John 7:10-29

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

John 7 · chapter mention

While you're getting there, I'd like to do two things.

First, I want to encourage attentive listening by pointing something out to you.

When TJ was praying, he prayed for the elderly in our church.

And then did you hear how he defined elderly?

He said, older than us.

And I think if you're being a careful listener, you're going to quickly go,

what is the median age in this congregation?

So this morning, TJ called me elderly.

And I don't know how I feel about that.

I'll own it, I suppose.

Second thing I want to do is I just want to take a moment.

I don't know how regularly you might do this.

I know I don't enough.

But take a moment to pause and consider how very privileged we are

to gather together as a church on Sunday morning

to see and sing and hear, open up God's Word.

What a blessing it is.

What do you think you might be doing otherwise this morning

if it weren't for God's grace in your life?

I wouldn't be doing this.

One of the greatest high points of my week,

I'd be off flitting away time doing something meaningless

instead of gathering with you.

It's also such a privilege that I get to open God's Word to you,

this abundant Word that we have,

and take the time during the week to study it

and present it to you on a Sunday morning.

So I'm glad to be here.

I'm glad that we can open up God's Word together.

I hope you feel the very same.

Our text for today is John 7, verses 10-29.

John 7:10–29

Once again, if this bothers you

because the subtitles in your Bible are not following this,

this is following the chiastic structure of this text.

We won't spend much of any time on that this morning,

but I just want you to understand

there's a reason that we're preaching 10-29.

I mentioned briefly last week

that John continually juxtaposes

those who reject Jesus as the Christ

and those who receive Jesus as the Christ,

and that this thematic element

carries all throughout the book,

and it is established at the outset of John's writing.

He wants us to take it up,

and he wants us to see,

look, there's two groups of people being presented here, right?

Those who reject, those who receive,

and it is his hope that we will receive.

At the outset, the theme is established.

John 1, verse 9 and following.

John 1:9

The true light, which gives light to everyone,

was coming into the world.

He was in the world,

and the world was made through him,

yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own,

and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.

Now then, chapter 7 places us

in the middle of a growing crisis

in Jesus' ministry.

The crowds are confused.

The authorities are hostile.

The religious leaders are threatened.

The question driving this passage

is not whether Jesus is impressive,

but whether he has authority,

and more specifically,

where that authority comes from.

This text confronts us

with a sobering reality.

You can be surrounded by truth,

impressed by Jesus,

and still not know God.

May we all receive Jesus as the Christ

as we study together this morning.

Let me pray to that very end.

Father, help us as we take up your word,

as we open it together this morning.

We want to rightly understand it.

We want to glean from it

what can be gathered.

Lord, we humbly recognize

that we need your help

to do this very thing.

Help us to believe its promises,

obey its commands,

have affection for its author.

Help us to believe

that Jesus is in fact the Christ.

And we pray to this end

for his glory.

Amen.

John chapter 7, verses 10 through 21.

John 7:10–21

I'm going to begin reading

in verse 1 though,

just for some context.

I think it will help us

make some sense

of what's going to happen after.

John chapter 7,

John 7 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1.

After this,

Jesus went about in Galilee.

He would not go about in Judea

because the Jews

were seeking to kill him.

Now the Jews' feast of booths

was at hand.

So his brothers said to him,

Leave here and go to Judea

that your disciples

also may see the works

you are doing.

For no one works in secret

if he seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things,

show yourself to the world.

For not even his brothers

believed in him.

Jesus said to them,

My time has not yet come,

but your time is always here.

The world cannot hate you,

but it hates me

because I testify about it

that its works are evil.

You go up to the feast.

I am not going up to this feast,

for my time has not yet fully come.

After this,

he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers

had gone up to the feast,

then he also went up,

not publicly,

but in private.

The Jews were looking for him

at the feast and saying,

Where is he?

And there was much muttering

about him among the people.

While some said,

He is a good man,

others said,

No, he is leading

the people astray.

Yet for fear of the Jews,

no one spoke openly of him.

About the middle of the feast,

Jesus went up into the temple

and began teaching.

The Jews therefore marveled,

saying,

How is it that this man

has learning

when he has never studied?

