In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines John 7:37-52 and the account of Jesus’ second round of discussion with the Jews at the Feast of Booths. John reports Jesus’ offer of living water at the Feast of Booths so that you will side with Jesus by faith no matter what others may do or say.
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let’s pray Lord Jesus on this Palm Sunday I pray that you would be exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be praised would help me to explain your word help the people to hear it Lord help us to put these words into practice first and foremost by believing in you Lord Jesus amen every once in a while here at the church we host a question and answer session about the Bible people submit questions about the Bible’s meaning in a particular passage or application in a particular situation and I or sometimes also the other Elders will do our best has to give answers from the Bible usually we do this as part of a Sunday school class we do have one coming up for our marriage and Parenthood class in a few weeks but I remember question someone submitted one time for a Q&A session that is relevant for our passage today someone once asked if proper Bible interpretation requires paying attention to the historical setting of a Bible passage well then how much history information from outside the Bible do you need to properly understand what the Bible says if you need historical background how much do you need from outside the Bible to properly understand the Bible this is an important question because if outside history is necessary to understand the Bible well then the Bible is not truly sufficient it is not enough on its own we need something else extra to the Bible to complete the Bible and to rescue us from coming to wrong conclusions about what the Bible says and this is a worrisome thought not only because the Bible claims to be sufficient all by itself but also because man’s understanding of History especially ancient history the history at the time the Bible’s written that understanding is constantly changing constantly being updated how could we ever be confident that we have the proper historical understanding of an ancient period And Thus a proper understanding of a related Bible passage but the answer I gave to that question in the original Q&A is the answer I still hold to today and it’s this whatever history you must know to understand the Bible is contained within the Bible itself whatever history you must know to understand the Bible is contained within the Bible itself after all what is the Bible if not largely a history book it tells you what actually happened in the past and how that history is relevant for how you should live life before God and how you should believe in Jesus as the Bible is a Divine perfectly written book the spirit of God perfectly put in the Bible all the history that is necessary for understanding the Bible thus keeping the Bible sufficient and that should be a great comfort and encouragement to all of us Believers however just because history information outside the Bible is not necessary does not mean that that information is not helpful on the contrary extra historical background can often explain why certain events take place in the Bible as they do or why certain words spoken in a teaching setting in the Bible are particularly significant for instance why the 10 plagues on Egypt in the book of Exodus why those plagues specifically the Nile turning to blood frogs everywhere the sun being darkened we don’t need know to know the answer to that question to understand the Bible yet extra Biblical history reveals that these plagues specifically exposed the different Egyptian gods and indeed the whole Egyptian religious system as completely powerless before the one true God these Gods couldn’t even protect or stabilize their own Realms raw the sun god uh Happy the Nile God Etc or another example why does Jesus call the church of lead DEA lukewarm in Revelation 3 there’s enough information in the passage to understand what Jesus means by that metaphor yet extra historical information reveals that the city of leoda was known for its gross lukewarm practically unable to be drunk water thus Jesus is not using a random metaphor in Revelation 3 but purposfully giving the members of the lean Church a poignant reproof when he calls them lukewarm he’s saying you are just like your city’s water you are useless and foul because you find your security and satisfaction in worldly treasures and wealth rather than me now in today’s passage we’re going to hear Jesus make a famous declaration having to do with water there is again enough information in our passage and the rest of scriptures to understand Jesus meaning yet when we bring to bear some extra historical information we will discover that this water related announcement from Jesus at the end of the Feast of boo is extremely significant it is significant both in dramatically under underscoring the greatness of Jesus and his offered salvation but also in explaining the extreme hatred Jesus opponents have for Jesus because of what he says to see this yourselves please turn to the Book of John chapter 7 where we will investigate Living Waters versus livid rulers Living Waters versus livid rulers in John 7: 37- 52 today which is Page 1,68 if you’re using our Pew Bibles while you’re turning there remember that we saw or remember what we saw earlier in this chapter in John 7 to10 John 7:10 to 36 last week we are about six months before Jesus crucifixion and Jesus Has Come From Galilee to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of booths because Jewish opponents Jesus Jewish opponents have been seeking to kill Jesus Jesus keeps his presence at the feast a secret until the right moment then in the middle of the feast Jesus suddenly appears in the temple courts and begins to teach there’s much whispered talk about Jesus among the crowd in Jerusalem at this point