As he's carried along by the Spirit, is to present Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah who would come to deliver his people from the domain of the enemy, the power of sin and death.
We will not unpack the first six chapters. We don't have nearly enough time for that. But be reminded, this is what he is pressing upon his readers.
It is not difficult for us to arrive at this conclusion. He tells us, John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31.
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book.
But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.
As he unfolds his telling of Jesus' works, he also repeatedly juxtaposes those who reject Jesus as the Christ and those who receive Jesus as the Christ.
You see this over and over again, rejection and receipt.
This thematic element is established at the outset of John's writing.
Chapter 1, verse 9 and following.
The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Now, I am grateful for the way in which we carefully set ourselves to work verse by verse through books of the Bible.
If we didn't think this practice, and if we didn't find it to be profitable,
we would stop and we would begin to preach God's Word in a different way.
From time to time, we do that very thing.
However true this may be, this is a good practice, right?
However true this may be, we must be careful that we do not lose the forest for the trees.
This reject-slash-receive theme carries the narrative along,
and as we will see in the coming months, it intensifies in John's narrative.
John MacArthur wrote in his commentary on this passage that we'll look at today,
chapters 7 and 8 usher in a new, more volatile section of John's Gospel,
as the smoldering resentment that Jesus encountered in chapters 1 through 6
finally bursts into a blazing inferno of hatred.
And we know this leads finally to Jesus' crucifixion.
In fact, we will see in chapter 8, the very end of it, a failed attempt to kill Jesus.
Jesus undoubtedly came to die.
We know this to be true.
But we have seen that he always submitted himself to the divine timeline.
There was a plan for when and how this death was to take place.
Let me note a couple of places for you that we see this.
John chapter 2, verse 1 and following.
On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
And the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him,
they have no wine.
She knows who he is.
She knows what he can accomplish.
And Jesus said to her, we have a record.
Woman, what does this have to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.
And then in chapter 5, in verse 19, Jesus says,
Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but only what he sees the Father doing.
For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Always submitting himself to the divine timeline.
In the build-up for what will happen at the conclusion of the Feast of Booze,
we see this same submission to the Father's perfect will,
to his perfect timing.
So our text for today is John chapter 7.
We'll look at the first nine verses.
Join me in a word of prayer as we open it together.
Father, we ask that you would help us this day as we take up your word together.
We humbly come to you knowing that we can't do this well.
We can't understand it as we should.
We can't give it the application for our lives without the help of your Spirit.
We ask that you would work in us mightily this morning,
both in delivery and in receipt of your word.
That it would be for your glory and for our good.
We want to believe its promises.
We want to obey its commands.
We want to have affection for you, its author.
So we pray this.
We pray it for the glory of Christ.
Amen.
John chapter 7, beginning in verse 1.
After this, Jesus went about in Galilee.
He would not go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
Now the Jews' Feast of Booze was at hand.
So his brothers said to him,
Leave here and go to Judea that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.
If you do these things, show yourself to the world.
For not even his brothers believed in him.
Jesus said to them,
My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
You go up to the feast.
I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.
After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Now at the very outset, you may be wondering,
Why verses 1 through 9?
I don't know.
If you're like me, I have already scanned on beyond.
I'm wanting to see where the rest of the text goes.
And you might be thinking,
Why stop at 9?
No one that I have read concerning this chapter divides it this way,
except for one.
You may be able to guess, if you know me, who that one is.
Because they most regularly end this section at verse 13.
The ESV, translation of the Bible that I study from,
doesn't have a subtitle break until the end of verse 24.
I point this out simply to say that the division is not inspired.
And so we just want to take up the text and consider it in the most helpful way.
And this seems good to me.
I get to practice a little bit of prerogative as I'm prepping these outlines for the text.
There are, of course, other good ways to do so.
So, why then like this?
And it's because verses 1 through 9 are a chiasm.
Yep, you got it.
They're a chiasm.
So, my intention is for us to follow the chiastic structure of the book of John all the way through.
It's really brilliant.
I'm not going to spend a bunch of time trying to convince you that that's the case.
It just is.
And I hope you'll catch up to that if you haven't already.
