Are You Also Deceived?

Introduction

We are studying Jesus’ life and ministry through the Gospels, and we are going in chronological order, as much as we can. Right now, Jesus has left the region of Galilee for the last time and is headed toward Judea as the time of the feast of the tabernacles approaches. We need to remember that He is not going with His family or with a caravan out of Galilee. He is going secretly, and He is taking His disciples with Him, not by the regular route, but through the route that passes right through Samaria.

Jesus has His face set on going straight to Jerusalem. Again, He’s going secretly because it is not His time to be crucified just yet, nor is it His time to enter into that city triumphantly and be praised yet. So, he arrives at Jerusalem.

This is the first time that Jesus has been in Jerusalem in a while. We saw two weeks ago that Jesus had been purposefully avoiding the region of Judea because the Jews there wanted to kill Him.

So, today, I want to take us back to the event that made the religious leaders of Judea set out to plan ways to murder Jesus. In Jesus’ timeline, we are going to travel back in time about 18 months. As far as our series timeline is concerned, we are going to go back 84 sermons ago to sermon number 18 in this series. But in our actual timeline, we covered this event in December of 2023.

It is found in the book of John. John 5:6-9

John 5:6–9 KJV 1900

6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Jesus performed this miracle, healing the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, on a Sabbath day, and when the religious leaders found out about it, they sought to kill Jesus from that point on.

John 5:15–18 KJV 1900

15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. 16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Please remember that when John uses the word Jews, he is typically referring to the religious leaders — the Pharisees and Sadducees that made up the Scribes and the Sanhedrin (the governing body of the Jewish religious system), and if not the religious leaders, the general “Jerusalem-ites” that were opposed to Jesus. The others that were either for Jesus or indifferent, he calls the people or the multitudes.

So, they want to kill Jesus because He defies the Sabbath (in their eyes, but remember, not in the eyes of the law), and He makes Himself equal with God (because He is God, but the Jews are blind to that).

Long Memories, Mixed Reactions

Fast forward nearly 2.5 years or 84 sermons in our timeline, or 18 months in Jesus’ timeline, and we find Jesus in Jerusalem, seeking to quietly celebrate the feast of the tabernacles with His disciples.

Jesus is not someone that is easily forgotten, and He is remembered differently by different people.

Someone has recognized Jesus and has begun to spread the news that Jesus is in town for the feast of the tabernacles, and the people begin looking for Him.

John 7:11 KJV 1900

11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

“We heard he’s here, now somebody tell us where Jesus is!” And as they are asking around to find out Jesus’ whereabouts, the people begin to discuss their opinions about Jesus. This crowd is not a crowd of religious leaders. These are just the common folk. The Pharisees have not yet received word that Jesus is there, much less that He is teaching — yet...

John 7:12–13 KJV 1900

12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. 13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.

There was a lot of talk concerning Jesus. There were people on both sides of the fence — some saying that He was a good man, others that Jesus was nothing more than a deceiver.

But they would not say these things loudly. They murmured. They said these things in private, or under their breath. Why? Because they had not heard the Sanhedrin’s position on Jesus yet. And as this eight-day celebration goes on, the people are discussing this issue.

And halfway into the celebration, Jesus goes to the Temple and begins to teach. John 7:14-15

John 7:14–15 KJV 1900

14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

The people are amazed at Him, especially the ones that are in opposition to Him. They can’t imagine that this son of a carpenter could possibly know enough to teach this way. The phrase “How does this man know his letters?” is not in reference to Jesus’ ability to read and write. The “letters” were a reference to the law, both the written law and the unwritten tradition. These were taught extensively only to those that could afford to go to great theological schools of Jerusalem, and Jesus was not counted among the alumni. No one was expected to be able to teach without first having gone through these institutions. Jesus’ enemies were content in knowing very little about Him through their own investigation, so when they finally heard first-hand what and how Jesus taught, they were amazed at His wisdom.

