Why did some people want to arrest Jesus (John 7:25-36)?

“They didn’t like Jesus,” says 7-year-old Jonathan. “They hated him. They didn’t think he was the savior and they wanted to crucify him.”

Many Christians fantasize about walking with Jesus during the time of his ministry. Remember the 1993 movie based on the old TV series The Fugitive? Life on the Run is an exciting movie, but in real life it’s a different story.

Have you ever been hated by a group that wanted to kill you? For most of Jesus’ ministry, he lived one step ahead of those who wanted him dead.

In Jerusalem during Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication), Jesus said, “My Father and I are one” (John 10:30). Realizing that this was a claim of deity, the disbelieving Jews picked up stones to throw at him.

Jesus had done many good works before them. He confronted them by asking, “For which of these works do you stone me?” (John 10:32b).

“The Jews answered him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God'” (John 10:33).

Some people say that Jesus never claimed to be God. This confrontation with the Jews who had stones in their hands is difficult to interpret as anything other than an absolute affirmation of deity. Jesus never denied the Jews’ interpretation of his statement. However, he escaped the stones from him. Once again, he was like “The Fugitive” in that he was one step ahead of being captured or killed.

“They thought Jesus was lying about being the Son of God,” says 5-year-old Addison.

CS Lewis, the famous Christian novelist, said that Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or a lord. It is the crazy, bad or God argument. This argument refutes those who say that Jesus is just a good man or a prophet. If Jesus were just a good man, he would not have claimed to be God. A lunatic or a madman could make such a claim, and so could a liar, but not a good man or a prophet.

“They were afraid other people would follow him and want Jesus to be King,” says 8-year-old Sammy.

In first century Palestine, the separation of church and state did not exist. The priests of the Jerusalem temple officiated in the religious life of the Jews, as well as their civil life as judges and rulers.

The Romans wanted the priesthood of Jerusalem to support their occupation of Palestine. This can be seen in the response of religious rulers to many Jews who believed in Jesus after he raised Lazarus from the dead: “If we allow [Jesus] Only then will everyone believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy our place and our nation” (John 11:48).

From the perspective of many members of the religious establishment in Jerusalem, Jesus was a troublemaker. He upsets the status quo. Imagine the shock and awe Jesus created among religious rulers when he made a whip and drove the money changers and animal dealers out of the temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-22).

This was not the meek and gentle Jesus depicted in children’s Bible storybooks. This Jesus had fire in his eyes and a whip in his hands. We don’t know what Jesus looked like, but remember that he worked as a carpenter before there were power tools.

Think about this: as CS Lewis so wisely said, Jesus is a lunatic, a liar, or God.

Memorize this truth: John 10:33 quoted above.

Ask this question: Who is Jesus to you?