Obstacles to Knowing Truth
Fortifying the Foundations # 17
10-12-03
Text: John 7:14-36[1]
Come with me this morning to the temple at Jerusalem during the last year of Jesus’ life. The city is full of people who have come to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. As you recall Jesus’ brothers had wanted him to join their caravan and enter Jerusalem with the crowd. But Jesus waited for the Father’s timing and entered alone. Half way through the feast Jesus walks into the large court area where most of the people are. It is a 14-acre area[2] and thousands of people are there. Jesus sits down and begins to teach a few people from the Scripture. As he teaches the crowd gathers around him. In that crowd there are three distinct groups.
Prominent in the crowd are the Jewish leaders—highly respected, highly educated religious leaders in the community. These people have already set themselves against Jesus. Two and a half years earlier Jesus had drove out the moneychangers in this very court. That’s when their confrontation with Jesus began. The enmity had grown over the last couple of years. Six months ago Jesus healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda. They took an aggressive stand against Jesus focusing on the fact that the healing took place on the Sabbath day.
A second group in the crowd is the residents of Jerusalem. They know about the controversy going on. They know that these leaders are just waiting for a chance to arrest Jesus. They are surprised that Jesus would even show up in Jerusalem let alone teach publicly at the temple.
The third group is the Jews and proselytes who have come from outside Jerusalem for the feast. They are not aware of what’s going on between Jesus and “the Jews” which is the term John uses to refer to the religious leaders in Jerusalem[3]. They are just enjoying the occasion and are intrigued with Jesus’ teaching.
The crowd is mesmerized by the eloquence and power of Jesus’ message. Jesus has their full attention as he expounds the word of God like they have never heard before. One of the Pharisees turns to his buddy with a shocked look on his face. He was expecting to hear a country bumpkin from Nazareth. He was expecting to hear a carpenter’s attempt at discussing the Bible. But instead he is hearing a master. His amazement causes him to speak with too much volume and a lot of emotion. “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” “What’s going on here?” The text literally says, “How does this man know his letters so well?” The letters refer to the Scriptures.[4]
“How did this man get such learning without having studied?” I hear in their tone both amazement and resentment. “He did not go through our schools. We did not train him. We did not ordain him. We control these things.” Yet here he is showing all the scholars up—stripping away the majesty of their position. They were amazed but they were not happy!
Here are people encountering Jesus and baffled by the encounter. How is it that a person can have an encounter with the Lord—but instead of getting saved he gets confused or maybe even angry? How is it that these people in our text hear the clear word of the Lord but it is anything but clear in their minds and hearts?
In the passage that follows there is awesome insight on the conditions of knowing God—First the conditions of getting saved—but beyond that also the conditions of growing in our knowledge of God.[5] We know that some of the people did move toward a level of belief in Christ although I’m not sure they were coming to a saving faith.[6] But at least some were giving sincere consideration of Jesus’ claims. Most were not. Most were rejecting Him and some were even trying to kill Him.
This morning consider with me three obstacles to the knowledge of God.
1. Wrong Pursuits
2. Warped Assumptions
3. Willful Opposition
I. Wrong Pursuits
In his answer to their question Jesus exposes the difference between religion and relationship with God. Verse 16 “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One Who sent me’.” “It flows out of my relationship with the Father. What He reveals to me in secret I am now sharing with you in public.” Jesus was hearing from another world and speaking into their world—heavenly wisdom from above.
The prophet, Isaiah wrote (50:4)
4The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. NIV[7]
I want that kind of ear—don’t you?
When we have a listening ear we can have an instructed tongue!
These people had been out of touch with God so long they had forgotten the source of wisdom. They had come to know the word as a cold, impersonal document to be understood intellectually but not absorbed spiritually. They had studied the Mishnah. They had learned from one another’s commentaries. Their ears were open to one another but their hearts were not open to God[8] and they were not hearing from the Lord. They were educated parrots—quoting one another but out of touch with God. That is religion! Today Jesus stands as one in relationship with the Father. Like a mirror exposing reality Jesus is exposing their lack of relationship with God.
Why don’t they have that relationship? Why aren’t they hearing from God? Why are they rejecting Jesus’ teaching? Verse 17 “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak my own words.”