Jesus Responds

So, Jesus answers their amazement. John 7:16

John 7:16–17 KJV 1900

16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

He tells them clearly that He is not making any oof this stuff up, nor does it come from any school, but it comes from the One who sent Him — God the Father. And He adds that if anyone will set out to actually do God’s will, then they will be convinced that this is God’s doctrine. Basically, Jesus is challenging the people to set out with a heart to actually do God’s will, and they will then discover that what He is teaching them is truth.

This verse communicates to us that a spirit of obedience will allow the seeds of the kingdom to grow, but a spirit of rebellion and disobedience will give rise to skepticism. Why? Because God does not respond to mechanical obedience, nor does He find any pleasure in it. We have seen this extensively in our study through Matthew 7, the last portion of the Sermon on the Mount. God delights in willing, heartfelt obedience, and rewards it.

One of the points that Jesus makes, and this would have separated Him from other false messiahs that had risen up before Him, was that He was not self-serving. John 7:18

John 7:18 KJV 1900

18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Those that speak their own message seek their own glory. But those that bear God’s message are seeking God’s glory.

John 7:19 KJV 1900

19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

So, now, Jesus points out that they have the law, and nobody present is able to keep it. Then He asks, “Why are y’all so keen on killing me?”

And wouldn’t you know it, the all deny that they had sought to kill Him.

John 7:20 KJV 1900

20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

They tell Jesus that He’s crazy, “no one is wanting to kill you!” And it seems this is probably the response of those visiting Jerusalem from outside of Judea. They think it is a crazy idea that Jesus thinks that people want to kill Him. Jesus could have responded to this, but knows that time will reveal the truth about people in this multitude. So instead, He points out a double standard that is held as He reminds them of the event that made the Jews want to kill Jesus in the first place.

John 7:21–24 KJV 1900

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. [This is to marvel in a negative sense — to be up in arms about something. Jesus had healed the man at the pool of Bethsaida 18 months earlier on a Sabbath, and they wanted to kill Him for how they perceived “work” on the sabbath.] 22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. [Moses wrote down in the Law how circumcision was to be exercised. Each male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day after they were born, and guess what? Sometimes that fell on a Sabbath day.] 23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? [This is where Jesus points out the double standard of judgment. Circumcising on the Sabbath is fine, but Jesus fully healing someone, doing good to someone genuinely for their good and God’s glory, is wrong, in the Jews’ eyes.] 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

“Don’t judge just based off what is on the surface. Judge righteously.” Having righteous judgment means understanding that there was an understanding that there was the general law and specific exceptions to the law. Circumcision on the 8th day was one of those exceptions to the keeping of the Sabbath.

Circumcision was a purification of a portion of the body. A portion of the body. Because this practice was a visible symbol of the covenant with God, this was considered even a greater commandment than that of keeping the Sabbath.

Jesus, however, did something greater than just purify a portion of this paralyzed man’s body, he renewed the whole man. if the act of healing were judged solely on its surface, then it may appear to be a breach of the Sabbath, but when considering the nature of the act, judging righteously, then it should have been seen as very justified. And this is what Jesus is pointing out as He brings up the whole ordeal that made the Jews want to kill Him.

Dangerous Misunderstandings

Last week we saw that unbelief, misunderstanding, and unwillingness are three very big obstacles to being an effective disciples. The people that are listening to Jesus are about to show some serious disbelief and misunderstanding of who He is.

John 7:25–27 KJV 1900

25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? [These are the Jerusalem-ites, the ones who remember and acknowledge that there are those that want to kill Jesus.] 26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? [Jesus is speaking very boldly now, and since the religious rulers are not saying anything to contradict Him, they begin to wonder if their silence is an acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah.] 27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

Once again, the people here know only what they have heard, but have not investigated themselves. The phrase “no man knows from where he (the Messiah) is” is not about which city He would be born in, but that His birth would be supernatural. They did not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, but of sin. They believed Jesus’ biological father was Joseph (as stated before, when other Jews in His own hometown of Nazareth said, “Is this not Joseph the carpenter’s son?”). But the thing is, they also believe that Jesus is from Galilee. Though He was raised there, had they done any sort of inquiry, they would have known that He was, in fact, born in Bethlehem, the town which they knew well would be the birthplace of the Messiah.

