The phrase "identity crisis" is well known and often used. The ordinary meaning is that someone is confused about his relation to life and is anxious about just where he should fit into the scheme of things. In the seventh chapter of John the focal point of interest is upon an identity crisis, although it is one of a different kind. No one is presented as being unsure of who he is or what his role in the community should be. Rather than being subjective, it was objective. There was a certain Man who knew absolutely who He was and what His mission was. But the people among whom He lived and conducted His work were not so sure. Many doubted His identity and sought to deny Him the liberty to accomplish His mission. That Man, a teacher from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, was speaking and working in a way most unorthodox in Jewish society. His name was Jesus, recognized as the son of the village carpenter and his wife Mary.
His own brothers challenged Him to go to Jerusalem and reveal Himself to the multitudes which would be on pilgrimage there. Then the writer observes that "not even His brothers were believing in Him," (v.5). Like the people of Nazareth, these young men would not admit Jesus as the Messiah because of their life-long acquaintance with Him. In response to this denial Jesus had once said, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household," (Mrk. 6:4). It is strange but true that among people overall "familiarity breeds contempt." It is to the credit of Jesus' brothers, however, that after His resurrection they changed their minds, accepted Him as the Messiah, and served Him most faithfully. Two of them, James and Jude, later wrote inspired books of the Testament.
When Jesus went to Jerusalem, His presence caused a great stir among the vast crowds of people. It is reported in v.12 that "there was much grumbling among the multitudes concerning Him. Some were saying, 'He is a good man'; others were saying, 'No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray." The spectrum of public opinion concerning Jesus ranged from the status of Him being a "good man" to that of one who "leads the people astray." As they listened to His teaching, they were impressed with His knowledge and ability to reason quickly with profound wisdom. Verse 15 states that "the Jews were marveling, saying, 'How has this Man become learned, having never been educated?" That is, they were unable to identify Him with respect to some school that had trained Him, for He had, in fact, attended none.
The rulers were convinced Jesus was a dangerous revolutionary who ought to be removed. First, they sought to prejudice the people against Him with slanderous statements, such as, "You have a demon!" (v.20). Then "they sought to seize Him (v.30) by sending some of the Temple police to arrest Him (v.32). Later, they were more than chagrined when these officers returned empty-handed. When asked why they had not taken Jesus into custody, the officers replied, "Never did a man speak the way this Man speaks," (v.45). When Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish High Council, dared propose they give Jesus a hearing to explain His teaching and actions, they silenced him with barbed ridicule: "You are not also from Galilee, are you?" (v.52).
There was indeed "a division in the multitude because of Him"! And this division remains among people to the present time. The diversity of opinion is not due to any multi-faceted nature of Jesus, but rather to the vainglory and perversity of human nature. To the Jews, Jesus was (and still is) a "stumbling-block," and to the Greeks He is "foolishness," (I Cor. 1:23). This does not adversely reflect upon Jesus; to the contrary, it exposes the prejudice of the Jews and the vaunted egotism of the Greeks. "But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God," (I Cor. 1:24). This is His true identity!
