Make the Right Judgements... Trust Jesus

[0:00] Well, please take your Bibles and go to John's Gospel, John chapter seven.

[0:22] If you're visiting with us, the black Bible in the chair in front of you, you can pull that black Bible out. And go towards the back, find page 77.

[0:34] The black Bible, page 77. Page 77 to find John seven. John seven, verses 14 through 24, we're gonna look at this morning.

[0:48] I'll say this again later, but this section 14 actually, thank you, Aaron. 14 all the way to verse 52. It's best to view this as one complete unit but just, I'm splitting it up into three parts just for the sake of length and understanding.

[1:05] So we have this week, next week, and then when I get, I'll be gone, but then we'll look at the last part of that. But there's just so much there, I decided to just slow it down, especially these 10 verses, 14 to 24, because they really help to unpack what Jesus means here.

[1:23] So again, John seven, 14 through 24, page 77 in that black Bible. Let me read, then we'll jump in. But now in the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

[1:42] Therefore the Jews marveled, saying, how has this man become learned? Have you never been trained? Therefore Jesus answered and said to them, my teaching is not mine, but the one who sent me.

[1:58] If any man is wanting to do his will, he will know whether, he will know concerning the teaching whether it is of God or I speak from myself. The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but the one who is seeking the glory of the one who sent him, he is true.

[2:17] There's no unrighteousness in him. Did not Moses give you the law? Moses give you the law, yet none of you carries out the law, does the law.

[2:29] Why do you seek to kill me? The crowd answered, you have a demon. Who seeks to kill you? Jesus answered and said to them, one deed I did, and you all marvel.

[2:42] For this reason, Moses gave you circumcision, not because it's from Moses, but from the fathers. And on Sabbath, you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken.

[2:58] Are you mad with me because I made an entire man well on Sabbath? Stop judging according to appearance, but make the right judgment.

[3:12] IBM presents, you make the call. Anybody remember that? These are commercials that ran during the 1980s, during the Monday night football game.

[3:31] It was sponsored by IBM. It used to be a big high-tech company, right? IBM. And they would give a quick NFL films quiz about a controversial play from a past game.

[3:45] I still remember that. You know, the commercial would come up, I mean, I'm like, kid, IBM presents, you make the call. I'm like, oh, oh, what's gonna happen? So, it would be a disputed fumble, interception, touchdown, or any other sequence that would be stopped as announcer Harry Callis asked the viewer to act as referee and you make the call.

[4:07] Then a 30-second commercial ran, you're like, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, okay, okay, okay, what's the call? We got it, I got it, I got it. Okay, what's the call? After which the correct answer was revealed. Oh, man, I was wrong.

[4:18] Oh, I was right, yeah! I remember doing that, that's fun. You make the call. Why bring this up? Because Jesus essentially does the same thing. You make the call.

[4:29] He said to his hearers, readers, you make the call, or rather, make the right judgment about me. You make the call about me.

[4:41] You make the right judgment about me. As John's calling us to come and receive Jesus, believe Jesus, know Jesus, today we'll see in these 10 verses, come receive Jesus, make the right judgment then.

[5:00] Trust him. Make the right judgment. Trust Jesus. Make the right judgment.

[5:13] Trust Jesus. When we recognize who Jesus truly is and see what he fulfills, we can make the right judgment by trusting him.

[5:25] He dwells with us. He renews us. And he gives us rest. Life only makes sense when we trust Jesus.

[5:41] Life can only make sense when you trust Jesus. Make the right call. judge with righteous judgment by trusting Jesus.

[5:57] Recognize who he is and see what he fulfills. Jesus makes me whole, giving me rest as he dwells with me.

[6:09] That's another way you can sum up these 10 verses. Jesus makes me whole, giving me rest as he dwells with me. Recognize who he truly is and see what he fulfills and let that help you renew your trust in him and your love for him today.

