Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture- John 7-10
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: Hey, it's good to see you today. Welcome to our journey through scripture. My name is Philip Thomas, Pastor of Journey here in Elgin, Texas. We are continuing our chronological walk through Scripture. We're going to be in the Gospel of John today, John seven through ten. So seven, eight, nine, and then just the first ⁓ few verses in chapter ten. All right. So this is a ⁓ it happens at one of the feasts in Jerusalem in that area. ⁓ the Feast of the Tabernacles, this ⁓ has a lot of interaction with the Pharisees. The ⁓ the the tension is rising. So Jesus is has been doing more and more, getting more attention. The religious leaders are paying attention, ⁓ and Jesus is starting to say things that definitely lead people to begin wondering and thinking he could be the Messiah. And the religious leaders are very skeptical of this, which they should be skeptical. ⁓ however they ⁓ they they were beyond skeptical. They did not believe ⁓ and didn't want to believe. ⁓ and so you see the the tension rising between them. So in John chapter seven it starts off ⁓ Jesus with his family again, his family, ⁓ his brothers, that they just do not believe ⁓ him. They're kind of saying, Why don't you go to Jerusalem now and just start doing all of these signs and make it clear to everyone? And Jesus is like, it's not time yet ⁓ to do that because he knows what the time it really means, right? Whenever the time comes, it means he's going to be put on a cross. Well, it wasn't time for that yet. So he was not going to openly ⁓ just start healing the way he was in Galilee down in Jerusalem. And in verse ⁓ six or seven says, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it. that its works are evil. And right, so Jesus is is starting to continue to plant the seeds that bad things are coming because his message is not popular. Right? It the the healings were popular. The messages were interesting. People were taking note of his ⁓ teaching. ⁓ but the more that he taught the religious leaders were ⁓ against him from the beginning ⁓ and eventually even many of the people will will start to turn against Jesus because he has a a tough teaching. ⁓ but like he says, it's because he is calling out the evil in the world that all of us are subject to, and all of us can believe things that are wrong. And when those beliefs that we have are challenged, it it's easier just to shoot the messenger or crucify the messenger. ⁓ you continue to see that Jesus does go down to Jerusalem. He tells the ⁓ his brothers, he's not gonna go down there. He goes down there but he does it quietly, right? They wanted him to go down, you know, kind of enter in, tell tell everyone who he was, ⁓ if that's who he really was. They were kind of daring him, mocking him by trying to get him to go down to Jerusalem. ⁓ but Jesus does go and he kind of goes quietly and but he still has lots of of interactions. ⁓ Jesus in verse sixteen he answered them says, My doctrine is not mine, but he his who sent me. So he's having conversations with the religious leaders. ⁓ verse eighteen, ⁓ 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. 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. ⁓ and so this is It's very interesting. Jesus knows their intent. They're saying, Well, no, we you're just you just have a demon. We don't want to kill you, but what you're saying is is basically ⁓ blasphemy. And Jesus goes ⁓ goes into defending himself th how they follow the law of Moses. Verse twenty four says, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with a righteous judgment. So he's basically telling them they are wrong. ⁓ as you continue there in chapter seven, There are those who start to to think he is the Christ. ⁓ verse thirty says therefore they sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. So the religious leaders are getting close to wanting to take him, but but God or Jesus in his wisdom is ⁓ is just staying out of their reach, right? They're they're not quite they don't have the support yet to just completely take Jesus down. Verse thirty one says, 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? So they are really starting the the many people are starting to believe that Jesus is truly the Christ. But he he continues ⁓ to have discussion with the religious leaders and just tensions continue to rise. He promises that there will be the coming of the Holy Spirit. ⁓ said the again they questioned from where he is, from where he comes, ⁓ all those things. Just I encourage you to read through there and see these arguments back and forth that the religious leaders are are trying to have to diminish who Jesus is ⁓ and to to try to basically find reason to not ⁓ believe him. So he he ultimately is rejected by the th authorities. See that the religious leaders sent officers to actually arrest him. Verse forty five, the officers came to the chief priest and said, why have you not brought him? So they they didn't get him. In verse forty six, the officer said, No man ever spoke like this man. Then the Pharisees answered them, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rules or the Pharisees believed in him rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. So they're basically saying, hey, us smart people, we you know, we religious leaders, we don't believe him, but you see the crowd reacting and you so you think that he's legitimate. Then Nicodemus, if you remember Nicodemus, John three, he's the one that came to Jesus, is asking questions, where you have John three sixteen. ⁓ Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. said to them, Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing? ⁓ and then they even are kind of ⁓ snap back at Nicodemus. They said, Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. So Nicodemus in just the most benign way, supports Jesus, and maybe we should at least hear this guy out. And they immediately start attacking ⁓ the Nicodemus, ⁓ saying that, well, you're just from Galilee too and nothing good comes from there. Thought that's that this was really interesting because this happens ⁓ a lot. ⁓ we see today, even with just the most benign defenses of certain hot button issues, and people will not engage w ⁓ the defense that you gave, but actually will begin trying to just discredit who you are rather than dealing with the argument at hand, and that's what the religious leaders are already doing. ⁓ Then we have ⁓ Jesus doing some miracles. chapter eight, ⁓ is where the adulteress is thrown before Jesus to try to trap Jesus, ⁓ basically trying to put Jesus in a a difficult position 'cause she was guilty. ⁓ so they were hoping that he or just seeing what he was would do ⁓ and said ⁓ the law says that she should be stoned. What are you gonna do? And he says he who has ⁓ no sin cast the first sown. Everybody kind of looks, ⁓ no one could come up with a good answer, so they all leave. It's it's it's a really neat scene. ⁓ and of course the the woman is there and ⁓ Jesus ⁓ tells her, says verse ⁓ seven of chapter eight. So when they continued asking him, he raised himself up, said to them, He who is without sin among you let him Let him throw a stone at her first and again he stooped down, wrote on the ground, and