John 7:1-24 “Struggles with Following Jesus”

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Boy, we have a lot of good reasons to look at God's Word together this morning.

Hope in the face of Christ.

We're returning this morning to our study of John's Gospel, where we're seeking to do

just that, to encounter the real Jesus, to know who He is and what He's about.

John wants us, remember, to understand who Jesus really is because He wants for us to

believe.

He wants for our friends and our neighbors to believe.

He wants for us to find life in Jesus.

This issue of who Jesus is is central to John's whole account, especially to the part we're

in right now.

Everyone is asking that question.

Everyone's talking about Jesus.

After all, they have watched Him heal all sorts of people.

He has just miraculously fed 5,000 plus, and then He spoke to them about Himself.

He said, I am the bread of life.

Jesus offering, fulfilling, eternal life just by believing in Him.

But so many don't believe.

Most right now are leaving Him.

John told us this would happen.

And remember chapter 1, He came to His own people, but His own did not receive Him.

Our passage today highlights unbelief.

Not merely unbelief like, I reject everything Jesus claims and don't want anything to do with

Him, but the kind of unbelief struggles that all of us, church people who hang around Jesus,

us too, have with following Jesus.

He's a Jesus who calls us to find life in Him.

Therefore, all of life in Him.

That's where He calls us to follow Him, is in everything living with Him and for Him.

So we need to pray for our hearts this morning as we hear God's Word.

And then we'll read this next section in three different pieces as we go.

Let's pray together.

Father, I pray for our hearts this morning.

For our busy hearts.

Our hurting hearts.

Our tired hearts.

Our distracted hearts.

Our selfish hearts.

We need you.

We need you to work there.

We need you to soften and transform and comfort and enliven and inspire our hearts with the love of Jesus.

We ask that you would in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I love you.

But not that much.

Imagine you grew up loving peanut butter.

You wanted to eat everything peanut butter you possibly could.

You started growing peanuts.

You research all day the best peanut butter products imaginable.

And then you find out that the girl you've started dating is severely allergic to peanuts.

She spends her whole life protecting herself from peanut products.

No eating.

No kissing.

No touching.

I love you.

But not that much is going to be said at some point to her.

Or if you can imagine it, maybe to peanut butter.

Imagine you meet a guy in school and you become best friends.

And you just want to do everything together.

You want to hang out on the weekends.

You're going to start a business together and do all of life.

But he keeps talking smack about your mama.

I love you, man, but not that much.

Something's got to give.

Or the ultimate struggle.

Imagine you grow up obsessed with Alabama football.

From birth, your parents named you so your initials would be RTR.

And you have now become a cheerleader for Alabama

who happens to have fallen in love with the Auburn quarterback.

Who spends his whole life working against what you love most.

I don't know when that struggle will reach a breaking point.

Could be the orange and blue pom-poms he gives you for your birthday.

Could be when he asks you to say War Eagle.

Maybe it's the day of the Iron Bowl the first time.

But at some point, either he or Alabama will hear,

I love you, but not that much.

Those are mostly silly examples.

Although if I hit a little too close to home in your marriage,

I'm really sorry.

Wasn't aiming for anybody.

But the point is serious.

We can't live for someone whose life works against what we love most.

There are more serious things than those I've just said

that we love deep in our hearts.

And as people in this passage encounter Jesus,

they're going to show their struggle with following him.

John, who's always focused on belief and unbelief,

helps us realize that our struggles with following Jesus

are at their root heart issues.

Sometimes we like to tell ourselves,

they're just in my head,

it's just an intellectual conundrum that I can't get around.

There's just something I can't argue myself out of.

It's a heart issue.

We can't live for someone

whose life works against what we love most.

Listen for that as we read John 7.

This is now several months after the feeding of the 5,000

and most of Jesus' followers leaving him.

Jesus has stayed close to home for a while in Galilee.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us all he's been doing and teaching.

But he hasn't been back to Jerusalem,

which is beginning to frustrate his brothers.

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'm not going up to this feast

for my time has not yet fully come.

After saying this,

he remained in Galilee.

Put yourself in James' sandals for a moment.

