Gospel of John

WHO SINNED? — John 9:1-5

john 9:1-5, Uncategorized

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever come in contact with a blind person?  Can you remember the thoughts that came to your mind?  Have you ever been introduced to a blind person?  What did you say, or were you at a loss for words?   A famous blind lady named Helen Keller said, “The chief handicap of the blind is not blindness, but the attitude of seeing people towards them.”  When I was a hospital chaplain, I learned that one of the psychologists who counseled patients in the psychiatric ward was blind.  When I first saw him, I felt uneasy.  A thought that came to my mind almost immediately was:  “Since he can’t see me, I can ignore him and get away with it.”  I felt ashamed of myself for entertaining that thought and I introduced myself to him.  As a result, I learned two things about him:  how kind and gracious he was and how fast he walked.  I could hardly keep up with him!

I.  THE SETTING (verse 1)

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus and His disciples are about to have an encounter with a blind man.  The Feast of Tabernacles was now over.  The last event was the trip to the pool of Siloam by the priests to fill the golden pitcher with water and return to pour it on the steps of the temple.  This water would flow down to the world outside the temple, signifying that the Jewish faith would satisfy the deepest needs of the world.  It was the Sabbath day.  Jesus and His disciples were leaving the temple.  The Jewish leaders had just tried to kill Him in the temple but He walked through their midst unharmed. 

Verse 1 says, “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.”  That’s a significant statement.  Jesus and His disciples may have been passing through the gate of the temple at that moment.  That’s where many beggars lined up to beg for money.  This blind man may have been assigned a place to beg that was not in the flow of traffic.  Maybe he was in the shadows where the uncaring majority didn’t have to see him.   But the Lord Jesus looked upon this blind beggar and He saw the need.  Jesus had compassion for people.  We see that over and over again in the Gospels.  Even though He had just left the temple to get away from those who wanted to stone Him to death, Jesus still took the time to stop and look at someone in need.  Most people would look away, ignore this blind man, or pretend that he didn’t exist.  Most people don’t like to look at someone who is in misery and without hope.  It’s painful to look at the other side of life, isn’t it?  It’s uncomfortable to think about what could have happened to us or what might happen to us in the future.

II.  THE QUESTION ASKED (verse 2)

Now that they have come to a stop in front of this blind man, Jesus’ disciples take this opportunity to ask Him a deep, theological question.  They offer Him two alternatives to choose from and only one of them can be correct, in their opinion.  Here is their question:  “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  In their minds, his blindness was a punishment for sin, but whose sin?

If you’re familiar with the game of baseball, you will understand this anonymous quote:  “Most of us are umpires at heart.  We like to call balls and strikes on somebody else.”  They didn’t have the game of baseball back in that day, but they certainly had the umpires!

The question asked by the disciples tells us that they were familiar with this man because they knew that he had been born blind.  How did they come up with that question:  “Who sinned “?  Do they have scriptures to back it up?  Actually, this was the teaching of many of the Rabbis during that period of time and the disciples probably heard it explained during the times of instruction in the synagogue.  Some of those rabbis taught that a child could sin while in the womb, and would have to pay for those sins for the rest of his life.  One of the verses the rabbis would use as proof was Genesis 25:22-23, where Jacob and Esau “jostled each other in Rebecca’s womb”.  They interpreted it as fighting and proclaimed that fighting is a sin, even if it occurs in the mother’s womb.  I doubt that any mother in the first century or the twenty-first century would call her unborn child a “sinner” when the child kicked inside her womb.  Many of you mothers may remember times when the child in your womb seemed to be trying to assert control over your body or was getting even for something you did or didn’t do.  After all, the fourth commandment does say, “Honor your father and your mother”! 

Other rabbis taught that such misfortunes were the result of the sin of the parents.  A scripture that was used to defend their argument is Exodus 20:5.  It says, “. . . for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.”  The rabbis were misusing that verse by taking it out of its context of idol worship.  God is speaking of the nation of Israel as His wife, and she is pursuing other gods.  He will continue to pursue and punish His wife from generation to generation until she (the nation of Israel) comes back to Him.  Verse 6 tells us what will happen when she does return to Him.  It says, “but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  These rabbis have butchered that passage of scripture and caused untold agony, guilt, and sorrow to this blind man and his parents.  Jesus sees those years of guilt and shame as He looks at the face of this man, and He is ready to give an answer to the question raised by His disciples.

III.  THE ANSWER GIVEN (verse 3)

Jesus begins by saying, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents”.  This answer doesn’t fit within the bounds of their question, so Jesus goes on to give an explanation saying, “but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in Him.”  Jesus is looking ahead to what He is about to do.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  He always knows what He is doing and His ultimate purposes are always good.

Francis I. Anderson, in His commentary on Job, makes an observation based on this verse of Scripture.  He says, “Men seek an explanation of suffering in cause and effect.  They look backward for a connection between prior sin and present suffering.  The Bible looks forward in hope and seeks explanations, not so much in origins as in goals.  The purpose of suffering is seen, not in its cause, but in its results.”

III.  THE URGENT COMMAND (verse 4)

Jesus continues His answer, applying His words, not only to Himself but also to His disciples and to us as well when He says, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day.”  He didn’t say “we should” but “we must”.  There is a sense of urgency in His statement.  He and they are called to do the works that the Father has called Him to do

IV.  A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE (verses 1-4)

Before we go any further, let’s consider this situation and this conversation from the perspective of the ears of this blind man.  Having been born blind, this man would have a very keen sense of hearing.  He has no visual images in his mind to distract him from what is going on around him at this moment.  He would also have a very good memory of activities and conversations that go on around him in the temple area.  Let’s review what He is hearing and consider what he is thinking.  He hears a group of people stop directly in front of him, and he’s wondering, “Are they going to give me some money or are they going to ridicule me?”  The first word he hears is “Rabbi”.  Immediately he realizes that a rabbi and his talmudim (or disciples) have stopped to look at him.  His thoughts:  “you can look but please don’t say anything.”  Because of his blindness, he can’t see them, but he also can’t keep from hearing them.  Then he hears the horrible words that he has heard so many times before:  “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind?”  The tears begin to well up as he waits for the derogatory remarks to come from this rabbi and be echoed by his disciples.  To his surprise, He hears an answer that he has never heard before.  This Rabbi says, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  He thinks, “This man speaks with the authority of God.”  “Could this be Jesus, the one I’ve heard so much about – the one who performs miracles and claims to be the Messiah?”  “Is He going to display His works in me by healing me?”  Jesus’ words that follow confirm this hope.

In verse 4, Jesus says, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming when no man can work.”  Jesus’ death wasn’t very many days away, and none of us know which day will be our last.  There is work to be done for the kingdom of God and we should be pursuing it as if today was the last opportunity to get it done.  Who knows, it may be our last opportunity to meet a need or to share our faith in Jesus Christ with someone we know.  Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was a songwriter who wrote hymns during the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.  One of the hymns he wrote is entitled “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”.  I’m sure we’ve all sung that hymn many times.  I found a poem written by him about this verse of Scripture, John 9:4.  I don’t know whether or not this poem was put to music, but the words are certainly motivational and inspirational.  Here are the words to that poem.  It’s entitled “I Must”.

To every life, it seems to me,
There should be found a single key;
One central purpose there should be,
One all-controlling aim.
Of Jesus this was surely true;
One passionate delight He knew
And that, His Father’s will to do
And glorify His name.

“I must!  I must!” we hear Him say;
For Him there was no other way
But swiftly, wholly to obey
And do the work assigned.
“I must!”  He counted not the cost,
The raging rivers to be crossed;
He must go seek and save the lost,
His “other sheep” must find.

“I must!”  And on and on He went,
Upon His mighty mission bent;
That whereunto He had been sent.
They crucified Him, as He said,
A cruel crown upon His head,
Accursed, forsaken–in our stead.
At last His work was done.

“I must!”  Oh, may that fervent word
Upon our lips as well be heard.
By nothing may we be deterred
From following “in His train!”
Our meat and drink, to do His will,
Though steep the climb, to follow still
Till death o’ertake us, or until
His coming back again.

Have you ever missed out on an opportunity to be used by God because you waited too long?  It’s discouraging, isn’t it?  We should be saying to ourselves, “God has work for me to do today so I won’t put off doing God’s will any longer.

V.  THE REMINDER IS GIVEN (verse 5)

After stating His compulsion, Jesus reminds His disciples and Himself of what the Father has called Him to be in the eyes of the world.  He has said the following words before and He says them again in verse 5:  “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Jesus’ words are a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.  The prophet Isaiah described the coming of the Messiah with these words:  “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them”  (Isaiah 9:2).  He also prophesied in Isaiah 49:6 saying, “I will also make You a light to the nations so that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth”.  The Lord Jesus is determined to complete those works and fulfill the calling that the Father has given to Him.  Those prophecies refer to the spiritual blindness of unbelief.  As this blind man listens to those words of Jesus, he may have come to the conclusion that he is not only physically blind but he is spiritually blind as well.  Notice that he hasn’t said a word to Jesus.  He is “all ears” right now, focusing his attention on every word that Jesus says.  Has he come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah?  Does he believe that Jesus can and will heal Him of his physical blindness and remove his spiritual blindness?  I think so.  The veil over his heart is already being lifted, and the stage has been set for what’s to come.  As we begin to study the miracle itself, we are going to see some of the evidence for that persuasion.

CONCLUSION:

There are several lessons that can be learned from this discussion between Jesus and His disciples.  First, we need to be careful not to jump to conclusions about people based upon limited or questionable information.  In this case, it is the relationship between sin and suffering.  Even though suffering is often the consequence of sin, it is not always the consequence of sin.  There was no direct connection between sin and suffering in the case of this blind man.  Therefore, let’s resist the temptation to make negative judgments when we don’t have all the facts.

Secondly, God wants to glorify Himself through the lives of those who have disabilities whether He heals them or not.  God will use anyone who belongs to Him and is devoted to Him.  Our heavenly Father often gives HIs children with disabilities an even greater ministry than they could have had without that disability.  People are watching Christians, especially those Christians who have the most to overcome.  When they see that God has given them the power to overcome and the joy of knowing and serving Him, many will become convinced that Jesus Christ is the One who can meet their deepest needs.  When God gave the apostle Paul a “thorn in the flesh” – a “messenger of Satan to buffet him”, he asked God three times to remove it.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  Paul responded by saying, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. . . . for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  

Thirdly, let’s follow Jesus’ example. Let’s treat those who are disabled with dignity, respect, and kindness.  Let’s be busy doing the work of the Lord each day while we still have the opportunity, and let’s be a shining light to the world around us.

If you are personally living in spiritual darkness, with no real peace of mind or joyful heart, and no real hope after death, only Jesus and His Word can bring your life into proper focus and add the brightness of true peace and joy into your life.  Please, don’t close your eyes to the truth any longer.  Open them wide and see what life is like as a new person in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

 

ANSWERS TO INSULTS — John 8:48-59

John 8:48-59, Uncategorized

Two little boys got into an argument and started hurling insults at one another.  The insults kept getting longer and longer.  These two children were new at this sort of thing.  Usually, this name-calling ended up in a fist fight, but one of the boys came up with an insult that was so long and so ridiculous that there was a moment of silence.  The boys looked at each other, started laughing, and then went back to playing with each other again.  I guess he won by an insult and the other boy conceded!  It’s too bad that many little children continue to practice insulting one another and become very good at it by the time they’ve grown to adulthood.

Have you ever been insulted?  Can you remember what it was like and the way you responded to it?  Can you remember hearing a person say something sarcastic and then realized that it was directed at you?  How did you react?  The children’s saying:  “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” isn’t really true, is it?  I recently overheard someone make an insulting remark in the hearing of that person and in the hearing of those around her.  Later, when he tried to apologize, she wouldn’t accept it.  The hurt and embarrassment were too deep and his apology was too shallow.

An insult is defined as an offensive remark meant to hurt the feelings of another person.  Sarcasm is a mocking remark using statements that are usually the opposite of what the person really means.  The word “insult” comes from two Latin words meaning “to leap on”.  “Sarcasm” is derived from two Greek words meaning “to tear flesh”.  Those are good descriptions of what it feels like inside when you’re on the receiving end of an insult or of sarcasm, aren’t they?

In this passage of Scripture, John 8:48-59, Jesus is under verbal attack because of His claims and the statements He made to the Jewish leaders.  Their attitude seems to be:  “If we can’t come up with any winning arguments, then let’s attack His character”.  As we take a look at the words that are said to Jesus by the Jewish leaders, let’s seek to understand His responses to them.  To prepare your mind for what is about to be said, think about and answer for yourself the following two questions.  “What is the worst insult you can ever remember hearing or reading?”  Secondly, what is the most painful insult you have ever personally received from someone else?”  Have you answered both of those questions in your mind?  If so, you are better prepared to understand and identify with the sequence of events in this passage of Scripture.

