The Case for
Christ
John 7:25-36
Introduction: As the gospels were written, in the decades after Jesus’ death,
the writers had an apologetic challenge: if Jesus really was the Messiah of the
Jews, how could it be that He was not recognized by His own people, how is it
possible that not even the religious leaders saw who He was? The same
questions sometimes come up today. The Gospel writers are showing us that
everything that happened was in accordance with the plan of the Father. The
rejection of Jesus was not a failure, but had in fact been predicted in the
Scriptures, and the precise fulfillment of prophecies vindicated His claim to
be the Messiah. John emphasizes that as the plan of God unfolded, Jesus, the
Son of God, was in control, no one would take His life, He would lay it down of
his own accord.
This is one of those
paragraphs in the Bible where we see the mystery of the Triune God: Father,
Son, and Spirit (God willing, we’ll cover 7:37-39 and the promise of the Spirit
in a separate message after vacation). The Father sent the Son to save us, and
Jesus would send the Spirit to empower us to live the abundant life he wants
for us and to carry out the mission He has entrusted to us. Just as the Jewish
leaders were determined in their rejection of Jesus and in their resistance to His
teaching, some, by the Spirit, will be opened to Him and believe. These will
receive the indwelling presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. There was
confusion over the idea that the Messiah was the eternal Son of God, and
especially that He came to die for those who believe. The Messiah would be
their Rescuer, how could He die? Yet in doing so He provided for them and for us
forgiveness and empowerment to live a new life.
At the heart of
John’s purpose in writing is the third question that has been guiding us in our
reading of John: What does it mean to believe in Him? But before we can
answer that question which focuses on our response, John is giving us his
eyewitness testimony, giving us the facts about 1) Who Jesus is; And 2) Why He
came. Those questions about His person and His mission will be our focus in this
paragraph…
The Big Idea: Despite
opposition, the plan of the Father would be carried out by the Son in God’s
way, and in His time. We’ll look at that today in a simple two-part outline,
1) The Perspectives
of the People about Jesus (25-31); and
2) A Prediction
of the Passion, and the Plan of God (32-36).
I. The Perspectives
of the People: Who is this Jesus? (25-31). The messianic hope was likely stirred with the arrival of the Feast
of Booths. God had preserved them in the wilderness, and promised life and
security in the Land. “How long O Lord until the life of blessing is fully
realized?” The leaders’ minds were squarely set against Jesus…
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this
the man whom they seek to kill? 26
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? 27 But we know
where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where
he comes from."
We see another group faced with the question of who Jesus is, not pilgrims
from away who are in town for the Feast, but “some of the people of
Jerusalem,” seemingly local residents who were joining in the celebrations.
The peninsula that we lived on when we were serving up in Maine had about 5,000
year-round residents. That swelled to over 50,000 in the tourist season. The
residents of Jerusalem were used to the influx of pilgrims during the prescribed
Feasts. That Jesus was there would not have been surprising, but this public
appearance seemingly was not expected by the locals.
First, we see the
confusion over the fact that Jesus was there speaking publicly, when it was
known among the people that the leadership intended to put him to death. They
express some knowledge of the antipathy of the leaders toward Jesus, asking “Is
this not the man that the authorities seek to kill?” Yet now Jesus was
speaking openly on the Temple grounds, and He was not being confronted. Why?
What did this mean? Had they changed their minds about Him? The hatred of the
leaders would not stop Jesus from speaking to the people in His time. He knew
that eventually there would be a climax to His rejection, but that that time
had not yet come. He did not fear the leaders. He was faithfully carrying out
the plan of God on schedule. The rebellion against the Lord and His Anointed in
Psalm 2 comes to mind,
Why do the
nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against
his anointed, saying, 3
"Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from
us." 4 He who sits in
the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
God is God, and He does not fear human rebellion. Amazingly, it is
because of our rebellion that He sent the Son to save us! As surely as Jesus
came walking to the disciples on the dark and stormy sea, and said, “Fear
not, it is I ( I AM), that promise is extended to us in Christ in the NT: I
am with you always (Mt 28:20), I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb
13:5). What are the things that would make us afraid? We can remember His
presence and take heart! Later in this Gospel he’ll say, “…I have
said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will
have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
Here, the people of
Jerusalem seem to be considering, or perhaps debating who Jesus might be, and
what the inaction of the authorities in not responding to His public preaching
might imply. Look at 7:26b-27,
…Can it be
that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man
comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes
from."
