"I and the Father Are One" -- John 10:22-42

The Thirty-Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

When Jesus entered Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths, he began teaching regularly in the temple.  Although his hour has not yet come, it is drawing near.  Jesus’ messianic mission is reaching its conclusion.  Through a series of discourses and debates with the Jews, Jesus is preparing his disciples for that day just months away when he will depart from them.  There is much for them to learn and not much time remaining for Jesus to teach them.  But through these discourses and debates, Jesus is also bringing God’s covenant judgment upon unbelieving Israel.  His words do two things–they give life to his sheep, who hear his voice in his word, and his words serve to harden the hearts of the Pharisees who have opposed Jesus’ messianic mission from the moment he first set foot in the city.  During the Feast of Dedication, once again, Jesus demonstrates that he is Israel’s Messiah and one with YHWH.  And once again the Pharisees seek to arrest him.

In John 10:1-21 Jesus gives the “Good Shepherd” discourse in which our Lord affirms that he is the faithful shepherd over God’s messianic flock, that one who was foretold by Moses and Israel’s prophets (especially Ezekiel and Jeremiah).  Throughout the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Zechariah, Israel’s unbelieving kings and rulers are described as false shepherds who seek to exploit the people of God.  Many are singled out for God’s judgment in the form of covenant curse.  When Jesus gives the “Good Shepherd” discourse in John 10, it is clear to all listening to him that Jesus sees the Pharisees as false shepherds (strangers, thieves, and robbers).  These are men who, barring repentance, can expect to face the same covenant curses meted out upon Israel’s unbelieving kings as in the days of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah.  The Pharisees’ mistreatment of the people of God is exemplified in John 9 by the cruel and callous way they treated the man who had been blind from birth, and who had been healed by Jesus.  These men are nothing but hirelings who care nothing for God’s sheep.

The “Good Shepherd” discourse takes up the first half of John 10, while the second half (vv. 22-41) serves as an elaboration and an extension of the themes set forth by Jesus in vv. 1-21, who has identified himself as the “Good Shepherd” of Israel, who has come to tend to God’s scattered flock, and who, unlike the false shepherds and hirelings, will lay down his life for the sheep.  Jesus will not abandon God’s people when savage wolves approach.  He will do whatever is necessary to protect God’s flock, and lead God’s people into those green pastures spoken of by the Psalmist in the 23rd Psalm.

As we have seen throughout the last several discourses in John, whenever Jesus speaks, those listening to him are divided among themselves as to whether or not Jesus is a dangerous false teacher, or the coming of God’s prophet as predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).  There are messianic implications to virtually everything Jesus says and does.  As we saw last time, when Jesus finished his “Good Shepherd” discourse, we read in verses 19-21, “there was again a division among the Jews because of [Jesus’] words.  Many of them said, `He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?’  Others said, `These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’”

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"I am the Good Shepherd" -- John 10:1-21

The Thirty-Third in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Moses and Israel’s prophets foretold of a time when God would send a faithful shepherd to care for God’s people (his flock)–yet another blessing of the messianic age.  In the person of Jesus, that shepherd has come to Israel.  Ironically, the Pharisees see themselves as Israel’s shepherds.  But Jesus sees them as faithless thieves and robbers who care little for God’s flock, and who think nothing of exploiting the flock as it suits them.  It is Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who will gather God’s flock to himself, lead them to green pastures, and protect them from all enemies.  The Good Shepherd cares for his flock and he will lay down his life for his sheep, those who hear his voice and who follow their shepherd wherever he leads them.

In John 9, Jesus miraculously heals a man who had been blind from birth.  This miracle–the sixth of seven miraculous signs in John’s Gospel–proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah.  One of the main themes of messianic prophecy (especially that found in the Book of Isaiah), is that when the Messiah comes, he will restore sight to the blind.  When the Pharisees learn that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath, they were outraged by Jesus’ action and sought to use his miracle, and the manner in which he performed it (using mud and spittle), as grounds to find Jesus guilty of breaking the Sabbath.  This would be sufficient to arrest Jesus and put him to death.  