I.  THEIR INSULTS (verse 48)

The Jewish leaders find themselves on the losing end of their conversation with Jesus.  Their self-glorification, calling themselves “children of Abraham” and “children of God” got them nowhere because they didn’t fit the description.  There was no spiritual resemblance between them and Abraham or God.  They also could not find Jesus guilty of any sin.  In their frustration, they resort to name-calling, and they are very good at it.  In verse 48, the Jews say to Jesus, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon.”  That statement may not mean much in this day and age but in first-century Palestine, it was probably the worst thing a Jew could say to another Jew.  Either one of those descriptions is bad enough, but to put the two together is the ultimate slam.  This is the only place in all four of the Gospels where the words “a Samaritan and have a demon” are used together.

Why is that expression so demeaning?  They have already told Jesus that He had a demon in a previous conversation with Him in John 7.  True, but this time they are saying, “You are a demon-possessed Samaritan”.  The Samaritans were odious to the Jews, who considered them to be heretics because they were of mixed blood and worshiped at a different place and in different ways.  The Jews looked upon them as God’s “rejects” so they despised them and would have nothing to do with them.  To get the full picture, these Jews are saying to Jesus, “You’re not only rejected by God but you’re also controlled by demons!  Only a demon-possessed Samaritan would dare to question our relationship to Abraham and to God!”  After hurling this “mega-insult” at Jesus, I can envision the “victory-smiles” on their faces as they wait for Jesus to respond.

II.  JESUS’ RESPONSE (verses 49-51)

Once again their plan failed.  They expected to see Jesus lose His temper and lash out at them as they did to Him, but they were mistaken.  What Jesus doesn’t say in His response to them is as noteworthy as what He says.  Observe His opening words in verse 49:  “Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon’.”  He doesn’t say anything about the word “Samaritan”.  He ignores the word or intentionally overlooks it.  Why would He do such a thing?  Unlike His accusers, Jesus had no hatred toward the Samaritans.  He had no prejudices.

In the rest of verse 49, Jesus says, “but I honor My Father, but you dishonor Me.”  His purpose for coming to this earth was not self-promotion but the salvation of all who believed in Him.  Jesus was here to honor the Father, not Himself.  By trying to disgrace Him, these Jews were also dishonoring the Father whom they just claimed as their own.  He amplifies those words in verse 50 where He says, “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.”  The Father’s glory and approval meant everything to the Lord Jesus Christ.  What others thought of Him was immaterial.  His Father would take care of His reputation and execute judgment.  Based upon what we read in the rest of the New Testament, His Father certainly has and He certainly will take care of those concerns.

In verse 51, the Lord Jesus makes a confusing claim and promise.  He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death.”  That statement must have raised some eyebrows on the faces of His listeners.  It opened some mouths also, as we’ll see in the next verse.  What does Jesus mean by that fantastic, illogical statement?  He’s not saying that those who keep His word won’t die physically.  He is saying what the apostle Paul later said in II Corinthians 5:8.  The person who follows the Lord and keeps His word, when he dies is “absent from the body  . . . present with the Lord.”  He does not see the consequences of unbelief – a spiritual death described as a separation from God in Hell for eternity (John 5:24; Hebrews 9:27).  Rather, a believer closes his eyes for the last time on earth and opens them in the presence of the Lord in heaven.  He does not see death.  He sees the Lord Jesus and enjoys Him for eternity.  Isn’t that a wonderful thought!

III.  THEIR SARCASM (verses 52-53)

It wasn’t a wonderful thought in the minds of His listeners.  They are still interpreting His words from the wrong point of view.  However, those words became the fuel for more criticism on their part.  This time it’s in the form of sarcasm.  They respond to Jesus by saying, “Now we know that you have a demon.”  He has removed all doubt in their minds.  They are saying, “Now we KNOOOOW that you are mentally deranged.”  That sort of thing was attributed to demons.  The sarcasm has begun!  Now they explain their reason for making that statement.  “Abraham died, and the prophets also; and yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’ ”  They are rudely throwing Jesus’ words back in His face, loudly making fun of Him for making such a ridiculous statement.  “Abraham and the prophets died, and yet YOOOUUU say . . . “.  If someone has ever done that to you, then you know how it hurts inside!

In verse 53 we see that Jesus’ words have also triggered a defense mechanism among these Jews.  They say, “Surely You are not greater than our father, Abraham, who died?  The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”  Once again they are defending Abraham and the prophets.  Jesus can’t be better than them.   So in our vernacular, they are saying, “Who do You think You are, anyway!  How can You dare to make such statements!”

IV.  JESUS’ REBUTTAL (verses 54-55)

Jesus is calm and clear in His response, saying, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing.  It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our Father’.”  Once again He tells them that He is not seeking His own glory.  Whatever earthly glory He might have was a gift from His Father.  Did you catch the irony in the last half of his statement?  They claimed that God was their Father yet they display no knowledge of Him or commitment to Him.  The Father desires to glorify His Son, not them.  They seek only to glorify themselves.  In verse 55, Jesus continues to give them a taste of their own medicine.  He says, “and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word.”  The apostle, John, uses two different Greek words for the English word “know”, which means that Jesus must have used two different Aramaic words when speaking to them.  The word that Jesus applies to them means “to begin to know” or “to make progress in knowledge”, whereas the word He applies to Himself means “complete and intimate knowledge”.  He is saying to these leaders, “You haven’t even begun to know the Father, whereas I know Him personally and completely, and I obey His words.”  True knowledge of the Father cannot be separated from obedience.

Can you imagine the anger that’s building up inside these Jews as they listen to Him?  Jesus’ words were meant to be taken as an insult, and there is sarcasm in the wording, but every word of it is true.  They have been calling Him names and now Jesus is calling them by their true name.  They are liars and the Old Testament prophets would have called them by the same name.  Those prophets were used by God to point out the sinfulness of the people of Israel.  Here Jesus, in one of His roles as a Prophet, is being used by the Father to do the very same thing.  By confronting them with their evil desires and actions, Jesus is once again giving them an opportunity to acknowledge their sin, repent, and follow Him.

V.  COMPARISON WITH ABRAHAM (verses 56-58)

Now the Lord Jesus says something very mysterious in verse 56.  He says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”  When did Abraham see Jesus?  There are many possibilities.  Let me give you three of them.  The first time may have been when he met Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of God.  He gave Abram an offering of bread and wine, and Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he had (Genesis 14:17-20).  Hebrews 5:6 speaks of Jesus as a ” priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  It must have been a very moving and joyous experience for Abram to respond with such generosity.  In Genesis 15 the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision.  Later, in Genesis 18, three men came to Abraham to tell him that his wife, Sarah, will have a son by next year.  They also told him about what was going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah.  But in chapter 19 only two angels came to Lot in Sodom.  That third person may have been Jesus.

As we return to the conversation, the Jewish leaders are still reasoning from a physical perspective only.  In verse 57 they ask, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”  In their minds, they are thinking, “that’s impossible; You’re insane!”  Jesus immediately responds with an amazing proclamation.  In verse 58, “Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am’.”   He uses God’s covenant name:  Jehovah.  This was God’s great name, and it was treated with the utmost reverence by the Jews.  They would not speak it.  Historians tell us that when a scribe was copying the Scriptures and came to that name for God, he would take a new pen just to write that name.  It is also said that when a public reader in the synagogue came to that name in the sacred text, he would not read it.  He would bow his head in worship and the congregation, knowing that he had come to God’s special name, would bow in worship also.  Jesus was saying in this verse that there had never been a time when He had not existed.  He was claiming to be God.

VI.  AN ATTEMPTED STONING (verse 59)

The Jews were so enraged by that statement that they ended the argument.  In their minds, there was only one thing to do.  They must stone Him to death.  Verse 59 says, “they picked up stones to stone Him”.  The word “stones” means “heavy stones”.  This was taking place in the temple, and it’s not surprising that large stones were lying around on the ground.  This temple of Herod the Great was not yet completed and construction was still going on inside the building.  How fortunate for them!  Jesus just offered them another opportunity to turn to Him but they rejected it by preparing to stone Him to death inside the temple without even holding a trial.

It would take a miracle for Jesus to escape and that’s just what happened.  Verse 59 says, “Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.”  The Greek text says that Jesus “was hidden”   We don’t know whether Jesus became invisible or just walked through their midst undetected.  Either way, He escaped from them again.  It was not yet His time to die, and His heavenly Father overruled their plans again.

CONCLUSION:

As it was in that day, so it is today.  There are many who refuse to acknowledge the claims of Christ and refuse to follow Him.  Many use insults and sarcasm when they speak of Him, and use His name as a swear word.  Nevertheless, knowing all the things that people would say about Him then and now, Jesus willingly chose to die on that cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins out of love for each one of us.  Would you be willing to reconsider the things you think and say about the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to give you a change of mind and heart?  He has never stopped loving you in spite of your thoughts, your words, and your actions directed against Him.  Don’t continue to deprive yourself of the love, the joy, the peace, the purpose, and the freedom from the fear of death that only He can and will give you if you put your trust in Him.  Ask any committed Christians whether or not this is so from their own experience.

If you are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, here is a question for you to consider and answer for yourself.  This past year, if someone had paid you ten dollars for every kind word you ever spoke about other people, and also collected five dollars for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor today?  Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

Welcome to this completed project:  John 8:48-59.  I hope you will visit this neighborhood again.

WARNINGS GIVEN, BUT UNHEEDED – John 8:21-30

Bible sermons, John 8:21-30, Uncategorized, warnings

INTRODUCTION:

In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people was preparing to have a “hurricane party” in the face of a storm named Camille.  The wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark.  Facing the beach, less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger.  A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved.  Peralta yelled, “You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can.  The storm’s getting worse.”  But as others joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave.  “This is my land,” one of them yelled back.  “If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me.”

Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either.  He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered to party through the storm.  They laughed as he took their names.  They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.

It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore.  Scientists clocked Camille’s wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record.  Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.

News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known at Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments.  Nothing was left of the three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day.  What a terrible price to pay for their failure to heed those warnings!

I.  SETTING AND FIRST WARNING (verse 21)

The passage of Scripture that we are now studying is John 8:21-30.  Jesus has been defending Himself in the previous Scriptures by answering their questions, giving instruction, and describing His relationship with the Father.  Now He is going to take control of the conversation and issue some warnings to His listeners.  Verse 21 says, “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘I go away, and you shall seek Me, and shall die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come’,”  Didn’t He just say those words in John 7:33?  Yes, but this time He inserts a warning:  “you shall die in your sin.”  In chapter 7, His listeners were composed mainly of the pilgrim Jews who had traveled a great distance to attend the feast.  They were open to His teaching and many of them were placing their faith in Him (John 7:31).  Here in chapter 8, Jesus is back in the temple on the following day and He is interacting with the Pharisees and the Jerusalem Jews.  They have been opposing Him since the beginning of His ministry, and now it’s time for them to face the music.  There are going to be dire consequences to their actions if they don’t heed His warnings.  When Jesus uses the words “die in your sin”, He is warning that they will die unpardoned.  Only the Messiah can pardon their sins and only He is the Messiah (Acts 4:12).  I don’t believe that Jesus was saying those words and the words that follow, in anger.  He was saying them with sadness and urgency in His voice, pleading with them to heed His warnings.  Before His death, Jesus expressed in words His attitude toward the Jews in Jerusalem.  In Matthew 23:37, He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

The word “sin”, here in verse 21, is in the singular and has the same meaning that it does in John 16:8-9, where Jesus says, “And He (speaking of the Holy Spirit) when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin because they do not believe in Me . . . “.  Their sin is that of unbelief.  It is the greatest sin:  the sin of rejecting Christ.

II.  A SARCASTIC RESPONSE (verse 22)

The response of these Jews was not what Jesus wanted to hear.  Instead of heeding His warning of impending danger, we find these words in verse 22:  “Therefore the Jews were saying, ‘Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”  They say those words sarcastically, and loud enough for Jesus to hear them.  I imagine they were probably laughing as they said them.  In their minds, they are adding up the things they have already said and thought about Jesus and are drawing their own conclusion.  “He’s a deceiver, He’s broken the law of Moses, and He’s crazy, so He must be suicidal also.  That explains why we can’t come where He is going.   He’s going to hell after He commits suicide, and we certainly aren’t going there!”  I must say, they are really stretching their imaginations to come up with that reply!  Ironically, they are the ones in danger of committing suicide spiritually and eternally by rejecting Him.

