John 7:32–36 Sermon

Sermon Text

John 7:32–36 ESV

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Introduction

Our text today has us with Jesus in the middle of the feast of booths.

Jesus at first went to the temple not publicly but privately. And afterwards He would teach in the temple.

​ ESV14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.

John 7:14 ESV

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.

There, He began to openly teach them what He had been given by the Father who sent Him.

One of the things He said specifically was:

John 7:16–17 ESV

16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

He also taught that if anyone’s will is to do God’s will, they would know whether the teaching is from God or whether Jesus was speaking on His own authority.

This was taught by Christ because He wanted to make it very clear that He was not seeking His own glory and anyone who’s will was to to do God’s will, would be able to know whether Jesus was speaking on His own authority or not.

He continued to say in verse 18,

​ ESV18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

John 7:18 ESV

18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

Jesus wanted to tell them that He was not about His own glory and that because of the truth of being sent by the Father, what He was saying was true.

Being sent by the Father was proof that in Him there was nothing false. This included what He was teaching.

As He was teaching, there were those that wanted to kill Him.

With them we see Jesus pointing out their guilt in verse 19.

​ ESV19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”

John 7:19 ESV

19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”

They sought to kill Jesus because of what He did in John chapter five where He healed a man on the Sabbath.

He points this out in .

​ ESV23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?

John 7:23 ESV

23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?

Some of the people there wondered whether Jesus could have been the Christ.

Also, the crowd there was divided on whether Jesus was good or wrong for what He was teaching.

But even so Jesus continued with proclaiming what He was teaching in verses 28 and 29.

​ ESV28 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. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

John 7:28–29 ESV

28 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. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

To proclaim meant to shout or cry out. The tone would have also meant that it was cried out with the possibility of being an unpleasant sound.

Jesus cried out to them that He did not come on His own accord.

He gave them the truth that He was sent.

And the reason was because belief in this truth would bring one to saving faith. This was the reason for Jesus proclaiming what He was teaching.

In verse 30 we see that they sought to arrest Him.

They sought to arrest Him but in verse 30,

​ ESV30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

John 7:30 ESV

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

There was a question that people had asked there.

​ ESV31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

John 7:31 ESV

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?”

Jesus had done many signs which was what the Messiah would do when He appeared.

In the middle of the feast, there were many people and there was much discussion and disagreement as to who Jesus was.

Many of the people believed in him and they asked the question, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

This was what the Pharisees heard and it caused them to want to arrest Him.

They had already wanted to arrest Him but as we have already read, His time had not yet come.

Outline

1. The attempted arrest of Christ (v.32)

2. Christ speaks of His return to the One who sent Him (v.33-34)

3. Questions from the Jews (v.35-36)

1. The attempted arrest of Christ (v.32)

Read Verse 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

Arresting Christ is spoken of in the gospel of John, 7 times.

3 of which are in this chapter.

Question: What caused the Pharisees and the chief priests to want to send officers to arrest Jesus?

It was what was asked in verse 32.

John 7:32 ESV

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

Prior to verse 32, we see in what some of the people were saying of Jesus.

John 7:26–27 ESV

26 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? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”

John 7:25–27 ESV

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 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? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”

Before our passage we see that:

They asked, why the authorities didn’t say anything to Him since He had spoken openly.

The authorities not saying anything brought up the question of whether their silence was due to a knowledge of Jesus being the Christ they were promised.

The people asking this and wondering about the silence of the authorities prompted the authorities to arrest Him.

The authorities being the Chief Priests and Pharisees.

They sought to arrest Him but because of God’s divine timing they could not.

John 7:30 ESV

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

The officers who were sent did go back to the chief priests and Pharisees later in .

John 7:45–47 ESV

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?

Their awe at the proclamation of Jesus caused them not to arrest Him.

They wanted to kill Jesus. They wanted to arrest Jesus. But they could not because God the Father had already a time set for His Son to die and the very Word of God spoke in front of them.

This is a good reminder that no one can thwart the hand of God.

