Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / John 7:45-52

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John 7:45-52 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 7.
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!
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And in the development of that purpose, John over and over again juxtaposes people who receive Jesus and people who reject Jesus.
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The last time we studied John together, we saw the record of Jesus standing up at the Feast of Booths and declaring,
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If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
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That's verse 37.
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With some following comments concerning the coming of the Spirit.
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And these words caused quite a stir.
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We find some people in chapter 7 contemplating who Jesus is.
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Others seem to believe that he is the Christ and some want him arrested.
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Verse 43 says,
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So there was a division among the people over him.
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More than 2,000 years later, the world is still divided over who Jesus is.
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Now I have a very short quotation from John MacArthur's commentary on this, which is in my notes.
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But I brought a copy up here because some weeks ago I had a very dilapidated, falling apart copy that I read from.
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And just as a little note, I said, I need a new one of these.
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If anyone wants to get me a gift.
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And I didn't really mean it seriously.
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But I have since received two of them.
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One came anonymously.
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One was handed to me.
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And I just wanted to hold it up and note before I read this brief, brief quotation.
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Not just in this case, but I just wanted you all to know how very heard and loved I feel by you as a church.
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Story after story I hear of pastors who preach to folded arms and sneering faces,
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feel extraordinarily alone in the task that they have.
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And I just feel the opposite of that.
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In fact, I sometimes feel bad hanging out with pastors because I can't commiserate with them.
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And I don't tell them how great you guys are because I don't want them to be discontent in the place that they are.
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But thank you for loving me so very much.
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I really, really appreciate it.
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So, again, this issue is still at hand.
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And John MacArthur says this.
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The ultimate question that everyone must eventually face.
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The most crucial issue determining one's eternal destiny is,
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what shall I do with Jesus Christ?
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His claims about himself are far too audacious to just ignore.
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You must do something with him.
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You must either reject him or I hope you will receive him.
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How do you respond to the declaration of Jesus?
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If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
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Do you recognize that your soul is thirsty and it will never find the satisfaction it seeks in anything this world may have to offer you?
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If you do, come to Jesus.
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He is the source of living water.
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Before I read our text beginning in verse 45, join me in a prayer.
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Father, we are grateful for your word for these verses before us and this time we have to consider them.
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And we ask humbly that you would bless our time together.
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We want to behold Christ in this text.
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We want to see him rightly.
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If we've already placed saving faith in him, I pray that you'd give us a fresh picture of Jesus.
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And if we have yet to do so, I pray that you would work that miracle in hearts this morning.
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We pray this in his name.
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Amen.
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John 7, beginning in verse 45.
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The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them,
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Why did you not bring him?
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The officers answered, No one ever spoke like this man.
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The Pharisees answered them, Have you also been deceived?
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Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
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But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.
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Nicodemus, who had gone to him before and who was one of them, said to them,
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Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?
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They replied, Are you from Galilee too?
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Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.
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Now this portion of John's gospel has, surprise, a literary structure,
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which you ought to be familiar with by now.
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It's called a chiasm.
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If that's a new word to you, please talk to me about it afterwards.
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I'd love to tell you about chiasms.
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This structure is a bit harder to discern.
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It has been, in other portions of the book, much easier to see.
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But it is there, and it places at the center of this literary structure the question,
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Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
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It's the helpful interpretive lens we can pick up from that structure.
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The Pharisees asked the question,
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What have any of us done with Jesus Christ?
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You're considering the words of this man?
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Well, none of us have believed in him.
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They use it as a rhetorical tool to convince the officers that they should have arrested Jesus Christ.
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Now my friends, little friends mostly in our church who are learning their logical fallacies,
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will know that an appeal to authority, especially your own authority,
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when making an argument is shaky ground at best.
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And that's what they're doing here.
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It's this question,
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Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him,
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that's at the center of this text,
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that frames for us the opening and the ending of it.
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Note it with me in the following simple outline.
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Number one, powerful words.
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Number two, prideful unbelief.
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And number three, really, really tried to alliterate number three,
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so if you'll hear my emphasis,
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appropriate consideration.