So Jesus answered them,

My teaching is not mine,

but his who sent me.

If anyone's will

is to do God's will,

he will know

whether the teaching

is from God

or whether I am speaking

on my own authority.

The one who speaks

on his own authority

seeks his own glory.

But the one who seeks

the glory of him

who sent him

is true,

and in him

there is no falsehood.

Has not Moses

given you the law?

Yet none of you

keeps the law.

Why do you seek

to kill me?

The crowd answered,

You have a demon.

Who is seeking

to kill you?

Jesus answered them,

I did one work

and you all

marvel at it.

Moses gave you

circumcision,

not that it is

from Moses

but from the fathers,

and you circumcise

a man on the Sabbath.

If on the Sabbath

a man receives circumcision

so that the law

of Moses

may not be broken,

are you angry with me

because on the Sabbath

I made a man's

whole body well?

Do not judge

by appearances

but judge

with right judgment.

Some of the people

of Jerusalem

therefore said,

Is not this the man

whom they seek

to kill?

And here he is

speaking openly

and they say

nothing to him.

Can it be that

the authorities

really know

that this is the Christ?

But we know

where this man

comes from

and when the Christ

appears

no one will know

where he comes from.

So Jesus proclaimed

as he taught

in the temple.

You know me

and you know

where I come from

but I have not come

of my own accord.

He who sent me

is true

and him

you do not know.

I know him

for I come from him

and he sent me.

Alright,

let's first look

a little bit

at the context.

Feast and fear

verses 10 through 13.

Verse 10 says,

But after his brothers

had gone up

to the feast

then he also went up

not publicly

but in private.

Recall,

Jesus did not

delay his departure

because he was afraid

but because he was

awaiting

the Father's sending.

His timing

and his manner

are all about

the divine timeline.

We developed that

some last week.

Next week,

Lord willing,

we will spend

some extended time

discussing the details

of the week.

This long feast

of booze

or tabernacles

as those details

will have bearing

on our understanding

of the text.

For today,

it is enough to know

that this was one

of Israel's

great pilgrimage feasts.

!

It celebrated

God's provision

in the wilderness

after the Exodus

and it anticipated

future restoration.

resurrection.

Jesus goes up

to Jerusalem

for the feast

but he does so

quietly.

Not triumphantly,

not yet.

That will come.

But this time

to Jerusalem

he goes

quietly.

Throughout John's

gospel,

Jesus is never

rushed,

never reactive,

never careless.

He moves

according to the

divine timeline.

He goes

when he is

told

to go.

He's already

said in verse 6,

my time

has not

yet

come.

Not time

for me to go.

I trust the

Father.

I go

when the

Father

tells me

to go.

The steps

of Christ

are governed

by the

sovereign

will

of God

the Father.

Verses 11

through 13

describe

the atmosphere.

The Jews

are looking

for him

at the feast.

Where is

he?

We know

that he's

not gone

there because

they're seeking

to kill him.

The beginning

of the chapter

tells us

this.

And the people

are muttering.

Some say

he's a good

man.

Others say

no,

he's leading

the people

astray.

But they're

not talking

openly.

They're not

being loud

about it

because they're

afraid of

what the

Jews

might say.

Notice the

distinction

between the

Jews

and the

people.

The Jews

here is

referring to

the religious

leaders.

We get a

number of

hints at

this throughout

John's

writing.

It becomes

very clear

there's a

different group

here being

talked about.

The people

is everyone

else at

this festival.

Most,

to be sure,

would have

been Jewish

in ethnicity.

But there

would have

also been

those who

converted to

Judaism

from other

nations.

The people

are unsure

what to do

with Jesus

and notice

yet for fear

of the

Jews,

this distinct

group,

no one

spoke openly

of him.

There's a

festival and

there's fear

and fear

often

silences

truth.

It did

then and

it still

does

now.

So this

is the

setting

for what's

going on.

The middle

of this

week-long

celebration

is when

Jesus

begins

to teach

and I

have for

you three

points to

structure

the rest

of our

study.

So number

one,

Jesus

teaches

with an

inexplicable

authority.

Verses

14 through

18,

Jesus

teaches

with an

inexplicable

authority.