One of Jesus' brothers

that we know was later a leader

in the early church.

You are a strong, strategic go-getter

by personality.

You're sensitive to the honor

of the family name being so vital

in Jewish culture.

The best way to get ahead,

to have your family be influential

and honorable,

that's where it's at

and you know it.

And here you find yourself

with an opportunity.

This eccentric older brother of yours

is doing some really amazing, cool stuff.

There's an opportunity to capitalize on,

but he's got no sense of getting ahead,

of building a movement.

Almost no one is with him anymore

and he's spending all his time

in these small towns.

Religious credibility

comes from Jerusalem.

The crowds gathered there,

the leaders of the temple.

I've got some advice for you, Jesus.

Go to Jerusalem.

Do some events there.

You know, showcase,

show off your glory a bit.

You'll build a following.

It'll be great for my,

I mean, your car.

Can you relate to feelings like that?

I can.

I'm battling these feelings right now

because I'm preaching

at Presbytery Tuesday

to a bunch of preachers.

More than ever,

I want the people listening to me

to think well of what I say.

I'm wrestling with thoughts of,

maybe if I say this,

it'll make this guy praise me afterwards.

Maybe this will impress him.

And what I really want

is to point them to Jesus,

what we all need.

But there's a lot else

that my heart loves

and wants to happen then.

That longing

for worldly success

makes for quite a struggle

in following Jesus

wholeheartedly.

In your heart,

it may feel like pride.

In your own reputation,

your status,

wanting fame,

respect among your peers.

It might feel like envy

of what others have.

Greed

for more power,

more influence,

more money.

Loving

the praise of men.

Does it feel so good

to hear the wonderful things

they'll say?

But if those feelings

are left unchecked

to flourish in your heart,

they'll keep you

from being all in

with Jesus,

following Jesus

where he calls you

to go.

You can be like his brothers

who see the cool things

he does

and they don't mind

hanging around him

when it makes you look good,

but if you're in it

for the worldly success,

you don't believe

in Jesus.

That may sound harsh.

I mean,

maybe you think,

like I did,

that verse 5 should read,

for his brothers

believed in him.

I mean,

didn't they want people

to see his miracles?

They've seen the stuff.

They think he can do

more cool stuff.

They believed in him, right?

No.

No, they didn't.

Lots of people

have seen his miracles

but not seen

who Jesus

was.

Their hearts

are for themselves,

not Jesus.

For the praise of man,

not the praise of God.

That's why Jesus

says to them,

the world cannot

hate you

because you share

its values,

its definition

of success,

the world's pathway

to get there.

So Jesus' brothers

are clearly not

following him.

They go on

without him,

don't they?

John Piper

was really helpful

to me

in this place

pointing out

it's not a head

problem

for them.

They've seen

the great works,

they know we can do them,

but there's a heart

problem going on,

isn't there?

They love

worldly success

more than

the pathway

of Jesus.

Piper says,

our natural love

for human glory

makes it impossible

to know and follow

a person

whose whole life

is bent on

emptying himself

to glorify his father

and save sinners.

It is impossible

to know him

for who he really is

when his whole coming,

living,

dying,

contradicts

your deepest love,

namely,

the love of human praise.

Jesus seems intent

on downward

mobility

when you're longing

to move up

in the world.

You want a bigger

reputation,

a bigger house,

a bigger bank account,

and Jesus'

life and words

keep working

against that.

He's humble.

No place

to lay his head.

Share your money

with those

who have less.

Jesus.

Maybe if you're James,

you'd say,

I love you,

Jesus,

but not that much.

And his brothers

are off

to make a name

for themselves

in Jerusalem

lest they get

stuck in Galilee

when they grow up.

One of the things

I really love

at this point

in this story

is that

Jesus

is intent

on waiting

for the direction

of his father

even when it makes

no sense

from a human perspective.

Humanly speaking,

this is the time

to act.

Jesus is waiting

on his father's timing

even though his popularity

is dwindling.

His mission

seems to be faltering.

His poll numbers

are down.

