Category: John 7

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John John 7

The waters of salvation

John

Yes, we will eventually get past this chapter. In fact, this will be our last look at it as we look at verses 37-39.

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus probably watched as the priests took water drawn from the stream of Siloah which flowed under the temple mountain and poured it over the altar. With that, a cheer rang out as the people sang,

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)

And perhaps at that moment, the people heard another voice ring out. The voice of Jesus calling out,

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. (John 7:37-38)

Leave it to the Master Teacher to tell the people exactly what this ceremony they had been performing for years really meant.

For years, as the people saw this ceremony, they thought of their deliverance from Egypt, and how for years, they had traveled through the desert. How God provided water for them when they thirsted, twice bringing water out of a rock.

And through this ceremony, they recalled the joy of their salvation, a salvation that came not through their own efforts, but through the provision of God.

But what they didn’t know was that rock was a picture God was giving them of Christ himself. The apostle Paul wrote,

They (the Israelites) all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

Now Jesus was telling them, “Are you thirsty as the Israelites were in the desert? Do you feel like you’re in a spiritual desert, thirsting for God, and yet somehow not able to find him? Then come to me. Believe in me. (Remember John 6:35)? And if you do, streams of living water will flow through you.”

What did he mean by that? John tells us in the next verse.

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:39)

In other words, God himself, the Holy Spirit would come and dwell in each person that came to Jesus and believed in Him. And because of that, our thirst for God would be filled.

Not only that, the Holy Spirit would flow out of our lives like a never-ending stream of water and touch the lives of the people around us.

And so day after day, with joy, we draw from the wells of salvation, not only blessing ourselves, but all those around us.

That’s how we as Christians are to live. Drawing from the Spirit each day the power to live our lives so that we may be made as Christ is, and to share his salvation with everyone we meet.

And when we do, we’ll find joy.

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John John 7

Judging scripture rightly

John

We looked yesterday at how Jesus warned the Jews against judging against appearances. The first reason was that they were judging him by his education, and as a result, many blew off his teaching.

But the second reason Jesus warned the Jews against judging against appearances was that their interpretation of scripture was wrong.

To the Jews, it appeared that healing people on the Sabbath was wrong because it was “work.”

But if they had looked carefully at all of the scriptures, they would have discovered it is always lawful to do good. (Matthew 12:12)

Sometimes Christians make the same mistake. They look at a scripture and they misinterpret it. Why? Because they miss the context of the passage.

Sometimes it’s the immediate context of the scripture. Sometimes, it’s the context of all of scripture.

What do I mean?

We saw one example of this in John 6, where Jesus talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood.

Taken out of its immediate context, it sounds very gruesome. Put into its context, we see that Jesus is talking figuratively. That if we come to him (eat his flesh) and put our faith in him (drink his blood), we’ll have eternal life.

I had a friend point out another passage in which Jesus was anointed with very expensive oil. His disciples then sharply criticized the woman who did this (Mary of Bethany), saying she should have helped the poor instead by selling the perfume.

But Jesus told them, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.” (Matthew 26:11)

My friend commented, “How arrogant Jesus was being.”

But he failed to take two things into account.

First, in the book of John, we find that Judas, the main person who criticized Mary, had no actual concern for the poor. He was actually embezzling money from all they collected for the poor. (John 12:6)

Second, Jesus was actually quoting a scripture from Deuteronomy 15:11, which says,

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Jesus’ point then was not that the poor weren’t important. He was saying, “There will always be poor people and we should help them as we have been.

“But you won’t always have the chance to show love for me. She’s taking that opportunity while she can. So don’t criticize her for that.”

So in the whole context of scripture, Jesus wasn’t being arrogant at all; he was simply defending Mary’s actions against a hypocritical disciple’s criticism.

But when we pull a scripture out of context, it’s easy to make the kind of mistake my friend did.

Let us be careful then, how we read scripture. Let us take in the immediate context of what we read, as well as the whole of scripture.

Only in doing so can we make right judgments about what it is saying.

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John John 7

Judging people rightly

John

It’s a little unusual that I linger on a passage very long in this blog, but there just seem to be a number of little nuggets here that I think are worth thinking about.

In this verse, Jesus told the Jews,

Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. (John 7:24)

Why did he tell them this? Two reasons, one of which we’ll look at today, the other of which we’ll look at tomorrow.

The first reason was that the people were saying of him,

How did this man get such learning without having studied? (John 7:15)

In other words, “He’s a simple carpenter. He’s no scholar, what can we possibly learn from him?”

As a result, many turned off what he said as having no relevance or authority.

In the same way, it can be easy sometimes to judge a speaker by their appearance, education, or background.