They can’t discern truth—they can’t hear God because down deep they don’t want to hear God. They want to do their own thing without obstruction. Knowing truth is not about intellectual capacity. It is about moral volition.
Is Jesus the Christ? Is he the Savior? Is he the only way to heaven? How can I really know the answer to those questions? Jesus says there is one paramount prerequisite. You must set yourself to do the will of God whatever it may be. The word translated “chooses” in our text is “thelo”. It is more than an inclination or impulse. It means to be resolved or set toward something.[9] Truth comes to those who set themselves to not only know the will of God but also to do it. That’s why you can have highly intelligent people miss the very basics of truth. The criterion for knowing is not an intellectual issue but a moral issue.[10]
We are a people who want to hear from the Lord. Amen? We want to know God. We want to understand His will for our lives. So what Jesus says here is important to us. It is the key to understanding: Verse 17 “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak my own words.” He will discover truth, especially truth about Jesus.
God spoke to Abraham and Abraham obeyed. That set Abraham on a journey. There were times when he faltered. There were times when he got discouraged. But Abraham had set himself on a pilgrimage to do the will of God. He had his ups and downs like we do. But God shepherded him through the process. One of my favorite scriptures is
Gen 15:1 “After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."
Abraham had just come through a battle. There were circumstances and threats that were testing Abraham’s faith. Abraham was discouraged because he had not experienced some of the things God had promised him. Have you been there? What does God do about that? He speaks into Abraham’s life. He encourages him to keep walking the walk of faith.
If you have set yourself to follow God He will do the same for you. Does your faith feel a little weak this morning? It doesn’t necessarily mean it is. But God will help you. God will encourage you. He will keep you on track the way He did Abraham.
In contrast to Abraham, look at King Saul. God spoke to him as well. But Saul never wanted to do what God said to do. He wanted the blessings of a king. But he refused to obey the will of the King of Kings. What happened to Saul? He stopped hearing from God. God stopped speaking to him because there was no resolve in Saul’s heart to obey. What a sad path that took Saul on.
In verse 18, Jesus explains himself further. “He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth.” Here is the basic issue behind whether we choose to do the will of God. Am I pursuing my own praise and honor and desire or am I pursing God’s praise and honor and desire.
In fallen man, there is a basic antagonism against the authority of God. There is a fundamental preference for self over others and even over God. For a person to be in a receptive stance toward truth that antagonism against the authority of God must be broken. One must humble himself and acknowledge God’s sovereign right to rule.
In Luke 18 Jesus told the story of two men going to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and one was a publican. One had a high opinion of himself. The other came with a deep sense of need. One had a reputation to maintain. The other had only contrition. Which found God? Which discovered truth? Brokenness, not intellectual arrogance, is the prerequisite for knowing truth.
There are only two ways to live. I can live for the pleasure and glory of God or I can live for my own pleasure and glory. When I resolve to pursue my own pleasure/my own glory I loose something very precious—I loose an ear for the voice of God. “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Sprit says to the churches.”
What happens when a person makes a moral choice to live independent of the authority of God? What happens when he chooses wrong pursuits rather than right pursuits (wicked desires instead of godly desires)? That person becomes unable to hear truth with understanding. Down deep he does not really want to know the truth because he does not want to live the truth. What makes a person sit in front of the TV for hours and hours but get weary with a 40-minute sermon? Well, it might be boring preaching. But even boring preaching is a feast if I’m hungry enough. Here is the issue: that message from God’s word is really not what he wants to do. So it is also not what he wants to hear—so even when he is physically hearing it he is not getting it.
Look at what Jesus says to these rulers later in John 8:43-44. Here is the other side of the coin—a contrast to a heart in pursuit of the will of God.[11] Jesus says to the Pharisees,
43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire... NIV
What a wonderful blessing it is to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Without His influence none of us would ever break out of the prison of selfishness. How can a selfish creature break out of his self-centered mindset? He will never do it without the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. Jesus promised the disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit would “... convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment...” John 16:8-9 NIV
The conviction that comes into my heart that tells me God is my judge. I am morally accountable to Him. He has the right to expect my unreserved alliance. If I am not fully devoted to His honor, His will, His cause (if I live only for my exaltation, my pleasure, my desire) I stand guilty and condemned forever. That realization prepares us to receive truth. That realization breaks our arrogance and humbles us before the cross of Christ.