When the Pharisees could not prove that Jesus had done anything wrong, they angrily turn on the blind man who identified Jesus as the prophet.  When the blind man refuses to change his story about how Jesus healed him, or change his opinion about Jesus’ identity, the Pharisees cast him and his parents out of the synagogue, solely on the ground that Jesus had healed him.  Knowing what had happened to this man and his family, Jesus has compassion on him yet again, and brings him to saving faith (as recounted in verses 35-37).  The blind man whose eyes are now open, confesses his faith in Jesus, and then worships him.  Remarkably, Jesus receives his worship.

The ever-present Pharisees are watching this transpire and could not help but respond when Jesus places God’s covenant judgment (curse) upon them.  In John 9:39-41, “Jesus said, `For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, `Are we also blind?’  Jesus said to them, `If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.’”  The Pharisees witnessed a man born blind from birth receiving sight, and yet offer not a word of praise to God.  The miracle proves that Jesus is the Messiah, but they seek to kill him.  Because the blind man will not change his story to help them trap Jesus, the Pharisees revile him, before excommunicating him.  John leaves us with the amazing irony in chapter 9 is that a blind man can now see (spiritually and physically) while it is the Pharisees who are truly blind even though there is nothing wrong with their eyesight.

The actions of the unbelieving, heartless, and cruel Pharisees towards the blind man and his parents, coupled with the fact that Jesus places God’s covenant curse upon them (they remain in their sins), sets the stage for one of the most beloved sections in the New Testament, John 10:1-21, wherein Jesus proclaims that he is the Good Shepherd of Israel.  In the prior chapter (John 9), the account of the healing of the blind man takes place against the backdrop of the messianic expectation of sight being restored to the blind.  So too in chapter 10, Jesus discourse is set against the Old Testament backdrop of God placing his covenant curse upon the faithless shepherds of Israel who exploit the people of God for personal gain.  The list of Old Testament texts is extensive, and we will consider a number of them.  The list includes Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 56:9-12, Jeremiah 23:1-8 (which we read as our Old Testament lesson), 25:32-38, Zechariah 11, and even the 23rd Psalm.  In John 10, Jesus will make the point that the Pharisees, who have just demonstrated their rank unbelief in their treatment of both Jesus and the man born blind, are false shepherds who will come under the covenant curses.

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"Do You Believe in the Son of Man?" -- John 9:24-41

The Thirty-Second in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

The people of Israel are deeply divided.  Who is this man Jesus?  Is he is a prophet? Should he be made king of Israel?  Or, is he a false teacher and a danger to the nation?  The Pharisees too are divided by the same question.  Some of their number have accused Jesus of being a law-breaker and are plotting to kill him.  Others have called him all sorts of horrible names.  Still others have witnessed the miracles which Jesus has performed, and although they are not yet ready to become his disciples, they realize that only God can do such things.  As for Jesus, he has declared that he is the Messiah and one with YHWH.  When Jesus heals a man blind from birth on the Sabbath, the debate among the Jews heats up yet again.  But in John chapter 9, a new and remarkable irony emerges.  The man born blind can now see.  But the religious leaders of Israel demonstrate that they are blind to the truth.

We are continuing our series on John’s Gospel, and we have come to John chapter 9, and the account of Jesus’ miraculous healing of a man who was born blind.  This particular chapter of John (all 41 verses) is devoted to one miracle and the events which follow, but because we cannot do the passage justice by covering it in one week, I have broken the passage into two parts.  Last time, we covered the first 23 verses of the chapter, today we will work our way through the balance of this remarkable, ironic, and tragic account of Jesus’ sixth miraculous sign, and the almost unbelievable events which transpire as a result.

Jesus’ healing of the man born blind very likely occurs shortly after the Feast of Booths (as we saw in John 7-8), when Jesus proclaimed that he was the light of the world–an assertion he repeats in verse 5 of John 9.  As we have seen, John is very fond of irony, and we saw a fair bit of it last time when Jesus proclaims himself “light of the world” before instantly restoring sight (giving light) to a blind man.  We also saw such irony appear again when Jesus (the one “sent” from God) “sends” the blind man to the Pool of Siloam to wash.  The name Siloam is derived from the Hebrew verb “to send,” and Siloam was the same pool from which the Jews of Isaiah’s day refused to drink.  The irony is that the Jews once again reject the blessings of God, which are evident when Jesus (the “sent one”) “sends” the blind man to the pool “of those sent.”

