So there was a division among the people because of him.
The verse belongs to the account of Jesus at the feast in Jerusalem, where the rulers watched for ways to silence Him and humble Him before the people. The division came from His words and works: some called Him the Prophet or the Christ, while others doubted because they thought He came from Galilee, even though Scripture said the Christ would be descended from David and come from Bethlehem. In that division some wanted to seize Him, but no one did.
The verse shows the people split between those who believed in Him and those who opposed Him and sought to silence or kill Him. His works of mercy and holy teaching influenced even the officers sent to arrest Him, but the authorities threatened to expel anyone who confessed belief in Him. The split reveals that those who loved truth recognized His righteousness, while evil joined with evil to oppose Him, with fallen people and fallen angels uniting to resist truth and righteousness and to draw souls away from truth, and with the wicked united in hatred and opposition to the truth despite disagreeing on other matters.
God's people may face similar experiences of division and opposition. The division over Christ stands in contrast to the love and unity that should mark the lives of His followers. That unity is to be shown in mutual care among them, in keeping with the lessons of the chapter to which the verse belongs.
The verse belongs to the account of Jesus at the feast in Jerusalem, where the rulers watched for ways to silence Him and humble Him before the people. The division came from His words and works: some called Him the Prophet or the Christ, while others doubted because they thought He came from Galilee, even though Scripture said the Christ would be descended from David and come from Bethlehem. In that division some wanted to seize Him, but no one did.
The verse shows the people split between those who believed in Him and those who opposed Him and sought to silence or kill Him. His works of mercy and holy teaching influenced even the officers sent to arrest Him, but the authorities threatened to expel anyone who confessed belief in Him. The split reveals that those who loved truth recognized His righteousness, while evil joined with evil to oppose Him, with fallen people and fallen angels uniting to resist truth and righteousness and to draw souls away from truth, and with the wicked united in hatred and opposition to the truth despite disagreeing on other matters.
God's people may face similar experiences of division and opposition. The division over Christ stands in contrast to the love and unity that should mark the lives of His followers. That unity is to be shown in mutual care among them, in keeping with the lessons of the chapter to which the verse belongs.