John 7:53-8:11 Throwing Stones - Responding To Critical Attacks

24.05.09 John 7:53-8:11 (NASB)

Audio Sermon File: John 7:53-8:11

Going Deeper: Study Guide

Throwing Stones - Responding to Critical Attacks

A guy came to his pastor and said, "Pastor, I only have one talent." The pastor asked, "What’s your talent? The man said, "I have the gift of criticism." The pastor was wise and replied, "The Bible says that the guy who had only one talent went out and buried it. Maybe that’s what you ought to do with yours."...

Some of us may joke about having the gift of criticism, but on a more serious note - our lesson today strikes at the heart of each one on us - none of us can say that we are exempt from it. I encourage you to consider for yourself some of the applications that are presented today. Our passage today is a very well known story - the account of the woman caught in adultery, and the attempt by the religious establishment to satisfy the Law by having her stoned. The story deals with a critical attack on the woman, but the real focus and real attack is upon Jesus. Criticism can be constructive and given with the aim to edify, but what we are dealing with today is critical attacks, that have the aim to destroy. Critical attacks can be dished out by us - or maybe we are on the receiving end - but in both cases they should be buried. There are some basic reasons why this happens which may include jealousy - someone gets a promotion at work and you hear these words - ‘he didn’t deserve that promotion….the guy is an idiot…he just got it because he does whatever the boss wants’ - a stone is thrown. Perhaps critical attacks can stem from pride - look at Stella, she thinks that her term paper is so great - she should have focused more on this area… she is such a loser - pride causes us to think that we are better than the other person so we judge and criticize them - another stone is thrown.

Sometimes we attack others because it is a way that we can cover our own sin - just like in our passage where the religious authorities want to take the focus off their sin in light of truth - and they set up a smoke screen - set the attention upon someone else, on Jesus - and stones are picked up. Another reason why critical attacks take place is due to our insecurities - they can often lead us to maliciously judge and criticize others - we are threatened by the success and hard work of a colleague and we think this - I’m going to really give it to Donald in front of everyone tonight at our team meeting - and then we follow through on it - the stone is thrown….

Whatever the root is - we must realize that critical attacks are not edifying and it is sin. Scripture tells us that we are not to tear one another down but instead we are to what?…… encourage one another and build up one another (1 Thess. 5:11).

Our passage today is very well known story - the account of the woman caught in adultery, and the attempt to satisfy the Law by having her stoned. Yet many of us do not realize that this story has its unique challenges, in terms of where it belongs in Scripture. In terms of the Gospel of John most Bible scholars would agree that this passage does not belong at this juncture. Most believe that at some point in time this story was added since the best manuscripts of John do not have it. In addition no leaders of the Greek Church refer to it for about 1000 years after Jesus' time. The style and vocabulary speak against its inclusion, so does the fact that it seems to interrupt the flow of events that are in chapter 7. There are even manuscripts that place this story at different places in the Gospels. So we might ask - is this story for real then? The answer is that there is no reason to believe that this account is not historically correct or lacks any historical veracity. It does seems that this account though not belonging to the gospel of John, that it was preserved and communicated from a very early time. It is also treated by most as belonging to the Bible, but the question was - where? Most of our English translations keep it at this point. It is possible that we are incorrect about all of the above, and therefore it is kept in the text at this point. So what do we do with it then? The account gives no reason to dismiss it as fabricated, since it appears to be in full agreement with Jesus' character, so it is taught and considered.

From today’s passage we can get some insight into how to respond to critical attacks. The first realization is that…

CRITICAL ATTACKS WILL ALWAYS BE PRESENT (v.7:53-8:5)

People will always try corner you in, there will always be someone that wants to slam you for no good reason…this can be anywhere…even at church by those who are immature and also those who are supposed to be mature.

Let us begin our passage… 53 [Everyone went to his home. 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and [began] to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center [of the court], 4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"

v.7:53 - With the fiery exchange of opinions, assertions, and insults of chapter 7, one would have expected that Jesus would have been seized and arrested. Jesus from a human standpoint was vulnerable, in enemy territory - but we observe that God has His way as always - and He sovereignly controls the details of history. What happens is that the gathered Sanhedrin are scattered - their evil plans against the Son of God are held at bay by God's hand. As a result Everyone went to his home.

v.8:1 - In contrast Jesus follows a familiar pattern of His - that is He teaches in Jerusalem and then departs in the evening to a place outside the city. This time as on other occasions Jesus heads for the Mount of Olives, a favourite place for Him. It is quite possible that Jesus went to the town of Bethany, to stay with His friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Or simply He could have slept on the mountainside as Scripture records on other occasions.

v.2 - Early in the morning, at daybreak... Jesus went into the temple courts. Once again Jesus follows His regular pattern of teaching the people, when He enters into the temple. There came a continuous stream of people gathering around Him, so Jesus teaches them.

v.3 - In the midst of Jesus' teaching - this is where the critical attack begins - The scribes and the Pharisees, that is members of the Sanhedrin, bring to Jesus, a woman. It becomes apparent that a trap was being laid out before Jesus - and this is confirmed in verse 6. If we think through the circumstances we can observe some suspicious details. The first is that this was early in the morning. It seems to be a real possibility, that the Sanhedrin were out all night devising a scheme to trap Jesus....and this is what they came up with. Picture this in your minds - there is a growing crowd around Jesus and suddenly there is a growing disturbance of voices....these are of the people. The Sanhedrin members push aside the people in order to get to the front - where Jesus sat. They bring this woman and they - set her in the center - so that everyone could see this spectacle. The second thing which seems unusual is that the Sanhedrin brought the woman to Jesus, where they normally would have dragged her off to their own courts to bring her to trial - instead they publicly flaunt their 'prized catch.'

v.4 - The captors say to Jesus - Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. The fact that this woman was guilty was not an issue. Another thing that seems odd about the Sanhedrin's circus act was - how did these guys actually catch this woman in adultery? In those days adultery was a severely punishable sin...unlike today where marital unfaithfulness is unfortunately statistically high - and it seems that it has become increasingly more accepted - and perhaps even a lifestyle option. In Jesus' time those daring enough to engage in adultery would certainly have hidden it well. Another consideration is this - adultery involves 2 people...what happened to the counterpart - the man who was caught in adultery? It becomes a possibility that these teachers of the law and Pharisees could have set up this woman.