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Powerful words, prideful unbelief,
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appropriate consideration.
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Number one, powerful words,
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verses 45 and 46.
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So the officers come to the chief priests.
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They're returning to the chief priests and the Pharisees,
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and they say,
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Why did you not bring him?
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Back in verse 32 of chapter 7,
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we can see the Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him,
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and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers.
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So in verse 45,
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we're seeing the return of those officers sent,
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recorded in verse 32,
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for a purpose,
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to arrest him.
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That's what they were sent to do.
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Now, these officers would have been Levites.
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They would have been religiously trained
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and selected to serve as a sort of temple police.
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So these are Levite men going to arrest Jesus,
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and yet they return without arresting him.
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And you can get this rejection narrative
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if we back up even further into John chapter 5 and verse 18.
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Why have they sent the officers to arrest him?
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He's back in town at a previous visit.
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He said some massive things about himself.
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He did some healing on the Sabbath.
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And chapter 5 verse 18 says,
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This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him,
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because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
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but he was even calling God his own Father,
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making himself equal with God.
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So that's what's going on here.
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This is the intent of this arrest.
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To seize him, to bring him,
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and to have him put to death.
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From our text last time we were in John chapter 7 verse 44,
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some of them wanted to arrest him,
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but no one laid hands on him.
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We've talked extensively about God's timeline here
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and it being obeyed really by everybody in Providence.
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And so it's not yet been time for him to be arrested.
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And so these officers return and the question is asked,
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Why did you not bring him?
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And their answer, verse 46, is,
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No one ever spoke like this man.
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Powerful words.
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What has he said in between their being sent in verse 32
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and their return in verse 45?
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You can see in verse 33 and 34,
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he says,
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I will be with you a little longer,
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and then I am going to him who sent me.
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Remember previously he's made claims about God being his Father.
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Father, you will seek me and you will not find me where I am.
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You cannot come.
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And then in verse 37 we see,
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On the last day of the feast, the great day,
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the feast of booths,
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Jesus stood up and cried out,
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If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
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Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said,
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out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
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So these are the things that Jesus has said,
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these officers have heard,
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and they report back,
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No one ever spoke like this man.
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I'm not entirely sure what is happening in the minds of these officers,
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what's perhaps stirring in their hearts.
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But it would seem that they,
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religiously trained men,
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are just unsure at this point what they are to do with him.
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The question hangs for them.
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His words to them are strange.
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He is declaring to be God.
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He is offering to eternally satisfy souls.
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These officers, as far as we can tell,
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do not accept him as the Christ,
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but they also do not arrest him.
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Once again, MacArthur, he says,
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caught between the power and grace of his message
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and the hatred of their leaders,
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they were paralyzed into inactivity.
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Just didn't do the task they were sent to do.
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Oh, I hope these men,
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as we find them considering the words of Jesus,
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eventually placed their faith in him.
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We don't know.
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But neutrality concerning the claims of Christ,
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will not stand forever.
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His words are too emphatic to ignore.
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One day, every knee will bow before Christ.
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So there's powerful words in the text.
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Secondly, there is prideful unbelief.
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Verse 47, 48, and 49,
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and then picked back up again at the end of the text,
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in verse 52.
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The Pharisees answered them.
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No one ever spoke like this man.
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They say,
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Have you also been deceived?
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Notice that the officers are not in trouble
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because they failed to complete the task
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they were sent for.
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They're not being derided
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because they didn't do the thing
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they were commanded to do,
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but because of a concern
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that they were being led astray.
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The religious elite in Jesus' day
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thrived by leveraging spiritual power.
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They claimed exclusive understanding
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of the demands of God's law.
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They added all kinds of tradition
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to it, interpretive tradition.
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Grossly misled by the law,
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and they wielded it to their advantage.
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People starting to think
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that maybe Jesus was the Christ
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caused a genuine fear in them
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that their power was going to go away.
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This is their concern all along.
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This is why Jesus must be put to death.
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Lest he raise up a rebellion
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and Rome comes in and squashes
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and takes the power away.
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A tiny aside for a moment at this point.
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Sadly and all too often,
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this type of spiritual abuse
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still happens in our day.
