A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 23
“Christ the Great Divider”
John 7:40-53
There are some things in life that you can be neutral about but Jesus is not one of them. Yet many people in our country are still trying to be neutral about Jesus. They claim that Jesus was a good man, maybe a even a great man, but that was long ago and in another time and it has nothing to do with how they live their lives. And it certainly does not require that I go to church much less belong to a church. They say, “You don’t have to go to church to believe in Jesus.”
In Luke 11:23 (Matt 12:30) Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he Who does not gather with Me scatters.”
Jesus says that neutrality to him is really opposition to Him. To decide for God, one must decide for Jesus. In a cosmic war there are no spectators; everyone lines up on one side or the other. The implication is to be careful which side you choose.
In verse forty-three we are told, “So there was a division among the people because of Him.” In Luke 12:51-53 (Matt 10:34-35) Jesus told his disciples, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (52) For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. (53) Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Faith in Jesus always has been and will continue to be a dividing line in this world. In parts of the world today where Christianity is not the predominant religion it is still very much so. In countries in which Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are the predominant religions, to come to faith in Christ often means being disowned by your family.
You may be saying how does that concern me in modern America? R. Kent Hughes in his commentary states, “Christ brings division to everyday life. We all have experienced this. Maybe we are at the store, in school, or at work, and we are talking animatedly with someone about any number of things – maybe politics or education or sports or even the weather. Then someone says something like, ‘My life has really been different lately because of Christ.’ Suddenly there is a silence and a shuffling of the feet. Someone coughs. Someone else looks at his watch and says, ‘I’ve got an appointment to get to or I’ll be late.’ Another says, ‘Oh, yes I have to go feed the dog. I must be going.’ But in reality the man who said he had to feed the dog did not have a dog to feed and the other person’s appointment was the next day. Yet the mere mention of Christ brings division to life.” [R Kent Hughes. John: That You Might Believe. (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1999) p. 222]
In John chapter seven Jesus has been teaching at the temple during the feast, it had made a big impression on some of the people, but it was not certainly not unanimous and “there was a division of the people because of Him” (7:43). The great sadness of this division is that it means that there are those who choose not to believe in Jesus and by that decision reject the only means of being saved.
What we have revealed this morning are Three kinds of Unbelief.
First, There Are Some Who Choose To Believe Some of His Claims (v. 40)
“Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.”
Some of the listeners were sure that Jesus was “the prophet” (v. 40). This is the prophet predicted by Moses in Deut. 18:15-18. These people like many today, believed Jesus to be a great prophet but not the Son of God. An interesting perspective is to understand that even the Moslems believe that Jesus was “a” prophet.
But a partial faith is not a saving faith.
Secondly, There Are Some Who Choose To Believe Intellectually. (v. 41a)
“Others said, “This is the Christ.”
There were even others who went a step further and said of Jesus “This is the Christ” (v. 41a) and although that may sound like true belief it is not!
If we think for a moment we understand that just a knowledge of the facts about Jesus and even believing them true does not save a person. Lots of people have grown up in Christian homes, attended good sound Bible believing churches, gone to Church camp, attended Youth group, in fact had ever spiritual advantage, and yet have never come to trust Christ. And those people who have all that knowledge are just as lost today as the worst person on skid row. They are in our community. They can quote Scripture verses, and can believe them all to be true and still be lost. In fact they can even be sitting in this worship service this morning.
They do not question the factualness
Of the Crucifixion and they know the meaning of Christ’s death on Cross. You believe all of this to be true, but yet you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. One commentator calls this having a “orthodox head wedded to a rebellious heart.”
But intellectual acceptance is not saving faith.
Third, There Are Some Who Choose To Reject Him Entirely (vv. 41b-53)
“…But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? (42) Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
Some question if Jesus could be the Christ for He was a Galilean. They obviously knew that Jesus had grown up in Nazareth but had they cared enough to check out the facts they would have found that He was actually born in Bethlehem and that He was indeed of the tribe of Judah and of the lineage of David.
Some times people make up their minds before they have all the facts.
As we have already mentioned verse forty-three tells us that there was a division of opinion concerning Christ, yet it was a division in which all chose unbelief.
