In John 7:40-44, after Jesus had concluded his breathtaking invitation and teaching regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit, many of those who heard him were moved to belief. But a segment of the crowd was still unconvinced. And the reason they gave for their unbelief was that Jesus had come from Galilee and Scripture had prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.
But they were completely wrong about that.
Oh, they were right about the prophesy, but they falsely assumed that because Jesus was from Galilee that he had been born there. The truth was that although Jesus grew up in the Galilean city of Nazareth, he had been born in the Judean town of Bethlehem exactly as had been foretold.
And they could have easily found out where Jesus was born if they had asked any of the members of his family who were there in Jerusalem that week for the Feast of Tabernacles. But they didn’t. Why? Because they were certain they knew all there was to know about the matter and had reached their conclusion based on what they assumed to be a settled fact.
But it turns out, they didn’t know what they didn’t know. And there are still people who disregard or outright reject Jesus because of what they believe to be indisputable information while remaining completely oblivious to all they don’t comprehend.
And a fuller discussion of this issue and its impact would be completely appropriate at this point in John 7, but I want to talk about something else. Actually, I want to ask a question. Why didn’t Jesus set the record straight?
He was there, and he certainly knew what was being said about him. And if faith in his messiahship was literally an eternal life or death issue for those people, why on earth did he remain silent? It seems almost cruel not to have settled their objection to his lordship by simply eliminating the confusion around his birthplace so they could join the ranks of believers.
But even though the solution to their unbelief seems pretty straightforward, I have a hunch this may be one of those things we don’t know we don’t know. I think Jesus understands something about human nature we don’t. I think the reality is this group of people was simply not willing to place their trust in him and no amount of information was going to change that.
People never exercise faith in Jesus because all their questions have been answered. If so, it wouldn’t be faith. We place our trust in Christ because we reach the point where we’ve seen and heard enough to make the choice to step across the belief threshold. On one side of this tipping point we doubt more than we believe, but on the other, we believe more than we doubt. And the decision to take that leap is what launches us on the journey that leads to the answers for the questions we know we have, but more importantly to the discovery of what we don’t know we don’t know.
So, as you consider these verses with me today, if you’re resisting a step of faith because all your questions haven’t yet been answered, may I encourage you to stop hesitating at the belief threshold. It’s only on the other side that you’ll find what you’re looking for.