There was division ... because of Him.

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Some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.  [John 7:40-44 NRSV]

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Throughout history there has been divisions about the identity of Christ. Theologians have sometimes called it a trilemma. Scottish preacher John Duncan put it this way: "Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma. It is inexorable."

Interesting how Jesus could have settled much of this when he became man. He could have come like Superman and showed us his physical strength. He could have gone around saying that he is the messiah. But he seemed to want to remain anonymous. He was happy with being Clark Kent. He left so much of this identity thing to faith.

Open the eyes of our hearts Lord that we might see you and understand who you really are.

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... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on the Gospel of John.