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Christian teaching
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that appeals to some measure
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of elite knowledge or interpretation
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has no place in churches
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established by and in the word of God.
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Beloved, be really cautious
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when teachers teach outside of the Bible.
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When they act as if
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they go up onto the mountain
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and meet with God in a cloud
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and bring a new word down.
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Faithful Christian leadership
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equips the saints
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for the work of ministry.
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Ephesians chapter 4.
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And it does not claim
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to have a corner on the truth.
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Yesterday morning,
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this is still part of my side,
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we had one of our men's morning meetings
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and we talked about biblical finances.
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And I was trying to come up with a way
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to spend two hours talking about this
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and not just be me droning
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on and on and on,
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which I'm sure would not have been enjoyable.
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And so I just thought,
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you know,
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I've got,
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I had eight principles,
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eight biblical principles,
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and I thought,
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I'm just going to float the principle
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and then set our guys to the task
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of proving it
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or disproving it,
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if I was wrong,
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from the Bible.
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And I was so encouraged
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by these 22-ish men
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who were there
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who all had something.
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I mean,
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just,
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I mean,
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right to the Bible
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every single time.
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And I don't mean this
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as a boast on myself,
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but I'm just glad
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to be part of a church
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of people who hold the Scripture
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as the Scripture
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and aren't looking
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for some mountaintop experience
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for somebody
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who gives leadership
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to it.
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Okay,
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so,
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they're
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abusing their power,
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they're claiming
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to have a corner
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on the truth,
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that's the concern here.
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Have you also been
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deceived?
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And then they ask
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this central question,
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have any of the authorities
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or the Pharisees
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believed in him?
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This is not a genuine question.
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They're not actually asking,
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do you know
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this has happened
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in any case?
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What they're doing
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is they're saying,
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what's wrong with you guys?
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None of us
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have believed in him.
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I hope that you can feel
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the dripping pride here
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on their part.
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How dare you entertain
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the idea
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that he's unique
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in the way that he speaks?
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None of us
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have received him
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as the Christ.
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If we,
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the experts,
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aren't buying
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what Jesus is selling,
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why should
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you?
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Now,
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these men
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knew
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their Bibles.
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It is at this point
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that I
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tremble
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most.
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it is altogether
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possible to be
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familiar with
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the truth
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and not believe it.
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To have all
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the right answers,
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to be able to
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recite them,
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spit them back
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at the ready,
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and yet not
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have saving
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faith
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in those
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answers.
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you can know
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the truth
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and not hold
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the truth
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savingly.
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Jesus said
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to the religious
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elites in John
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chapter 5,
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verse 39 and 40,
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you search the
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scriptures
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because you
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think that
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in them
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you have
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eternal
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life.
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Aren't there
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so many in our
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day that would
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commend that?
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Searching the
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scriptures,
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what a task.
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Yes,
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search the
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scriptures.
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We ought to be
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biblically
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literate
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people
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because you
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think that
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in them
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you have
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eternal
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life.
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That they
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themselves
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are the
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source of
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eternal
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life.
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And it
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is they,
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he goes on,
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that bear
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witness
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about me.
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Yet you
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refuse to
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come to me
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that you
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may have
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life.
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Jesus is
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not here
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devaluing
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the Bible
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and neither
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am I.
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It is
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God's word.
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It is
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powerful.
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It is taken
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up by the
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spirit and
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used in our
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lives to
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bring about
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regeneration,
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sanctification,
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our one
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day,
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glorification.
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It is a
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powerful tool
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but it's
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powerful because
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it speaks
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the message
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to us.
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It takes
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us to
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Jesus,
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to him,
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himself.
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They
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failed to
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see him
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in their
18:59
knowledge.
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They
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had become
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so puffed
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up with
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their
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understanding
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and their
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positions
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that they
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could not,
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they were
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not even
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willing to
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entertain the
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thought that
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Jesus
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might be
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the
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Christ.
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They
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didn't
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skip a
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beat.
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They
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didn't
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stop for
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a moment
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to consider
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if he
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was in
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fact who
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he claimed
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to be.
