Introduction

A.     The Response of Jesus’ Brothers: Mockery and Unbelief, 7:1-9

1.       Jesus was forced to withdraw and minister in Galilee (v.1-2)

a)        The reason: The Jews (the ruling authorities) sought to kill Him (v.1b)—v.19, 25, 30, 32, 44 confirms this

The leaders of the Jew that is the leaders of the Jewish people, the Sanhedrin, were already planning to kill Jesus.  Why?  If you recall back in chapter 5:16-18 Jesus healed a man that was lame for 38 years and He healed him on the Sabbath day & claimed equality with God

So Jesus did not walk in Galilee because He knew there was a plot.  This is walking in prudence

b)        The Feast of Tabernacles was at hand (v.2) describe this feast.

2.       His brothers were skeptical & did not believe in Him (v.3-5).

Jesus had four half-brothers whose names were James, Joses, Simon, and Judas. He also had some half-sisters who were not named (Matthew 13:55-56).

     Jesus’ suffering upon earth included the rejection of His earthly family. If your family is rejecting you or your belief in Jesus, He knows what you are going through.,

a)        Their mockery: Show your works (v.3-4)

Later we read that James & Jude His half brothers believed in Him.  Jude wrote the book of Jude and James was the leader of the early church.  But when did they become believers?  When Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and resurrected from the dead.  The reason why I bring this up is because we often say, “well if I am just a nice person to my neighbor & they will believe.”  “ I will just be a lovely person”  Jesus was the most lovely person and His brothers being adults still did not believe.  People will not become Christians until they here that Jesus died for their sins and rose again and is alive today, they need to hear the Gospel.

There needs to be more of an aggressiveness in preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor.2:1-5) there is power in the gospel of Jesus, it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16-17).  See I could wave to my neighbor for 20 years and send him off to hell.  Or I could take the time and tell him that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and rose from the dead and you must believe on Him or you will die in your sins (John 8).  None of us will ever be nicer than Jesus was and his brothers didn’t believe until he died and resurrected from the dead.

b)        Their unbelief (v.5): This verse is a fulfillment of Prophecy concerning Jesus: Psalm 69:8 says:

1)        “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children” (Psalm 69:8)… John writes in the first chapter that, “He came to His own and His did not receive Him (Jn.1:10-13).

2)        There are those who said that He was “out of His mind” (Mark 3:21)

3)        Remember they said, “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”  So they were offended at Him (Matt.13:55)

3.       Jesus’ reply (v.6-9)

a)        It’s not my time; My time has not yet come (v.6)—

1)        This is also clear in (vv.8, 30).  Jesus said to His mother in (2:4) that “His hour has not yet come.  When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in (John 8:20) the Scriptures say’s, “no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.” 

2)        But He also spoke of that “His hour had come” (John 12:23-24; 13:1; 17:1-5; Luke 9:51; Acts 1:7).  The hour is the time of His death, resurrection & exhaltation.

b)        But your time is always ready (v.6)

1)        His brothers can go to Jerusalem any time that they want because they can fit in (John 15:19 cf. 3:19).  See Jesus because He is light makes the world uncomfortable.  See Jesus cant fit in because the light makes the darkness nervous.

c)         Jesus Says That The World Hates Him For Exposing Its Sin (v.7).

1)        Jesus Because He Is Light Makes The World Uncomfortable.

(a)      John 3:19: See Jesus can’t fit in because the light makes the darkness nervous.

(b)      Slugs, cock-roaches, etc. love darkness.  The slugs and roaches of the world love darkness.  Bars, night-clubs etc. always have a dark atmosphere.  And so Jesus says “you can fit into these dark places, I cant.” 

(c)      1 Corinthians 6:15—We must never be fitting into dark places, and if you are a Christian Jesus is in you and if you are going into places and doing things that are dark, you are forcing Him to be in places that He does not want to be.  You are grieving the Holy Spirit of God who lives in you.  

d)        It is not time for His full revelation, that is, the revelation of His death (v.8-10).