A person may not look so sharp, may have a humble background, have little or no formal Bible training, and yet God himself can speak through them if we’ll just listen.

But if we are too focused on their age, their appearance, their background, or their training, we can miss the things God wants to say to us through these people.

I’m not just talking about pastors and teachers, by the way. God can speak to us through anyone in whom his Holy Spirit dwells, even the smallest child.

But how often do we miss what he’s saying because we judge the vessel by which he speaks?

On the other hand, a person may be very charismatic, speak very eloquently, and yet say things that would lead us astray from God if we follow what they say.

So let us never judge a person by their appearance whether good or bad. Rather, let us look at the substance of what they are saying, and the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in their lives.

And if we do, we’ll be surprised by how often God uses them to speak to us.

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John John 7

Who are we serving?

John

As I was reading through this passage yesterday, these verses really struck me, particularly as a teacher of God’s Word.

My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.

If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (John 7:16-18)

The question I ask myself is, “Where is my teaching coming from? Is it coming from myself? Or is it coming from God?

“Why do I speak? Is it for my own honor that people might be impressed by me? Or is it for the glory of God?”

As Christians, we are to be people of truth with nothing false about us. Not just the pastors and teachers, but all of us.

But if we are to be people of truth, we need to be clear on who we are serving. We need to be clear about whose honor we are seeking.

Are we simply seeking our own honor? Or are we seeking God’s?

Are we truly serving God? Or are we simply serving ourselves in God’s name?

If we are merely seeking our own honor, if we are seeking the praise of men, we will tend to water down the gospel that God has given us to share…if we share it at all.

Or like the Pharisees, we become hypocrites, pretending to seek God, but in reality seeking the praise of the people around us.

Who are you serving? Whose honor are you seeking?

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John John 7

Who is this Jesus?

John

The question the disciples faced in Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13), the rest of the Jews now faced in Jerusalem.

There was certainly no shortage of ideas.

Some thought he was just a good man. Others thought he was a prophet.

Still others, including the religious leaders, were certain he was a deceiver and demon possessed.

And finally, there were some, like the disciples who thought he was indeed the Messiah.

Why was there such confusion?

One reason was confusion concerning what the Christ would be. Apparently, some thought he would appear from nowhere in spectacular fashion, and yet they knew where Jesus was from and who his parents were (or so they thought).

Not only that, they knew him as an “uneducated man,” at least compared to the great “scholars” of the time.

Another reason was that he shattered the traditions they held dear.

According to the Jewish leaders, he “broke” the Sabbath by healing a man (John 5), when in fact, he showed them it was always lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

But they could not let go of their own way of thinking, more than anything because of their pride. They “knew” the law, and weren’t going to let this uneducated carpenter tell them any different.

A third reason was that the Jewish leaders didn’t know their scriptures as well as they thought they did. They scalded Nicodemus for even considering that Jesus might be the Messiah, saying,

Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee. (John 7:52)

Yet in Isaiah 9, clearly a Messianic passage, it clearly states that the Christ would come through Galilee.

But perhaps the most important reason is found in verse 17. Jesus said,

If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (John 7:17)

The implication is clear. If your chief desire is to seek God, you will find him. And when you look at Jesus, you will see him for who he really is. But if you don’t you will be blinded.

The Pharisees, for all their religious zeal, were all about pride, and were full of hypocrisy.

Though it looked on the outside that they sought God, in truth, they were seeking the approval and praise of men. Because of this, when they saw Jesus, they were blinded to who he really was.

But to the ones who humbled themselves before God and truly sought him, the truth was revealed.

How about you? Are you struggling with who Jesus is?

Then lay aside your pride. Lay aside what you think you know about God and your ideas on what God should be.

Put away anything that gets in the way of your pursuit of God, and start seeking him first, above money, above possessions, above pleasure, above anything else in this world.

When you do, all confusion will slip away and God will reveal himself to you.

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John John 7 Luke Luke 9

A time for judgment, a time for mercy

The gospels

I mentioned in the last blog that there will be people that hate us because of the truth that we represent.

I also said it’s important how we consider how we say it, and the spirit with which we talk to people.

We see the importance of this in this passage.

After Jesus’ brothers went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stayed behind for a while. For how long, we don’t know, but finally he went up.

From this time forward, most of his ministry appears to be done in Jerusalem and Judea, and it would be about six months before he would be crucified.

Before he reached Jerusalem, however, he passed one last time through Samaria. He had previously gone through Samaria, and had had great success early on in his ministry. (John 4)

But this time, the reception was much different. When he sent messengers ahead of him to prepare for his coming, the people rejected him because he was headed for Jerusalem.

