Sermon Brief
Date Written: March 10, 2011
Date Preached: March 13, 2011
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Falling in Love With Jesus
Sermon Title: Jesus – Human ‘Ifs’ & Reasoning
Sermon Text: John 7:1-53 [ESV] – emphasis on v.5-8
6Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come."
Background:
Jesus had just finished teaching about how people must take Him into their lives to be saved. They did not understand what He meant by partake of my body and blood… He was referencing a future event that would affect the entire world, and they thought He meant that they would have to actually eat his body and drink his blood…
Jesus taught many spiritual truths thru the use of metaphor or WORD pictures. Jesus taught that his body (that would be broken) and his blood (that would be shed) were vital to their spiritual life… just as food is to our physical life, and we must intake this into our spiritual life to gain the eternal life it represents… we cannot survive spiritually without Christ!
This teaching angered many of the Jews, and they sought to kill Him for His teaching. Jesus leaves and goes to Galilee to minister, not because He was afraid, but because His is Histime had not come… his hour was not at hand.
While in Galilee, the festival of Booths was approaching. Now the Festival of Booths was a celebration of remembrance about the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness and God’s provision during that time… and their ultimate delivery into the Promised Land. For 7 days they would build tents or ‘booths’ in the streets and where ever they could find… and live in those booths as their ancestors had lived in the tents in the wilderness.
By Jesus’ day, an eighth day had been added as a celebration of Israel’s deliverance into the Promised Land, and this celebration had also been associated with the coming of the Messiah… it was believed that the Messiah would come during the Feast/Festival of Booths and would ‘deliver’ the nation of Israel again, as God had delivered them from the wilderness…
The ‘ifs’ of Human belief – v.3-5:
Here is where we pick up the story in v.3-5…
3So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." 5For not even his brothers believed in him.
Jesus’ brothers had been witness to what Jesus had been doing… they had watched the ministry of Jesus grown, and they had heard Jesus teach about the Kingdom of heaven. The Festival of Booths was at hand and this was THE time for the Messiah to be revealed, and they believed He would be accepted as the Messiah, even if they did not fully believe he was… but if Jesus was to do this, He could not stay where He was…
They did not believe Jesus could do any good in the country side… they wanted deliverance from the Romans and if Jesus was who He said He was… he needed to be in Jerusalem to make a difference… to lead the people to deliverance!
This verse also points us to the Catholic church’s teaching about Mary and her perpetual virginity after Christ was born. Their interpretation of this verse is that these ‘brothers’ were cousins… but the Greek word used here for brothers is NOT the generic word for male relatives, but it is a specific familial term describing the male members of the nuclear family.
There are others references to the term brothers that are more broad in explanation, but this verse is very directed in its purpose… it reveals that Jesus had actual blood brothers born of Mary.
With that being said, we can see that this reaction by Jesus’ brothers is a classic example of people trying to tell God what to do… Have you ever been part of that crowd… the crowd that thinks they are called to tell God what He’s doing wrong and tell Him how to… and the ironic thing about most people in this particular crowd… THEY do not fully believe in WHO He is…
His brothers wanted Messiah to come, and believed as did many Jews, that Messiah would come at the Festival of Booths… and deliver Israel. Jesus had given them REASON to believe that He was Messiah, but their focus was NOT on the things of God, but on the traditions of man.
When we look at His brothers we can see one truth coming forth from this situation… Those who continuously demand a sign for proof… they do not have the right relationship with Jesus… they have no confession of faith because they demand PROOF… Faith stands when proof is not to be found! Proof KILLS faith because when something is PROVED… faith is no longer required.
How often in life today do we run into people who believe in Jesus as Lord, but are very quick want to tell Jesus what He should or shouldn’t do! This was exactly the case of His brothers. They didn’t truly believe in Jesus as Messiah, but they knew He was popular and wanted to take advantage of that popularity… and ‘cash in’ so to speak…
How often do we see people demanding this and that of the church and of God… they want to SEE for themselves… One ‘sign’ they look for is whether or not the Bible is true and authoritative. Bit by bit God is revealing to this generation how true and accurate His word is… but our position is not to DISBELIEVE until it is proved… but to believe in faith until God moves!
