The Deceitful Disguise of Glory-Seeking

John 7:1-13

Where have we been?

Jesus feeds the five thousand

5 loaves, 2 fish

5,000 man, probably between 15,000 and 20,000 total people

He feeds them until they are satisfied

12 baskets of uneaten food remain

He is sufficient and will be sufficient for you in what He calls you to

Jesus walks on the water as he crosses the Sea of Galilee

The wind is blowing hard against the disciples as they row

The disciples are afraid because they think he is a ghost

He gets into the boat and instantly they are at their destination

There is cause for much fear without Christ, but with Him in your boat of faith you have ultimate safety and security

Jesus teaches in the Synegogue at Capernaum

He speaks to a large crowd who follows him because they got their fill of food

He proclaims that He is the Bread of Life and salvation comes only through eating His flesh and drinking His blood

He alone can grant salvation, which is the eternal satisfaction of your soul in Him, therefore come to Him in faith and be satisfied

Many of Jesus’ disciples turn away from Him

They find this to be unbearably hard to hear so almost all turn away

Jesus asks the 12 disciples if they want to go away as well

Peter confesses that there is noone else to go to because Jesus alone has the words of eternal life

Jesus is He who has the words of eternal life, therefore to whom else would you go?

The request of Jesus’ brothers

The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) is at hand and his brothers ask him to go up to Jerusalem

Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

An 8-day festival instituted by God (Leviticus 23) to remember God’s provision

God’s provision as He brought them out of Egypt

God’s provision in the fruit of their yearly harvest

According to Josephus, this was the most popular of the 3 major Jewish festivals

This is the very place that He has been avoiding

The Jews have been trying to kill Him

Back in 5:18 He healed a man by the pool of Bathesda and then called God His Father, which sparked this desire to kill Him

They want Him to go in order to be seen by the people

Aparently they were not thrilled about the way that Jesus was doing His ministry

They wanted Him to show off His miraculous power to the world

They thought that His incredible talent was being wasted on the things that He was doing

Their unbelief

“For not even His brothers believed in Him”

This is confirmed in Mark’s account

Mark 3:21- And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

A surprising note

Two of these brothers go on to write books of the NT

James and Jude

James goes on to open his letter like this

James 1:1- James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Jude opens his letter this way

Jude 1:1-2- Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Why does John say that their request was because of unbelief?

The outside appearance at first glance looks pretty good

If they are acknowledging Jesus’ miracles and wonders, then why wouldn’t that be looked upon favorably by John as he writes this Gospel account?

They were not acting out of belief, but selfishness

They didn’t care about Jesus being believed in

They cared about becoming somebody

They wanted to say “yeah, Jesus is my brother” so that others might think much of them

Jesus responds

“The world cannot hate you”

Why?

Becasue they are just like the world, seeking their own glory and pleasure

“It hates me because I testify that its works are evil”

John 3:20- For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

A relevant note: we who are in Christ must expect the same thing

John 15:18-20a- “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Matthew 10:15-21- “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Jesus does not work on their terms

He tells them that He will not go

He refuses their request and tells them to go without Him

“I will not go up to this feast”

He says “my time has not yet come”

Normally Jesus uses this kind of talk to refer to His crucifixion

However, normally the greek word hora is used to refer to time, and here kairos is used, which is only used by John in this passage

The context here is important because it strongly points us to conclude that Jesus is speaking of going up to Jerusalem

He goes after they depart

He does not do it on their terms in timing or approach

He waits to go without them

He goes in secret reather than openly

He always works for His own glory

He is not interested in feeding the selfish desires of men.

In His infinite wisdom, He does what is most glorifying to Him

He will go to this feast if, when, and how it will fit His plan of glory-gaining

Could it be that you have been wearing the deceitful disguise of glory-seeking?

Alot of people want to claim Jesus for alot of reasons

Good things coming your way

Victory over the work of Satan

Fitting in with the family

Things to go better for you

I just watch a portion of a sermon of a very popular Christian pastor who give his congregation a list of his preaching accomplishments and declared that it was because God has made him very good at preaching

The missing piece in so many people’s lives is not a willingness to tell of their belief in Jesus, but rather the missing piece is genuine faith that believes in Jesus simply to gain Jesus

We live in a place that this problem runs rampant

Many people in our community and the surrounding area claim some type of faith in Jesus, but a much smaller number actually show that they truly trust Jesus in order to gain Him and that’s enough for them

Jesus is not interested in being used as a means to another end

He has no interest in the kind of so-called faith that wants other things more than Himself

He wants your heart to truly want Him and Him alone

If you haven’t, would you come to Him?

So often believers even live and pray this way

We can so quickly be drawn to desires that become the center focus of our hearts

What do your prayers sound like?

Are they mainly a list of things that you want God to do for you?

Do you become angry or agitated with Him when He doesn’t give you what you asked for?

Are you living for the glory of His name?

Why do you do the things that you do?

Why do you make the life decisions that you make?

Or could it be that you have been living for selfish purposes?

Would Christ say that He has been made much of in your life this past week?

Give yourself wholly to a passion for Christ and His glory

Puritan Prayer- Jeremiah Boroughs