Who Is God?

John 7

• "Jesus replied, "Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime."
John 7:6 NLT

Sometimes when people rush us, we'll do whatever they said because they are so eager about us doing it- even if it is wrong. But Jesus countered their eagerness with stillness and peace.

• "But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
John 7:13 NLT

In the first recent years of my conversion to Christ, I was ashamed to announce that I was a Christian. I was ashamed if someone associated me with the belief. My faith only existed within the space of my room. But after getting to know God and truly how amazing he is. Getting to know that I am on the winning side and the rest who are not are the ones who should be ashamed, I could boldly confess, even before being asked, that I am a child of God. Such confidence doesn't come immediately, it takes time- active time during which we seek God and become aware of his power.

• "But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from."
John 7:27 NLT

They expected the Messiah to be a mysterious and powerful man. They did not expect that he will be a regular man who they all know. How can he then be someone special?
Often times we overlook what has been beside us to wait for something new, something spectacular, when God has decided that the old regular thing will be what he will use; look at the woman with the jars full of oil.

• "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
John 7:38 NIV

The following verse stated that when Jesus talked about the rivers of living water flowing from within them, he meant the Holy Spirit. But why was the Holy Spirit described as a living water. We know from previous encounter that The Holy Spirit was compared to that of the wind.
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John 3:8 NIV
And just like the wind, water makes its own path. Jesus spoke about water and wind to illustrate the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Both elements are of nature and can't be stiffle nor suppressed. Can you hold down the wind? The Holy Spirit is free. It does has it wishes.

• "Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David's descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"
John 7:42 NIV

Joseph and Mary lived in Galilee.
"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child."
Luke 2:4‭-‬5 NIV
They only went to Bethlehem to register as it was for cenus, however this was God's plan to make everything according to the His Scripture.
So Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem.
"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem". Matthew 2:1 NIV
But why did Jesus move from Bethlehem? Why not have it so the people could say, 'yes, he might actually be the Messiah because he comes from Bethlehem?
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." Matthew 2:13 NIV
They had to run from Bethlehem to Egypt then later they went back to Galilee. But wouldn't Jesus have been more special to the people if God ordained that he was grown up in Bethlehem- despite Herod's hatred.
But it was not to be.
"and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene." Matthew 2:23 NIV
This was God's choice. To make Jesus a Nazarene, even though it would be one less reason to believe that he was the Messiah, God did this in order to prove something.
"Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them." Mark 6:4‭-‬5 NIV
Jesus couldn't preach to the Nazarenes because they knew his upbringing. God didn't want this to be the outcome for the people of his chosen one David. Galilee was in Israel and Bethlehem in Jerusalem.
If Jesus was rise in Bethlehem, then the Jews (God chosen people) would not need to him- following the truth of the prophet not without honor except in his own town. So God made it that yes he was born in Bethlehem to fulfill the scripture but allowed him to grow up in Israel so the Jews could honor him.

• "They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.""
John 7:52 NIV

They said this because they only reasoned that a prophet who is wise and knowledgeable about the Bible and the world could not come from Galilee, a place with people of low education. Furthermore, they reasoned that in previous scriptures, there has never been a prophet born from Galilee, how then will it begin with Jesus?