Is He the Christ?

Introduction:

Connection:

Winston Churchill is a figure you may have heard about but may know little about.

Just as Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, France was collapsing. Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax and other War Cabinet members advocated for exploring a negotiated peace settlement via Italy's Benito Mussolini.

Things got so bad, and political support for the war, and for Churchills position about not negotiating with Germany that he considered for a time that negotiation was the only option he had left.

But, as documented in a recent movie, his mind was changed.

Churchill steadfastly refused, arguing Hitler could not be trusted and that a settlement would mean permanent German domination of Europe. [1, 2, 3]

Backed by his uncompromising oratory (such as his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech), Churchill solidified national resolve. He gambled that by staying in the war, Britain would eventually gain the support of the United States and that the German economy would collapse or conflict would erupt with the Soviet Union. [1, 2]

"Those who never change their minds, never change anything," - Winston Churchill

This saying seems to indicate that rigid thinking can halt progress. If you cannot reconsider your beliefs, you will never drive personal or societal transformation.

I was having a conversation yesterday with a friend and church member, and I told him why I was thinking in a particular direction, thinking he would agree with me, and to my great surprise, he had the opposite view of what I thought he would on the subject.

I think I may have been… “wrong”… (gasp!)

Have you ever felt like the people who are most confident in their beliefs are often the ones who've thought about them the *least*. They haven't questioned. They haven't pushed back. They've just... decided. And now they're certain.

Meanwhile, the people who have studied a subject deeply often have *more* doubt, not less, because they understand how complex it really is.

Confidence is not always an indication of correctness. They aren't always the same thing. Not even close.

Which makes me wonder: What am I certain about that I haven't actually examined? What have you just... accepted as true without ever really questioning it?

There's a story in Scripture that shows exactly what happens when certainty and blindness go hand in hand.

Tension

I want you to think of a time you were absolutely certain about something. Dead certain. And then... you found out you were wrong. Maybe it was a relationship. Maybe it was a choice you made. Maybe it was someone you trusted. The worst part wasn't being wrong—it was realizing how sure you'd been.

That's what I want to talk about today. Because there are people in Scripture who were completely sure they were right. And that certainty cost them everything.

We're in John 7, and we're going to look at one moment where people had to decide: Is Jesus the Christ? And more than that—we're going to ask ourselves: Where might I be confidently wrong?

Let me show you four things that happened that day. And I think you'll see yourself in one of them."

We must make a decision whether we believe that Jesus is the Christ with these four examples in focus.

The context here is that He had called out the crowds, some of which were religious leaders, and some of which were the people they lead.

1. Confusion about the Christ. (v.25-27)

John 7:25–26 KJV 1900

25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? 26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

These verses seem to be speaking of the crowd of followers of the religious leaders.

They spoke “of Jerusalem”. This seems to be the general mood of the city, especially those religious leaders who Jesus had been calling out.

Apparently their intentions to kill Jesus were known.

In the face of those realities, these people are taking note of the boldness of Jesus.

They are also taking note of the inaction “of Jerusalem”. The rulers in verse 26 seems to be the ones referenced as “Jersualem.” This makes sense because that is where the religious leaders would have been.

The fact that in the face of this threat, Jesus is calling Himself the Son of God, sent from the Father, and calling them out on their lack of discernment.

When coupled with the inaction of those same rulers, it made these people wonder if the rulers knew that Jesus was the Messiah.

They are beginning to consider belief in Jesus, but still have questions.

John 7:27 KJV 1900

27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

The scriptures prophesy of the coming of the Messiah. The greek word for Messiah is Χριστος and means “anointed one”.

In verse 27 they are referring to the prophesied anointed one, or Messiah, but are not sure if they should give this designation to Jesus.

This is the whole point of the conversation.

Is it possible that the Christ is Jesus Christ the One standing before them?

They were confused.

They were confused because they believed some things from the scriptures that were wrong.

The issue at hand was that they believed that the Messiah would appear to them suddenly, unknown beforehand. It came from a misinterpretation of some Old Testament prophecies. For instance…

Malachi 3:1 KJV 1900

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

This idea of “suddenly” was assumed to mean that he would be unknown and just appear out of heaven.

Isaiah 53 states that when the Messiah comes he would be like a root out of dry dry ground.

When He comes, He will not be what is expected.