Stepping out on faith cannot be done, if proof is required… Jesus’ brothers wanted proof to begin believing in Him. They told him to go to this celebration and reveal Himself to the world… but Jesus simply told them that it was not His time yet…
They wanted to ‘force’ Jesus to go to the Festival of Booths and if he WAS the Messiah, He would reveal himself there and Israel would be delivered from the Romans. They take Jesus to task for not being willing to be in the big city in the middle of things… they chastised him for ‘hiding’ in the countryside. They try to shame Him into going to Jerusalem, telling Him that He was doing things in secret!
When we take a closer look at v.4 we can see that it reveals that their ‘belief’ in Him was conditional… as they couch their belief in ‘ifs’ IF you deliver on this or on that, then we will believe… IF you perform the right miracles…then we would believe!! And so basically what they were saying to Jesus in these verses “Hey, IF you are the Messiah… SHOW yourself… LET people know… there is NO time like the present!”
This particular challenge to Jesus by his brothers reminds me of Satan’s challenge and temptation to Jesus when he took Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and told Him to throw Himself off the Temple… that the angels would not let Him hit the ground… thus showing yourself as the Son of God! Jesus refused this temptation from Satan and He also refuses this temptation for a like manner from His brothers…
So many people today want to couch their belief in Jesus on ‘ifs’…
“Jesus, IF You will get me out of this mess, I’ll serve You!” OR
“Jesus, IF You will give me this, I will serve you!”
“Jesus, IF you will do this for me or Jesus if you will take this away, I will serve you!” IF IF IF…
BUT Jesus is not a conditional Savior! He does not negotiate His grace… You have to make a choice on faith, you cannot bargain your way into salvation and you cannot come to Jesus based on ‘ifs’
We can see that Jesus’ brothers were in that ‘if’ mode… “If you are the Messiah… now is the time to show yourself!” But Jesus told them, NOW is not my time! Belief in Jesus cannot be based on our ‘ifs’ and demands. We must come to Jesus on faith!
But not only do we see human reasoning and ‘ifs’ displayed here, we also see…
The doubts of Human reason – v.15-24:
15The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" 16So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, e will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" 20The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" 21Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
The religious leaders had convinced many of the Jews that Jesus was a poison and evil. One thing they used against Jesus was the fact that He had healed on the Sabbath… working on the Sabbath was a serious offense.
But Jesus laid out their charge against Him in such a way that it made them look foolish… Here Jesus calls them to stop looking at the surface of things and start looking a little deeper!
Circumcision was what physically separated the Jewish nation from rest of the world. It was something they were very serious about… so much so that they would circumcise a child on the Sabbath if the 8th day fell on the Sabbath…
They would set aside the law of the Sabbath to keep this ritual, but were upset and indignant about Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath… Jesus had a religious leader tell Him that he had 6 days to heal someone… the Sabbath was NOT the time!
Jesus is calling them to the hypocrisy of their understanding of God’s plan and God’s love. God set aside the Sabbath for worship… rest was not to be the focus on the Sabbath, but worship. They had taken God’s plan for a restful and worshipful Sabbath and perverted it… Jesus was revealing how twisted their thoughts were…
These people were taking God’s plan and law and they had turned it into a spiritual cage that trapped the people… where legalism was more important that worship!
God sent Jesus to reveal to the world His love… Jesus did this in His actions and in His teachings. What many people don’t understand is that Jesus was not against the Law… but was revealing what the Law was truly about… it was not about following rules, but it was about a relationship with God. The Jews had used their own logic to come to the reasoning that the RULES were the focus and not the relationship.
Jesus came to set that twisted thinking straight… Jesus came to change that human reasoning and approach! Human reasoning says… what we want and what we desire is MORE important. Human reasoning takes what God has set aside and twists it and perverts it until it is unrecognizable…
Human reasoning has taken EVERYTHING that God created and has changed it and twisted it to perversion. The act of marriage, the act of a husband and a wife coming together in love has been taken and perverted by human reasoning.