III.  EXPLANATION AND SECOND WARNING (verses 23-24)

I’m amazed at the patience and mercy of Jesus.  Instead of reacting to their insinuation about suicide, He ignores or overlooks it, gives a more detailed explanation of His first warning, and then warns them again.  In verse 23, Jesus says, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.”  There is a major difference between them and Himself:  their point of origin.  He’s from heaven and there is no one else like Him.  No one else can make that statement truthfully.  They, on the other hand, originated on earth.  They are not only in the world but they are also “of” the world.  Their attitude and their words and actions demonstrate their worldliness and their sinful resistance to the truth.

In verse 24, the Lord Jesus gives them a second warning:  “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.”  He warned them of the consequences of their actions and gave them the only way out of their predicament.  In HIs warning, Jesus is once again claiming to be God.  The Greek text does not have the word “He”.  Jesus is speaking to them in Aramaic and is saying, “unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.”  He is using God’s covenant name which He gave to Moses in Exodus 3:14.  It was the name the Jews would not pronounce.  When the Scribes copied the Old Testament Scriptures, they would use a new pen to write that name, and then set that pen aside.  Those listening to Jesus knew who He was claiming to be, as well as His authority to give those warnings.  Jesus has warned them again that an eternal disaster awaits them if they do not heed His warnings.  How are they going to respond to His words?

IV.  ANOTHER SARCASTIC RESPONSE (verse 25a)

Verse 25 begins with these words: “And so they were saying to Him, ‘Who are You?’ Those three words may sound innocent and inquisitive, but they are not.  Let me translate those words into a familiar expression:  “Who do you think you are to tell us what to do?”  Have you heard that expression or used that expression before?  It’s certainly not the kind of response you would like to receive after doing somebody a favor!  I think they are acting like bullies, making fun of Jesus and trying to badger Him to the point where He might lose His temper and explode in anger at them.  Do you have that impression also?

Sin’s effects in a person’s life are much like the answer to the following question:  “How does a worm get inside an apple?”  Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from outside.  Actually, the answer is “no”.  Scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside.  But how does it get inside?  Simple!  An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom.  Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats its way out.  Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and works its way out through our thoughts, words, and actions.  That principle certainly holds true for these Jews as they interact with Jesus and make jokes about His warnings and His identity.  To them, Jesus was just a poor, uneducated carpenter from Galilee, whose warnings they considered to be ridiculous and unfounded.

V.  A REBUKE (verses 25b-26)

Jesus responds to their question by asking them a question as a form of rebuke.  He says, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?”.  Jesus has been making those statements since the beginning of HIs ministry.  If we look at John 3:31-34, we find that John the Baptist said similar words about Jesus.  So the issue, here in verses 25 to 26, isn’t lack of information, nor the clarity of that information.  The problem on their parts is a stubborn unwillingness to respond in spite of the information given to them.  Have you ever observed a situation where a person knew that something was true; the explanation was clear and irrefutable but the person refused to believe it.  This is another one of those cases.

Jesus continues in verse 26 by telling them that He has many more things that He could say to judge and condemn them, but He speaks only the things that the Father wants Him to say.  God the Father is making the judgments and Jesus is passing those words on to them saying, “the Father who sent is true; and the things I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”  He’s pointing out that the remarks they have been making were not only directed at Him but also at God the Father.

VI.  TWO MORE CLAIMS SILENCE HIS LISTENERS (verses 27-30)

In verse 27, the apostle John makes this comment:  “They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.”  John may be writing those words as one who was there, giving a possible reason for their sudden silence.  Personally, I think they knew what He was saying but couldn’t understand how it could be true.  Therefore, they refused to believe it but didn’t know what to say to Him.  There were no sarcastic remarks this time, but they still refused to acknowledge who He is.  In verse 28, Jesus goes on to say, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.”   Jesus is talking about His crucifixion, and they are the ones who will be crucifying Him.  They will be handing Him over to the Roman authorities and demanding His crucifixion.  How will His death be proof that He is the Messiah?  There will be the miracles that accompany His death and follow His death.  For example, the three hours of darkness in the middle of the day, the earthquake, the words He said while on the cross, and the unusual way that Jesus gave up His spirit.  Add to that His burial, resurrection, appearances, and ascension into heaven.  There is another unmentioned proof that Jesus is truly the Messiah – the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52-53, Psalm 22, and many other Scripture passages in the Old Testament).  They were fulfilled completely, in every detail.  It was now obvious that these Scripture passages didn’t apply figuratively to the nation of Israel, but literally to Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ second claim, in the remainder of verse 28 as well as verse 29, was His perfect obedience and fellowship with His heavenly Father.  Here are Jesus’ words:  “I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.  And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”  Jesus’ life was consistent with His message.  They would not be able to deny that Jesus’ obedience to the Father was perfect, even to the point of death.

Verse 30 tells us, “many came to believe in Him”.  As we progress through the rest of chapter 8, we’ll learn whether or not this belief was real.

CONCLUSION:

If you are not a true follower of Jesus Christ; if you haven’t experienced a changed life as the result of making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, please give that decision some serious thought.  Please heed the warnings before an eternal disaster strikes you.  If it happens, it will be no laughing matter!  It’s a matter or eternal life in heaven or eternal suffering in hell.  Please don’t put it off.  There will be no excuses.

If you are a Christian, God has called you to be His ambassador.  As ambassadors of Christ, believers have a responsibility to warn people of the consequences of their unbelief and rebellion against God.

Here’s an example from American history.  “Late one night a salesman drove into a strange city and tried to get a room in a hotel.  The clerk informed him that there was no vacancy.  Disappointed, he started to leave the lobby when a dignified gentleman offered to share his room with him.  Gratefully, the traveler accepted his kindness.

Just before retiring, the man who had shown such hospitality knelt and prayed aloud.  In his petition, he referred to the stranger by name and asked the Lord to bless him.  Upon awakening the next morning, he told his guest it was his habit to read the Bible and commune with God at the beginning of each day, and asked if he would like to join him.  The Holy Spirit had been speaking to the heart of this salesman, and when the host tactfully confronted him with the claims of Christ, he gladly received the Savior.

As the two were ready to part, they exchanged business cards.  The new believer was amazed to read, “William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State.”  You see, William Jennings Bryan was not only the Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, but more importantly, he was an ambassador for Christ.

May you consider that role to be both a privilege and a responsibility, and decide to pursue it wholeheartedly.  Let’s be ready, willing, and able!

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

Welcome to this completed project:  John 8:21-30.  I hope you will come back again soon when you’re in the neighborhood.  There are many completed projects on this site.

 

 

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD – John 8:12-20

John 8:12-20, Uncategorized

I imagine that most, if not all of us, have been in a tunnel. What’s the best thing about a tunnel? It’s the light at the end of it, right? And the best thing about a cloudy day is when the sun peeks through those clouds and often spreads a rainbow across the sky. Most of us enjoy the light and prefer it over the darkness. This earth would be a cold, dark, lifeless planet if there were no sun in the sky to give it light and warmth. In John 8:12, Jesus makes a statement about Himself, and He couldn’t have picked a more appropriate setting to make His announcement.

I.  THE SETTING (verse 20)

Before we examine His announcement, let’s first skip down to verse 20 for a moment in order to learn the location of Jesus and to find out what is happening around Him.  The apostle John writes, “These words He [Jesus] spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple.” This treasury was located in the Court of the Women.  Thirteen treasure chests were there for the various kinds of offerings.  This was a very busy place, with a constant flow of worshippers coming in and going out.  The Mishnah, which is a lengthy Jewish commentary on the Law of Moses, states that, on every night of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Court of the Women was to be brilliantly lit up.  Historians tell us that four large candelabra burned brightly in the temple area to commemorate the pillar of fire which led the Israelites through the wilderness. 

II.  JESUS’ DECLARATION (verse 12)

It’s in this setting that Jesus declares loudly, “I am the light of the world.”  Another event may have been happening outside the temple at that very same moment.  John 8:2 says that it was early in the morning when Christ came to the temple.  He may have made that claim just as the sun was rising that morning.  The Courtyard of the Women was an open courtyard so the brightness of the sun, dispelling the darkness, would have been observed and welcomed by all who were there.  When Jesus shouted out His claim at that moment, He was comparing Himself to the rising sun.  This would have caused the people to think that Jesus was once again claiming to be God.  For the Jew, the sun was the symbol of Jehovah God.  Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord our God is a sun and shield.”  This planet of ours has only one sun and it is the source of our light.  The word “light” is an Old Testament image for the Messiah.  Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in the dark land, the light will shine on them.”

The Lord Jesus not only said that He was the light but “the light of the world.”  He and His light were not just for the Jews only.  It’s interesting that the Court of the Women, where Jesus is speaking, is the only court in the temple that was designed with large openings or windows so that the light could be seen outside by people in many parts of the city of Jerusalem,  I wonder if that thought came to the minds of some of the people who were there and heard Jesus make that claim.

Jesus goes on to say, “he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”  He’s drawing the attention of the people back to the image of the pillar of fire.  In the exodus from Egypt, God didn’t put the pillar of fire in the sky as something for the people of Israel to look at and admire.  It was a light to lead them through the wilderness to the promised land.  Jesus is saying that He is the light who leads them out of the darkness of sin to a relationship with Himself.

In Benjamin Franklin’s day, the streets of Philadelphia were dark after sunset.  Night time pedestrians had to walk cautiously to avoid rocks and holes.  Franklin decided to set a good example for his fellow citizens by placing a lantern outside his home.  As people stumbled down his street at night, they would come to that oasis of light and realize what a blessing it was.  Soon other Philadelphians were setting out their own lanterns.  After sunset,  the whole village became a place of illumined safety.  In a spiritual sense, this world of ours can also be a very dark place.  Have you found that to be true at times?  There is a need for the Light to guide our way. 

III.  THE RESPONSE (verse 13)

As expected, the Pharisees make their reply and give their judgment.  Verse 13 says, “The Pharisees therefore said to Him, ‘You are bearing witness to yourself.  Your witness is not true’.”  Their reference is to Deuteronomy 19:15 and they are using it out of context.  That verse says, “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”  The rest of that chapter refers to witnesses in a criminal case.  Two or three witnesses are required in court to settle a dispute or pass judgment on a crime.  That command was expressed earlier by God in Deuteronomy 17:6, which says, “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”  That law didn’t apply in this situation.  The Pharisees were either unfamiliar with that law or were purposely making up their own rules of evidence in order to gain the approval of the crowd in the temple.    

IV.  JESUS’ FIRST REPLY — I AM MY OWN WITNESS  (verses 14-15)

Rather than point out their mistake, the Lord Jesus responds to their objection.  He begins by saying, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true; for I know where I came  from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from, or where I am going.”  He’s telling them that He has the authority and qualifications to talk about Himself whereas they do not.  If they had recognized the true identity of Jesus, they wouldn’t have made that statement.  They asked the question because they refused to acknowledge His true identity.  Did the Old Testament prophets need witnesses to confirm that they were prophets?  No.  Their words and their actions were proof enough.  Does light need a witness that it exists?  No.  Light provides its own witness as we see it and feel the warmth of it.  In this verse, Jesus has stated His credentials.  A famous surgeon doesn’t need witnesses to testify to his competence every time he performs a surgery.  A well-known and respected judge doesn’t need witnesses to affirm his ability to judge a case in court.  The skills of these two professionals speak for themselves; they are a matter of public record.  Jesus is telling these Pharisees to come out of the darkness of their unbelief and into the light of reality, and then examine His credentials clearly and thoroughly.

In verse 15, the Lord Jesus makes a charge against them when He says, “You people judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.”  He’s comparing their attitude and their perspective to His own.  They make their judgments based upon externals, relying upon their own human knowledge and personal biases.  Rather than judging on the basis of God’s Word, which reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart, they want to make their own rules and exalt themselves in the process of enforcing them.  Jesus, on the other hand, is not judging anyone.  His purpose for coming to this earth was not judgment but salvation (John 3:17-17; 12:47).  We have already seen that purpose exemplified in Jesus’ response to the woman in John 8:1-12.  He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way.  From now on sin no more.” 

V.  JESUS’ SECOND REPLY — THE FATHER IS ALSO MY WITNESS (verses 16-18)

In verse 16 Jesus qualifies His previous statement by saying, “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and He who sent Me.” He is saying, “If My own words and My own works are not enough to convince you, I have a second witness.  That witness is the one who sent Me.”  Jesus is humbly describing Himself as the ambassador of His heavenly Father.  An ambassador is an official representative from one country to another.  In this case, Jesus was sent from heaven to earth with an important message and mission.  An ambassador speaks the message of the one who sent him, with the authority of the one who sent him.  Therefore Jesus says, in verse 16, “My decisions are right.”

Over the centuries, ambassadors have been highly regarded and shown the utmost respect because of the countries and leaders they have represented.  Here is one case in point.  W.D. Dunn, the evangelist, was holding a campaign of gospel meetings in a large hall in the town of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland, an industrial town about 10 miles from Glasgow.  Having attended the funeral of a friend, Dunn arrived at the Carlisle station just after his train left.  His only hope of making it to his appointment on time was an express train that did not stop in Motherwell.

