John 7:45-52

Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 7.

John 7 · chapter mention

!

And in the development of that purpose, John over and over again juxtaposes people who receive Jesus and people who reject Jesus.

The last time we studied John together, we saw the record of Jesus standing up at the Feast of Booths and declaring,

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

That's verse 37.

With some following comments concerning the coming of the Spirit.

And these words caused quite a stir.

We find some people in chapter 7 contemplating who Jesus is.

Others seem to believe that he is the Christ and some want him arrested.

Verse 43 says,

So there was a division among the people over him.

More than 2,000 years later, the world is still divided over who Jesus is.

Now I have a very short quotation from John MacArthur's commentary on this, which is in my notes.

But I brought a copy up here because some weeks ago I had a very dilapidated, falling apart copy that I read from.

And just as a little note, I said, I need a new one of these.

If anyone wants to get me a gift.

And I didn't really mean it seriously.

But I have since received two of them.

One came anonymously.

One was handed to me.

And I just wanted to hold it up and note before I read this brief, brief quotation.

Not just in this case, but I just wanted you all to know how very heard and loved I feel by you as a church.

Story after story I hear of pastors who preach to folded arms and sneering faces,

feel extraordinarily alone in the task that they have.

And I just feel the opposite of that.

In fact, I sometimes feel bad hanging out with pastors because I can't commiserate with them.

And I don't tell them how great you guys are because I don't want them to be discontent in the place that they are.

But thank you for loving me so very much.

I really, really appreciate it.

So, again, this issue is still at hand.

And John MacArthur says this.

The ultimate question that everyone must eventually face.

The most crucial issue determining one's eternal destiny is,

what shall I do with Jesus Christ?

His claims about himself are far too audacious to just ignore.

You must do something with him.

You must either reject him or I hope you will receive him.

How do you respond to the declaration of Jesus?

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Do you recognize that your soul is thirsty and it will never find the satisfaction it seeks in anything this world may have to offer you?

If you do, come to Jesus.

He is the source of living water.

Before I read our text beginning in verse 45, join me in a prayer.

Father, we are grateful for your word for these verses before us and this time we have to consider them.

And we ask humbly that you would bless our time together.

We want to behold Christ in this text.

We want to see him rightly.

If we've already placed saving faith in him, I pray that you'd give us a fresh picture of Jesus.

And if we have yet to do so, I pray that you would work that miracle in hearts this morning.

We pray this in his name.

Amen.

John 7, beginning in verse 45.

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them,

Why did you not bring him?

The officers answered, No one ever spoke like this man.

The Pharisees answered them, Have you also been deceived?

Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?

But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.

Nicodemus, who had gone to him before and who was one of them, said to them,

Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?

They replied, Are you from Galilee too?

Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.

Now this portion of John's gospel has, surprise, a literary structure,

which you ought to be familiar with by now.

It's called a chiasm.

If that's a new word to you, please talk to me about it afterwards.

I'd love to tell you about chiasms.

This structure is a bit harder to discern.

It has been, in other portions of the book, much easier to see.

But it is there, and it places at the center of this literary structure the question,

Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?

It's the helpful interpretive lens we can pick up from that structure.

The Pharisees asked the question,

What have any of us done with Jesus Christ?

You're considering the words of this man?

Well, none of us have believed in him.

They use it as a rhetorical tool to convince the officers that they should have arrested Jesus Christ.

Now my friends, little friends mostly in our church who are learning their logical fallacies,

will know that an appeal to authority, especially your own authority,

when making an argument is shaky ground at best.

And that's what they're doing here.

It's this question,

Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him,

that's at the center of this text,

that frames for us the opening and the ending of it.

Note it with me in the following simple outline.

Number one, powerful words.

Number two, prideful unbelief.

And number three, really, really tried to alliterate number three,

so if you'll hear my emphasis,

appropriate consideration.

Powerful words, prideful unbelief,

appropriate consideration.

Number one, powerful words,

verses 45 and 46.

So the officers come to the chief priests.

They're returning to the chief priests and the Pharisees,

and they say,

Why did you not bring him?

Back in verse 32 of chapter 7,

we can see the Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him,

and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers.

So in verse 45,

we're seeing the return of those officers sent,

recorded in verse 32,

for a purpose,

to arrest him.

That's what they were sent to do.

Now, these officers would have been Levites.

They would have been religiously trained

and selected to serve as a sort of temple police.

So these are Levite men going to arrest Jesus,

and yet they return without arresting him.