Why were the authorities, who were known to be opposed to Jesus
and even planning to kill Him, not taking action? Had they reconsidered the
evidence and concluded that He was in fact the Messiah? But the reply comes
immediately, expressing a presumed disqualifier, we know where He is from,
but no one will know where the Messiah comes from. This was a popular
belief, held by some, but not based on Scripture. Remember in Matthew 2, the Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem and inquired of Herod as to the birthplace of
the King of the Jews — the religious leaders were able to point to Micah 5:2
and Bethlehem (Mt 2; Jn 7:43). In fact, that question comes up later in this
chapter in response to Jesus’ teaching and brings division…
40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This
really is the Prophet." 41
Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ
to come from Galilee? 42 Has
not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and
comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" 43 So there was a division among
the people over him (7:40-43).
John never reports that Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem. Most
likely, since he is writing decades after the other Gospels were written and
circulated, he is assuming that his readers already know where Jesus was born.
Here, in our context, some are rejecting Jesus on the basis of an unscriptural
idea, no one will know where the Christ is from. Some people still
reject God not based upon the facts, but because in some way what God reveals
about himself seems incompatible with popular thinking. God Has spoken. We
have His Word written. And yet most people never read it. Their reason,
what “seems right” to them, determines what they will believe. We hear that all
the time, right? Hell? Judgment? Absolutes of right and wrong? People say my
god is not like that! Love is love… Really? God is love, and His Word is Truth!
Popular ideas don’t determine truth. The problem is their god is an idol, made
up in their own mind.
Read 7:28-29, some
division was inevitable: then and now, as people consider Jesus. Many believed,
others would not…
28 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.
29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me."
30 So they were seeking to arrest him…
There seems to be some irony in what Jesus is
saying here: “Yes, you know me and where I am from [!?] Do you really
think so?” Of the English versions I compared, only the older edition (2001) of
the ESV puts that as a question, but it is implied in the context. Their
“knowledge” of Jesus, and of His place of origin, was partial and inadequate. They
may have known of His family home in Nazareth, and their move to Capernaum.
There is no indication that they knew of His birth in Bethlehem, much less His
being sent from heaven by the Father! Jesus had said that repeatedly in
chapters 5 and 6 (see 5:36-38; 6:33,38 etc.). He says plainly in Jn 7:29, “I
know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent me.” I don’t want to make too
much of it, since John frequently uses another common word for the Father
“sending” Jesus (pempo), but here he uses the word that implies more,
being sent on a mission, representing the Sender (apostello). Certainly,
in this Gospel that idea has been emphasized. Jesus is the Revelation of God,
He was sent from the Father to carry out the Divine Plan, and now at the Feast
of Tabernacles, on the grounds of the Temple, the One who tabernacled among us
is “proclaiming,” crying out with a prophetic intent, the Truth! Essentially,
He is saying, “I’ve been sent by the Father and you don’t know either of us!”
John
7:30-31,
30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand
on him, because his hour had not yet come.
31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said,
"When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has
done?"
“Some
tried to seize Him…” (30), clearly intending to do him harm, or to deliver
Him to the rulers, but they couldn’t touch him. We are not told how or why they
couldn’t seize Him, but by now we don’t need to know. He is not only
omniscient, he knows the hearts of humans, but He is also omnipotent, nothing
is going to stop, delay, or hasten his plan and timing. “His hour had not
yet come” (see also 8:20; contrast 12;23,37). Later in John 18:5-8, they
are powerless to arrest Him, until He allows it. God’s timing, God’s plan, was
not going to be hastened, or delayed, by men. It was the feast of Tabernacles.
