OCTOBER 19, 2023
“So there was a division among the people because of him.” (John 7:43)
There never lived anyone who has moved so deeply the hearts of men as Jesus Christ. The greatest of the world’s political leaders that ever held office, the greatest military leaders and warriors who ever took to the field of battle, and the most ingenious masters of art, science, or literature, all together have not affected so many, and that to so great an extent, as Jesus of Nazareth. His coming changed the world’s history, making its state of being almost inconceivably different from what it would have been had He not come into it. His teachings were destined to make disciples in every nation of the earth from the greatest to the least. Just as there is no speech nor language where the voice of the glorious creation is not heard, His line (words) goes out to the end of the world. Multiplied millions around the world call themselves of His Name. He occupies the highest place of esteem in the hearts of multitudes. For His sake, men and women have lived as living sacrifices, and for His sake, countless ones have given their lives, dying most horribly rather than to deny Him.
But, in proportion to the faith and veneration and adoration with which Christ is regarded by a large portion of mankind at any given time, you have at the same time the unbelief, contempt, and hatred which others display toward Him. The poles of the earth are not more widely separate than the opinions and sentiments of human beings respecting Christ. There is nothing about which they are more completely at variance. That Name which is so lovely and sweet to believers is cursed by infidels.
But, as our verse reveals, not all unbelievers are the same in their opinions about Christ. Thus there is a division among non-disciples, “because of him.” As Jesus was here preaching, He made a loving appeal, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Some said, “Of a truth this is the Prophet.” Others who heard him said that He was an imposter and a fraud. Some officers said, “Never man spake as this man.” But the Pharisees responded by angrily asking, “Are ye also deceived?” While some hear Christ’s message only to have their hatred stirred, others hearing the same words are moved emotionally, and may even acknowledge that both Christ and His message are true. It’s not unusual for unbelievers to admire the message of the Gospel, and even to acknowledge that Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the World, while remaining in their unbelief. “So there was a division among them.” And sadly, those whose faith was nothing more than head knowledge and admiration were, nonetheless, in the same condemnation as those wicked Pharisees who continued to plot Christ’s death. Though true saving faith is most certainly based in truth, and though it does indeed involve feelings, let us be sure that our faith is something more than merely intellectual or emotional faith.
“Because of him,” there is a division of believers from non-believers. This is a great and wide difference, and the more clearly the division is seen the better. Presently there is the necessary division that exists between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is a vast difference of opinion between Christians and non-Christians, especially as to the Lord Jesus Christ. To the world, He has no beauty but to us, He is altogether lovely, the fairest of ten thousand to our souls. Because of him, we have differing trusts, differing pleasures, differing loves, and differing character. Thus, there is great disagreement between the temple of God and an idolatrous world.
The “division…because of him” will end in eternal separation, as we come to our final destination.“When the Son of man shall come in his glory,…then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:…and he shall separate…as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:31-33)“Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:41)
The division “because of him” will end in this final separation, and nothing shall ever bridge the great gulf that forever separates the believer and the non-believer. (Luke 16:26) On which side of this gulf you will be, whether with the cursed in hell, or with the blessed in heaven, depends upon what you do with Jesus, Who is called the Christ, for the division is “because of him.”
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