[6:28] Recognize who he is and see what he fulfills and let that help you renew your trust in him. Renew your love for him.

[6:41] Make the right judgment by trusting Jesus because he fulfills the feast of tabernacles. He fulfills the Sabbath. He fulfills the right, R-I-T-E, of circumcision.

[6:55] He fulfills those three. All of God's promises in the Old Testament, they're fused into the person and work of Jesus, the Messiah.

[7:05] All of the promises that are given by God in the Old Testament, they're fused into the person and work of Christ. And you'll see three specifically today.

[7:20] Tabernacles, Sabbath, and circumcision. Thus the phrase, Jesus makes me whole, circumcision, giving me rest, Sabbath, as he dwells with me, feast of tabernacles.

[7:37] Understand that. When Jesus healed the lame man making him whole back in John chapter 5, he showed he was the fulfillment of Old Testament circumcision.

[7:51] And he did it on the very day that God directed his people to give him praise for his purposes of redemption and rest in him.

[8:05] Sabbath. And Jesus taught them this truth about himself. During the strategic time, they're joyously celebrating the coming eschatological hope when God would rescue his people and deliver them the feast of tabernacles.

[8:25] Because he would build these tabernacles and remind them of Exodus. And at the Exodus, God delivered his people. He redeemed them. He rescued them. So they're looking forward to the eschatological hope, joyously looking forward, celebrating.

[8:38] God's gonna come deliver them the feast of tabernacles. And if they would do God's will, then they would make the right judgment.

[8:53] And God's will is to believe in Jesus. That's his will. Jesus is eternal son. So to make the right judgment, you trust Jesus. The fulfillment of the Old Testament.

[9:08] And when we trust him, we'll see his teaching is not from himself, it's from the Father. And we'll see he's the fulfillment of tabernacles, the fulfillment of Sabbath, the fulfillment of circumcision.

[9:21] And this is the ironic part. Right at the temple in the middle of Jerusalem, a huge conflict rises between Jesus and the religious leaders, along with the crowd, as they're celebrating tabernacles.

[9:35] God's tabernacling with them. God's right there. God's right there. So let's start with this call. You make the call.

[9:46] Make the right judgment by trusting Jesus. First go to verse 24 and then we'll hit verse 17. Look at verse 24. Jesus says, stop judging according to appearance.

[9:59] What were they doing? Well, first he commanded them to stop judging by outward appearance. They were merely looking at the superficial, the outer exterior things, instead of going deeper to judge the righteous judgment, to make the right judgment.

[10:21] They should recognize who he truly is, was, is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Stop judging according to appearance, but make the right judgment, and the right judgment is trusting Jesus, because look at what he says in verse 17.

[10:39] If any man wants to do his will, he will know concerning the teaching whether it is of God or I speak from myself. He's challenged their ability to actually hear God and know his will.

[10:53] Obviously, if a person seeks and lives for God, she or he will be connected to God. But what is his will? Jesus doesn't say what his will is here. Well, he doesn't need to.

[11:07] Jesus had already emphasized this. In chapter 4, verse 34, he said, I come to do not my will, but the will of whom has sent me. Chapter 5, verse 30, he says the same thing.

[11:18] I've come to do not my will, but the will of whom has sent me. And then he tells us in chapter 6, verse 40, and this is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son, behold the Son, and believe into him may have eternal life.

[11:33] We talked about this on Wednesday night for truth and prayer. Jesus did not come to do whatever he wants to do. He came to do what the Father's will for him and the Father's will for him was to go to the cross for the gift and thus for us as the gift from the Father to Jesus is to believe in Jesus, to trust him.

[11:57] Or as he says, to eat his flesh and drink his blood. And so it is the Father's will that people believe into his Son. That's the will of the Father.

[12:09] That's God's will. So stop judging according to appearance. Make the right judgment. How are you able to do it? By trusting Jesus. Trust him.

