How important is it for us to search out truth? Appearances can be deceiving. As important as it is to listen to teachers, this does not mean that we should abdicate our responsibility to seek out truth for ourselves. In John 7, the people came to some false conclusions based on circumstances, appearances and prior teaching. First Jesus was teaching openly and the authorities did nothing to oppose him (verse 25-26). The people concluded that the authorities had concluded that Jesus was the Messiah. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The leaders were most definitely opposed to Jesus. Depending on appearances and circumstances to determine the truth can lead us to error and mistakes. While we can make observations from circumstances and appearances, we should stop short of drawing conclusions from them alone. The people also resorted to teaching that they had received that again led them to a false belief. They had been taught no one would know from where the Messiah would come, even though the prophets had declared that he would come from the city of David, Bethlehem, where in fact Jesus had been born and then raised in Nazareth of Galilee. Consequently the people doubted whether Jesus could be the Messiah because they knew where he was from. That conclusion was based on the errant teaching they had received which led them to a false conclusion. That example of well intentioned teachers convinced of what they believe could still lead us astray. Therefore how often do we depend upon what we’ve been taught without checking the sources for ourselves?
David Freitag 