47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (NIV)
When the second candle of Advent is lit it is often called the candle of peace. Jesus is often referred to as the Prince of Peace and yet the contemporaries of Jesus would not have thought of Jesus as having a lot of peace around him. In fact Jesus seemed to make people such as the Pharisees angry on a regular basis. The Pharisees seemed to have already made their minds up about Jesus and they weren't going to change no matter what happened. Because of their hardness of heart they missed seeing what God was doing in and through Jesus.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- Have you ever had your mind made up about Jesus and refused to consider learning anything else new about him only to be surprised later?
- Where do you need Jesus to bring peace into your world?
- How might you be able to represent Jesus to someone who has made up their mind that there is nothing good to consider about Jesus?
- Where might you need to bring some conflict in order to better represent Jesus as the Prince of Peace?
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