[12:20] That's how you'll do it. It's faith in the Son of Man, the Son of God, the one sent from the Father. So when a person chooses to believe in the Lord Jesus, which by the way a choosing that's granted to you from the Father, that one will know that Jesus' teaching is from God.

[12:35] That's why he says whether it is of God or I speak from myself. Because he came from God. He came from the Father. So make the right judgment by trusting Jesus.

[12:49] That's the command. Make the right judgment by trusting Jesus, the one sent from the Father. Now, how are we able to respond this way?

[13:00] There's two aspects to this. First, you must recognize who he is. First recognize who Jesus is, then you can make the right call by trusting in Jesus.

[13:12] So now go to verse 15. And we're gonna look at verse 14 in a second.

[13:24] Verse 15, the Jews therefore, and when he says the Jews here, remember this is from verse 11, and the Jews are the religious leaders in Jerusalem or the religious authorities.

[13:35] That's who the Jews are here, okay? Therefore, the Jews, they're marveling. Now, this is not a positive thing. Oh, wow, how wonderful. No. They were amazed in a negative way.

[13:48] Why? Why? Look at what they say. How has this man become learned having never been educated or actually not been trained?

[14:02] Probably in a maze in a negative way because how does this guy have any right or position of authority to teach us? Jesus was an uneducated loser.

[14:15] who came from some poduck town with no formal office, no formal training.

[14:27] Who does this guy think he is by doing this? Really, they're demeaning him and actually challenging his authoritative claim from verse 14.

[14:38] We see he's teaching. Who's this guy? Think he is? He had no formal training from any great rabbinical school.

[14:49] Like that rabbinical, he'd never been trained. Oh, that rabbinical school, not been trained there. So who is he? How can this guy be so audacious to think he can do this?

[15:05] And notice with Jesus how he responds, verse 16. Therefore Jesus answered and said to them, my teaching is not mine, but the one who sent me. Recognize who I am.

[15:20] First, I'm from the one who sent me and this teaching is from the one who sent me. And the source of his teaching, it would devastate any kind of teaching succession or authority of any of the rabbis.

[15:40] See, when the rabbis would teach, they would say, Rabbi, he said this. Rabbi, he said this. That's what they would do.

[15:51] They would quote each other. They claim to their authority by referring to some of the rabbi. Well, Jesus claimed the authority of God himself.

[16:07] This is where the recognize who he truly is comes into play. This is how you can make the right judgment about Jesus by trusting him. You should recognize who he is.

[16:19] He comes from God. You're just saying ancient words. Because he's, he gives words of life.

[16:35] It was an audacious claim. Not to rabbinic tradition, but to God himself. He proclaimed ultimate authority when it came to his teaching, not because it was his own, but because it was directly from the Father.

[16:52] Recognize who Jesus truly is. His words are from God himself. And this is what, how people, this is what messes them up when it comes to evangelism, isn't it?

[17:05] Because we do the same thing when we do evangelism. We tell people, we're merely messengers, man. I'm not making this stuff up. You read it for yourself and then they say, well, so many people mess with the Bible.

[17:19] You know, there's so many different translations out there. That's very convenient. Have you read the Bible? Well, some of it. You contend with it.

[17:34] Don't contend with me. This is what Jesus said. What do you do with that? Jesus is either an absolute lunatic or he's lying right through his teeth or he really is, as C.S.

[17:50] Lewis put it, the Lord. Liar, lunatic, or Lord. There's no other option. verse 18.

[18:03] The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory. In other words, that's you guys. He's talking to his hearers, the Jewish religious authorities.

[18:17] He's talking about them. They spoke on their own initiative. They sought their own glory. Ouch. Yeah. Their own glory.

[18:29] Glory means honor as enhancement or recognition of status or performance. Notice what Jesus says. Again, recognizing who Jesus is, but the one who is seeking the glory of the one who sent him, he is true and there's no unrighteousness in him.