What is my most fundamental motivation? What do I live for—my own desire or God’s desire, my own exaltation or God’s exaltation? (The obstacle of wrong pursuits.)
These people are also hindered by the obstacle of
II. Warped Judgments
Jesus moves the conversation specifically to the Jews’ accusation against him concerning the Sabbath. The Law demands a death penalty for those who break the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36). These leaders think they have a case against Jesus because he healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath and told him to carry his mat.
Verse 19 “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Way are you trying to kill me?” Jesus is saying those words to the leaders who are trying to kill him. But many in the crowd do not know all that is going on. To those who have journeyed in from Galilee and other areas this comment sounds crazy. They respond in verse 20, “You are demon-possessed, the crowed answered. “Who is trying to kill you?’”
What a blasphemous statement. Imagine the presumption that must be in a person’s heart—on the one hand hearing the anointed teaching of Jesus and then immediately calling him demon-possessed.
How will Jesus handle such an accusation? He doesn’t even address it. He ignores their stupid comment and continues to address the leaders. Isn’t it amazing the assumptions the world makes about the church. In the early days of Pentecost we endured a lot of comments like the one in our text. Today we enjoy broad acceptance in the Body of Christ. Today we are not called demon possessed if we speak in tongues. But I was Pentecostal when Pentecostal wasn’t cool. There was a day when Pentecostals were considered demon possessed or at least stupid and fanatical by many in society.
Two pastors were fishing on the side of the road. They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it’s too late!" and showed it to each passing car.
One driver that drove by didn’t appreciate the sign and shouted at them:
"Leave us alone you religious nuts!"
All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the one pastor said to the other, "You think we should just put up a sign that says ’bridge out’ instead?’"[12]
Warped assumptions can blind people to the truth. The crowd assumed they had all the facts. In reality they didn’t even know what Jesus was talking about. Rather than humbly asking him what he was referring to, they make a horrible judgment about Jesus.
Notice the warped assumptions that run through this story.
(1) The surprise at Jesus’ knowledge of Scripture. The assumption that we have all the
truth to dispense. If one is to understand the Bible he must come to that
understanding through our teaching.
(2) The assumption here by the crowd that they were in a position to pass judgment on
Jesus when in reality they were bringing themselves under judgment.
(3) The assumption that they know all the facts when in reality they did not.
(4) The assumption by the rulers that they were in charge even when standing before the
King of Glory.
Now in verses 21-23 Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of these religious rulers.
21Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, (what miracle? the healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda) and you are all astonished. 22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? NIV
The law required every Jewish baby boy to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth—not the seventh, not the ninth but it must be on the eighth day.[13] That would mean that some of the babies would have to be circumcised on a Sabbath day. But that presented a dilemma and the Old Testament gave no specific answer to the dilemma. To circumcise on the eighth day meant that the Sabbath command against work would be violated. The Jews solved this dilemma by deciding that the importance of covenant circumcision superceded the importance of Sabbath restrictions. So they technically broke the Sabbath to obey God’s command to circumcise.[14]
Jesus is saying, “You break the Sabbath to honor a greater law yet you want to kill me for doing that same thing.” In truth, they were not really upset that the Sabbath was technically violated. They were just looking for a reason to get rid of Jesus. They were just trying to justify their rejection of his authority.
When the motives get wrong the judgments get warped! And warped judgments stand in the way of truth. On the surface their cause may have seemed right. But under the light of honest examination it was directly contrary to God.
Religion is often that way. On the surface it looks good. It may look kind. It may exhibit a certain restraint on evil, superficially. But that is often just a cover—just a way to hide the fact that that person is really just living for himself, not God.
It is characterized by rigidity. Jesus has come to bring new wine. New wine requires new wineskins. But they want everything left the same. They want everything left under their control. They have worked themselves into positions of power and now they live to protect the position rather than use the position for the glory of God. They have made some warped assumptions. They defend those assumptions at all cost—even the cost of their own souls.
