Jesus Says…
Here’s the summary of yesterday’s sermon from John 7:14-24
Click here to watch the full sermon.
Jesus shows up in the middle of the Feast of Booths, the most popular of the three week-long yearly Jewish gatherings.
Several things stand out as we listen closely to what Jesus says in this interaction in the Temple:
1. Powerful Teaching (15-16)
There are many great preachers, teachers, and theologians today. However - no one, alive or dead, would even begin to come close to Jesus when it comes to powerful preaching.
He was the only man to ever walk the earth who’s very words were living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
As Jesus began to teach, everyone marveled at His words which stand alongside all Scripture, which is breathed out by God. His teaching was literally from Him who sent Me. Jesus’ teaching is of divine origin.
The reminder and principle that we need to set as foundational in our thinking is this: God’s Word brings with it an inherent power that must be responded to by all.
Read God’s Word with expectation. As the very words of God and marvel at two things.
1. The power of what it says/means
2. That you have it at all.
• preserved manuscripts
• an accurately assembled Bible
• translation into your own language
• that you’re literate
Jesus’ words also
2. Confirm the Truth (17)
verse 17 contains an awesome promise:
Obedience leads to assurance.
When you:
• honestly and sincerely seek God
• humble yourself before the Lord
• strive to know Him through His Word
• obey His commands
It will lead to a settled confidence in the truth of Scripture and ultimately, in your own salvation.
This is one of the works of the Spirit in the life of a believer. As you genuinely seek Him, the truth of who He is and what He has done will come both internally and externally.
Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
John 10:38 – though you do not believe Me, believe the works, (the external physical manifestations) and continue knowing that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
In 2 Peter 1, we see Peter teaching this principle, which He certainly heard from Jesus:- one of my favorite passages, talking When these things are yours:
knowledge of God’s Word
self-control
moral goodness
obedience
godliness
love for other Christians
[it renders] you neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Responding to the false accusations of who Jesus was, He then points out that the main characteristic of a True Teacher is:
3. Selflessness (18)
In contrast to the false teacher, who
1. Speaks from himself
2. Seeks his own glory
Rather than proclaim the truth of the Bible, it’s their own wisdom, their own thoughts and ideas - their own cleverness that’s held out.
Because - as one pastor points out - their goal is not to feed the flock but to fleece it.
Simply put - the goal of the faithful teacher must be to [equip] the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,
Ephesians 4
The false teacher is focused on:
numbers and success
getting his own way
fostering allegiance to himself
The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus because His example and His selflessness highlighted and exposed their own selfishness and greed.
This is an extension of what we looked at last week when Jesus said “the world hates me because I bear witness about it that its deeds are evil.”
Jesus’ perfect life
Just like our holy lives
Are an indictment against the sinfulness of men.
Next there’s a pretty significant
4. Indictment (19-20)
The leaders are certainly under fire, but the crowds that follow their lead are guilty as well.
He points out their sinfulness by asking: “Did not Moses give you the Law? (It’s rhetorical - of course he did). This is the setup for the next moment: And yet none of you does the Law.
This is a stunning indictment not only of the sinfulness of man, but of how completely they had missed the purpose of the Law.
The Law was never meant to save, but to point to our need for a Savior.
Rather than look to Christ, they were continuing to look to their own works.
5. Signs & Wonders (21-24)
In another lesson of adventures in missing the point, Jesus ignores the crowd’s grumbling and reminds them about the man that he healed on the Sabbath that caused so much controversy.
Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater here. There’s not only hypocrisy going on, but again, a misunderstanding of the Law, specifically the Sabbath here.
If the ceremonial cleansing of one part of the body on the Sabbath is allowed - how can you object to healing the entire Body on the Sabbath?
Legalism is always irrational and ridiculous.
The point of the Sabbath was to remember that God created the universe in six days by resting on the Seventh - the Sabbath.
The final verse: Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment is a powerful reminder of the sin of legalism and that its harsh, self-righteous judgment is sin.
How are you judging according to appearance?
And let me help you out - you’re doing this.
There is somewhere.
There is some category
There is some situation, some issue…
Where you have a tendency to hold others, maybe even a particular individual, to your own standards. Your own expectations. Your own preferences. What you think works best or is the standard that things must be held to. Instead, turn back to God’s Word.
That’s the righteous judgment here.
The Sufficiency and Supremacy of Scripture what we must hold onto firmly.
2 Peter 1 helps here. The standards of Christ’s righteousness are what we should first judge ourselves by:
faith
moral excellence
knowledge
self-control
perseverance
godliness (only found in Christ)
Alongside of those, brotherly kindness & love should guide all our interactions with others:
Practice these things, because in doing these things, you will never stumble;
Hold yourself to the standard first - the first six things on Peter’s list are inward. Then show that in how you interact with others - the final two are outward.
So as you judge with righteous judgment Always remember that it’s the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience that led us to repentance. So let’s be an example of that in the lives of others.
May you marvel at God’s Word and know that it is from God as you watch it powerfully work in your life and the lives of others .
Grace & Peace
Pastor Rob