Who Is Jesus to You — John 7

0:02 Let's have a word of prayer before we begin. Father, we thank you for the gracious gift of your word. We confess we need your help. You are the author of your word and we pray that you'll just help us this hour to to gain from it, that you'll remove the obstacles that might prevent that and that we will be enriched spiritually and we we ask this in our lord Jesus name, amen. One of the books I always think of when I think of the gospel of John is a book by Floyd Schneider who some of you probably know he has spoken from this pulpit.

0:37 He wrote a book about twenty five years ago called Evangelism for the Fainthearted he gives in this book practical techniques and methods for reaching the lost for Christ. And the primary tool he uses is to build relationships and then get them to read the Gospel of John with him. He has seen many people come to faith by reading through the Gospel of John with them. One of my favorite stories from that book, I've had for many years but never read it fully, is someone who applied that method and was reading through the Gospel of John with their room, his roommate in college and his roommate got saved and then his roommate started growing in the faith and about six months later, came back to him and and made the remark, you tricked me. Because this young believer began to see the role of the Holy Spirit in his life and he realized that that the fellow that led him to lord had the truth and he shared it with them and with behind the truth is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was working in this guy's life and he realized the Holy Spirit was bringing him to faith as well and that's perhaps one of the sad crisis of the Gospel of John.

2:03 Christ came to his own and they received him up. He was preaching the message but the people were not getting it for a couple of reasons. I want to take a few steps back and look at the big picture. Occasionally in my academic career, I've been in a class where I'm just not following the teacher very well, and I don't know if I missed a key word or a key explanation, but I felt like I was in the dark. I want to make sure none of you are in the dark.

2:35 So the first verse I want to look at as we launch into this study is first couple of verses of Hebrews one. I mentioned a few minutes ago about the fall in Genesis three and how the world and its inhabitants fell into a state of ruin. And God cared about that problem, and he had a plan to address that problem. All through history, he has spoken into the world system truth. And if you look at history, you see that we haven't learned very well.

3:17 But... And finally, I should say, let's look at Hebrews one:one. God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in the time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, end upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had, by Himself, purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. God communicated in many ways through the prophets throughout the ages, but his final revelation was by the sending of his only begotten son. And if looking at his verses, can see quite the resume of the Lord Jesus Christ.

4:07 He was the appointed heir, he was the creator. That's pretty distinctive. He was the radiance of Jehovah's glory, the exact representation of the Father. John picks up that theme in the first chapter when we kicked off the book. Christ has explained the Father.

4:27 Christ verbally sustains, by the word of his power, the worlds and the stars and the planets stay in place. As mind boggling as that is, even greater is the forgiveness of sins. Our sins can be forgiven. And having accomplished the work, he has sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Somewhere I read that the one who sits at the right hand is the one who grants forgiveness.

5:01 It was the one sitting on the left hand of the authority that passed that pronounced judgment. Christ is at the right hand. He has forgiven us. He's not seated at the left hand where judgment would be pronounced. So we have been forgiven.

5:45 This was written perhaps fifty years after the resurrection of Christ. He has had a lot of time of contemplation. One of the things I enjoy in life is talking to the older people who have had full life experiences that we can learn from. John had the full life experience and he's probably at this point of penning this book, the only one of his disciples still alive. He knew of their deaths for their faith.

6:14 They did not die natural deaths. They died deaths of martyrs. But John's purpose for writing the book, which has been brought out several times, but perhaps you've missed it, or this is your first time here, is in chapter 20. Let me read that. John twenty thirty one.

6:36 This is what John wants us to get. This is what the Lord wants us to get. In verse 30 of chapter 20, John admits that Jesus did many other things which are not written in this book but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of god, and that believing, you might have life in his name. Jesus John had more stories he could have told us but he he didn't. Just by divine inspiration, he's written what what we need to know.

7:08 Just to review that Jesus is the Messiah. When Adam and Eve fell, when they sinned, there was a promise made to Eve that one of her that of her seed, a deliverer would come. That deliverer would not come for four thousand years. One of the preachers last weekend talked about Cain and Abel, and the name given to Cain, his name means to acquire, which he suggested was to indicate that his parents were putting hope in him as that deliverer. Abel's name means breath or vanity, just there for a moment and gone.

7:52 It was not one of their offspring that brought the deliverer. And interestingly enough, that son who they perhaps weren't putting much hope in because of the meaning of his name is the one who still lives on and whose testimony is still being spoken to this day as he lives on in the through the pages of scripture in the book of Hebrews as having a good testimony. That was a challenge of his message to us. Are we leaving a mark upon? Is our life leaving a lasting testimony to those who come after us?

8:27 But there was a promise made to Eve that the deliverer would come and this is the deliverer now in the in the gospel of John. Jesus is indeed the Christ. Secondly, he's the son of god. He was god in the flesh. It's hard to understand and it requires faith.

