What are we going to do with Jesus?
Nov 13, 2011 John 7:25-52
Intro:
What are we going to do with Jesus? There are lots of possibilities, as we’ll see in our Scripture this morning, but ultimately it is going to come down to you and I, deciding what we are going to do with Jesus and then living our eternity out of the basis of that decision. And there is some really incredible, amazing life awaiting.
Background:
When last we looked at the Gospel of John, Jesus had just returned to Jerusalem for an important festival, the festival of shelters, at some risk since the earlier time He had been in Jerusalem He had healed a lame man and gotten in trouble because it was the Sabbath. The first half of John 7 tells of the crowds trying to figure out who this Jesus is. The second half sees more confusion, and the question – who is this Jesus?
John 7:25-52 (NLT):
25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? 27 But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.
28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you. 30 Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?
32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.
35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. Where is he planning to go? they asked. Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! 36 What does he mean when he says, You will search for me but not find me, and You cannot go where I am going?
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart. 39 (When he said living water, he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting. 41 Others said, He is the Messiah. Still others said, But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born. 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, Why didn’t you bring him in?
46 We have never heard anyone speak like this! the guards responded.
47 Have you been led astray, too? the Pharisees mocked. 48 Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? 49 This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!
50 Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51 Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing? he asked.
52 They replied, Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!
Options:
We see the characters in the story trying to figure out who this Jesus is, and I think it is a very worthwhile thing to wrestle with, today as much as then. The story presents us with several perspectives:
1. The Jewish Leaders: the story begins with the crowds looking to their leaders, trying to get some decent guidance. They know they are looking for Jesus and want to kill him, but they are confused because Jesus is openly teaching and they aren’t doing much about it. So they wonder if the leaders think Jesus could be the Messiah. But the leaders’ attitude is pretty clear by the end of the passage – they are openly hostile. Jesus is a threat, so they reject Him (with one notable exception).
2. At one point in the story, the leaders send the Temple guards to arrest Jesus. Their reaction is interesting – they go, sent to arrest Him, but they stop and listen. First to Jesus’ words about being with them for only a little while longer, and then likely later to Jesus’ invitation to anyone who is thirsty. They hear Jesus speak, and they don’t arrest Him, they return and are confronted by the Pharisees. They respond, We have never heard anyone speak like this! (vs. 46).
3. The crowds: John reports 4 responses from the crowds: the prophet, the Messiah, He can’t be the Messiah because He is from Galilee, and some wanted Jesus arrested.
4. Nicodemus: the one Jewish leader who goes against the rest, and is mocked.
Options today:
So now I want to ask you to wrestle with the same question, who is this Jesus, and report what you hear people around you saying about Jesus. Now, I’m looking specifically for perspectives you may have heard directly, in your conversations with others about Jesus. What are people today saying about this important question of who Jesus is?
Not Much Has Changed:
I suspect many people today react in the same way as those in the story:
- some are, like the Jewish leaders, openly hostile
- some are like the guards – they might listen, and be genuinely curious
- some will think Jesus is a good spiritual person (like those in the crowd who thought Jesus was a prophet)
- and some will believe
Regardless, the people around us should be talking about it. Why? Because they should see something different in us, something desirable, some source of hope and life and perspective and way of living that is different from the way they are experiencing life. I’m not talking about us being pushy or confrontational here, not at all. I’m just talking about us living as God desires, so that the world around us sees something different in us – and not a perfect life with no struggles, but rather a real life that has hope and power and perspective and joy even in the face of many struggles. Do people see that in you? Where might that come from?
Thirsty:
Let’s get into the heart of the passage. Verse 37 begins, on the last day, the climax of the festival… Let me give you some background here, so that Jesus’ words make sense. From The NIV Application Commentary on John by Gary Burge (p. 226-227).
Each day of the festival witnessed a water ceremony in which a procession of priests descended to the south border of the city to the Gihon spring (which flowed into the pool of Siloam). There a priest filled a golden pitcher as a choir chanted Isaiah 12:3: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. The water was then carried back up the hill to the Water Gate, followed by crowds carrying a lulab in the right hand (tree branches reminiscent of the desert booths) and an ethrog in the left hand (citrus branches reminiscent of the harvest). The crowd would shake these and sing Psalms 113-118. When the procession arrived at the temple, the priest would climb the altar steps and pour the water onto the altar while the crowd circled him and continued singing. On the seventh day of the festival, this procession took place seven times.
