Jesus talks to the religious leaders

Over the next month we are going to look at God’s call to leadership in His church throughout history.

My original plan for this series was to examine Ephesians 4 where we learn that Jesus appoints leadership to His church and then take the next four weeks to go through specific examples how our LORD God has done this throughout history.

As I began writing my sermons I was convicted of how often God used ordinary men.

God does not look at the things men look at because when God calls men, he is calling men that will follow him, listen to him, and point to what He is doing.

The more I studied, the more scales began to fall off my own eyes and the more I feared for the church today in our western world.

While much of this series focuses on God’s call to leadership and what godly leadership looks like, it has practical applications in all of our lives.

It helps each of us to see that our focus needs to be on the greatness of God and not on the greatness of man. It helps us to recognize that the more we try and raise ourselves up, the less God can use us, but the more we humble ourselves and raise God up the more He can use us.

In the Life Group that Beth and I lead we have diving deep into the gospel of John and we have been so enriched by the words of our Lord Jesus and how impactfull it can be to hear the teachings of Jesus.

My grandpa used to say if you want to know something for sure you need to get it from straight from the horses mouth!

Well rather than start this sermon series from Ephesians chapter 4 we are going to start in the gospel of John and listen to the words of Jesus.

We are going to go straight to the words of our Lord Jesus.

Throughout this series we will be examining the differences between between true faith and false religion. We will examine ideas of false religion that have make their way into our western thinking and how we need to renew our minds in Christ. When we begin such a journey to understand these things, there is no better place to look than the life of Jesus and his relationsip with the Jewish leadership.

Before we dive into Ephesians and learn that it is still Jesus that individually calls his leaders. Lets look into the gospel of John and see what poor leadership looks like next to true leadership. Lets look at what the false religion of the Jews looks like next to Jesus.

Today we are going to be in John chapters 7 & 8.

If you will turn in your Bibles to John chapter 7. The book of John is the 4th book in the New Testament

There truly is so much that Jesus teaches us about true leadership, true faith, and true worship in the gospel of John and even in the couple of chapters we are looking at today, chapters 7 & 8.

If we wanted I could be up here for the rest of the day going through each verse because I simply love the gospel of John and I am sure that you do too. However for the sake of keeping this within a reasonable time, I have selected some specific verses from Jesus’ conversation with the Jewish leaders that will help us begin to look into what godly leadership looks like.

Let me give a little bit of context here. There is a festival happening in Jerusalem called the Feast of the Booths. Jesus is sending his disciples ahead of him because attendance was required of every Jewish male over the age of 12. Jesus told them he would be coming after them. While Jesus has a plan to teach at this festival, he does not want to make a big entrance because there is danger for both himself and his disciples.

In chapter 7 verse 1 of John we see the heart of the Jewish leaders and that they are against Jesus.

John 7:1 “After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.”

The first thing I want to point out in this text is that throughout the gospel of John we see that the phrase “The Jews” used to refer to the Jewish leadership. In our text today it is also the same, while we will see Jesus speaking to a crowd of Jewish people at the temple, the gospel of John continues to use the phrase “The Jews” to refer to the leadership that wants to kill Jesus.

It is quite interesting how powerful and how quick the Jewish leadership was to take out anyone that threatened their positions of power. We actually see early on in Jesus’ ministry that in chapter 5 of John, they were already seeking to kill Jesus because Jesus was breaking their “extra Sabbath laws” and making himself to be equal with the Father.

What should we learn from this? There is a very real war that takes place even amongst those who call themselves followers of the LORD. In the case of Jesus’ day, there were many who trusted in their positions and power and were very religious on the outside but yet they opposed the work of God and God Himself in Jesus Christ.

Looking back at John chapter 7, Jesus does show up at the festival around the middle of the feast and we are shown one of the first great lessons of true leadership verses false leadership.

John 7:14–18 “About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.”

The first great lesson Jesus teaches is:

True leadership learns by listening and submitting to God the Father False religion and false leadership trusts in the accolades and accreditation of men.

As we look at how Jesus begins to teach on listening and submitting to God the Father it is good for us to recognize is that Jesus waited on the Father’s perfect timing before he made himself known at the festival.

In everything Jesus did the Father’s will and not coming to the festival until the middle of the festival was part of Jesus’ submission to the Father.

Then when Jesus does begin to teach in the temple the Jewish leaders began to marvel at him saying “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

This statement by the Jewish leaders shows that the Jewish leadership trusted only in their own training programs.