8:45 And then thirdly, that by believing in Jesus, you can have life in his name. That's an everlasting life that you get when you receive Christ. And it's an eternal life because literally the life that you receive is the life of Christ. Because of your inseparable uniting with Christ, you can't help but have everlasting life. John Jesus in the high priestly prayer in John 17 makes the remark to to the father and this is eternal life that they know you, the only true god and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

9:21 So, it's our relationship with with Christ and with god that gives us eternal life. So, as we look at chapter seven now, Jesus is testifying again to the people of that day and also to us today through through the scriptures that Jesus is the son of god that in him is life. Now, I know that most of us have already placed our faith in him and that's wonderful but there's still a life to live for his sake and for his glory. So, there's there's a challenge for us in this in this in this chapter as well to to keep as another disciple Peter said, to keep growing in grace and knowledge of the lord Jesus. I have divided this portion, and we're going to look at the first 30 verses into four sections, and I'll read them in a moment.

10:42 Verses ten-thirteen, the public assessment of who he was. Verses 14 to 24, premier academics, and then the last six verses, 25 to 30, to profound astonishment. So let's read the text and then we'll launch into it. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee for he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

11:23 His brothers therefore said to him, depart from here and go into Judea that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, my time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

11:48 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You are going up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast for my time is not yet fully come. When he had said these things to them, he remained in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

12:11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? And there was much complaining among the people concerning him. Some said, he is good. Others said, no. On the contrary, he deceives the people.

12:24 However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled saying, how does this man know letters, having never studied? Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority.

12:54 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? The people answered him, you have a demon.

13:11 Who is seeking to kill you? Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers, and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearances, to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

14:13 But he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. But I know him, for I am from him, and he sent me. Therefore, they sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Moving back to the beginning of the chapter, the personal attacks, and there was two origins of these attacks. One was was the Jews.

14:37 The Jews, of course, this whole section starting in chapter five and moving forward is is we see an intense hostility toward Jesus. The Jews wanted to kill him. They wanted to get rid of him. So that's one attack, and because of that attack, because of that threat, he was avoiding them. It says he remained in Galilee.

15:00 Galilee was a distance away, quite a distance away from Judea where where the headquarters for the Jews was. So, he was keeping himself away from them to avoid the hostility. This was about six months. This event, this chapter takes place, these these events about six months before before he went to the cross and it's thought that it's about six months after the events of chapters five and six were the feeding of the 5,000 and it's it's thought that during that time, he had spent time with his disciples there in in the region of Galilee teaching them away from the masses. He had taught the masses there at the feeding of the 5,000, but after that, he spent time with his own, the 12, teaching them, discipling them, and there's a lesson in that for us too.

15:54 Don't always be concerned about preaching to the masses but also have a vision and a burden to minister to smaller groups and one on one to to train them up for service and then the other source of attack was unsurprisingly, his own family. His brothers. And the occasion for this where they were were mocking him or or or scorning him was the feast of booths or also known as the feast of tabernacles or the feast of in gathering. These this was one of the great of the three main feasts. The other being Passover and Pentecost but they were saying, hey, this is a golden opportunity for you to go out there and get your message preached to those who are following you.

16:48 His brothers used the term disciples, but it's not a reference to the 12 disciples. It's to the people in general that were flocking to hear Him. So they were saying, Hey, if you're who you say you are and you can do all these amazing things, you need to go to the the Feast of Tabernacles to to share your message. Now, this event, the Feast of Booster, Feast of Tabernacles was probably the favorite most of the authors I looked at said it was the favorite of the three festivals. It was a little bit it was more of a happy time where the devout Jews would for a week would live outdoors.

17:33 I guess it was like a camp out. Kids probably loved it. But they would construct booths of tree branches and dwell these simple dwellings as a reminder of God's provision for them and their departure from Egypt during the Exodus. It reminded them of god that god dwells with his people. And one of the key components of the Feast of Tabernacles includes the theme of water and light which I'm sure Ray will develop more next week as he gets in the latter part of chapter seven and also some of the other brothers take up chapter eight.

18:14 Water and light and I'm not going to steal any of Ray's thunder for next week but if you read ahead, you can you can see what it is when Jesus makes a reference to water. So, then, the feast of booths would have been a prime time for Jesus to to go and make himself known but it wasn't time yet and he told his brothers, it's not it's not my time. We know later that of of the four of his brothers that we do know about in scripture, two of them for sure came to faith. His brother James wrote the book of James and his brother Jude wrote the book of Jude and we can see that salvation is a process. Some of I don't think, I don't know if any of you, upon first hearing of the gospel, came to faith.