This particular miracle (the sixth of seven miraculous signs which are recorded in John’s Gospel) serves several very important purposes.  The first purpose is that a number of well-known messianic prophecies in Isaiah’s prophecy, foretell that the coming of the Messiah will usher in an age in which sight will be restored to the blind (among other blessings).  We saw this last time when we read a portion of Isaiah 35 for our Old Testament lesson.  We read another of these remarkable prophecies in Isaiah 42.  When Jesus restores sight (as he does throughout the synoptic gospels, and here in John) he is offering unmistakable proof that the messianic age has dawned in his person and work.

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"He Is a Prophet" -- John 9:1-23

The Thirty-First in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

The Feast of Booths is over.  The feast of Dedication is still several months off in the future, and the Passover is now less than six months away.  Although Jesus’ hour has not yet come, it is drawing near.  This is why we also see a new sense of urgency in Jesus’ teaching.  When Jesus performs his sixth miraculous sign–the healing of a man who has been blind from birth–Jesus uses the occasion to continue to instruct his disciples about the meaning and nature of his messianic mission as he prepares them for that hour of which he has been speaking–when he must depart and go to that place where no one else (including his disciples) may follow.

We resume our series on the Gospel of John, and we now move into John chapter 9–although we are still in the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’ ministry.  John does not tell us where or when the events recorded in chapter 9 take place, but it is reasonable to assume that when Jesus speaks again of being the light of the world, the events recorded here occur at some point shortly after the events in John 8, yet before the Feast of the Dedication, which is mentioned in John 10 (and which occurs about three months after the Feast of Booths).  However, an important change becomes noticeable in chapter 9.  The pace of John’s account of Jesus’ messianic mission quickens, and the events John recounts are bringing us ever closer to the coming Passover, and to Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.   

The account of the healing of the man blind from birth, as well as Jesus’ proclamation that he is the good (and true) shepherd of Israel (in John 10), takes up the entirety of each of the next two chapters.  Since these are seamless episodes it is best to preach through John 9 and 10 in one sermon.  Unfortunately, time does not permit us to do justice to either passage if we go through them in one week (we could but survey them), so I have divided each of the next two chapters into two parts–that will bring us to my sabbatical.

So far in John’s Gospel, there have been five miraculous signs which Jesus performed to confirm the truth of his preaching, and which serve as his messianic credentials.  If Jesus merely claimed to be the “I AM” who spoke to Moses through the burning bush (as he did in John 8:58) without anything to back up that claim, then the Jews would have every reason to doubt Jesus’ assertion.  As we have seen, Jesus’ words are backed-up by a number of miraculous signs–many more than the five John has emphasized.  So far Jesus has turned water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11).  He cleansed the temple (John 2:13-22), and declared it his Father’s house.  He healed a nobleman’s son in John 4:46-54.  In John 5, Jesus healed a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years.  In John 6, Jesus fed over 5000 people from two dried fish and five barley loaves.  Here, in John 9, the sixth of these miraculous signs, Jesus will heal a man who had been blind from birth.  The seventh of these signs will come in John 11, when Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead.  As difficult as Jesus’ words have been for the people to understand and accept, his words are proven to have come from God because of the nature of his miracles.

There are several other instances recorded in the synoptic gospels in which Jesus heals the blind.  In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida.  According to Matthew 9:27-31, Jesus healed two blind men in the Galilee, and in Matthew 12:22-23 he healed a demon-possessed man who was also blind and deaf.  And, as recorded in all three synoptic gospels, Jesus healed two blind men near Jericho, one of them being named–Bartimaeus.  Why such emphasis in Jesus’ messianic mission upon healing blindness, lameness, deafness, or diseases like leprosy and others which rendered people ceremonially unclean?