Approaching the Stationmaster, he asked if the express train to Glasgow could be stopped for a minute or two at Motherwell to enable him to alight and be in time for a very important meeting there.  The Stationmaster said it could not be done.  Lifting up his heart in prayer, the evangelist was turning away when the Stationmaster added:  “But are you a Member of Parliament?  I have authority to have the train stopped for a M.P.”  “No,” replied Dunn, “I am not an M.P.; but I hold a much higher rank.  I am an ambassador.”  “An ambassador,” said the Stationmaster.  “All right, I shall have the train stopped at Motherwell for you.”  Mr. Dunn walked off, thanking him, but on further consideration, he felt he ought to clarify his position to the Stationmaster.  Going back to him again, he said, “I told you I was an ambassador, and that is true.  But I am not an ambassador of an earthly king.  I am an ambassador of the King of kings, and have a message from Him for over 1000 people who will gather at Motherwell to hear it.  Now I have told you frankly my position.  Will the train still stop at Motherwell?”  “Yes”, replied the Stationmaster, “I have arranged that it shall stop and it will stop without fail.”  This ambassador for Christ received the respect and treatment worthy of the One who sent him.

The Lord Jesus has also declared that He is the ambassador of His heavenly Father, and in verses 17 and 18 He continues to use the Scriptures to prove His authority.  These are His words:  Even in your law it has been written, that the testimony of two witnesses is true.  I am He who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”  Jesus might be called the “Expert Witness” demonstrated by His life, His words, and His miracles.  His Father might be called the “Source Witness” – the One who authorized, sent, and empowered His “Expert Witness”.  According to the Law, this is more than sufficient proof.  The burden is now on His listeners to try to disprove it.

VI.  RESPONSE AND REBUTTAL (verse 19)

What do you say when your accusation has been disproven and there’s really nothing more to say?  How do you keep yourself from saying anything at all?  Have you ever been in that situation?  What was your response (if any)?

In this case, the Pharisees asked for more physical evidence. “Where is your Father”, they ask.  I visualize them looking around as they said those words, seeking an older man with His family resemblance  They wanted Jesus to point him out so that they could interrogate him.

Once again, the Pharisees fail to realize that when Jesus talks about the Father, He’s referring to God.  How many times do they have to hear those words from Him?  They have already tried to stone Him to death for saying those words because He was making Himself equal with God by calling God His Father (John 5:18).  Jesus replies to them, making His point very clear:  “You know neither Me, nor My Father; if you had known Me, you would know My Father also.”  That was a well-deserved, stinging rebuke!

The Pharisees were still in the tunnel spiritually.  They preferred darkness to the light of truth because the truth didn’t agree with their own belief system.  The witness of the Father was not only through Jesus Christ, the living Word, but also through the written word of God, and they rejected both.

VII.  NO ARREST (verse 20)

In verse 20 we are once again informed of the practices of the Pharisees and other leaders of the Jews.  When they can’t disprove or deny the evidence, they seek to destroy it.  In this case, the evidence is Jesus Christ.  Verse 20 ends with the words, “And no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.”  They wanted to seize him alright, but God restrained them.  The hour when Jesus would be arrested was in the Father’s timing, not theirs.

CONCLUSION:

Are you personally in a “spiritual tunnel” at this moment in your life?  Are you seeking the light at the end of it, or are you content to be in spiritual darkness?  The only light at the end of that tunnel is Jesus Christ.  There is no way to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5).  You can’t know God except through Jesus Christ.  That is the very core of the Gospel message.  If you choose to believe in Him and follow Him, the Lord Jesus will dispel the darkness and fill your life with the light of His presence (John 1:4-5; II Corinthians 5:17).  I hope that today will be that day, as you let the Son shine in your life.

If you are a committed follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus wants the light of His presence to shine brightly in the midst of the world of spiritual darkness around you.  As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).  We are ambassadors for the King of kings.  God wants to use us to bring others to Himself (II Corinthians 5:20).  May our words and our lives be used by God to bring many out of their darkness and into His glorious light!  

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

Thank you for visiting this completed project:  John 8:12-20.  Now that you know the location, I hope you will drop by for a visit again soon.  There are almost 150 other messages on this site.

 

THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY – John 8:1-11

Bible sermons, dilemma, Gospel of John, John 8:1-12, Uncategorized

INTRODUCTION:

Daniel Webster served our country as a congressman and as the Secretary of State under three presidents in the mid-1800’s.  Before going into politics he was a well-known and very successful lawyer and public speaker.  Dwight L. Moody shared the following illustration about him:

Daniel Webster was such an imposing figure in court that he once stared a witness out of the courtroom.  Apparently, Webster knew that the man was there to deliver false testimony, so he fixed his “dark, beetle-browed” eyes on the man and searched him.  According to the story, later in the trial, Webster looked around again to see if [the witness] was ready for the inquisition.  The witness felt for his hat and edged toward the door.  A third time Webster looked on him, and the witness could sit no longer.  He seized his chance and fled from the court and was nowhere to be found.  It was as if Webster could see right through the man,  and knew what this witness had been told to do, and what he was to say.  With his penetrating gaze, Webster gave this man the opportunity to examine himself, reconsider his mission, and make his getaway.  We find a similar action and reaction in this passage of scripture, John 8:1-11.

I.  THE SETTING (verses 1-2)

Verse one of John 8 tells us that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives the night before, and probably stayed at the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany.  They lived about a mile from Jerusalem, and Jesus often stayed with them when He was attending one of the feasts in Jerusalem.  The next morning we find Him back in the temple.  Verse 2 says, “And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.”  A crowd was gathering around Jesus, so He sat down to teach.  This was the usual practice of the rabbis.  They taught from a sitting position.  Often a little stool was provided for them to sit on.

II.  THE CONFRONTATION (verses 3-6a)

The Lord Jesus is just beginning to teach the people when He is rudely interrupted.  Verse 3 reads, “And the Scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and having set her in the midst,”.  Now what are they up to?  Whatever it is, they want the whole crowd to watch and listen to what happens next.  On the previous day the multitude was debating whether Jesus was the Prophet or the Messiah, and the temple police officers were so amazed at Jesus’ teaching that they didn’t arrest Him.  All the sarcastic remarks directed at the multitude by the leaders accomplished nothing.  The people are all assembled again, eager to hear Jesus teach.  Have the scribes and Pharisees now come up with a better idea?  Let’s see what they have to say.  Verses 4 and 5 read:  “They said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do you say?’  By asking that question, the scribes and Pharisees have just broken their own law which stated that such cases were to be handled by their own court.  They are also lying to the crowd by giving them the impression that they have come to seek His “expert opinion” on this matter.

Does their statement sound suspicious to you?  Wouldn’t you say that it’s unusual to stumble across adultery taking place?  This is not the kind of offense that can be committed by one person alone.  Where is the man?  Was no attempt made to arrest him?  He was just as guilty under the Law as the woman.  Did they let him go?  Is he one of the men who is now standing before Jesus?

By their statement and their question, they have purposely placed Jesus in a dilemma.  A dilemma is defined as a choice between two equal alternatives.  In this case, both of His options seem to be equally dangerous.  If Jesus agreed with the law and told them to stone her, He would be disobeying the Roman government which had jurisdiction over such cases, and He would be taken to a Roman court.  The Jews could then distort His claims of kingship and possibly have Him executed as an insurrectionist.  On the other hand, if Jesus refused to allow the woman to be stoned, He would be disobeying the Law of Moses, thus contradicting His claims to be the Messiah.  The crowd around Jesus would be witnesses to His disobedience and the word would spread fast.  That would soon be the end of His popularity and His authority as a teacher.  The beginning of verse six tells us their motive when it says, “And they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him.”  It was a well-laid trap.  I can picture the smiles on their faces and the glint in their eyes as they waited for Jesus to fall into their snare.  They were hoping to bring Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor, that very day.

III.  JESUS’ RESPONSE TO HIS QUESTIONERS (verses 6b-8)

What happens next must have startled and confused them.  At the end of verse 6, it says:  “But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”  Try to put yourself in this scene.  Jesus is sitting on the steps or on a stool.  The scribes and Pharisees have just asked Him a difficult question and immediately Jesus takes His eyes off them, bends all the way forward and starts writing with His finger in the dust on the ground.  Do you have a picture of that scene in your mind?  Can you imagine what the scribes and Pharisees must have been thinking and saying to one another as they watched this phenomenon?  “Is He crazy?”  “Is He stalling, trying to come up with an answer?”

Verse 7 begins with the words, “When they persisted in asking Him”.  Jesus wasn’t responding to them.  He hasn’t stopped what He was doing and looked at them yet, in spite of their repeated requests.  The scribes and Pharisees are getting angrier and louder as they demand an answer.  Meanwhile, the woman and the crowd are watching and listening in silence.  When is this “intermission” going to end?

Finally, in the midst of all the noise and confusion, “He [Jesus] straightened up”, and like Daniel Webster in my introduction, He looked at each one of them with His penetrating gaze, searching their souls.  There was silence once again, and then He said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  As He said those words, I believe Jesus looked around at each one of them again, and that the eyes of some of them may already have been lowered.  They didn’t want to look at Him eye-to-eye again because of the guilt they were experiencing.

By His words, did Jesus mean “Let him who is perfect cast the first stone?”  No.  He was referring to the sin of adultery.  In Matthew 5:27-28, during His sermon on the mount, Jesus defined adultery in accordance with God’s perfect standard.  So Jesus was saying, “Anyone who has not committed this sin of adultery at some time himself, or who has not desired to do so, and would have done so if he could have gotten away with it, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

The age-old debate is:  “What was the Lord Jesus writing?”  Was He writing the commandments, or was He writing down the sins of His accusers?  There are many possibilities, but we don’t know for sure.  That information wasn’t given to us by the apostle John.  Maybe it’s because the Lord Jesus’ lesson comes, not from what He wrote, but from the act of writing with His finger.  Can you think of an occasion in the Old Testament when God wrote with His finger?  Exodus 31:18 says, “And when He [God] had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.”  If this was Jesus intent, to focus their attention on the act of writing, then Jesus was once again claiming to be God, the One who wrote the commandments on the tablets of stone with His own finger for Moses and the people of Israel.  That is my thinking, and the reasons are given in the rest of this passage of Scripture, especially the following verse.  After saying those words to the scribes and Pharisees, verse 8 says, “And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”  Jesus is doing it again!  What’s the significance of that?  If His adversaries didn’t get it the first time, they caught on the second time, based on their response. I don’t think Jesus is repeating His actions for the sake of repetition.  He’s reminding His audience of the events that happened after God gave the commandments to Moses.  There’s more to the story, and as Jesus writes with His finger again, the rest of the story is unfolding in their minds.  Let’s take a look at what His accusers are remembering.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the law in his hands, he saw the people of Israel worshiping a golden calf and engaging in sexual immorality.  Exodus 32:6 says, “the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”  In anger, Moses “threw the tablets of stone from his hands and shattered them.”  As the woman’s accusers watch Jesus write on the ground this second time, they are also reminded that God showed mercy on His people, forgave their sin and wrote the law on the tablets of stone with His finger a second time.

IV.  THE WALK OF SHAME (verse 9)

A movement is taking place among the woman’s accusers.  Verse 9 says, “And when they [her accusers] heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she had been, in the midst.” Those who accused the woman became convicted of their own sinfulness and began to go away one by one.  The older men probably had the guilt of their sin gnawing at them the longest and were the first to leave.  It was a long walk of shame through the temple and to their homes.  I can imagine that they didn’t want to be seen in public for the rest of that day.  Their “perfect plan” backfired and they were caught in the recollection of their own sins.

The story is told of a time when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous writer, decided to play a practical joke on twelve of his friends.  He sent them each a telegram that read, “Flee at once. . . . all is discovered.”  Within twenty-four hours, all twelve had left the country.  Their private lives were quite different from their public lives!

As we study verse 9, it’s important to know that there is a difference between guilt and shame.  In this particular case, the scribes and Pharisees were experiencing both of these emotions.  They felt guilt inside because of the things they had done and shame because of all the people who were watching them.  Their guilt made them speechless, and in their shame, they wanted to get away from the crowd and be alone.

V.  WORDS TO THE WOMAN (verses 10-11)

The accusers have gone and Jesus is looking at the woman.  Meanwhile, the crowd is standing there quietly, anxious to see and hear what Jesus is going to say and do next.  Verse 10 reads, “And straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they?  Did no one condemn you?’ ”  The word “condemn” refers to outward punishment, not inward guilt.  He’s saying to her, “Has no one shown himself qualified or ready to begin the stoning?”  Jesus is asking her questions in order to focus her thoughts upon what just happened, as well as elicit a response from her as she stands before Him in awe and wide-eyed amazement.  Her response to Him is:  “no one, Lord.”  There is no clear indication that the woman was a follower of His, or that she became one at that moment, but I’m sure she was very grateful to Him for what He had done for her, and she made no excuse for her conduct.