those who heard it, being convicted of their conscience, ⁓ went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? ⁓ has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord, and Jesus said, Neither do I con condemn you. Go and sin no more. Right? So Jesus doesn't doesn't say that what she's been doing isn't sinful. In fact, it is sinful. It is wrong. But now he has offered her forgiveness. It's a matter is she going to accept that forgiveness and go and sin no more. ⁓ John chapter eight continues ⁓ with these discussions with the religious leaders. ⁓ the f if this is at the festival of tabernacles ⁓ or festival of booze, that was kind of a remembrance of the wandering through the desert, ⁓ where they had temporary structures. ⁓ and Jesus th one of the key things is that God led them by a a bright light, ⁓ pillar of fire at night, and a pillar of smoke during the day. and so Jesus said in his teaching with the religious leaders there says, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. So just as the people had been wandering in the desert for forty years, that's what they were celebrating, Jesus is now saying, That's who I am. I am here to lead you ⁓ where you can walk in the light. Then they Jesus starts basically saying, You don't know me. If you knew my father, you would know me. ⁓ so the again the religious leaders are getting very upset. verse nineteen, they said to him, Where is your father? Jesus answered, You know neither me nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. so they get very upset there and want to come and lay hands on him, but ⁓ they they do not. ⁓ Jesus then talks about his departure. ⁓ verse twenty three said to them, You are from the ⁓ you are from beneath, I am from above, you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Then he said Then they said, Who are you? Jesus said, Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning, I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. ⁓ So they they don't fully understand, but it's becoming very obvious who Jesus is claiming to be. Then he talks about the truth in verse thirty one, says to the Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word and are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ⁓ verse thirty four Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. He said that in response. They said, What are you talking about? We are free. Moses freed us. Jesus said, No, you are just you're a slave to sin, just like you were a slave ⁓ in Egypt. ⁓ so then ⁓ he talks about ⁓ Adam's ⁓ Abraham's seed and Satan's seed. He starts to get very specific here because they're basically saying, We're the chosen people. ⁓ right? God chose us. We are Abraham's seed. Jesus says, Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You ⁓ you are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me, which is which ⁓ which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe in me? He who is of God hears God's word, therefore you do not hear because you are not of God. Right. So you can understand why the religious leaders are getting upset with Jesus. Then this is extremely big statement. Verse fifty seven, the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and yet you say you have seen Abraham. Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was I am. And that of course is the most holy name, the name of God that God gave to Moses. He said, I am ⁓ I am who I am. ⁓ so that the the religious leaders ⁓ well it says ⁓ verse fifty nine they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. ⁓ so things are are getting ⁓ extremely, extremely dangerous. John chapter nine, Jesus talks about ⁓ being the light of the world. ⁓ he is ⁓ heals a blind man ⁓ by putting the the clay and ⁓ the again the religious leaders are basically baiting him to do it because it's on the Sabbath. ⁓ it says ⁓ the ⁓ verse nine, some said, This is he, others said he is like him. He said, I am I am he. Therefore they said to him, How are your eyes open? This is he talking to the the blind man. He said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. So I went and washed. ⁓ and then they keep having this conversation with the blind man and they say, How can we even trust this guy? Go get his parents. And his parents come and say, ⁓ yeah, he's been blind, but now he can see he's old enough to speak for himself. We weren't witnesses, so ask him. And so verse ⁓ twenty four of chapter nine, so they again called the man who was blind and said to him, Give God the glory. We know this man is that this man is a sinner. So they're they're trying to again discredit Jesus. ⁓ verse twenty five, he's answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. But one thing I know that though I was blind, now I see. What a great answer. These religious leaders are just being a bunch of pretentious jerks and trying to confuse the situation and get this guy twisted up to say something negative about Jesus, and so they say this guy's a sinner. He's like, I don't know whether he's a sinner or not. That's I right now I don't care about that. You're asking me about whether I was blind or not. And yesterday I couldn't see and today I can't. I that's a a great, great answer. and then of course it doesn't go well for him. They actually kick him out of the synagogue. Verse thirty four. They answered and said to him, You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us? And they cast him out. Right? So I ⁓ just so ridiculous. But again, many times we have to all be careful when we hear things that go against our preconceived ideas, many times it's just we just want to dismiss them, discredit them, not actually engage in the possibility that maybe our preconceived ideas were wrong. the verse ⁓ chapter ten, Jesus talks about the being the good shepherd. ⁓ he says, He is the shepherd. Verse three to him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out, and when he brings out his sheep he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. ⁓ And then he he talks about how the thief, the hireling, doesn't take care of the sheep. He gets to note verse ten, the thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that you may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. So he's Saying there's the adversary, Jesus is against the adversary. He is the one true shepherd. ⁓ verse seventeen, therefore my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down, I have power to take it up again. This command I have received from my father. And their response, many of them said, He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to him? ⁓ and then some say, how can he have a demon? He just healed a blind man. So y you see the the tension that is building, ⁓ that will ⁓ certainly lead to crucifixion soon. Okay, so ⁓ gonna be a little bit of Matthew chapter eight and Luke chapter nine. I know we've we've read s from those chapters already. ⁓ but then also Luke ten and Matthew eleven. And yeah, let's see how far we're gonna go. And let's go ahead and do Luke well we Luke ten and eleven and the first part ⁓ of Luke chapter twelve. So Luke ten and eleven ten, eleven and twelve, Matthew sorry, I thought I had this written down. Matthew eleven. and ⁓ so we'll get through those ⁓ chapters ⁓ on And are enjoying our journey through scripture. We'll see ya on