Yet A Little While
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Intro.
Intro.
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
Many times, people will attempt to read the Word and interpret it through the flesh instead of the Spirit’s guiding.
What would be the natural consequence of this? MISUNDERSTANDING
Do you know of any examples of this?
David and Jonathan
2Sam 1.26.
1Sam. 18.1
Paul — Sexist, Homophobic
1Cor. 14.34
Jesus — prejudice, sexist
Mk. 7.24-30
All of these different stories, and many more, are often enough read by people who know nothing whatsoever of God and do not understand His ways. They look at the Scriptures and then interpret them through the fleshly mind.
The flesh cannot be in league with the Spirit; they are directly opposed to one another, according to Gal. 5.17.
Now, why do I open up this way? Because this is the approach which the Jews had taken to the words of Jesus again!
35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he?
With what feeling do you suppose they made this statement?
Probably, seeing how the Jews felt about the Gentiles in this time, I can imagine that they had quite a bit of venom in their on their tongues as they said this.
Were they right?
This evening I want us to briefly discover the answer to some questions:
What He Meant
What He Meant
What do you think Jesus did mean by Jn. 7.33-34?
33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
He speaks of His limited time remaining among them — He would not be there with them forever. He would in fact allow Himself to be captured and killed, before going back to the One Who sent Him — Whom we understand to be the Father.
I think it is rather important also, as one commentator pointed out, that Jesus said He would go to the One Who sent Him, not that He would forced or pushed in any way. His return was voluntary, as was His embracing the agony of the cross tho He did not desire to do so. We see in John 13.1 that Jesus knew exactly where and to Whom He was going after this moment.
1 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
So, to where did Jesus go?
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
Jesus returned to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father!
Is this a geographical place?
No, it is a place of Power and Authority which belongs to Christ the Lord!
Answering the Pharisees
Answering the Pharisees
Now, we observe again the retort given by the cowardly Pharisees: Jn. 7.35
35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he?
Where do you figure this Dispersion of Jews among the Greeks took place?
Exile, probably.
What you may not know about Jewish/Gentile relations in this time, was that Jews were not even allowed to eat with Gentiles at the same table (Gal. 2.11-12). This is because they would be rendered ceremonially unclean through contact with the Jews and could not be among the people until they had purified themselves again! Now, we understand a little more about why the Pharisees felt this way — maybe we can do a little digging into ourselves and discover whether we would treat any group of people this way?
Now, we ask, was there any truth to what they said?
Sort of! Has Jesus not gone to the the Jews among the Gentiles and even to us, Gentiles in the flesh?
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
In an ironic twist which the Pharisees could not comprehend, though they should have seeing as they had this very thing prophesied to them, Jesus did in fact go to the Greek world!
Now, it is true that this is NOT what Jesus was talking about — let’s be clear on that. He was talking about going to the Father in heaven where these men could not follow.
Why could they not follow? Firstly, they were yet alive. Secondly, they were lost in their unbelief — no one who dishonors the Son will ever have the Father until they repent!
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, the Pharisees were looking at it through a very warped lens, right? Scoffing at the mere idea that the Gentiles would be taught and reached.
We now know what Jesus meant by what He said in verses 33-34, and we even understand that in a way after His ascension He did still go to the Gentiles. We also must see for sure that the Pharisees, for their unbelief, heard and interpreted Jesus through the flesh just as do the poor souls who still do today. They are lost, and will remain so until they submit to Christ as Lord and surrender their lives to Him. WE are lost if we are not surrendering our lives to Him. No, to be clear I do not mean that we must be sinless and perfect — but we must love the Lord and move forward toward Him by grace in faith. If we have given that up, or if we have never done so yet, we are lost.
I want each of us to write three names on a piece of paper --- your OWN INDIVIDUAL list — of people who are lost. Pray for them, for we know the joy of our inheritance, to be with Christ one day. We should also desire it for them, and be used by God to get them to Christ.