v.5 - The captors continue saying - Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say? The Law which they referred to was from one of two verses. The first is from Lev. 20:10 and the second which is essentially the same, comes from Deut. 22:22 - "If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die…. The manner of putting the adulterer and adulteress are not mentioned. To stone someone was prescribed in the case of adultery involving an engaged virgin girl (Deut. 22:23). It was clear that these are the verses they had in mind and they wanted to prescribe stoning. These teachers of the law and Pharisees go to Jesus with this and say to Him - what then do You say? They have conveniently pointed out that a woman such as this should be put to death. They took what they believed to be a ‘legal and political hot potato’ and they cast it into Jesus’ hands - putting the focus on Him. Critical attacks can come at anytime. They usually catch us off guard and they hit hard. In our passage it came from those we would least expect it from - religious leaders. It was a shameful display of their heart attitudes. The attack was slick for it was dressed in the form of a sincere question regarding the Law, but we know of the depth of the wickedness that was present. Often critical attacks will lead ‘stone throwers’ to enter into a cesspool of sinful activity. In this case a woman caught in adultery, though guilty, none the less was needlessly publicly shamed, as she was caught in the attackers web of sin. They shamelessly use her as a tool to trap Jesus (in their eyes she was disposable - it was the cost of doing business). People get unnecessarily hurt when others launch malicious attacks. In addition, we may note that to launch a critical attack, it often involves bending the rules - in order to carry out sin it may call for added sinful activity. Jesus faced critical attacks dozens of times - unfortunately they are a part of life and are ever present, so we need to consider how we can respond to them.

RESPOND TO CRITICAL ATTACKS BY NOT REACTING (v.6)

They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

v.6 - Verse 6 makes it clear that this question was designed as a trap - testing Him - designed to trip Jesus up - so that they might have grounds for accusing Him….which would ultimately lead to justifying their plot to kill Jesus. The word testing, can also be translated as ‘tempt’ - this word can be defined as putting someone to the test with the likely result of failing that test. So they were thinking that they got Jesus, now - He’s not going to get out of this one. This was a corrupt scheme. They were more interested in nailing Jesus, but if the woman got stoned to death in this process - they probably wouldn’t have given her a second thought. Let me explain to you the context of why this is a trap. At this time of history, the Jews were under the rule of the Romans. Now the Romans did not have such a penalty of death for adultery. So, if Jesus was to say - Yes I agree with you and you should stone her - then Jesus would be open to being prosecuted by the Romans, for inciting the people to go against Roman law - because they were responsible to make the decision regarding capital crimes. In addition Jesus’ character would come into question since He was always known for demonstrating compassion and forgiveness for sinners. If Jesus said - No, she should not be stoned - then Jesus was therefore in offense against God’s law. So the question and situation was a tricky one - a seemingly no win situation….just as the Jews wanted. It is possible that Jesus could have refused to answer the question…and therefore they couldn’t pin anything on Him….but the fate of the woman would have been sealed - the Jews would have moved forward to have her stoned. In short this was a malicious attack.

This is how Jesus responds - Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. What Jesus wrote or drew is left only to speculation - yet for a moment Jesus does ignore those around Him as He stooped down. It is as without words Jesus is saying to the accusers that they are simply not worth listening to…and that is usually the case. We can learn a lesson from Jesus - Don’t react - that is don’t launch a counter attack…instead if we take some time to pray, to reflect on applicable Scripture, to calm down - just to remain composed then we can better avoid the trap that is set. At that time then we can respond in a appropriate manner. Those who criticize others often want a reaction. They want to see you fume. They want you to strike back in such a way to discredit you. They want to make a fool out of you. 1 Pet. 5:8 - teaches us this - Be of sober [spirit], be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We need to be careful because Satan is ready and willing to use us or someone else to throw stones… Instead Respond with care based on and within the framework of God’s Word.

J. Oswald Sanders in the book Spiritual Leadership quotes from the book Evangelical Thought by - R.D. Abella - this is what is written: There is nothing else that so kills the efficiency, capability and initiative of a [person] as destructive criticism….It tends to hamper and undercut the efficiency of man’s thinking process. It chips away at his self-respect and undermines his confidence in his ability to cope with his responsibilities. Sanders continues and he states… ‘No [person] lives a day without criticism, and humility will never be more on trial than when criticism comes.’ One way to demonstrate that humility is to….

RESPOND TO CRITICAL ATTACKS BY ALLOWING GOD’S WORD TO CONVICT (v.7-9)

But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him [be the] first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they [began] to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center [of the court].

v.7 - Jesus’ accusers were so bent on cornering Him with an answer to their question, that they persisted in asking Him - they don’t relent with the pressure. According to the OT (Deut. 17:7) the witnesses are the ones who would be responsible to administer the first blows of the stoning. This ensured that the witnesses were certain of what they saw - for if they brought false testimony then they would be held accountable for their actions - they would be responsible for taking an innocent life. Jesus gets up - and what He says are very well known words - He who is without sin among you, let him [be the] first to throw a stone at her. The words were so concise and convicting that Jesus’ accusers were totally unarmed. I imagine that there was utter silence at that moment. Jesus’ answer speaks to His Divine nature and wisdom - it doesn’t reject the law and it offers refuge to the guilty woman. It sets the conscience into gear and warns those present of their own sinfulness. The only one who could condemn this woman would have to be righteous and pure.

v.8 - Once again Jesus stooped down and continued to do what He had done - He wrote on the ground. Once again Jesus seems to ignore his accusers - yet it opened up a moment of silence where self examination could take place and their hearts would be searched.

v.9 - As Jesus’ words sunk in and those who heard it, which included those who intended judgment upon Jesus and the woman, and those people who watched this circus act - they now introspectively looked at their own lives….suddenly the focus was shifted from the woman’s sin to their own….no one had anything further to add. One by one starting with the older ones - they probably left first because they immediately got the message, since they lived life longer and had amassed a greater debt of sin which quickly flooded their minds. So all the people left with their heads hung down in shame - in one great continuous procession. It is possible that in these kinds of times in our own lives - when we realize our own sinfulness before we point it out in others - that our consciences will be pricked and we will respond - but what kind of response will it be - temporal or eternal? The Holy Spirit can do His work in these times of self analysis - we can submit to the work that He is doing and change - or we can walk away from Him in rejection. It is a sad observation to make, but we should note that none of these people who walked away - walked to Christ in repentance seeking a righteous heart - it was merely remorse - a worldly sorrow - not a godly sorrow leading to life. In the end only Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center [of the court]. One question that we may have from this section is this - Is Jesus setting a precedence here that we are not to correct anyone because we are all sinners? No. We are all painfully aware that there is something that is unrighteous in ourselves…maybe because of pride we don’t admit it openly….but we do know that is our state. What Jesus is saying is that we are not to be hypocrites. For example, if we ourselves are engaged in gossip and when someone spreads some gossip about us…what do we do… we immediately reach for the rocks. Scripture does call believers to confront others about their sin and even administer discipline - just look at a well known passage as Matt. 18 referring to church discipline. The issue is not are we holy enough to cast stones - a quick answer to that is NO. Jesus’ point is that we must start by questioning ourselves and take stock of our own sins and point the finger at our self first - if we do that I believe that you will find that you will say a lot less about others. We must also maintain a proper attitude towards sin. Sin is to be mortified - that is to be put to death. Sin must be loathsome to us - we must hate it in our self, and in others. In this way we will not attack people but strike at the enemy within. The more we love sin the more it will sideline us in being a holy people - a holy church. The evilest desires of men are smashed by God’s hand when we let God speak into the situation.

