Participants: Deyvy Rodriguez & Jon Paulien
Series Code: JBOTB
Program Code: JBOTB00013B
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00:01 And we are back with Dr. Jon Paulien.
00:02 We're studying the Gospel of John in chapter 7. 00:05 Dr. Paulien, so Jesus tells his brothers 00:08 that His time has not yet come. 00:12 And so does He not go to this feast. 00:16 Why don't we read verses 8-10? 00:19 "You go up to this feast. 00:22 I am not yet going up to this feast, 00:24 for My time has not yet fully come. 00:27 When He had said these things to them, 00:29 He remained in Galilee. 00:30 But when His brothers had gone up, 00:32 then He also went up to the feast, 00:35 not openly, but as it were in secret." 00:38 So he did go. So he ended up going. 00:40 So basically what He was saying is 00:42 I'm going not just with you. 00:44 Well, here's the thing. Jesus makes clear. 00:48 My schedule is grounded in God's purpose. 00:51 It's not my mother's purpose, 00:53 you know, she wants me to do something at the wedding feast. 00:55 It's not my brother's purpose. 00:57 We often let other people influence us 01:01 away from God's purpose in our lives. 01:04 So here Jesus is making clear. 01:06 He's got be in tune with His Father. 01:08 His schedule is set by the Father. 01:10 His timing has got to be in that way. 01:13 The brothers say, you know, go with us, go now. 01:15 No, it's not the timing. 01:16 But after they left then He went down in secret. 01:20 Apparently a public showing 01:22 at least at the beginning of this feast 01:24 was not His intention and purpose. 01:26 Later on, we'll see He gets a bit disruptive. 01:29 Because if He would've gone with His brothers 01:32 then people would have recognized Him then. 01:34 That is very likely. 01:35 And His time referring to His death 01:37 that was not-- it was not the moment. 01:39 It was not time for that yet. Yeah, so-- 01:42 All right, so where then are we reading now? 01:45 Because of time, we'll just move 01:47 quickly through chapter 7 in summary. 01:50 When He actually gets there and shows up, 01:54 He gets setup on by some of the priests and Pharisees. 01:57 And they are arguing with Him. 01:59 Because this is the first time, they've seen Him 02:01 since the pool of Bethesda. 02:03 And they remember it that time. 02:05 You know, in relation to the Sabbath what happened. 02:07 So they are arguing with Him about the Sabbath. 02:11 Then the argument shifts to Messiah ship. 02:14 Well, who is the Messiah? 02:15 And what makes you think you are the Messiah and so on? 02:18 And then it shifts to origin, you see. 02:22 Because the Messiah is supposed to be born in Bethlehem, 02:26 but where did Jesus grow up? 02:30 Nazareth. Nazareth. 02:31 Yeah, Nazareth a long way from Bethlehem, 02:34 so they say you couldn't possibly be Messiah, 02:37 because you're born in Nazareth. 02:39 Well, of course, 02:41 that is corrected by other gospel writers. 02:44 Matthew in particular shows that, 02:46 yes, He was from Nazareth 02:48 but He went down the Bethlehem 02:50 because of this tax registry, you see. 02:54 So Matthew is explaining how somebody 02:57 who was born or at least who lived in Nazareth 03:00 grew up in Nazareth was actually from Bethlehem. 03:04 So Matthew's answer to Jesus' Messiah ship is, 03:07 yes, He was born in Bethlehem, 03:08 just like the prophet said. 03:10 But John doesn't answer that way. 03:13 John doesn't say, oh, He was born in Bethlehem." 03:16 No, John says He was from heaven. 03:20 Messiah came down from heaven. 03:22 Doesn't matter where He was born, 03:24 He came down from heaven. 03:26 And that shows that He has God's approval. 03:29 So God's Messiah comes from God. 03:32 And that's John's answer to the question, 03:35 different answers, each of them addressing that concern. 03:39 So as you go through the chapter 7, 03:41 you see these different controversies taking place. 03:44 And there's kind of a double stage. 03:46 You have what's happening in the temple courts with Jesus, 03:50 behind the scenes 03:52 the priest are plotting His arrest, you see. 03:55 And so you have these two stages going on at the same time 03:58 which happens several times in the Gospel of John. 04:02 The narrator kind of goes back and forth 04:04 and keeps us up-to-date on both of these. 04:06 But in the midst of all this, 04:08 Jesus disrupts the service. 04:12 Right at the time when they're pouring the water 04:16 for this Feast of Tabernacles, 04:17 Jesus stands up. Read verses 37-39. 