And you can get this rejection narrative

if we back up even further into John chapter 5 and verse 18.

John 5 · chapter mention

Why have they sent the officers to arrest him?

He's back in town at a previous visit.

He said some massive things about himself.

He did some healing on the Sabbath.

And chapter 5 verse 18 says,

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him,

because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,

but he was even calling God his own Father,

making himself equal with God.

So that's what's going on here.

This is the intent of this arrest.

To seize him, to bring him,

and to have him put to death.

From our text last time we were in John chapter 7 verse 44,

John 7:44

some of them wanted to arrest him,

but no one laid hands on him.

We've talked extensively about God's timeline here

and it being obeyed really by everybody in Providence.

And so it's not yet been time for him to be arrested.

And so these officers return and the question is asked,

Why did you not bring him?

And their answer, verse 46, is,

No one ever spoke like this man.

Powerful words.

What has he said in between their being sent in verse 32

and their return in verse 45?

You can see in verse 33 and 34,

he says,

I will be with you a little longer,

and then I am going to him who sent me.

Remember previously he's made claims about God being his Father.

Father, you will seek me and you will not find me where I am.

You cannot come.

And then in verse 37 we see,

On the last day of the feast, the great day,

the feast of booths,

Jesus stood up and cried out,

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said,

out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

So these are the things that Jesus has said,

these officers have heard,

and they report back,

No one ever spoke like this man.

I'm not entirely sure what is happening in the minds of these officers,

what's perhaps stirring in their hearts.

But it would seem that they,

religiously trained men,

are just unsure at this point what they are to do with him.

The question hangs for them.

His words to them are strange.

He is declaring to be God.

He is offering to eternally satisfy souls.

These officers, as far as we can tell,

do not accept him as the Christ,

but they also do not arrest him.

Once again, MacArthur, he says,

caught between the power and grace of his message

and the hatred of their leaders,

they were paralyzed into inactivity.

Just didn't do the task they were sent to do.

Oh, I hope these men,

as we find them considering the words of Jesus,

eventually placed their faith in him.

We don't know.

But neutrality concerning the claims of Christ,

will not stand forever.

His words are too emphatic to ignore.

One day, every knee will bow before Christ.

So there's powerful words in the text.

Secondly, there is prideful unbelief.

Verse 47, 48, and 49,

and then picked back up again at the end of the text,

in verse 52.

The Pharisees answered them.

No one ever spoke like this man.

They say,

Have you also been deceived?

Notice that the officers are not in trouble

because they failed to complete the task

they were sent for.

They're not being derided

because they didn't do the thing

they were commanded to do,

but because of a concern

that they were being led astray.

The religious elite in Jesus' day

thrived by leveraging spiritual power.

They claimed exclusive understanding

of the demands of God's law.

They added all kinds of tradition

to it, interpretive tradition.

Grossly misled by the law,

and they wielded it to their advantage.

People starting to think

that maybe Jesus was the Christ

caused a genuine fear in them

that their power was going to go away.

This is their concern all along.

This is why Jesus must be put to death.

Lest he raise up a rebellion

and Rome comes in and squashes

and takes the power away.

A tiny aside for a moment at this point.

Sadly and all too often,

this type of spiritual abuse

still happens in our day.

Christian teaching

that appeals to some measure

of elite knowledge or interpretation

has no place in churches

established by and in the word of God.

Beloved, be really cautious

when teachers teach outside of the Bible.

When they act as if

they go up onto the mountain

and meet with God in a cloud

and bring a new word down.

Faithful Christian leadership

equips the saints

for the work of ministry.

Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And it does not claim

to have a corner on the truth.

Yesterday morning,

this is still part of my side,

we had one of our men's morning meetings

and we talked about biblical finances.

And I was trying to come up with a way

to spend two hours talking about this

and not just be me droning

on and on and on,

which I'm sure would not have been enjoyable.

And so I just thought,

you know,

I've got,

I had eight principles,

eight biblical principles,

and I thought,

I'm just going to float the principle

and then set our guys to the task

of proving it

or disproving it,

if I was wrong,

from the Bible.

And I was so encouraged

by these 22-ish men

who were there

who all had something.

I mean,

just,

I mean,

right to the Bible

every single time.

And I don't mean this

as a boast on myself,

but I'm just glad

to be part of a church

of people who hold the Scripture

as the Scripture

and aren't looking

for some mountaintop experience

for somebody

who gives leadership

to it.