[18:48] Jesus sought not to do his own will, but the will of the one who sent him, the Father. Thus, he's true.

[19:00] There's no unrighteousness or falsehood in Jesus. Jesus is always faithful and reliable. Jesus is not wicked or at war with the truth.

[19:11] He can't be at war with the truth. He is the truth. Duh. And he speaks truth. He speaks words of life because he is life.

[19:23] He can be trusted and he's totally trustworthy. He's no charlatan. Make the right call by trusting Jesus. How are you able to respond this way?

[19:35] How are we able to respond this way? You must recognize who he truly is. Second, see what he fulfills. See what he fulfills.

[19:48] Recognize who he is and see what he fulfills. And it's the three I told you. Feast of Tabernacles. God dwells with us. Sabbath, he's our rest.

[20:00] Circumcision, he makes me whole. He fulfills that. This is where verse 14 comes, 14, yeah. This is where verse 14 comes into play.

[20:12] In the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. Now this is, this is important. Remember, the feast was seven days. On the eighth day, they had a celebration.

[20:23] So maybe it was day four. Right in the middle of the feast. So here they are. How ironic. The Jews had built their little makeshift tabernacles to participate in the feast ceremonies.

[20:34] Yay! This is so fun. To remind them of the coming eschatological hope. And God's dwelling with them.

[20:47] God is right there with them. How humorous and sad at the same time.

[21:01] God was dwelling in their midst. In Jesus, God is with us. We talked about this last week, remember? We have the spirit of Christ dwelling in us now.

[21:14] And when his people gather together, Jesus is with us now. Even now, he's here with us. Because in Jesus, God is with us.

[21:28] He fulfilled tabernacles. And then look at what Jesus does in verse 19. He's turning the tide on them. He's gonna go back to what he did in John chapter five when he healed this lame man.

[21:42] Verse 19. Did not Moses give you the law? Yes, Moses gave them the law. It's a statement in the form of question. Yet none of you does the law.

[21:58] What about their obedience to the law? So, what he's doing, he's exposing their intention to kill him. All the while they're saying they received the law. Oh yeah, we believe in the law when we're trying to kill Jesus.

[22:12] That's why he says, why do you seek to kill me? To truly receive the law is to believe in the one who is the fulfillment of the law.

[22:25] Jesus. Jesus. they did not care to really see that truth. They did not care to really see that truth.

[22:38] One writer puts it like this. When Jesus says this to them, he, quote, made a noose for them to place tightly around their own necks. they were so myopic.

[22:51] So, Jesus turned it on them and saying that they're committed to the law, they wanted to kill him.

[23:01] They're actually breaking the law. And notice the crowd chimes in. Verse 20. The crowd answered, oh, you have a demon.

[23:13] You are a mental case, in other words. You're crazy. You're out of your mind. Who's seeking to kill you? As far as they were concerned, Jesus' words were slanderous even at this point.

[23:27] The amazing part is that it almost seems like the crowd was defending their religious leaders. And now Jesus gets specific about what he's talking about when he goes back to chapter 5 when he heals that lame man.

[23:42] Look at what he says in verse 21. Jesus answered and said to them, one deed I did and you all marvel. What deed? Healing the lame man in John 5 and when did he do it?

[23:58] On? Tell it to me, everybody. Sabbath. He did that on Sabbath. One deed I did and you all marvel, not marvel in the sense of, oh, that was so wonderful.

[24:11] Marvel in the sense of, oh, oh, oh, he did that on Sabbath. Oh my, shame on you, Jesus. A lame man who'd been lame for 38 years.

[24:28] And this is the proof to Jesus' point. They marveled in the sense they were astonished because he healed this guy on Sabbath. Really? And now, notice, he's gonna drive this home.

[24:40] He's gonna drive home what he fulfills and how much they were not making the call. They were not making the right judgment about him by trusting him. Look at what he says in verse 22.

