Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. – John 7:12-13
It’s interesting to me how divided people were about Jesus, even back then while walking among them and performing the miracles He did. Some thought He was a good man. Others were sure He was a fraud. But what really stands out is that nobody wanted to say what they really thought – not out loud anyway. They were afraid.
Fear has a way of doing that. It keeps us quiet. It makes us second-guess what we know in our hearts. And fear comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes – fear of rejection, fear of conflict, fear of being wrong, fear of being laughed at. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s intense. But it can be very real.
These folks in John 7 weren’t dealing with imaginary fear. The Jewish leaders had power – real power. And If you crossed them, life could get hard. But here’s the thing: even when fear is real, it can still rob us of something far greater – the chance to discover who Jesus really is for ourselves.
As people began hearing and learning more and more about Jesus during his earthly ministry, the religious leaders did everything they could to silence Him and His supporters. Even after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to Heaven, “The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,’ he said… “They were furious and wanted to put them to death” (Acts 5:27-28; 33).
At some point, every person has to decide: is Jesus just some teacher who went too far, or is He truly the Son of God – the Savior of the world? There’s no middle ground. He can’t be both a deceiver and a good man. Jesus is either delusional, or He is the risen Christ! And make no mistake – Satan knows exactly who Jesus is. That’s never been in question. His goal isn’t to figure out Jesus, but to keep us from knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior! He’ll use confusion, distraction, pride, doubt. But fear might be his favorite tool. It keeps people quiet. It keeps people stuck and keeps truth in the dark.
But Jesus didn’t come to leave us in the dark. He came to set us free, even from fear.
Maybe today’s a good day to ask ourselves: what is it that I’m afraid of? What fear keeps me quiet about Jesus? And what might happen if I trusted Him enough to speak anyway?
So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you are faithful to what I have said, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!” – John 8:31-32 (J.B. Phillips New Testament)
Former Blackout Artist 