The Gospel of John: Who Do You Say Jesus Is? John 7:1-39 · Join the Journey

Introduction

You can learn a lot about someone pretty quickly. Sometimes all it takes is looking at what they're connected to.

Maybe it's the shirt they're wearing. Maybe it's the team sticker on the back of their car. Maybe it's what they post online. Maybe it's the hobbies they talk about.

I'm a Carolina fan. You can probably tell by the shirts I wear, the games I watch, the things I talk about, and maybe especially by how I react during basketball season. You don't have to ask me every day—my life gives evidence of it.

People identify themselves by all kinds of things:

• their favorite sports team

• their political views

• their careers

• their hobbies

• their family

• their social media profiles

We live in a world where everyone wants to identify with something. And usually people don't have a problem telling you who they are. But there is a deeper identity question underneath all of those things.

Who is Jesus? Not: What church do you attend? Were you raised Christian? Do you believe in God?

But: Who do you say Jesus is? Because eventually every person answers that question. You may delay it. You may ignore it. You may avoid it. But eventually everyone decides what they'll do with Jesus. And that's exactly what we see in John 7.

Because how you answer that question determines everything.

It shapes:

• how you live

• what you chase after

• where you find hope

• how you face suffering

• and ultimately where you'll spend eternity

When we come to John 7, Jerusalem is crowded with people gathering for the Feast of Booths. This was a major celebration. People traveled from everywhere. Families built temporary shelters and remembered how God cared for Israel in the wilderness. They remembered God providing food. They remembered God providing water. They remembered God's faithfulness.

But in the middle of all that celebrating, there was another conversation happening. Everyone was talking about Jesus. John says there was "widespread whispering about him”

Everybody had opinions. Some thought He was good. Some thought He was dangerous. Some thought He was a fraud. Some wanted Him dead.

And honestly—not much has changed in 2,000 years. Everybody still has opinions about Jesus. But eventually every person has to answer: Who do you say Jesus is?

1. Who do others say Jesus is?

John 7:11–13

"Some said, 'He is a good man.' Others said, 'No, on the contrary, he is deceiving the people.'"

We learn from the first verses of chapter 7 that Jesus’ own family at this time didn’t believe Him.

The crowds were divided. Everybody had an opinion. And people today still do.

Some say: "Jesus was a great teacher."

Some say: "He was a prophet."

Some say: "He was a moral example."

Some say: "He was a revolutionary."

Some say: "He was just a good man."

The problem is Jesus never left room for us to simply admire Him from a distance.

C.S. Lewis famously argued that Jesus didn't leave us the option of calling Him merely a good teacher. If Jesus wasn't who He claimed to be, then He wasn't simply a good man. But if His claims are true, then He is Lord.

Lewis said Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

Good teachers don't claim authority over sin. Good teachers don't claim to be sent from heaven. Good teachers don't claim people must come through them to know God.

Jesus repeatedly made claims that forced people toward a decision. You can reject Him. You can believe Him.

But you can't reduce Him to simply being interesting. And many people build their view of Jesus from everybody except Jesus.

Culture says one thing. Social media says another. Friends say something. Family says something. But our understanding of Jesus cannot be built on public opinion. Because public opinion changes every week.

One day people love you. The next day they don't. One day culture celebrates something. The next day culture tears it down. Jesus asks for more than borrowed opinions.

Whose voice shapes your understanding of Jesus?

• friends?

• coworkers?

• podcasts?

• culture?

• social media?

Some people have inherited faith but never owned it. You've believed because your parents believed. You've attended because your family attended. You've repeated answers you've always heard. But borrowed faith eventually runs out. At some point it must become personal.

Opinions are one thing. But Jesus Himself gets the final word about who He is. The crowds had opinions. But now Jesus begins speaking. And when Jesus speaks, He starts revealing who He really is.

2. Who does Jesus say He is?

John 7:14–19

Jesus goes into the temple and begins teaching. People are amazed. "How does this man know so much?"

Jesus says: "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me." Jesus keeps pointing people back to the Father.

But then He starts exposing hearts. And that's where people become uncomfortable. Because people love a Jesus who fits neatly into their preferences.

We like:

• loving Jesus

• forgiving Jesus

• helping Jesus

But we struggle with:

• holy Jesus

• confronting Jesus

• Lord Jesus

Many people want Jesus as Savior without Jesus as Lord. We want Him to rescue us but not rule us.

It's like hiring a contractor because you want fresh paint on your house. You think: "I just need a few cosmetic improvements." Then he walks inside and says: "The foundation is cracked. The structure has major problems. This whole thing needs rebuilding."

That's what Jesus does. People wanted Jesus to improve their lives. Jesus came to make them new. He wasn't offering self-improvement. He was offering transformation. And that bothered people. Because transformation requires surrender.

Sometimes we create our own version of Jesus. A Jesus who agrees with us. A Jesus who never challenges us. A Jesus who blesses our plans but never changes our hearts.

Ask yourself: Do I follow the Jesus of Scripture— or a Jesus I've created? Because Jesus isn't asking for a place in your schedule. He is claiming authority over your life.

Now we reach the climax of the chapter. And Jesus says something astonishing about who he is.