04:22 "On the last day, that great day of the feast, 04:24 Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, 04:28 let him come to Me and drink. 04:30 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 04:32 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 04:36 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, 04:38 whom those believing in Him would receive, 04:41 for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, 04:43 because Jesus was not yet glorified." 04:46 So here's the thing that got literal water. 04:49 Shall we take a drink? 04:50 Yes. Let us. Yeah. 04:52 This water is a good illustration. Right. 04:55 It's good. It is. 04:56 It's very, very good. 04:58 And they're taking some of that good water 04:59 and its part of the ceremony in the temple to remember. 05:03 In John, it's always something deeper going on. 05:06 Jesus gets up right at that point 05:09 and He said if anybody's thirsty. 05:12 Let him have a glass of water. 05:14 No, if anyone's thirsty let him come to me and drink. 05:19 And those who come to me and drink out of their bellies, 05:22 out of their stomachs will flow reverse of living water. 05:27 So you see here that Jesus is saying 05:31 the priests fill up those vessels for a short time. 05:34 If you're thirsty and drink, you're going to be thirsty again 05:38 just like the Samaritan woman. 05:40 He is offering them water that is deeper and more significant. 05:44 Like we said in our previous program, 05:46 He will raise our need, 05:49 you know, that we have a deeper need. 05:51 We realize a thirst for spiritual things. 05:55 God wants to kindle in us a spiritual thirst 05:58 that will cause us to turn to Him and find great joy there. 06:01 You know a lot of people in the secular world, they say, 06:03 "I studied the Bible and it's just boring to me. 06:06 It doesn't mean anything." 06:07 Well, you see, they have not been sensing the deeper thirst 06:12 that we have for something greater. 06:14 And when we come and touch with the thirst. 06:17 And sometimes God uses circumstances to do that. 06:21 When we realize our thirst for spiritual things 06:23 and we come to the word then it fills our lives 06:26 in ways that we didn't expect. But it's interesting. 06:31 In Ezekiel, there's a river that flows from the temple 06:37 and that river waters the whole land. 06:42 In John 4, Jesus becomes that temple, you see. 06:49 You know, Gerizim isn't the place? 06:51 Jerusalem, isn't the place? 06:53 Jesus is the place where the true temple is. 06:56 And so Jesus replaces that Old Testament temple. 06:59 He's the source of the water. 07:01 But the exciting thing in this text is 07:04 those who are in relation with Him 07:06 can also become the source of water 07:09 that when the Holy Sprit fills our lives 07:12 we can minister the Holy Spirit to others. 07:14 That from our very lives we awaken in other people 07:17 a thirst for what God offers. 07:19 And we can by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit's 07:23 supply that need through our words, 07:27 through our actions in different ways. 07:28 Now when these people heard that Jesus said these words, 07:31 what were their reaction? 07:33 Well, they were not happy. 07:36 I mean, He's disrupting the worship service, you know. 07:40 Have you ever been speaking and somebody stands up 07:42 in the middle your sermon and starts arguing with you. 07:45 You know, that's not the most popular thing to do. 07:49 So Jesus is just challenging the system here. 07:52 In verse 40 it says, "That some rose up and said, 07:56 "Truly, this is the prophet." 07:58 And others said, "This is the Christ." 08:01 And another question, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?" 08:04 So some believed then also. 08:07 So there was difference of opinion, yeah. 08:10 And some in the crowd wants to follow Him, others oppose. 08:16 And interestingly enough when they send guards to arrest him, 08:21 they can't do it, because they're so amazed 08:23 at the things that He said. 08:24 All right. Yeah. 08:26 And we also said that we were going 08:27 to cover part of chapter 8. That's right. 08:28 Okay. That's right. 08:30 Now what's going on in chapter 8? 08:31 So when you get to chapter 8, the controversies continue. 08:36 But here in chapter 8, Jesus is talking in the temple courts. 