7 19-24 Would Jesus Contradict Himself
liberty bible church 7/20/08 a.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“would jesus contradict himself?”
John 7:19-24
introduction
Illus. of Great Slips of the Tongue in U.S. Politics- 1. 'the United States has much to offer the third world war.? (Ronald Reagan in 1975, speaking on Third World countries; he repeated the error nine times). 2. 'thank you, Governor Evidence.? (President Richard M. Nixon, referring to Washington State Gov. Daniel Evans in a speech during the Watergate period). 3. "I hope that Spiro Agnew will be completely exonerated and found guilty of the charges against him.? (John Connally, in a 1973 speech). Politicians are fallible and so will have slips of the tongue, especially when it comes to contradicting themselves. But, it that possible for Jesus? Would He ever contradict Himself or have a slip of the tongue? One glaring possibility where someone might say that the Bible contradicts itself is in the area of judging. Cf. Matt. 7:1; Luke 6:37 both in our bulletin today. And then we get to this passage in John, where it appears that Jesus tells us that we are to judge and gives some instruction on how to do it. So, are we to judge or not and how are we to do it if we are?
OPEN to the passage.
Prop. In this passage, we see how we are to judge others.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage. Jesus has gone up to the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths secretly. After remaining silent for half the feast and listening to the people and what they think of Him, He finally speaks out. Cf. 10-18 Now, what about their judgmental spirits? How does He address that issue? He shows them that there is a right kind of judgment and a wrong kind. Which do they have? There are three types of judgment that we see here. The first is…
i. Unrighteous judgment vs. 19-20
Illus. of “Judgmental” Part 1 At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being “judgmental.” He found this pattern very upsetting. “You can’t get a good argument going in class anymore,” he said. “As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that’s it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!” Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions. Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, pp. 20-21 The Devil has made judging a bad thing, so much so we are judged for judging. However, it is not wrong, unless it is done unrighteously. That’s what the people do here.
a. the unrighteousness of the people
V 19a 1. These people assumed that because they kept a few festivals every year that they had a close relationship with God. They thought that outward conformity translated into inward change. But in reality, their hearts were full of evil. Cf. Mark 7:6-7; 20-22; And to make matters worse, Jesus knew exactly what was in them. Cf. John 2:24-25
V 19b 2. In their hearts, they wanted Jesus dead. He knew it and they knew it. If they wanted to kill Him for violating the Law, why not others? They were all violators of the Law.
b. the unrighteous judgment of the people
V 20a 1. Jesus was exposing them for what they were. They had the opportunity to repent, but instead unrighteously judged their Messiah. They told Him that they believed He was demon possessed. People said the same thing about John the Baptist. Jesus had just told His brothers that the world hated Him because everyone who does evil hates the light. Cf. John 3:20
V 20b 2. On top of their unrighteous judgment, the lie. They deny that anyone had thoughts of killing Jesus. But they did. Cf. John 5:18
Trans. These people were guilty of UNRIGHTOUS JUDGMENT. Second, there is…
ii. Hypocritical judgment vs. 21-23
Illus. of “Joyous Imperfection” Someone once said, “A nice thing about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others.” The problem these people had was they thought Jesus was imperfect and He was not. The joy they had at nitpicking at Him was to be short-lived. He was going to point out the hypocrisy in their judgment.
a. WHat did Jesus do wrong?
V 21 1. Jesus had done one work, one miracle and they all blew a gasket. He is referring back to the healing of the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda back in chapter 5.
2. Cf. John 5:10 The problem was that this miracle took place on the Sabbath. Not only did Jesus work, but he told the one healed to carry his mat. To them, this was a violation of the Sabbath Laws and angered the religious leaders. But, were they pure in their judgment?
b. why are they hypocrits?
V 22a 1. Moses gave them circumcision as part of the Mosaic Law that they were to keep. A boy is to be circumcised on the 8th day of his life. Cf. Lev. 12:3 However, circumcision did not originate with Moses.
V 22b 2. Abraham was to circumcise his sons as a sign of covenant with God. Gen. 17:9-14 It too was to be done on the 8th day. But for Abraham, there was no Sabbath yet established.