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Well,
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at least
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most of
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them,
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most of
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them,
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as we'll
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see in a
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moment.
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But before
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we do,
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note their
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disdain for
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the ordinary
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people's
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prideful,
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prideful
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unbelief.
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they say
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verse 48,
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my summary,
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none of
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us have
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believed in
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him,
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but this
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crowd,
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verse 49,
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that does
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not know
19:49
the law
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is accursed.
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So
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spiritually
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superior.
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We know
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the law
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and haven't
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believed in
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him,
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so they
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must not
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know the
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law and
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therefore
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are accursed.
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thirst.
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You see,
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they had
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no
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recognition
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of their
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spiritual
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thirst.
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To be
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sure,
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their souls
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are not
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satisfied.
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They think
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they're
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finding it
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in this
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knowledge,
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this position,
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this power
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that they
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held,
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but they
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are in
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fact
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spiritually
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thirsty.
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You know,
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most of us
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are likely
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dehydrated
20:30
all the
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time.
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Very few
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of us
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probably drink
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as much
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water as
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we possibly
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could drink
20:35
in a day.
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Maybe,
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some of you
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ladies,
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because you've
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always got
20:39
your water
20:39
with you,
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are getting
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your water
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in.
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We're often
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at varying
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degrees of
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understanding
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of how
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really thirsty
20:46
we are
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physically.
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Our
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spiritual
20:51
thirst will
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never be
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met
20:54
apart from
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Christ.
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And you
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may or
20:56
may not
20:57
be entirely
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aware
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of the
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longing that
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you have
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in your
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life for
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something
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more.
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It's not
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about things
21:03
in this
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world.
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It's not
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about
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relationships.
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It's
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about the
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Lord Jesus
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Christ.
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The dryness
21:10
of your
21:10
soul will
21:11
find a
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satisfaction
21:12
in him.
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And they
21:13
have no
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concern at
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all.
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This crowd
21:17
that does
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not know
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the law,
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prideful,
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prideful
21:21
unbelief.
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May we
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not be
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counted
21:25
amongst
21:26
these men.
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men.
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But notice
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thirdly,
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the
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appropriate
21:33
consideration.
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Appropriate
21:37
consideration.
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Jesus has
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spoken words
21:39
of power.
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They ought
21:40
to be
21:41
considered.
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We see a
21:44
man do
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this
21:45
considering.
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Verse 50
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and 51.
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Nicodemus.
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Nicodemus,
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who had
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gone to
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him before
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and who
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was one
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of them,
21:58
one of
21:58
this
21:59
council,
22:00
said to
22:01
them,
22:03
yes,
22:04
this is
22:05
the
22:05
Nicodemus
22:05
of John
22:06
chapter 3.
22:09
John
22:09
wants us
22:09
to be
22:10
sure that
22:10
we don't
22:11
miss that
22:12
fact with
22:13
this phrase,
22:14
Nicodemus,
22:15
who had
22:16
gone to
22:16
him before.
22:18
He means
22:19
for us to
22:19
note this.
22:20
Oh,
22:20
oh,
22:21
the one
22:21
who had
22:21
gone to
22:21
him before,
22:22
that
22:22
Nicodemus?
22:23
Yes,
22:24
that one,
22:24
who had
22:25
gone to
22:25
Jesus in
22:26
secret at
22:28
night because
22:29
he was
22:29
curious.
22:31
You may
22:31
remember,
22:32
he says
22:32
to him,
22:33
nobody does
22:34
these kinds
22:34
of things or
22:35
speaks this
22:35
way if
22:36
they're not
22:36
from God.
22:38
Jesus says
22:39
some interesting
22:39
things to
22:40
him about
22:40
being born
22:41
again that
22:42
Nicodemus doesn't
22:43
seem to
22:44
understand.
22:46
And then he
22:46
goes on.
22:47
It's to
22:48
Nicodemus that
22:49
Jesus says,
22:50
John 3.
22:51
16.
22:53
For God so
22:53
loved the
22:54
world,
22:54
that he
22:55
gave his
22:56
only son,
22:57
that whoever
22:58
believes in
22:59
him should
22:59
not perish
23:00
but have
23:01
eternal
23:02
life.