Verse 14

tells us

about the

middle of

the feast,

Jesus went

up into

the temple

and began

teaching.

We don't

know exactly

what he's

teaching,

but surely

that he

is the

Christ.

Suddenly,

publicly,

boldly,

Jesus does

not avoid

the temple,

he goes

and

confronts

it.

We can

have no

doubt

that it

was time

to do

this very

thing.

God the

Father

orchestrates

the growing

conflict we

will witness

as this

chapter

presses

on.

Again

and again

and again

we'll see

Jesus won't

say things

the Father

doesn't tell

him to

say,

he won't

do things

the Father

doesn't tell

him to

do,

and so

we have

an ordained

encounter

happening in

the middle

of this

festival.

Verse 15

records the

response to

his teaching.

The Jews

therefore marveled

saying,

how is it

that this

man has

learning when

he has

never

studied?

Now I

don't think

that what

we are

seeing here

is a

genuine

curiosity

about

Jesus.

Remember,

this group

is seeking

to kill

him.

They're

scratching

their heads

a bit

about why

is it

that he's

able to

speak in

this way.

The context

leads me to

believe it

is contempt

that is

disguised

as a

question.

How is it

possible that

this guy

could speak

in this

way?

They're not

denying his

grasp of

scripture.

They're

questioning

his

authority.

Jesus has

no

recognized

rabbinical

training,

no official

credentials.

He's been

hanging out

in the

nowhere

land.

No diploma

hanging on

his wall,

yet he

speaks

with authority.

Why?

Because of

who sent

him to

speak.

Jesus

answers

their

question

in

verse

16.

My

teaching

is not

mine,

but his

who sent

me.

And the

implication

is,

how is it

that this

man has

learning when

he has

never

studied?

Is that

God the

Father

is the

one

who sent

me?

This is

a staggering

claim.

Jesus does

not say

he developed

these ideas

or discovered

them.

He says

he was

sent.

He's

serving

as a

mouthpiece

of God

the

Father.

This

is the

language

of

divine

commission.

Prophets

are

sent.

We'll

see

later

apostles

are

sent.

And

here

the

Son

declares

that he

has been

sent

by the

Father.

Jesus

loves

to make

huge

claims

and we

should love

it when

he does

so.

He makes

massive

claims

about

himself.

Listen to

just a few

of them

that John

MacArthur

outlines for

us in

his

commentary

on these

verses.

This is a

very well

loved

commentary.

Next

Christmas,

if any of

you are

looking for

a present

for me,

I need

a new

John 1

through 11

commentary.

Listen to

just a few

of these.

And this

is so

helpful.

I'm not

going to

read you

all the

scripture

references.

MacArthur

does that

work for

us.

It's a

really

beautifully

well done

list that

he's put

here.

But just

listen to

some of

the things

that Jesus

has claimed.

He's claimed

to have

come down

from heaven,

to have

been sent

into the

world by

the Father,

to be the

Savior of

the world,

to be the

determiner of

people's

eternal

destinies,

to be the

source of

eternal life,

to be the

only way to

God,

to have the

right to be

honored on

equal basis

with the

Father,

to be one

with the

Father,

to have

power to

raise the

dead and

even rise

from the

dead himself,

to be the

one to whom

the Old

Testament

scriptures

pointed,

to be the

supreme judge

who will

one day

return in

glory,

to be without

sin,

to have all

authority in

heaven and

on earth,

to have the

authority to

forgive sins,

to have authority

over the

Sabbath,

to have the

authority to

answer prayer,

to have the

authority to

authorize prayer

in his name,

to be greater

than the

temple,

Solomon,

Jacob,

and Abraham,

to be the

bread of

life,

the only

source of

spiritual

sustenance,

to be the

light of the

world,

to be the

resurrection and

the life,

to be the

Messiah or

the Christ,

to be the

Son of God

who would be

seated at the

right hand of

God in

glory.

Astounding,

magnificent,

huge claims

that he makes

about himself.

And if all

of these

claims are

true,

he is to

be worshipped.

Verse 17

is crucial

for us to

hear.

If anyone's

will is to

do God's

will,

he will know

whether the

teaching is

from God or

whether I am

speaking on

my own

authority.

