Day 37, Year 1 Jesus Acts Deceitfully?

“Then the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.'” (John 8:48-49 NKJV)

Previously, a scripture mentioned that to the crooked, God shows Himself shrewd (2 Samuel 22:27). This truth might be difficult for some to accept. However, we could see a clear example of this in the Gospel of John. After some heated debates among some Jews, they commented that Jesus was not respecting or following the Jewish traditional interpretation of the Law at that time, so He was labeled as a Samaritan. Moreover, they believed that Jesus had a demon because He spoke nonsense, even calling the Most High God His own Father. Jesus did not directly answer whose ethnicity He was. Instead, He specifically pointed out that He did not have a demon. He stated that He respects His Father God, but was then insulted by them.

This is a typical illustration of how Jesus dealt “shrewdly” with the crooked. In reality, Jesus never spoke deceitfully. Regretfully, His words were twisted or distorted by the Jews, leading them to have a misbelief that He had a demon instead of accepting Him as the Son of God. This aligns with what was mentioned earlier—anyone who distorts the words of God would perceive Him as deceitful or even wicked. They dishonored and rejected Jesus because of not meeting their own standards, despite having witnessed numerous miracles from Him. Yet notably, they still claimed to believe in God according to the Bible.

Conversely, those who accept God’s words with humility, purity, and obedience could feel His purity and goodness. Hence, the verses over the past few days remind us not to twist God’s words or truth in any way, but to understand and obey the truth humbly and wholeheartedly, for the truth is greater than anyone. When we face confusion arising from the truth, we need to humbly seek guidance and interpretation from God and carefully analyze whether our biases, prejudices, wrong expectations, or improper standards might impede us from understanding and accepting His truth. Besides, just as Jesus was once slandered as being possessed by a demon, if we wholeheartedly believe in Him, we might face insults and slanders as well. Of course, those Jews who thought Jesus was possessed might very likely be the ones truly possessed by demons!

Reflection questions:

1) If we sincerely obey the Lord Jesus, we should be prepared to face and resist slanders. How would you prepare yourself to counteract slanders or insults?

2) Are you used to humbly seeking guidance and interpretation from the Lord, and carefully analyzing whether your biases etc. might impede you from understanding and accepting the truth when you feel confused?