Pharisees Deny the Truth
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In Today’s passage we see the Pharisees refusal to even consider whether or not Jesus speaks the truth. They have already made up their minds and have denounced him and rejected him. They make three objections to Jesus speaking the truth but each one of the objections are based on false assumptions and leave them without a leg to stand on. Like so many today they have decided what they want to believe and then begin to build a house of cards on these false beliefs but they are built on foundations of shifting sand and one day they will fall because they are not built upon the rock of Truth Jesus Christ. Look with me at John 7:40-52 as we consider three false assumptions the Pharisees make regarding Christ.
When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Officers Refuse to Arrest Jesus
Officers Refuse to Arrest Jesus
When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
Remember back in verse 32 the Pharisees had sent officers to arrest Jesus. Apparently they had been hanging out in the crowds listening, possibly for some grounds on which to arrest him or maybe they were curious about what he said. Regardless they have heard his claim to be the giver of living water and being temple guards they would likely have recognized its reference to Isaiah and the tradition of drawing water from pool of Siloam to pour on the altar. Thus they chose not to arrest him either out of fear he might actually be who he claimed or at least fear of the crowds belief.
Notice also their response to the Pharisees when asked why they did not arrest Jesus
No one has ever spoke like this man
He speaks with authority - others say the scriptures say or Isaiah says jesus says I say to you
We are not sure what to do about this so we left him alone
Pharisees 3 Assumptions
Pharisees 3 Assumptions
None of us believe in Him
None of us believe in Him
The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
The accusation here is that because none of the leaders believed in Jesus the common people should not have either.
This accusation is built on the assumption that leaders always know and do what it is best but there are three problems with this assumption
First leaders themselves sin and fall short of the glory of God
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
One way the Pharisees sin is their motive for removing Jesus is a political expediency
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
They were less concerned with whether Jesus was speaking the truth and whether or not he was from God than they were that he might disturb their place of power
Second it implies that the common people are incapable of knowing something the leaders do not as we shall see in the next assumption
Third, it implies that none of the Pharisees had believed in Jesus, yet we know Nicodemus had visited Jesus and at some point comes to be a believer because he goes with Joseph of Arimathea to take and bury Jesus. He may well have been a believer by this point based upon his arguing the points of the law on Jesus behalf in this passage.
This assumption causes us to forget that God speaks to all of his children both through his word and though the Holy Spirit. The pastor by virtue of his position is no more connected to God than any other Christian rather those who are most connected to God are those who spend time with him earnestly in prayer and meditation studying his word and seeking to apply it to their lives.
We know the Law/The Crowd does not
We know the Law/The Crowd does not
But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”
This statement is based on the assumption that the Pharisees know the Law and the crowds do not.
Yet the Nicodemus challenges the Pharisees saying that the Law does not judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does.
They are passing judgement without even attempting to discover the truth
We learn their motivations for this in John 11:48
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
They are more concerned with losing their power and authority than discovering the truth. For them Jesus could not be the Son of God because it would disrupt the power structure and their way of life. They would not be in charge anymore, this God was too inconvenient and therefore must not be real.
They had already made up their minds and nothing not even the truth would change it.
Meanwhile the crowds are listening to the words of Jesus then discussing what he said and what that means even debating whether or not he is the Messiah. In this sense the crowds were more correct than the Pharisees even though many reached the wrong conclusions. They at least considered the possibilities and even looked to the Scriptures as their source for truth.
Do you seek the Word of God as the source of truth or do you look for answers in other sources such as the celebrities, the media, books or movies. The reality is all of these are poor choices for truth and they often contradict and change what they perceive the truth to be. However God declares that He is the truth in John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
and that he will never change in Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
The truth is not whatever we want it to be neither can we ignore it or wish it away God is the only truth and all truth is found in him Therefore we should look to what he says to find the truth. The Word of God therefore is the ultimate authority and source of truth in our lives. Seeking to understand and apply it to our lives is the most worthwhile thing we can do in our lives.
No Prophet comes from Galilee
No Prophet comes from Galilee
They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
However upon searching the scriptures according to their challenge one finds that Jonah actually did come from Judea
He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
If you look at this map of Galilee you will notice that the town of Gath-hepher is north of Nazareth putting it clearly in the region of Galilee.
Map of Galilee
Not only had a prophet come from Galilee in the past but why could God not choose to bring one from Galilee now just because he had supposedly not done so before. This logic is why everyone but Noah and his family perished in the Flood because it had never rained before, It is why so many Israelites failed to believe that God would ever allow Jerusalem to be captured even though the prophets proclaimed its destruction for years prior, because God had never done so before. Clearly the argument that God has never done it that way before is irrelevant because God can and will do something he has never done before if it brings him Glory and Honor.
Jesus could have just as easily been the first and only prophet to have come from Galilee and he still would have been the Christ because God desired it so.
The issue here is forgetting that God is in charge and can do whatever he wants whenever however and with whomever he wants. It is not done according to our whims and thoughts but rather according to his Desires. God is in charge.
Invitation
Invitation
My question for you this morning is have you submitted your life to God’s control does he reign supreme in your life, not just in part but in every aspect your thoughts and attitudes, your finances, your marriage, your job, your relationships, your emotions, and desires? Second are you spending regular time with him in prayer and study of his word? Are you diligently seeking to grow in your relationship with him and to be a better imitator of Christ.