There was still much antipathy between the Jews and Samaritans, and this was perhaps the main reason for their rejection of him.

The disciples were outraged. Here Jesus deigned to reach out to these Samaritans who, in the disciples’ minds, deserved nothing from him. And yet, they rejected him.

The disciples put up with the Samaritans from the other village (John 4) because they had accepted Jesus. But when this village rejected him, James and John said to Jesus,

Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them? (Luke 9:54)

They were perhaps thinking of Elijah in the Old Testament, and how he had called down fire on those who had showed utter contempt for the prophet of God. (2 Kings 1)

But Jesus rebuked them. The New King James Version and (KJV) adds the words,

You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. (NKJV vs. 55-56)

Whether Jesus actually said those words are up for debate, but they do capture his spirit.

There would be a time of judgment coming for the Samaritans who rejected him. But the time was not now. He had come to die for their sins, not to destroy them for theirs.

And that’s the spirit we need to have now. Yes, there will be a time of judgment coming for those who reject Jesus and the truth he gives.

But that time is not now. So until that time, we need to be praying and working for people’s salvation. We need to keep reaching out in love with the truth that Jesus has given us.

And by God’s grace, some will be saved.

By no means should we delight in or desire people’s destruction, no matter how vile their sin. Jesus certainly didn’t. He died so that they wouldn’t have to.

What spirit do you have as you deal with the people around you, even those who reject Jesus?

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John John 7

When you tell the truth

John

As I look at this passage, there is one more thing that strikes me, and so we’ll stay here one more day.

When you tell God’s truth, people will not always take it well. Often times, they respond with disbelief, and other times, they will even respond with hatred.

Jesus faced both. As we saw yesterday, even his own brothers didn’t believe in him, and so they mocked him.

But as Jesus told them his reasons for not going, he also said this:

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. (John 7:7)

I was reading an article today about a man who is being heavily criticized for saying homosexuality is sinful. The truth is, it seems nowadays in America that if you dare to say that publicly, you’re labeled bigoted and intolerant.

It is a perfect fulfillment, in fact, of what Jesus says here. When we testify that what the world does is evil, they will hate us for it, and they will persecute us.

That said, and I’ve mentioned this before, there is a right way to tell the truth, and a wrong way. We are to tell people the truth not because we hate them, but because we love them.

I warn my four-year old daughter all the time, “Don’t run out in the parking lot! Don’t run out in the street! Sooner or later, you’ll get hit by a car if you do.”

Why do I say that? Because I love her. Because I don’t want her to be hurt.

And that’s the same attitude that we should have when we warn people of their sin. It shouldn’t be because we despise or hate them, no matter how despicable their sin. We need to tell them because we love them and want their best.

We need to tell them because our deepest hope is that they be saved, and that they don’t see the consequences of their sin. That instead, they would know God’s grace and mercy in their lives.

But know that if we tell the truth, even in love, people will not always believe us and will even hate us for it.

Jesus was the perfect Son of God. Yet people disbelieved him and hated him to the point that they crucified him. Can we expect any different for ourselves?

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John John 7

Following the Father’s agenda

John

Jesus had been avoiding Jerusalem and Judea for some time after the feeding of the 5000, and the falling away of many of his “disciples” in John chapter 6.

But the time of one of the great Jewish feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles, was approaching when most Jews would make their way to Jerusalem.

So Jesus’ brothers basically said to him, “Hey, you’ve been avoiding Jerusalem for a long time. If you really want to get out into the big leagues, you should go to Jerusalem. Go out. Perform some miracles. You can’t become famous if you’re hiding out here.”

But John makes it clear that this was said sarcastically, as he wrote,

For even his own brothers did not believe in him. (John 7:5)

Jesus replied,

The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right…

You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come. (John 7:6, 8)

In short, “I’m not following your agenda. I’m not even following my own agenda. I’m following the agenda of my Father.”

So while his brothers went up to Jerusalem, he stayed behind for a while longer.

Often times, people try to follow their own agenda. Or they get pressured into following another person’s agenda.

But as Christians, we need to be like Jesus. Listening to the Father, and following the agenda he sets.

I think there are too many times that I miss out on what God is doing because I’m too set on my own schedule and agenda.

I’ve got things to do but suddenly God brings a person in my path. Yet instead of stopping and talking to them, I just say a quick hello/good-bye, and I’m out of there.

And if they don’t notice me, I won’t even do that. But even as I’m walking away, I’m wondering to myself, “Should I have stopped? Did I miss an opportunity?”

How about you? Whose agenda are you following?

Are you willing to interrupt your agenda to follow the Father’s? Or are you so set on yours, that you miss out on what God wants you to do?