JESUS ANSWERS OBJECTIONS AND TEACHES.
1. (14-18) The Religious Leaders Object That Jesus Isn’t Educated.
Now About The Middle Of The Feast Jesus Went Up Into The Temple And Taught. And The Jews Marveled, Saying, “How Does This Man Know Letters, Having Never Studied?” Jesus Answered Them And Said, “My Doctrine Is Not Mine, But His Who Sent Me. If Anyone Wants To Do His Will, He Shall Know Concerning The Doctrine, Whether It Is From God Or Whether I Speak On My Own Authority. He Who Speaks From Himself Seeks His Own Glory; But He Who Seeks The Glory Of The One Who Sent Him Is True, And No Unrighteousness Is In Him.”
A. Jesus Went Up Into The Temple And Taught:
Though Jesus Avoided A Grand Entrance, When He Came To Jerusalem In His Father’s Timing, He Taught Boldly.
He Never Shrank Back From Proclaiming The Truth.
B. How Does This Man Know Letters, Having Never Studied:
The Jewish Leaders Knew That Jesus Had Not Studied Or Been A Disciple Under A Prominent Rabbi (as Paul Studied Under Gamaliel, Acts 22:3).
Jesus Did Not Follow The Normal And Expected Course Of Education For A Teacher.
C. My Doctrine Is Not Mine, But His Who Sent Me:
Jesus Didn’t Point To His Credentials, But To His Doctrine.
It Was As If He Said, “I Don’t Have A Seminary Degree, But Judge Me By My Doctrine.”
If The Jewish Leaders Listened Carefully To The Doctrine Of Jesus, They Would Know That It Was All Rooted In The Old Testament Scriptures, And That It Was From God.
D. My Doctrine Is Not Mine, But His Who Sent Me:
Jesus Was An Eloquent, Gifted Teacher, But He Was Not Self Taught; Jesus Was God Taught.
His Authority Was Not From Any Man, But From His Father.
E. He Who Seeks The Glory Of The One Who Sent Him Is True, And No Unrighteousness Is In Him:
Jesus Contrasted Himself With The One Who Speaks From Himself And Who Seeks His Own Glory. Jesus Was Different.
· Jesus Sought The Glory Of God.
· Jesus Is True.
· Jesus Has No Unrighteousness In Him.
In A Sense, Jesus Gave Us Two Measures Of A True Teacher.
· Does The Teaching Come From God? That Is, Is It According To The Revealed Word Of God?
· Does The Work Give Glory To God?
2. (19-24) The
People Object That Jesus Is Crazy, And Has A Demon.
“Did Not Moses Give You The Law, Yet None Of You Keeps The Law? Why Do You Seek To Kill Me?” The People Answered And Said, “You Have A Demon. Who Is Seeking To Kill You?” Jesus Answered And Said To Them, “I Did One Work, And You All Marvel. Moses Therefore Gave You Circumcision (not That It Is From Moses, But From The Fathers), And You Circumcise A Man On The Sabbath. If A Man Receives Circumcision On The Sabbath, So That The Law Of Moses Should Not Be Broken, Are You Angry With Me Because I Made A Man Completely Well On The Sabbath? Do Not Judge According To Appearance, But Judge With Righteous Judgment.”
A. None Of You Keeps The Law:
Jesus Just Stated That He Was Absolutely Sinless And True, Always Seeking The Glory Of God In Heaven (John 7:18). In Contrast To Jesus, The Religious Leaders Did Not Keep The Law. They Had The Law (Did Not Moses Give You The Law), But Did Not Keep It.
B. Why Do You Seek To Kill Me?
Following The Thought Of Jesus, He Said Something Like This: “I Am Sinless And None Of You Keep The Law. Why Then Do You Seek To Kill Me? You Are The Ones Guilty Under The Law, Not I.”
C. You Have A Demon. Who Is Seeking To Kill You?
People Didn’t Know That The Rulers Wanted To Kill Jesus Because He Healed A Man On The Sabbath (John 5:16). They Thought Jesus Was Crazy And Perhaps Paranoid.
D. If A Man Receives Circumcision On The Sabbath, So That The Law Of Moses Should Not Be Broken:
It Was Permitted – Even Commanded – To Do A Negative Work On The Sabbath, Such As Cutting Away The Flesh In Circumcision (Leviticus 12:3). It Was Even More Right To Make A Man Completely Well On The Sabbath, As Jesus Did (John 5:8-9).
E. Do Not Judge According To Appearance, But Judge With Righteous Judgment:
They Decided That Jesus Appeared To Be A Sinner, And They Appeared To Be Righteous. They Were Wrong Each Time, And They Needed To Judge With Righteous Judgment Instead Of Only By Appearances.
3. (25-29) The People Of Jerusalem Object That Jesus Could Not Be The Messiah Because They Know Where He Came From.