08:43 And we'll just skip over for the moment, 08:45 the story of the woman taken in adultery, 08:46 I'd like to finish with that in little bit. 08:49 But here in chapter 8, Jesus says, 08:53 "I am the light of the world." 08:55 At night, in the Feast of Tabernacles, 08:57 they had blazing torches that would light it up like day. 09:00 So He pronounces I am the water of life 09:03 and now He says I am the light of the world. 09:06 So what He's doing? 09:07 He is taking the Jewish feasts and pointing them to Him. 09:12 To truly honor this feast, 09:16 you will want to follow the one that they're pointing to. 09:21 Obviously, the leadership there reacts to this 09:26 and they become more and more frustrated by Jesus 09:30 and so there are serious arguments 09:33 that take place throughout this chapter. 09:35 One section, I'd like to draw attention to, 09:39 we can't cover everything. 09:40 But chapter 8 verse 32 and 33. 09:44 It says "And you shall know the truth, 09:47 and the truth shall make you free. 09:50 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants, 09:52 and have never been in bondage to anyone. 09:55 How can you say, "You will be made free?" 10:00 You see, once again they take Him literally. 10:04 They're thinking of a freedom, political freedom, 10:07 economic freedom and so on. 10:09 They're not actually even telling the truth. 10:11 They've been in bondage to the Romans. 10:13 They've been in bondage to the Greeks, 10:15 to Persians, to the Babylonians. 10:17 You know, one after one another. 10:19 So this isn't entirely accurate at this point. 10:22 But clearly, they are understanding 10:24 the freedom here as something that is political, 10:29 but the reality is the freedom 10:30 that Jesus offers is a freedom from sin. 10:35 Go on verses 34-36. 10:38 "Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, 10:40 whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. 10:43 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, 10:45 but a son abides forever. 10:47 Therefore if the Son makes you free, 10:50 you shall be free indeed." 10:53 So Jesus is offering a different kind of freedom 10:56 than what they had in mind, 10:58 that spiritual gospel coming through again. 11:00 So this precipitates a huge argument. 11:04 And from here on they're arguing about Abraham 11:07 and they're arguing about freedom and sin. 11:10 And Jesus gets very sharp at this point, 11:14 even calls them children of the devil. 11:16 And in the end, this battle ends 11:21 when Jesus just takes His leave. 11:23 So He spends this time in the temple, 11:26 but things ultimately don't go well. 11:29 Now are we missing a story in this chapter? 11:32 Right, right at the beginning of chapter 8, 11:34 you have the story of the woman taken in adultery. 11:37 And there the leaders bring this woman 11:41 who was caught in the act. 11:43 Now according to the laws of Moses, 11:45 such a person should be stoned. 11:47 So they were being very pious. 11:48 You know, they're saying this person has sin against God, 11:51 she's an obvious sinner. 11:53 I think one of the things about religious people is 11:56 we almost love to point fingers at others, 11:58 to notice people who have sinned really, really publicly. 12:02 And somehow we feel a little bit better about it, 12:05 that, you know, well, I'm not like that person, you see. 12:08 So they bring this woman to Jesus 12:10 and Jesus completely circumvents the plan. 12:13 He finds a way to save her by showing them their sins. 12:17 He writes on the ground. 12:19 And they begin to realize that in other ways 12:22 they are as bad as she is. 12:24 Now here's the interesting thing, 12:26 it's the good guys 12:28 in the story that are less willing 12:30 to be reached by Jesus than this woman. 12:33 She is more open to the healing that He brings than they are. 12:37 So she is more open to be freed from her sin 12:41 than this other group. 12:42 Exactly, though, the whole theme here is just freeing from sin. 12:45 The freedom Jesus offers, they don't seem interested in. 12:48 And, Dr. Paulien, you know, there are many people behind, 12:51 right now watching that they are physically in bondage. 12:55 But the message that Jesus wants to give them is 12:57 that they can be spiritually free from their sins. 13:01 And, friends, if you accept Jesus Christ in your life today, 13:04 wherever you are, whatever you do, 13:06 whatever you have ever done in your life, 13:07 you can be set free from your sins. 13:10 Till next time. |
Revised 2014-12-17