Jesus was the cause of division. That doesn’t sound right does it? That’s the way it is though. That’s what happened in the scripture today. Ask yourself a question. “Am I divided?”
John 7: 43So there was a division among the people because of him. 44And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. 45Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, why have ye not brought him? 46The officers answered, never man spake like this man. 47Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? 48Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? 49But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. 50Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? 52They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. 53And every man went unto his own house.
The teachings of Jesus on this particular occasion upset the people, but what he said was the most peaceful thing there can be. You could feel it. The invitation to come to him was extended by saying “if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” There shouldn’t have been anything about this to cause the reaction it got. It was exactly what the people needed. It was what they wanted. It was what they had been looking for. When it was before them, however, they tore it apart.
It’s hard to believe a person such as Jesus can cause division. From one perspective, trouble came into the world when Jesus came. Jewish traditional teachings were shaken. The Roman government was shaken. Being rich or poor didn’t matter. Race didn’t matter. Level of education didn’t matter. People reacted to Jesus, and many times it caused division. Before a nation, before a family, or before an individual can be free, there must be a division. Sin is so engrained into society and into human hearts and minds. There is a settled-ness of sin everywhere. We don’t want to be disturbed. We’ll accept that all might not be right with our bodies and even our mind, but we don’t want to hear about sin. It’s a crazy world. There is no normalcy. Even our standards for normalcy are corrupted and ever transient. The only sanity in the world is through the Word of God. The only one ever devoid of insanity was Jesus; he’s our only hope.
Herod wouldn’t rest until the boy babies were killed. The devil met Jesus face to face in the wilderness. In the midst of the insanity around them, a band of 12 disciples became a brotherhood. There were 12. Then there were 70. Then there was a multitude. Only one thing unified them. They believed in Jesus. He brought their lives together individually and as a group.
Do you have it all together? James 1:8 says “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” Are you trying to trust the Lord? Are you hoping to trust him? Do you believe Jesus “BUT”….? Get all that out of the way. Jesus came to free us from domination. He’ll save us from the very thing that tears us apart—sin. The place we can find normalcy and wholeness is in the Lord. He came to free us from what divides us. Division comes when a person hesitates in believing. Jesus didn’t say “figure me out first and then come” or “memorize the Bible and then come.” He said “come.” Act on your faith. Believe him and let him take you in his arms. He’ll make your life flow with living water, perfect and peaceful water in the heart. The only way is to quit wrestling with Jesus. We can’t change this crazy world. You know that you cannot change yourself alone. We can trust Jesus in the midst of it and be sane. We can have peace when life is tearing us apart.
Jesus has to divide you from the sin that is destroying you in order to make you whole. His division brings unity. As soon as the hands of Jesus touch you, all other hands have to let go.
Jesus was the cause of division, but he’s the only source and our only hope of getting it together, and keeping it together. How about it? Do you need to get it together? Come.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 