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"Before Abraham Was, I Am" -- John 8:48-59

The Thirtieth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus went to Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths and began teaching in the temple.  Crowds quickly gathered to hear him.  On the last day of the Feast, Jesus declared that he would be the one who will give the people of God living water (the gift of the Holy Spirit).  Jesus also declared that he was the light of the world.  Both declarations were loaded with messianic implications.  When the Pharisees arrived, they began to debate publically with Jesus, attempting to use his words against him, hoping to trap him in an error which would discredit Jesus in the eyes of the people.  The people watching were greatly divided about Jesus’ identity and mission.  Some believed in Jesus and possessed eternal life.  Others are said to “believe in Jesus” but do so only for a time and fall away when Jesus says something difficult, or does something they do not like.  Meanwhile, the Pharisees are plotting to kill Jesus, and the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees continues to intensify.  As it does, the Pharisees make their most serious charge against Jesus yet, and Jesus responds with the clearest declaration so far as to his divine identity.  

As we resume our series on John’s Gospel, we pick up where we left off last time in John 8 (with verse 48), during the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’s ministry (which includes the material in John 7-10).  In addition to speaking of himself as the source of living water and the light of the world, Jesus has been repeatedly speaking of the fact that he is about to go away, and that where he is going, no one can come.  Those who know John’s Gospel, know that Jesus was speaking about his own death, resurrection, and ascension which was drawing near.  Throughout this section of his Gospel, John has made it clear that Jesus’ hour has not yet arrived–the reason John gives as to why the Pharisees plot to put Jesus to death has not succeeded.  

After asserting himself to be the one who gives living water as well as the light of the world, the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees grows increasingly intense.  Forcing people in the crowd to decide whether they are with Jesus or against him, Jesus told those Jews who profess to believe him, “if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).  The proof that someone has eternal life (and therefore has genuine faith) is that they will abide (remain) by trusting in Jesus until the end of their lives.  Those who are truly Christ’s are preserved to the end in this faith by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Those who have temporary faith (not genuine) do not abide.  Because the saving work of Christ has not been applied to them, they will fall away when things get tough–as we saw in the “Bread of Life” discourse back in John 6 and here in the debate recorded in John 8.

The Jews are totally perplexed about Jesus’ comment about him setting them free since even though Israel was then under Roman occupation, the Jews were back in the land and they were still free to practice their religion.  Jesus will explain this matter to them.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”  The Jews still do not grasp the fact that Jesus is using slavery as a metaphor for the guilt and power of sin, and that he speaks of freedom in terms of that redemption which he will accomplish on the cross to set his people free.  The Jews challenge Jesus by reminding him that they are children of Abraham.  Why would they need to be set free?  What kind of freedom can Jesus provide which they don’t already have (except political freedom)?

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"The Truth Will Set You Free" -- John 8:31-47

The Twenty-Ninth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

There is faith, and then there is faith.  Throughout the public ministry of Jesus there has always been a group of people to whom God has granted eternal life and who are said to “believe” in Jesus.  They are completely devoted to his messianic mission and continue to follow him through difficult times.  There is also a group of people (the Jews in John’s Gospel) who see Jesus as a threat, and who oppose just about everything Jesus says and does.  These people do not believe–and Jesus grants them no quarter whenever he encounters them.  And then there is a third group; those who are said to “believe in Jesus” and are even called “disciples,” but who eventually demonstrate that they do not truly believe in Jesus, and never really have.  These people are following Jesus out of desperation. They believe Jesus to be a miracle-worker who can help them in crisis.  Some of them see Jesus as the prophet foretold by Moses because no one else could do and say the things Jesus says.  Then there are others in this group who see in Jesus someone who can lead the nation into battle against their Roman oppressors.  These are people who want to make Jesus king (Messiah).  But people in this third group tend to fall away when Jesus utters hard sayings (as in the “Bread of Life” discourse), or when Jesus does something which does not meet their expectations (he claims to be God, he challenges their self-righteousness, or exposes their sin).
 
Therefore, not everyone whom John says believes in Jesus, really believes in Jesus.  Not everyone who follows Jesus is truly his disciple.  In fact, in John 2:23-25, John introduced us to such people when he wrote of them, “now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”  There are people whom John says “believe” in Jesus, but who over time prove they do not.  They are mixed with those following Jesus who really do believe the gospel because God has given them eternal life.  What are we to make of this problem?  How do we tell who is who?  Who is the true believer?

