Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

A reminder to consider others Please:  Turn off your cell phone or set to vibrate only  Turn off sound to all electronic devices  Use the nursery or cry room if your child is fussy  Get up during the preaching only if absolutely necessary (please sit in back if you must leave early)

Where is Jesus From? John 7:25-53 “Experts” have brought us public education, ethics by psychology, our modern legal system “Experts” remove the responsibility of the individual to check out the facts Religious “experts” have destroyed the once strong gospel preaching mainline denominations

The Setting John 7:1-24 Jesus came from Galilee to Jerusalem quietly, then began teaching in the Temple in the midst of the Feast He declared His teaching was from God but they were not interested in God’s will

The Setting John 7:1-24 The multitude became confused and agitated when Jesus revealed the Jews were seeking to kill Him

The Response of the Jerusalemites John 7:25-27 These were the people from Jerusalem who knew about the ruler plan, not the whole crowd The Jerusalemites were surprised the rulers had not already acted against Jesus

The Response of the Jerusalemites John 7:25-27 They held a popular but erroneous idea about the Messiah, so they did not believe Jesus’ claim Finally recognizing one system is false does not help if you embrace another false system

Jesus’ Rebuke John 7:28-29 Jesus uses irony to reinforce His claim that He has been sent by God the Father Jesus contrasts their mistaken belief with the truth

God’s Timing John 7:30 They could not carry out their plan to arrest Jesus until it was God’s time for that to happen

The Belief of the Multitude John 7:31 The basis of their belief was appearance, not righteous judgment - their belief would not last long Saving faith is not a temporary - it continues because it is based on eternal truth

The Opposition of the Pharisees John 7:32 They were speaking in low tones to avoid the Pharisees hearing what they were saying The Pharisees do hear and take action with the chief priests to have Jesus arrested

Jesus’ Mishal & Resulting Confusion John 7:33-36 This is a Mishal, a paradoxical saying that makes a veiled, but pointed remark Jesus is referring to His coming death, resurrection and ascension, but the crowd does not recognize that

Jesus’ Mishal & Resulting Confusion John 7:33-36 John 7:35-36 –  The Jews assume Jesus is talking about going to a foreign country They missed Jesus’ reference to God sending Him, so they did not understand Jesus was returning to heaven

Jesus’ Mishal & Resulting Confusion John 7:33-36 They discuss it among themselves instead of asking Jesus Misunderstanding arise largely because of lack of attention to what is said and making wrong assumptions

Jesus’ Mishal & Resulting Confusion John 7:33-36 People misunderstand the Bible because they miss details and make wrong assumptions They debate based on their own thoughts instead of humbly examining the Scriptures

Jesus’ Analogy John 7:37-39 The Feast of Booths celebrated God’s past provision in the wilderness and present provision in the harvest A special water libation (offering) ceremony sought God’s favor to provide rain for the future

Jesus’ Analogy John 7:37-39 The ceremony also signified hope of spiritual salvation citing Isaiah 12:3 and Psalm Verse 37-38, Jesus pointed to Himself as the fulfillment of the ceremonies promise of future salvation

Jesus’ Analogy John 7:37-39 It also looked back to God’s provision of water at Marah - a type for God’s provision of salvation in Christ Verse 39 - John makes the spiritual nature of Jesus’ statement

Mixed Reactions John 7:40-53 The multitude was confused about Jesus’ identity with different people believing different things Even today, some believe, some are only favorable, some are skeptical, some are hostile

Mixed Reactions John 7:40-53 Skeptics claim to have a superior knowledge, but it is inferior and based in wrong assumptions Humble questioning can be good leading to understanding truth, but proud skepticism brings condemnation

Mixed Reactions John 7:40-53 Open hostility is hard to overcome because it believes lies and blinds the person to truth

The Pharisees’ Anger John 7:45-53 The officers are bold in explaining why they did not arrest Jesus Nicodemus spoke up and challenged the rulers for breaking the Mosaic law

The Pharisees’ Anger John 7:45-53 They belittle Nicodemus and make false claims, a common defense for those without factual support Prophets from Galilee include Jonah, Nahum and a Messianic reference in Isaiah 9:1-2 / Matthew 4:15

Conclusions Jesus said He is from God:  Do you believe Him?  Your own assumptions?  Or the “experts”?

Conclusions How you live your life will demonstrate whether you judge Jesus on appearances or righteously

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