Jesus, in verse 7, gives us words which most, if not all of us know - and have probably even quoted. We can respond to those who attack us by putting God’s Word into speech and action. Let His Word do what it is intended to do - Isaiah 55:10 God says - my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty , but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. When we sin we are given a second chance - whether we are on the giving end or the receiving we can know that….

WE CAN BE FORGIVEN FOR BEING CRITICAL (v.10-11b)

Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."]

v.10 - Jesus got up and speaks to the woman - the address ‘woman’ used by Jesus is respectful. He asks her where everyone is. Where are all your accusers? Did no one condemn you? v.11 - There is a fitting conclusion to this episode….the woman replies that no one condemns her. And Jesus Himself declared that He will not condemn her. This doesn’t imply that in any way that Jesus approves of adultery…sin is sin…. and sin unconfessed will not go unpunished. But in Christ, those who trust Him to remove our sins can be forgiven. This woman was caught in the sniper fire at Jesus, but she stands as a beacon of hope for us. She is forgiven for her sin of adultery, which establishes the hope that we can be forgiven for our sins - no matter what they are. When we find that we have been critical of others - humbly stand before Jesus for forgiveness - and He will set your heart straight for Jesus calls us to this final point…

RESPOND BY LIVING A TRANSFORMED LIFE (v.11c)

The very last words of our passage are these - "Go now and leave your life of sin." Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman, even though she is guilty….instead He gives her a command of obedience - Go now and leave your life of sin. Jesus tells her to sin no more…stop the sin you have walked in….don’t go back to that path….make a clean break. Jesus addresses the specific sin of adultery, and sin in general - through an appeal to live a righteous life in light of a merciful Lord. Even when we fail morally, there is sufficient grace found through the cross of Christ. The hope of living a life of righteousness can be a reality, by coming to Jesus humbly in repentance, and turning away from sin. Author and Bible teacher - Merril Tenney, wrote this about Jesus’ response in our passage…. They brought the woman as a captive; He questioned her as a free person They regarded her as an accessory to their convenience; He respected her as a human being They saw only the blackness of her past - "the very act"; He thought in terms of her future - "sin no more" They were eager to stone her; He was ready to save her.

Jesus sets for us an example of how we can respond to critical attacks and turn things around so that He will be glorified. Phil 4:4-9 teaches us how to live a transformed life…. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

What are some of the stones that you are carrying today? Maybe the weight of the stones that you hold are crushing you, and you don’t even remember not carrying them. May I encourage you to put your stones away…it is going to be hard….I know, but we must. Start by confessing to Jesus asking Him to take them from you…stones aimed at ex-friends, wives, husbands, a boss, co-worker, or someone who has deeply hurt you. And may we all live transformed lives, by the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 7:37-52 Rivers of Life and a Flood of Controversy

10.05.09 John 7:37-52 (NASB)

Sermon Audio File: John 7:37-52

Going Deeper: Study Guide

Rivers Of Life And A Flood Of Controversy

In our last passage of John 7, we found that Jesus arrives in Jerusalem halfway through the Feast. And as soon as He arrives in the city He goes to the temple courts and then begins to teach. An outcome of Jesus’ authoritative teaching of truth, results in what should have been expected that is error would be exposed. And when error is exposed, people will respond with repentance or repulsion. In the case of part of the crowd, they believed in Jesus and were saved. For the others there was rejection, especially from the Jewish authorities who try to arrest Jesus, but it was not according to God’s divine timetable and therefore it is unsuccessful.

As we come to today’s passage we can discover that Jesus continues teaching. Jesus offers WATERS OF LIFE - that is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which comes from Jesus’ offer of eternal life to those who are listening to His teaching and who humbly respond. This is true living - true life - a life that is spiritually rich, full, satisfied.

Yet like Jesus’ earlier teaching, the people respond in different ways and there arises A FLOOD OF CONTROVERSY. We will discover as we get to verse 40, that peoples’ responses can be broken into 6 different reactions.

This is our text from the Scriptures for today:

WATERS OF LIFE - 37 Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' " 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet [given], because Jesus was not yet glorified.

FLOOD OF CONTROVERSY - 40 [Some] of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet." 41 Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? 42 "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why did you not bring Him?" 46 The officers answered, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks." 47 The Pharisees then answered them, "You have not also been led astray, have you? 48 "No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 "But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed." 50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) ^said to them, 51 "Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?" 52 They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee."

Today we are going to look at the single most important issue we all face. This issue revolves around two realities that all people fall under. These two areas are - Spiritual Fullness and Spiritual Emptiness. And the question that we should be asking ourselves in relating God’s Word to our life is - Am I spiritually full or am I spiritually empty?

WATERS OF LIFE (v.37-39)

Before we get into our text, some background is necessary so that we fully understand what Jesus is going to teach. If you remember we are in Jerusalem, at the time of the Feast.

v. 37 The feast which the text refers to is the Feast of Tabernacles, which is held around September/October and is also called The Feast of Booths or Ingathering. This was a joyful celebration. The Jews during this observance gave thanks to God for the special blessings that He bestowed upon Israel in the wilderness. During the wilderness wanderings God made Himself present in the tabernacle. In remembrance the people would build and live in temporary shelters made from leaves and branches - to remind them of the wilderness wanderings of their forefathers in the days of Moses. The feast later on had an added meaning which was attributing thanks to God for the blessings received in their annual harvest.

The feast of Tabernacles was one of the three major feasts that the Jews were required to observe in Jerusalem (Deut. 16:16) - the others being Passover and Pentecost. During the feast of Tabernacles there were rites involving water drawing and lamp lighting, which the people observed. The water rite involved a the High priest leading a procession from the Temple down to the pool of Siloam. It was here that the priest would fill a golden pitcher with water. The procession would then return to the Temple area and the water would be used by pouring it out at the base of the Temple altar.

The water was offered to God which symbolized the blessing of having sufficient rainfall for their crops. This context becomes important to understand in reference to the statements that Jesus is to make in our passage today about Himself, being the source that satisfies spiritual thirst for all people, for everyone of you here today.