and some of the whispering has to do with cheap objections as to why Jesus cannot truly be the Christ or the Messiah and therefore why no one should listen to his teaching Jesus therefore takes the opportunity while teaching in the temple to refute these objections to show in the end that the real issue is or the real issue among those who disbelieve is not these specific apologetic problems but their own sinful self-righteous pride and lack of any real relationship with God the father as a result of Jesus words some in the crowd unsuccessfully tried to seize Jesus so that Jesus might be killed but others in the crowd believe in Jesus meanwhile the popular religious leaders of Israel the Pharisees they find out about Jesus gaining some support among the crowds and so the Pharisees decide to act they team up with their hated enemies the chief priests also known as the Sadducees to order the levite temple guards the temple officers to arrest Jesus so that the leaders can put him to death aware of the religious leaders murderous order Jesus warns his listeners including the Jews who him that the time to hear and believe in him is running out because Jesus is going away soon The Narrative then picks up again in verse 37 which is what we’ll read now down to verse 52 John 7:37 to 52 now on the last day the great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out saying if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture said from his innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water for this he spoke of the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive for the spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified some of the people therefore when they heard these words were saying this certainly is the prophet others were saying this is the Christ still others were saying surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee is he has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem the village where David was so a division occurred in the crowd because of him some of them wanted to seize him but no one laid hands on him the officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees and they said to them why did you not bring him the officers answered never has a man spoken the way this man speaks the Pharisees then answered them you have not also been led us stray have you no one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in him has he but this crowd which does not know the law is a cursed Nicodemus who he who came to him before being one of them said to them our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing does it they answered him you are not also From Galilee Are you search and see that no Prophet arises out of Galilee what we see here is round two of Jesus discussion with the Jews at the Feast of Boos I may notice that what unfolds here is the basically the same events in the same order same basic events in the same basic order as what we saw last time we have Jesus teaching then we have the reaction of the crowd and then we have the reaction of the rulers yeah whereas Jesus says less here than he did in round one the religious leaders react with greater hatred and contempt than they did before their anger is rising meanwhile the crowd is caught in the middle both literally in the middle of our passage and in the middle of deciding for Jesus or against him the flow of our passage and the content of it points to the author’s main idea which is as follows in John 7:37 to 52 John reports Jesus offer of Living Water at the Feast of so that you will side with Jesus by faith no matter what others may do or say John reports Jesus offer of Living Water at the Feast of Booth so that you will side with Jesus by faith no matter what others may do or say let’s look more closely at the passage as we follow its basic three-part structure the first part is verses 37 to39 where we see number one the Christ’s declaration the Christ declaration We Begin by just rereading the first part of verse 37 now on the last day the great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out notice the time change here previously Jesus was speaking during the middle of the feast but now we are on the last day of the Feast of booths last of seven days now there is some debate as to whether this last day is indeed the seventh day or actually the Eighth Day a Sabbath day which is also prescribed along with the command of the Feast of boots in Leviticus 23 this sabbath day was to immediately follow the seven day Feast but seeing how it seems historically speaking the eighth day was kind of like a wind down day we’re probably looking at the seventh day and the final official day of the Feast of booths and this indeed would be as the text says the great day of the feast it was kind of like the grand finale not only because it was the last day of the Feast of boo but it was the last day of all the religious feast for the Jews that year so you can bet that the people in Jerusalem especially because they love the Feast of boobs they want to go out with a bang it just so happens that on this last day Jesus does something to dramatically draw attention to himself no doubt Jesus is back in the temple as he in verse 37 stood and cried out now we saw Jesus crying out at the end of his teaching last time in round one of the Feast of booths cried out he’s doing it again shouting perhaps with emotion certainly trying to draw attention to himself and reach as many people as he can with his voice all those gathered pilgrims in Jerusalem notice though along with crying out Jesus stands up something we didn’t see of Jesus previously and unlike today standing up was unusual for a religious teacher to do at that time usually teachers among the Jews sat down to teach but Jesus stands up perhaps to increase his lung capacity so he can shout even louder and be heard but also to make him stand out visually and what is it that Jesus wants everyone to see and hear we look at the rest of