Worldly Knowledge vs Heavenly Knowledge

We mentioned a bit in our first sermon in this chapter that Chapter 7 is marked by disbelief, division, and opposition/ hostility. We see all three of these in our text today. But our focus will be on the defiance in the disbelieving Jerusalemites. What is at the core of their disbelief.

25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill?

26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?

Jerusalemites. Here is the sixth party mentioned in our chapter up to this point. We have Jesus brothers, the Jews, the Crowds, who are now divided into a fourth and fifth group, with the Jerusalamites and many believed.

Consider the division of the crowds as we walk through the text. First, a superficial admiration, “he is a good man”, second, a suspicion of deception, “he deceives the people”, third, open derision, “you have a demon!”, fourth, an informed cynicism, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill?” fifth and finally, a confused and untrustworthy belief, “many believed in him”.

What we have by our inspired author John is a dramatization of John 1:11 “11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

He is having the reader look into the kaleidoscope of the confused, hostile, and unbelieving responses to Jesus.

It confirms to us once again, that something is radically wrong with the world, he wants to remove the thought that, man if I were there, I would have believed, the reader and hearer ought to see that apart from the work of God in their hearts, they would remain in one of these categories. Apart from a new birth, a heavenly birth, you remain a worldling, in your sins.

So back to our new group, the Jerusalemites. What are they saying? It’s difficult to get into the setting. We remember how provocative and inapropriate it is for Jesus to take this place of a teacher in the temple according to the Jews. What is this uneducated fellow doing taking up this place in our temple at our feast? The Jerusalemites are now playing off of this.

Put yourself in a courtroom setting. There is a trial going on, and in the middle of the trial someone walks into the courtroom and goes up and takes the stand and begins to pontificate on the case. And the Judge, the court officer, and court security officers do and say nothing. While this is going on, some from the public spectators stand up and say to the authorities, “what are you doing?” “Are you going to put a stop to this?”

That’s the sense of what’s taking place here. The Jerusalemites are saying, “Look, here is the one you are seeking to kill, and yet, you are doing nothing about it, he speaks openly, go and seize him. Don’t tell me that in 10-15 minutes you’ve become convinced he’s the Christ? In the midst of the division and confusion, the people from Jerusalem are putting a challenge to their own religious authorities. In other words, go and shut him up!

Listen, even we know that he cannot be the Christ. We know where he is from.

27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

What to make of this? A willful and hardened ignorance. It is moral blindness.

28 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.

29 But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

They know him and don’t know him. Two types of faith, two types of knowledge. Jesus seminar.

30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

31 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?””