19:02 I know for me, it was a process. I I love one of the stories Joel Rees tells about a a man that he that was on their radar, his radar, and he he passionately preached the gospel to this fellow and and it was still a while later that he came to faith and after after that happened, he asked the fellow, what took you so long? And he said, well, it just took me a while. He relayed to Joe how Joe was the sixth. The fellow was paying attention.

19:35 Joe was number six of 10 people that shared the Gospel with him, and finally, it all came together and he understood it. So trend continues today, too. So be patient in your preaching of the Gospel, but preach the Gospel. So the personal attacks that Jesus experienced told his brothers that their time was always at hand because they were part of the world system at that point, but Christ time had not yet come and in fact, the world hated him because his message was not what the world wanted to hear and we saw in chapter one that he came unto his own and his own received him not. So, those are the attacks that Jesus experienced.

20:57 But the question that think begs to be asked is, Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus to me? Who do we say that he is? And how are we responding to that and living in light of that? One of the thoughts that comes to me often is the quote that Jim Elliot spoke sixty plus years ago, and he said, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

21:30 He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Who doesn't know who Jim Elliot is? I'm impressed, but I don't believe you guys. There's got to be someone in the room. I just wanna give a a plug for who he for just a reminder of of what went on.

21:52 This is Jim Elliot. He right here on the right. He and four of his comrades were murdered sixty years ago in January. If you've never read that story, I'll let you borrow this issue of Missions Magazine to review it. Very interesting times.

22:08 That event, sixty years ago, was a great impetus for young people going into missionary service. In the middle is Pete Fleming and his brother Ken Fleming who who's still alive wrote the article and inside has a picture of Ken with his brother's killer. His brother came to faith and six fifty years later, some of these pictures are from fifty years after the event. They actually broke bread on the beach where the men were slain and had a baptism. So God had a plan for these young men who laid down their life for him.

22:53 So if you have not read that story, please ask for it and I'll let you take it. But it's a good answer to the question of who Jesus is. These men were willing to devote their lives to him. Okay, we've had the personal attacks, the public assessment, and now, verses 14 to 24, the premier academics. When Jesus did make his appearance at this feast, and the events of this feast, I understand, composed chapters seven, eight, nine, and 10 of John.

23:28 He was, when Jesus did make his appearance at the feast, he he, it says in in verse 14, now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled saying, how does this man know letters having never studied? He was astounding them with his with his academic abilities, with his ability to teach, which, of course, to us, are not surprised by that because Jesus is the author of scriptures. He... Who else understands them than the one who authored them?

24:05 And as as God, as the son of God, he was able to to do to teach better than anybody. So, they they who those leaders, those Jews who prided themselves on the ability to teach the law and they perhaps relied more on tradition than truth, were astounded by Jesus' teaching. One of the interesting things I heard last weekend was a session by a fellow who was talking about the rabbinical process, and apparently, and I have to research this because this just astounds me, someone who wanted to study under a rabbi had to audition, well, interview for that privilege, and one of the requirements to enter rabbinical school was to have the Old Testament memorized. Which implies a pretty thorough knowledge of the Old Testament. So, some of these rabbis, if that tradition is true, would would literally have the Old Testament memorized but Jesus, of course, fully understood it and we know on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection, Jesus was explaining to those men the things concerning himself from Moses and the prophets and they were they were also were were quite impressed with his teaching.

25:51 He's healing people. And now they're saying, who is this fellow? But let's look at what Jesus says to that question. Jesus gives them another piece of evidence that they missed. Jesus Jesus said in verse 16, hey, it's not my teaching, it's the one who sent me.

26:16 It's the teaching of the one who sent me. Jesus was speaking for the father. I love that Christmas carol. Think it's come all ye faithful, referring to Jesus, word of the father now in flesh appearing. The just the the richness of the terminology, the word in the beginning was the word.

26:37 Jesus, the father sent the word to communicate with us. And here we have the word of god, the lord Jesus, communicating to the to the religious leaders and they're blown away and they don't understand who he is. It's it's a tragedy. He explained to them, it's not my teaching, it's my father's teaching who sent me. Then verse 17, he's basically saying, If you were truly seeking to know the word of God, you would know that what I'm speaking is from God.

27:12 Another dig upon them for their inadequate knowledge of who Jesus is. In verse 18 also, or 18, the rabbis were trying to draw attention to themselves, but that was not the case with Jesus. He was speaking for the glory of the father and that's another evidence that what he was communicating was true. That the one who sent him is true and there was no one righteousness in him. The lord's was not teaching for his own glory but to communicate the message from the Father, the rabbinical system.

27:54 It was actually competitions within it for who could explain the law better. Talk about missing it though. So, verse 19. Jesus points out another inconsistency in their whole system. They were proud of themselves on being expert teachers, but yet they were missing even the teaching of Moses.

