God Doesn't Alway Meet Your Expectations

Secular -

A new talented astronaut ascends to space carrying the expectation of all his crew members.

But moments just before he reached space, he decided to turn the rocket back and land back on earth.

After he got out, people questioned why he didn’t continue to space.

He said “my teacher once asked me what my dream was and when I said to become an astronaut, she said well, the sky is your limit”

Historical/Cultural Context -

The Gospel of John was written between 90 AD and 100 AD. Scholars also believe that John wrote the three Epistles and the book of Revelation around the same time-frame as he wrote this Gospel. The Gospel of John was written after Matthew, Mark, & Luke had been written and circulated. John has been dubbed by most scholars as “The Spiritual Gospel.”

Biblical Text -

John 7:25–53 NKJV

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.” Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?” On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” And everyone went to his own house.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - God Will Not Meet All Of Our Expectations. Our Job Is To Have A Solid Relationship With Jesus, Not Jump To Conclusions, And Trust Him.

Life Point- Christians Need A Solid Relationship With Jesus

Exegetical -

John 7:25–31 NLT

Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.” While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

Homiletical -

Here we come back to Jesus teaching at the Temple.

We know that some of the leaders sought to kill Him, but here they aren’t coming anywhere near Him for that purpose.

Their all-of-a-sudden silence about Him causes them to question whether their religious leaders actually believed Him to be the Messiah.

However, some point out that they don’t know where the Messiah will be coming from, He will just appear as the righteous judge.

They were confusing Jesus’ first coming with His second coming. The religious leaders were looking for a conquering king, not a suffering Messiah. Not a lamb to the slaughter.

So all of this conversation is going on while Jesus is teaching and then all-of-a-sudden Jesus calls out and says, yes you know me and know from where. Then he says he speaks for God and they don’t know Him. Which would be quite the insult to the religious leaders.

The leaders would equate their positions and knowledge of scripture as their knowing God.

No, They knew about God but not God Himself.

We have the same problem in Christendom today. We have a lot of people who know about God and are all about their knowledge, position, and traditions but neglect knowing God in a deeper, personal way.

Don’t get me wrong, we have to have head knowledge so that there is a well for the Holy Spirit to remind us about.

Luke 12:11–12 NLT

“And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

John 14:26 NLT

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

This is part of truly being in a relationship with Jesus. His Word, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will guide us in all of our actions and thoughts, if we let Him.

John 6:63 NLT

The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Isaiah had this kind of relationship with the Lord

Isaiah 30:21 NLT

Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

The Holy Spirit is a seal to the new believer, a down payment as it were to the glories that awaits the believer in heaven.

Ephesians 1:13–14 NLT

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

It is this sealing of the Spirit that reminds us of the precious blood of Jesus Christ for our salvation by grace. The Holy Spirit is God, the 3rd person of the trinity and He resides in every believer. He even prays for us.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Romans 8:26–27 NLT

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

John 7:30–31 NLT

Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

After Jesus called them out and basically said He is the messiah, the leaders sought to arrest Him. They didn’t because as John writes, His hour had not yet come.

This is foreshadowing as to His eventual arrest, conviction, and crucifixion.

Now we find that many people believed in Him because of the signs that He had make happen, not because of His teaching nor His wisdom.

Unfortunately people today still seek signs and wonders. I believe that those who seek such things will find more fakery than they will true miracles of God.

I believe that when your relationship with God is solid then you will see true miracles, not chicanery.

Life Point - Don’t Jump To Conclusions

Exegetical -

John 7:32–36 NLT

When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.” The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

Homiletical -

So the pharisees seek to arrest Jesus, but instead Jesus tells them, and everyone, that He is going back to heaven. But they didn’t understand that.

They thought that He was going to leave the area and speak to Jews of other nations and maybe do the unthinkable and teach Gentiles. Gentiles are anyone who is not a Jew.

He says what is going to happen, that they will search for Him and not find Him because He goes to The Father.

Right here we find the Gospel being preached in foreshadowing.

You see He was prophetically speaking about His own future.

If you look at the progression, He declares Himself the Son of God in the previous section. Declaring that the Father sent Him.

Now He says He will not be there with them much longer. This refers to His death on the cross for sin.

Now He talks about people searching for Him and not finding Him and going somewhere where no one can follow.

This speaks to His resurrection and ascension to heaven.

This is the problem with all prophetic utterances. We can study things like Daniel and Revelation and think we have it all figured out, but when it comes to pass it may not meet your expectations.

When we study prophecy we don’t want to be like the Pharisees and come up with our own minds and if anything deviates from it, it blows our world up.

We should study so that we will recognize the times, but leave room that our interpretations can be wrong.

God is not about meeting our expectations or our interpretations, but about accomplishing His will.

Did these people know what Christ was talking about before it happened? No, they didn’t. They thought He was leaving the country! Little did they know He was speaking of the most important event in Human History.

Life Point - God Will Make Sure His Will Is Done.

Exegetical -

John 7:37–44 NLT

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

Homiletical -

As this progresses it caused an even deeper split. Not only were the religious leaders trying to arrest Him, but some in the crowd wanted Him arrested now.

Remember there is a lot of places that are desert around this area. Water is at a premium. No matter where you go on earth, people will only build civilizations where there is ample supply of water.

Jesus says that not only will He give water, but living water. That is the water that is flowing. You see stagnate water invites nastiness, it invites molds, mildew, and even bugs. Whereas flowing water has always been a symbol for life.

Jesus says to them that He is the only way, the truth, and life.

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Jesus was foreshadowing what was going to happen to every believer. They were going to receive the Spirit. But it hadn’t happened yet. Why? Because He had not yet been glorified. For everyone who believes from the smallest child to the oldest adult has the same Holy Spirit living in them.

They knew enough to know that Jesus was from Galilee but they did not know where He was born, which fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah.

What do we learn here from this?

When God does a work, He will do it in spite of people who get in the way. He will accomplish His will.

Isaiah 55:11 NLT

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Life Principle– God Will Not Meet All Of Our Expectations. Our Job Is To Have A Solid Relationship With Jesus, Not Jump To Conclusions, And Trust Him.

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