While we see in other Scriptures that Jesus is considered by many to be a Rabbi or a teacher, we see here that he had no formal training in what were “the accepted Rabbinical programs”.

As we will soon see the Jewish leadership is not marveling as if they think this is a good thing. They are confused as to how Jesus could know as much as he does without formal study under their approved programs. However because Jesus does not comply with their self righteous religion, they are going to do everything they can to discredit him.

Jesus shows us however that true leadership comes from listening to the Father. He says “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.”

This is the heart of any leader that has been truly called by God. They will seek to teach God’s Word, not their own opinions.

Jesus then says “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Jesus continues to speak about godly leadership and how when a godly leader speaks, he speaks to those who have a willing heart to obey the will of God. Jesus is also saying that those with a willing heart will know that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Then Jesus says that the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory - Jesus makes it clear that if he were speaking on his own accord or out of some kind of human genius he would be seeking to exalt himself. Rather, Jesus did not seek to exalt himself, rather he came to glorify the Father. The Son of God is the only one who fully sought the glory of God the Father and in Christ there was no falsehood, therefore the Holy Spirit was able to work in the fullest way in the life of Jesus Christ . However, for those who seek the glory of God, the Holy Spirit will affirm the truth of who Jesus Christ is and guide you into all truth, in a similar way that He did in the life of Jesus. John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” 1 John 2:20 “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.”

You see my brothers and sisters, it is not that any of us lack access to knowledge or lack access to the truth, we have all been given access to it. Rather, we must submit ourselves to the Spirit of truth and renew our minds in Christ Jesus. We must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. Finally when we look for a godly leader, it is not an accreditation of men that we need to concern ourselves with but it is work of the Holy Spirit.

Now if you will jump with me to Chapter 8 verses 12-16.

The context here is again Jesus speaking in the open but the conversation is primarily directed at and with the Jewish leadership. John 8:12–16 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.”

The second great lesson Jesus teaches is:

True leadership is seeks to please the Trinity. False religion looks to please other men and find acceptance in circles of men.

I want to take you back to the Feast of Tabernacles for a moment. During the festival large lamps were burning in remembrance of the pillar of fire that gave light and led the Israelites through the wilderness. The light from the large lamps lit up much of Jerusalem during the night.

So picture this; one evening when the feast is commemorating God’s provision for Isreal in the wilderness with large lamps lit to remind them of the pillar of fire that guided them in the darkness of night through the desert, Jesus begins to preach and declares I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.

So the Pharisees address this immediately because what Jesus is saying is not a hidden message. Jesus is declaring he is the light that not only guided Israel but he guides the whole world. Furthermore, the Pharisees know how the word “light” is used in the O.T. as a metaphor for the truth found in God’s Word and how the LORD is the way of salvation. Psalm 27:1“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Isaiah 9:2“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”

The Pharisees tell Jesus that he is bearing witness about himself and therefore his testimony is not true because they trust only in their own circles of power to confirm what is true. If someone does not conform to the circle of the Sanhedrin and comply with the current Jewish traditions they are “on their own”. The Pharisee’s are actually attempting to use a Levitical law against Jesus, and this is actually a continued conversation that Jesus had with the leaders back in John chapter 5.

The reality is that it is the Pharisees that are “on their own”. It is these religious leaders that have departed from the Word of God.

John 5:31–32“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.” Jesus is of course speaking about the fact that his Father in heaven testifies to his work. Going back to John chapter 8 verse 16, Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that His judgement is true because he is not judging on his own but he is in accord with the Father who sent him.

Jesus makes it clear here in John chapter 8 that even if he did bear witness about himself, it would be true. Why because He is Emmanuel, He is God with us. However, he is not bearing witness about himself because Jesus did not come to exalt himself, he came as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient unto death , even death on a cross. The obedience of the Son of God in human flesh meant his education rested fully on the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. I know there can be some confusion on the work of the Holy Spirit at different times in history, so let me bring some celerity for those who are wondering about how the Holy Sprit worked in the life of Jesus.

Matthew 3:16“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;”

In John chapter 3 we read these words spoken by John the Baptist about Jesus...

John 3:34–35 “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” So Jesus gives us the ultimate example of a godly leader in that they will seek to please God rather than man. The only circle of people a godly leader needs to be concerned about pleasing is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

John 8:39–46 “They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin?

The third great lesson Jesus teaches is:

True leadership believes in the Words of God concerning sin and forgiveness. False religion attempts to puff himself up by comparing themselves to others, degrading others, and trusting in religious rituals.