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.

Since the beginning of His ministry, it has been openly declared by both John the Baptist and by Jesus that Jesus has come from the Father. Jesus talks about Him doing the will of the Father constantly, often times using phrases like, “I speak not of my self, but the Father who sent me, game me a commandment of what I should say and what I should speak,” or “Verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do. Whatever the Father does, the Son will likewise do.” John 12:49 and John 5:19.

So in response to the people saying, “We don’t know where came from (or rather, from whom you came),” Jesus says, “Yes, you do. I come from the Father. And you would recognize that if you knew the Father. But you don’t.”

This is insulting. This is a slap in the face. The Jewish people pride themselves in being the only ones on earth (according to them) that know God. And in a sense, there are few, if any, that should have known God as well as the Jewish people, because God had chosen them as the people through which He would reveal Himself to the world. And now, Jesus has hit everyone of the Jews that oppose Him with, “If you don’t recognize me and know who I am, it boils down to you not knowing God at all. But I know God, and He has sent me.”

And to this there are two responses. John 7:30-31

John 7:30–31 KJV 1900

30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. [The first response is that part of the crowd gets so angry that they have a mind to arrest Jesus. They they want to so badly, but something stops them from taking Him in. Ultimately, it is because it is not yet Jesus’ time. And what possibly plays into their decision to not go ahead with the apprehension are two things — 1) it seems like none of the religious leaders present at this time, and 2) there is a significant amount of people that do not agree with them.] 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?

This question of theirs is a sarcastic one, arguing for the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. “So if Jesus is not the Messiah, then will the actual Messiah that comes do even more miracles than Jesus?!”

This argument tells us that Jesus’s verbal testimony along with the sheer volume of miracles He had performed up to this point should have been more than enough to convince those that were truly seeking for the Messiah that Jesus was the Christ.

So, the crowd has no authority backing their desire to arrest Jesus, and they have a good amount of people who side with Jesus, and Jesus goes free — ultimately because it is not his hour, or his time.

John 7:32–36 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. [The Pharisees in the Sanhedrin hear that Jesus is there and that people are turning their faith to Him, they along with the ranking priests, the chief priests, send Temple officers to go and arrest Jesus.] 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. [Jesus is explaining that it is not His time to die yet. “I’ll be here still for a little while before I go ack to the Father. And when that happens, you will seek me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come to where I am going.” This is a prophetic speech. Jesus is saying that He is going to the Father, to God, and they cannot go with Him. But one day, they will seek Him, but be unable to find Him. The Jews would seek a Messiah, and continue to do so now. They missed Jesus as the Messiah, and they are still on the lookout. Little do they know that they are actually looking for Jesus, and because of their rejection of Him, they will not find Him. Thus, they will not be able to go to the Father, where He is, because He is the way, the truth, and the life. 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? [Though Jesus’ words about going to the Father and the Jews being unable to go with Him were plain enough, the people would not accept something that in their mind was so preposterous. They were fully convinced of God accepting them. So, instead, they reason that Jesus is not speaking spiritually, but literally, and wonder if He will be going to the Gentiles and teach them and the Jews that are still among the Gentiles.

Living Water

At this point, it is the last day, the eight day, of the feast of Tabernacles. Throughout this feast, there has been a particularly joyful celebration called “The celebration of the house of drawing water.” During this period of time, it was considered the most joyous event for the Jews. So much so, that the Talmud states that, “One who never saw the Water-Drawing Celebration has never seen joy in his life.”

People would draw water from the Springs of Siloam, often in golden pitchers, and pour out the water on a corner of the altar as sacrifices were being made. All the while, there were songs and prayers of thanksgiving for the harvest that was being made or had been made, along with prayers for “living water.” Without water, the nation suffers drought and famine and death, so the prayers are for God’s faithfulness in the water He has provided up until that point, and that God will continue to provide living water for their future. This celebration was commemorating how God had provided water out of a rock in the time of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. The rock, we know, was a type or symbol of Christ.