verse 37 going into verse 38 Jesus cries out saying if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture said from his innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water and before I explain these verses I’d like to share with you some extra historical background information sometime after God ordained the Feast of Boos way back with Moses in the wilderness the feast became Associated among the Jews with water and the reason for this Association is simple the feast celebrates God’s Supernatural provision for Israel while they traveled traveled in the wilderness for 40 years and what did God miraculously provide for the people of Israel during all that time food and water the Torah of Moses records that God most famously provided water for Israel in the wilderness through Moses striking a rock and water flowed out of it doesn’t seem normal for a rock to do that but not only did water come out but it was enough water to quench The Thirst of all the people of Israel and their animals that’s an abundant water source th part of the Festival of booze the Feast of booze was celebration of God’s provision of water in the wilderness but there’s more the feast also served as a time for the Jews to in their own day give thanks for the past Year’s rainfall and pray for good rainfall in the year to come after all Israel Palestine it is a rain dependent Land There are not enough rivers and lakes to sustain the people all by themselves God had always meant for the land’s dependence on r Reign to drive his people to seek Him and in Jesus day the Jews purposefully did this seeking God and His Reign at the Feast of boobs by the way one biblical example of this emerging Reign Association Water Association with the Feast of booths is Zechariah 14: 16- 19 which foretells that when God reinstituted of Boo and God’s and Christ’s coming Kingdom and all the Gentile nations of the world are supposed to gather in Jerusalem for the Feast of booze guess what happens to Any Nation that refuses to come and celebrate the Feast according to Zechariah no rain they get no rain but there’s more because not only did the Jews come to associate literal reain and literal Prosperity that the rain would bring with the Feast of booths but the feast also became an opportunity for Israel to celebrate the spiritual prosperity to be poured out on Israel and its eschatological future that is during the reign of their coming Messiah indeed many prophetic passages in the Old Testament associate the coming of God’s spirit and life blessing with God’s visiting Israel in the future with water let me give you a few examples God says in Isaiah 44: 3 and 4 Isaiah 44: 3 and 4 for I will pour out water on the Thirsty land and streams on the dry ground I will pour out my spirit on your Offspring and my blessing on your descendants and they will spring up among the grass like popps by streams of water another passage Joel Joel 223 and the first part of verse 28 God speaks again and says so re oh sons of Zion and be glad in the Lord that is Yahweh your God for he has given you the early Reign for your Vindication and he has poured down for you the rain the early and latter rain as before it will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind God also says in Ezekiel Ezekiel 3625 and 27 Ezekiel 3625 and 27 then again speaking about ‘s future then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your Idols I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will be careful to observe my Commandments or my ordinances those are three examples but perhaps the favorite verse that Israel would remember and recite during the Feast of booths was Isaiah 123 which was part of the larger passage that we read earlier in the service Isaiah that larger passage describes the blessing that is coming for Israel in the Kingdom of Messiah and Isaiah 123 reads again this is speaking of future Israel therefore you will joyously draw water from the Springs of Salvation so then because of the Jews Thanksgiving prayer and expectation connected to God water and his Spirit at the Feast of Boos there developed a celebratory ritual which was completed by the Jews each morning during the feast the high priest would take a golden picture and draw water from the pool of silom in the southern part of Jerusalem and then carry it back in a celebratory procession to the temple once there he and other priests would March with the piture picture of water around the altar of burnt offering while the temple the temple choir sang the Hal Psalms 113 to 118 and while many eager worshippers watch so you got this water processing around the altar people singing the crowd watching and once the marching and singing was complete the high priest would then pour out the water on the altar as the sacrifice of Thanksgiving and petition to God it was a very joyful moment in the Feast of booths it happened every day with the morning sacrifice and it was even a little bit more elaborate on the last day the seventh day of the feast now considering this historical and scriptural background the actions and words of Jesus in verses 37 and 38 take on a greater significance don’t they I can imagine that right as the procession of the golden pitcher passes by Jesus in the temple or right as the pitcher is about to be poured on the altar or maybe right after the picture has been poured it’s at that moment Jesus stands up and shouts if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture said from his innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water talk about a way to steal a show what is Jesus saying he’s declaring in an extremely dramatic way that he is the Fulfillment of their fesal prayers do you want lifegiving water from God is that what you’ve been praying for and celebrating this whole time in the feast well guess what here it is I have it I will give it to you freely are you looking for the water that comes with the association of God’s blessed Spirit he who believes in me