- John 7:49-53
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- John 7:49 (KJB)
- But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
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- Here is the blindness of the leaders. They looked at the common people
and the uneducated and had declared that since they were not schooled in the
law, they were under a curse. The Pharisees had believed that those who were
blessed of God were the ones who were able to be educated and graduate from
schools of theology which in turn would raise their social status. What they
failed to realize in their blind arrogance was that they too were under
curse.
(Gal 3:10 KJV) For as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them. Galatians 3:10 states
that all those who are of the works of the law are under a curse. That curse
was the fact that they could not keep the law perfectly for salvation. The
Pharisees were in the same situation, as men in sinful flesh, they could not
keep the law no matter how many degrees they earned. There are going to be
many Ph.D.’s in hell along with many who cannot even read. To escape the
curse of the law, one must be found in Christ who kept the law perfectly.
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- John 7:50 (KJB)
- Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of
them,)
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- Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin and a Pharisee himself. His
attitude seemed to change after he had that night meeting with Jesus. His
name in Hebrew meant “Innocent Blood” and in the Greek it meant “Victory of
the People.” His name fit him well because he knew that the leaders had
betrayed innocent blood.
(Mat 27:4 KJV)
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they
said, What is that to us? see thou
to that.
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- John 7:51 (KJB)
- Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he
doeth?
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- Here Nicodemus brought some reason back into their thinking. No man was
allowed to be judged by the law unless there was a legitimate reason other
than envy or jealousy. Nicodemus knew that there was much envy which
resulted in hostility toward Jesus. The law also required that the accused
man be given an opportunity to defend himself against accusations. First of
all, before they can charge him there must be something to charge him with
so they have a legal reason to detain him and question him. Before
conviction, there must also be at least two or three credible witnesses or
else the accusations will be nothing but hearsay.
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- John 7:52 (KJB)
- They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and
look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
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- Here we see the corruptness of the Pharisees by how they responded to
the plea of Nicodemus for fairness and justice. These leaders had no concern
for being fair, they just wanted Jesus out of their lives and they were
determined to get Him executed so their lives can go on as usual, with big
incomes and luxurious living. They then mocked him and asked him if he was
from Galilee? Then they pointed Nicodemus to the Scriptures and declared
that no prophet had ever arisen in Galilee. This shows how scripturally
illiterate they were. There were several prophets that arose from Galilee
such as:
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- Jonah - (2 Ki 14:25 KJV) He restored the coast of Israel from the
entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the
LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son
of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
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- Nahum - (Nahum 1:1 KJV) The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of
Nahum the Elkoshite.
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- Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea also came from regions in and around Galilee.
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- John 7:53 (KJB)
- And every man went unto his own house.
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- Since the Feast was at an end and the Sanhedrin could not come to a
conclusion, they adjourned and left the matter of Jesus to be discussed
another day but the seething hatred for Jesus did not abate and only
intensified for the next six months until He was finally crucified.
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