Have you ever raised your voice during a conversation in order to make a point? Jesus did. Not often. But when we encounter one of those occasions in the Gospels, I think it’s wise to pay close attention to what he said. Don’t you? And one of those times is found in the two verses at the heart of John 7:25-31.
This section of the chapter captures the response of three different groups of people to Jesus’ ministry. We see the hostility of the religious leaders who felt threatened by his authority, we encounter the humble belief of those who were convinced of His messiahship by the displays of his power, and we also meet a group who rejected his message because of what they thought they knew about his identity based on where he was from.
And it was this assumption that prompted his powerful reply. He lifted his voice in dramatic fashion and told them his identity was not based on where he was from but on who he was from. He said he was sent by the one who is true, or more literally, real. In other words, he was from the only one whose sending matters. It was that sending that defined him.
And that’s true for us too. I think one of the reasons Jesus was so emphatic about this is that you and I need to know our true identity. Our sense of self is so often distorted by the false belief that we’re defined by where we’re from – our past wounds and failures – instead of who we’re from – the one who has sent us.
Revelation 12:10 describes the devil as our accuser. He is relentless in his efforts to remind us of where we’re from and label us by those accusations. And he also works hard to arrange for his allegations to be supported and amplified by nearly everyone we meet. We are almost always judged by others based on our history.
But John 17:18 and 20:21 record Jesus’ own words as he declared that he has personally sent us in the same way the Father sent him. And we’re defined by our sender – who we’re from – just as he was.
Don’t forget that. When you’re tempted today to believe otherwise, remember the time Jesus cried out in the temple to make the point that our identity rests securely on who we’re from.