the same thing. "At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him."

I would like to know how they didn't lay a hand on Jesus. Did he run? Was it another miracle and people just couldn't seize him?

It happens again, "Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him."

Jesus also says, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." Ever wonder where the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" came from? Jesus is probably saying there's a difference between judging someone and having discernment about that person. Don't judge by your human standards, oh, he's a loser by the way he dresses, that kind of thing, but if the spirit tells you something about that person, that's a valid thing.

It's like an issue I have with a certain Christian bookstore. They've put up a disclaimer on a brilliant thinker's material. It says that this man's teaching could be contrary to traditional evangelical theology. Well, I think that's stupid. The only thing it causes someone to do is actually think about what they believe. Instead of taking everything at face value, really look into something and give people the chance to explain. I would bet that most people that work there haven't even read/watched anything by this author.

Anyway. Moving on.