Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Does it bother you when you feel that you have been labeled as a particular kind of person?
Especially when the label may not be true?
Maybe someone felt that you weren’t true to your word.
That you did not follow through on a promise.
You forgot to add something to a calendar.
Maybe someone totally misunderstood something that you said, or has a totally distorted view of who you truly are.
Maybe a momentary lapse of self-control, you said some things out of anger or bitterness.
But these traits don’t necessarily characterize you.
But now you have been labeled an angry or bitter person.
And this doesn’t sit well with you.
Or maybe you’ve had a dramatic transformation in your life.
You are no longer the person you once were.
Perhaps you were an addict or a cheat… a perpetual liar.
But a change has happened in your heart and in your behavior.
Yet you still wear the label.
This can be tough for us.
It creates within us an urge to shout out that “that’s not me.
You’ve misunderstood what I said… or it was a genuine mistake… or I’ve changed… I’m a new person now.”
You want to send a bulk email or a Facebook post that says “This is me!
You’ve got it wrong.”
Think about Jesus for a moment.
If you think that this scenario is difficult for you, what did Jesus experience?
Jesus, as the Son of God, was sinless.
We read in John’s gospel (and elsewhere) that he created everything that existed.
He is eternal.
He is unrivaled in power and majesty.
Yet Jesus humbled himself and became like one of his creatures.
He became a human baby.
He grew and lived among us people.
Yet Jesus never had a momentary lapse of self-control.
He did not lash out in selfish, bitter anger.
Jesus did not forget to add something to his calendar and miss an appointment.
There were no oversights on his part.
Jesus did not lie.
He did not cheat.
He was not addicted to the things of this world.
Yet over and over, everywhere you look, Jesus is misunderstood and mislabeled.
One of the things that I particularly appreciate about John’s Gospel is his inclination to repeat the truths about Jesus.
If you missed something early on, it’s ok because we’ll revisit many of the themes again.
And if you haven’t noticed it yet, a primary recurrence to this point is that people’s experiences with Jesus often have profound effects.
If you stop to think about, Jesus has encounters over and over again.
People come to him for a variety of reasons.
Some stick around and continue with him.
Others lose interest because he is more than a circus act.
Yet others become greatly offended and enraged with him.
But he doesn’t leave people unaffected.
This morning’s passage is no exception.
Again we see that the people that Jesus encounters mischaracterize him.
This will involve at least three different groups of people.
But perhaps most interestingly in this text, is the interaction with Jesus’ own brothers.
Please turn in your Bibles to John 7. *The problem that we encounter again to day is that people continually misunderstand Jesus and his mission.*
This is the case throughout all the Gospel accounts.
This is the case for people throughout all of history, as you probably know.
So, this morning let’s consider this: *Jesus’ identity and mission are embraced by his true disciples.*
I’ll read verses 1-13 as we get underway.
First, we will see that *Jesus is misunderstood by his family.*
John the gospel writer moves his account forward in the first verse by the inclusion of ‘after this’.
Remember that John is approaching his gospel from a different angle.
He is not following a close chronology of events like the other gospel writers.
So his ‘after this’ is likely six months after Jesus’ interaction with the crowds and his temporary followers.
It is believed that he likely spent a year in the Galilee region after arriving from Judea.
And you will find that the other gospel writers highlight this particular time period in his ministry.
As John mentions also, Jesus was avoiding this southern region of Israel because of the growing hostility and opposition toward him.
It is to be noted that Galilee and Judea were under separate jurisdictions.
So someone who might have been in some trouble in one part of the country, could find a bit of safety in the other.
But note also that Jesus does not shy away from this hostility because of fear, but because of plan.
More on this in a just a bit.
But the Jews were seeking to kill him.
Remember, Jesus does not leave people unaffected.
And because of this, it is the religious leaders who are the most unimpressed with Jesus and his ministry.
Jesus has been saying some things and doing some things that did not fit their mold or criteria.
We have already encountered some of this in our study including our time spent in chapter 5.
John 5:18 “18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
These folks were not indifferent, simply curious or believers.
They were the active and hostile opposition to Jesus.
But John again makes a very significant insertion here.
You’ll recall that in the last chapter, he very intentionally mentioned the time of the Passover.
Here he locates the time of the Jews’ Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles.
You remember that John repeatedly recalls the events of the ancient Israelites for his readers.
We are encouraged to recount the forming and redeeming of God’s people from their bondage in Egypt.
Through the blood of a lamb, the people were released from captivity and led into the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land.
Moses was appointed by God to lead them to this destination.
Along the way the people grumble.
Along the way, the people get hungry.
And all along God is faithful in providing the necessities for his people.
All these themes are introduced in John’s gospel by referring to Jesus as the faithful provider, the superior Moses.
Yet the people continue to grumble.
The Feast of Booths was a festival of celebration for God’s people.
It was one of three of the most important festivals.
In fact, we come to learn that this was likely the most popular and celebrated feast.
It was introduced throughout the writings of Moses (Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) as a celebration that commemorated God’s faithfulness to his people where they lived in booths in the wilderness.
It was a celebration of the ingathering of harvest.
There were several components of the feast that will become significant as we continue through the next few chapters of this gospel.
They will include the pouring of water and the lighting of lights.
Jesus will again pick up on these themes and introduce the spiritual fulfillment of them.
So, the Feast of Booths was near.
The party of the year was happening in Jerusalem.
People would venture there from all over the region.
And this event will shed some light to what comes next.
Jesus’ brothers enter the story.
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