1)        Jesus was on a Divine Schedule—we should be as well

e)         Jesus went up to the feast (v.10)

1)        When?  After his brothers had already gone (v.10a)—probably left in a big caravan

2)        In what manner?  Quietly, as in secret (v.10b)—not to attract to much attention

(a)      Was Jesus lying or deceiving.  No!  Deuteronomy 16:16 even though Jesus would not fit in like His brothers there was something more important that this:

1.         Obedience to the command of God (Matt 28:19-20)!  Even though going would endanger His life, the treachery of His brothers, the Word of God commanded that all males three times a year shall appear before the Lord. 

2.         For me (Eph.5:15-16) I must walk this way & the Word of God has priority of my life.  Jesus realizing what the word says and fulfilled the law perfectly went to Jerusalem. 

B.     The Response of the Jews: Seeking Yet Questioning, 7:11-19

1.       The Jews’ response: Sought and questioned and murmured about Him (v.11-15)

a)        Some feel He is a good man (v.12a)

b)        Some feel He is a deceiver (v.12b)

c)         Some felt He was not significant enough to defend (v.13)

d)        Some feel He is demon-possessed (7:20)

e)         Some feel He is and ordinary man (7:25-27, 41b-42)

f)          Some feel He is a prophet (7:40).

g)        Some feel He is the Messiah (7:31, 41a).

h)        A man unaccredited not having proper credentials—so capable, yet uneducated (v.14-15)

1)        Jesus Went To The Temple And Taught (v.14)—Studying the Word of God can begin to be taken for granted and we must not ever do this.  All that we have been entrusted with, the Word of God, I pray that we will never take it for granted. 

(a)      Psalm 119:97-104.  Today, we have an opportunity to take in some honey into our hearts and lets not take it for granted.

(b)      When Jesus went up into the temple he taught.  When Jesus went up previously, He cleansed the temple (Mark 11:15-19; Matt.21:12; Luke 19:45).  So the first time Jesus went up to the temple he cleansed the temple, now this time He’s teaching in that temple. 

1.         Before Jesus can effectively impart His Word to me, there first must be a cleansing within me.  The money changers have got to be driven out, the cattle chased away. 

2.         Before we study go before the Lord and get right (Psalm 66:18).   

3.         And if we do not do allow God to do this, in the same way that the scribes and Pharisees sought to destroy Jesus, sin will seek to destroy us (James 1:14-15).

4.         If not, we will end up as Sampson did (Judges 16:1-31).    

2)        The Jews Marveled At His Words & Questioned His Credentials (v.15)—They knew that Jesus never went through their school system.

(a)      Jesus taught as one having authority, not as the Scribes (Matt.7:28-29)

(b)      The Pharisee’s plotted to entangle Jesus in His words, but ended up marveling (Matt.22:15ff.).

(c)      Jesus’ words marveled even those who heard Him at a young age (Luke 2:41-48)

(d)      Jesus marveled because of their unbelief (Mark 6:1-6).

(e)      Its not what you know, its who you’ve been with is what counts (Acts 4:13) 

2.       Jesus’ reply: My teaching is God’s teaching (v.16-19) I’ve been hanging out with the Father

a)        Revelation is Directly Linked to Application (v.17).  If you do what has already been given, more will be given to you:

1)        Take head what you hear (Mark 4:24-25); & how you hear (Luke 8:18).  They could not hear because their hearts wanted to kill Him (Matt.5:29).

(a)      Obedience is the avenue in which revelation comes (John 14:21; 1Jn.2:3)  

1.         He did not claim to be the Source of His message.

2.         He claimed to be “sent” by God, to be the Representative, the Ambassador of God.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (John 6:38 )

But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." (John 7:29 NKJV)

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me (John 8:42 )

3.         “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). “For I did not speak on My own initiative”… therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me” (12:49–50; cf. 14:24).

(b)      When we give out the gospel, some don’t like what we have to say, but it “is not our doctrine, but He who sent me” (Luke 24:46-47).

b)        Proven by the objective test (the outward or observation test): Does man speak for his own glory or for God’s glory (v.18).  Jesus did not seek to glorify Himself but God.

c)         Proven by the personal test: Are you keeping the law? (v.19)—Jesus says that the people in His audience have the law of Moses, but do not keep the Law of Moses therefore they don’t understand the doctrine of God, and in fact they want to kill Him right now (7:19-24).