23:04
A lot of
23:05
other wonderful,
23:06
clear gospel
23:07
expressions in
23:09
that chapter.
23:10
However,
23:11
chapter 3
23:12
doesn't record
23:13
what Nicodemus
23:14
does after
23:15
this encounter
23:16
with Jesus.
23:18
John's narrative
23:19
just kind of
23:19
rushes off
23:20
to what's
23:21
going on
23:22
with John
23:22
the Baptist
23:22
at the
23:23
time.
23:24
And Nicodemus
23:25
passes from
23:26
the page
23:27
until chapter
23:28
7.
23:29
The very
23:29
same
23:30
Nicodemus,
23:32
a leader
23:33
amongst
23:33
the Jews.
23:36
I'm led to
23:37
believe,
23:38
because of what
23:38
happens here,
23:39
that he has
23:40
been,
23:41
from chapter
23:42
3 until
23:43
now,
23:44
however much
23:45
time has
23:45
gone by,
23:46
quietly
23:47
considering
23:47
what Jesus
23:49
said to
23:50
him.
23:51
He's
23:51
mulling it
23:51
over.
23:52
He's
23:52
giving it
23:52
appropriate
23:53
consideration.
23:55
He seems,
23:57
as we see
23:57
him here in
23:58
chapter 7,
23:59
to still
24:00
be doing
24:00
so.
24:01
He's in
24:01
that process
24:03
even now.
24:05
He brings
24:06
up this
24:06
question.
24:08
He says
24:08
to them,
24:08
verse 51,
24:09
does our
24:10
law judge
24:11
a man
24:11
without first
24:12
giving him
24:13
a hearing
24:13
and learning
24:14
what he
24:15
does?
24:17
We don't
24:18
see Nicodemus
24:19
openly defending
24:20
Jesus' deity
24:21
at this point.
24:22
He does not
24:23
make the case,
24:23
oh, but he
24:24
is the
24:24
Christ.
24:26
What might
24:27
be stirring
24:27
in his
24:28
heart,
24:28
exactly,
24:29
we don't
24:30
know.
24:30
But he
24:31
does raise
24:32
a telling
24:33
procedural
24:34
point.
24:37
His
24:37
companions
24:37
stated that
24:38
the crowd
24:39
doesn't know
24:39
the law
24:40
and they
24:41
are breaking
24:42
it
24:42
themselves.
24:44
Notice
24:44
that?
24:45
The accusation
24:46
they make
24:46
of the
24:46
crowd,
24:47
right?
24:48
They're
24:48
ignorant
24:48
of the
24:49
law,
24:49
they're
24:50
accursed,
24:50
and then
24:51
he brings
24:51
the law
24:52
to bear.
24:53
You're
24:54
breaking
24:54
the law,
24:55
is what
24:55
he says
24:55
to them.
24:57
Doesn't
24:57
our law
24:58
say,
24:59
is what
24:59
he says
24:59
to them.
25:00
He's
25:01
indicting
25:01
them as
25:02
men who
25:03
do not
25:04
practice
25:05
the law,
25:06
and he
25:07
is expressing
25:08
that he
25:08
is open
25:09
to Jesus'
25:10
claims.
25:10
Isn't it
25:11
proper that
25:11
we should
25:12
give him
25:12
a hearing
25:13
before we
25:14
judge him?
25:15
We should
25:16
think about
25:16
what it
25:17
is that
25:18
he's
25:19
saying.
25:20
Why not
25:20
hear him
25:21
out?
25:22
Nicodemus
25:22
asks.
25:25
So what
25:26
becomes of
25:26
him?
25:27
This is
25:28
all we
25:28
see here
25:29
in chapter
25:29
seven.
25:32
The man
25:32
who first
25:33
comes in
25:33
secret at
25:34
night,
25:35
then procedurally
25:36
defends Jesus
25:37
amongst the
25:38
religious leaders.
25:39
I am so
25:42
grateful that
25:44
we know.
