In John 7, Jesus has attracted a strong following. The learned religious leaders scratch their heads, "Search (the scriptures) and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee." They could not accept Jesus as a prophet or Messiah because their reading of the interactions of God with God's people precluded a messenger from Galilee.
It wasn't what they were expecting. It didn't fit with their worldview. Prior experiences had not prepared them for the new thing God was doing.
Becoming self-aware and self-critical opens us to the new day unfolding before us. A willingness to see ourselves as others see us makes it possible for us to live into the life God has in store. Avoiding prejudices begins with the attempt to explore the comfortable niches we have come to inhabit.
Where is God leading you this day? What new thing is waiting for you, should you be open to receiving it? It was an attempt (misguided though it was) to preserve what had been the pattern of interaction with God which prevented the religious leaders to accept Jesus and to embrace his good news.
Don't be those guys.
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