As the celebrations of the feast came to an end, it was on this last day, the great day that the High priest would come once again to the altar to pour out the water in his golden pitcher. This would be the high point of the Feast accompanied by the reciting of Scripture and the singing of Psalms. One of the Scripture they would recite was from Isaiah 12:3 - which says 'Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation'. It was at the close of this ceremony that Jesus stood up and suddenly cried out in a loud voice, just as He did back in verse 28 - If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. In so doing Jesus gave a greater meaning to the water ritual - He gave it a deeper spiritual significance. For the people, they were more focused on the memorial of the Israelites thirst in the wilderness, and the physical benefits of water. And now with Jesus’ words - He focused the people upon their own soul’s parched spiritual condition.

This is something that I found - it is a secular commentary of life, but it does speak to the issue of pursuing the fullness of life, but in the end finding not more of life but less of it…as one writer remarks….

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've done larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the heart; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes; but lower morals; more food but less appeasement. We build more computers, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. Indeed it's all true.

In the book of Ecclessiastes it reminds us that Solomon had everything that he could imagine, and more - yet what did he say? It was all meaningless….vanity….a chasing of the wind.

I want all of you to think about something - and it deals with spiritual thirst in our lives - have you tried different things, maybe even everything that has come your way that been offered to you, but are still empty?….here is the solution…..

v.38 - The water theme continues and Jesus now states - "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' This was a call by Jesus, to every individual present, for a personal response of faith in Him. Jesus draws the attention of the people in realizing that the person who believes in Jesus will be given… rivers…an inexhaustible flow…an abundance - not just a symbolic single golden pitcher full of water…, but an unlimited source of spiritual refreshment… of living water… coming from your innermost being….provided only by faith in Christ. John does not give the Scripture reference Jesus refers to, but we do know that the water rite of the Feast pictures the end times rivers of living water, in a passage such as Zech 13:1- 'In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.'

v.39 - Since this is a very important statement Jesus makes, the Apostle John gives us the inspired interpretation of what Jesus was referring to. The rivers of living water Jesus spoke of was none other than the Holy Spirit, who was to be given to those who believed in Him after Jesus ascended to heaven. The giving of the Holy Spirit would transition people into the next phase of God’s redemptive plan - from the Law to the New Covenant.

The New Covenant was spoken of by Ezekiel - this is what Ezekiel 36:25-27 says - it is printed in our bulletins if you would like to look at it - 'Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.' It was in the Father’s plan that the Holy Spirit would not be given until Jesus was glorified. The word glorified is one of the key words in the Gospel of John. In this context it refers to Jesus’ forthcoming suffering, death, and resurrection from the dead. This was the demonstration of God’s love and power - and the humble means that Jesus would enter into His glory.

Have we been chasing after the goods of life? Is our life like going to the grocery store - we grab a shopping cart and we go down the aisles - and we start filling up our cart with items - chocolate chip cookies, BBQ chips, cream soda, black forest cake, chocolate covered almonds, cinnamon buns….do you get the picture? All these items are going to get you by, but in the end you are going to be malnourished. If this is all you ever eat in your life….your body is going to be empty….your body is going to crave for real food - meat, vegetables, fruits - stuff that will really feed your body - in fact your body will demand it - otherwise your body is going to shut down.

In our lives are we filling up the cart with ‘spiritual substitutes’ - it’s all about our personal image - our hair style, hair colour, our clothes, our jewelry; maybe it is our traditions - the stanley cup, high school re-unions, giving gifts; maybe it could be our experiences - extreme is in these days - extreme dating, extreme sports…...may I suggest to you today, that whatever it is…all it boils down to is the reality that if these are the goals of your life….then these are all ‘spiritual substitutes’ - the more that I can achieve, the more I can accumulate, the bigger the better - these are things which attempt to plug a gaping hole in our lives because we are sinners…..spiritually empty……thirsty…..

Why are people like that? Why are we like that? The answer is that we are all made in the image of God. We were created to be in fellowship with God, but sin blocks that fellowship. And because we love sin we will find ‘things’ to fill in that spiritual void, but we find none. Yet Jesus has been glorified and can stand in the gap. Because Jesus speaks the truth, there erupts a…..

2. FLOOD OF CONTROVERSY (v.40-52)

In our passage Jesus was predominantly addressing those who did not have faith in Him. But as we go through this section , as Christians there are some possible implications for us too. Yes, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit - we may not be spiritually empty in the sense of not being saved, but in some senses we may be spiritually empty because we hinder the work of the Spirit in our lives (1 Thess. 5:19). We can be spiritually immature because we can react to truth, in the same way as those who don’t know Jesus.

Therefore spiritual emptiness can lead to the following 6 reactions …….

1. People being sincerely wrong (v.40)

v.40 - Once again as on previous days when Jesus taught at the Temple, there was confusion over what He meant. In the OT there is a passage which speaks about the coming ‘Prophet’ which was declared by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 (The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him). Moses foreshadowed that this person would be on the level of the regular ordinary people. This Prophet would not come with the alarming manifestations as seen in the wilderness wanderings - that is with thunderous voice and fire - instead the Prophet would be one of their countrymen. So as this OT verse flashed through the minds of some of the people, part of the crowd interpreted Jesus’ words to mean that He was claiming to be that Prophet, Moses spoke of. Since the people were spiritually empty they thought they had assessed Jesus correctly - but they were sincerely wrong, that thinking of Jesus as merely a great prophet. We see this with many of the cults - they claim to be Christians but are void of spiritual truth, because they have an incomplete and therefore wrong Jesus. Spiritual emptiness can result in…

2. People who are sincerely right (v.41)

v.41 - But, others in the crowd interpreted Jesus’ teaching as meaning that This is the Christ - not merely the Prophet, but instead He was the long awaited Messiah. This is a proper identification of Jesus that can only come through the drawing of God (Jn. 6:44). Only God can open our minds to who He is. We see this reality in our lives as Christians - we didn’t have to do anything to get God’s attention, but He put us in a place where we recognized that we couldn’t do anything to please Him because of our sin; He offered us forgiveness in Christ for the penalty due our sin; and He gave us the faith to believe in Jesus as the only true Saviour from our sin - leading to rivers of living water (cf. 38).

Being spiritually empty makes…

3. People sincerely skeptical (v.42)

v.42 - Still another group present, questioned these beliefs - they said - Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? - they couldn’t believe that someone as great as the Messiah would come from the country - a small town nobody. They believed that the Christ was to come from the descendants of David. Yes, that is what the Scripture said - and they were right. They also were correct in interpreting that the Christ was to be from David’s town of Bethlehem - according to Micah 5:2. But they were skeptical and did not come to know Jesus. There are many people today who have the intellectual knowledge of who Jesus is yet they may not really accept the fact that Jesus is God, and that we can have a personal relationship with Him.