[24:53] New American Standard on this account, literally, for this reason, Moses gave you circumcision. Wait, what? For this reason, Moses gave you circumcision.

[25:05] For what reason? Jesus healing the lame man. What? The reason why Moses gave circumcision is because Jesus is gonna heal the lame man.

[25:23] Is that what he's saying? Yeah, that's what he's saying. Why? What's Jesus doing here? Jesus is gonna open up to us two aspects that I wanted to bring up.

[25:35] First, our need to be made whole and that's what circumcision leads to. That's what circumcision is supposed to point to. That's what circumcision teaches.

[25:49] And notice, Jesus says, again, verse 22, Moses gave you circumcision not because it's from Moses, but from the fathers. Just a little side note here, Jewish religious authorities, you call it the law of Moses, but it wasn't Moses who gave you circumcision.

[26:06] It was actually Abraham. Duh. It was the fathers. Everybody remember that? So it wasn't about Moses. It's actually about the fathers. He's just kind of making a little sub point.

[26:18] And on Sabbath, and on Sabbath, you circumcise a man. Okay, so here we go. Circumcision, we need whole renewal because our very core is unclean.

[26:38] We need to be changed from the inside out. So take circumcision, which is a perfecting, right, R-I-T-E, ritual. It's a perfecting one. That's what we do.

[26:48] That was the idea. So circumcision, you know what circumcision is. This is the deepest, the private part of a man. You cut that off.

[27:03] So this is the thrust of Jesus' argument. Here's the law of circumcision. Technically, it wasn't from Moses. It was from the fathers. A child was to be circumcised the eighth day as a perfecting right.

[27:16] Part of the covenant, perfecting, R-I-T-E, right. What if a child is born on the eighth day, though?

[27:29] When would circumcision take place? Sabbath. Wait, wait, wait. It's okay. We can circumcise on Sabbath.

[27:40] That's okay. Wait, I thought you said you're not supposed to work on Sabbath. Well, some commands overruled other commands.

[27:54] One writer says takes precedence. So Moses gave the circumcision, Jews circumcision, and the right to circumcise on the Sabbath is a type of the entire healing that would take place by Messiah who replaces the Sabbath.

[28:13] Jesus is merging these two promises and these two celebrations into one because he healed the man, made him whole, when?

[28:25] On Sabbath. Circumcision was a type of what was to come in Jesus and the Messiah. Circumcision, we need to be made whole from the inside out.

[28:35] That's what circumcision, that's what it's supposed to portray. Cut out the heart of stone and replace it with the heart of flesh. That's what circumcision was about.

[28:47] He would circumcise, cut out the evil remnants of sin and we're a new person. The most private inner recesses of a person, of a man, circumcision.

[29:01] And that's what circumcision, it would point to whole renewal that would come with Messiah and Jesus did that on Sabbath who is also our rest. That's what he's trying to get them to see.

[29:13] So now, and that's where he comes in verse 23, look at verse 23. If a man receives circumcision on Sabbath that the law of Moses may not be broken. So if God permitted exceptions to the Sabbath law, then are you mad with me because I made an entire man well on Sabbath?

[29:36] Greater actions performed on the Sabbath overruled the lesser law. That's what Jesus is saying. So if circumcision was a perfecting right done on the eighth day, how much more the whole body?

[29:57] This man, entire man was made well since it was a law that was meant to point to our true need of renewal even if it is done on Sabbath.

[30:09] You see what Jesus is doing? See, the law was meant to point to our need of redemption and to be made whole.

[30:23] That's why we're saying, I will glory my Redeemer who brings redemption. He ransomed me. the law was always pointing to that.

[30:37] You don't end there. Or as Paul said that you read earlier, the law was our guide that would lead us to Christ.

[30:51] Lead us to Christ who's the fulfillment of that law. He's the fulfillment of circumcision. He's the fulfillment of Sabbath. He's the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.