will experience what the scripture full told that from within that person will flow abundant water rivers of living Water full of God’s blessing it’s all about me that’s what Jesus is declaring notice how inclusive is this attention grabbing invitation from Jesus he says if anyone is thirsty if anyone recognizes his need for God anybody recognizes his inability to keep God’s law his own sinfulness his own necessity for Life cleansing joint peace things that only God can truly provide let that one come to me and drink actually that is an invitation that is both inclusive and exclusive right anyone can come but they must come to me I’m the only one who can give him what he’s looking for what does it mean to come to Jesus and drink the parallel statement in verse 38 clarifies it means means to believe in Jesus it means to believe in all that Jesus claimed and demonstrated himself to be that he is the Son of God he is the Lord of all he is the only savior he is your only righteousness and what does Jesus promise to anyone who will come to him in this way Supernatural thirst quenching to an almost ridiculous degree you may recall Jesus words to The Samaritan woman at the well Jesus spoke something similar to what we see here in John 4: 13- 14 I’ll read that again for you John 4:1 13- 14 Jesus told the woman everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water or you could translate that a spring of water springing up to eternal life similar idea here except actually it sounds even greater now since when does drinking living or you could translate that flowing since when does drinking Living Water result in Springs or even Rivers erupting inside a person to Forever satisfy his thirst doesn’t happen naturally but it does happen with Jesus Supernatural water the Waters of Salvation that only Messiah has Authority and ability to give now in case it wasn’t clear enough already based on some of the scriptures I read to you our author John supplies an asside in verse 39 to explain Jesus words but this he spoke of the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive but the spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified if we are aware of what the Old Testament foretold that explanation makes total sense right the spirit was to come like water to enliven and cleanse God’s people from the inside out and so when Jesus says I offer you rivers of Living Water he’s declaring those prophecies fulfilled in him you will receive the Abundant Waters of God’s spirit in me yet notice here this is a promise of future blessing not present at least at the time of Jesus speaking the spirit was not yet the text here literally says not that the spirit didn’t exist at all or wasn’t doing anything no other verses make clear that those are not true but rather the spirit was not yet accomplishing his blessed indwelling work in the people of God that was not yet a reality compared John 14:17 where Jesus tells his disciples the spirit is with you but will be in you why no indwelling yet why is that something the people had to wait for well again the text tells us verse 39 something important had to take place first Jesus had to be glorified and what’s that mean well Jesus had to be glorified by his crucifixion by his resurrection and by his Ascension we’ll see more about the promised Ministry of the Holy Spirit as we keep moving in John especially right before Jesus’s death but simply based on what we see here from Jesus already the coming of the spirit is going to represent overwhelming blessing for God’s people this is not like oh the spirit’s here okay no this is like wow I can’t believe it we have the spirit all who believe in Jesus received the Abundant Waters of the spirit upon conversion upon believing in him it was a future reality when Jesus first spoke these words but it is a present reality now brothers and sisters if you are in Jesus Christ if you believe in Jesus Christ then you have what Jesus talks about you have rivers of living water flowing inside you because you have the Holy Spirit this is an amazing privilege that we receive as a preview of what God is going to do one day for his people Israel when they repent we’re amazingly the Wild Olive branches that have been grafted in until the natural Olive Branch is grafted back in and the people repent but this is an amazing reality praise the Lord if you’ve not yet believed in Jesus Christ well then listen to his invitation he says that you too upon believing him if you just come you will receive his cleansing and livening soul blessing Spirit he just asks are you thirsty are you sick of your sin in your own way are you sick of living for passing idols and Treasures of the world which will not save or satisfy you are you sick of trying to fulfill God’s perfect standard which you’ll never be able to fulfill and Jesus says come to me and drink believe in me take me as your savior take me as your Lord because I am those things let me be for you what you can never be I will take your sin totally deal with it you can take my righteousness and it is the only thing that will make you acceptable to God Jesus offers he says let me give you the very life of God in me and in my spirit it’s yours if you will believe what a gracious invitation will you accept what reason have you not to accept now to all those who might say Pastor Dave if I have the spirit because I have believed in Jesus if I have the spirit why do I still feel so thirsty why don’t I feel what Jesus is talking about I don’t feel God’s Abundant Life why do I feel the opposite of enlivened and blessed by God I feel burdened I feel cast down feel like I’m parched well Brethren I I know the feeling don’t think to yourself that if you ever feel this way this must obviously mean you are not a Christian even Jesus the one on whom the spirit rested mightily he was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief he wept over his friend Lazarus when Lazarus died he leapt over unbelieving Jerusalem