Okay,

so,

they're

abusing their power,

they're claiming

to have a corner

on the truth,

that's the concern here.

Have you also been

deceived?

And then they ask

this central question,

have any of the authorities

or the Pharisees

believed in him?

This is not a genuine question.

They're not actually asking,

do you know

this has happened

in any case?

What they're doing

is they're saying,

what's wrong with you guys?

None of us

have believed in him.

I hope that you can feel

the dripping pride here

on their part.

How dare you entertain

the idea

that he's unique

in the way that he speaks?

None of us

have received him

as the Christ.

If we,

the experts,

aren't buying

what Jesus is selling,

why should

you?

Now,

these men

knew

their Bibles.

It is at this point

that I

tremble

most.

it is altogether

possible to be

familiar with

the truth

and not believe it.

To have all

the right answers,

to be able to

recite them,

spit them back

at the ready,

and yet not

have saving

faith

in those

answers.

you can know

the truth

and not hold

the truth

savingly.

Jesus said

to the religious

elites in John

John 5:39

chapter 5,

verse 39 and 40,

you search the

scriptures

because you

think that

in them

you have

eternal

life.

Aren't there

so many in our

day that would

commend that?

Searching the

scriptures,

what a task.

Yes,

search the

scriptures.

We ought to be

biblically

literate

people

because you

think that

in them

you have

eternal

life.

That they

themselves

are the

source of

eternal

life.

And it

is they,

he goes on,

that bear

witness

about me.

Yet you

refuse to

come to me

that you

may have

life.

Jesus is

not here

devaluing

the Bible

and neither

am I.

It is

God's word.

It is

powerful.

It is taken

up by the

spirit and

used in our

lives to

bring about

regeneration,

sanctification,

our one

day,

glorification.

It is a

powerful tool

but it's

powerful because

it speaks

the message

to us.

It takes

us to

Jesus,

to him,

himself.

They

failed to

see him

in their

knowledge.

They

had become

so puffed

up with

their

understanding

and their

positions

that they

could not,

they were

not even

willing to

entertain the

thought that

Jesus

might be

the

Christ.

They

didn't

skip a

beat.

They

didn't

stop for

a moment

to consider

if he

was in

fact who

he claimed

to be.

Well,

at least

most of

them,

most of

them,

as we'll

see in a

moment.

But before

we do,

note their

disdain for

the ordinary

people's

prideful,

prideful

unbelief.

they say

verse 48,

my summary,

none of

us have

believed in

him,

but this

crowd,

verse 49,

that does

not know

the law

is accursed.

So

spiritually

superior.

We know

the law

and haven't

believed in

him,

so they

must not

know the

law and

therefore

are accursed.

thirst.

You see,

they had

no

recognition

of their

spiritual

thirst.

To be

sure,

their souls

are not

satisfied.

They think

they're

finding it

in this

knowledge,

this position,

this power

that they

held,

but they

are in

fact

spiritually

thirsty.

You know,

most of us

are likely

dehydrated

all the

time.

Very few

of us

probably drink

as much

water as

we possibly

could drink

in a day.

Maybe,

some of you

ladies,

because you've

always got

your water

with you,

are getting

your water

in.

We're often

at varying

degrees of

understanding

of how

really thirsty

we are

physically.

Our

spiritual

thirst will

never be

met

apart from

Christ.

And you

may or

may not

be entirely

aware

of the

longing that

you have

in your

life for

something

more.

It's not

about things

in this

world.

It's not

about

relationships.

It's

about the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

The dryness

of your

soul will

find a

satisfaction

in him.

And they

have no

concern at

all.

This crowd

that does

not know

the law,

prideful,

prideful

unbelief.

May we

not be

counted

amongst

these men.

men.

But notice

thirdly,

the

appropriate

consideration.

Appropriate

consideration.

Jesus has

spoken words

of power.

They ought

to be

considered.

We see a

man do

this

considering.

Verse 50

and 51.

Nicodemus.

Nicodemus,

who had

gone to

him before

and who

was one

of them,

one of

this

council,

said to

them,

yes,

this is

the

Nicodemus

of John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

John

wants us

to be

sure that

we don't

miss that

fact with

this phrase,

Nicodemus,

who had

gone to

him before.

He means

for us to

note this.

Oh,

oh,

the one

who had

gone to

him before,

that

Nicodemus?

Yes,

that one,

who had

gone to

Jesus in

secret at

night because

he was

curious.