3. Who do you say Jesus is?

John 7:37–39

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

Imagine the scene. During the Feast of Booths, priests would pour water as part of the celebration. It reminded people of God providing water in the wilderness.

Every year they remembered: God provided. God sustained. God gave life. And right in the middle of that celebration— Jesus stands up and says: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me."

Do you hear what He's saying? He isn't saying: "Come to religion." He isn't saying: "Come to church attendance." He isn't saying: "Come try harder."

He says: Come to Me. Because Jesus knows something about us.

He knows we're thirsty. We're thirsty for: meaning, purpose, love, peace, hope, satisfaction. And we spend our lives carrying empty cups to empty wells.

We think: "If I just had more money..." "If I just found the right relationship..." "If I just got the promotion..." "If I just had more success..." "If I just had more stuff..." And we drink from those things.

For a little while they seem satisfying. But then we're thirsty again. And we go back for another drink. And another. And another. Because none of those things were designed to satisfy your soul. Only Jesus can do that. Jesus said, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

4. If Jesus is Living Water, we can't keep Him to ourselves

If Jesus really is who He says He is—if He really satisfies the deepest thirst of the soul—then this isn't something we quietly keep to ourselves.

When you've found something life-changing, you naturally talk about it. Nobody has to convince you to talk about something you love.

If you find a great restaurant, you tell people. If you discover a great deal, you text somebody. If your favorite team wins, everyone hears about it. If your child or grandchild does something amazing, you're pulling out pictures before anybody even asks. We talk about what matters to us.

And if Jesus has changed us, there should be something in us that wants others to know Him too. Jesus says: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink."

Notice He doesn't say: "If anyone thirsts, keep it a secret."

The invitation is open.

Anyone.

That means: your neighbor, your coworker, your friend, your family member, the person sitting beside you at school, the person you think would never come to church

Anyone.

Here at Journey Church we put it this way: We want to help everyone discover their relationship with Jesus. All of us go out to build authentic relationships with the lost in our community and around the world and to communicate the gospel of Jesus

Because God has placed people around you that I may never meet. You have conversations I won't have. You have relationships I don't have. You live where you live and work where you work for a reason.

And this isn't just a calling for pastors or missionaries. Scripture repeatedly calls ordinary believers to live on mission. Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Peter said,

1 Peter 2:11-12

1 Peter 2:11–12

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Sometimes we think evangelism is standing on a street corner with a microphone. But most of the time evangelism starts with ordinary people having ordinary conversations about an extraordinary Savior.

Sometimes it sounds like: "Can I tell you what God has been doing in my life?" "Can I pray for you?" "Can I tell you where I found hope?" "Would you come to church with me?"

Because if we truly believe Jesus is the source of life, then silence stops making sense. Imagine seeing someone dying of thirst while we are holding a bottle of water and saying nothing. We would never do that.

But spiritually people all around us are searching:

They're looking for hope. They're looking for peace. They're looking for purpose. They're drinking from empty wells over and over. And we know where Living Water can be found.

Who has God placed in your life right now that needs Jesus? Picture a face. Picture a name: a coworker, a child, a parent, a friend, a neighbor.

Don't just pray: "God, save people."

Pray: "God, give me courage to speak."

Then take one simple step this week:

• Share your testimony

• Ask if you can pray for someone

• Start a spiritual conversation

• Invite someone to church

You don't have to save anybody. You can't. Your job is faithfulness. God changes hearts.

And maybe today, before you can share Living Water with someone else, you need to come and drink yourself... Maybe you've spent years carrying empty cups to empty wells. Trying to satisfy yourself with: success, relationships, comfort, pleasure, approval, or religion.

And you've discovered something. You're still thirsty.

Because your deepest need isn't more achievement. Your deepest need isn't a better version of yourself. Your deepest need is forgiveness. Your deepest need is reconciliation with God.

The gospel says this: We are sinners separated from God. We could not rescue ourselves. No amount of good works could fix it.

So God sent Jesus. Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn't live. Jesus died the death we deserved. Jesus took our sin on Himself. Jesus rose from the grave defeating sin and death. And now salvation is offered freely to anyone who comes. Come put your trust in Jesus, repent of you sins, and meet Jesus in baptism.

Notice Jesus doesn't say: "If anyone has it all together..."

He says: "If anyone thirsts..."

That's everybody. The invitation isn't: "Clean yourself up first."

The invitation is: "Come." Not: "Perform." Come. Not: "Earn it." Come. Not: "Fix yourself." Come to him and drink.

Everyone in John 7 had an opinion. Some rejected Him. Some questioned Him. Some believed Him.

And today isn't any different. The question isn't: "What does your family think?"

The question isn't: "What does culture think?"

The question isn't: "What did you grow up hearing?"

The question is: Who do you say Jesus is?

Because eventually everyone answers that question. And your answer changes everything.

Some of you have been carrying empty cups to empty wells for a long time. Success couldn't fill it. Relationships couldn't fill it. Religion couldn't fill it.

Because those things were never meant to satisfy your soul. Jesus is still standing and saying: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."

The question is no longer: Who do others say Jesus is?

The question is: Who do you say He is?