So far we have seen that there are those who are wrong about Jesus, there are those who are right, and those who are skeptical….

v.43 - There was such a FLOOD OF CONFUSION because of Jesus that the people were divided. The word ‘division’ in verse 43 in the Greek is the word schisma - our English word ‘schism’ comes from this word - pointing to the fact that there was a clear split over their views. The schism arose in part because of the question of Jesus’ origins; they assigned Jesus as coming from Nazareth, so some of them discounted Him as the Messiah. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but He grew up in Nazareth - and this is were the disconnect lay - a portion of the crowd had possessed only a part of the truth, and therefore ignorantly assumed it was an untruth.

v.44 - In the end, the teachings of Jesus were so provocative that some people wanted to seize Him - probably in order to drag Jesus before the Sanhedrin - which was the central authority, for the Jews comprised of members from the Sadducees and Pharisees. But no one laid hands on Him - and so we see once again, just like back in verses 30 and 32, that God controlled the outcome - nothing would be allowed to transpire outside of God’s will. And in the light of this, it was not Jesus’ Divinely appointed time to be arrested.

The rest of our passage reveals the final three results of a lack of spiritual life. We find fourthly that…

People become easily confused (v.45-46)

In this case it is the temple guards.

v.45 - If we remember back in verse 32 - the officers (temple guards) were dispatched to arrest Jesus. They now return back to the chief priests and Pharisees empty handed. They failed their mission without any arrest and there was an infuriated eruption amongst the Sanhedrin - and they were reprimanded with these words -

Why did you not bring Him?

v.46 - The officers (temple guards) that were sent out responded by saying that - Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks. The words of Jesus so captured these guards, that they were mesmerized. I pointed out last time that these guards were Levites, so they had a strong religious knowledge. In contrast to the members of the Sanhedrin, Jesus’ words conflicted with the words of their superiors, because Jesus’ words were full of authority and power. As a result they these officers became confused and did not follow their orders.

Today many people have been asked to come to Jesus, make Him your Lord and Saviour, but there is no context to it. Many people have grown up in the church but are not Christians. Yes people would agree that Jesus had a lot of good things to say which were packed with a punch…but they are confused, because in the end they don’t really understand what it all means. The reason for this is that the context of what is said in the Bible, needs to be spiritually discerned.

Number 5 - with spiritual emptiness…

There are people who simply don’t care

v.47-48 - The Sanhedrin were disappointed to say the least, as the Pharisees returned fire by accusing the guards of being deceived by Jesus - in other words they were saying… ‘No way…are you so foolish that you believe in what Jesus said?’…Look at us rulers and Pharisees…have we been led astray by Jesus…..absolutely not! In this statement we get a clear glimpse of the spiritual pride that was overflowing in their hearts. They set themselves above the temple guards (officers)….

v.49 - And they set themselves above the people as well. The Jewish authority believed themselves to be the educated - those amongst the Jewish people that had all the brains. In fact the Pharisees were so upset that they slammed those who had sympathies towards Jesus as ignorant and common people. The Pharisees’ heart attitude was saying this - what right do these people think they have to question our decision about Jesus - we don’t believe Him - therefore Jesus is a fraud - we are right and you are wrong.

In contrast to themselves, they pass judgment on the crowd - labeling them as idiots - not having a clue of the law - and these Pharisees are so stuck up that they proceed to pronounce them accursed - meaning that they were condemned to destruction, because they believed that these people were incapable of having any intelligence. The Sanhedrin professed intellect above the common people, but in their own knowledge they were at fault.

What they were trying to do was put down anyone who would get in the way of their rage against Jesus. They were so bent on evil that they willfully did not care and sadly disregarded the truth.

Spiritual emptiness…deadness… allows ones heart to cultivate pride, but pride people from Jesus…and they simply don’t care to know Him. All they care about is holding onto their own version of the truth - and looking out for number one - that being self….they live by their own rules….they place themselves in a position of being God….they are a religion unto themselves, and condemn those who - quote unquote are being deceived by Jesus. And lastly there are...

6. People who are undecided

v.50 - In verse 50 we see the resurfacing of Nicodemus. We were introduced to him back in chapter 3. If you remember he had gone to Jesus at night to ask Jesus some burning questions on his own heart. Nicodemus was one of them - a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin.

v.51 - He opposed what the Sanhedrin was doing to Jesus and he speaks out against this injustice. He stands up for doing the right thing. There was a legal procedure to be followed in the Law - and Nicodemus challenges his colleagues to observe it - that is that a man must first be heard before they could judge and condemn. As a note, it is not certain at this point if Nicodemus was defending Jesus because he was ‘born again’ or it could simply have been his will to do what is lawful and right.

v.52 - The Sanhedrin do not answer Nicodemus’ question about this legal detail - which demonstrated their own disregard for the law - it was a ‘do as I say and not what I do’ scenario. Not only did the Sanhedrin put down the people for their thoughts about Jesus, but they did not stop at insulting even one of their own members - by mocking Nicodemus, insulting him with this question - You are not also from Galilee, are you? They expected a ‘no’ answer since they would have know this fact about Nicodemus, but what they were driving at, was that his sympathy for Jesus was putting him into the same category as the crowd. They further press on Nicodemus by challenging him to do some study - so that he would discover that no prophet arises out of Galilee. This statement by the members of the Sanhedrin was unfounded, since the prophet Jonah, and also Hosea, and Nahum were from Galilee.

Despite spiritual emptiness, there are those like Nicodemus in whom God works in their heart. God begins the process of drawing them to Jesus, but in this process comes indecision….you could say that they could fall on either side….belief or unbelief. But in the end - if God is indeed drawing… it is only a matter of time that a person will move to the point of a deep spiritual thirst that they will respond to Christ’s call to saving faith - to possess ‘rivers of living water.’

Often we go through life in a similar way, that is with some or much spiritual emptiness. And we may find that we go to any lengths to get to the end, but there are those hills in our life which just won’t let us get to the top….because we are spiritually empty.

If you are not a Christian, I know that there are going to be a lot of those hills in your life. Maybe you think you have made it to the top, but you haven’t. Let’s be honest, you don't have it all together - and Jesus certainly knows that you don’t. That is why as Christians we meet, we know we don’t have it all together, but at one point in our lives, Jesus opened our eyes and helped us figure out that we were spiritually empty - and that Jesus was the only way. We came to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit now lives in us, to fill us with true purpose in our lives.