You may

remember,

he says

to him,

nobody does

these kinds

of things or

speaks this

way if

they're not

from God.

Jesus says

some interesting

things to

him about

being born

again that

Nicodemus doesn't

seem to

understand.

And then he

goes on.

It's to

Nicodemus that

Jesus says,

John 3.

16.

For God so

loved the

world,

that he

gave his

only son,

that whoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

eternal

life.

A lot of

other wonderful,

clear gospel

expressions in

that chapter.

However,

chapter 3

doesn't record

what Nicodemus

does after

this encounter

with Jesus.

John's narrative

just kind of

rushes off

to what's

going on

with John

the Baptist

at the

time.

And Nicodemus

passes from

the page

until chapter

7.

The very

same

Nicodemus,

a leader

amongst

the Jews.

I'm led to

believe,

because of what

happens here,

that he has

been,

from chapter

3 until

now,

however much

time has

gone by,

quietly

considering

what Jesus

said to

him.

He's

mulling it

over.

He's

giving it

appropriate

consideration.

He seems,

as we see

him here in

chapter 7,

to still

be doing

so.

He's in

that process

even now.

He brings

up this

question.

He says

to them,

verse 51,

does our

law judge

a man

without first

giving him

a hearing

and learning

what he

does?

We don't

see Nicodemus

openly defending

Jesus' deity

at this point.

He does not

make the case,

oh, but he

is the

Christ.

What might

be stirring

in his

heart,

exactly,

we don't

know.

But he

does raise

a telling

procedural

point.

His

companions

stated that

the crowd

doesn't know

the law

and they

are breaking

it

themselves.

Notice

that?

The accusation

they make

of the

crowd,

right?

They're

ignorant

of the

law,

they're

accursed,

and then

he brings

the law

to bear.

You're

breaking

the law,

is what

he says

to them.

Doesn't

our law

say,

is what

he says

to them.

He's

indicting

them as

men who

do not

practice

the law,

and he

is expressing

that he

is open

to Jesus'

claims.

Isn't it

proper that

we should

give him

a hearing

before we

judge him?

We should

think about

what it

is that

he's

saying.

Why not

hear him

out?

Nicodemus

asks.

So what

becomes of

him?

This is

all we

see here

in chapter

seven.

The man

who first

comes in

secret at

night,

then procedurally

defends Jesus

amongst the

religious leaders.

I am so

grateful that

we know.

Do you

know what

happens in

Nicodemus?

John records

for us in

chapter 19

and verse

39.

After

Jesus'

crucifixion

and before

his

resurrection,

verse 39

says,

Nicodemus

also,

who earlier

had come to

Jesus by

night.

John's doing

there.

That same

one is what

he's saying.

Remember that

one that

came in

secret?

Who earlier

had come to

Jesus by

night,

came bringing

a mixture

of myrrh

and aloes

about 75

pounds in

weight.

So he

brings the

embalming

spices when

Jesus is taken

down off the

cross.

And there's

this little

detail.

why the

detail,

John?

Why are we

talking about

75 pounds

of spices?

It's because

John means to

tell us that

he would not

have done this

by himself.

This is no

longer being

done in

secret.

This is Jesus

being taken

down off the

cross.

This is

Nicodemus,

a man of

stature,

coming with

servants in

the daytime.

a whole

parade of

people coming

to carry

this,

that Jesus

may be laid

to rest

in the

tomb.

It's

phenomenal.

Nicodemus

grew in

grace.

We get to

see that.

John chapter

John 3 · chapter mention

3 through

John chapter

John 19 · chapter mention

19.

One of the

ones in the

text that

receives

Jesus.

Now,

certainly there

was a point

of his

conversion.

John doesn't

record that

for us.

A point that

he was

spiritually dead

and then

became

spiritually

alive.

In your

bulletin,

the historic

quote today

says,

from Thomas

Watson,

to every

believer,

the debt

book is

crossed out.

The black

lines of

sin are

crossed out

in the

red lines

of Christ's

blood.

There's a

point at

which that

happens.

You are

unforgiven

and now

you are

forgiven.

But I

think more

often than

not,

people are

drawn to

Christ in

a process.