Jesus ends the conversation with these words:  “Neither do I condemn you; go your way.  From now on sin no more.”  Jesus forgave her but He didn’t condone her sin.  He didn’t say, “sin as little as possible”, but “sin no more”.  Pastor Warren Wiersbe makes the following comment about this verse of Scripture:

We must not misinterpret this event to mean that Jesus was
“easy on sin” or that He contradicted the Law.
For Jesus to forgive this woman meant that He had to
one day die for her sins.  Forgiveness is free,
but it is not cheap

The woman left this assembly with forgiveness, release from the conviction and guilt of her past sins and a desire to live according to God’s laws.  She also left with a clearer understanding of Jesus Christ and the choice of following Him.

CONCLUSION:

There are several things we can learn and apply to our own lives from this passage of Scripture.  First, we are guilty of sin whether we’ve been caught or not.  Secondly, we learn that Jesus hates and condemns the sin but He loves the sinner and forgives and accepts all who come to Him in faith and with repentant hearts.

There are also principles to guide us when dealing with sin in the life of another believer.

  1.  It is wrong to approach another believer concerning a particular sin in his or her life if that same sin has not been dealt with in our own lives.
  2. Confronting wrong calls for humility, not pride.  Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”  As the saying goes: “There but for the grace of God go you and I.”
  3. Correcting wrongs in another’s life begins with forgiveness.  Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you”  before saying “Sin no more”.

Let’s look upon others, not on the basis of their past, but on the basis of their future.  Let’s also look upon ourselves the way God sees us.

If you would like to watch the film clip of this passage of Scripture from the movie, “The Gospel of John”, please click the following link and you will be taken to the YouTube site:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8v-4t87954

 

CONSTRUCTION SITE:   COMPLETED

A DIVIDED RESPONSE — John 7:40-44

arguing, Bible sermons, john 7:40-44

INTRODUCTION:

Arguments are started in a number of ways, as I’m sure you know.  Just think back upon your life and bring to mind some of the arguments you’ve participated in, or have observed.  Can you remember the last time you started an argument?  What was the topic of conversation?  If you can’t remember, there is a sure-fire way to start an argument:  pick a controversial topic and take a firm stand on one side of the issue while in the midst of a large group of people.  Then be prepared to defend yourself!

In the previous passage of Scripture, John 7:37-39, Jesus shouted in the temple, encouraging the people to come to Him and find new life through believing in Him.  Here in verses 40-44, we are going to take a look at the altercation that ensues after those words were spoken.

I.  THE INITIAL RESPONSE:  STATEMENT OF FACT? (verse 40)

Verse 40 reads:  “Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, ‘This certainly is the Prophet’.”  They are very sure of themselves, aren’t they? Their conclusion is stated as a fact.  Do we have any idea who these people were who made that statement?  If appears to me that they must have been some of the pilgrim Jews who came a great distance to attend the feast of Tabernacles.  They didn’t know the negative attitude of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus or they wouldn’t have made that statement aloud with such conviction.  They’ve made that statement without bias, based upon what they have heard Jesus say and what they have watched Jesus do.  Nevertheless, they have jumped to that conclusion with very little evidence to support it.

Were they right?  What do they mean when they call Jesus the Prophet?  Which prophet are they referring to?  In Deuteronomy 18, Moses is telling the people of Israel not to listen to the spiritists, the diviners, and those who practice witchcraft among the people of the land they are about to enter.  Then, in verse 15, Moses spoke these words from God:  “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”  

The Jews here in verse 40 were stating that Jesus was definitely that Prophet.  Psychologists have names for the various kinds of statements used to start and continue an argument.  This first statement might be called the “expert witness”.  These Jews have stated their belief as a fact and are expecting everyone else to agree with them.

II.  THE IMMEDIATE REACTION – A “BETTER IDEA” (verse 41a)

Verse 40 tells us that those expectations weren’t met.  It begins with these words:  “Others were saying, ‘This is the Christ’.”  Once again, it was probably some of the pilgrim Jews who made that statement.  Obviously, the Jews at that time considered the Prophet and the Christ to be two different people.  About two years earlier, John the Baptist was asked to reveal his identity.  Let’s take a look at that conversation.  John 1:19-21 reads, “And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you’?  And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, ‘I am not the Christ’.  And they asked him, ‘What then?  Are you Elijah?’  And he answered, ‘I am not.’  Are you the Prophet?  And he answered, ‘No’.”  Did you notice the descending order – Christ … Elijah … the Prophet.  In their minds, Christ was the highest, Elijah was second, and the Prophet was third in their ranking.  Yet the Prophet was held in high regard and his appearance was awaited.

Speaking of ranking, there is a word used in the psychology of crowd behavior called “rankism”.  It’s not related to the slang word, “rank”, which means “foul smelling”.  This word is an assertion of superiority.  By saying the words, “This is the Christ”, the second group may be saying to the first group, “You have no idea what you are talking about.  This man is much greater than who you think He is.  He’s the Christ.”  By raising Jesus to a higher position, they may be rebuking the other group in the hope of making them feel ashamed for making their statement.  At the same time, they would also be asserting their own superior discernment.  We don’t know for sure, but the argument it is causing points to that motive.  Neither this group, nor the previous group, has the insight and personal commitment to Jesus Christ to make such authoritative statements about Him.  Proverbs 13:10 says, “By pride comes nothing but strife” (NKJV).

Have you ever argued with someone only to discover that you were actually in agreement?  Your use of terms and their meanings, your voice tones and your attitudes kept you from focusing on the content of your claims and working together to solve the disagreement.  There is a question I asked earlier in this sermon and I haven’t answered it yet.  That question is:  “Who is the Prophet?”  It is my conviction that the Prophet foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, and the Christ are the same Person.  Jesus is described in the Scriptures as both prophet, priest, and king.  I guess the saying is true in the case of these Jews:  “Don’t confuse me with facts.  My mind is made up!”

Arguments occur, not only between people, but also between countries.  Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes mountains between Argentina and Chile.  It was named “Christ of the Andes”, and it symbolized a pledge between those two countries.  For as long as the statue stands, there would be peace between Argentina and Chile, and there would be no more border disputes.  Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted – the statue had its back turned to Chile.  Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day.  In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but also made them laugh, he simply said, “The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans.”  (Bits and Pieces, June 25, 1992)

III.  ANOTHER REACTION:  THE USE OF FALSE EVIDENCE (verses 41b-42)

A third group enters the argument using these words, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”  The reference is probably to Micah’s prophesy in Micah 5:2.  This group may be composed mainly of local residents because they know where Jesus is presently living.  Their form of argument is sometimes called the “strawman” argument, and it is used often to try to convince people to take their side in an argument.    These Jews have directed the focus of the conversation away from the Person of Jesus Christ and are basing their argument on where He was born.  They have created a “straw man” because the details they are giving about Jesus are untrue since they are based on false assumptions.  Just because a person lives in a particular town as an adult doesn’t mean that he was born there.  If their claims about Jesus were investigated, they would fall to pieces like straw.  The purpose of such an argument is not to communicate truth but to win the argument by making the opposing arguments appear to be ridiculous in the light of their “evidence”.  Someone has said:  “You can come up with an excuse for anything you don’t want to believe.”  It’s like the story of the farmer who asked his neighbor if he could borrow a rope. 
“Sorry,” said the neighbor.  “I’m using my rope to tie up my milk.” 
“Rope can’t tie up milk.”
“I know,” replied the neighbor, “but when a man doesn’t want to do something,
one reason is as good as another.” 

This passage of Scripture gives us a picture of strife.  It is no longer a difference of opinion.  The dust is now flying.   Voices are getting louder.  Accusations and threats are being made.  Pointing of the finger has progressed to nudging or pushing one another.  The argument keeps on going because everyone wants the last word, the final say.  The focus of contention has now become directed inward – upon one another rather than Jesus.  Can you relate to this description?  Have you seen something like this happen from your own personal experience?  Have you read about it or watched it on the television?  It’s happening all the time, isn’t it?

IV.  THE AFTERMATH (verses 43-44)

Let’s see what happens next.  Verse 43 says, “So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him.”  The argument isn’t over yet.  The people are taking sides on the issue and the shouting contest must be getting louder.  The Greek word translated “division” carries the meaning of “dividing into parts” or “breaking into pieces”.  I personally think that the pilgrim Jews wouldn’t have turned this into such an argument.  They were questioning Christ’s identity out of ignorance and a desire to know the truth about Him.  I think they may have allowed the differences of opinion between them if it had not been for the negative response of the Jewish leaders, the scribes, and Pharisees in verse 42.  They have been trying to kill Jesus since the beginning of His public ministry, and they don’t want this crowd’s discussion to lead them to believe in Him and follow Him.  The Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews, is becoming more united in their opposition to Jesus with each new exposure to Him.  Verse 44 says, “Some wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him.”  They wanted to take Him by force, arrest Him, and kill Him.  But it was not yet His appointed time to die, and God restrained them.  

CONCLUSION:

This passage of Scripture has been a true example from the life of Christ, showing how contention begins, and the ways in which it is handled.  As we’ve observed, some people choose not to disagree agreeably.  Proverbs 13:10, which I quoted earlier in this message says, “Only by pride comes contention.”  Pride is not the leading cause of contention.  It is the only cause of contention.  The second half of Proverbs 13:10 says, “but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”  To disagree well, we must first understand well.  This involves listening, seeking to understand, and reconsidering, in the hope of removing the source of contention and bringing new understanding and peace of mind and heart.  Listening and reconsidering are rare commodities in this world today.  Maybe it’s because they are the outward evidences of humility.   Solomon also adds another bit of advice in Ecclesiastes 7:9, saying, “Do not be eager to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools.”  

Do you personally have disagreements about Jesus Christ – His identity, His teachings, His purposes and His accomplishments?  Unlike the people in that crowd, we have the whole story.  It’s written in the Bible.  Would you be willing to lay aside your views and seek to understand the Bible by reading it with an open mind and a desire to know the truth.  You will find, as I did, that your conceptions of Christ will change as your knowledge of the Bible increases.  The proper response to Jesus Christ is that of faith, worship, and joyful obedience.

 CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

Welcome to another construction site:  John 7:40-44.  In this passage of Scripture we have put together the makings for an argument.  The building materials used are controversial, the builders are disagreeable, the blueprint is questionable, but the finished product will be predictable.  

Please come again, and invite your friends to take a walk around the block.

 

 

A PATH TO FRUSTRATION — John 7:31-36

Bible sermons, John 7:31-36

INTRODUCTION:

Two men were in a railroad station at midnight.  [Keep that time in mind].  The men were discussing the difference between irritation, aggravation, and frustration.  They couldn’t agree.  One of them finally said, “I’ll show you the difference.”  He went to the phone booth, circled a number in the phone book, and called it.  After ringing and ringing, it was finally answered.  “Is Ned there?”  “NO!  There’s no Ned here,” and the phone was slammed down.  “That’s irritation,” he said to his friend.  After 20 minutes he called again.  The phone rang and rang.  Finally, someone answered and the man asked again, “Is Ned there?”  The answer came back, “There is no Ned here!  I told you before!”  SLAM.  “That’s aggravation”, he said to his partner.  Another 20 minutes went by, and the man said, “Now I’ll show you frustration,” and he made another call.  Finally, the phone was answered, “I told you before, there’s no Ned here!!!”  “But this is Ned — any messages for me?”

If I was the man who was receiving those phone calls, I’d unplug or turn off my phone for the rest of the night, and then I would probably have a hard time getting back to sleep again.  How about you?

You may have heard that story before, but I think it describes the situation in the passage of Scripture we are now studying:  John 7:31-36.  The leaders of the Jews are already irritated and aggravated by the words and actions of the Lord Jesus, and they are soon going to become frustrated as well.  Let’s see what happens next.