when he came in on Palm Sunday he also sweat drops of blood in the garden because he was praying fervently to his father regarding the coming cross and he was so distressed being a Christian is not all fluffy puppies and rainbows Paul testifies in 2 Corinthians how much he has had to suffer as a Christian and this is to say nothing of our remaining struggle with sin doing what we don’t want to do not doing what we do want to do yes true Christians can cry out to the Lord From The Heart oh Wretched Man that I am who will save me from the body of this death that is a reality for us sometimes so do not despair my brother or my sister when you feel low your lord has felt that your true Brethren have felt that across the ages however let us not sell the spirit short the Bible demonstrate that there is characteristically a profound difference between those who have the spirit and those who don’t just look at the Believers of Acts before and after the spirit’s coming before how the disciples look sorrowful frequently failing slow to believe slow to understand the scriptures after the spirit’s coming bold empowered to Holiness full of Faith full of Peace full of confidence in God able to learn able to remember able to minister the scriptures joyful in the midst of trouble and persecution and willing to sacrifice their own lives for others and for the Lord out of love the spirit makes a difference the spirit ought to make a difference in your life Brethren it is possible don’t automatically go here but it is possible that the reason you don’t experience the Abundant Life of the spirit is because you don’t have it you have not yet come to believe in Jesus Christ you’re still holding something back it may also be that you do have the spirit but you have so grieved and quenched the Spirit by your own sin by unrepentant sin in your life by ongoing Pride by idolatry you’re trying to serve an idol and God at the same time and then you’re like why don’t I feel the joy of the Lord well you’re grieving the spirit you’re quenching the spirit both of those are possibilities but still a third possibility is you simply do not realize what you have have and therefore you seldom appropriate the spirit’s Abundant Life for yourself this is another issue for us as Christians we are you could say princes and princesses in the kingdom of God but we live like poppers because we do not realize or touch the riches that God has given us I’m talking about spiritual riches here of course I’m talking about material riches Brethren do you realize that fundamental to your experiencing the blessing of the spirit is actually believing that you have the spirit and if you have the spirit of Christ the spirit of the Eternal Word the spirit of God what sin can you not overcome what challenge that God has placed before you can you not succeed in when we say I can’t do it it’s too much we are discounting the Lord’s spirit inside us yes we will feel that way in our flesh but persevere against the Flesh and say but I have the spirit I believe in Jesus his rivers of Living Water are flowing inside me I can do this despite what I feel believing in the spirit relying on the spirit letting the spirit dominate and influence your life as he directs you towards Christ his word prayer singing fellowship with the Brethren service and evangelism that’s how you allow the spirit to manifest His abundant life you will if you will pursue these things you will experience an increasing measure what Jesus promises In this passage so whatever is inhibiting you from this if it’s maybe just your own simple unbelief remove that if you believe in Jesus you have the spirit and if you have the spirit rely on the spirit seek the things that the spirit wants you to seek and you’re going to see you’re going to see those rivers flow well as you can imagine Jesus cannot make such a dramatic Declaration on the last day of the Feast of boo without generating a reaction generating a reaction from the common people and from the rulers and the rest of the passage describes those two reactions and we’ll take a look at both of those briefly look now at part two of the passage in verses 40 to 44 the crowd’s division saw the Christ declaration now we see the crowd’s division and we’ll read all these verses together verses 40 to 44 some of the people therefore when they heard these words were saying this certainly is the prophet others were saying this is the Christ still others were saying surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee is he has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem the village where David was so a division occurred in the crowd because of him some of them wanted to seize him but no one laid hands on him so what is the crowd’s reaction to Jesus amazing invitation to believe and receive Living Water it’s division as before in round one of the feast some believe some don’t and some of those who don’t they want to kill Jesus though they’re unsuccessful right now because as we heard before his hour has not yet come now for those who believe again we might ask how true is their belief they are testifying about Jesus positively here but we’ve seen that kind of thing happen before and Jesus didn’t believe in that belief so what about this belief is this true we don’t know but there are positive signs more positive than we’ve seen up to this point for one their conclusions about Jesus are exactly correct for some in the crowd he is indeed the promised Prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18 He is indeed the Christ you say well why were there two different opinions well many Jews at this time expected that the prophet and the Christ would be two different people they didn’t yet know that God actually ordained that they would be one but these are accurate conclusions and so that is a positive sign another positive sign is that these conclusions come in response to Jesus words and not Jesus signs remember we’ve seen so far in John