Unity and Division - John 7:37-53

©February 28th, 2021 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: John

Often great leaders are polarizing figures. People either tend to embrace them or revile them. Even in our own country, we have seen this happen over the last several elections (though it has always been present to some degree). Some people will embrace the leader no matter what they do, while others will reject them no matter what. In our society today, we have found that even when a leader does something good, those who dislike them will still refuse to acknowledge it. They will stubbornly stick to their conclusion that this person is evil and cannot have any redeeming value. Regardless of who is in office, we see this attitude at play.

In our passage this morning we see the very same attitude at work in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Jesus proved to be a polarizing figure. There were those who embraced Him and believed Him to be the Messiah. They took to heart the things Jesus said and the promises He made. There was still another group who would not be convinced no matter what. They had determined that Jesus was bad, and no amount of evidence to the contrary would convince them otherwise.

The irony of this is that Jesus promises greater unity than we could ever imagine, yet at the same time he brought sharp division among the people. This morning we will examine what Jesus promised and how the people responded to Him. In the process, I hope we will be challenged to look closely at ourselves and also at Jesus.

Jesus’ Proclamation

John sets the stage for us in the opening verses.

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) (John 7:37-39, NLT)

We are told that on the last day of the festival Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds that anyone who was thirsty should come to him. A little background information on this festival will help us understand what was going on a bit better.

As we saw two weeks ago, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of Booths). During this feast, the Israelites were to construct temporary shelters in which they would live for the week. The idea was to remind them of their time wandering in the wilderness and of God’s deliverance. This was one of the three major feasts each year the people who lived near Jerusalem were expected to attend and participate in.

Another part of this festival was a ritual that took place each day. The people would gather at the temple carrying branches from palms, willows, and leafy trees and would hold them over their heads and wave them. The priest would carry a gold pitcher and lead this procession of people from the temple down to the pool of Siloam and draw out some water. They would then travel back to the temple reciting portions of the scriptures that recalled how God provided water for them in the wilderness and portions that promised God would provide them with water in the future. When they arrived back at the temple, the priest would then pour out the water before the Lord.

This procession would happen every day, and it was intended to be a reminder of God’s provision for His people in the past, and to affirm a trust in His provision for the future. The final day of the festival (the 8th day) was marked by an even greater celebration, and the people joyously declared their faith in God, and their gratitude for the way He provided water for their forefathers and for the way He provided them with water for their crops. It is on this last day of the festival, where the people were celebrating the water God had given their descendants that Jesus shouts to the people.

Possibly while this ritual of pouring out the water was going on, Jesus shouted to the crowd that anyone who was thirsty should come to him, and that whoever believed in him would come and drink. He said he fulfilled the scriptures that spoke of rivers of living water coming from his heart. Jesus’ words were not a regular part of the celebration, and many likely saw Jesus’ declaration as sacrilegious. It is unsurprising that Jesus caused some controversy with his statements.

Before we examine the response of the people, let’s consider what Jesus said. He promised that anyone who was thirsty would be able to come to Him and drink. The question is, what did Jesus mean by thirst? He was not speaking of thirst that was due to a lack of water—of a merely physical longing. I believe Jesus was talking about something much deeper. He was speaking of a satisfaction that descends into the depths of our being. Jesus was saying if you find yourself thirsty for satisfaction, for fulfillment, come to me—I alone can quench that thirst.

If we are honest, we are all thirsting after something. There are very few who are satisfied in this world. Most of us have in mind that we need something else in order to satisfy. Maybe it’s

· A promotion or a raise

· A higher standing among your peers or community

· Some item you need to acquire

· A change in your circumstances

· The right political leaders to get into power or laws to get passed

· A relationship we long to have

We tell ourselves if we could just get these things, then we would be satisfied. But those things always fail to deliver on their promises. None of these things can ultimately satisfy. Jesus can. He promises He will satisfy a thirst we didn’t even know we had. He promises to quench our thirst in such a way that we will never thirst for anything else again. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

John explains the source of this satisfaction: the Holy Spirit, who had not yet come to dwell within people. The Holy Spirit did not come until after Jesus had risen from the grave and ascended into Heaven.