The next section

shows why

it was not yet time

for Jesus

to join

the crowds

of pilgrims

who surely

would have been

alongside his brothers

at the beginning

of this very popular

week-long feast

in Jerusalem.

It wasn't yet time

for the culmination

of Jesus' life.

Entering Jerusalem

there among the crowds

almost certainly

would have led

to what it did

a few months later,

the triumphal entry

at the Passover feast.

Jesus waited

on his father's timing

and when things

had calmed a bit

after the big kickoff,

verse 10,

but after his brothers

had gone up

to the feast,

then he also went up

not publicly

but in private.

Right?

Hear the difference?

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's a good man,

others said,

no, he's leading

the people astray.

Yet for fear

of the Jews,

no one spoke openly

of him.

The whole city

is abuzz

about Jesus.

Even before he shows up,

it's whether he's there

or not.

It's a testament

to Jesus' power

and his impact

that no one

ignores him.

Religious leaders,

the Jews,

the crowds of people,

they're all

whispering about him.

I can't believe

I'm saying this right now

but it reminds me

of the current buzz

about Taylor Swift.

Will she come

to the Super Bowl

to cheer on her boyfriend?

Y'all,

there's more buzz,

there are more articles

about whether she

will be present

next week or not

than any of the players

on the field.

Everyone's talking

about it.

Is Jesus coming

to the feast?

Where is he?

Everyone has an opinion

about Jesus.

Good

or bad.

They've all

seen or at least

heard what he does

and what he says.

You can't ignore him.

Imagine you're

a young woman

named Mary.

You're walking

the crowded streets

of Jerusalem that day

with your friends

and you ask,

hey,

have you seen Jesus

here yet?

I want to see

a miracle.

And your friend says,

I just want to hear

him teach.

I think he's so wise.

But your third

buddy comes along.

Come on, y'all.

He's just putting

on a show.

My dad says he'll

never make our lives

any better and I agree.

People need to focus

on working hard

and making life better.

Not about some

crazy revolutionary.

He's getting in the way.

And you kind of

have to agree.

Yeah, I know.

My parents told me

not to get too close

to him,

especially if any

rabbis were around.

I don't want people

to get the wrong idea.

But I would love

to see him do

something cool.

Isn't it interesting

here?

No one spoke

openly about Jesus.

Neither the ones

who liked him

nor the ones

who didn't.

They whispered

much muttering.

But they were afraid.

They were afraid

of the Jews.

We get fearful

when our comfort

is at risk,

don't we?

Staying in just

a non-committal

unbelief here.

I mean,

I kind of like

Jesus stuff.

I don't mind

going to church

occasionally.

But nothing loud

or bold

or life-altering

or uncomfortable

for me.

like when I have

the 153rd

consecutive conversation

with my neighbor

about football

and never mention

Jesus.

When at church

I avoid the person

I know is dealing

with a really

messy situation

because I've got

a busy week

coming up

and I don't know

where that'll go.

Like when I don't

share honestly

at Grace Group

because talking

honestly about my

heart is

uncomfortable

and life's okay

if I don't

mess,

let's not disrupt

things too much,

right?

Don't make me

talk about Jesus

and our relationship

openly.

Who might hear?

What might it cost me?

How might it wreck

my week?

Mary might whisper,

I love you Jesus

but not that much.

But then

Jesus does show up

midweek.

Here's Jesus

and he's going

to expose

the struggles

religious church

people specifically

have with following

him.

Verse 14.

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's 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'm

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?

And the crowd

answered,

you have a demon

who's seeking

to kill you?

Jesus answered

them,

I did one deed

and you all

marvel at it.

Moses gave you

circumcision

not that it's

from Moses

but from the

fathers

and you circumcise

a man on the

Sabbath.

If on the

Sabbath a man

received 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.

John doesn't

even tell us

what Jesus

is teaching

yet,

that's coming

later,

but first

he's dealing

with our

hearts.

Imagine

Nicodemus

being there,

one of the

Pharisees

who had met

privately

with Jesus

and he'll speak

up by the end

of this chapter.

Imagine you

hear Jesus

teach and your

colleague turns

to you at the

end,

shakes his

head,

not even a

single rabbi

referenced and

he didn't even

quote C.S.