We continue our series on the Gospel of John and we are in John 8, working our way through the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’ ministry (chapters 7-10)–that part of Jesus’ messianic mission which is characterized by increasing conflict between Jesus and the religious leadership of Israel, the Jews.  We have seen that this conflict takes place during the Feast of Booths when Jesus goes to Jerusalem and declares himself to be the one who will give the people of God living water (the Holy Spirit), before declaring himself to be the light of the world (the Messiah, whose message of salvation will shine to the ends of the earth).  John tells repeatedly us that Jesus’ hour has not yet come (which is why the Pharisees’ plot to kill Jesus has not come to fruition).  John also reveals that Jesus is now telling his disciples that he must leave them, and that where he is going, no one can come.  Those who know how John’s Gospel turns out in the end, know that Jesus is referring to his coming death, resurrection, and ascension (when he returns to the Father) before sending the Holy Spirit (Pentecost).

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"Light of the World" -- John 8:12-30

The Twenty-Eighth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus stood up during the water pouring ritual on the “Great Day” of the Feast of Booths and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”  Throughout the entire time Jesus had been in Jerusalem during the week-long celebration of the Feast, people were debating his identity.  The Jews (those loyal to the Sanhedrin) felt that Jesus was a dangerous threat to the nation, and must be stopped.  Yet many of the people who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast, believed that if Jesus was not the Christ, then at the very least he was the great prophet foretold by Moses.  But no one could remain neutral about Jesus.  Jesus spoke with the authority of YHWH.  He had a mastery of Scripture which no one had ever seen.  And then there were the miracles.  Jesus healed people and cast out demons with a single command.  The religious leaders hated him because he exposed their self-righteousness.  They were already plotting his death, while many, John says, believed in him.  Who is this man?  How can he say the things that he does?  What is the nature of his ministry?  What is he seeking to accomplish?

As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we resume where we left off last time (John 7:52), with whole city of Jerusalem, it seems, debating the identity of Jesus and trying to figure out the nature of his messianic mission.  From the time Jesus arrived mid-Feast, until his declaration during the final water ritual that he is the “living water,” Jesus was engaged in continual controversy with the religious leaders of Israel–who, as we have seen, were already looking for a way to arrest Jesus and then put him to death.  This is why chapters 7-10 of John’s Gospel are said to describe the “conflict phase” of Jesus’ messianic mission.  Jesus’ mission has brought him to Jerusalem, and although his hour has not yet come, Jesus is preparing his disciples for that time when he will go away to that place where they cannot come (his ascension).  And, he must fulfill all righteousness through his perfect obedience to the law of Moses.

Those who were in Jerusalem as pilgrims attending the feast, as well as the city’s inhabitants, were also greatly divided over the question of Jesus’ identity.  Some believed in Jesus.  Others were not sure who, exactly, he was.  Is he the Christ, the prophet, or some sort of zealot?  Those loyal to the Sanhedrin were so angered by Jesus’ messianic claims that they sought to seize him and turn him over to the Pharisees.  The controversy surrounding Jesus in John 7:40 ff., leads to a direct encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees (beginning in John 8:12)–an encounter which, very likely, took place shortly after Jesus stood up and claimed to be the living water during that portion of the ritual in which water was poured out on the ground as symbolic of God’s provision of life-giving water to Israel in the wilderness and believed by the Jews to foretell of the messianic age, when God will give pure water to the whole world from a great rock (like that in the wilderness).  Jesus’ claim to give living water during this moment in the Feast was clearly a messianic claim.  Jesus’ comments did not go unnoticed by the Pharisees, who were just waiting for Jesus to say or do the wrong thing.  