And after these celebrations have taken place and the prayers have been lifted and the songs have been sung, Jesus stands and makes a declaration. A declaration heard by all those that have gathered around Him, including the Temple officers that have been charged with arresting Him.

John 7:37–39 KJV 1900

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [The water that came out of the rock in the wilderness was to quench the thirst and keep the Israelites from death. Jesus is saying, in light of the celebrations that have just taken place, that anyone who is thirsty can come to Him and drink, like the Israelites did when they went to the rock to drink.] 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) [Again, Jesus is here prophesying of the Holy Spirit which would be like a spring, a source, of living water to all those that believe on Him. Jesus, of course, would send the Holy Spirit after His ascension into heaven, following His death, burial, and resurrection. For more on this event, study Acts chapters 1 and 2]

Nobody else spoke like Jesus did. There was authority in His words and in His voice. There was also the fact that he had performed miracles that gave evidence of His deity and fulfilled prophecies of the coming Messiah. And because of this, many more people believed in Him.

John 7:40–43 KJV 1900

40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. [Some are thinking, this is the Prophet (that is to say, the prophet that Moses wrote about in Deuteronomy, and that writing is about the Messiah, which Peter later confirms in Acts 3:22-26. Others thought it would be a prophet that would introduce the Messiah, much like John the Baptist. Others were not on the fence about it at all, they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, calling Him the Christ.] But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? [Again, their misunderstanding of where Jesus was born caused them to not believe in who He said He was.] 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem, where David was? 43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

The people are split. There are some that believe and some that do not, and the thing is, some, if not all, of the officers of the court that are sent to arrest Jesus are now in the camp of those that believe He is the Christ, the Messiah.

Are You Also Deceived?

So, though some of the people wanted Jesus detained, others did not, and this included this group of officers. John 7:44-52

John 7:44–52 KJV 1900

44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. [Once again, Jesus is not arrested now. It is not His time yet.] 45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. [The boldness, sincerity, and authority of Jesus’ speech were enough to convince these men to disobey orders and not arrest Jesus. Think about it. These were men that had been guarding the Temple and guarding the Sanhedrin for years. They had regularly heard the top Pharisees and Sadducees speak and comment on the Scriptures. They had listened to the top Scribes and lawyers teach and discuss the law and prophets, yet none of them held a candle to the way Jesus spoke.] 47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? [Great! now you’ve been deceived by Jesus too!] 48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? [“But why are you deceived, have any of the rulers, the governing religious authorities believed Him? No! So why do you believe Him!?”] 49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. [I can imagine that this last sentence is said in frustration. Those in the Sanhedrin believe their understanding of Scripture is what makes it clear to them that Jesus is not the Messiah, and that the people that do not know the law like they do (including the officers) are doomed to be “deceived” by Jesus.] 50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? [Nicodemus, who I believe at this point is already a believer, though a timid one still, has something to say about this. He encourages the rest of the Sanhedrin to follow the law and not arrest Jesus without first hearing Him out. Whether or not Nicodemus at this point is a believer in Jesus as the Christ is not known, but at the very least, I believe he is beginning to question. It is my personal belief that Nicodemus is a believer at this point, but still not bold enough to say it outright. Instead, he uses his position and influence to attempt to curb the over-zealous Sanhedrin’s desire to unlawfully arrest Jesus. And, as we will see, it seems to have worked, as the questioning and attempts to entrap Jesus in saying the wrong thing have a sharp uptick after this particular meeting.] 52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. [The rest of the Sanhedrin look at Nicodemus and begin to wonder if Nicodemus is siding with Jesus, so they sarcastically say, “Are you from Galilee too? Are you part of the people that believe in Him?”

They then assert that no prophet has arisen from the region now called Galilee. This is, of course, inaccurate. Jonah was from Galilee, and it is believed that Hosea and Nahum were from Galilee as well. The prophets Micah, Elijah, and Elisha are also from Galilee, though they would have been from the broader region of Galilee and not the core cities or villages.

But none of that really matters, because Jesus is from Bethlehem Judah, the city of David, a town that is very well known to be part of Judea.