Jesus in a loud and clear voice reminds us, today, right now - that - "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' " Do you passionately long for spiritual refreshment? Is your soul so parched that you can’t move forward? In these times may understand that in order to get to top, we need to turn to the One who provides rivers of living water.

In these two verses Jesus was calling the people to Himself...maybe you today. That Jesus is saying to you I know that you are longing for spiritual satisfaction. You need Me to help you recognize this. You need to have your sins forgiven, your unrecognized spiritual thirst quenched, and I am the only Person in the world who can do that for you. Come and drink... repent of your sins and receive Me, and within you I will grant the rivers of living water unto eternal life.

This is the good news that Jesus offers…a gospel invitation to true spiritual life.

Back to Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived - and from Ecclesiastes, really summed it up (12:13-14): The conclusion, when all has been heard, [is]: fear God and keep His commandments, because this [applies to] every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

John 7:14-36 The Cost Of Living A Life Of Truth

03.05.09 John 7:14-36 (NASB)

Sermon Audio File: John-7:14-36

Going Deeper: Study Guide

The Cost Of Living A Life Of Truth

A major Multinational company was looking for a new Marketing Director. After much advertising and many applications, three candidates entered the final selection process. A mathematician, a statistician and a lawyer.

The first to be invited in for the final interview was the mathematician and the President asked him a simple question: What is 2+2. The mathematician was surprised, thought about it for a bit, wondered if it might be a trick question and then simply answered 4. The President looked at the Board, shook his head and thanked him for coming, but he wasn’t the candidate they were looking for.

The statistician was the next in - and the President also asked him the simple question: What is 2+2. He paused, thought about it for a bit and then replied that statistically it was a number between 3 and 5. The President smiled and the Board were quite impressed. But the candidate was thanked and ushered out.

The last candidate, the lawyer was then invited in to the interview and the President also asked him the simple question: What is 2+2. Without batting an eyelid he replied: "What do you want it to be". He was promptly hired on the spot.

The issue of truth today is relative, like the lawyer said - What do you want it to be? There no longer remains a place for objective truth. We can each have our own truth and live in peace with one another, without any moral dilemma. In a survey 72% of the people polled did not believe that there was absolute truth. Biblical truth is even harder to swallow, and it can be seen even in churches today. In that same survey 67% of conservative Bible believing Christians polled say that they do not believe their is absolute truth (Colson). Today we will find that Jesus always spoke truth. The more He spoke, the greater a body of truth was delivered, and the result was greater conflict.

As we began chapter 7 last time, we found again that Jesus’ life was still under the constant threat of death by the Jewish rulers. Did this phase Jesus? No. Despite the circumstances, Jesus continued full steam ahead in doing the will of the Father through His earthly ministry in and around Galilee. Jesus was fully sensitive to God’s Divine timetable. He didn’t go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, under the pressure of His brothers and in their way, but He departed for Jerusalem the way that God had wanted Him to be there.

Today we continue on, and we will witness what happens when Jesus arrives at the feast. In light of the truth - the Apostle John presents Jesus speaking hard, but true statements, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (Jn.20:31). As with anything that Jesus declares, people are divided. Some will be open to the truth and some will reject the truth. Jesus was so fixed on the Father’s will that He demonstrated to us that THE COST OF LIVING A LIFE OF TRUTH will be high, yet it can be achieved. Living a life of truth is really a call to self denial and a commitment to Christ.

THE COST OF LIVING A LIFE OF TRUTH can be seen in today’s passage. We can see that:
Living A Life of Truth can cause people to question you (v.14-19)
Living A Life of Truth can divide people (v.20-27) -
Living A Life of Truth can have its consequences (v.28-36)

As we wrestle with the issue of truth, I want you to ask yourself, and maybe you can write this down into your notes in your bulletin: Do I stand with Jesus for the truth - or am I more like Jesus’ opponents spurning the truth?

Living A Life of Truth Can Cause People To Question You (v.14-19)

John 7 of our passage states: 14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and [began to] teach. 15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?" 16 So Jesus answered them and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or [whether] I speak from Myself. 18 "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. 19 "Did not Moses give you the Law, and [yet] none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?"

v.14 - As we begin our text we see that Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. He gets there in the midst of the feast. And as soon as He arrives in the city He goes to the temple and then begins to teach. The Jewish leaders who had been asking the people if they had seen Jesus (v.11) - no longer need to do so - because Jesus is right in the midst of their presence. Jesus was not fearful of the people or authorities, but He goes and takes His rightful place in the temple - assuming the right to be heard like any other Rabbi. Jesus begins to teach truth in a fashion which caused a stir amongst the audience. Jesus taught with an authority which the people were not used to. His teaching was so powerful that even His enemies were taken-a-back.

v.15 - The Jews were astonished at Jesus’ teaching and it left them confused. It was amazing to witness because in their eyes all they saw was this uneducated country carpenter, and they thought of Jesus as a self start scholar, a do it your-selfer. Usually a rabbi would train under one of the leading rabbis, and memorize his materials and those of other great rabbis. Jesus didn’t come under this classification - this is when the questioning begins. So they asked - How has this man become learned, having never been educated? They had to admit that for a guy who had no training - He was pretty good. Jesus was on par with those who had formal education in their own rabbinical institutions.

v.16 - Rabbis of Jesus’ day would teach by quoting each other’s insights and other authorities. Now Jesus replies to shed light upon His source. Jesus doesn’t say that it is His own power, but instead gives all credit to God. Jesus’ teaching comes from the Father who sent Him - and not from men. Jesus was always focused on the will of the Father and it is not any different here. Jesus’ divine mission was to bring to all who would hear, a divine message. Jesus’ authority and greatness was a result of God’s plan. Therefore His teaching was undoubtedly superior to the Jews - because He delivered and opened up the very truth of God Himself. And this very source dictated this superiority. Like the rabbis, Christians who are weak in the truth always quote each other - but Jesus doesn’t want carbon copy Christians saying well Pastor said this, my fellowship teacher said this, so and so says this - instead Jesus wants a church full of people who know the Word of God personally, in real time with the impact of it deep and hard hitting. These are the voices today that can speak actively and authoritatively. God wants believers to rest on the authority of His Word alone and not that of people.

v.17 - Jesus offers a very simple and practical test for His listeners. In effect He was challenging them find out for themselves - If you want to test my claim, that what I teach is of God, then you have to be willing to do [God’s] will. Jesus is not speaking of a merely outward performance of God’s will - it had to go deeper beyond the superficial - it is a call to have one’s life conformed to God’s will. The choice to know truth is not a intellectual one but it is a moral one. If they do God’s will then the experienced results will confirm the truth. Isn’t it right, that in man’s thinking - our thinking - that we want to know that something is true before we act upon it? People don’t want to know God’s truth because they would rather stay in their sin? The enemy of truth is rebellion towards God. As one gets older we become wiser in a sense, in that we have been stung enough or ripped off just enough in our life, that we want the evidence first. We bring to many situations a mentality that thinks and says - seeing is believing. But what Jesus is proposing is if they wanted to know God’s truth then they must submit themselves in obedience…conforming their lives to God’s will first….otherwise they will never experience God the way that He wants them to.