Isaiah 53 also states that He will be rejected by His people.

When He comes, He will not be recognized.

This unexpected coming happened partially in his first coming, and will be fulfilled in His second coming in full.

What they expected was that it would be unexpected. In their mind, what that meant was that they would not watch him grow up, or know His family.

He wasn’t meeting their expectations.

Because they had preconceived expectations of the Messiah that Jesus wasn’t meeting, they were tempted to deny the miracles and the message. Their confusion was based in wrong thinking.

Jesus’ response here is pretty epic.

2. Clarity about the Christ. (v.28-30)

John 7:28–29 KJV 1900

28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. 29 But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.

What is amazing about this response is that he seems to know their contention, but the direction of their statements was not to Him, but about Him.

There is some irony here.

He is saying that they know where He is from indeed.

They knew his mother and his brothers.

They had some sense of his background.

But they also knew that He wasn’t really from earth, but from heaven. He is from God the Father.

He states that they don’t really know God the Father. Why?

Their rejection of Him as Christ shows that they don’t really know God the Father.

Jesus states it clearly later in John 12:44

John 12:44 KJV 1900

44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

So in summary, Jesus is saying…

…that He is sent from God.

…that He is the Christ.

…that He knows God.

…that they do not know God.

The evidence they don’t know God shows up in their intention.

John 7:30 KJV 1900

30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

It seems that they want to arrest him, charge him, and kill him on the spot, but “his hour was not yet come.”

They weren’t in charge of the timing. God was. Jesus was submissive to the Father’s timing.

This part was really clear.

They had confusion.

Jesus gave them clarity.

That lead to…

3. Choice about the Christ. (v.31-32)

In these verses you see two opposite reactions.

First, take notice of the reaction of “the people”.

John 7:31 KJV 1900

31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

“Many” is not all, yet there is a substantial amount of people who believe on Jesus.

His claim to be the Christ is substantiated by the miracles that he did.

They believe His words because they saw His actions.

It’s a relatively simple calculation.

He claims to be the Christ.

He does the miracles that Christ would do.

They believe on Him as who He claims to be.

Second, there is the reaction of the Pharisees.

John 7:32 KJV 1900

32 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.

Here is the second reaction that we see from the Pharisees and the chief priests.

They make the choice to reject Jesus as Christ.

It seems as though their choice has everything to do with their reaction to the people that are believing.

They “heard that the people murmured such things”, and to their reaction is to “take him”.

The word for “take” here is used to speak of arrest or capture.

They were not interested in believing in or submitting to Jesus as Christ.

It seems as if their focus was centered on keeping their power. Notice the reaction was to the belief of the people.

There was confusion, which lead to Jesus being clear, which demanded in them a choice. They had the right to choose, but that choice lead to consequences.

4. Consequence about the Christ. (v.33-36)

John 7:33–36 KJV 1900

33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. 34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.

What was the circumstance?

They wanted to take Him. They wanted to kill Him.

They were rejecting Him as the Christ.

They could not do that a moment before it would be allowed by the Father.

In fact, Jesus spoke to the reality of the timing later in John.

John 10:18 KJV 1900

18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Even when they would arrest Him, try Him and kill Him, He would simply rise again and go back to the Father.

In this state of rejection they would not be able to find Jesus or go to find Him because He would be in heaven.

He is the only way to heaven.

Here is the severe consequence- To reject Him as Christ is to miss out on heaven.

The Jews totally misinterpret what Jesus is saying.

John 7:35–36 KJV 1900

35 Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? 36 What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?

One of the difficult things to do at time is to interpret tone in a text.

This is why it is a bad thing to have complex emotional discussions through the written word.

In spoken word, tone is communicated by the speakers body language and voice.

It seems that these questions in verse 35-36 are not sincerely asked questions from a group of people seeking first to understand.

These questions in verses 35-36 are mocking in tone.

Yet it is interesting that John includes the specifics of what they speculate here.

By the rejection of the jews, the Gospel- the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for the sin of the whole world- goes on to be dispersed among the gentiles.

God’s will was always that the Jews would be a light to the nations of who God is- to bring salvation to the world. Salvation, Jesus says, is of the jews.

God has not replaced the jews. He still loves the jews.

But the consequence individually of the eternity of each person is based on what they do in choosing whether or not they believe the plain evidence of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.