Wrong Motives
Warped Assumption
and it all leads to
III. Willful Opposition
Someone has well said, “Where there is no heart for the truth, there is always a heart against it.”[15]
Here is Jesus openly teaching at the temple. He is challenging the Jews about their hypocrisy. Yet the Jews are taking no action against him. That raises questions amongst the residents of Jerusalem who were in the crowd. Verses 25-27
At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." NIV
Jesus’ response is probably sarcastic[16], “Yes, you know me and you know where I am from.” They claimed that but did they really? Did they know he was born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth? Did they know he came from the Father? No, for Jesus continues—“I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” They assumed they knew more than they knew and therefore they were not teachable. So the crowd is expressing opposition to him as well as the leaders.
On earlier occasions “the Jews” were afraid to arrest Jesus because they knew he had a large following and they didn’t know how the crowd would respond. But hearing the crowds murmuring against Jesus gives them boldness—boldness for willful opposition.
In verse 32 they send temple guards to arrest Jesus. They have every intention of arresting Jesus, trying him for Sabbath breaking, and killing him.
But I call your attention to a wonderful comment in Verse 30 “At this they tried to seize him but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” The Jews have sent these guards to arrest Jesus. But when they get there, when they hear him they can only stand in awe of him. Notice how God protects Jesus. It’s not with a Rambo blast but with a gentle impression on the human heart. That was the immediate reason why they did not arrest him. These guards acknowledge that in verses 45-46.
But the greater reason is recorded in verse 30, “because his time had not yet come.”
God had sent Jesus on a mission. Five times in this chapter alone Jesus comments on being sent by the Father. Until that mission was fulfilled Jesus was invincible. On the cross Jesus will die. He will commit his spirit to the Father. But only in conjunction with that great shout of victory, “It is finished.” Before his time Jesus could not be taken in death.
After his resurrection Jesus said to his disciples, “As my Father has sent me so send I you.” It is true of every follower of Jesus. We are sent ones. As sent ones we have an assignment from heaven. As long as we are walking in that assignment we too are preserved by the Spirit of God. No decree of man, no genetic propensity, no demon from hell can take us before our time. We have the right to stand up to sickness and say, “My time has not yet come.” We have right to trust God for the days and the strength to finish our course.
The enemy hit Paul with stonings, shipwreck, even a venomous snakebite. But God kept him through all that, “because his time had not yet come.”[17]
Ps 91:1-7
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with his feathers,and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. [18]NIV
Sermon Text:
John 7:14-24
14Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
16Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?"
20"You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?"
21Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29but I know him because I am from him and he sent me."
30At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?"
32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."
35The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he mean when he said, `You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and `Where I am, you cannot come’?"
NIV
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Text which is read earlier in service is provided at end of this message.
[2] Arthur Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, Vol.I (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975) p. 96
[3] John 1:19-21( The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
[4] Westcott attributes the marvel to the way Jesus showed Himself familiar with the literary methods of the time, which were supposed to be confined to the scholars of the popular teachers" John 7:15 (from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[5] II Peter 3:18 Increased knowledge of truth requires the child like teachability required in our initial experience.
[6] John 2:23-24
[7] Ray Stedman, “Is Jesus for Real?” relates this verse to the John 7 passage and then discusses the principle of how we learn by doing relating that to John 7:17. See http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/john/3851.html
[8] Matt. 15:8
[9] NT:2309 thelo (from The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
[10] Robert Morris quotes Augusine who said, “Do not seek to understand in order to believe. Believe that thou mayest understand.” p 263
[11] John Piper’s excellent sermon entitled “Preparing to Receive Christ” helped me see the contrast of the John 7 and John 8 verses. He also deals with the need for the Holy Spirit’s influence to soften our fallen antagonism toward the authority of God in preparation for salvation. See http://www.desiringgod.org/library/sermons/86/120786.html
[12] Paul Decker, Sermon entitled “Catch Me If You Can” found on sermon central web site.
[13] Leviticus 12:3
[14] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984) p. 153. Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, p. 265 quotes Rabbi Jose (Mishnah, Nedarim 3:11) as saying, “Great is circumcision which overrides even the rigour of the Sabbath.”
[15] Author Pink, p 387
[16] Author Pink interprets it this way as well.
[17] Many examples could be given such as the preservation of Joseph from his brothers’ will to kill him, David from King Saul’s javelin, Daniel from the lions’ mouth, the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace.
[18] Arthur Pink applies verse 30 to God’s protection of His people in a most convincing way. On page 393 he writes, “They could no more arrest Christ than they could stop the sun from rising.”
