Sometimes the shorted verses are hugely impactful.
Like this one.
John 7:46, “The officers answered, “‘No one ever spoke like this Man!’”
“This man.”
The temple guards were speaking of Jesus.
They had been summoned to arrest Jesus after the Pharisees realized Jesus was gaining influence within the ranks of their people. (7:32)
But when they heard Jesus for themselves, they couldn’t muster the courage to apprehend Him. So impressed and amazed by the power and authority He spoke with, they dared not take Him. Jesus’ speech in itself was so extraordinary, there were remarkably convinced of His innocence.
Up to this point, I believe, these particular temple guards had only “heard” about the legality of His speech, but not… for themselves… experienced the integrity of His words.
Some hated what He had come to say.
Others challenged what He professed.
Many rejected His claims.
And even greater were confused by His declarations.
But there is no doubt that once these temple guards saw Him with their own eyes AND heard Him with their own ears, they were forever changed AND convinced that indeed, there was something different about this man.
“No one ever spoke like this!” They said. (7:46)
And with that, the Pharisees mocked them. “Have you been led astray too?” The Pharisaical minds questioned.
Certainly they could not resolve in an opinion that differed from their own.
Surely the hatred seated in the hearts of those Pharisees couldn’t possibly be confronted by what they implicated as a “leading astray.”
Ahh… Jesus was hated and mocked. And so were the ones whose minds were radically transformed by the authenticity of their private and personal experience.
The Pharisees tried to cancel, condemn, and censor the opinions, turned beliefs, of the ones they believed with “go by popular opinion” mindsets, to arrest Jesus and return Him for prosecution.
It’s all proof that even the followers of Jesus Christ were ridiculed and condemned.
Hatred is terribly disappointed when it cannot obtain what it wants. And hatred doesn’t belong with the Jesus people.
These men - the temple guards ordered to arrest the man most famous for hating at that time - no longer needed to rely on second hand reports, or hearsay. They had experienced Jesus with their own ears, and had seen Him with their own eyes, and it deeply impacted who they were, what they believed, how they behaved, and what they were no longer willing OR able to engage with.
This was the testimony of their personal experience… “No one ever spoke like this man!”
One encounter… one simple glimpse at Jesus… changes everything. One experience is evidence enough.
And so it should be with us.
When we only hear about Jesus and never personally encounter Him for ourselves, we lack full revelation knowledge of Him.
But once we see and hear Him for ourselves, we cannot remain the same.
Hatred no longer is becoming to us.
Confusion is resolved.
Doubt vanishes.
Suspicion dissolves.
Everything changes… EVERYTHING changes… when we see Jesus for who He is and grasp all that is possible by living our lives aligned with His.
I pray that this year will be the year you and I, in unison and with one accord, will say, “No one ever spoke like this man!” And then live like we, ourselves, are convinced by our conviction and confidence!
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