John 7:19-30: “Christmas Eve
2006: The Pharisees Didn’t, But Would
You Recognize Jesus?”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 69 of chapter 6 through verse 18 of chapter
7.
1.1.1. We finished up John’s telling of the story of Jesus’ “Bread
of Life Discourse.”
1.1.2. We observed Peter’s confession of Jesus when Jesus asks
the 12 if they too want to leave Him as the rest had left Him after the
teaching.
1.1.3. We saw that Jesus was now finished with His Galilean
ministry. Jesus again began ministering
with His disciples in
1.1.4. Knowing the Jews in Judea plan to kill Him Jesus went
secretly up to
1.1.5. At one point Jesus stood up to speak in the temple and
we saw that there was a variety of opinions concerning Him. Those influenced by the religious leaders of
the day thought that Jesus was a deceiver and an evil man. However, the common folk believed that He was
a great man and doing wonderful things for mankind in the many acts of healing
that He performed.
1.1.6. The people however were amazed that having had no
formal education nor been raised up in the schools of the Pharisees that Jesus
taught from the scriptures with great authority.
1.1.7. Jesus began to defend Himself and debate with the Jews
there in the temple telling them that His teaching did not come from Himself
but from the Father. He told them that
if anyone was willing to do the Father’s will that he would know of His
teaching whether or not it was from God.
He told them that He sought to glorify only the Father.
1.2.
In our
study today, we are going to look at verses 19-30 of chapter 7.
1.2.1. We will see in our study that Jesus is still there in
the temple debating with the Jews. He
will continue to do this and begin to reveal to them that He knew that they
were trying to kill Him, and then He will begin to convict them for the
hypocrisy in their own lives that caused them to reject Him and not believe in
Him.
1.2.2. As I was praying about what to teach on this Christmas
Eve Sunday, I thought that I would probably depart from our study in John and
teach a topical message with a Christmas theme.
However, as God began to put on my heart what I believe that He wants me
to teach on today, I realized that the very text where we currently reside in
John chapter 7 is a very good text for my teaching. Many of my ideas came as a result of an email
that I received on a pastor’s list server from a Calvary Chapel pastor named
Bob Fromm concerning whether or not we would know Jesus if we saw Him today.
1.2.3. In our study in John 7, the Pharisees on this day in
1.2.4. We mimic the saying, “What would Jesus do?” (WWJD) but
have you really sat down and thought about what that might mean?
1.2.5. Isaiah chapter 61 is a chapter of the Old Testament
that reveals what the mission of the Messiah will be when He comes. We know that Jesus is that Messiah. The Greek word “Christ” is the
translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” But, Psalm 61 shines such a bright light
concerning the Messiah and His mission that I believe few of us really relate
as much to it as we do other Messianic portions. Listen to the words describing the Messiah’s
mission from Isaiah 61:1-9:
“1 The Spirit of the Lord God
is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed
me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To
grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a
spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting
of the Lord, that He may be
glorified. 4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will
raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The
desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers will stand and pasture
your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. 6 But
you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth
of nations, And in their riches you will boast. 7 Instead of your
shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation
they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a
double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs. 8 For
I, the Lord, love justice, I hate
robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Then their offspring
will be known among the nations, And their descendants in the midst of the
peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring whom
the Lord has blessed.” Rather than seeing Jesus reaching out to the
poor and downcast in society, we would prefer to see Him as the ruling and
reigning Lord on high, and ourselves reigning close by His side.
1.2.6. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Jerusalem for saying that they were not
like their forefathers who persecuted the prophets, since they were honoring
the prophets by white washing their tombs, yet in reality they were still
killing the prophets and those who spoke for God, and, they were planning to
kill Him at that time. Today, we say and
think we are not like the Pharisees and we think that we aren’t because we go
to church, honor Jesus at Easter and Christmas, pray that the Lord is with us,
etc.
1.2.7. However, do we not make the same error that the
Pharisees in Jesus’ day made? What does
Jesus look like in action? Would you
recognize Him if you saw Him today?
1.2.8. We see from the scriptures that Jesus still carries
the wounds He received from us while on earth.