Now Some Of Them From Jerusalem Said, “Is This Not He Whom They Seek To Kill? But Look! He Speaks Boldly, And They Say Nothing To Him. Do The Rulers Know Indeed That This Is Truly The Christ? However, We Know Where This Man Is From; But When The Christ Comes, No One Knows Where He Is From.” Then Jesus Cried Out, As He Taught In The Temple, Saying, “You Both Know Me, And You Know Where I Am From; And I Have Not Come Of Myself, But He Who Sent Me Is True, Whom You Do Not Know. But I Know Him, For I Am From Him, And He Sent Me.”
A. Is This Not He Whom They Seek To Kill?
The People From Jerusalem Knew That The Religious Leaders Wanted To Kill Jesus. The Crowd That Came For The Feast Did Not Know It (John 7:20), But Those From Jerusalem Did. Yet They Were Amazed That The Rulers Would Not And Could Not Stop Jesus From Teaching.
B. He Speaks Boldly, And They Say Nothing To Him:
Jesus Was Never Afraid Or Intimidated By The Threats Against Him. He Still Spoke Boldly, And With Such Boldness That No One Could Make Him Stop.
C. We Know Where This Man Is From; But When The Christ Comes, No One Knows Where He Is From:
Many (but Not All) Of The Jews Of That Time Believed The Messiah Would Appear Suddenly, As If Out Of Nowhere.
D. You Both Know Me, And You Know Where I Am From:
This First Sentence Of Jesus’ Reply May Well Have Been Sarcastic. They Thought They Knew Where He Was From, But They Were Unaware Of His Heavenly Origin.
E. I Am From Him, And He Sent Me:
The Crowds Were Perhaps Confused About Where The Messiah Would Come From, But Jesus Knew Exactly Where He Came From. Jesus Was Not A Confused Man, Wondering If He Was Really The Son Of God.
4. (30-36) The Officers Try To Arrest Jesus As Many Believe In Him.
Therefore They Sought To Take Him; But No One Laid A Hand On Him, Because His Hour Had Not Yet Come. And Many Of The People Believed In Him, And Said, “When The Christ Comes, Will He Do More Signs Than These Which This Man Has Done?” The Pharisees Heard The Crowd Murmuring These Things Concerning Him, And The Pharisees And The Chief Priests Sent Officers To Take Him. Then Jesus Said To Them, “I Shall Be With You A Little While Longer, And Then I Go To Him Who Sent Me. You Will Seek Me And Not Find Me, And Where I Am You Cannot Come.” Then The Jews Said Among Themselves, “Where Does He Intend To Go That We Shall Not Find Him? Does He Intend To Go To The Dispersion Among The Greeks And Teach The Greeks? What Is This Thing That He Said, ‘You Will Seek Me And Not Find Me, And Where I Am You Cannot Come’?”
A. No One Laid A Hand On Him, Because His Hour Had Not Yet Come: Until The Time Was Right, No One Could Lay A Hand On Jesus. There Would Come A Time When Jesus Would Say That His Hour Had Come (John 12:23). Until That Hour, Jesus Was Protected.
B. Many Of The People Believed In Him:
As Jesus Spoke To The People, They Were Drawn To Faith In Him. It Didn’t Matter That Many Opposed Him Or Even Wanted To Kill Him. Jesus Made Public Was Jesus Believed Upon, And They Marveled At The Many Signs That He Did.
· Do More Miracles Than Jesus?
· Teach With More Insight And Authority Than Jesus?
· Love More Remarkably Than Jesus?
· Suffer With More Courage Than Jesus?
· Atone For More Sinners Than Jesus?
· Raise From The Dead With More Triumph Than Jesus?
· Ascend To Heaven In Greater Glory Than Jesus?
· Present A Greater Gospel Than Jesus?
· Change More Lives Than Jesus?
· Free More Addictions Than Jesus?
· Comfort More Grief-Stricken Hearts Than Jesus?
· Heal More Broken Hearts Than Jesus?
· Restore More Marriages Than Jesus?
· Triumph Over More Tyrants Than Jesus?
· Gain More Followers Than Jesus?
C. I Shall Be With You A Little While Longer:
As The Religious Leaders Sent Officers To Take Him, Jesus Assured The Officers That He Would Go Away, But Only At The Appointed Time – At His Ascension (I Go To Him Who Sent Me). They Would Not Take Him Away At The Present Time.
D. Does He Intend To Go To The Dispersion Among The Greeks:
Jesus Spoke Of His Coming Ascension To Heaven, But They Didn’t Understand. Willfully Misunderstanding, They Asked If He Would Go Away To The Jewish Communities Outside The Promised Land.
E. You Will Seek Me And Not Find Me:
Remarkably, They Exactly Repeated What Jesus Previously Said. This Statement Troubled Them, And They Wanted To Know What Jesus Meant. He Meant That He Would Not Be Found By The Hostile Examiner, Those Intending To Arrest, Silence, Or Kill Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment