From Whence He Comes!

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” (John 7:25-31 (ESV)

“You know me, and you know where I come from?” There is a tinge of sarcasm in Christ’s voice as he asks this question because while they knew Jesus came from Nazareth, they really did not know where he came from. He came from God the Father, and this is what the people did not know. Not only do they not know that this is where Jesus comes from, Jesus is playing on words in such a matter as to say, they don’t know God the Father. If they knew the Father they would know the son. “He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.” People like to think they can believe in God without believing in him who was sent by him, Jesus Christ. This is the problem we have today when people say that we all believe in the same God and by “we all” they me Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists etc. We don’t. These other religions reject Jesus. (if you can even call them religions…) If you reject Jesus, you reject him who sent Jesus, you reject God. There is a difference in believing there is a God in the manner that Aristotle believed there was a God, and believing in God. To believe in God is to know something about God, and then to trust him. We can’t know anything about God apart from Jesus Christ, and apart from Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins, we have no reason to trust in God either. The people were right, they did not know where the Messiah came from, but thankfully now that the Messiah has come, thanks to Jesus we do know the Father, we do know from whence he came, he came from God who is love.