This raises several questions. First, who or what is the Holy Spirit? The answer is that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. We spoke about this in the first chapter of John. The trinity is a difficult concept to grasp, but is the clear teaching of scripture. God has always existed in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not merely some sort of mystical force, nor is He simply Jesus in spirit form. He is a distinct and eternal member of the godhead.

Second, how do we get the Holy Spirit in our lives? The answer is as Jesus said: trust in Him, seek Him alone as your Lord, and He will cause the Spirit to dwell within you.

Finally, how does the Holy Spirit would quench our thirst? The Holy Spirit enters into the believer and continues to minister to and through them throughout their lives. He does many things for believers.

· He gives guidance, helping us know which way to go, and showing us when we are going the wrong way. (John 16)

· He gives us insight, helping us understand and apply the scriptures to our lives. (1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

· He gives believers spiritual gifts—abilities we can use to benefit God’s Church and serve others. (1 Corinthians 12-14)

· He preserves us in the faith, ensuring that if we begin in faith, we will remain faithful until the end of our lives. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

· He intercedes for us. In a way we can’t fully understand, we are told the Holy Spirit brings our requests to God even when we aren’t fully able to voice them. (Romans 8:26)

We are created to be satisfied by God alone. This is why nothing in the world satisfies our thirst. When we come to Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, and God now lives inside of us. He helps us become more and more the kind of people He designed us to be. If you thirst, your only hope is to turn to Jesus, no matter what the world around you says. He alone satisfies.

Controversy

As you might expect, making a statement like this ruffled some feathers. Not everyone was a fan of Jesus, and many objected to His claim that He alone could satisfy their needs. Some who heard Jesus’ proclamation saw it as Jesus distracting people from the glory of God. But He was doing quite the contrary—He was calling people to God, to Himself. Unfortunately, some who were there were unwilling to hear the truth.

Listen to the varied responses people had to Jesus’ proclamation.

40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. (John 7:40-44, NLT)

There were two groups of people: those who believed Jesus to be the Messiah they were waiting for and those who didn’t. This is always true of Jesus. Even though Jesus is the only source of true unity we can have, by His very nature he creates division. Everyone in the world falls into one of two camps: those who worship Jesus as Lord, and those who do not. There is no middle ground.

Those who argued that Jesus was not the Messiah did so on the basis that he was from Galilee, and they concluded the Messiah could not come from Galilee. They knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, of the royal line of David. But like we saw last week, they were making a presupposition that was not valid. They assumed that since Jesus lived in Galilee, He could not fulfill these other prophecies. Had they chosen to ask Jesus about this, I imagine He might have told them where He was born and what his family lineage was, but they didn’t ask. They were not interested in the truth. They believed they knew the answer already, so they dismissed Jesus.

We are told that some in the crowd even wanted Jesus arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. As we read further, we get a bit more detail on why this was.

45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded. 47 “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. 48 “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? 49 This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!” 50 Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51 “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked. 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” 53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home. (John 7:45-53, NLT)

Apparently the temple guards had been dispatched to arrest Jesus. At the direction of the Pharisees and chief priests, they had been waiting for an opportunity to arrest him. Temple guards were Jews and were different than Roman soldiers. They were likely Levites who served in the temple. They did as the religious leaders instructed, believing that by doing so they were serving the Lord. But as they listened to Jesus, their convictions that He was a bad guy began to waver. As such, they refused to arrest him.

When they came back without Jesus in custody, the chief priests and Pharisees were furious and demanded to know why they hadn’t done as they were instructed. The temple guards responded that they had never heard anyone speak as Jesus did. After listening to Jesus for a while, they were beginning to believe that maybe He was the Messiah. They truly listened, and as a result their convictions changed. This is in sharp contrast with the Pharisees.

They responded by essentially calling the temple guards stupid. They asked if they had been taken in by this con artist as well. They declared that the only reason the crowds followed Jesus was because they were ignorant of the law. They asked, rhetorically, if any of the Pharisees, the self-proclaimed experts of the law believed Jesus was the Messiah. The implication was that if the people were as smart as the Pharisees were, they would know better than to believe in Jesus.