28:28 Part of the law of Moses was from God, but Moses communicated it was one of the 10 commandments, you shall not kill. And Jesus goes right to the to the crux of the matter. Why do you want to kill me? Why do you seek to kill me? To to put his finger on another one of their needs that that they hated him.

28:51 And if they were pride of themselves on keeping the law of Moses but hated Jesus to the point where they wanted to kill him, they also were at fault here as well. Verse 20. Then the people answered him, you have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you? That That is is blasphemy to attribute to Jesus that he has a demon.

29:26 Who is seeking to kill you? He was speaking a message that they needed but they didn't want to hear. They were spiritually blind. And because they didn't want to hear it, because it went against what they believed they wanted to get rid of them. They were clinging to their religion instead of instead of the truth.

29:56 I don't know how you define religion, but my dad used to always define religion as man's attempt to satisfy God. And you can pick the religion of your choice if you want, whether it's Buddha or Hinduism or or whatever illustrates man's attempt to satisfy god but what satisfies god is not our works but the work of Christ. The atonement of Christ that is applied to us when we place our faith in him. It's it's so simple. It's it's it's so simple that it's so hard to believe.

30:37 People like to do and do and do rather than understand that that the work of salvation is done, done for us and that we by placing our faith in him can can be saved. Jesus is putting his finger right on the prom here. He was assaulting their religion, which is a system of their own doing. It obviously included truths of God's revelation, but they had twisted it to the point where it didn't didn't mean much. And then another illustration Jesus uses here at the end of the section Jews had no problem doing works on the Sabbath if it was justified by their interpretation of the law, namely circumcision.

31:27 Law regulated that the boys that were born needed to be circumcised and it had to happen eight days after birth. So if they were born on the Sabbath, it goes simple reality that the day for them to be circumcised is going be the Sabbath. And so, it had to be done, of course, because it's spelled out in the law, their traditions, and so they did it. They didn't have a problem with that, but when Jesus would heal a whole man on the Sabbath, then that was a problem that they couldn't couldn't deal with. So, I pointed out another inconsistency in their whole thinking.

32:03 They were majoring in the minors and they missed the point. Sometime, look again in Matthew 23 where Jesus just gives a scathing rebuke of the thinking and the teaching of the Pharisees. Also in Matthew six where he talks about, you know, when you pray, don't stand in the corner and pray and let everybody see you or when you're giving alms, don't make a big deal of it. Give in secret but the Pharisees were making a big deal of it. There's lessons in that for us too, to live our faith sincerely before the Lord and not in front of others to make an appearance for them to try to show off, for lack of a better word.

33:27 But look, he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? So, they knew that they wanted to kill Jesus, but it wasn't happening. Jesus was still speaking, still heaping shame upon them, still trying to bring them to the point of conviction, and the people there are partially mocking the Jews. Do the rulers know that they changed their mind?

33:58 Did they no longer want to kill them as being a fraud? Have they come to the realization that this is truly the Messiah? But then they, in themselves, said, well, that can't be because when the Messiah comes, nobody's going to know where he came from. And there are some Old Testament scriptures that seem to indicate that but we do know that scriptures say, where where the Messiah would be born. And then Jesus in in verse 28, responds to them.

34:37 Then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple saying, You both know me and you know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. Jesus is acknowledging and he's agreeing with them, yeah, you know where I come from, or at least you think you know I come from as a human being, as a man. He was raised in Nazareth. He might have been, he was born in Bethlehem but his family lived in Nazareth.

35:05 So, they knew that it was he was Jesus of Nazareth. He had a a an occupation there before he went before he started his public ministry. So, they knew humanly where he came from but they did not understand who he was spiritually that he was in fact the Messiah, the son of god and the latter part of verse 28, he didn't have, he didn't merely come from Nazareth but he was sent by someone who they who they do not know, namely, the father. And he again reiterates his his deity in verse 29. But I know him and I am from him and he sent me.

35:48 And again, we read that they sought to take him but no one laid a hand in him because his hour had not yet come. It's an interesting thing to view the relationship between the behavior of man and the will of God and how these events work together. But as interesting as that is, it's still the bottom line for each of us whether we're whether we're newly saved or been saved for sixty years or or not yet saved, the question remains, who is Jesus? Where did he come from? What did he do when he was here?

37:22 Is he the Christ or is he not the Christ? He can't be the Christ because we know where he came from, but we know who Jesus is and where he came from. Let's like many who have gone before us, devote our lives to him. So, let's pray. Father, again, we thank you for your word and for the life that it contains, for the power.

37:44 Help us father to continue to be students of it and to be empowered by it and to to buy our lives, demonstrate it to others and by our by our words as well to be able to communicate it effectively. Father, we thank you for the body you've raised up here. Help us to just care for one another according to our gifts and abilities, and we just pray that you'll help us all to have the desire to to know Jesus more and to keep growing in him. And and we pray these things in his name. Amen.