Who is This Man? – March 8, 2026, the Third Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1-13, John 7:1-13, 37-52
March 8, 2026
“Who is this man?” By the time of our reading from John 7, the word about Jesus had spread. But it occurred to me this week, that something else had spread! And it was this question – the question the disciples asked when Jesus calmed the sea – and the choir sang last week! “Who is this man?” More and more people were asking that question in those days. And it’s a question the world is still struggling with.
Once again, it’s hard to pick just part of this chapter to read! We already pushed the boundaries on the “20 verse rule of thumb!” But there’s so much of the story we had to leave out. It really would have been better to read the entire chapter. Because it is hard to know when to start and stop. So I’ll leave you to read that on your own. That’s your reading assignment for this week! Read John, chapter 7.
But, in the part we did read, we find Jesus at the feast of the Tabernacles. That was the yearly celebration in which the people lived in tents, or “booths.” They “camped out” – for a whole week! They did that to remember and commemorate the 40 years of living in the wilderness during the Exodus story.
Well, during that festival, we find Jesus teaching in the Temple. He had gone to Jerusalem “in private,” because he knew the religious authorities wanted to arrest him. And John tells us that he went there “in private,” even though his brothers encouraged him to go “in public.” They wanted the people there to see “the works he was doing.” And I mention that part, even though I don’t want to get into the whole debate about whether or not Jesus actually had brothers! (I believe he did! Though our Catholic brothers and sisters might say otherwise.)
But all that aside, the interesting thing here is that Jesus went into Jerusalem “in private” – “incognito,” as we might say – but then he ended up teaching openly in the Temple. How did he do that? My understanding is that he was very careful about where and when he would appear and speak. And in this case, he knew that the religious authorities would have a hard time arresting him with all of the people around!
That’s because the people loved him! In verse 15, we’re told, “The Jews marveled at his teaching!” They said, “How is it that this man has such learning, and he has never studied?” They were amazed! “How can he know all of this, and he never went to Princeton Theological Seminary???” (Oh, wait, it doesn’t say that part in your Bibles?)
That’s actually a question that haunted Jesus throughout his ministry. Where did he get his teaching? By whose authority did he speak? And where did he get his power to do miracles? The religious leaders asked him that many times! And they were frustrated by it! At one point, they even accused him of receiving his power from the devil!
Well, the people were aware of all of this. And they were talking about it! We’re told there was a lot of “muttering” going on about Jesus. (There was always a lot of “muttering” in the Bible! Wasn’t there?) They were talking about him because they were trying to answer that question. “Who is this man?” And they wondered, “Could he be the Christ?” “Could he be the long awaited Messiah?” That was much on their minds!
The people knew Jesus was a “wanted man.” They knew the Jewish leaders had sent officers to arrest him. He even said it that day! And yet here he was, teaching openly, in the Temple itself! And nobody did anything! So at one point they asked, “Is this not the man they wanted to arrest? But now he’s speaking openly?” “Could it be that the authorities themselves really know he is the Christ?” Can we imagine their confusion in all this? And, if we had been there, would we too have been confused? Would we have been “muttering?”
So, “Who is this man?” Again, could he be the Messiah? That’s what they talked about that day. And they tried to figure it out, considering the various things the scriptures said about the Messiah. They wanted to know, did Jesus “meet the criteria?”
For instance, one thing that was said about the Messiah was that it wouldn’t be known where he came from. He would “come out of nowhere.” Yet, this Jesus they knew. How could that be? They also knew the lineage of the Messiah. “Has the scripture not said the Messiah would be descended from David?” They knew that. And so they knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. That was in their scriptures, too. We read it every Christmas!
So they were confused. “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?” And it’s funny, because they really didn’t know where Jesus had come from, So in a sense, that first statement was actually true. To them, Jesus really did “come out of nowhere!”
“Who is this man?” They were very concerned with that question! And for good reason! Because Jesus sure was acting like, and speaking like, they would have expected the Messiah to act and speak. But there was confusion, and we’re told there was a division among the people about him – just as there is still a division among people today!
They talked about all of this through most of this chapter. But then I love the statement Jesus made at the end. On the last day of the festival, he said to the people, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me.” And I wonder, did that make any of them think about Isaiah 55! That’s what I thought when I read it. “Ho, everyone who thirsteth, come to the waters. And he who has no money come and eat.” That’s one of my favorite passages from Isaiah! (And it’s a great choir anthem!)
Well, as we come to the end of this chapter, we get back to the story of those who were sent to arrest Jesus. What happened to them? Well, John tells us that they went back to the religious authorities “empty handed.” And in this great little conversation, the priests asked, “Where is he?” “Why didn’t you bring him?” And the officers said, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
I love that! In other words, “We couldn’t arrest him, because of the crowds! But we really couldn’t arrest him because of the great things he said.” And the chief priests said, “Are you also led astray?” “Think about it!” they said. “Have any of us priests believed him?” And then they said something very judgmental. “But this crowd,” they said, “they do not know the law, and they are accursed.” Wasn’t that a nice thing to say about their own people?!
Well, interestingly enough, there was one priest who believed! Because right then, who steps up to defend Jesus – or at least defend his right to be heard? Well, it was none other than our old friend Nicodemus! Remember him? He speaks up. And he asks them, “Does our law judge a man without first hearing him and learning what he does?” And I’m thinking, “Yeah, you go, Nicodemus!”
But of course, he doesn’t really get through to them, does he. They say, “Go and search!” “Go see if any prophet is to arise from Galilee.” You see, these priests seem to be suffering from a very common human malady. They were so sure of themselves that they refused to listen! There was a lot of that going around in those days! And I feel like there’s an epidemic of that in our world. People are so sure of their opinions – on almost anything – that they refuse to listen!
You see, the priests had already decided the answer to this question. “Who is this man?” They’d decided, “He’s an imposter!” “He can’t be who he claims to be.” For them, he couldn’t be what all of his words and deeds pointed to him being!” And this whole thing is dripping with irony – especially for us the readers! Because we know what they didn’t. We know who he was! But they couldn’t get the answer to our question – “Who is this man?” – because they were so sure of themselves!
And it can easily be the same with us! We won’t get the answer to that question, either, if we’re not open to the answer. And there are many people who are not. They’ll say, “You believe what you believe about Jesus? That’s nice – for you! It’s not for me.” “Oh, and you believe because of what the Bible tells you? Well, the Bible may be truth for you, but it’s not truth for me!” It’s hard to debate that thinking!
“Who is this man?” As I said, there’s an epidemic in our world of people being so sure of the answer to that question that they don’t want to listen any further. We, on the other hand, have to be sure! And we have to listen! We have to listen to what people say, we have to hear their concerns and questions about Jesus, and we have to listen to what God is saying to us. And when we do, we’ll find that people are more open to listening to us when they see that we are listening to them.
So, “Who is this man?” I hope that simple question will stay in your minds this Lenten season. It’s the most important question you can ever ask! And it’s the most important answer you can ever receive!
Prayer
Eternal God, we thank you for the amazing gift you gave us and the world, the gift of your son. Help us to know him better. Help us to follow him, and to shine his light through the way we live our lives. Help us to listen to those who are searching, and to respond to them with your Grace and love. For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.