that when people believe in Jesus because of signs H it’s not bad but that often turns out to be suspect but there are no signs here Jesus is just speaking and speaking pretty provocatively we could imagine many of the crowd taking offense at what Jesus is declaring about himself at this climactic moment of the Feast of boos but apparently some of the crowd didn’t take offense they instead believed that’s a good sign and then a third good sign is that these Believers apparently persist in their opinion despite being opposed by others in the crowd that’s a good sign too can’t say for sure but this this looks good it looks like some of them truly believe in Jesus but some obviously don’t believe and notice their reason for doing so in verse 42 they say Jesus seems to have the wrong lineage and background to be the Messiah now that should sound a little bit familiar because that was an objection already raised against Jesus earlier in the feast though this time the reasoning given by the denters in the crowd is a little bit more theologically sound the scriptures indeed declare that Christ would be of the seed or lineage of David you can see that for example in Psalm 89: 3 and 4 the scriptures also declared that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem Micah 52 Jesus this Jesus therefore the son of some nobody’s from Nazareth he doesn’t fit the bill these people are saying do they have a point are these Jews justified in dismissing Jesus well as before the objection of these unbelieving Jews is ironic and why is that because the very criteria that they use to dismiss Jesus are in fact the criteria that Jesus fulfills and should cause them to believe in Jesus he is of the seed and lineage of David he is one who was born in Bethlehem yet strikingly Jesus nor any of his disciples according to John here they do not intervene to clarify this truth to Jesus objectors in fact neither does our writer John nowhere in this gospel will you hear Jesus declared to be the son of David who was born in Bethlehem you only hear that mentioned by people who are trying to dismiss Jesus it’s kind of odd isn’t it why why doesn’t anybody clarify why doesn’t Jesus why don’t disciples why doesn’t John well speaking for John it’s possible I would say even likely that John’s audience his original audience of helenistic Jews and Gentile god-fearers they probably have been exposed to the synoptic gospels before or have at least heard the testimony of Christians who have already made clear Jesus is the descendant of David Jesus is the one who was born in Bethlehem it’s not like they’d never heard that before but even if that is not the case there’s a more important reason why no reply is given to the erroneous objection given about Jesus here and that reason is really the reason that we learned last week last time we were in John namely that cheap excuses like this they aren’t the real reason that somebody doesn’t believe surely if the objectors in the crowd were interested they could have done their homework they could have found out about jesus’ true lineage and his true Origins at least in an Earthly sense but the fact is it wouldn’t really do them any good if you can’t hear the testimony of God and Jesus own words well nothing else will help even if the truth were clarified to them they would just move on to some other flimsy objection they don’t really want the truth they don’t really want him who is the light they may look Pious on the outside but John has already told us what they really love is Darkness it’s why they don’t come to Jesus and we’re going to see the same thing by the way we’re going to see the same thing in particular with religious people you can count on it that Many religious people with whom you try to give the gospel whether Jews or Roman Catholics or Muslims they will give you sometimes Pious sounding reasons they will even use the scriptures to argue with you why what you’re saying cannot be true they cannot believe in Jesus they cannot believe the gospel as you as you’ve declared it now we should try to reason with these people from the scriptures and explain to them the true intent of God’s word because maybe the Lord will use that he does say his word is what he uses by his Spirit to Open Eyes maybe as we explain it to people even religious people who object God will open their eyes but after a while when they do not accept your answers or if they just move on to more and more objections you have to call you have to stop you have to call them out and say my friend there are answers to your objections but I have to tell you from the Bible the real reason why you can’t believe what I’m saying the real reason why you can’t believe in Jesus and you can’t believe the gospel is because you love your sin you love your sin you love your s righteous way you love the idols of this world and Jesus warns you you must repent before it is too late now that may provoke an angry reaction from son but if we speak thus we will be properly following in the footsteps of our savior he declared the truth that was given to him from the father we declare the truth that has been given to us by the son and we’ll leave the results to the Lord we should also note as an application of verses 40 to 44 here that many people are going to remain apparently undecided about Jesus indeed whole people groups will so if you’re relying on somebody else or you’re relying on some group to figure Jesus out before you’re willing to come to a conclusion well that’s not going to be helpful and many in the world are happy to leave open the possibility of believing in Jesus they won’t believe but they’re not ready for that right now they’re still thinking about Jesus they’re still trying to decide about Jesus but being undecided about Jesus is just as spiritually damning as angry unbelief regarding Jesus cannot wait for our country our ethnic group even our own families to make the right decision about Jesus it may never happen we’re going