Lewis or Tim

Keller,

John Calvin,

none of them.

Who does he

think he is?

You're still

kind of intrigued

by Jesus and

then as you're

listening you hear

he starts talking

about the law

of Moses and

you hear someone

in the crowd

yell,

who is seeking

to kill you.

I've heard a few

discussions about

that,

you think?

And then Jesus

brings up the man

that he healed

on the Sabbath

last year.

No,

Jesus,

don't go there.

It's so clearly

against the law.

Quit making things

more complicated

for me.

We know what the

law says and we

do it.

And if you're

doing signs

and also encouraging

law breaking,

you deserve to die

as a false prophet.

Now that is making

me angry.

Stop it!

The love of our

heart exposed

here I think

is our love

for control.

Hang with me

control freaks.

I am probably

worse than you.

It's not easy.

What do we want?

We want to know

more

or do more

to control

our lives,

don't we?

At times,

if we're honest,

to control God.

Listen to Jesus'

challenge in verse 17.

If anyone's will

is to do

God's will,

then he will know

whether the teaching,

the teaching Jesus

is giving,

is from God

or whether I am

speaking

on my own

authority.

He's telling us

to come to him,

to listen to him

with appropriate

humility.

He says,

if you come

to God,

actually desiring

to learn

to follow

God's will,

then although

it sounds

upside down

at times,

although it doesn't

seem comfortable

at times,

you'll find that

it's actually

what God wants

for you

and what you

were made for

if that's the way

in which you

come to his word

and seek to

listen to Jesus.

But we like

to think we

know more.

and crazy

as it sounds,

we like to

evaluate Jesus'

teaching on the

basis of what

we already know

so that we

stay in control.

If it sounds

like he's telling

me to love

the poor

sacrificially,

that can't be

right.

That's the

liberal left.

God wants my

individual freedoms,

I know that.

And then I flip

over,

it sounds like

he's telling me

whom I can

and can't

be married to.

That can't

be right.

That is the

fundamentalist

right again.

God wants me

to be happy,

I know that.

See how

either of those

will create

a big struggle

with following

the real Jesus

who doesn't

fit in our

nice boxes?

But then

what really

gets us angry

is when we

obey,

but things

don't go

the way

we expect.

Yes?

Yeah?

Uh-huh?

We think

God's promised

us.

And Jesus,

in the midst

of our great

obedience

and careful

law-keeping,

has the gall

to tell us

that we don't

keep the law.

What?

He tells us

we've been

lost in the

details and

forgotten

the main

thing.

The heart.

Love for God.

Love for

neighbor.

See,

Moses codified

the laws

about circumcision

that were

given to

Abraham.

Circumcised,

he said,

on the eighth

day.

Whether it's

the Sabbath

or not,

the Jews

all agreed

on that.

That's what

they taught.

That makes

sense,

right?

It's an

important thing

to do.

But don't

heal someone's

whole body.

You're missing

the heart

of the Sabbath,

Jesus says.

You've

missed it.

So for us,

let me push

us.

Maybe it

feels okay

for us.

Maybe it's

okay to

identify as

selfish.

My money

for me.

To identify

as gluttonous.

My food

for me.

To identify

as impatient.

My schedule

for me.

That's okay.

But there

are some

things it's

not okay

to identify

as, right?

We clear?

You got me?

We know

it's acceptable.

So long

as we know

which things

God's okay

with,

we can keep

the rules,

those rules.

We're in

control.

Jesus says,

don't assume

your authority

or control.

don't come

to me

knowing

more,

doing

more,

thinking

that's

the way

to get

control.

When Jesus

says,

my whole

life screams,

Yahweh,

my Father

is in

control.

We

submit

to Him.

We

rest in

His grace,

not our

performance.

When our

control is

threatened,

we are

tempted,

along with

Nicodemus,

to say,

I love you,

Jesus.

but not

that much.

So what do

we do?

That's a

mess.

That's a

mess in

here.

I suspect

we all see

some manifestations

of unbelief,

some competing

loves of

worldly

success,

selfish

comfort,

or religious

control.

