John 7:11-39
11 So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?”
12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”
13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
7:13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. The Jews refers to the Jewish leaders in particular. They had a great deal of power over the common people. Apparently these leaders couldn’t do much to Jesus at this time, but they threatened anyone who might publicly support him. They could use excommunication from the synagogue as a reprisal for believing in Jesus (9:22). Jews considered this a severe punishment
FREEDOM!
Today most of us can teach, preach, and worship publicly with little persecution. But at times, these very freedoms can lull us into complacency. Because we can practice religious freedom whenever we desire, some of us never get around to doing it.
So our freedom means very little. In addition, our spiritual freedoms erode because our unfaithfulness and lack of diligence have allowed generations to grow up without learning the relevance of biblical truth, prayer, and personal integrity. We should be grateful and make the most of our opportunities to proclaim and practice the gospel while we have the freedom.
FREEDOM!
Today most of us can teach, preach, and worship publicly with little persecution. But at times, these very freedoms can lull us into complacency. Because we can practice religious freedom whenever we desire, some of us never get around to doing it.
So our freedom means very little. In addition, our spiritual freedoms erode because our unfaithfulness and lack of diligence have allowed generations to grow up without learning the relevance of biblical truth, prayer, and personal integrity. We should be grateful and make the most of our opportunities to proclaim and practice the gospel while we have the freedom.
14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
17 “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
18 “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
67.137 μεσόω: to be in the middle of a period of time—‘to be in the middle of, to have something half over.’
TELLTALE SIGNS OF GLORY-SEEKING TEACHERS
• They insist on using their titles and credentials.
• They are preoccupied with their relative position in the program or breaches in protocol.
• They take the credit for success rather than giving it to God.
• They habitually take more than the allotted time to speak.
See 2 Corinthians 10:13–18
Those who seek to know God’s will and do it will be guided by the Holy Spirit to realize that Jesus told the truth about himself (14:15–21). We can test religious speakers:
• Their words should agree with, not contradict, the Bible in its entirety.
• Their words should glorify God and his will, not themselves.
• If their words are true, we will realize more deeply all that Jesus has done for us.
• Their message should not only challenge our present way of living but also show us in the light of the Bible what corrections need to be made.
19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
21 Jesus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.
22 “For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
23 “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?
26 “Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?
27 “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
29 “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more csigns than those which this man has, will He?”
Instead, the people were convinced that no one was supposed to know where the Messiah came from. There was a popular tradition that the Messiah would simply appear. It was just as mistaken as the belief that the Christ would be a military/political leader who would restore Israel’s greatness. Those who believed this tradition were ignoring the Scriptures that clearly predicted the Messiah’s birthplace (Micah 5:2). The popular tradition about the origin and appearance of the Messiah probably came from what is recorded in 1 Enoch 48:6; 4 Ezra 13:1ff., books that were not included in our Bibles because they were not considered authoritative (however, they were valued for personal study).
Jesus was declaring his divine origin and divine commission. From Jesus’ proclamation we can gather that it is important to know, not from where Jesus came, but from whom he came. To recognize this origin requires revelation. But the people did not know Jesus because they did not know the one who sent him.
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
33 Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.
34 “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?
36 “What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “bIf anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Meanwhile, Jesus again referred to himself as the source of living water. John explained the promise as a prediction of the giving of the Spirit. It is apparent from the guards’ response that Jesus’ words revealed a deep spiritual thirst in many people. Those who were sent to imprison Jesus were themselves captivated by what he said.