This is a common tactic even today. People conclude they are too smart to believe in Jesus, and anyone who does is simply too dumb to know better. They do not take the time to listen to Jesus’ teaching, because they have already reached their conclusion. These people are not interested in having a discussion about matters of faith and will instead simply resort to name-calling. They will insinuate that you are stupid, or sometimes outrightly say it. Not everyone is willing to hear the truth.

After they made this assertion, we hear an interesting question from Nicodemus. Remember that Nicodemus had come to Jesus at night to question Him. It’s possible Nicodemus believed in Jesus at this point but was afraid to speak out in favor of Him, lest he lose his position of power. But he used the Pharisees’ own argument against them. They argued that they were the ones who knew the law better than anyone else, so Nicodemus asked, isn’t it also true that you should give a witness a hearing before condemning him? That was the law, and they knew it. Nicodemus was trying to get them to listen to Jesus and examine His teachings (as he had), instead of dismissing Him out of hand.

The leaders wanted nothing to do with such nonsense. They were certain Jesus was bad and didn’t need to listen to his teaching to know it. As those who take a position of intellectual snobbery often do, they resorted to name-calling. They asked (mockingly) if Nicodemus was from Galilee too—since he seemed to like Jesus so much. They concluded the only way Nicodemus could be a follower of Jesus was if he was sympathetic with him—not because he found Jesus’ teachings to be true.

Then they made a statement that, ironically, showed their ignorance. They said no prophet ever comes from Galilee. In their minds, this settled the matter once and for all. The people saw Jesus as a prophet, but no prophets come from Galilee. But the prophet Jonah did. By some people’s reckoning, so did Elijah and Micah. Some think that Nahum and Hosea may have also been from Galilee. Ultimately, whether any prophets came from Galilee or not is irrelevant. Why? Because the Pharisees were putting God in a box. They concluded since no prophets had ever come from Galilee before, none ever could. And that conclusion was wrong—it’s always wrong to limit God. This faulty assumption kept them from finding the new life, the living water Jesus alone could offer.

After this, we are told the meeting broke up, and everyone went their separate ways.

Conclusion

As we look at this account, I think there are several lessons we should take away.

First, recognize that Jesus alone can satisfy. I don’t know what thirst you find within yourself today. You may believe you need any number of different things to satisfy you. But let me promise you, none of those things will ever truly satisfy. Even if you got everything you desired, you would still find yourself thirsting for more. The only one who can truly satisfy is Jesus. So let me challenge you to run after Him instead of all the other things that promise satisfaction. The more of Him you get, the less you will find that the things of this world matter.

Second, recognize that Jesus calls for a decision. Remember, there are only two groups of people in the world: those who trust in Jesus as their Lord, and those who do not. People who don’t worship Jesus as Lord view Him in all sorts of different ways. Some hate Him, others deny His existence, while others admire Jesus and His teachings. They like some of the things Jesus has to say, and they may even sound like Christians at times. But they stop short of placing their trust in Jesus and seeking Him as Lord. These people still fall into the second group—they do not trust Jesus as their Lord. Let me challenge you today to examine which group you are in. Are you merely admiring Jesus or are you following Him as your Lord? Those are the only two options available to you, so you must ensure you’ve chosen well.

Third, understand that not everyone is willing to hear the truth. This is important as we share the message of the gospel with others. No matter how loving and winsome you are, no matter how many wonderful arguments you make in favor of the gospel, some people are simply unwilling to hear the truth. This is not to say we should give up on them, because God can change even the hardest of hearts. But we should not be discouraged or surprised when people reject the gospel message. If people rejected the message when Jesus preached it, we should expect that some will when we do as well.

The flip side of this, however, is that we must make sure we do not become such people. We must hold our beliefs softly, always open to revising our beliefs when we see the scriptures teach something different. The Pharisees and leading priests were unwilling to do this. They believed they had it all figured out. They were wrong, and the consequences of this were great. We must strive to avoid their mistake.

Above all, this passage points us to Jesus. He alone is our hope. He alone can satisfy, so we should seek Him above all else. As we seek Him, we will receive the Holy Spirit, and He will guide us, lead us, challenge us, and remake us. In the process, we will find that serving the Lord brings us a satisfaction we never knew possible.

©February 28th, 2021 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: John