What Do You Think About Jesus?

What Do You Think About Jesus?

John 7:1-13

Dr. James Boice, the late pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, tells of when the staff of his radio program went out on the streets of Philadelphia to ask people, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Sometimes they asked, “Do you think Jesus Christ is God?” The answers they received revealed the confusion that many have with regard to those crucial questions.

One young woman responded, “Jesus Christ was a man who thought He was God.” Another young woman, a biology student, replied, “Jesus Christ is pure essence of energy. God to me is energy, electric energy because it’s something that’s not known.” A man answered, “I think that’s something you have to decide for yourself, but He had some beautiful ideas.” Others replied, “He is an individual who lived 2,000 years ago who was interested in the betterment of all classes of people.” “He was well liked; He meant well; He was a good man.” But most people were just confused. They answered, “I haven’t any idea…. I don’t know.” [James Montgomery Boice. “The Gospel of John.” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985] 5-vol in one., p. 471]

It’s extremely sad that in a country like ours, where one has multiple opportunities to hear about Jesus Christ, there could be so many people who don’t know who He is. Obviously if a person does not have a basic knowledge of who Jesus is, then he cannot trust in Him as Savior and Lord. He would be believing in a Jesus of his own imagination. A correct knowledge of who Jesus is must underlie saving faith in Him. And so, as John labors to make clear in his Gospel, the crucial question for every person to answer correctly is, “Who is Jesus Christ?” You need to get that one right!

But this is also an important question even for those of us who have already believed in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Just as in human relationships such as marriage there is always room to grow to know the other person more deeply, so it is in our relationship with Jesus Christ. At least 25 years after his conversion, the apostle Paul said that his aim was still, “that I may know Him” (Phil. 3:10). The more deeply we know Jesus Christ for who He is, the more quickly we will submit to Him as the Lord of our every thought, word, and deed and the more readily we will trust Him in all the daily matters of our lives.

“After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. (2) Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.”

As we pick up in the text in chapter 7 verse one, six months’ time has passed from the events at the end of chapter six and the Feast of the Tabernacles at the beginning of chapter seven. There were three great feasts at which all the adult (over age of thirteen – Bar Mitzvah) male Jews who lived with 15 miles of Jerusalem were required to gather (Deut. 16:16). In the Spring was the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was at the beginning of the barley harvest and remembered the exodus from Egypt and the blood of the lamb that caused the Gods’ wrath to pass over (Deut. 16:1-2). In the summer was the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost when the first fruits of wheat harvest were offered to the LORD (Deut. 16:9-12). The third great feast was the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles which marked the completion of the harvest season (16:13-15).

Christians ted to think of the Passover as the most significant for the Jews, but it was Tabernacles that was the greatest. It speaks of this feast as “the” feast not just “a” feast (v. 2). It is both a celebration of a successful harvest and it commemorated their exodus experience. It was a joyful, weeklong celebration when families camped out in temporary shelters to remember God’s faithfulness to Israel in the wilderness on the way from Egypt to Canaan under Moses. (Leviticus 23:40-43) It was the equivalent of a national campout.

[Richard Philips. “John” Vol 1. John 1-10. Reformed Expository Commentary (Philipsburg, NJ, 2014) p. 451]

First, The Earthly Family Of Jesus. (7:3-5)

Jesus had an earthly family made up of children born to the union of Mary and Joseph after the birth of Jesus. The Catholic Church believes that Mary was a perpetual virgin, but the biblical evidence is against that view. This passage destroys the teaching of the perpetual virginity of Mary.

Jesus’ earthly family is seen in several places. Mark 3:31-35 tells of a visit from “his mother and his brothers” Matthew 13:55 gives us the names of his brothers; James, Joseph, Simon and Juda (Jude). In Matthew 13:56, the sisters of Jesus are mentioned but not named.