I think

that Nicodemus'

story ought

to encourage

many of

us who

didn't find

ourselves in

some squalor

of sin,

some sin

that the

world might

measure as

great,

and then we

suddenly snapped

and all of a

sudden our

life was

dramatically

different after

the fact,

but bit

by bit,

degree by

degree,

here we

have a

man who

was trained

in the

Bible,

who from

everybody's

perspective was

upright,

who was doing

everything that

should be done

to please

God,

and he's

made curious

about these

claims of

Jesus,

and he

approaches

him first

shamefully,

and then he's

willing to stand

up for him a

bit amongst

his companions,

and then

finally a bold

proclamation that

he's a follower

of Jesus at

his death.

Now the

response to

Nicodemus takes

us back to the

second point.

If you were

listening carefully,

you may have

noted there I

said verse 52,

and I didn't say

anything about it.

Well, here we

are now in the

text.

prideful

unbelief.

They are brutal

in their response

to Nicodemus.

Don't miss

what's going on

here.

I try to read

it with some

measure of

tone, but I

don't want to

be an actor,

so I have to

dial down the

way they

probably sounded.

They replied,

are you from

Galilee too?

Search and see

that no prophet

arises from

Galilee.

This is

mockery.

They're saying,

are you defending

him because you

are also from

the sticks?

You're from the

country?

You're a bumpkin

out there?

For some reason

you see the need

to take up for

him?

They know that

Nicodemus isn't

from Galilee.

They're very aware

of this.

And then notice

they say,

search and see.

No prophet

arises from

Galilee.

Again, these

are the religious

elite.

These are the

men who knew

their Bibles.

What's really

interesting at this

point is that

there is a

prophet that

arises from

Galilee.

Jonah undoubtedly

arises from

Galilee.

If they're

appealing to

their authority

in this text,

at this point

everybody ought

to go,

ah, you

don't have a

clue what

you're talking

about.

Yeah.

If we search

and see the

scriptures,

there is a

prophet who

arises from

Galilee.

And some

scholars, there's

a pretty good

case to be

made that

also Nahum

and Hosea

and there's

some other

possibilities as

well.

but we

know factually

Jonah.

Jonah was

from Galilee.

They have no

idea what

they're talking

about.

They have

used the

Bible to

build platforms

for themselves.

They are not

seeking to

please the

Lord.

They accuse

Nicodemus of

being ignorant

of his Bible.

Instead,

their ignorance

is exposed.

This is a

tactic of

the

deconstructionists

of our

day.

Those who

would have

people who

once professed

to be

Christians no

longer be

Christians.

With great

confidence,

they make

outlandish

claims about

the Bible

and people

just eat it

up.

You've

probably heard

people make

these kinds

of claims.

Say things

that are just

false about

the Scripture,

but they say

it with such

confidence,

no one wants

to do the

work to

actually go

and see.

Is that

something that

the Bible

actually says?

It's

happening all

the time.

Beloved,

we need to

confirm and

defend the

Scriptures.

We need the

people who

say, no,

that's not at

all what's

happening in

this grand

narrative of

God's redemptive

work for

his people.

Yes, our

God is full

of wrath,

but he's

also full

of mercy.

There's a

popular

pastor who

has suggested

in our

gospel

presentations

that we

unhitch the

gospel from

the Old

Testament.

Unwilling to

do the work

of helping

his people

understand the

Old Testament,

he says,

let's just do

away with it

so that people

can't object

any longer

in this way.

Confirm

and defend

the Scriptures

for they

express to

us our

God.

We want to

know him

by the book

that he

wrote

and share

him with

others.

So confirm

and defend

the Scriptures

for the glory

of our God

and for

the good

of people.

Powerful

words,

prideful

unbelief,

appropriate

consideration.

I'm going to

pray for us,

but before I

do,

I just want

to make a

note.

I don't

know how

many of you

are paying

attention to

our preaching

schedule.

We're off

of it on

the dates.

We'll have

to republish

that document.

But if you

look at your

text,

you may

notice

some notes,

some double

bracketing

around chapter

7,

verse 53

through chapter

8 and

verse 11.

And the

preaching schedule

says that I'm

going to preach

that text,

but guess

what?

I'm not.

What we are

going to do

is we're going

to talk about

textual

criticism.

Why it is

that there's

double brackets

around this

text and

why I don't

believe it

belongs in

the text

at all.

Why?

Because we

want to

confirm and

defend the

scriptures for

the glory of

our God and

for the good

of people.

So that's

what we're

going to

spend our

time doing

next week.

So we'll

kind of be

in John

John 7:53

chapter 7

verse 53

through chapter

8 and

verse 11.

How did we

get our

Bible?

Why can we

be confident

it is in

fact God's

word when we

have little

issues like

this found

here?

Let's pray.