yes, no

Devotions by Jefferson Vann # 2421

John 7:40-44

Joh 7:40 After those from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”
Joh 7:41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But they said, “Wait … the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?
Joh 7:42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s line and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?”
Joh 7:43 That was why there was a schism in the crowd because of him.
Joh 7:44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

yes, no

The word used in the Greek for the division caused in the crowd over Jesus is σχίσμα, from which we get our word schism. It means ‘something that is in parts through force’ like a tear in fabric. Like it or not, the question of who Jesus is has always been a cause for controversy and division. It takes faith to affirm all that the scriptures say about him. It takes insight, and the ability to suspend judgment upon the questions that pop up in us because of our limitations.

LORD, give us the courage to believe all that you have revealed about your Son, and to trust him implicitly.