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"If Anyone Thirsts" -- John 7:37-52

The Twenty-Seventh in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

We are well-familiar with the image of a parched individual struggling for survival in the desert–lips cracked, delirious, with the mirage of a blue oasis on the horizon.  For those living in Palestine at the time of Jesus, the lack of water was a real and potential danger.  In an arid climate the securing of water was a daily ordeal.  There were cisterns and catch basins, springs in certain areas, wells in others, Roman aqueducts in several large cities–but no one had plumbing.  If even you could find water, you had to carry it to where you were going to use it–a daily need.  Without water–if it didn’t rain, if the spring or well dried up–you would be forced to move a place to where water could be found.  Then there was the problem of brackish or contaminated water, which you needed to live, but which would make you sick.  In a world such as that of first century Palestine and under the circumstances just described, and given Israel’s own history with water in the desert wilderness, the messianic promise of pure water which is always replenished–a living water–was a powerful metaphor and a prominent expectation of the messianic age.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John and working our way through the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’ messianic mission as recounted in John chapters 7-10.  We have spent the last several Sundays looking at the first section of John 7 when Jesus entered Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths.  Although he entered the city quietly and without fanfare, Jesus immediately went into the temple and began teaching, drawing a large crowd, and generating great controversy among the Jews over his person and the nature of his messianic mission.  Is Jesus a prophet, or the Christ?  What about his authority, his insight into the Old Testament, and his miracles?

In our time in John 7, we have seen that the Jews (the “Jews” in John’s Gospel is not a reference to the Jewish people in general, but to the Jewish religious leadership and those allied with them) openly questioned Jesus’ credentials to teach, only to have Jesus declare that his words and authority come directly from YHWH.  Jesus tells the Jews that they do not keep the law of Moses, and to prove his point, Jesus exposes the plot to kill him then being hatched by the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus reminds the crowds that a year or so earlier, when he had been in Jerusalem, he had healed a man on the Sabbath who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When the man got up and walked and moved his bedroll, the Jews accused Jesus of being a law-breaker for violating the Sabbath commandment.  Jesus points out that the Jews themselves made exceptions for the weightier matters of the law when it came to circumcision (as Jesus had done with the invalid), and despite the outward piety of the members of the Sanhedrin, it was they who were engaged in the grossest form of hypocrisy–plotting to kill their own Messiah for being a law-breaker, when he had kept the law perfectly (since he was the law’s author).

As we saw last time, the increasingly heated exchange between Jesus and the Jews quickly got to the heart of the matter.  Who is Jesus?  A prophet?  Is Jesus truly the Christ (the Messiah)?  According to one school of Jewish messianic expectation, popular at the time, Jesus could not be the Messiah.  It was thought that the Christ would be a great deliverer (no thought was given to an incarnation) who would remain completely hidden until he revealed himself at a time of great national crisis.  The problem with Jesus’ claim to be the Christ (at least from the perspective of those who held this view) is that the Jews knew too much about him.  Many knew where Jesus was born (Bethelem–the right place), they knew his parents (Joseph and Mary), they knew that he was raised in Nazareth, that he now lived in Capernaum, and that after the death of John the Baptist, his ministry became very popular (especially in Galilee).  None of this fit with the “hidden Messiah” view held by many.

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"When the Christ Appears" -- John 7:25-36

The Twenty-Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

While he was ministering in Galilee, people saw Jesus heal the sick and cast out demons.  They heard Jesus teach, and identified him as the great prophet foretold by Moses.  When Jesus fed over five thousand people in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee, messianic fervor grew so intense that people wanted to make Jesus king.  But six months later when Jesus went to Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths and began teaching in the temple, things were different.  Some thought Jesus to be a good man.  Others thought that Jesus was a dangerous false teacher.  When Jesus revealed to the crowds who gathered to hear him teach that the religious leaders of Israel were plotting to kill him, some of those present alleged that Jesus was demon-possessed.  As the events in John’s Gospel begin to point us toward the cross and the empty tomb, the critical question is now on everyone’s mind.  Who is this man?  Is he really the Christ?

As we work our way through the Gospel of John, we are in the seventh chapter and covering the initial exchanges between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders of Israel during the so-called “conflict phase” of Jesus’ messianic mission.  The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel–which is recounted in John chapters 7-10–takes place during the Feast of Booths.  According to Josephus (the famed Jewish historian), this was the most popular of the three principle Jewish feasts.  Coming close on the heals of the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Booths was established by God before Israel entered the promised land.  Pilgrims came to Jerusalem from outlying areas (Judea and the Galilee) and the city was packed with people during the eight days of the Feast.