25:44
Do you
25:45
know what
25:45
happens in
25:46
Nicodemus?
25:47
John records
25:48
for us in
25:48
chapter 19
25:49
and verse
25:50
39.
25:52
After
25:52
Jesus'
25:54
crucifixion
25:54
and before
25:55
his
25:55
resurrection,
25:57
verse 39
25:58
says,
26:00
Nicodemus
26:00
also,
26:02
who earlier
26:04
had come to
26:05
Jesus by
26:05
night.
26:06
John's doing
26:07
there.
26:07
That same
26:09
one is what
26:10
he's saying.
26:10
Remember that
26:11
one that
26:11
came in
26:11
secret?
26:13
Who earlier
26:13
had come to
26:14
Jesus by
26:14
night,
26:15
came bringing
26:16
a mixture
26:17
of myrrh
26:19
and aloes
26:20
about 75
26:21
pounds in
26:24
weight.
26:25
So he
26:26
brings the
26:28
embalming
26:29
spices when
26:30
Jesus is taken
26:31
down off the
26:33
cross.
26:34
And there's
26:35
this little
26:36
detail.
26:37
why the
26:39
detail,
26:39
John?
26:40
Why are we
26:40
talking about
26:41
75 pounds
26:43
of spices?
26:47
It's because
26:48
John means to
26:49
tell us that
26:50
he would not
26:50
have done this
26:51
by himself.
26:52
This is no
26:53
longer being
26:54
done in
26:55
secret.
26:57
This is Jesus
26:57
being taken
26:58
down off the
26:59
cross.
27:00
This is
27:00
Nicodemus,
27:01
a man of
27:02
stature,
27:02
coming with
27:03
servants in
27:04
the daytime.
27:05
a whole
27:06
parade of
27:07
people coming
27:08
to carry
27:09
this,
27:11
that Jesus
27:11
may be laid
27:12
to rest
27:13
in the
27:14
tomb.
27:15
It's
27:16
phenomenal.
27:18
Nicodemus
27:18
grew in
27:21
grace.
27:22
We get to
27:23
see that.
27:23
John chapter
27:24
3 through
27:25
John chapter
27:27
19.
27:28
One of the
27:28
ones in the
27:29
text that
27:30
receives
27:31
Jesus.
27:32
Now,
27:33
certainly there
27:34
was a point
27:34
of his
27:35
conversion.
27:36
John doesn't
27:37
record that
27:37
for us.
27:37
A point that
27:38
he was
27:38
spiritually dead
27:40
and then
27:40
became
27:40
spiritually
27:41
alive.
27:43
In your
27:44
bulletin,
27:45
the historic
27:46
quote today
27:46
says,
27:47
from Thomas
27:47
Watson,
27:48
to every
27:48
believer,
27:49
the debt
27:50
book is
27:50
crossed out.
27:51
The black
27:52
lines of
27:53
sin are
27:53
crossed out
27:54
in the
27:54
red lines
27:55
of Christ's
27:57
blood.
27:57
There's a
27:58
point at
27:58
which that
27:59
happens.
28:01
You are
28:01
unforgiven
28:02
and now
28:03
you are
28:04
forgiven.
28:06
But I
28:07
think more
28:08
often than
28:08
not,
28:10
people are
28:10
drawn to
28:11
Christ in
28:12
a process.
28:14
I think
28:14
that Nicodemus'
28:15
story ought
28:16
to encourage
28:17
many of
28:18
us who
28:19
didn't find
28:20
ourselves in
28:21
some squalor
28:23
of sin,
28:24
some sin
28:25
that the
28:26
world might
28:27
measure as
28:27
great,
28:28
and then we
28:28
suddenly snapped
28:30
and all of a
28:30
sudden our
28:31
life was
28:31
dramatically
28:32
different after
28:33
the fact,
28:34
but bit
28:35
by bit,
28:36
degree by
28:36
degree,
28:38
here we
28:38
have a
28:38
man who
28:39
was trained
28:39
in the
28:40
Bible,
28:40
who from
28:41
everybody's
28:42
perspective was
28:43
upright,
28:43
who was doing
28:44
everything that
28:45
should be done
28:46
to please
28:46
God,
28:48
and he's
28:50
made curious
28:50
about these
28:52
claims of
28:53
Jesus,
28:54
and he
28:55
approaches
28:55
him first
28:57
shamefully,
28:58
and then he's
28:59
willing to stand
29:00
up for him a
29:00
bit amongst
29:01
his companions,
29:03
and then
29:04
finally a bold
29:05
proclamation that
29:07
he's a follower
29:07
of Jesus at
29:09
his death.