C.     The Response of the People: A Charge of Insanity, Yet Still Questioning, 7:20-31

1.       The pilgrims’ response (v.20-24)

a)        Their response: Jesus was possess by a demon, that is, insane (v.20)

b)        Jesus’ reply: Doing good proves a man (v.21-24)

1)        They all marveled at the healing of the lame man (John 5:16-18).

2)        Circumcision is doing good: Meets a religious and a ceremonial need of man (v.22)

3)        Healing is doing good: Meets a personal and a bodily need of man (v.23)

(a)      If the circumcision would fall on the Sabbath, they would still allow it (Mark 3:1-6).

(b)      Why is it O.K. to cause pain on the Sabbath, but not allow rejoicing for a healing!

4)        A principle: Judge not superficially, think and consider (v.24) as in (v.51)

2.       The local residents’ response (v.25-31)

a)        Their response was questioning: Is this not He? (v.25-27)

1)        Their reasoning: Could He be the Messiah? (v.26)

2)        Their conclusion: Unbelief—they knew His earthly origin (v.27)

b)        Jesus’ reply: A pivotal claim (v.28-29)

1)        He is a man (v.28a)

2)        He also came from God (v.28b)

3)        He knows God: Is from God—God sent Him (v.29)

c)         The local people’s reaction (v.30-31)

1)        Some disbelieve and reject (v.30)

2)        Some believe (v.31)

D.     The Response of the Rulers and Authorities 7:32-36

1.       The rulers’ response (v.32)

a)        They considered Him a threat, & sought to arrest Him (v.32)

2.       Jesus’ reply & reaction of the ruling authorities (v.33-36)

b)        Jesus tells them that He will soon leave but that they will be unable to find Him and where He is going, they cannot come (v.33-36).  Where was Jesus going that they could not come? 

1)        Jesus was received up into heaven (Mark 16:19-20).   

2)        Jeremiah 29:13 with all your heart: they were seeking to kill (John 8:20-24). 

3)        Jesus said to the disciples that they will seek Him but they to cannot come (13:33-36). 

4)        Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2; John 16:28)

E.     The Great Claim of Jesus and Divided Opinions About Him, 7:37-53

1.       The Feast Day & the Claims of Jesus (v.37-39)

a)        He is the source of life (v.37b) come to me

b)        He is the source of abundant life (v.38) rivers of living water

c)         He is the source of the Holy Spirit (v.39) by believing in Him, you receive the Holy Spirit

This Was Not Only A Commemoration But And Anticipation.  

The Priests would come from the temple to the pool of Siloam, dip the golden pitchers in the water and read:

1)        Isaiah 12:3—Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation

They would make their way back to the temple and ascend to the alter and read:

2)        Psalm 118:25ff—this would express the cause of their praise & to remind God of His promises.

They would pour the water in the tubes leading to the altar and read:

3)        Isaiah 44:3—For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring.

The purpose of the empowering of the Holy Spirit is that Jesus is glorified.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit will not speak of Himself, but point to Him (John 6:12-15)

2.       The people’s divided response (v.40-44)

a)        Many: The prophet (v.40)

b)        Others: The Christ (v.41a)

c)         Some: Questioned His birthplace and misinterpreted Scripture (v.41b-43)

d)        Some: Would take and do away with Him (v.44)

3.       The rulers’ response (v.45-53)

a)        Wished to remove Him (v.45-46)

1)        The officers were sent to arrest Jesus, v.32 (v.45)

2)        The officers’ response: He is a great Teacher (v.46)—They wanted to arrest Him, but instead Jesus seized them with His Speech.

b)        Claimed He was a deceiver: Charged the people with being mistaken and accursed (v.47-49)

c)         Rejected Him (v.50-52)

1)        Nicodemus spoke up for Him (v.50-51)

2)        They rejected Nicodemus’ questions, misinterpreting Scripture (v.52)

(a)      They forgot about Jonah (2 Kings 14:25; Jonah 1:1)

d)        Went to their own houses: Lived as always (v.53)

e)         But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives (8:1)