So, the question that we might ask the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the priests of the Sanhedrin who had access to all the Scriptures, all the Law, all the Prophets, would be this — Are you, who should know better, also deceived? Why, with all the access to the prophecies, with all the evidence of Jesus’ miracles and teachings and the witness of the Father and the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ baptism, why are you deceived?

And the answer is simple. They had made a box that the Messiah must fit in. That box allowed them to still exercise control, to be lifted up, to judge and look down on others, and to be publicly recognized. It brought them authority, not like the limited authority that the Romans had allowed them to exercise, but a lot of authority because the Messiah they had in mind would rid them of the oppression of Rome.

It wasn’t that they were not looking for the Messiah, they were just looking for the wrong one. They would continue to look, as Jesus said earlier, and they would still miss Him, because they did not believe Him.

There are many people in this world that are also deceived. They look for a savior made in their own image. The world wants an affirming savior. A loving savior. A Jesus who looks like them and whose goal is for them to be comfortable. The want the Jesus that makes them rich, or at the very least, not poor. The want the Jesus that makes them healthy. They want the Jesus that clears all obstacles from their path so that they can achieve their goals quickly and easily. They want a Jesus that will change with them as they change. People today are looking for a Jesus that will follow them.

But Jesus, the Jesus from the Bible, does not fit in that box.

The only way to get salvation is by coming to the Jesus of the Bible. Understanding who He is — He is not just a good man, not just a prophet, not just a great teacher, He is God in the flesh. He did not just have nice things to say, good morals, and interesting stories; He had the words of life.

Jesus did not come to show us a way to heaven; He came to show us that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through Him. He did not come to show us a better way to live and get along with each other; He came to die on a cross, to suffer God’s wrath, to carry the sins of the world, and to take the curse so that everyone that believes in Him and everyone that receives Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

To those He gives life to, He gives them the power to be called the children of God. He redeems, He forgives, He cleans, and He sets them at liberty. NOT so that we can use that liberty to go chasing after our own goals, no. He sets us free to follow Him. He sets us free to be made into His own image. He sets us free so that we can live inside the parameters that He sets for us. And He sets those parameters and those boundaries for our good.

By following Him we give Him glory. And that is what our lives are truly all about. This last Wednesday we talked about the seeming paradox of being a son or daughter of God and being a slave of God all at the same time.

And to truly be an effective disciple, we must come to the understanding that we are both. We are sons and daughters, with all privileges associated with that title. We are CO-heirs with Jesus, not sub-heirs. But just as Jesus submitted Himself to obey the Father, just like He humbled Himself, we must do the same thing. The difference here is that Jesus was never bought with a price, He is the only begotten Son of the Father.

We on the other hand, have been bought with a price, so therefore, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we are to glorify God in our bodies, with our lives, because we belong to Him.

And until we understand that Jesus is not given to us so that we can be successful in life, or to fulfill our every whim and fancy, or so that He can follow us and help us out in life, we will be ineffective disciple makers.

Jesus is given to us so that we will follow Him. So that we will abandon all, trust in Him fully, not just for our salvation, but for everything in our lives. So that we will look to Him in every circumstance. And in so doing, we will them make disciples everywhere we go.

Invitation

Are you also deceived?

Life Group

1. What, if anything, stood out to you about the sermon? Any questions or comments?

2. If you were to ask people the question, “Who is Jesus?” what kind of answers would you expect to receive?

3. Jesus told the religious people, “You do not know Him, but I know Him.” How can someone know a lot of Bible and theology and still not truly know God?

4. The religious leaders had built a “box” for the kind of Messiah they wanted—political power, control, recognition. What kind of “box” are people most likely to put Jesus in today?

5. Jesus promised that living waters would flow from the lives of those who believed in Him. What does that say about the effect we are to have on others?

6. The Pharisees asked the officers, “Are you also deceived?” How can religious pride and confidence in our own understanding actually keep us from recognizing and following the real Jesus?

This week’s challenge:

Think of one expectation you have of Jesus that’s mostly about your comfort or success (for example, “You should keep me away from anything hard”).

Tell Him honestly: “I’ve expected _______ from You. I want to trust You even if this doesn’t happen.”