29:12
Now the
29:13
response to
29:14
Nicodemus takes
29:15
us back to the
29:16
second point.
29:17
If you were
29:18
listening carefully,
29:18
you may have
29:19
noted there I
29:19
said verse 52,
29:20
and I didn't say
29:21
anything about it.
29:21
Well, here we
29:21
are now in the
29:22
text.
29:23
prideful
29:24
unbelief.
29:29
They are brutal
29:30
in their response
29:31
to Nicodemus.
29:32
Don't miss
29:33
what's going on
29:35
here.
29:35
I try to read
29:36
it with some
29:36
measure of
29:37
tone, but I
29:38
don't want to
29:39
be an actor,
29:40
so I have to
29:42
dial down the
29:43
way they
29:43
probably sounded.
29:45
They replied,
29:47
are you from
29:47
Galilee too?
29:50
Search and see
29:51
that no prophet
29:52
arises from
29:53
Galilee.
29:55
This is
29:56
mockery.
29:57
They're saying,
29:58
are you defending
29:59
him because you
30:00
are also from
30:01
the sticks?
30:03
You're from the
30:03
country?
30:04
You're a bumpkin
30:05
out there?
30:07
For some reason
30:07
you see the need
30:08
to take up for
30:09
him?
30:11
They know that
30:11
Nicodemus isn't
30:12
from Galilee.
30:13
They're very aware
30:14
of this.
30:19
And then notice
30:20
they say,
30:21
search and see.
30:23
No prophet
30:24
arises from
30:27
Galilee.
30:28
Again, these
30:28
are the religious
30:29
elite.
30:30
These are the
30:31
men who knew
30:32
their Bibles.
30:36
What's really
30:36
interesting at this
30:37
point is that
30:39
there is a
30:39
prophet that
30:40
arises from
30:41
Galilee.
30:42
Jonah undoubtedly
30:43
arises from
30:45
Galilee.
30:46
If they're
30:47
appealing to
30:48
their authority
30:48
in this text,
30:49
at this point
30:49
everybody ought
30:50
to go,
30:50
ah, you
30:51
don't have a
30:51
clue what
30:51
you're talking
30:52
about.
30:53
Yeah.
30:54
If we search
30:55
and see the
30:55
scriptures,
30:56
there is a
30:57
prophet who
30:57
arises from
30:58
Galilee.
30:59
And some
31:00
scholars, there's
31:00
a pretty good
31:01
case to be
31:01
made that
31:02
also Nahum
31:02
and Hosea
31:03
and there's
31:03
some other
31:04
possibilities as
31:05
well.
31:05
but we
31:05
know factually
31:07
Jonah.
31:08
Jonah was
31:09
from Galilee.
31:10
They have no
31:11
idea what
31:12
they're talking
31:12
about.
31:14
They have
31:15
used the
31:15
Bible to
31:16
build platforms
31:17
for themselves.
31:19
They are not
31:19
seeking to
31:21
please the
31:22
Lord.
31:23
They accuse
31:24
Nicodemus of
31:25
being ignorant
31:26
of his Bible.
31:27
Instead,
31:29
their ignorance
31:29
is exposed.
31:35
This is a
31:36
tactic of
31:37
the
31:38
deconstructionists
31:39
of our
31:40
day.
31:41
Those who
31:42
would have
31:43
people who
31:43
once professed
31:44
to be
31:44
Christians no
31:45
longer be
31:45
Christians.
31:46
With great
31:47
confidence,
31:48
they make
31:48
outlandish
31:49
claims about
31:50
the Bible
31:51
and people
31:52
just eat it
31:52
up.