Many make much of free will as if human will can trump the sovereignty of God

In eternity past, the Triune God had already set the time in which God the Son would die

Seeing God’s hand here should remind us that even in our lives God has an appointed time for us

He sets our days and governs our seasons which should help us with trusting Him with any and every situation

When God plans something to come to pass it will come to pass

The greatest example of that was His Son who was sent to die and He would do so when God the Father said so no matter what human will tried to do

Sadly, they did not know who Christ was.

They wanted to arrest Him and kill Him. Ignorant of who He actually was.

Jesus would speak of going to the One who sent Him and how they would not be able to find Him. And how they couldn’t go to where He was going.

2. Christ speaks of His return to the One who sent Him (v.33-34)

Read Verse 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.

Jesus said, “I will be with you a little longer

Let’s remember that,

Jesus was in the temple (v.14)

The Jews were listening to Him teach and they marveled at His teaching (v.15)

The crowd accused Jesus of having a demon (v.20)

Some of the people there were questioning whether He was the Christ since the authorities didn’t arrest Him (v.26)

They sought to arrest Him (v.30)

Many there believed and questioned Him (v.31)

The Jews, the crowds, some of the people there were those that Jesus spoke to when He said “I will be with you a little longer.”

Meaning of course when He would die, resurrect and ascend to the Father which they did not understand or believe.

What is clear is that He actually tells them where He was going.

Then He tells them where He is going.

John 7:33 ESV

33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.

Jesus speaking of being sent is all over the gospel of John.

In only 3 chapters out of 21 do we see Jesus not speaking of being sent by the Father.

He speaks of going to the One who sent Him which was the Father and constantly in the gospel of John we see how people did not know who He was talking about or rejected it because He had called God His Father.

Going to the Father was not just Jesus speaking of returning to the Father but He was speaking of going to the Father for a reason and a purpose. Which we can find in .

So when Jesus is speaking of going to the Father

John 14:1–3 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 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.

Jesus would go to the Father to prepare a place for those who believed.

But for those who did not believe He tells them in verse 34,

Read Verse 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

Question: Why is it that they would seek Him and not find Him and why couldn’t they go where He was going?

Why is it that they would seek Him and not find Him?

They would not be able to find Him because they would not believe.

An example of this can be found in the very next chapter.

John 8:20–21 ESV

20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

The people there who did not believe could not understand what Jesus meant when speaking of where He was going.

They would not find Jesus because He would go to the Father. Which of course He does in His ascension. But also they could not go where He was because they did not believe in Him.

They had only an earthly, elemental understanding.

They could not believe, hear and see who Jesus was.

I am not saying that no one believed when Jesus said what He said. But according to what He said, they would not find Him and they could not go to where He was going.

Which means that they could not go to the place that was going to be prepared.

Sadly, those who do not believe will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The place where Jesus is, is where believers in Christ go.

But those who do not believe, they cannot enter into the place where Jesus is (favorably speaking).

Everyone will face Jesus at judgement. But not everyone will enter into the place that Jesus has prepared. Which speaks of a favorable entry to where He was.

Jesus when speaking of the final judgement said in Matthew 25

Matthew 25:31–34 ESV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:41 ESV

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

So we will all go to where He is. Jesus here is talking about the place He would prepare for those who believe.

The Jews who listened to Him teach, the crowd who accused Jesus of having a demon, the people who were questioning whether He was the Christ, those who sought to arrest Him, all of them could not come unless they genuinely believed in Jesus being the Christ!

The Jews were listening to Him teach and they marveled at His teaching (v.15)

The crowd accused Jesus of having a demon (v.20)

Some of the people there were questioning whether He was the Christ since the authorities didn’t arrest Him (v.26)

Apart from genuine faith we are left with the questions that were asked in verses 35-36.

They sought to arrest Him (v.30)

Many there believed and questioned (v.31)

3. Questions from the Jews (v.35-36)

Read Verse 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

The first question shows us obviously that they didn’t know what He mean’t when speaking of going where they would not find Him.

“Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?

It is interesting to see that they didn’t ask, to who was He going.

Jesus said in verse 33,

Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.

Verse 33 “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.

They asked only to where He was going and not to who He was going.

They wouldn’t ask to who since they did not know the One who sent Jesus

And because they did not know the Father they could not know Jesus as the Son

This was at the heart of anyone who did not believe what Jesus was saying here and is still the case today

They were left with a temporal understanding of life and the world

They could not see the eternal and what was true

They only had an earthly, elemental understanding

Them thinking this way is also proven in the very next question.

Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

Question: Why would they bring up the Dispersion?

The Dispersion or the “diaspora” was the scattering of the Jews.

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary DISPERSION

DISPERSION (Gk. diasporá).† The scattering of the Jews beyond the borders of Palestine. Unlike the Exile, the Dispersion signified a voluntary departure from Canaan for other countries from the Babylonian Captivity onward.

The scattering of the Jews happened for different reasons.

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary II. Causes

No doubt the deportation of the ten northern tribes to Assyria (ca. 732 B.C.) and the exile of Judah and Benjamin to Babylonia (587/586) largely contributed to the rise of Jewish settlements outside the Promised Land.

The deportation of the ten northern tribes to Assyria and the exile of Judah and Benjamin to Babylonia where the Jews were forced to settle outside the land promised to them

Despite many who returned to Jerusalem many remained in Babylon and Persia

Many sought business opportunities and even moved to Alexandria in Egypt which was far from where Jerusalem was

To them the Dispersion represented places outside of where the Jews would live normally and it also represented the furthest of where they were. Which was beyond the borders of Palestine.

So with Jesus speaking of them not being able to find Him they thought of the furthest place He could go. Thinking of course with their earthly minds.

beyond the borders of Palestine. Unlike the Exile, the Dispersion signified a voluntary departure from Canaan for other countries from the Babylonian Captivity onward.

They spoke of Jesus teaching the Greeks, which would have been the majority of people outside of Palestine.

As He was teaching there, they thought He’d be doing was He was doing there with the Greeks who were the majority outside of where they lived.

Some pointed out that possibly they were speaking of Greeks who converted to Judaism.

What we see clearly here is that they were wrong about what Jesus meant.

Jesus was speaking of going to where the Father was.

He wasn’t speaking geographically. He was literally speaking of going to the One who had sent Him. Namely, the Father.

Sadly, we see that they were not even close to what Jesus was speaking of.

All because they had a mind that was set to what was earthly and temporal. Which was proof of their blindness.

They could not even understand what Jesus said when saying in verse 34.

John 7:34 ESV

34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

This is where the question in verse 36 came from.

Read Verse 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

This is actually the dilemma of the unbeliever.

The dilemma being that they could not go to where Jesus was.

Those who are earthly minded with no faith in Christ do not even know that they are not going to where Jesus was.

Generally speaking unbelievers know that there is a God. But they have no clue of God as Father. They do not believe that the Father had sent His Son.

And it is this truth that alludes them which keeps them blind and under judgement.

What they do know inherently is that God does exi

They have no idea of the preparation Jesus is making for those who believe.

Instead, we see that they want to arrest and kill Jesus for what He was teaching.

Which of course speaks of the earthly, sinful heart. Showing their spiritual condition.

Showing their spiritual condition. They could not go to where Jesus was because they would die in their sins unless they come to saving faith in Him.

They could not go to where Jesus was because they were in sin and they would die in their sins because of not having faith in Him.

John 3:36 ESV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Saving faith gives us the truth of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God.

And because of this truth it gives us life in His name.

John 20:31 ESV

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.

But apart from this truth we are left with the temporal and what actually doesn’t matter before God.

Apart from this truth we are left with the temporal and what actually doesn’t matter when coming before God.

We are left with our sin.

John 3:16–18 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Instead of asking is this the Christ (which is what an unbeliever would ask) we should be rejoicing in the truth that Jesus is the Christ. And that He has gone to prepare a place for us.

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Close in prayer