Opinions

(Our new section is found in John 7:11-52. Read this first.) Jesus is now back in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. The city is abuzz with talk about Him. It seems everyone has something to say. In this chapter alone there are at least 14 opinions of Jesus put forth, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Opinions come in all shapes and sizes. An opinion is what someone thinks about something. We are free to think what we wish. But, that does not mean that the opinion is rooted in reality. Some opinions are very sloppy, they lack texture and definition. Other opinions are very well formed, even if they are untrue. It seems today that it is fashionable to believe that one thought is just as good as another thought, and should be taken equally seriously. Paul's admonition is "Test all things; hold on to that which is good." (1 Thess.5) Bereans would be out of place in our society because they studied daily to see if even what Paul said was true (Acts 11). Opinions should be tested. Positions must be open to challenge. Otherwise we subject ourselves to being blown about by ever wind of teaching, by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

There are two groups mentioned in John 7, the Jews and the multitude. The phrase "the Jews" usually in most contexts refers to Jewish leaders, and the multitudes are those being led. In their perspective, and in Jesus', the crowds were the sheep, and the leaders were the shepherds. The sheep were pliable and passive and mailable and could be persuaded easily to follow wherever a charismatic leader wanted to take them. Prompted by the Jewish leaders, much grumbling, low and suppressed discourse, a sullen discontent, was going on among the multitudes. Their first debate as to Jesus' identity and intentions centered around the idea of whether he was a good man, or one who leads others astray. Funny thing about such opinions; they don't mean much unless some context is put to them. What does "good" mean? Good speaker and Teacher? Good at miracles? Good in character? Good at gathering a crowd? In Luke 18:18ff a Ruler called Jesus "Good" and was corrected by Jesus who noted that God alone is "Good." If we are using "good" in the ultimate sense, this is true. But, if we are using "good" in a relative sense, there is room for much opinion. It depends on whose definition of "good" will be used. Then, there was the opinion that Jesus was leading the crowds astray. What does that mean? "Astray" implies that there is a course or path in which it is right to walk, and that there is an "off the path" place that can be taken. But, what did these folks mean by this? Astray from Jewish tradition? Astray for the Law of Moses? Astray politically? The word means deceives. It is used often in the NT to describe men and positions that take people down the wrong way.

The charge that Jesus was leading people astray was no benign opinion. It was serious. Some opinions are like that. They have serious implications. Was Jesus a deceiver? If so, He is in company with Satan. If He is a deceiver, is He self-deceived or does He know He is deceiving others intentionally? In some ways everything hangs on the truthfulness or error of this opinion of Jesus. Certainly if He is a deceiver He is not good. There is no middle ground between these two opinions. It calls for either/or responses. Either He should be encouraged and supported or He must be stopped. You see opinions have consequences. That is why we must be careful in the opinion we hold. The direction of our lives is too important to be batted around by the winds of opinion. We must seek a more stable and constant wind, the Wind of the Spirit of God who reveals to us in words the truth of God. Opinions are frivolous things. The Word of God is the prevailing wind that should move us forward.