v.18 - Jesus makes a comparison of two kinds of teachers, the one who speaks from himself that is a self taught teacher, whose motivation is his own glory. This kind of teacher promotes his own ideas, pats himself on the back, and jockeys for positions of glory. In contrast, the other kind of teacher (as Jesus is) is the teacher who seeks to bring glory to the One who sent Him. So the first kind of teacher elevates himself and the second teacher exalts God. Jesus is the second kind of teacher - a humble teacher of the truth - Jesus is a man who is true - He is a man of truth because this is one of His unchanging characteristics, like the Father. In Jesus there is no unrighteousness in Him. So Jesus teaches the truth and is the righteous One.

v.19 - When a person speaks the truth, what is said can be stinging. The reflection of God’s Word in what we say, will inevitably assault the flesh - assault the self will of man. This is what Jesus does in His teaching, and truth identifies the hypocrisy of these so called ‘law keeping’ Jews. Jesus uses a rhetorical question - Did not Moses give you the Law? Of course the Jews have God’s law handed down through Moses. But none of them carries out the Law - they did not obey it - and the proof of this stinging truth, was demonstrated by the Jews’ continual attempts, in trying to kill Jesus. If they had really followed God’s Word - the thought of murder would be replaced by practicing - You shall not murder of the 10 commandments (Exod. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). So we can clearly see that the truth reveals their unbelief, by violating the very words they professed to be true.

Living a life of Truth is reflected in everything we may say. And if we sincerely seek to be truthful we often stand out in a crowd, because sadly - the quest for truth in our day is uncommon - absolute truth is looked down upon - and lies abound. Truth has a way of piercing through a persons heart, because if we speak God’s truth it is righteousness, and righteousness pricks the conscience of unrighteoussness, and that opens us up to questioning. Does anyone like to be under the gun of questioning? No. But if we want to be faithful then we should discipline ourselves to speak the truth all the time. And the truth will bear witness to the reality of God, in your life. Secondly….

Living A Life Of Truth Can Divide People (v.20-27)

John 7 continues and states: 20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?" 21 Jesus answered them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel. 22 "For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on [the] Sabbath you circumcise a man. 23 "If a man receives circumcision on [the] Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on [the] Sabbath? 24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." 25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 "Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? 27 "However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from."

v.20 - The crowd answered Jesus’ remarks by accusing Him of being demon-possessed. It also reveals that the general crowd - that is the pilgrims coming into Jerusalem, did not know of the plot by the Jewish authorities to kill Jesus, because they asked Who seeks to kill You? This part of the crowd thought, because Jesus was making such seemingly wild claims of murder, that He must have been demon possessed - and therefore acted with demonic motivations. Here in the response and charge of the crowd, we see the sin nature of man rearing its head - isn’t it typical that when people are confronted with the truth, they re-act by making up something to distract us from the truth? There may even be blame shifting. Unbelieving people would rather collaborate with deception, than stand up and speak for the truth that is revealed by God.

v.21 - Jesus moves to respond to the accusation of demon possession hurled by the crowd. This was not Jesus’ imagination, paranoid thinking, but it was a true fact, and so - Jesus goes back to the last time that He was in Jerusalem - to the healing of the invalid by the Pool of Bethesda. This was the one deed which brought marvel - a miracle which was performed on the Sabbath. As a result of that miracle there was an uproar and the Jews manifested murder in their hearts.

v.22 - Jesus contrasts the Sabbath healing to that of the Jewish practice to circumcise on the Sabbath. Moses gave them circumcision, but in reality it was practiced by the fathers (ie: patriarchs) - as Jesus notes….Circumcision was the sign of the covenant that God had given to Abraham (Gen.17:9-14). It was to be performed on the 8th day. In Jesus’ time the Jews still practiced this, and even if it fell on the Sabbath.

v.23 - In verse 23 the contrast is laid out clearly. The Jews would go and perform circumcision on [the] Sabbath and see nothing wrong with this ceremonial practice, but when it came to making an entire man well on [the] Sabbath it was unacceptable….and this is where Jesus’ judgment of hypocrisy lay. Can you see why this was hypocrisy? The Jews were hypocrites because they maintained the practice of keeping the Sabbath, but when it came to circumcision, they willingly violated the Sabbath. So Jesus challenged their thinking and practice by questioning them for being angry at Him.

v.24 - There is a well known saying that appearances can be deceiving. And Jesus hits on this and challenges the crowd to stop being superficial in their judgement based merely upon appearances. Instead they should judge, based upon the true standard and not external issues. They should appraise things objectively. The real issue was, how the Jews perverted God’s intentions for the Sabbath. Under the Jews the Sabbath became a burden - devoid of grace, compassion, kindness, and mercy. The Jews’ spiritual insight was darkened by unbelief and now Jesus calls them to account - to be open to the righteous workings of a mighty God.

v.25 - Forming part of the crowd were people who lived in Jerusalem - they began wondering if Jesus was the man whom - meaning the Jewish rulers - are seeking to kill? These urban dwellers were aware of the innuendos and rumors flying around town - they knew the character of their leaders - and knew their culpability to the corruption of their hearts.

v.26 - Yet they quite couldn’t figure it out - there was a death threat - yet Jesus was free to speak in the temple courts publicly - and yet the authorities didn’t do anything - they didn’t try to take Jesus down - but they were saying nothing to Him (except for some derogatory remarks about Jesus’ training). If Jesus was such a big threat then why didn’t they act? So the people sarcastically reasoned that perhaps that the Jewish rulers didn’t do anything because they had come to the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah - the Christ. Though the people expected a negative answer… maybe there was something to Jesus’ claim after all…but would they murder the Messiah?

v.27 - But they continued to reason that they know where this Jesus is from, thinking back to His humble blue collar roots - the son of a carpenter. They say this because the crowd ignorantly misunderstood the Scriptures. Contrary to what Scripture records they did have a tradition which believed that no one knows where the Messiah would come from. If they had indeed known the Scriptures, these city slickers, would have realized that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, like Jesus was and therefore this could very well be the Messiah. Instead they mistakenly thought the Messiah would come out of nowhere and deliver their nation, kinda like some comic book hero that we would know of.