So, I put in your notes for you this morning that chiastic structure so that you could see it.
First things corresponding to the last things and so forth.
It's stepping in to a central interpretive point.
It's not always the most important thing being said, but it's trying to help us to understand the rest.
And so you look at verse 4 and 5.
For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.
If you do these things, show yourself to the world.
For not even his brothers believed in him.
It helps us to see that what John is doing here is he's drawing our attention to this fact.
They're asking him to do something which on the surface can seem like a good thing to request of him.
But, this insertion of his, not even his brothers believed in him.
We'll address more what that means later.
So, I think it helps us as we take the text up.
And I hope it will continue to help us as we study it.
Together.
I have a very simple and brief three-point outline for our consideration.
Number one, let's look at the setting of what's happening here.
Verses 1 and 2 and then verse 9.
After this, Jesus went about in Galilee.
After this, sometime chronologically after.
It doesn't necessarily mean immediately following.
But we should be reminded of what was going on previously.
John chapter 6 and verse 66.
After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
It's following a hard saying.
It's something difficult that he said as he taught in the synagogue of Capernaum.
And what we often call the bread of life discourse.
If you weren't here for our study of that, I encourage you to go back and study it.
Listen to Francis.
Francis did a wonderful job of unpacking that text for us in two weeks before Christmas.
Really helpful.
And this huge following he has suddenly disperses.
And he turns to the apostles and he says, are you also going to go?
And Peter says, to whom will we go?
Right?
You have the words of life.
It's after this takes place.
So that's what's going on in the life of Jesus.
He's remaining in Galilee, which is a rural area outside of the region of Judea,
which is where Jerusalem is located.
So he's staying out on the outskirts.
And to be sure, this is a largely Jewish population that lives in this pretty remote area.
And so we're going to see that he wouldn't go to Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
And we know that.
We mean that to understand the Jewish elite, those in power who could put this execution into place.
So he's in Galilee.
And you may recall in chapter 5, John records a trip Jesus takes to Jerusalem.
And he heals a man on the Sabbath.
In verse 16 and following of John 5 records for us.
And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus.
Because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
But Jesus answered them,
My father is working until now, and I am working.
And then verse 18 says,
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.
Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
but he was even calling God his own father,
making himself equal with God.
Because after this episode that he goes back to Galilee,
and he's yet to return to Judea, to this region.
And we'll see him later in the chapter do this very thing.
He's outside in Galilee, not going to Judea,
because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
And we're going to see later in this chapter that this is not about fear.
This is all about timing.
It wasn't yet the right time.
Jesus submitting to the divine timeline that is laid before him.
Verse 2 tells us that the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.
It sets it in the last part of the year, September into October.
The Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles,
is instituted in Exodus chapter 23.
Restated, Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16.
We're going to talk more in the coming weeks about details concerning this feast
as those details become more relevant.
So, I'm going to begin reading in Exodus chapter 23, verse 14,
down through verse 17.
Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.
You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread.
That's the first one.
As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days
at the appointed time in the month of Abib,
for in it you came out of Egypt.
None shall appear before me empty-handed.
You shall keep the, second one, feast of harvest,
of the first fruits of your labor,
of what you sow in the field.
You shall keep the, third feast,
the feast of ingathering.
And this is, this is an insertion on my part,
this is the feast we are seeing in our text today.
It's also called the Feast of Booths,
or the Feast of Tabernacles.
And we're going to spend some time in the future proving that,
that this Feast of Ingathering is the Feast of Booths.
Back to the text.
At the end of the year,
when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.
And verse 17 says,
three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
That's the detail that I want you to note.
The men, Jewish men, were expected to go.
Even those who had been dispersed,
there was an expectation.
I doubt that they all did,
but that's what they were supposed to do.
Attending this feast,
where temporary structures or booths,
would be set up and lived in for seven days,
was part of the normal societal expectation.
which means that huge crowds would have gathered for this extended time in Jerusalem.
This is a massive, massive crowd.
Of course his brothers were going.
Of course he should go.
I cannot overemphasize at this point how central Jerusalem was to first century Judaism.
This is where it was happening.
Pilgrimage was normal and it was expected.
That sets the stage for us.
