We Must Make A Choice

Introduction

At this point in the story tensions between the leaders of the Jewish people and Jesus were rising. John has sort of split his story of Jesus into 5 section in his book and we are getting out of this presentation of Jesus by John and into the tensions and conflicts that are arising with the Jewish leaders.

A Mission Purposed By Love

John 7:1–9 NIV

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

Let me give you a bit of context here. Here in this picture we see a Jesus who is hesitant to go to Judea. The people of Judea were much more strict and conservative than those in Galilee and many of them wished to kill Jesus and then on the other hand we have these unbelieving brothers of Jesus who are sort of taunting Him.

Clearly they don’t really believe in Jesus and who He claims to be. Although they have seen the miracles they still can’t quite wrap their minds and thoughts around their brother Jesus being the Messiah that was foretold about in their scriptures. They want Jesus to “prove” Himself to them and to everyone else saying no one that wants to be known stays hidden.

It is really interesting because there was a similar idea or I should say temptation that was thrown at Jesus to prove himself. As Jesus was tempted in the wilderness Satan told Jesus if He was truly the Son of God then to throw himself off.

Matthew 4:6 NIV

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

I love John painting a picture of this allusion. Jesus is driven by the will of God and by love. There is nothing that can bend His will and there is nothing that can bend His decision. Look at the way that Jesus answers His brothers when they spoke to Him. He says “My time is not yet here” Jesus quite a few times says “my hour has not come” or “my time is not here”. That means even his own death. His own sacrifice for our sins was all on His choosing. It wasn’t Satan that took His life.

It wasn’t the Jewish leaders who took His life. It wasn’t you and I who took His life, but He willingly laid it down because of the love God had for you and me. Each one of us individually, and I truly believe that. If you don’t believe me that God loved you that much here are a few verses that I believe will persuade you.

1 John 4:10 NIV

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Romans 5:8 NIV

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Even as Jesus was dying on the cross people wanted Jesus to “prove” himself but yet He still decided to hang to the point of death.

Mark 15:27–30 NIV

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!”

What does that mean for us? If Jesus fully chose to die for you and for me there is nothing that you or I can do that can stop Him from loving each one of us with an unconditional love. This is just raw truth. This is just something that I believe needs to sink into the heart just a little today. This is something that needs to be meditated upon.

There is a choice that needs to be made

So what does that mean David? What do I have to do? This is the simplest way I could say this. There is a choice that needs to be made.

John 7:25–43 NIV

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.

The NIV Bible which I mainly read bunches this section all up into this title “division over who Jesus is”.

You see as Jesus was speaking and teaching these things, He was either gripping the hearts of those who were there or they became all the more hard, but ultimately it was laid out on the table for all of the people and they needed to make a decision. They needed to make a choice.

John 7:17 NIV

Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

I know there are divisions among the church based on free will, but here clearly Jesus states that man can choose or want to do the will of God.

I want to say it simply to you today. Either you choose Him or you turn on Him. I have mentioned this before, but there is no middle ground with Him. Half choosing is not choosing at all.

When Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, Nicodemus was constantly trying to wrap his mind and put Jesus into what He knew and by doing this He was choosing what He was comfortable with, but unfortunately God is not asking us to choose what we are comfortable with. He is asking us to choose the fullness of His Son. Not only the qualities that we like and then we can drop the rest, but all of Jesus.

Why do we choose Him? Because He chose all of us. While still sinful he died for me. While still sinful He loved me. While still sinful He chose me. Broken and beaten, He made me whole. Why would I want to choose anything else?

The darkness never overcomes

Read John 7:37-52

This Jewish Festival of Tabernacles came out of . During this particular feast of tabernacles there would be water that would be poured on the altar as a symbol of cleansing or ceremonial washing. In the evening they would burn torches. The interesting thing is that these Jewish leaders and pharisees celebrated the Messiah by their symbolism, but when it actually came to the real person of Jesus Christ they wanted to kill Him.

I want to go back to this portion in John chapter 1 for a moment. Do you remember when John says:

John 1:5 NIV

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This word overcome can better be stated as to grasp, to seize, or even to catch or arrest. John is saying look. This is the light of the world. At every moment the darkness tried to seize Him and tried to snuff out this light. The darkness tried to grasp him to arrest him. Not only could the leaders not stop Him at this moment from speaking out, but they were not even able to physically grasp and seize Him. So what does this mean?

This Jesus that is Love is also a light that is illuminating the darkest places constantly and those dark places will never be able to overcome or grasp or arrest that light.

1 John 4:4 NIV

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

That means when the situation seems hopeless we can think about these words. When the sin seems to strong to overcome we can think of these words. When fear and anxiety creep into our lives we can think of these words. These words can be a driving force for our life. To walk out in Faith and with power.

I want us to notice something here. In the middle of His dialogue Jesus changes gears for a minute.

On the greatest day of the festival, when there were the most people Jesus dropped this absolute bomb. It was the tradition for 7 days for water to be brought from the Pool of Siloam and carried in a golden pitcher to be poured on the altar. Jesus stands up and He cries out “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.” “Rivers will flow out of them”

As John is writing the gospel he probably stops for a moment and remembers this iconic moment and has to pen it down. How important and sweet this must have been for John, because John understood that Christ never actually left Him because He was filled with this “River of Water”. The Holy Spirit.

So why do we need to be filled? (explain)

So how are we filled? With belief in Jesus. A belief that moves us to action and powers us with the Holy Spirit. I mean this choice isn’t just a choice to decide a certain theology. It isn’t just a way of believing certain Bible verses. It isn’t just what Church sounds the best or follows what you believe the best. This “choice” will fill you with a power far greater than you could ever have fathomed on your own.

The Spirit of God himself wants to live inside of you and influence your life if you will let him. Christianity doesn’t need to be boring or constricting. Christianity and following Jesus can be exciting and full of adventure if you allow the Holy Spirit to be the Holy Spirit in your life.

What does that look like?