Jesus does

not say

discernment

begins,

with

intelligence

or with

education.

He says

it begins

with the

will.

If the

heart is

submissive,

the truth

will become

clear.

Unbelief

is not

primarily an

intellectual

problem,

it is a

moral

problem.

It has to

do with

who we

are at

our

core.

Lord,

help us

to

believe.

Jesus

goes on

in verse

18 to

provide a

test of

true

authority.

He says

the one

who speaks

on his

own

authority

seeks

his

own

glory.

Somebody's

seeking their

own glory,

then they're

speaking of

their own

authority.

But the

one who

seeks the

glory of

him who

sent him

is true,

and in

him there

is no

falsehood.

Jesus is

not

self-promoting,

he is

father-glorifying.

That alone

sets him

apart from

every

false

teacher.

Jesus

teaches

with an

inexplicable

authority.

Secondly,

Jesus exposes

the hypocrisy

of religious

unbelief.

See this

in verse

19

through

24.

In

verse 19,

Jesus

confronts

them

directly.

Has

not

Moses

given

you

the

law,

yet

none

of

you

keeps

the

law?

Why

do

you

seek

to

kill

me?

They

claim

Moses.

They

claim

the

law,

yet

they're

plotting

murder.

Jesus

exposes

the

contradiction.

They

boast

in

possessing

the

law

while

rejecting

the

lawgiver

to

the

point

of

putting

him

to

death

on a

cross.

This

plot

is already

in

motion

as

Jesus

speaks

to

them.

In

verse

20,

the

crowd

then

responds,

you

have

a

demon

who

is

seeking

to

kill

you.

How

could

you

say

such

a

crazy

thing?

Truth

often

sounds

insane

to hardened

hearts.

These

two

verses,

for those

of you

who

will

care,

I

hope

some

of

you

do,

comprise

the

chiastic

center

of this

text.

So if

you

care to

plot it

out on

your

own,

this

is the

center,

verses

19 and

20.

John's

drawing our

attention to

this growing

conflict that's

going to result

in his

crucifixion.

Jesus answers

by pointing

to his

healing on the

Sabbath recorded

in John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

That's what he's

talking about.

That's the work

that he did

that they marvel

at.

Back in

John chapter 5,

John 5 · chapter mention

the last time

he was in

Jerusalem,

you may

remember that

he healed

a man

at the

pool of

Siloam.

In

verse 21

through 23

he explains

that circumcision

is permitted

on the

Sabbath

because the

law itself

allows for

acts of

covenant

faithfulness

and mercy.

So they

would have

performed

circumcision

on the

eighth day

and if it

fell on the

Sabbath

they did

that work

and the

law allowed

for that.

Acts of

covenant

faithfulness

and of

mercy.

So then

what did

he do?

He did

an act

of mercy.

He healed

a man

on that

day and

it was

for that

reason

that they

were seeking

to kill

him.

His

argument

is airtight.

If on

the

Sabbath

a man

receives

circumcision

so the

law of

Moses

may not

be

broken,

are you

angry

with me

because

on

the

Sabbath

I

made

a

man's

whole

body

well?

Look

at the

hypocrisy

of your

unbelief.

Verse

24

summarizes

the issue.

Do not

judge by

appearances

but judge

with right

judgment.

Jesus is not

here forbidding

discernment.

He is

commanding it.

Superficial

judgment looks

at credentials

and at

customs.

Right

judgment is

shaped by

truth and

grounded in

God's word.

They should

have had no

issue with

his healing

on the

Sabbath.

They should

have

accepted

him

as

the

Christ

and yet

they're

so

caught

up

in

their

keeping

of

the

law

that

they're

neglecting

central

elements

of it.

So we

see that

Jesus exposes

the hypocrisy

of their

religious

unbelief.

Thirdly,

Jesus reveals

a divine

origin

that they

just

refuse

to

accept.

Verse

25

to the

end

of the

text.

Verses

25

to 27

show

the

confusion

of the

Jerusalem

crowd.

They

think

they

know

where

Jesus

is

from

and

assume

that

the

Christ's

origins

will

be

entirely

mysterious.

