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192. Jesus Begins To Speak


John 7:14-24
Key Verse: "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
John 7:24

At first, this passage seems disjointed. Jesus seems to be jumping from subject to subject without employing any logic to what He is saying. He starts by talking about His teaching, then accuses the crowd of wanting to kill Him and then, somehow manages to bring in Moses and circumcision and the law and the Sabbath, all at once. His listeners appear to be as confused as we are at trying to figure out what Jesus is saying.

We are told that Jesus did not even approach the temple until the feast was half over. If He was coming in at the midpoint, this would mean that the festival had already been going on for about three days. All of a sudden, there He is, speaking publicly!

We mentioned yesterday what all the buzz was about Jesus among the people who attended. Perhaps Jesus had used the first half of the feast to simply mingle and listen. This also might explain how He was aware of other criticisms of His ministry. Evidently, the healing of the Paralytic on the Sabbath, (John 5:1-15) was still a hot topic of discussion. The people were also noticing that Jesus did not back down from the religious bullies of the day.

"How did this man get such learning without having studied?" (John 7:15B) Perhaps they were still remembering Jesus' teaching from His earlier meetings as well.

The basic thrust of Jesus’ message for today can be encapsulated in verses 16-17-&-24. "My teaching is not my own. It is from Him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's Will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

Throughout scripture God had told His people to test the messages to see whether or not they were from God. Time and time again the people had become lazy and entrusted that responsibility to the priests and Levites, the religious leaders. Now, these leaders were telling the people that Jesus was a fraud. Why, He had healed a man on the Sabbath, yet, if a baby boy is eight days old on the Sabbath, the religious won't delay His circumcision for a day for the sake of Sabbath observance.

Jesus is, once again addressing a common theme in His ministry, the hypocrisy of the leadership, but He is also chiding the people with letting them get away with it by not being responsible for gaining knowledge for themselves. The rulers are interested in honoring themselves, yet, testing Jesus' message is as simple as obeying. Jesus is certain that the proof will be in the pudding. If you obey God's word and seek to bring honor to Him, you'll know that Jesus’ words are true and you will no longer be swayed or influenced by those who only wish to impress and bully for their own self-promotion.

Even today, you in the pew, listen carefully and be a student of God's word. Do not hand off the responsibility of understanding to your pastor alone. You are responsible to understand and grow for yourself. No plant can make another grow. Each needs to be nourished for itself. You are responsible for your walk. Don't just trust what another tells you. Know it for yourself. If something doesn't seem right because it doesn't stand up to your religious standard, that doesn't mean that it isn't approved by God. Jesus was right to heal on the Sabbath even if He was criticized by those who thought they knew better. Know God's heart better than your rules and you too will know what is truly of God for yourself.

Hymn: "Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know" 

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