In verse forty four we read, “Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. (45) Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” (46) The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”
Men (called “officers” (lit. huperetes) (v. 48) -probably the equivalent of temple policeman) had been sent to arrest Jesus. And as these no doubt stood around waiting for an opportune time, they were astonished by what they heard. The men returned from hearing their mission, but without Jesus. When asked to give an explanation of their failure, they gave a clear and yet very unexpected testimony. They said, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.” Considering to whom these words are being spoken and by whom these words are spoken, they are indeed rare and bold words of testimony. But this news will not be well received.
In fact in the response we will see
Three Tactics Of Those Who Choose To Reject Christ. These are tactics that have been used in the past and they continue to be used in the present by individuals who choose not to believe in Christ.
Notice how those who reject Christ behave. “Do they ask, “What is it about Christ that makes Him so compelling?” No! “Do they debate the merits of His claims?” No! “Do they say, “We will hear Him for ourselves?” No!
• They Use Ridicule. (v. 47)
The Pharisees respond to the officers by
asking the question, “Are you also deceived?” (v. 47). It is apparent by their question that the Pharisees, were afraid that the officers had become so thoroughly convinced that they had been come followers of Jesus.
• They Use Peer Pressure. (v. 48)
“Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees
believed in Him?” The implication of their question is that no educated or intelligent person would believe in this Jesus. If the religious leaders do not believe in Jesus, then anyone with any sense won’t believe in Him either. It still a tactic used by the enemy today to make it appear that education and intelligence cannot be found in the same person as faith.
• They Call Those Who Believe Ignorant. (v. 49)
“But this crowd that does not know the law
is accursed.” This is an insult directed at all believers. They refer to those who believe as “this crowd” – or “these people” literally this riff-raff, this mob. They are saying that the common people not knowing the Scriptures are confused. Yet when they say that these people are unfamiliar with the law they indict themselves, for they are the teachers of the law.
It is a terrible thing when one thinks themselves either too intelligent or too good to need Jesus – and it is still happening today!
In the middle of all this unbelief is one word of defense in verses fifty and fifty–one,
“Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, (51) “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
There is a double irony here. First, the
Pharisee had implied with their question (v. 49) that no important person had believed in Jesus. But Nicodemus, one of their own, and an important one at that, spoke up in defense of Jesus. He has been identified as “a ruler of the Jews” (3:1) or a member of the highest religious ruling body, the Sanhedrin. Whether or not Nicodemus is a believer he at least attempted to make them follow the law.
And second irony here is that they spoke of those who did not know the law as being “accursed” (v. 49) and yet Nicodemus had to be reminded them that they were not themselves acting in accordance with the Law. The law demanded that a man could not be condemned outright, based solely upon what a man’s opponents thought about him. Everyone had to be given an opportunity to defend themselves.
The Pharisees respond to Nicodemus in verses fifty-two and fifty-three, “They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” (53) And everyone went to his own house.”
The Pharisees quoted ill-relevant scriptures and taunted Nicodemus as being a Galilean and it seems he said no more. Yet how often have we found ourselves in a situation in which we have felt called upon to defend our faith, and have made some kind of half-hearted defense and then been shamed into silence.
Sadly, in the whole discussion of Jesus there was no hint that they ever got down to the real issue “Who Is Jesus?”
Conclusion
We end where we began with the
acknowledgement that one cannot be neutral about Jesus. We may speak politely about him. We even speak fondly of Him at Christmas and Easter. But the truth that we must face is that we cannot just casually brush aside His claims, treat Him as if there is nothing to really get that upset about!
So let me ask you.
•What have you decided about Jesus?
•Is He who He says He is?
•You are either for Him or Against Him, for He will not allow anyone to be neutral.
•You either receive Him as your personal Savior or my failing to do so, you are flat out rejecting Him.
“Christ the Great Divider”
John 7:40-53
Three kinds of Unbelief.
First, There Are Some Who Choose To Believe ______ of His Claims (v. 40)
“Truly this is the Prophet.”
(Deut. 18:15-18).
Secondly, There Are Some Who Choose To Believe _____________. (v. 41a)
“Others said, “This is the Christ.”
Third, There Are Some Who Choose To Reject Him ___________ (vv. 41b-53)
Three Tactics Of Those Who Choose To Reject Christ.
•They Use _________ (v. 47)
•They Use __________ Pressure (v. 48)
•They Call Those Who Believe ____________. (v. 49)