31:53
You've
31:53
probably heard
31:54
people make
31:54
these kinds
31:55
of claims.
31:57
Say things
31:58
that are just
31:58
false about
32:00
the Scripture,
32:00
but they say
32:00
it with such
32:01
confidence,
32:01
no one wants
32:02
to do the
32:02
work to
32:03
actually go
32:03
and see.
32:04
Is that
32:04
something that
32:04
the Bible
32:05
actually says?
32:08
It's
32:09
happening all
32:10
the time.
32:12
Beloved,
32:13
we need to
32:14
confirm and
32:15
defend the
32:17
Scriptures.
32:18
We need the
32:18
people who
32:19
say, no,
32:20
that's not at
32:21
all what's
32:22
happening in
32:22
this grand
32:24
narrative of
32:25
God's redemptive
32:25
work for
32:27
his people.
32:28
Yes, our
32:30
God is full
32:32
of wrath,
32:33
but he's
32:33
also full
32:35
of mercy.
32:37
There's a
32:38
popular
32:39
pastor who
32:40
has suggested
32:40
in our
32:41
gospel
32:41
presentations
32:42
that we
32:42
unhitch the
32:44
gospel from
32:45
the Old
32:45
Testament.
32:47
Unwilling to
32:48
do the work
32:49
of helping
32:49
his people
32:50
understand the
32:51
Old Testament,
32:52
he says,
32:53
let's just do
32:54
away with it
32:55
so that people
32:56
can't object
32:57
any longer
32:57
in this way.
33:00
Confirm
33:00
and defend
33:02
the Scriptures
33:03
for they
33:04
express to
33:05
us our
33:06
God.
33:08
We want to
33:09
know him
33:10
by the book
33:11
that he
33:12
wrote
33:13
and share
33:14
him with
33:15
others.
33:16
So confirm
33:17
and defend
33:17
the Scriptures
33:18
for the glory
33:19
of our God
33:20
and for
33:21
the good
33:22
of people.
33:26
Powerful
33:26
words,
33:27
prideful
33:28
unbelief,
33:30
appropriate
33:30
consideration.
33:34
I'm going to
33:35
pray for us,
33:36
but before I
33:36
do,
33:36
I just want
33:37
to make a
33:37
note.
33:39
I don't
33:39
know how
33:39
many of you
33:40
are paying
33:40
attention to
33:40
our preaching
33:41
schedule.
33:41
We're off
33:42
of it on
33:43
the dates.
33:43
We'll have
33:44
to republish
33:45
that document.
33:48
But if you
33:48
look at your
33:49
text,
33:49
you may
33:50
notice
33:51
some notes,
33:52
some double
33:53
bracketing
33:54
around chapter
33:56
7,
33:57
verse 53
33:58
through chapter
34:00
8 and
34:01
verse 11.
34:02
And the
34:03
preaching schedule
34:03
says that I'm
34:04
going to preach
34:05
that text,
34:05
but guess
34:06
what?
34:07
I'm not.
34:09
What we are
34:09
going to do
34:10
is we're going
34:10
to talk about
34:11
textual
34:12
criticism.
34:13
Why it is
34:14
that there's
34:14
double brackets
34:15
around this
34:16
text and
34:17
why I don't
34:18
believe it
34:19
belongs in
34:20
the text
34:20
at all.
34:21
Why?
34:23
Because we
34:23
want to
34:24
confirm and
34:25
defend the
34:25
scriptures for
34:27
the glory of
34:27
our God and
34:29
for the good
34:29
of people.
34:30
So that's
34:31
what we're
34:31
going to
34:31
spend our
34:31
time doing
34:32
next week.
34:32
So we'll
34:33
kind of be
34:34
in John
34:34
chapter 7
34:36
verse 53
34:36
through chapter
34:37
8 and
34:38
verse 11.
34:39
How did we
34:40
get our
34:40
Bible?
34:41
Why can we
34:41
be confident
34:42
it is in
34:42
fact God's
34:44
word when we
34:44
have little
34:46
issues like
34:47
this found
34:49
here?
34:50
Let's pray.