I.  RESPONSE FROM THE CROWD (verse 31)

Verse 31 begins with the words, “But many of the multitude believed in Him;”.  Who would the “many” consist of?  It wasn’t the people of Jerusalem.  They had already expressed their feelings about Him, and they ignored the evidence and sided with the Pharisees and the rulers who were against Him.  The apostle John must be referring to the pilgrims — the Jews who lived outside the nation of Israel and who had traveled a great distance to attend the feast.  What would cause them to believe in Jesus when they hardly knew Him?  This festival may have been their first opportunity to come in contact with Him.  The rest of verse 31 gives the answer:  “and they were saying, ‘When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He’?”  They are saying that they believed because of the miracles He performed.  But Jesus didn’t perform any miracles during the feast, did He?  No, John doesn’t record any miracles during the feast.  But don’t forget that many of these pilgrims have been in town for several weeks, living in their own “tent city” on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  They composed most of the crowd that followed Jesus, watched Him heal the lame and the sick (John 6:1-2), and ate the loaves and fish that fed 5000 people (John 6:9-11).  They are saying to each other — “after all the miracles we’ve seen, how can He not be the Messiah?”  Jesus’ miracles may not seem like the best and strongest basis for one’s faith, but miracle-faith is good enough.  Remember when John the Baptist had his doubts about whether Jesus was the Messiah?  He sent messengers to Jesus to find out if He was the One.  In Matthew 11:4-6, Jesus said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see; the blind receive sight, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”  He chose to describe His miracles to them as part of the proof that He was indeed the Messiah.  By saying those words, the Lord Jesus was also fulfilling prophecy.

The Jews knew the Messianic texts in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.  They were eagerly awaiting their Messiah.  One of those texts is Isaiah 35:4-6, which says,
“Say to those with anxious heart, ‘Take courage, fear not.  Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, but He will save you.’  Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.  Then the lame will leap like a deer,  And the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.”  This prophecy had been fulfilled before their eyes, and many realized its fulfillment.  Rather than conform to the leaders and the Jews living in Jerusalem, and believe what they were told to believe, many of the Jews living outside of the nation of Israel decided to believe what they saw and heard, and the words of the prophet Isaiah.

II.  A TIME OF DISCUSSION (verse 32)

There’s muttering or murmuring going on again, similar to what happened among the Jerusalem Jews in verse 12, but this time it’s different.  Verse 32 reads, “The Pharisees heard the multitude muttering these things about Him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.”  These Jews weren’t speaking against Jesus but were agreeing with one another concerning Jesus’ qualifications.  They were supporting one another’s conclusions based on the evidence.  Verse 31 has already told us that many of these Jews believed in Jesus, and the number was growing as they discussed Him among themselves.

The Pharisees knew that these Jews were becoming convinced of the claims of Jesus so they made haste to send for the officers.  They wanted to remove Jesus from the scene and disperse the people.  In their frustration, they didn’t know what else to do, so they decided to join forces with the chief priests because they are the ones in the positions of power.

III.  A WORD OF WARNING (verses 33-34)

When the officers of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews, arrive on the scene, the Lord Jesus has some words of warning for them and for the crowd around Him.  In verse 33, Jesus says, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent me.”  Notice that Jesus has now changed the topic of His conversation from where He came from to where He is going.  He’s continuing the conversation where He left off in verses 28-29, where He told them that He was sent on a mission.  Now He’s telling them that His mission will be accomplished soon and He’ll be going back to the One who sent Him.  The completion of His mission is only about six months away.  His mission is not impossible, but it is unfathomable — too amazing and wonderful for mankind to completely comprehend.

What Jesus says to them next, requires some explanation so that it is not misunderstood.  Jesus continues by saying, in verse 34, “You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”  He is not rebuking nor condemning them by the use of those words.  If you combine verses 33 and 34, you will find that Jesus is giving them a deadline and urging them to respond to Him by acknowledging Him as their Messiah and following Him before He returns to His Heavenly Father.  I’m reminded of some of the end-of-summer sales that appear in the newspapers and in the mail in September and October.  They say something like this:  “Now is your last chance to take advantage of these end-of-summer deals.  Soon this merchandise will be taken off the shelves to make way for winter fashions, and you won’t see these items again until next summer.”  These stores are doing their customers a favor by letting them know this information and giving them one last chance to purchase the things they like.

The Lord Jesus is also doing His listeners a favor.  His motivation is that of loving concern for them.  Psalm 55 is one of the Messianic psalms, so everyone within the sound of Jesus’ voice is familiar with it.  Verse 6 of Psalm 55 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.”  That was their first warning, so you might say that Jesus is giving them a second warning.  At that moment in history, Jesus had been found by them, and He was standing in their presence.  How much nearer can you get?

With that information in mind, let’s take another look at verse 34. But first, let’s look at Matthew 23:37-39 because I think it’s the key to unlocking our understanding of John 7:34.  Jesus laments [expresses His sorrow] over Jerusalem, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!  For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’ ” Jesus is telling them, “When you say those words, you’ll be saying them to Me upon My return, because I am the Messiah.  He and I are the same Person.”  With those words and the previous information in mind, let’s examine Jesus’ words in verse 34.

Jesus is speaking about the future when He says, “You will seek Me and not find Me”.  He’s saying, “After I go back to the One who sent Me, you are going to continue to seek after the Messiah and you are not going to find your Messiah because He and I are the same Person.  He finishes His conversation by saying, “and where I am you cannot come”.  Since they have rejected their Messiah, they can’t go where He is going.  I believe that Jesus deliberately chose those words in order to cause anger, confusion, and frustration to fill their minds because of their unbelief.

Jennice Vilhauer wrote an article in Psychology Today magazine and shared some observations about anger and frustration.  She said, “The majority of the anger and frustration we experience in life occurs when we encounter someone who is not playing by our rules. . . . When things aren’t going our way, we can start to feel that we are losing our sense of control.”  That’s a good description of what is happening in this encounter between Jesus and the leaders of the Jews.  In verses 35 and 36 we’ll see what happens next.

IV.  THEIR RESPONSE (verses 35-36)

Verse 35 reveals the following reaction on the part of the Jews:  “Then the Jews said among themselves, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we shall not find Him?  He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is He?’ ”  Why didn’t they ask Jesus those questions?  He would have given them clear and honest answers.   How can they call themselves “teachers” and yet not be “learners”?  You might think that they were too proud to ask, and there is certainly truth in that thought.  But the real reason is their stubborn refusal to believe that Jesus is who He claims to be, in spite of everything they have seen and heard.  As they talked among one another, the best excuse they could come up with was that Jesus was going to go on a missionary journey to all the countries where the Jews had been scattered throughout the Roman empire, where the Greek language was spoken, and that He was never coming back.  It’s such a poor excuse in their own minds that they ask themselves the question again in verse 36 to see if they can come up with a better one!  The Jews are completely frustrated as their conversation ends.  Jesus says nothing because their questions weren’t directed toward Him.  In fact, He may not have even heard their words clearly.  I presume that they didn’t even want Jesus to hear what they were saying.

The question is still in their minds and on their lips:  “How could He go somewhere they could not go.”  It didn’t fit within their own personal rule books of the way things should happen, and how they themselves should be treated.  The conversation abruptly ends there, and the next verse begins on the following day and in a different situation.  The leaders are left with some time to cool down their emotions, collect their thoughts, and get a restless night’s sleep before the next confrontation.

CONCLUSION:

These Jews seem to have forgotten or ignored the words of the prophet Isaiah, who said, “Seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6).  In contrast to His words to the Jews, Jesus later says to His disciples, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also”  (John 14:3).  Jesus will make that possible through His own death and resurrection, and available to all who believe in Him and follow Him.

John 7:31-36 has been another study in contrasts.  On the one hand we have the pilgrim Jews, many of whom have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, refusing to conform to the Jewish leaders and the Jerusalem Jews, and now their lives are filled with joy because they have found their Messiah.  On the other hand, we have the local Jews who are unwilling to believe and are struggling to find more excuses.  Augustine of Hippo, one of the early church fathers, made this statement:  “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”

The Lord Jesus is asking each of us today, “Are you with Me?”  If you’ve chosen to believe in Him and follow Him, you’ll be with Him forever.  The joy will never end, and you have the privilege of sharing that good news with others  If you’re not with Him, is it worth the frustration and all the excuses?  Don’t put it off until you “cannot come” — forever.  That is the ultimate in frustration!

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

While you’re here, you’re welcome to visit other sermons on this blog site.  I’ll be starting another construction site next door as soon as I put together an introduction. 

GOTCHA! – John 7:19-24

Bible, Bible exposition, Bible homily, Bible sermon, Gospel of John, homilies from Scripture, homily, insight, insights, insights from the bible, J-E-S-U-S, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John 7:19-24, sermon

INTRODUCTION:

“Gotcha” is an American slang term that literally means, “I’ve got you”.  It has been used in a number of ways.  Many of us have used that word in a conversation, and we had a specific purpose and meaning in mind.  It can mean “I understand what you are saying”, or “I’ll do what you’ve asked”.  The word is sometimes used in the sense of capturing or apprehending someone, taking someone by surprise, embarrassing or disgracing someone, exposing a person’s mistakes, or proving that the person is wrong.  That’s quite a range of meanings and uses for the word, and that’s not all of them.  Why would I be using the word “gotcha” to describe an event in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Does that choice seem strange to you?  As we study this passage of Scripture, I’ll let you decide for yourself whether or not this title is appropriate.

TRANSITION:

As we begin our study of John 7:19-22, let’s imagine the scene at that moment in Jesus’ life.  It’s the week-long Feast of Booths [or Tabernacles].  Jesus arrived unnoticed, went into the temple and began to teach.  A crowd of people has formed around Jesus to listen to Him.  The Jewish religious authorities have arrived, have made their way to the front of the crowd, and are standing in front of Him, making accusations about Him; and Jesus is once again defending His authority.  Meanwhile, the crowd is standing there, watching and listening.

I.  THE ACCUSATION (verse 19a)

In verse 19, there is a change of direction.  Jesus takes the offensive position against them and assumes control of the conversation.  “Turnabout is fair play”, as the saying goes.  It’s time for Him to examine their words and their actions, and offer His conclusions.  It’s time to bring them back to reality.  He begins His attack by saying, “Did not Moses give you the law”?  They are thinking in their minds, “Of course he did!”  They prided themselves on this and believed that every violation of the law of Moses was deserving of death.  While they are gloating about their self-righteousness and their exalted position in the eyes of God, Jesus goes on to say “yet not one of you carries out the law.” Those are stinging words to His questioners!  These leaders revere Moses and obey his every word – at least they try to give the impression that they do so!  Jesus is telling them, “You’re not carrying out the Law that God gave to Moses.  You’re carrying out your own version of it.  Those aren’t the Sabbath laws that God gave to Moses.  You’ve changed them and added to them to the point where they have become a despicable burden to the people.  It’s no surprise that you reject My teaching because you have rejected Moses’ teaching” (John 5:46-47).

At this point in Jesus’ discussion, it’s important to know the words that Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 31:10-13.  Here are those words:

Then Moses commanded them saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of the remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing.  Assemble the people, the men, and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, in order that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.”  [bold print added to emphasize keywords]

We aren’t told whether or not this is the seventh year but, if not, Jesus may be alluding to that command to remind the Jewish leaders that, when the people hear the words of the Law being spoken, they will notice many of the differences between the Law of Moses and the teachings they have received from these rabbis.

II.  THE QUESTION (verse 19b)

As further proof of their disobedience to the law of Moses, Jesus asks them a question:  “Why do you seek to kill Me?”  He is saying, “Where does Moses say specifically that I should be killed for healing a person on the Sabbath day over a year ago?  What offenses deserve the death penalty in the law of Moses?  If My healing-miracle is not one of those offenses, then one of the commandments in the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not kill’.  So you’re the ones who are breaking the law of Moses by seeking to kill Me.”

III.  THE CROWD’S RESPONSE (verse 20)

I can imagine that the leaders of the Jews were standing there dumbfounded.  Jesus’ reasoning was too solid.  They weren’t prepared for this and didn’t know what to say.  The crowd, most of whom were from outlying areas and weren’t familiar with Jesus or with the things He was saying, come to the defense of their leaders.  In verse 20 we read, The multitude answered, “You have a demon!  Who seeks to kill You?”  They weren’t telling Jesus that He was demon-possessed.  During that period of time, many Jews believed that all unusual or uncalled-for behavior was prompted by the devil.  In this day and age, we might use the words “you’re out of your mind”, “you’re crazy”, or “you’re paranoid”.  They misunderstood Jesus’ words because they didn’t know the history behind them.

IV.  THE QUESTION ANSWERED (verse 21)

I’m sure the leaders were relieved that the crowd directed the attention of Jesus away from them, but it didn’t last for long.  Rather than become distracted by the crowd and direct His conversation toward them in defense of His sanity, Jesus ignores their remark and continues His conversation with the leaders of the Jews, answering His own question.  In verse 21, He says,  “I did one deed and you all marvel.”  The religious authorities were amazed when they learned that Jesus healed, in an instant, a man who had been lame for 38 years, just by saying the words.  It was a miracle that only God could perform.  Yet they wanted to kill Jesus because He performed that miracle on the Sabbath Day.