[31:02] It's all found in Jesus. Recognize who He is and see what He fulfills. Then you can make the call by trusting Him.

[31:12] You see what I mean? So Jesus, healing the lame man, showed that He was, is, the fulfillment of old times of circumcision, which also showed He was the rest that God's people needed.

[31:31] Which leads to the second aspect. I told you, the first aspect, the first aspect, our need to be made whole. The second aspect, the law of Moses was a type or a shadow, Hebrews chapter 10, of what would come with Christ.

[31:47] The law, we don't, that's why we don't follow, Christian, we don't follow the law of Moses, we follow the law of Christ, which really is summed up through love to serve one another. Paul says that in Galatians 5.

[32:01] That's our true need. The law of Moses was a type, just a shadow. I see my shadow, that's just a shadow, but that's not me, this is me.

[32:12] That's my shadow. You wanna listen to the shadow? You wanna listen to me? You wanna do what the shadow does? You wanna listen to the person? You wanna have a relationship with my shadow? You can, have fun with that.

[32:25] You wanna have a relationship with me? See what I mean? So we don't go to the shadow, we go to the person and work of Christ and what He fulfills. Here's a big statement, this, sum this up.

[32:42] They needed to see that Jesus was the true tabernacle, the true dwelling of God as the God-man, that He's the Sabbath rest upon whom God's people find respite.

[32:55] He makes us whole to which circumcision pointed, chained from the inside out. That's the only way they can make the right judgment or judge the righteous judgment or make the call, trusting Jesus.

[33:17] Recognize who He truly is and see what He fulfills, which is really the essence of the gospel. when you recognize who Jesus is and see what He fulfills and He'll forgive you of all your sins, that's when you can make the right call and trust Him, repent and trust Jesus.

[33:39] As Caitlin was saying earlier, God should judge us and condemn us and yet Jesus died and rose. Make the call, repent and trust Jesus. If you're here, you don't know Jesus, you should repent and trust Christ.

[33:50] That's the gospel and that doesn't end. We continue as His people, we continue to recognize who He truly is and we see what He fulfills and we can make that right judgment by trusting Him and keep trusting Him.

[34:05] That's the only way life will make sense. All which Moses wrote was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

[34:16] Remember he said that in John chapter 5. Because Moses wrote of me, He fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. He fulfilled the Sabbath. He fulfilled circumcision.

[34:27] He is the true tabernacle. He is our true rest. He makes us whole. Or make it personal. He is my true tabernacle. He is my true rest. He makes me whole.

[34:39] He makes me whole. Make the call. You make the call. Make the right judgment.

[34:50] Trust Jesus. How do you respond this way? Recognize who He is. Who He truly is and see what He fulfills. When we recognize who Jesus truly is and see what He fulfills, we can make the right judgment by trusting Him.

[35:10] He dwells with us, renews us, and gives us rest. Let's thank Him for it. And thank you, Jesus, you keep making us whole.

[35:24] You keep changing us more and more into the image of yourself by your Spirit. Yes, Father, thank you for that promise.

[35:40] And we pray that you help us to continue to live our lives like you are with us because you are with us in a really deep, true, personal, genuine way. And we find rest in you.

[35:54] We find our respite in you. You make us whole, giving us rest as you dwell with us.

[36:12] Help us to take that to heart, Jesus. Work in us as your people, as your church, as your body, explain this grace, this love that you have for us.

[36:27] Explain the expressions of your grace. May we be that towards each other. Take this time, I would encourage you to fill your mind with truth, with God's Word.

[36:42] these few moments. Let your mind be filled with this truth, this gospel truth, and be encouraged.

[37:00] We'll sing two songs to respond and pray together as a response. I encourage you for a minute or so, minute and a half.

[37:16] I encourage you to take this time to let the truth sink deeper into you. Ancient words changing me and changing you.

[37:29] Let His Word by Spirit change you. Do that now, please. thank you. Thank you.