¹¹ Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” ¹³ However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

7:11

Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?”

Jewish authorities tried to find Jesus at the feast. They may have thought that He would go public at the feast. This was an ominous situation for Him. The authorities clearly understood the enormity of Jesus’ claims.

7:12

And there was much complaining [grumbling] among the people concerning Him.

There was a lot of negative talk about Jesus behind the scenes. They grumbled about Him just like the people in the wilderness. There was much buzz about Him in Jerusalem even though He had not been there for over a year. However, the crowd was divided in their opinion about Jesus.

Some said, “He is good”;

There were still some who were positive in their thinking toward Jesus.

others said,

There were two opposing views of who Jesus was.

“No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.”

Some people wanted to portray Jesus as a seducer and false teacher. Punishment for seducing people theologically was stoning.

7:13

However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

No one spoke favorably about Jesus for fear of the Jewish leadership.

PRINCIPLE:

The fear of man brings a snare.

APPLICATION:

There are times when people are clearly divided about the direction of ministry. Some of these “opinions” may simply be attitudes of cynicism. These people are always against anything new or different in ministry. There are times when leadership must go against public opinion and do what is right. It is important at times to stand alone in our convictions. To not do so is to operate in fear and that will cause our ministry to stumble.

Pv 29: ²⁵ The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.