The Fisherman's Story

A Study in the Gospel of John John 7:1-81   by Samuel E. Ward   January 8, 2012   Introduction   We have been reading and studying together a story by a fisherman, and not just any fisherman .  It is also a a different kind of story than fishermen usually tell.  This fisherman was a beloved disciple of Jesus Christ.  He was an eyewitness of the earthly ministry of Jesus from the time it began until it ended with His death and resurrection. John's prologue in 1:1-18 identifies Jesus as God coming to earth in the flesh to reveal Himself.  From there he sets forth the unveiling of the redemptive promise found in Jesus. This did not happen without opposition from those who saw Jesus as a threat to their status and power and perhaps a displacement of the Law of Moses (which Jesus actually came to fulfill).  The chief rulers and Pharisees were particularly unimpressed by Jesus' claims and  demonstrations of miraculous power to authenticate His divine nature (John 5:1-47).  As Jesus continues to preach the gospel of redemption of sins and eternal life to those who accept Him by faith, the conflict only continues to grow (John 6:1-8:11).  This opposition has risen to the point of plots being formed by the rulers and  chief priests to have Him killed.  It is within this context that we examine chapter seven which takes place in the middle of October six months after the events of chapter six which included the events of . . .   A.  The Feeding of the Five Thousand B.  The Miracle of Walking on Water C.  The Discussion in a Synagogue D.  The Separation of Unbelievers from True Disciples   Consider now . . .    E.  The Visit to Jerusalem, 7:1-52   1.  The journey discussed, John 7:1-13    a.  The counsel of Jesus' brothers, John 7:1-4   (John 7 NIV)  After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. {2} But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, {3} Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. {4} No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."   It is clear that Jesus' brothers did not understand or believe in Jesus' mission .  They thought Jesus was seeking popularity when it fact He was seeking people.   b.  The answer to Jesus' brothers, John 7:5-8    (John 7:5-8 NIV)  For even his own brothers did not believe in him. {6} Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. {7} The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. {8} You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come."   Jesus' unbelieving brothers had nothing at stake if they went to Jerusalem.  They were not the ones preaching against the status quo and calling it evil in the hearing of those who promoted it.  It was not time for Jesus to place Himself in the hands of those who were ready to kill Him.   c.  The secret departure, John 7:9-10   (John 7:9-10 NIV)  Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. {10} However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.   In delaying His departure to Jerusalem without an entourage of followers, Jesus  would be choosing the time and place of His interaction with His friends and foes in a public setting.   d.  The division of opinions concerning Jesus, John 7:11-13   (John 7:11-13 NIV)  Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, "Where is that man?" {12} Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." {13} But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.   2.  The people divided, John 7:14-36   a.  All were amazed at Jesus' teaching, John 7:14-15.    (John 7:14-15 NIV)  Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. {15} The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"   This was an admission that Jesus had exceptional knowledge that could not be explained by them.   b.  Jesus was clear on the source of His teaching, John 7:16   (John 7:16-24 NIV)  Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. {17} 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. {18} 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; there is nothing false about him. {19} Has 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?" {21} Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. {22} Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. {23} Now 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? {24} Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."   Jesus explained some key points about His teaching:   1)  His teaching came directly from God. 2)  His teaching is available to anyone seeking to do God's will. 3)  His teaching focuses not for his own honor, but God's. 4)  The Jews claimed to revere the law but had learned to twist it to serve their own purposes rather than obey its intent.  5)  His teaching exposed their hypocrisy.  6)  The Jews acceptance of circumcision on the Sabbath while at the same time condemning His miracle of healing proves how far they had strayed from the intent of the law. 7)  The Jews should be more discerning in evaluating Jesus' teaching and see its truth.   c.  Some were forced to consider Jesus' claims, John 7:25-27   1)  Perhaps Jesus is the Christ since He the authorities are still allowed to speak, John 7:25-26.   (John 7:25-26 NIV)  At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? {26} Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ ?   2)  But perhaps Jesus is not the Christ because they knew where He came from, John 7:27.   (John 7:27 NIV)  But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."   d.  Jesus was ready to confront their difficulties with Him, John 7:28-29   (John 7:28-29 NIV)  Then 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, {29} but I know him because I am from him and he sent me."   e.  Two strong opinions emerge concerning Jesus, John 7:30-32.   (John 7:30-32 NIV)  At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. {31} Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?" {32} The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.   1)  Some believed Him to be the Messiah. 2)  The chief priests and Pharisees believed Him to be threat to their authority and position.   We are not so removed today from the Pharisees and their concerns when we reject Christ because we do not want to yield our will to his.   f.  An intimation of Jesus' impending death revealed   1)  What Jesus said, John 7:33-34   (John 7:33-34 NIV)  Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. {34} You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."   Five times in John's gospel Jesus says that where He was going others could not come (John 7:34, 36; 8:21-22; 13:33).  A study of all the passages in their contexts (especially John 13) makes it clear that He is speaking of His death and return to the Father.    2)  What the Jews asked, John 7:35-36.   (John 7:35-36 NIV)  The 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? {36} What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and' Where I am, you cannot come'?"   3.  The gospel declared, John 7:37-44   a.  The invitation from the Savior:  Come satisfy your thirst with Living Water, John 7:37-39.   (John 7:37-39 NIV)  On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. {38} Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." {39} By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.   b.  The division continues:  Is He the Prophet, the Christ, or a fraud?   John 7:40-44.   (John 7:40-44 NIV)  On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet." {41} Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? {42} Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"  {43} Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. {44} Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.           C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and once an agnostic, addresses the options concerning Christ's identity quite clearly.   I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse.   Then Lewis adds:   You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.   http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch21/default.htm   4.  The frustration of the leaders, John 7:45-8:1   a.  The Pharisees were frustrated that Jesus had not been arrested, John 7:45-49.   1)  The temple guards recognized the authority of Jesus' words, John 7:45-47.   (John 7:45-47 NIV)  Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?" {46} "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. {47} "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted.   2)  The Pharisees feared that some of their own rulers and Pharisees had been convinced, John 7:48-49.   (John 7:48-49 NIV)  "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? {49} No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse on them."   b.  Nicodemus called for caution before condemning Jesus, John 7:50-51.   (John 7:50-51 NIV)  Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, {51} "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"   c.  The Pharisees dismiss Nicodemus' counsel, John 7:52.    (John 7:52 NIV)  They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."   5.  The resolution of the debate delayed, John 7:53-8:1.   (John 7:53 – 8:1 NIV)  Then each went to his own home.  {1}  NIV)  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.   Conclusion   Are you unconvinced that Jesus was Who He said He was?  Remember, the options that are open to you as to His identity.  He is either Lord, liar, or lunatic—He could never be just a good man because of the claims He made about Himself.  Ignoring the question will not solve anything.  If He is Lord, He will also undoubtedly be your Judge.  Are you ready to call Him a liar or a crazy man.  Whether you say so or not, by not making a choice you are admitting that in the very least, you have decided that He is not your Lord.