And then we see in verse 9,
after his interaction with his brothers,
it says,
after saying this,
he remained in Galilee.
Now he won't stay there,
and we'll get into it next week.
But at this time,
in this episode,
it's all set here
in Galilee.
Now the second point,
a request is made of him,
we see this in verses 3 through 5,
by his brothers.
So his brothers said to him.
Now his brothers here are understood,
I think rightly so,
to be the other male children of Joseph and Mary.
They would have been Jesus' half-brothers.
Right?
We get their names in Matthew chapter 13,
verse 55.
James,
Joseph,
Simon,
Judas,
who I think takes on
the abbreviated version Jude,
because the name Judas
became very unpopular.
It's these brothers, right?
It's his earthly family brothers
is who we are talking about here.
And they say to him,
leave here,
leave Galilee,
go to Judea.
Right?
Go to this feast,
so that your disciples
also may see the works
you are doing.
And we have to do a little bit of thinking here
to understand
what it is that they
may mean
by this request.
They clearly
had seen his works.
Right?
We know that they were present
at the Cana wedding,
chapter 2,
verse 12.
We know that his disciples
had seen his miracles,
which makes this statement
possibly confusing.
What does he mean
that your disciples
also may,
as if the disciples
hadn't seen the works
and they need
to see
the works.
And I want to offer to you
two probable possibilities
and maybe the two of them
are both true
at the same
time.
First,
they may
have been aware
of the vast number
of disciples
who had abandoned Jesus
recorded in chapter 6.
After this,
many disciples
abandoned Jesus
and they want him
to perform
more miracles
to satisfy them
before all is lost.
Before all is lost.
The momentum
of his movement
from their perspective
may have been
waning
and this was
an opportunity
to breathe
some life
back into it.
Go to this place.
Those who
were once
your followers
will be there
and perhaps
they'll see
some more
of your works
and re-engage
in what you're up to.
Secondly,
they may have had
in mind
future disciples.
They may have had
out there
some other disciples.
a vast number
of Yahweh worshippers
would have been here.
They would have been there
from all sorts
of nations.
Verse 4,
they say,
if you do these things,
show yourself
to the world.
This is likely
what they mean
here.
But there is a
fundamental
misunderstanding
about who
the Christ
would be
in this day
and certainly
in the minds
of his
brothers.
They thought
the Messiah,
the Christ,
was going to come
as a military ruler.
They looked at
the oppression
that the Old Testament
talked about
as merely
temporal.
It was about
the Roman oppression
that they were
experiencing
and they were
looking for somebody
to rise up
and be a king
like David
in the land.
It was all temporal.
It was all about
what was happening
right then,
geopolitically,
in their
day.
They failed
to understand
who the Christ
truly
is.
Not even
his brothers
believed
in him.
They certainly
knew that he
existed.
They didn't have
to have some
mental assent
to the historical
Jesus.
People today
say that they
believe that Jesus
was a real man
who really
existed.
The historical
evidence
weighs in,
yes,
he existed.
They knew
that.
They grew up
with him.
They lived
in a home
with him.
Shook their
fists at their
perfect older
brother,
I'm sure.
What is it
that it's saying
here?
John is saying
for not even
his brothers
believed in
him.
Believed that
he was the
Christ.
Believed all
that he had
already taught
to be true
about what
it is
that he came
to do.
the fact
that his
discipleship
group,
this band
of fickle
followers
had dispersed
was concerning
to them.
They thought,
ah, we
thought he
was the
guy.
And here
they are
now,
scattering
all over
the place.
Perhaps
we can
make a
suggestion
to him
that will
rally
everybody
back
together.
The fact
that John
includes
for not
even his
brothers
believed
in him
suggests
to me
that they
were setting
him up
even for
failure.
You're not
really who
you say
you are.
Let's just
go see
what happens
when you
go and
you don't
work in
secret but
you seek
to be
known.
Will you
manage to
pull together
the following
that we
expect the
Messiah
would have?
And so
this is the
request.
It is not
rightly
motivated.
It is a
misunderstood
request that
they are
making of
Christ.
And John
leaves no
doubt of
that for
us in
verse 5.
And so
Jesus responds
to the
third point,
the response.
