Murmurs….murmuring…. What a funny word that is if you say it over and over again. And you’ve done it yourself, no doubt. Sitting in an audience and waiting for the show to begin, and it’s two minutes past showtime—what’s happening?, you murmur. You are in a restaurant and witness an argument at the next table—why doesn’t she just get up and leave?, you murmur. You walk into class and there is a pop quiz—are you kidding me?, you murmur!

We move into this chapter in John with murmuring going on. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the final time in secret because the authorities were looking for him. It was a festival, and the crowds were complaining, muttering and murmuring about Jesus—he is a good man, NO, he is deceiving us. And now the Pharisees begin to hear the murmurs and send the temple police to arrest Jesus.

This passage in John calls attention to how destructive the murmurs and mutterings of the crowd became. It caught the attention of the authorities and called into question if Jesus was the Messiah. There was a division in the crowd. Some heard him and believed. Some heard him and thought he had a demon.

We have always struggled with the murmurs. How often have people gathered in the parking lot after worship and muttered quietly about the sermon, the choir, the visitor who came that morning? How about the Altar Guild team murmuring in the sacristy about a parament that wasn’t put away correctly? And let’s not even talk about the muttering and murmuring that goes on at annual meetings.

We are called to be witnesses today to the risen Christ. If we had been in Jerusalem at that festival time, would we have been at the back of the crowd, joining in with the disgruntled and unbelievers, or would we be speaking up to say truly, this IS the Messiah? And more importantly, do we speak up today or are we engaged in destructive murmuring?