Passover was still six months or so away. The cross was not an accident, but it
would only come at the time God had determined.
Don’t
miss 7:31, “Many believed in Him…”
– His teaching, and the signs, were compelling! This should encourage us as we
seek to share Christ: some will believe. Some will have their hearts
opened to the truth and so turn to Him in faith. *Despite opposition, the plan
of the Father would be carried out by
the Son in His time.
II. A Prediction
of the Passion: Why did He come? Condemnation by the Leaders reveals
their confusion and their rejection of Him ironically fulfilled God’s plan (32-36).
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him,
and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, "I will
be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will
not find me. Where I am you cannot come."
Here, in 7:32-34, we
see the leaders are determined to stop Him. The Pharisees and the chief priests
(who were mostly Sadducees) are of one mind on this, and they send a contingent
to arrest Him. This was why Jesus avoided making a public entrance at the
beginning of the feast as His brothers had suggested - And now, as he began to publicly
teach in the middle of the feast, they send a group to seize him. In 33-34 He
makes this somewhat mysterious statement, "I will be with you a little
longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.
34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you
cannot come." For readers of the Gospel it is clear enough, since we
know that He is the Bread from Heaven, that He came from the Father. Certainly,
on a second reading of the Gospel, we know that Jesus is pointing to His death,
resurrection, and ascension. This is why He came, to give His life to save
those given by the Father, those who believe. John the Baptist alluded to the
mission when he twice in chapter 1 called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Jesus spoke
of it when He said in John 2, “Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will
raise it up.” He pointed to it in John 3 when He said,
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, 15
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (Jn 3:14-15).
But for the leaders here in John 7:35-36, more confusion…
35 The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to
go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the
Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36
What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and,
'Where I am you cannot come'?"
Misunderstanding is
another theme that we have seen repeatedly in John. Remember how Nicodemus was
confused about being born again, how the Samaritan woman at the well wanted the
water that would satisfy her thirst forever, how the multitude was offended
when Jesus spoke of believing in terms of eating His body and drinking his
blood… Here, in 7:35-36 the confusion surfaces again, where is he going that
we can’t go? To teach the Greeks? They are probably asking if Jesus was
going to the Greek-speaking Jews, the Diaspora, those who lived outside of
Judea and among the Gentiles. There is some irony here in that, as we know,
after His death and resurrection, the inclusion of the gentiles would indeed be
an aspect of the Missio Dei, the Mission of God. Later in this Gospel, some
Greeks seeking to see Jesus is a sign that His Day was at hand. Looking ahead,
we read in Jn 12:20-23,
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some
Greeks. 21 So they came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to
see Jesus." 22 Philip
went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The interest of the
Gentiles was an indication the time was at hand. Here in 7:35-36 they had no
idea that Jesus was talking about His departure from the world, his death, and resurrection.
Despite opposition the plan of the Father would be carried out by the Son, and
as He will say in the following verses, continues to
be applied by the Spirit.
What is God saying to me in this passage? Who is Jesus? The Eternal Son of God. Why did He come? Despite
opposition, the plan of the Father would be carried out by the Son in God’s
way, and in His time, He would give His life so that through faith in Him we
could have life.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) We saw in John 3:17 that “…God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him.” Have you recognized your sin, and looked to Jesus as your Savior? Jesus
paid it all, all to Him I owe!
2) Jesus is building His church, and If you know Him, you have
been saved for a purpose. You have a part in His mission. That means for one
thing using your gifts to encourage other believers, the “one another”
statements in the Bible remind us that we are part of a team, we need each
other, we build each other up.
3) We also have a responsibility to be a witness, as we live in
this fallen world, God has placed us where we are as His missionaries to the
people in our sphere of influence, prayerfully looking for opportunities to lift
up the Name of Jesus. AMEN.
Comments
Post a Comment