I think all of us have found ourselves in a situation where you spoke the truth and as a result came under attack for doing so - and those were painful times - knowing that what you said was the truth - yet you were singled out. It sadly happens in churches too often - that those involved are divided, claiming that we can have different perspectives….maybe even stating that "being of the same mind is agreeing to disagree," instead of working towards the truth. Isn’t this mindset…this reasoning…this version of truth washed out? - relativism? - post-modernism? ….if everyone discards a bit of truth then we can all get along.

The Cost of Living A Life Of Truth will put you under the magnifying glass - inevitably people will not like what you have to say - and people will divide. People may seem to be your buddies, patting you on the back faking spiritual sincerity, but these are just sophisticated acts of unbelief….but over time as truth progresses division will arise. It is naïve to think that those who are worldly will openly embrace God’s standard of truth. In fact they are in rebellion to God and His Word. It is true that truth divides. There is a danger to truth and finally…..

Living A Life Of Truth Can Have Its Consequences (v.28-36)

Our passge concludes with the Scripture revealing: 28 Then Jesus 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. 29 "I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me." 30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, "When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?" 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him. 33 Therefore Jesus said, "For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 "You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come." 35 The Jews then said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He? 36 "What is this statement that He said, `You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?"

v.28 - While all this was going on, Jesus was still teaching - and with a burst of emotion, He cried out - You both know Me and know where I am from. So the people did know who Jesus was and where He was from. But to counter this knowledge, did they really know where He was from? These people really had no clue to as who Jesus is, and where He originated from. The perspective they were missing was that of His divine origin. Jesus re-affirms the truth that, He is sent by the Father’s initiative . I was sent by God - this is what Jesus was saying. And He who sent Jesus is altogether true - and He is the very source of truth. And when Jesus speaks the words that the Father gave Him, then it is true. Yet the sad thing is that they do not know Him, who is true - they have no true knowledge of God - this was the main issue.

v.29 - Jesus, does in contrast, emphasize that He does personally know the Father. In His position as the Son - Jesus clearly declares again that He has come from God’s presence, who sent Him - and for that reason Jesus is the Apostle and the interpreter of God (AT Robertson).
v.30 - At that very moment the crowd was incensed at the truth Jesus revealed - He is mad - demon possessed - a deceiver - and these enemies of Christ were seeking to seize Him. Yet they were unable to invoke the Passion (week) that was ordained because its hour was not yet come. Divine predestination - immutable timing - the will of the Father… could not be altered, even in the face of the strong unbridled will of man. The picture we have here in verse 30 is sheer unbelief.

v.31 - Then in verse 31, are those who at this point had reached belief for many of the crowd believed in Him. Jesus saves many that day. These people began accepting the fact that Jesus was the long awaited leader that they looked for. It seems that these people did not reach a deep understanding - there was still lingering confusion in the crowd. So a question was raised - When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He? The way that this question is structured - a ‘no’ answer was expected, because they had witnessed many of the miracles of Jesus.

v.32 - Because of these events it got the muttering going again, adding more verbiage to the grapevine. Now that Jesus had won over many of the people, verbal undercurrents rippled through the crowd - and the Pharisees take note. The Pharisees were a religious sect know for legalistically holding to the letter of the Law and tradition - they were more in touch with the pulse of the people - they were like the spiritual watchdogs of the community. The chief priests were the religious power brokers of the day, a little bit removed from the common people, and comprised of members of another religious sect known as Saducees. Theologically and ideologically, the Pharisees and Saducees were diametrically opposed to each other and therefore…let’s just say they didn’t get along very well. But in their hatred for truth, they conveniently overlooked their differences and joined forces to destroy Jesus. They figured if more and more people were going to side with Jesus, then this could be a major obstacle against the sinister plot of the Jewish rulers. If the Jewish authorities were to execute their sinful desires, then now was the time to take down Jesus. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him Jesus. This was an official arrest because the temple guards - who are the Levitical policemen charged with maintaining order in the temple - they were called in and summoned to execute this task.

What a reminder for us that the religious authorities of the Holy City of God, these spiritual watch-dogs, chief priests of Jesus’ day, they like some of our leaders today…are not always willing to understand or respect the truth. Do we find ourselves as Christians, on the other side of the fence opposing Jesus? Do we react adversely to the Word of truth? Do we through our lives put Jesus on trial for being to too hard on us with the truth?

v.33 - In the midst of this situation Jesus continues to respond to the crowd, and now He gives the people a hint as to what will happen in the future. Look down at verse 33 - this is what Jesus says - For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. Jesus knew what He was going to face - and as a result He was only going to be around a short time - and then he would withdraw Himself - having purchased salvation for sinners. It would be about six months before His final Passover and impending sacrificial death. Not only does Jesus foreshadow His death, but He also pictures His resurrection and ascension.

v.34 - When all these events would take place, Jesus tells the people of Jerusalem that they will seek Him unsuccessfully - it will be too late, He will no longer be physically on earth. The place that He is going to, the people cannot go. Jesus will be returning to the Father’s side, back to the One who had sent Him to carry out His mission. Those who had hardened their hearts to the good news of Jesus Christ in unbelief, they would not be able to enter into this place that He was going - heaven.

v.35 - Of course these words of truth caused a stir. The Jewish authorities were perplexed - what is this guy talking about departing? Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? And they speculated that perhaps Jesus was going to other Jews who were scattered among the Greeks (Greeks being a generic term referring to the Gentiles or non-Jewish peoples).

v.36 - The Jews couldn’t figure it out - What is this statement that He said - so they were left puzzled over Jesus cryptic statements. Jesus was the most profound speaker of truth that our world has and ever will see, because He is God - He is the Lord of truth. Jesus is the personification of truth (AT Robertson). As Jesus spoke truth it was like turning on a light - truth shines upon the darkness and when that happens the world’s sin is exposed; and what is wrong with our heart is exposed and we hate it. In the face of truth, conflict escalated with error. The more that Jesus said, the greater the consequences and the greatest price was His life.

If we speak the truth in every circumstance then it will expose everything else as error. Living a life of truth has consequences…in the end truth may cost you a job, it may mean attacks on your character, you may lose friends, people will distance themselves from you. THE COST OF LIVING A LIFE OF TRUTH may seem to be a burden, but that is why Jesus died so that we in Christ may be faithful and true. We have the resident truth dispenser living in us - the Holy Spirit - and He will enable us to live righteously.

THE COST OF LIVING A LIFE OF TRUTH is not all negative, for living in the light of truth will release us from the bondage of sin, it will set in a position to bring glory to God, and speaking truth will deliver the souls of men from hell. Jesus paid the price, so that we may be sanctified intellectually, morally, and spiritually…to His praise and glory…. let us remember and be encouraged by what Jesus said about truth - and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32).