to have to decide for ourselves have to decide individually how to respond to Jesus invitation what other whatever other people may do or say notice Jesus invitation is to individuals whoever is thirsty any single one yet this is a decision to make soberly as we will see underlined in the last part of our text verses 45- 52 this is number three the ruler’s derision we have the Christ declaration the crowd’s division and the ruler’s derision we’ll R read these verses all together as well verses 45 to 52 the officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees and they said to them why did you not not bring him the officers answered never has a man spoken the way this man speaks the Pharisees then answered them you have not also been LED astray have you no one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in him has he but this crowd which does not know the law is ACC cursed Nicodemus he who came to him before being one of them said to them our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he’s doing does it they answered him you are not also From Galilee Are you search and see that no Prophet arises out of Galilee you can see here the rulers especially the Pharisees hatred for Jesus the Galilean twice here the Pharisees encounter evidence for Christ and evidence against themselves and each time the Pharisees respond only with proud mocking cont for Jesus and anybody who stands up for Jesus notice first the temple officers they had been dispatched earlier in the week as we saw last time to seize Jesus at an appropriate opportunity bring him back to be executed but when trying to explain why they didn’t do as ordered the officers testify in verse 46 literally never has a man spoken thus there’s something about the way that Jesus talks these guards are saying his authority his grace his truthfulness his claims his power his confidence when we heard him we couldn’t arrest him he arrested US and of course we as the gospel readers we already know the reason that this is so no man speaks like Jesus because Jesus is no Mere Men He is the word of God the temple guards speak better than they probably know hearing the voice of God does have a profound effect but what kind of response do the Pharisees give to this bold and risky testimony on behalf of Jesus Oh surely he didn’t lead you all astray too I thought we trained you Levites better than that how could you let Jesus deceive you that Galilean are you really so foolish none of the rulers especially none of the Pharisees have believed in Jesus shouldn’t that tell you everything you need to know why’ you think you knew better than us are you really so simple-minded you can see the Pharisees they belittle the officers and in so doing they reveal their own exalted view of themselves they don’t consider a minute what these Temple guards are saying they just insultingly dismissed them and they quickly dismissed the testimony of the common people as well you may notice in verse 49 this is part of their answer to the guards but to paraphrase the Pharisees are saying something like we know what happened you were probably influenced by some of the crowd who’s beginning to believe in Jesus but what do they know they don’t know the scriptures like we do they haven’t studied the Traditions like we have they haven’t received our special religious training so of course they’d get it wrong this crowd these people of the land that was actually a pejorative term that religious teachers would use at that time among the Jews these people of the land who do not know the law they are accursed they’re going to hell don’t pay attention to them pay attention to us and here again we see some deep irony don’t we professing to be wise the Pharisees became fools and they accused the crowd who actually found life of being the ones who were going to hell when they themselves the religious leaders were the ones on that path furthermore the Pharisees are not as United against Jesus and not as well informed as they might suppose for in verse 50 we see old Nicodemus one of the Pharisees who actually visited Jesus before in John 3 see Nicodemus step up to give a tentative defense for Jesus this is not it’s not anything bold but I it’s a step in verse 51 Nicodemus reminds his fellow Pharisees that according to their own religious tradition which is itself based on principles of Justice from God’s Old Testament the rulers would be unjust to condemn and put a man to death without a fair trial we got to hear and see what he does first we got to thoroughly investigate otherwise we Pharisees would be exposed as law Breakers really this is what the Pharisees have been doing since John five and trying to kill Jesus but how do the Pharisees respond to Nicodemus valid point Nicodemus you’re right I can’t believe we almost transgressed our own law that’s not the response it’s more of what we’ve already seen surely you are not also From Galilee Are you because that’s the only reason that we Pharisees can think of for why you would say something so ignorant and ridiculous Nicodemus you cannot seriously be suggesting that this untrained galileon could be right and we could be wrong don’t make us laugh and pride the Pharisees also insultingly dismiss Nicodemus words but then the Pharisees say something odd at the end of verse 52 it’s part of laying into Nicodemus search the scriptures yourself search and see they mean search the scriptures search the scriptures yourself and see that no Prophet arises From Galilee that is odd because the scriptures reveal that there were indeed prophets From Galilee in the Old Testament Jonah was from gath hepher in Galilee 2 Kings 14:25 and perhaps some of the other Old Testament prophets were From Galilee so the Pharisees would be plainly wrong in making the assertion if that’s what they mean perhaps though they mean that no future Prophet according to the scriptures is said to arise From Galilee no Prophet arises they say present tense well if that’s their