Now, keep in mind the broader context: Jesus lives in a very arid land; not quite desert but certainly a place where water is a precious commodity. That is part of what makes this ceremony important and powerful for the people.
Imagine the scene – the nation has its attention on the priests, and on these seven ceremonial trips from the spring to the altar. It is joyfully solemn, very important to all, and at the climax of all of this, Jesus stands up and starts yelling at the crowds. He interrupts the ceremonial procession and draws attention to Himself, and listen to what He says: Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.
Is that part of your picture of Jesus – the guy interrupting the important religious festival, yelling at the crowds, drawing attention to Himself and calling people to come to Him? It sounds like the type of person most of us walk away from, thinking they are a little crazy, or maybe that we get upset at because they are interrupting something important to us. I don’t know how often we imagine Jesus this loud, this confrontational.
But for those who listen, there is something amazing being offered. Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! And, for our benefit, John helpfully clarifies what Jesus is talking about: (When he said living water, he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
Well now the Spirit has been given, and Jesus has entered into His glory, and here-in lies the amazing source of life. The Spirit is like water to the thirsty, a picture of abundance for a people in an arid land where water was scarce, and offered to people who at that moment were participating in a religious festival where water was being carried in a golden pitcher and then poured over the altar, as an offering to God and as a symbol of their prayers for rain for the sake of the harvest, and as a remembrance of the God who had provided water from a stone while the nation wandered in the desert. Now, Jesus says, here is something better: living water, the Holy Spirit of God, the incredible presence and power of God with us always, flowing from Christ and into us and then through us into the world. This is what is being offered by the guy shouting at the crowds at the climax of the festival, and what is still offered today.
Are you thirsty? When you stop for a moment to reflect on life, on your life today, would you say it is characterized by the free flowing of this living water, the presence of the Holy Spirit within you? If you thought of it in terms of the water imagery, what is the flow rate in your life? Is it a steady stream? A trickle? A few drops? Nothing at all? Maybe a fire hose? Take a moment to reflect on that.
Now, what should it be? There are times, perhaps, when the living water is a fire hose – we see revival break out and people coming to faith – and those are great times to be prayed for and celebrated. But I’m not convinced those are the norm. There are also times when God places us in a desert, also sometimes referred to as a dark night, where there are very few drops, barely enough to keep us alive. But this is also not, I think, the norm.
I think the norm in our lives should be the steady stream, the continued presence of the Spirit of God flowing in and through us, joining us in all we experience in life, and guiding us in all kinds of tangible ways (some big, some small).
The constant moving of water is an incredibly powerful thing, as we know. Look at the path of a stream, look at the smoothness of a rock under the flow of a river, go downstairs into our church basement and see the power of a steady flow of water.
So again let me return to the question, what is the flow rate of the Holy Spirit in your life? Because here is the thing: there is only one hand on the tap, and that is yours. Your hand is the only one on the tap, you and I control how much we allow the Spirit to flow into our lives by how much we open or close that valve. Now, let me be completely clear – we might have the valve wide open and there is only a small stream or a trickle, because how much flows in and through is up to God and not us, but there also might be only a trickle because we have closed the valve off, or only barely cracked it open a little bit. God pours the Spirit into our lives, at His discretion, but never more than we are open to receive.
So why wouldn’t we all be wide open, eager to receive the fullness of the Spirit indwelling us? Lots of reasons: pride (we can do life on our own, thank you very much); fear (if I do I might turn into a religious weirdo); distraction (when we get thirsty we drink something else and hope that it will quench our thirst, even though it never does for very long); apathy (my life is ok, I don’t care to change); or maybe simply priorities (we’d rather read a novel or watch TV rather than do something that might open us to the flow of the Holy Spirit in and through us).
Conclusion:
But here is the promise of Jesus: come and drink… rivers of living water. This is a life of joy, a life awake, a life of purpose and significance and hope and power. A life that matters, that is not problem-free but rather is empowered to live through problems in a way that point to something bigger, more real, and that finds joy even in suffering. As we close, I want to invite you to consider that current flow rate, and imagine what it could be if you were to open that tap fully. I’m going to guide you in a closing prayer, and invite you to do that right now.