It has been reduced down to an animalistic drive that does not recognize why it was created… it has cheapened it so much that what God created as good and wonderful is now looked upon as something dirty and tawdry…
Human reasoning has taken God’s simple plan of salvation and has twisted it far beyond what God’s word lays out… Men have taken God’s word and twisted it… they have taken God’s precepts and perverted them… they have taken God’s plan and have totally warped it into something that THEY desire…
Our human reasoning tries to reconcile our sinful nature and we come up with phrases like, ‘Well God is going to forgive me anyway, so why not…’ or ‘what is one drink, who’s going to know?’ OR “I can take this… who is going to miss it?” Or what about the most famous one… ‘It’s just a little white lie…’
Human reasoning tells us that these things are ok, that they are ‘not that bad’ and that we should not worry about them, but God’s plan is firm, God’s plan is set and we are called to fit into God’s plan, not have God adjust to our plan!
These men had taken God’s plan and perverted it to their desires… they wanted Jesus to adjust to their plan, but Jesus knew God’s plan and exposed their hypocrisy! What about you today… do you try to reason with God? Do you try to use you rationale to justify your willful disobedience of God’s plan? Jesus tells us that we need to stop acting like that and start submitting to God’s plan…
Conclusion:
Jesus’ brothers were playing the ‘if’ game and were confused in their thoughts…
The religious leaders were playing the reason/rules game and had perverted God’s Law and plan for His creation…
Jesus came to clarify what humanity had taken and perverted… Jesus came to reveal God to the world. Jesus came of humble birth, stepped down from glory and submitted himself to the plan of the Father for ONE reason… to reconcile lost humanity to its Creator!
The law had been given to show how lost humanity was and Jesus came to reveal that although the Law revealed how lost they are… God is making a plan to save those who will follow Him!
We can live a lifetime of if and buts… we can tailor our lives by trying to bargain with God about IF He will do this… we will do that… But what God’s word tells us is that the IF approach does not work with God. God is not in the bargaining business!
All our ‘ifs’ in the world does not change what God requires and that is a saving faith in Jesus Christ… anything outside of that saving faith… you are on the outside looking in for all eternity.
We can also come to Christ and then live a life of twisting God’s plan to our desires… I have seen so many believers come to Christ and fall into a rut by demanding rules and rituals be the standard by which we are judged… but the Word tells us that we are not called to JUDGE anyone, but we are called to love!
Rules and rituals have their place, but without love, they are empty dogmas that do not lead to God but only to dissention and bitterness. God created us to love Him and love one another… of all the things this world has to offer…love is the only thing that is going to endure! All our rules and regulations and church covenants will burn away… but the love we have for one another and for our Savior will endure!
Today I want to know where you are? Are you trapped in the ‘if’ game with God, trying to bargain with Him? If you are, I can tell you that is a losing proposition and you will NEVER be satisfied and you will never strike a bargain with God. God’s sets the standard, and we are called to come to that standard… are you trying to bargain your way out of God’s standard… stop trying to do that today and come to this altar and repent of your sin!
Are you trapped in the ‘rules/regulations’ game where the legalistic mantra paints all the picture? Are you so caught up in the rules and dogma of the church that you have forgotten the love by which you were saved?
The church in Ephesus was chastised by Jesus because it had left its first love and had grown cold in its love… Have you grown cold in your love for Christ and each other? Do rules and regulations dominate your thoughts, and do you condemn those who are outside of those rules and regulations?
There is nothing wrong with rules and regulations, but when we begin to judge others by those rules and regulations without love we have lost sight of who we are called to be by God… we are not called as judges but called to love one another. Rules without love… is nothing more than slavery! God has come to set us free from that bondage… are you still wallowing in it? Today you can come to this altar and allow God to free you!
Where ever you are today… I call on you to come and let God cleanse you. As bro Ken comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation… I call on you to come.. come and allow God to forgive and cleanse…