V.  THE APPLICATION TO CIRCUMCISION (verses 22-23)

In verse 22, we find that the Lord Jesus isn’t finished with His argument.  He is still building His case against them.  This time He applies their Sabbath laws to the rite of circumcision when He says, “On this account, Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath, you circumcise a man.”  First, He corrects their misunderstanding about circumcision.  Moses was not the originator of circumcision.  Before God told Moses to put the command of circumcision into written form in Leviticus 12:3, it had been practiced by “the fathers” (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) over 700 years earlier.  In Genesis 17:10-12, God said to Abraham, “This is the covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. . . . every male among you who is eight days old.”  Therefore, in obedience to that law, every man-child (male baby) is circumcised on the eighth day, no “ifs”, “ands”, or “buts” about it.  There are no exceptions to the rule.  It’s the law, and this ceremonial law even takes precedence over the Sabbath laws.  That was the teaching of the Jewish religious authorities of that day.  However, there were exceptions to that rule.  In the Talmud (the collection of the teachings of the rabbis), it states that, should the baby suffer from an illness, the circumcision is postponed seven days for the sake of the well-being of the infant.  Therefore, the baby’s health is more important than this rite of purification, and this is one of several exceptions in the Talmud.

With that information in mind, Jesus presents His next argument in verse 23, saying, “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath.”  Jesus is saying, “You make exceptions to circumcision on the Sabbath because the health of the child is more important than the strict observance of the Law, so why are you upset because I healed this man completely on the Sabbath?”  He’s telling them that they are contradicting themselves because they say one thing but do another.

There is another argument that isn’t spoken by Jesus, but it’s implied, and all the rabbis standing around Him know what that argument is.  As they add this final argument to the ones already stated by Jesus, they realize that they have lost their case and there is nothing to refute.  Are you wondering what that final argument is?  It has to do with one of the teachings of their most famous rabbi, Hillel the Great.  Hillel’s first great law of interpretation was, “The Major may be inferred from the Minor”.  What does that mean?  In this case, circumcision, which was considered to be the ceremonial law of the purification of newborn males) overrides the Sabbath, and health overrides circumcision.  So the Sabbath and circumcision are ‘Minor’ when compared with health.  Thus Jesus’ case against them might be put into these words:  “I did what’s considered ‘Major’ according to your laws and the teachings of your most famous rabbi when I healed that man completely on the Sabbath, so why are you majoring in the ‘Minors’?”

What excellent arguments!  Case dismissed!  As I review Jesus’ arguments, a word comes back to mind.  The word is GOTCHA!  Does that word seem appropriate to you also?

VI.  THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED (verse 24)

While those teachers of the Law are standing there, looking at Jesus in wide-eyed amazement, experiencing the shame and agony of defeat, the Lord Jesus uses that moment to teach them a lesson in verse 24.  Here are Jesus’ words of instruction to these rulers of the Jews.  He says to them, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”  He’s telling them to repent of the way they have mistreated Him and do what’s right in the sight of God.  How easy and how tempting it is to make judgments about the actions and motives of others before all the facts are known, or in spite of the facts that are known.

A newspaper correspondent attended an auction where he saw, among other items, a pair of excellent crutches.  A poor, crippled boy was the first to bid on them.  A well-dressed elderly man was also interested in them and kept offering more money for them.  Some of the people frowned in disapproval, and one lady said, “Shame on you; let the boy have them!”  Whenever the boy called out a higher price, the man would always top it.  At last, the boy held up a five-dollar bill, all that he had, and made a final bid.  When more was offered, the young fellow turned away in tears.  The crowd muttered angrily.  Then, to everyone’s surprise, the gentleman presented the crutches to the boy, saying, “These are much too small for me, so I won’t have any use for them.  When I saw that you were crippled, my heart went out to you.  So I decided to buy the crutches and give them to you.”  The crowd began to applaud for they realized they had completely misjudged the man and the situation.  They looked at outward appearances only, and came to their own conclusions when they should have given the situation time to allow the true motives to be revealed.  That same principle is reflected in our attitude toward God’s Word, the Bible.  Are we committed to what God’s Word actually says, or to what we want it to say?

One of the things that can cause us to make wrong judgments is peer pressure.  Em Griffin in his book, “The Mindchangers”, describes an experiment done by Solomon Asch with groups of 12 people.  They were brought into a room where four lines of unequal length were displayed.  They had to decide which two were the same length and publicly vote for their choice.  Person after person after person (11 in all) voted for the wrong line – because they had been told to do so ahead of time.  The one individual who was in the dark couldn’t imagine how in the world all these seemingly normal people could all choose the wrong line.  When it was his turn to vote, he had to decide, “Do I go with what I know my senses are telling me, or do I go with the crowd?”  One-third of those tested caved in to group pressure and changed their vote to agree with their peers.  Are you feeling the pull of peer pressure in your life?  Don’t let peer pressure keep you from repenting of your sin and following Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  He will give you a new life, a changed life manifested by a love for Him, and a desire to obey Him and depend upon Him for strength, guidance, and victory.

Fellow believers, a decision needs to be made in our hearts to do what is right in God’s sight even when everyone around us, where we live or work or go to school, wants to go the wrong way.  Ask God for the desire and the strength to make the right choice and do the right thing, even if it means standing alone.  In actuality, we won’t be alone.  The Lord will be with us, and there are many Christians over the past 20 centuries who have chosen to live righteously.  Some of their testimonies are written down for us in the Scriptures and in the history books.  I’ll close by giving you one of those examples.  In the third century, Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, strongly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being.  After being exiled five times for his beliefs, he was summoned before emperor Theodosius who demanded that he cease his opposition to Arius.  The emperor reproved him and asked, “Do you not realize that all the world is against you?”  Athanasius quickly answered, “Then I am against all the world.”

May we have that kind of tenacity in our obedience to the truths of God’s Word.

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

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LEARN BY DOING – John 7:17-18

Bible sermon, john 7:17-18

INTRODUCTION:

A man in northern Italy was urging the owner of an orchard to accept the truths of the Bible.  “You tell me it’s the Word of God”, said the owner, “but you can’t prove it.”  As they stood admiring the fruit trees, the visitor said, “What fine-looking trees you have.  Too bad they’re of such poor quality.”  “Of poor quality!”, exclaimed the owner.  “Obviously you haven’t tasted them.  Pick one and try it.”  The visitor accepted the invitation, picked a pear from the nearest tree and began to eat it.  “Yes, you’re right”, he said, smacking his lips, “these pears are excellent!”  Then he made his point.  “Sir, you must do the same thing with God’s Word as I have done with your fruit.  Taste and see that it holds the secret of the abundant life.”

I.  THE CHALLENGE (vs. 17)

Here in John 7:17, the Lord Jesus is in the temple.  It’s the Feast of Booths and He is challenging the people to put His teachings to the test.  He has already told them, in verse 16 and many other times in John’s Gospel, that His teachings are not His own, but came from the One who sent Him. Now He says, “If any man is willing to do His will, He shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.”

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, He said the following words in His sermon on the mount:  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)  The one who hungers and thirsts after God will recognize God’s messenger.  In John 7:15, Jesus’ hearers had raised the question of His competence as a teacher.  Here in verse 17, Jesus raises the question of their competence as hearers.  It’s not as if the Lord Jesus is teaching them a new principle.  We find this principle stated, in one form or another, in many places in the Old Testament Scriptures.  Let me give you just a few of them.  Psalm 111:10 says, “A good understanding have all who keep thy commandments.”  Proverbs 1:7 states:  “The fear of the Lord is he beginning of knowledge.”  The word “fear” has the connotation of awe, worship, and obedience.  The apostle Paul found that attitude among the Jews in Berea when He arrived there in Acts 17 and began to teach in the synagogue of the Jews.  Acts 17:11 describes their response:  “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.”  A willing submission to God was the foundation for understanding the Source and the truth of his teachings.  The hymn writer, John Sammis, captures that thought with these words:  “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way!”  Oswald Chambers, in his book entitled “My Utmost For His Highest”, made this observation:  “Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance.  Spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.”

All the Rabbi’s who were standing there listening to Jesus teach, could relate to what Jesus said in verse 17 from many years of their own personal experience.  What Jesus just said is a reflection on their own personal, life-stories.  Each one of them, at some point in his life, wanted to become a rabbi.  Each one completed his required schooling.  Then he chose a particular rabbi that he wanted to be like, went to that rabbi, and asked him if he could be one of his talmidim (disciples).  By making this request, he is telling the rabbi that he wants to be like him, and will gladly do everything the rabbi tells him to do without questioning it.  After a period of questioning and testing, if the rabbi becomes convinced that this young man has the potential of becoming like him, the rabbi will approach him and say to him, “Follow me”.  What he means by those words is:  “Come with me as my disciple and submit to my authority and my teachings.”

After several years of submitting to his rabbi and learning only his teachings, this young man will also become a rabbi who will think, act, and teach just like his teacher.  Therefore, his authority as a rabbi will not be his own, but the authority of the rabbi who discipled him.

Do you see the comparison?  The authority of these rabbis is not their own either.  They are emulating the rabbi who taught them, so their authority comes from their teacher, and these rabbis would be quick to admit it.  Not only that, but their willingness to submit to their rabbi opened the door of opportunity to learn from him.  The challenge that Jesus has just given the crowd in verse 17 runs parallel to the experiences of their religious leaders, and now these rabbis were training disciples of their own.  I believe that the Lord Jesus is not only challenging the crowd to learn by doing as they put His words into practice, but He’s also reminding the leaders that this is the way it has always been done.  Every one of those leaders is living proof of the validity of that principle.  American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, once said:  “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.”

II.  THE PROPER MOTIVATION (verse 18)

Now that Jesus has given them the challenge to do what He suggests, and has told them what will happen if they accept the challenge, He now focuses His attention on motives.  Verse 18 begins with these words spoken by Jesus:  “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory.”  The Lord Jesus is telling them about two different kinds of teachers and this is the first kind and the worst kind.  The teacher who “speaks from himself” is one who speaks by his own authority.  He teaches his own ideas and opinions that are not based upon, nor consistent with the Word of God.  He does not represent God.  On the contrary, he represents himself and “seeks his own glory”.  To such a person, being a teacher is a popularity contest, and his reward is the recognition and praise of others.  His motivation is pride, not humility; and self, not God and God’s Word.  The attitude of these teachers was proof that their teachings were not from God.

Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister of India, once said, “My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people:  those who do the work and those who take the credit.  He told me to try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.”  Based on what we’ve learned so far in this passage of Scripture, that was good advice to his granddaughter!

By contrast to the teachers of the Law, Jesus uses Himself as an example of the second kind of teacher.  He says, “but He who is seeking the glory of the one who has sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”  For him, life is not a popularity contest.  It’s a quest to know and obey the truth.  Such a person is not an impostor.  There is no falsehood nor deception in him.  On the contrary, instead of deception there is transparency.  This is the description of the perfect teacher, the kind of teacher you would want to follow and learn from.  Jesus offered knowledge and a personal relationship in exchange for obedience.

A man named Adam Clarke was an assistant in a dry-goods store, selling silks and satins to a wealthy clientele.  One day his employer suggested to him that he try stretching the silk as he measured it out; this would increase sales and profits and also increase Adam’s value to the company.  Young Clarke straightened up from his work, faced his boss courageously, and said, “Sir, your silk may stretch, but my conscience won’t!”  God honored Adam Clarke by taking him from the dry-goods store and equipping him to write a famous commentary on the books of the Bible.  That commentary bears his name.  God gave Adam wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures in return for his obedience, and his life’s work continues to draw others to a deeper understanding of his Lord and Savior.

CONCLUSION:

Are you willing to do God’s will?  Maybe you’ve shut the door to Him in the past, but now you’re ready to open that door again, find out more about Him, and give Him His rightful place in your life.  Let me share with you a brief and true story of a person who had shut God out of his life but was challenged to re-think his position, and what happened as a result.  Many years ago, a very popular teacher at Yale University expressed atheistic views on some topics of discussion and agnostic views on other topics.  An atheist believes that there is no God, whereas an agnostic believes that it’s impossible to know whether God exists.  During a special series of meetings at the college, a visiting preacher engaged the brilliant professor in conversation.  “Doctor”,  he said, “If the things I have been preaching are true, and if Christ really forgives men who trust in Him, wouldn’t you like to know and experience this reality, since it has brought peace and joy to so many people?”  After a thoughtful pause, the professor answered, “Yes, I believe I would.”  “Well, you can come to a certain knowledge of God if you will be sincere and honest with yourself and with the Lord.  Simply accept the challenge Christ offered in John 17:7, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God.”  “But”, said the learned doctor, “I wouldn’t know where to begin.  I don’t even know if there is such a being as God.”  “Start like this”, said the preacher; pray, ‘O God — if there is such a Being — give me light.  I promise to follow such light wherever it leads.’  Then read from the Gospels and thee Psalms every day with an open mind and a willing heart.  If you do that, professor, you will find God!”  Three years later, that same man of learning stood in the chapel before all the students of Yale and said, “I have long ridiculed preachers and churches, but I have made a discovery that they were in the light, and I was in the dark.  I have put God to the test.  Now I know that Christ is my Savior.  By His grace He shall be my Friend, and I will be His disciple forever!”