Jesus says
to them,
my time
has not
yet
come,
but your
time
is always
here.
Now it's
of interest.
The use
of the
word
time
in
Greek
versus
the
use
of
the
word
we
have
translated
hour
in
Greek.
So I
read to
you already
from John
chapter 2.
This is
again verse 4.
This is at
the Cana
wedding.
Jesus said
to his
mother,
woman,
what does
this have
to do
with me?
My
hour
has not
yet
come.
And then
we'll see
later in
John chapter
8 and
verse 20.
no one
arrested
him
because
his
hour
had not
yet
come.
And then
much later
in John
chapter 12
verse 23,
the hour
has
come.
glorified.
But here
John uses
a different
word,
time.
I have to
tell you I
was humbled
this week
trying to
track D.A.
Carson's
explanation
of the
difference
between the
two.
I read
and re-read
the pages
that he
wrote on
these two
Greek
words.
I think
the summary
goes something
like this.
I'm going to
try to
dispel it
for you.
I believe
Carson
would probably
go,
ah,
you missed
my point.
But I
think this
is what
he was
trying to
communicate,
that John
is using
the word
for hour
to refer
to Jesus'
crucifixion
and the
word for
time
in reference
to the
details
leading up
to that
hour.
Perhaps
we can see
some clarification
in the phrase
in verse 8.
For my
time
has not
yet
fully
come.
My time
has not
yet
fully
arrived.
The hour
isn't
here.
The point
is,
Jesus
recognizes
that the
Father
has a
divine
timeline.
That he
is sovereign.
That he
reigns
over
all
things.
And he
is
perfectly
submitted
to that
timeline.
God
is working
out
a
perfect
plan.
You see
this picture
of this
as Jesus
submits.
He
recognizes
that the
Father
knows
best.
He's
ordaining
all the
steps,
even
the wicked
condemnable
steps,
to accomplish
his perfect
plan.
I hope
that brings
you comfort
as I say
it.
Peter
acknowledges
this in his
sermon in Acts
chapter 2.
verse 21
and following.
He says,
And it
shall come
to pass
that everyone
who calls
upon the
name of
the Lord
shall be
saved.
Men of
Israel,
hear these
words.
Jesus
of Nazareth,
a man
attested
to you
by God
with mighty
works and
wonders and
signs that
God did
through him
in your
midst,
as you
yourselves
know.
This
Jesus
delivered up
according
to the
definite
plan
and
foreknowledge
of God.
God
ordained
that a
thing
would
happen
and
Peter
does
not
let
them
off
the
hook
for
being
the
ones
who
carried
out
the
evil
action.
Praise
God,
verse 24,
God
raised
him up,
loosing
the pangs
of death
because it
was not
possible
for him
to be
held
by it.
The
coming
of
Christ
was
not
plan
B.
The
death
of
Christ
not
then
plan
C.
As if
God
is reacting
to us
all the
time.
He
is an
eternal
purpose
for
his
people.
And
Jesus
fully
recognizes
this.
Submits
himself.
My
time
has
not
yet
come.
He
says,
but your
time
is always
here.
Why?
Because
his
brothers
were not
concerned
about
submitting
themselves
to the
timeline
of God
the
Father.
God
is
what
he's
communicating
there.
I'm
submitting
myself
to
the
divine
timeline
and
you
are
not.
Go
whenever
you
want
to.
I'm
constrained
to
go
when
I'm
sent.
He
helps
us to
understand
that
with
verse
seven.
The
world
cannot
hate
you,
but
it
hates
me
because
I
testify
about
it
that
its
works
are
evil.
Why
has
his
time
not
come?
Because
if
he
were
to
go
when
they
wanted
him
to
go,
he
would
have
been
seized.
The
Jews
were
seeking
to
kill
him
and
it
wasn't
time
yet
for
him
to
die.
They
could
go
with
no
concern
for
time
or
for
their
safety
because
the
world
cannot
hate
them.
Why?
Because
they
are
of
the
world.
Jesus
says
later,
John
said,
it
hated
me
before
it
hated
you.
If
you
were
of
the
world,
the
world
would
love
you
as
its
own.