meaning then they’re only making an argument from Silence just because the scriptures may not specifically declare that a future Prophet arises From Galilee doesn’t mean that a prophet couldn’t arise From Galilee how can you dismiss him out of hand like that besides what what about Isaiah 9:1 Isaiah 91 in Isaiah 9:1 God promised that one day he would treat the contemptible land of Galilee with Glory when the people who walk in darkness see a great light I don’t know but that sounds like a prophet that sounds like somebody special from God is going to arrive in Galilee so no matter how you look at it in angrily dismissing Nicodemus the Pharisees only betray their own ignorance of the scriptures they boasted in their knowledge of God’s law but in their pride they showed they don’t really know it but then again it never really was about the scriptures for the Pharisees was it again we’re kind of like those who oppose Jesus in the crown the real reason the Pharisees dismiss what the temple guards say what Nicodemus says is they simply cannot stand Jesus they cannot stand the untrained Galilean who would have the audacity to say all the things that he has said even recently at the feast he’s the source of Living Water this untrained galileon they cannot stand that he calls into question their entire religious system everything that makes the Pharisees feel righteous about themselves no the phes cannot be wrong Jesus cannot be right no matter what people say no matter what the scriptures say he simply does not fit the Pharisees expectations of what the Messiah should be and he fundamentally interferes with their agenda so obviously Jesus is wrong he has to go end of story really instead of putting faith in Jesus the Pharisees put Faith in themselves it’s not really rational but it’s what makes their hearts feel good thus we see at the end of this second round of discussion in Jerusalem the sad truth that the religious leaders really are set against Jesus not for scriptural reasons but for proud and selfish reasons and how true this has proven Across Time by and large the elites and Society the celebrities the icons the philosophers the influencers the rulers the billionaires yes even some of the most popular religious leaders of monotheistic faiths faiths they can find no place in their lives for the real Jesus of the Bible he is an obstacle to be removed even destroyed for a God more in line with human desires there’s a reason 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31 says there were not many great Noble and mighty among you that were called God chose the weak things of the world the things that are not to shame the strong therefore those looking for God’s true salvation today cannot simply rely on what the world’s leaders say now you can count on the leaders to be opposed to Jesus by in large rather those who love God the must decide for themselves apart from the leaders where they stand with Jesus in fact most of the leaders of the world would not only reject Jesus but they will reject his followers even kill them as many of our Marty brothers and sisters across time can testify so the choice facing John’s readers and us today is the same choice that the Jews faced who were in the crowd with Jesus with whom will you side will you side with the one who freely gives Living Water to all who believe in him who generously gives his own spirit Spirit of God will you side with the angry human leaders who are determined to oppose Jesus and his followers will you remain undecided gaining neither Jesus and his Spirit nor the leaders respect there’s only one answer that will save your Eternal Soul and that is by faith to side with Jesus no matter what others may say or do let the crowd engage in its endless debate that the rulers rage uselessly against God’s chosen one as for you choose Jesus and you will have the fountain that never runs dry and you will have the inheritance that will never fade away it will cost you but it’s worth it here at this church we have decided to follow Jesus as the old hymn says the World Behind me the cross before me though none go with me still I will follow my cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus no turning back no turning back let’s pray Lord everything you say in your scripture is true we have not only seen historically but also so even in this present day Lord the senseless hatred towards Jesus the senseless resistance to Jesus way and wisdom and life Jesus what what person could encounter this offer of Living Water rivers of Living Water for his soul and say I don’t want that the only person who could say that is someone who is deeply evil to his core and your gospel declares that is who we all are that is who every person in this world has come to be because of the corruption of sin and yet you had mercy your spirit came and has given life you have opened blind eyes you have given New Birth from above so that people who only had hearts that would hate you now say I want Jesus and I’ll stand with him no matter what L we thank you for doing that on behalf of the brothers and sisters of this church we want your living water we have your living water we love you and by your grace Lord we will stand with you until the end but we need your help to do that we know the world’s going to be confused we know the world and especially its leaders are going to hate you and hate those who follow you but help us not to grow weary help us not to be afraid for your spirit is with us your powerful Spirit help us to rely on your spirit Lord God and for those who still don’t know the power of the spirit I pray that they would repent and believe in Jesus today they say I side with Jesus I don’t side with the world I don’t side with the leaders I don’t side with the idols and passing treasures and false gods I side with Jesus I want to know his life whatever other people will say and do I pray God that you do that this morning through your word in Jesus name amen let’s stand