Hard to Convince

A heart that refuses to believe is difficult to convince.

1 [a]After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. 3 So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world.” 5 For his brothers did not believe in him.... 14 When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple area and began to teach. 15 [f]The Jews were amazed and said, “How does he know scripture without having studied?” 16 Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me. 17 Whoever chooses to do his will[g] shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You are possessed![h] Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I performed one work[i] and all of you are amazed 22 because of it. Moses gave you circumcision—not that it came from Moses but rather from the patriarchs—and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. 23 If a man can receive circumcision on a sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole person well on a sabbath? 24 Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.”25 So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? 26 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities[j] have realized that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where he is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.-John7:1-30

Here, the people are torn between believing Jesus and hating Him. It seems that people have a lot of reasons and excuses to discredit Jesus. For them, Jesus is not worthy of the Knowledge of God, not worthy of the God-given gifts, not worthy to do miracles, not worthy to teach simply because they know Him, where He came from. A heart that refuses to believe is hard to convince. For them, it is much better to see somebody suffer rather than be healed or be helped on a Sabbath. Jesus' Words ring true for us also - 'Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.' Jesus is teaching us that all works that origin from God is good. Who then are we to judge if a good act helped another?

Image courtesy: History Channel