That's
what he's
saying here
to his
brothers.
The world
cannot hate you
because you
belong to
the
world.
Hates
Jesus
because he
testifies
about it
that it
is
evil.
He
condemns
the evil
of the
world
and therefore
the world
hates him.
And if we
pick back up
in John
15
verse 19
he says
to the
disciples,
but because
you are
not of
the world
but I
chose
you
out
of
the
world
therefore
the
world
hates
you.
So
brothers,
you go
whenever
you want
to
because
it
doesn't
really
matter
but
it
matters
for
me.
Verse 8
you go
up to
the
feast.
I am
not
going
up to
this
feast
for
my
time
has
not
yet
fully
come.
Now
as a little
anecdote
we'll get into
some application
some translations
you may have
one in front
of you
that says
I am
not
yet
going
up
to
this
feast
for
my
time
has
not
yet
fully
come
and
if
you
care
to be
nerdy
like
me
I
sometimes
am
about
Greek
and
textual
criticism
and
original
manuscripts
some
people
believe
that
some
of
the
early
manuscripts
the word
yet
was added
in there
to bring
some
clarity
it doesn't
really matter
that much
either way
he says
I am
not going
up to
this
feast
and
some
people
are
concerned
because
then he
does
go up
to
the
feast
and
they
suggest
they
reconcile
it
by
inserting
the
word
yet
either
way
we
will
see
in the
following
verses
that he
does
in fact
go
he
says
to
his
brothers
you
go up
to
the
feast
I
am
not
going
up
to
the
feast
for
my
time
has
not
yet
fully
come
I
submit
myself
to
the
divine
timeline
of the
father
a
couple
three
quick
applications
and I'll
close
in a
word
of
prayer
first
I
just
want
to
say
believe
that
Jesus
is
the
Christ
if
you
have
yet
to
do
this
take
up
and
read
this
is
the
son
of
God
the
one
who
came
lived
the
life
that's
demanded
of
you
could
not
live
you
have
broken
God's
law
and
you
desperately
need
someone
who can
step
in
for
you
and
grant
to
you
righteousness
need
someone
who
died
in
your
place
to
bring
you
the
forgiveness
for
your
sins
and
one
who
is
raised
and
alive
that
you
might
have
life
in
him
we
see
in
this
moment
these
brothers
that
do
not
believe
and
we
don't
know
the
total
story
of
all
four
of
them
but
we
do
know
that
James
and
Jude
both
after
Jesus
resurrection
placed
their
faith
in
him
they
penned
books
in
our
bibles
James
became
one of
the
leaders
of
the
church
in
Jerusalem
believe
it's
not
too
late
it's
a record
of
the
brothers
perhaps
working
for
his
good
temporal
kingdom
building
perhaps
that's
what
they
wanted
perhaps
they
were
looking
for
his
condemnation
to
make
him
to
look
a
fool
we
find
them
believing
later
that
he
is
in
fact
the
Christ
secondly
just
marvel
at
the
perfect
submission
of
God
the
son
to
God
the
father
the
way
in
which
he
submits
himself
to
this
divine
timeline
the
mystery
of the
incarnate
Christ
is on
display
here
and
I
don't
think
we
do
well
to
try
to
wrap
our
minds
around
the
exact
nature
of
the
son
obedience
to
the
father
it's
very
hard
to
understand
but
we
do
well
to
be
astounded
by
it
and
to
take
a
lesson
from
it
God
the
son
perfectly
submitting
to
God
the
father
in
all
things
may
we
be
more
like
him
thirdly
here's
the
lesson
submit
yourself
to
God's
perfect
timing
we
do
not
have
time
to
speak
of
all
the
negative
and
positive
implications
of
the
fact
that
there
exists
a
divine
timeline
I
will
suggest
to
you
that
your
job
is to
always
know
exactly
what it
would be
does God
give direction
to his
people
he most
certainly
does
all
trying to
get
to
work
all
stuff
we're
dealing
with
day
in
and
day
out
he's
working
in
those
tiniest
of
details
for the
glory
of his
name
and for
the
good
of his
people
you know
what we
call that
we call
it
providence
we call
it
providence
let's pray
together
as