V 22c 3. But with the Jews there was. Yet the circumcision took precedence. If a child needed to be circumcised on the Sabbath, it was done.
V 23 4. The point of Jesus’ argument is that if it is not a violation of the Law to circumcise on the Sabbath, why is Jesus violating the Law healing a paralytic on the Sabbath? They take care of one part of the body, why can’t He take care of the whole body? They are hypocrites in their judgment.
Trans. These people were guilty of UNRIGHTOUS JUDGMENT and HYPOCRITICAL JUDGMENT. Finally, the only type of judgment acceptable to God is…
iii. righteous judgment vs. 24
Illus. of “Judgmental” Part 2 Is the call for civility just another way of spreading this epidemic? If so, then I’m against civility. But I really don’t think that this is what being civil is all about. Christian civility does not commit us to a relativistic perspective. Being civil doesn’t mean that we cannot criticize what goes on around us. Civility doesn’t require us to approve of what other people believe and do. It is one thing to insist that other people have the right to express their basic convictions; it is another thing to say that they are right in doing so. Civility requires us to live by the first of these principles. But it does not commit us to the second formula. To say that all beliefs and values deserve to be treated as if they were on a par is to endorse relativism—a perspective that is incompatible with Christian faith and practice. Christian civility does not mean refusing to make judgments about what is good and true. For one thing, it really isn’t possible to be completely nonjudgmental. Even telling someone else that she is being judgmental is a rather judgmental thing to do! Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, pp. 20-21
a. Righteous judgment is not by appearance
V 24a 1. Our nature is to judge by appearance. I tell people that if you don’t want to be judged a certain way by how you look, then change your look. People are going to make judgments.
2. Judging by appearance is dangerous to do.
b. what is righteous judgment?
V 24b 1. When we look at appearances only, we will make misjudgments. God looks at the heart and we need to do the same.
2. When we make our application below, we will talk about how to judge rightly.
conclusion
We can be guilty of UNRIGHTOUS JUDGMENT and HYPOCRITICAL JUDGMENT. We need to seek to judge righteously. How is this done? Key Scripture- Matt. 7:1-6
1. Judge yourself first. This starts with salvation. GOSPEL
2. Judge for the right reasons, out of concern for others, not self-promotion. Cf. James 5:19-20; Matt. 18:15
3. Church leaders judge to keep the church pure. Cf. Matt. 18:16-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13 But, it must be measured. Cf. 2 Cor. 2:6-8; 1 Tim. 5:17-21
4. Church leaders judge between brethren. Cf. 1 Cor. 6:1-11
Illus. of “Part-Time Idiots” One day as a young mother and her kindergarten-aged son were driving down the street, the inquisitive little boy asked a revealing question. He asked, “Mommy, why do the idiots only come out when Daddy drives?”
People are watching us. When we judge, and we will, we need to do it the right way as outlined in God’s Word. Jesus tells us not to judge wrongly, but to judge righteously. We’ll know the difference when we are walking with Him. We’re never to be judgmental, but we must judge if we are going to be fully obedient to the Word of God.
pRAY
“would jesus contradict himself?”
John 7:19-24
introduction
Would Jesus ever contradict Himself or have a slip of the tongue?
i. judgment vs. 19-20
a. the unrighteousness of the people
Cf. Mark 7:6-7; 20-22; John 2:24-25
b. the ______________ ________________ of the people
Cf. John 3:20; 5:18
ii. judgment vs. 21-23
a. WHat did Jesus do wrong?
Cf. John 5:10
b. why are they hypocrits?
Cf. Lev. 12:3; Gen. 17:9-14
iii. judgment vs. 24
a. Righteous judgment is not by ________________
b. what is righteous judgment?
conclusion
We need to seek to judge righteously. How is this done? Key Scripture- Matt. 7:1-6
1.
2.
Cf. James 5:19-20; Matt. 18:15
3.
Cf. Matt. 18:16-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Cf. 2 Cor. 2:6-8;
1 Tim. 5:17-21
4.
Cf. 1 Cor. 6:1-11