We can see

those in our

hearts.

perhaps

feeling like

pride,

fear,

anger.

It's because

we can't

live for

someone whose

life works

against what

we love

most,

and Jesus

loves not

His own

life even

to death.

He eschews

worldly

success,

selfish comfort,

religious

control,

so following

Him is a

struggle.

Christian,

Christian,

non-Christian,

these loves

of your

heart are

keeping you

from following

Jesus.

That's what

you're experiencing.

That's what's

going on in

your heart.

What's the

treatment for

heart issues

like ones we

struggle with?

If it's not

just an

intellectual

matter,

you can't

merely argue

me into

following

Jesus.

You can't

just give

me a

formula that

convinces me

that it is

worth it to

invest all

that I have

in Him,

to be all

in with

Jesus,

and that

that's really

where life

is found.

So what

do I do?

Well,

come back

next week

is one

answer,

because Jesus

Himself explains

more of who

He is and

how that gives

us hope,

and I hope

you will,

but there are

a couple

things already

pointed to

here in the

midst of the

many struggles

we see with

following Jesus.

The treatment

for our

hearts is

repentance and

faith.

See,

what we're

talking about

this morning

is besetting

sins in

our hearts,

right?

The love of

control,

of comfort,

of success.

These are

idols that

we sometimes

love more

than we love

Jesus.

At the end

of the day,

it's really

the idol of

self,

isn't it?

It's all

about me,

my control,

my comfort,

my success,

so we

fight idols

like that

by pleading

with God

to turn

our hearts

from the

love of

self

back to

Jesus

because some

of our

great loves

have to

die.

If they

remain our

greatest loves,

we will

never embrace

Jesus.

And so we

look back at

Jesus and

we realize that

he has come

to displace

these loves

by actually

loving us

more than

we love

ourselves.

See,

there will

be a day,

it may not

be this one

where his

brothers are

talking to

him,

but there

will be a

day when

Jesus will

make a

public

showcase

in Jerusalem

to show

himself to

the world,

to display

his glory,

just not in

the way his

family suggested,

right?

he will

go to the

cross.

Thankfully,

we now can

gaze on

Jesus and

realize that

he never got

to the point

of saying,

I love you,

but not that

much.

No,

that's not

what he says.

He instead

keeps going.

He pursued

glory through

suffering.

He purchased

our ultimate

comfort through

deep pain.

He put down

control of

his own life

that we

might live

forever.

Therein is

love,

amen?

That's what

love looks

like,

John tells

us.

Love so

transformative

that success-hungry

James sees the

most amazing

work Jesus

ever performs

on his

behalf at

the cross

and is

inspired to

give his

own life

as a

martyr for

that life-changing

reality of

that love.

So transformative

that comfortable

risk-averse

Mary meets

the risen

Jesus and

can't stop

sharing with

anyone who

will listen

the good

news of

the Messiah

who brings

eternal hope

and comfort

in relationship

with him even

in the face

of death.

So transformative

that controlling

religious Nicodemus

finally starts

seeing what the

new birth that

Jesus talked

with him about

really means

that the son

of man must

be lifted up

on the tree.

Oh I see it

now Nicodemus

says and

when we

believe in

him we

find new

and eternal

life.

He is the

one that's

where life

is found.

Love so

transformative

that he dies

for success-hungry

comfort-seeking

control-obsessed

people like you

and me so

that we can

even today

find his

love most

fulfilling and

his life

eternally

satisfying.

I pray we

do.

Father,

so work in

our hearts

that Christ

would be our

true treasure.

that knowing

that he is

ours and

we are his

forevermore

would thrill

our hearts

as a result

would change

our lives,

would free

us from the

idols that we

cling to,

and would

inspire us to

live for him.

Holy Spirit,

help our

hearts.

Give us

faith.

faith.

That believes

hope in

Jesus,

not hope in

me.

That believes

glory to

come,

not glory

now.

That believes

comfort then

and forever

even if I

don't taste

it here.

Help us,

we ask,

in Jesus'

name,

for his

glory.

Amen.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.