This is why John is writing the Gospel. It’s what we have named the totality of this study in the Gospel of John.

John 20:30–31 KJV 1900

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

There is an incredible consequence to believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. In believing in Him ye have life through His name.

There is also a consequence in rejecting Him.

In pointing this out, John becomes like Moses in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 30:19–20 KJV 1900

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

He’s placing before us the Jews who thought they were so right.

They thought that they were preserving truth, right, life, tradition in rejecting Jesus.

Yet they were actually choosing death because they rejected what was plainly obvious.

Application

Some do not believe because they have never heard.

Some do not believe because they have been deceived.

Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies during his first coming covering specific details of his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Key fulfilled prophecies include his birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), his betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), crucifixion (Psalm 22:16), and resurrection (Psalm 16:10). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]  Prophecies Regarding Jesus' Birth and Lineage

Mathematician Peter Stoner once calculated that the probability of one person fulfilling just eight of these prophecies is 1 in $10^{17}$ (100,000,000,000,000,000), illustrating the statistical impossibility of these events happening by chance. [4, 16, 17, 18, 19]  AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses[1] https://www.bethanybiblechurch.net/lessondocs/20130714110000.pdf[2] https://www.newtestamentchristians.com/bible-study-resources/351-old-testament-prophecies-fulfilled-in-jesus-christ/[3] https://www.elim.org.uk/Articles/713934/20_Old_Testament.aspx[4] https://www.facebook.com/drdavidjeremiah/posts/jesus-fulfilled-over-48-prophecies-related-to-the-birth-narrative-of-jesusno-one/1083762773790211/[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5uTnlK8vM4[6] https://answersingenesis.org/jesus/birth/fulfilled-prophecies-at-the-birth-of-christ/[7] https://davidjeremiah.blog/prophecies-fulfilled-by-jesus/[8] http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/prophecy-christ-first-coming-prophesied.htm[9] https://www.preaching.com/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-old-testament-prophecies-jesus-christ-fulfilled/[10] https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/times-the-old-testament-predicts-jesus-birth-and-death.html[11] https://www.about-jesus.org/complete-chart-prophecies-jesus.htm[12] https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/forerunners-message[13] https://www.theycallmeblessed.org/27-messianic-prophecies-fulfilled/[14] https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1964/12/some-prophecies-concerning-the-messiah[15] https://jesusalive.cc/bso-acts-chapter-two/[16] https://www.facebook.com/ihopkc/posts/jesus-fulfillment-of-so-many-old-testament-prophecies-at-his-birth-gives-us-conf/909754077186006/[17] https://firmisrael.org/learn/how-many-messianic-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill/[18] https://bibletolife.com/resources/questions/what-does-the-old-testament-tell-us-about-jesus/[19] https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/791/probability-of-prophecies-fulfilled/

People do not reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Lord because there is no evidence to support His claim.

Jesus is alive!

Either you do not know the evidence, or worse, you do not want to know the evidence because it would impact how you must then live.

You have the freedom to make that choice.

But each person cannot choose a consequence separated from that choice.

I've shown you the evidence Jesus is the Christ. But evidence alone isn't enough—the Jews saw it and rejected it anyway. So here's the harder question...

Where do you believe you’re right but may find yourself profoundly wrong?

It is possible to be completely self assured and wrong.

It can be the deadliest place.

It can kill relationships.

It can kill families… organizations…

In the worst case it can damn people to an eternity separated from God.

Believer in Christ, do not think you are immune from self-deception.

This is why it is so important to honestly inspect yourself in the mirror and scrutiny of the Word of God asking the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin, or righteousness, and of judgement.

Conclusion

The objective of this sermon was to tell us that …

We must make a decision whether we believe that Jesus is the Christ with these four examples in focus.

Confusion about the Christ should lead people to

Clarity about the Christ…which leads us to a

Choice about the Christ.

And that choice no doubt has

4. Consequences.

If He is the Christ, there is no other way to Heaven but the only begotten Son of God who came and died for you sins, was buried and rose again the third day.

If He is Christ, then He is the Lord seated on the throne in Heaven next to the Father. We must obey what He has revealed in His Word.

So…

Are you saved?

Are you following Jesus?

Are you proclaiming Jesus to those who need to know Him?