So much

misunderstanding

about who

the

Christ

would be.

They

misunderstood

both

Jesus

and the

Old

Testament's

teaching

about

the

Christ.

What

he was

to be

and what

he was

to do.

Verse

28

is

filled

with

so

much

holy

irony.

Jesus

proclaimed

as he

taught

in the

temple,

you

know me

and you

know where

I come

from,

but I

have not

come of

my own

accord.

He

who

sent

me

is

true

and

him

you

do

not

know.

Yes,

they

know his

earthly

background.

Word

had

gotten

around

about

who

this

Jesus

is,

this

one

claiming

to be

the

Christ,

but they

do not

know

his

heavenly

origin.

They

know

Nazareth,

they

do not

know

that he

has

come

from

the

Father

and

therefore

do

not

know

the

Father.

Verse

29

brings

the

matter

to

its

very

sharpest

of

points.

Jesus

says,

I

know

him

for

I

come

from

him

and

he

sent

me.

This

is one

of the

clearest

assertions

of Jesus'

divine

origin

in the

gospel

of

John.

Jesus

does not

merely

know

about

God,

he

knows

him

eternally

and

perfectly.

And

then comes

the

devastating

indictment

at the

end of

verse

28.

Him

you

do

not

know.

may

that

not

be

said

of

us,

him

you

do

not

know.

These

are

scripture

experts

and

devout

followers

of

the

law.

They

are

gathered

for

a

commanded

feast.

They

have

come

together

in

obedience

to

God's

word.

Jesus

says

plainly

that

they

do

not

know

God.

That

should

sober

every

one

of

us.

Every

one

of

us

should

think

them?

How

did

they

miss

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ?

Jesus

says

in

John

John 5:39

chapter

5

verse

39

and

40

it

says

this

to

these

Jewish

leaders

you

search

the

scriptures

because

you

think

that

in

them

you

have

eternal

life

and

it

is

they

that

bear

witness

about

me

yet

you

refuse

!

to

come

to

me

that

you

may

have

life.

search

the

scriptures

don't

stop

doing

that

search

the

scriptures

but

do

so

that

you

may

find

Jesus

go

to

him

and

have

life

in

him.

Jesus

reveals

his

divine

origin

that

they

just

do

not

accept.

So

let's

think

about

a bit

of

application.

First

let me

say

that we

ought

to be

careful

to

beware

of

respectable

unbelief.

Many

admire

Jesus'

teaching

while

rejecting

his

authority.

That

is

not

faith

as

the

author

put it

it

is

rebellion

with

manners.

We

have

spoken

before

of

C.S.

Lewis'

trilemma.

He

argues

rightly

that

you

must

either

think

Jesus

a

liar

or

a

lunatic

or

worship

him

as

Lord.

He

says

it's

not

appropriate

to

just

think

of

him

as

a

good

teacher

because

of

the

types

of

claims

he

made

about

himself.

He

either

knows

it's

not

true

and

just

lies

or

he's

a

crazy

person

he

actually

thinks

it's

true

or

it

is

in

fact

true.

And

if

so

which

is

what

I

put

forward

to

you

then

we

should

worship

him

as

Lord.

Lewis

wasn't

the only

person

to

reason

in

this

way

and

included

at

the

back

of

your

bulletin

a quote

from

G.K.

Chesterton

!

This

first

couple

sentences

are

about

not

being

able

to

make

a

crazy

person

see

the

light.

The

delusion

of

divinity

is

what

he

calls

it.

So

that's

what

these

first

sentences

are

about.

He

says

this

impossibility

of

letting

in

daylight

on

a

delusion

does

sometimes

cover

and

conceal

a

delusion

of

divinity.

It

can

be

found

not

among

prophets

and

sages

and

founders

of

religions

but

only

among

a

low

set

of

lunatics.

See

what

he's

saying?

Really

crazy

people

think

they're

God.

That's

what

he's

saying.

But

this

is

exactly

where

the

argument

becomes

intensely

interesting

because

the

argument

proves

too

much

for

nobody

supposes

that

Jesus

of

Nazareth

was

that

sort

of

person.

No

modern

critic

in his

five

wits