Forever, He will carry these as a badge of honor and a token of His love
for us. It is hard to imagine anyone
rebelling against one who carries the scars you deserved, one who willingly
took them in your place because of love for you. Yet, while Jesus carries His scars and visits
and mends the poor and broken hearted we are more likely to pray for a house
that has five bedrooms instead of four, a car that has lots of acceleration and
a quieter and smoother ride than plus a computer with GPS guidance capability,
victory for our football team or baseball team over the other team. We Americans love to watch the movies about
those who are winners and victors. But
is this what Jesus is interested in?
1.2.9. Bono, the lead singer for the band U2, a man who is a
professing Christian and one who champions the needs of the poor and downcast,
had the following remarks for our president at this year’s national day of
prayer celebration, “God is in the slums, in the
cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother
who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is
in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted
opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. “If you remove
the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday
and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched
places.””
1.2.10.In Matthew
25:31-46, Jesus taught that at that final day of judgment that the sheep (God’s
people) would be divided from the goats (not God’s people) before His glorious
throne, and notice what He states is the reason for the distinction between the
two groups, “31 “But when the Son of Man
comes inHis glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His
glorious throne. 32 “All the
nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one
another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the
left. 34 “Then the King will say to
those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I
was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and
you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you
clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to
Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will
answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and
give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or
naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did
we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you,
to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the
least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me,
accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and
his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and
you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to
drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you
did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison,
and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then
they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or
thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care
of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer
them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to
1.2.11.Isaiah told us that the Messiah’s name was to be “Emanuel” which
is translated to mean, “God with us” :
God with
us? Maybe a question would help here. Are we
with God? Are we going with God and doing what God is doing?
When the Jews
and Herod looked for a Messiah, they were looking for a charismatic
personality, a commanding leader, a rich person (one who could employ an army).
God with us meant “we conquer and overthrow the Romans and take our
place as the world’s leaders.” God with us meant “We Jews are exalted in
the eyes of the Gentiles who persecute us and when God inflicts righteous
judgment upon our enemies.” What does God with us mean to you? Is it
that you win the prize of economic success in
God with
us began in a stable’s manger. God with us took Jesus through the
rejection of his own brothers and led Him to a crucifixion. God with us created a man that Isaiah
described as, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” God with
us led to 400 years of persecution of the church. I’m not claiming that God
doesn’t bless people financially, nor that we Christians ought to be sad people
or do without any modern conveniences and gadgets. It just that Jesus spends
His day preaching good news to the poor and binding up the broken hearted, but
what do we do with our day?
1.2.12.Calvary Chapel pastor Bob Fromm wrote the following to
a bunch of us
“Last week as
we were arranging to give away 160 bicycles this year for Christmas we had a
God with us event. One of the poorest school districts in
2.
VS
7:19 - “‘Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the
Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?’”
- Jesus confronts the Jews for not
keeping the Law and seeking to kill Him
2.1.
In this verse, Jesus reveals the hypocrisy and
wickedness of the Jews because they were trying to kill Him for breaking the
law, and they themselves broke the law all of the time.
2.2.
In fact, every action of the Jews in seeking to kill
Jesus without a fair trial and hearing was a violation of the law.
3.
VS
7:20 - “The multitude answered, ‘You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?’”
- The crowd accuses Jesus of having a
demon because He states that they want to kill Him
3.1.
The mass of the crowd were naive to the real depths of
wickedness in their midst, a wickedness that permeated the very religious
institution that ran the nation of
3.2.
The multitude accuses Jesus of speaking morose and
depressing things because He is possessed by a demon.
3.3.
In reality, they were probably saying that He must be
mad, rather than that He was demon possessed.
4.
VS
7:21-24 - “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I did
one deed, and you all marvel. On this
account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but
from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath
that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made
an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do
not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment’.”
- Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the
Jews because they circumcise a man on the Sabbath yet are angry with Him
because He made a man well on the Sabbath
4.1.
In these verses, Jesus tells the multitude that if
they circumcise a male the day after birth, even if the day after is the
Sabbath, then why should they be upset with Him if He made a man well body and
spirit, and performed that on the Sabbath.