If you have any doubts about God, you may want to follow that professor’s example.  God always speaks loud enough in His Word to make the willing heart listen and respond.  Obedience is the one qualification for further insight into God’s Word.

If you are a Christian, here’s a question for you to think about:  Would you be willing to live and work anonymously?  In other words, would you be willing to live your life and do your work in such a way that God always gets the glory; that the focus of attention is on Him, and your joy comes from serving Him and pleasing Him?  Would you be willing to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ in the same way that Jesus was an ambassador of His Father?  That’s a tall order, isn’t it?  It’s certainly not an overnight experience!  Let’s ask our heavenly Father each day to provide us with the desire and the power to move one step closer to the image and example of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED  

Welcome to this completed construction site:  John 7:17-18!  God wants us to be fellow-workers, and the study and application of His Word is part of His life-long building project in our lives.  Let’s willingly and eagerly put our hands to the task!

 

TEACHING WITHOUT A DEGREE – John 7:14-16

John 7:14-16, john 7:14-16 sermon

INTRODUCTION:

Do you have any “post-nominal letters”?  These aren’t letters that you write to one another or receive from one another in the mail.  The words “post-nominal” mean “after a name”.  The Wikipedia online encyclopedia gives the following definition:  Post-nominal letters are letters placed after a person’s name to indicate that that individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, or honor, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity.  Some examples of post-nominal letters used in the field of education are:  BA [Bachelor of Arts], MS [Master of Science], and PhD [Doctor of Philosophy].  There are also “pre-nominal letters” (“before a name”) which are used mainly for a religious title or military rank.

What does this information have to do with the passage of Scripture we are now studying – John 7:14-16?  There were no scholastic degrees given in New Testament times!  True, but there were requirements to be met, especially for teachers of the Law of Moses in Judaism.  Learning those requirements is important for our understanding of these three verses of Scripture in John, Chapter 7.  Let’s take a good look at this passage of Scripture and you will soon see what I mean.

I.  THE SETTING:

In the previous passage of Scripture, John 7:10-13, we learned that Jesus went to the feast secretly in order to find out what people were saying about Him.  For several days He moved about and overheard many muffled conversations about Him.  Jesus learned what He wanted to learn.  There were many among the crowds of people who thought well of Him.  They were impressed with His character, and attracted by His personality and genuine concern for people.   It was now time for Him to come out of hiding.

II.  JESUS’ APPEARANCE IN THE TEMPLE (John 7:14)

Verse 14 says, “But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach.”  It was the middle of the feast – the fourth day, and many Bible scholars believe that it was also the Sabbath day; so the crowd would be larger than at any other time during the feast.  Many of these worshipers would also be assembled in or near the temple.  Jesus enters the temple unrecognized.  By this time the people were no longer looking for Him and didn’t expect Him to be there.  Then the news starts spreading quickly around the temple area and throughout the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus was in the court of the temple and was boldly teaching God’s Word.  People were flocking to the temple to listen to Him.  The words, “began to teach” are in the imperfect tense in the Greek, indicating that Jesus was teaching formally and continuously.  By so doing, He was winning the hearts of the people by His teaching before the Jewish leaders could put a stop to it.  His listeners were awed by His teaching. This may have been the first time that Jesus taught in the temple. but it won’t be the last time He does so.  Before His arrest, Jesus said, in Matthew 26:55, “Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.”

II.  AMAZEMENT AND CONFUSION (verse 15)

In verse 15, the apostle John focuses our attention upon the Jewish leaders.  They have arrived at the scene and are standing together at a distance, watching and listening.  What they see is a man dressed in a peasant’s robe, a lowly carpenter from Nazareth, of all places.  But they hear Him teaching the Scriptures from memory, with skill, with ease, and with authority.  The Lord Jesus was expounding the Old Testament Scriptures clearly and convincingly.  John tells us the words that are coming out of their mouths in their amazement:  “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” 

This was not the first time the leaders of the Jews stared and listened in wide-eyed amazement.  Twenty years earlier a group of elders in that same temple had similar looks on their faces and responded in the same manner, as a twelve-year-old boy sat in their midst.  Luke 2:46-47 describes that scene:

“And it came about that after three days they found Him [Jesus] in the
temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them,
and asking them questions.  And all who heard Him were amazed at
His understanding and His answers.”

A few of those teachers may still have been alive and standing among the leaders in John 7:15.  We aren’t given that information.  But if there were any of those teachers in this audience, apparently they didn’t put those two events together and realize that they were looking at the same Person.  In both those instances, they were standing in awe of the One whom they chose to reject as their Messiah.

Without realizing it, they have just paid Jesus a compliment when they said, “How can this man be learned”.  They weren’t saying that Jesus was illiterate, but were wondering about the source of this knowledge and wisdom.  As they listened to Jesus, they had to admit that He was an excellent teacher because His knowledge of the Scriptures, and His ability to interpret the Scriptures, excelled their own!  Jesus had all the qualifications of a rabbi; He just didn’t obtain those credentials in the usual way.  What was the usual way?

At that point in human history the proper way, and the only way to become a teacher of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings was to go to rabbinical school.   At home and in the synagogue, Hebrew children learned the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament Scriptures).  They read it, wrote it, and memorized large portions of it.  By the age of 12 the young men were ready to pursue their careers (usually the family business or trade).  The best students continued their studies in secondary school, called “beth midrash”, which was usually in the synagogue, where they studied the Prophets and the Writings.  They also learned the interpretations of the Law.  The very best of these students could seek to become the disciples of a rabbi so that they might become rabbis themselves after the training.  The goal was to become like their teacher.  These disciples did not teach their own interpretations of Scripture.  They taught their rabbi’s interpretations.  New Testament scholar, William Barclay, described the practice with these words:  “No rabbi ever made a statement on his own authority.  He always began:  ‘There is a teaching that . . . “.  He then went on to cite quotations and authorities for every statement he made.”

That’s the background to their question as they watch and listen to Jesus teach the Scriptures.  It doesn’t make sense to them that Jesus can interpret the Scriptures on His own authority without the benefit of having all their years of study and training.  The perception that their teachings were “secondhand”, and His were “firsthand” must have enraged them.

III.  JESUS’ SOURCE OF AUTHORITY (verse 16)

The Lord Jesus overheard their conversation, or knew what they were saying to one another, because He proceeds to answer their question concerning the source of His authority.  I would have expected Jesus to say something like the following:  “I don’t need any authority other than Myself because I’m God.  I don’t need a teacher because I’m self-taught.”  However, that’s not His reply to them.  Rather than place the focus of attention on Himself, Jesus focuses the attention upon His teachings and His Teacher.  Verse 16 says, “Jesus therefore answered them, and said, ‘My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.’ “  I was taught, “Whenever you see a ‘therefore’, find out what it’s there for”.  The apostle John uses that word to indicate that Jesus is going to be correcting their words and their thinking.  He didn’t want them to come to the conclusion that He came up with those teachings on His own.  Rather, He is telling them that He has a Teacher, and those teachings come from Him.  The One who sent Him, the One He’s been telling them about, is His Teacher.  In a similar manner to their method of teaching, Jesus teaches only what the Father Who sent Him has imparted to Him.  So He’s saying, “My teachings are not original.  God has sent Me, taught Me, and commissioned Me to say what I have been saying.”  You might say that the Father who sent Him is the Author of His words and holds the copyright to them, whereas Jesus is the publisher – the One who proclaims them.

It’s not only His teachings that are under the authority of His Father.  His miracles, His schedule, His whole life is under the authority of His heavenly Father.  This realization has given me a new perspective on the Roman centurion’s words to Jesus in Matthew 8:5-9.  Here is that conversation:

And when He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him
entreating Him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home,
suffering great pain.  And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
But the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to
come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say
to this one ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and I say
to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”  Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled.

I used to think that the centurion was saying that he was a man “with authority” but that’s not what the Scripture says.  He describes himself as being “under authority”.  He knows that Jesus has described Himself as being under the authority of His heavenly Father, and he’s telling Jesus that he is under authority also.  He was able to give orders and have them obeyed.  His soldiers obeyed his orders because they knew where his authority came from.  It was delegated to him by the tribunes, who received their authority from the two consuls, who were appointed by the emperor himself. Being “under authority” gave him authority (delegated authority).  By disobeying him, they were disobeying the emperor, and there would be serious consequences after it was reported.  Do you see how this applies to Jesus?  He was also under authority, the authority of His heavenly Father, and there is no higher authority!  His training and His teachings were superior to theirs, and they knew it.  Yet Jesus was humble, and this surprised them.  Humility was not a typical characteristic of the rabbis of His day.  Jesus said of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:6-7:  “They love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi.”  The title “Rabbi” comes from a Hebrew word which means “great”, “great one”, “master”.  Jesus allowed people to call Him by that title because He alone fit the description.  He goes on to say to His disciples in verse 8, “But do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.”

Seventeen hundred years later, there is another story about true greatness.  In 1717, King Louis XIV, who preferred to be called Louis the Great, died.  His court was the most magnificent in all of Europe, and his funeral was the most spectacular.  In the church where the ceremony was performed, his body lay in a golden coffin.  To dramatize his greatness, orders had been given that the cathedral would be very dimly lit, with only one special candle that was to be set above the coffin.  The thousands of people waited in silence.  Then Bishop Massillon began to speak.  Slowly reaching down, he snuffed out the candle and said, “Only God is great.”

How true and appropriate were the words and actions of Bishop Massillon.  Only God is truly great and worthy of adoration.

CONCLUSION:

The study of these three verses of Scripture, John 7:14-16, has been a lesson in pride and humility.  Have you ever said something, out of jealousy or envy, that you wish you hadn’t said, or done something that you wish you hadn’t done?  Former president Ronald Reagan shared the following experience from his own life:

Ronald Reagan, recalling an occasion when he was governor of California
and made a speech in Mexico City:  “After I had finished speaking, I sat down
to rather unenthusiastic applause, and I was a little embarrassed.  The speaker
who followed me spoke in Spanish — which I didn’t understand — and he was 
being applauded about every paragraph.  To hide my embarrassment, I started
clapping before everyone else and longer than everyone else until our ambassador leaned over and said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
He’s interpreting your speech.”
(quoted by Gerald Gardner in “All the Presidents’ Men”)

How embarrassing!  The ambassador saved him from even further embarrassment!  Like that ambassador, Jesus is doing these Jews a favor.  He answered their question before they could say it out loud to the crowd and then wish they had never said it.  He stopped the course of their jealous thinking and mumbling before it got out of hand, thus saving them from embarrassment.

Mr. Reagan would have been quick to admit that his actions were motivated by envy and jealousy, which are both manifestations of pride.  He felt he deserved a better response from the crowd because of the position of authority he held as governor of California, and because of the content of his speech.  How do you and I handle authority?  Some of us may have credentials before our names or after our names.  We’ve worked hard to earn those credentials and they give us a degree of authority.

Are you and I under authority?  Do we live life the way we please or are we subject to authority?  If you were pulled over by a police officer for speeding, and you said, “You can’t do that to me; I’m under my own authority!”  Whose authority is going to prevail in that situation?  That police officer’s authority was delegated by the city, which received that authority from the state.  I’d want to show some respect and obedience to that authority!  Only Monopoly games have get-out-of-jail-free cards!

Our credentials, no matter how many of them we may possess, do not give us the authority to enter the kingdom of heaven.  That’s not something we can merit, nor is it something we have a right to possess.  No human credentials can give us that authority or earn us that right.  It’s God’s heaven and we have to enter it God’s way.  The only acceptable entrance requirements include humbly acknowledging our own sinfulness (Romans 3:23), repenting of our sins, believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (Mark. 1:15) who paid the price that our sins deserved (I Peter 2:24), and placing ourselves under His authority by following Him and obeying Him (Ephesians 2:8-10).  Are you ready and willing to place yourself under His authority?

If you are a Christian, having already made that commitment, can you honestly and humbly say that God’s Word, the Bible, is the final authority in your life?  Do you believe and teach nothing that is contrary to the Word of God?  Is the authority that the Lord Jesus Christ possesses in your life, and the love you have for Him, evidenced by the place that God’s Word holds in your life, and your wholeheartedness in loving and serving Him and others?

May you experience the fullness of following Him as His beloved children.

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

Thank you for visiting and reading this sermon on John 7:14-16.  I hope this passage of Scripture has been an encouragement to you today.