19 Thero was a division therefore I 25 Jesus answered them, I told von, again among the Jews for these sayings, and yon believed not: thewn t.ffi
20 And many of them said, He bath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him ?
21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind ?
22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
m 24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear wit- ness of me.
26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
_ 28 And I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neith- er shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
m 29 My Father which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one.
We should notice, first, in this passage, what strifes and con- troversies our Lord occasioned when He was on earth. We read that " there was a division among the Jews for His sayings,"— and that " many of them said He hath a devil, and is mad," while others took an opposite view. It may seem strange, at first sight, that He who came to preach peace between God and man should be the cause of conten- tion. But herein were His own words literally fulfilled,— «' I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matt. x. 34.) The fault was not in Christ or His doctrine, but in the carnal mind of His Jewish hearers.
Let us never be surprised if we see the same thing in our own day. Human nature never changes. So long as the heart of man is without grace, so long we must expect to see it dislike the Gospel of Christ. Just as oil and water, acids and alkalies, cannot combine, so in the same way uncon- verted people cannot really like the people of God.—" The carnal mind is enmity against God."—" The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." (Rom. viii 7; 1 Cor. ii. 14.)
The servant of Christ must think it no strange thing if he goes through the same experience as his Master °He will often find his ways and opinions in religion the cause