Responding to the Revealed Christ

Thank you Victoria

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Between Halloween and Christmas, we rush past Thanksgiving. John 7 shows people rushing past Jesus. Let’s slow down and ask who He is, what time it is on God’s clock, and how long the door stays open.

John 7:25-36

Play Bill:

The Jews (Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes: religious leaders)

The Jerusalemites. The locals. v. 25

The Crowd, those who have pilgrimed to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths.

The Officers. Levites serving at temple guards

Jesus

Who are these voices and what are they missing?

1. Jesus Reveals what the world refused to see. vv. 25-29

Feast of Booths is 8 Days with the first and last day being holy and no work to be done.

After Jesus was teaching at the middle of the feast in the temple, around day 3-4, there starts this dialogue the follows from last weeks teaching.

The Jerusalemites were shocked by what was happening.

It was apparent the leaders neither liked nor believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.

SO why would they allow him to teach?

John 7:25–26 “Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?”

Then they make a statement that is interesting which leads to Jesus speaking up more.

Look at John 7:27 “But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.””

Were they ignorant to the prophecies such as Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

They thought that he would be born normally but not recognized until he was made known by God.

In a harmony of the Gospels, Chronologically Matthew 17 “Mount of Transfiguration”

Peter says “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for your and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

The people were taught by the Religious Leaders that the Messiah would be made know supernaturally by the Father. John 1:29-34 (baptism)

John 7:28–29 “So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.””

Proclaimed: Cried out, make well known.

He had been teaching, but as the Jerusalemites are asking, Jesus is answering.

The Jewish nation was anxiously awaiting the Christ, the Messiah, but he WASN’T who they were wanting.

Let me ask you this, who are you expecting Jesus to be?]

Some of you see Jesus as:

A Compassionate Helper-someone who comforts when life is hard

A Moral Example-showing us how to live good lives

A Crisis Counselor-the one we turn to when things fall a part

A Distant Lord-I believe but I feel he is far away

A political and cultural savior-take us back and free us from tyranny.

Is who you’re expecting Jesus to be who is Word says he is?

John 7:28b-29 “But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.””

Are you refusing to see Jesus for who he really is?

2. Jesus’ mission cannot be stopped by man’s agenda. vv. 30-31

I am fascinated by planes, the idea that we can get in a machine and fly around is amazing to me.

I have been on my fair share of planes and something ALWAYS happens when flying in a commercial plane.

Hurry to get in line to board the plane

As soon as belt sign turn off “click, click, click”

As soon we’re given the clear upon landing, “click, click, click” to go from standing to stooping.

We rush EVERYTHING

Hurry promises control but delivers anxiety.

The religious leaders RUSHED to arrest Jesus, yet, not one person laid a hand on him, why? His hour had not yet come, because the Father’s hour, not ours, runs the story.

John 7:30 “So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”

“Seeking” zeteo -Demand what is due

Religious Leaders Agenda: Arrest Him. Demand what is due. Blasphemer.

Jerusalemites Agenda: Arrest Him. Demand what is due. Blasphemer.

Jesus Agenda: Obedience to the Father. Reveal the Father’s Glory through the cross

The world always has an agenda for Jesus — silence Him, domesticate Him, make Him fit our preferences. But God’s agenda will always prevail.

The same is true in our lives — when our plans collide with His purpose, His purpose wins every time.

Remember our Play Bill? 3rd party, the Pilgrims, what happened to them?

John 7:31 “Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?””

Remember the purpose of John writing this account of Jesus’ life, it’s our memory verse John 20:31 “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Did they have all the answers? No.

Did they get to ask all their questions? No.

What did they say? “Wil he do more signs than this man has done?”

We’ve seen! We believe.

You will never and can never intellectually save yourself, we can never and will never have 100% proof in who Jesus is.

Where are you trying to force Jesus to be someone he isn’t?

Followers of Jesus: Where are you trying to force something to happen in your life that God might be saying, ‘Not yet’?”

3. Jesus warns that the opportunity to believe will not last forever. vv. 32-36

As this narrative continues to unfolds, the intensity rises up, the tensions are growing, the seemingly paranoia is increasing.

This story reminds me of the 1992 movie “A Few Good Men” as Tom Cruise has Jack Nicholas on the stand and they are going back and forth.

Jack is asking “You want answers”,

Tom replies “I want the truth”

Jack’s famous line “You can’t handle the truth”.

John 7:32 “The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.”

The crowd was muttering. This is the Jerusalemites and the Pilgrims going back and forth about who Jesus is.

The chief priests (Sadducees) and the Pharisee’s then in the power and authority they posses, send the temple officers to arrest Jesus.

Jesus knows this and he flips the script, instead of them physically arresting Him, he spiritually arrests them.

John 7:33–34 “Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.””

The hour has not yet come, but it is near.

The Feast of Booths is in the fall

In 6 months, the Feast of Passover will be here, His hour will be here.

Jesus will be turned over, will face an unjust hearing, be flogged, mocked, spit on, have his flesh ripped apart, humbles himself not only to death, but death on a cross.

So Jesus warns the officers, look, I won’t be here long, you can believe in me now, because shortly I am going back to my Father. If you don’t believe, you won’t be able to come either.

Similar statement Jesus makes, but to his disciples

John 14:3–5 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?””

For us today, Jesus has graced us with time and an opportunity to respond.

The opportunity to respond is an open door, but it is not endlessly open.

Over the past few weeks we here at FCC have lost some great men of the faith. Don Bishop and Kenny Trail. Their celebration of life services were back to back days.

Any time a loved one passes away, or I hear about someone passing, I am reminded of temporariness on earth.

Reading a great book, going to give this copy away to someone this week on the Salem Campus Facebook Group.

“You don’t know and can’t know when death will come. All you can know is that when death comes, it will carry off all. Often death’s timing leaves everything to be desired. Its unannounced advent mocks our presumed dignity. Death doesn’t ask whether you’re busy, whether you’d prefer to be called back later.” Bobby Jamieson Everything is Never Enough

Jesus is the only way. He’s the only way to the Father. He’s the only way to Truth. He is the only way to True Life.

Missing Him NOW means missing the Father. Means missing the Truth. Means missing true life. Not just for this lifetime, but for all of eternity.