By the time of Jesus, the Feast of Booths was a national harvest festival celebrated after the fall crop of olives and grapes had been harvested (late October, early November).  The Feast included a solemn water-pouring ritual and a lamp-lighting ceremony.  Jesus will refer to both rituals as the conflict between himself and the Jewish leaders continues to escalate.  The eight-day celebration of the Feast of Booths serves as the setting for the conflict which follows.  

As we saw last time, Jesus was still in the Galilee region when his brothers (the younger biological children of Mary and Joseph) encouraged him to go to Jerusalem for the Feast with the intention of performing miracles–perhaps to regain some of the followers he had lost months earlier as a result of the “hard sayings” found in the “bread of life” discourse which Jesus had given while in the Galilee.  In verses 3-4 of John 7, Jesus’ brothers told him, “leave here [the Galilee region] and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.  For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”  Jesus’ brothers were still unbelievers at this time, and they do not understand that it was not yet time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem.  Jesus will go when it is his Father’s will that he go.  His brothers went to the opening of the Feast without him.

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"My Teaching Is Not Mine, But His Who Sent Me" -- John 7:1-24

The Twenty-Fifth in A Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus has returned to Jerusalem.  The on-going conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel will now escalate.  Speaking with the Father’s authority, Jesus proclaims that the people of Israel do not keep the law of Moses, and are sinners in need of a Savior.  Already plotting to kill Jesus–because, ironically, the Jews consider Jesus to be a law-breaker–some of those opposing Jesus accuse him of being demon possessed.  As the tension increases, the people of Israel are now forced to choose whether they will follow Jesus or reject him.  From this point on in John’s Gospel, the messianic mission of Jesus will center in and around the  city of Jerusalem, and the leaders of the Jews will keep plotting to kill him.  All roads now lead to the cross and the empty tomb because this is the will of YHWH, and Jesus’ mission requires him to fulfill his Father’s will.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John, and we move into a new section of the Gospel, recounting those events which took place in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).  These events take place about six months after Jesus gave the “bread of life” discourse in the synagogue in Capernaum (in the Galilee region).  Chapters 7-10 of John, which record this so-called “conflict” phase of Jesus’ ministry, are characterized by an increasing tension between Jesus and the Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem (the Sanhedrin).  This tension stems from Jesus’ previous trip to Jerusalem (a year earlier), when Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath as recounted in John 5:18, where we read, “this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill [Jesus], because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Although the increasing tension between Jesus and the Jewish leaders occurs during Feast of Booths, the nature of the Feast itself does not enter into the dispute.  But the celebration of the Feast does serve as the setting for the various disputes between Jesus and the Jews which are recounted in the next few chapters.  This is not the final conflict between Jesus and the members of the Sanhedrin (that will come during the Passover a few months later), but the vast divide between Jesus and the Jewish leaders is now fully out in the open.  Once this happens, the people are now forced to take sides.  The differences over the meaning of the Sabbath, and Jesus’ claims to deity became clear in chapter five.  New issues arise in chapters 7-10, specifically questions about Jesus’ relationship to Abraham, Jesus’ authority and his interpretation of the Old Testament (particularly the way Jesus places himself at the center of Israel’s history), and Jesus’ assertion that the religious leaders of Israel are actually in league with the devil.

Since we have much ground to cover today, let us turn to our text, verse 1 of chapter 7.  “After this Jesus went about in Galilee.  He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.”  John does not specify how much time has elapsed since Jesus gave the “bread of life” discourse in Capernaum but since the Passover occurs in the spring and the Feast of Booths late in the Fall, it is safe to say that about six months have elapsed since the events of John 6.  The synoptic Gospels devote much attention to this period in our Lord’s ministry in the Galilee, but John says nothing about it.  According to John’s account, Jesus stayed in the Galilee region because the Jews in Jerusalem (the capitol of Judea) were threatening to kill him. 

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