4.2.
The Jews circumvented the law by their traditions, and
in this case they are breaking the letter of the law by circumcision on the
Sabbath. His healing brought much more
good to a man than mere circumcision, however they are blind to their own
sin.
4.3.
Jesus tells these Jews to judge righteously, not
according to their own prejudices and preconceptions which may or may not be
righteous of themselves, and not according to mere outward appearances.
5.
VS
7:25-26 - “Therefore some of the people of
5.1.
Some of the people in the multitude began to be in
amazement that Jesus was being allowed to teach openly in the temple. The Pharisees and scribes had previously
seeking to arrest Him, and now no one was saying a thing to Him as He taught
openly.
5.2.
Jesus was always in control of every situation. He was only crucified when heaven determined
the time. The Jews were paralyzed at
this time to doing anything to stop Him.
5.3.
Jesus is always in control of the circumstances of my
life, even when it appears that things are out of hand. Nothing ever catches Him off guard, or
dethrones Him from the place of power.
Satan has a chain around his ankle and can only perform that which God
has given him permission!
6.
VS
7:27-30 - “‘However, we know where this man is
from; but whenever the Christ may come,
no one knows where He is from’. Jesus
therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, ‘You both know Me and
know where I am from; and I have not
come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him;
because I am from Him, and He sent Me’.
They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His
hour had not yet come.” - The Jews say
that they know where Jesus is from but when the Messiah comes them will not
know where He is from, and then Jesus defends Himself
6.1.
The Jews on this day didn’t know their scriptures
well. In Micah 5:2, the Old Testament
scripture states that the Messiah will be from
6.2.
Even though the scripture had said where the Messiah
would be born, there was among the Jews a teaching that the Messiah would appear
much as Melchisidek, coming from nowhere and having no mother or father whom
they knew.
6.3.
Jesus cries out twice in this chapter. This time, He cries out that they know Him
and where He is from, however they don’t realize that He is actually come from
the Father.
6.4.
Jesus tells them that one thing that is certain, ‘they
do not know the Father.’
6.5.
In their eyes Jesus blasphemies again, saying that He
does know the Father, and that the Father has indeed sent Him. The Jews wanted therefore to seize Jesus and
take Him away, but Jesus had caused all to be paralyzed and unable to stop Him,
for He was the one in control of this situation.
7.
CONCLUSIONS:
7.1.
The Jews
on this day didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They didn’t recognize Him because of the things
that He did. They didn’t see His glory
in the incredible and wonderful works that He performed in freeing those who
were sick and crippled and possessed by demons.
They didn’t see Him in the mercy and grace that He dispensed to
all. They didn’t see Him in His power
and ability to perform the miraculous.
Would you see Him today because of the things that He did?
7.2.
In Isaiah 58:6-13, Isaiah tells us of the fast and
repentance that the Lord would like us to perform as His people, and note here
that much of what the Lord tells us has to do with helping out those who are
poor, helpless, and unfortunate, “6 “Is this not the fast which I
choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to
let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? 7 “Is it not to
divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own
flesh? 8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your
recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your
rear guard. 9 “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I
am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and
speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry And
satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And
your gloom will become like midday. 11 “And the Lord will continually guide you, And
satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And
you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do
not fail. 12 “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer
of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. 13 “If
because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure
on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting
from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your
own word.””
7.3.
In the
scriptures, according to Bono’s speech again, over 2,100 times “the poor”
are mentioned. Bono in his sermon at the
National Day of Prayer noted that we were all motivated with compassion to
reach out and help the people in Indonesia when the tsunami of last year hit
and 300,000 people were killed, however in Africa that many people are killed
every month by the Aids virus, a disease that is preventable and treatable with
supplies that are available in our American drug stores. I think that it might be a good time for us
as a church to consider some sort of aid that we can give to the people in
7.4.
Lets
commit ourselves as Christians in the coming year to helping out and assisting
the poor and helpless that are in our world today.
7.5.
Finally,
have a truly blessed and merry Christmas!!!