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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's Gospel. We're in John chapter 7. Our focus will be verses 14 to 24, 
but I want to read beginning in verse 1 to verse 24. So John 
chapter seven, beginning in verse one. After these things, Jesus 
walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea because 
the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles 
was at hand. His brothers therefore said to 
him, depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples 
also may see the works that you are doing. For no one does anything 
in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do 
these things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers 
did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, My time 
has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot 
hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works 
are evil. You go up to this feast. I am 
not yet going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully 
come. When he had said these things, he remained in Galilee. 
But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the 
feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews 
saw him at the feast and said, Where is he? And there was much 
complaining among the people concerning him. Some said, He 
is good. Others said, No, on the contrary, 
he deceives the people. However, no one spoke openly 
of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the middle of the feast, 
Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, 
saying, How does this man know letters, having never studied? 
Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but 
his who sent me. If anyone wills to do his will, 
he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from 
God or whether I speak on my own authority. He who speaks 
from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of 
the one who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in 
him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the 
law? Why do you seek to kill me? The 
people answered and said, You have a demon. Who is seeking 
to kill you? Jesus answered and said to them, 
I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses, therefore, gave you circumcision, 
not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers, and you circumcise 
a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision 
on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken, 
are you angry with me because I made a man completely well 
on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, 
but judge with righteous judgment. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you again for this beautiful day. We thank you for the house 
of God on the day of God to worship with the people of God. And we 
pray that you would be glorified in this glad hour. We pray that 
you would forgive us now for all of our sin and unrighteousness, 
that darkening influence that it casts upon our minds. And 
may you fill us each with the Holy Spirit. May we know his 
presence and power. May you guide us and lead us 
into all truth. And may you make much of Jesus 
Christ, that one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
We thank you again for your mercies to us, for your grace revealed 
in the gospel of our salvation. We pray that today would be the 
day of salvation for sinners here and throughout the world. 
We pray that your word would run swiftly and be glorified. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, last week 
we looked at John chapter 7 verses 1 to 13, the Feast of Tabernacles. And in verse 1, we see it says 
that after these things, so the things recorded in chapter 6, 
about six months prior, Jesus engaged in ministry in a synagogue 
in Capernaum, according to John 6. Well, now he's in Judea, specifically 
in Jerusalem, and he attends to the Feast of Tabernacles. 
And in verses 14 to 24, we see first the authority of Christ. 
They question it, and then he sets it forth. We see that in 
verses 14 to 18. And then secondly, the intention 
of the Jews. Jesus directly confronts them. 
Remember back in verse 1, it says, After these things Jesus 
walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because 
the Jews sought to kill him. his time had not yet come. If 
you look specifically at verse 30, we see that. Therefore they 
sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him because his 
hour had not yet come. Make no mistake about it, Jesus 
came to live, to die, and to be raised again. but he's on 
the divine timeframe. He is not going to be led astray 
from the mission at hand because of godless men. He is committed 
to do the will of the Father. That is his meat. That is his 
delight. That is the purpose for which 
he was sent. So again, two things this morning, the authority of 
Christ, and then secondly, the intention of the Jews. So let's 
look at the authority of Christ in verses 14 to 18. Remember 
in the first place, the setting of his teaching. Verse 14 tells 
us now about the middle of the feast. So it was a week long 
feast. Jesus has now come. He didn't 
come openly, but he came secretly. Again, not to gain attention 
for himself, not to draw attention to himself, but rather to do 
the will of his father. So in the middle of the feast, 
Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The Feast of Tabernacles 
is given to us in the Old Testament. The primary emphasis is to recall 
the Exodus from Egypt. So God's people went into bondage, 
they went into Egypt for a series of sins and crimes, ultimately 
against God, and there is chastening and judgment, and then they come 
out under the hand of a merciful and powerful God. And so this 
Feast of Tabernacles was a time for everybody to gather in Jerusalem. 
Those from without the city would build temples, or not temples, 
but tabernacles, or booths, or tents. And they would celebrate, 
and they would rehearse the reality that Yahweh of Israel broke the 
back of Egyptian oppression and brought them into the liberty 
of God's blessing. And so this was typological, 
pointing forward to that new exodus, Exodus wrought by Christ 
when he brings his people out of the bondage of sin and misery 
and depravity. So this is a time of feasting, 
a time of celebration, a time of rejoicing. So in the middle 
of the feast now Jesus begins to teach. And it is ironic because 
the word became flesh and dwelt among us according to 114. Remember 
that religion in Israel at this particular time was destitute 
of any saving power. They were formalists, they were 
externalists, they simply went through the motions. We know 
that from John 2, when Jesus goes into the temple and he drives 
out the money changers, he drives out the beasts. That was an indictment. Religious worship in Israel was 
at a low ebb. And so ironically now, the true 
tabernacle of God is among men. They are celebrating that feast 
which pointed to him and all the while they reject him, they 
despise him, they abhor him. So the setting is absolutely 
important for our understanding because of that reality. The 
one whom the feast pointed to, the one who is the ultimate deliverer 
of his people is right there in their midst. And instead of 
bowing to him and worshiping him and serving him, they say, 
how does this man know anything? How does this man have any understanding? 
He has never been taught in the rabbinic schools. He didn't go 
to university. He didn't go to college. He's 
the son of a carpenter. So they disregard him and then 
they ultimately accuse him of being mad or accuse him of having 
a demon. So notice then the source of 
his teaching. So, well, first of all, the question 
of the crowd, they marvel at his teaching. Remember that in 
verse 11, they actually sought him out. Then the Jews, this 
is probably the hoi polloi, the common folk, not the religious 
leaders, the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where 
is he? Now, John tells us in verse 14 that he taught, doesn't 
tell us what he taught, but based on the rest of the gospel, we 
can understand. He taught concerning the kingdom of God. He taught 
the means by which God receives sinners unto himself. In other 
words, he taught law and gospel as he was want to do in his earthly 
ministry. So that evokes from the Jews 
this response in verse 15. The Jews marveled saying, how 
does this man know letters having never studied? Again, the emphasis 
is simple. He wasn't a rabbi trained in 
their schools. He wasn't one that had gone on 
for undergrad degree and then a postgraduate studies. He didn't 
have a lot of letters after his name. He was not accomplished, 
he was not approved, he was not sophisticated by the understanding 
of that particular time. You see a parallel construction 
in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13 and verses 54 and 55. It says, 
when he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, 
so that they were astonished and said, where did this man 
get this wisdom and these mighty works? That's a good question, 
brethren. When somebody comes to speak authoritatively, they 
speak not as the scribes did according to Matthew's gospel 
in terms of the Sermon on the Mount, but he taught as one having 
authority. So they're basically saying, where did he get this 
authority? Where did he get this ability? Who has equipped him 
for this particular task? Remember, a similar indictment 
is made against his apostles in Acts chapter 4. It says that 
when the apostles Peter and John were before the Sanhedrin, the 
Sanhedrin says, when they saw, or the text says, now when they, 
the Sanhedrin, saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived 
that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled 
and they realized that they had been with Jesus. That's the primary 
emphasis in terms of gospel ministry. It doesn't matter where the letters 
come from in your particular name in terms of degree. It's 
presence with Christ. It's worship of the true and 
living God. It is walking in faith with Him and loving and 
honoring and serving Him. reading good, obviously, the 
scriptures, but then good theology. That's why we're a confessional 
church. We subscribe to a historic document that does summarize 
the main teachings of God's Word, teachings that the church has 
agreed upon throughout our inception. It is a wonderful methodology 
by which we cultivate, hopefully, an understanding in Bible and 
an understanding in theology. So again, back to this context, 
they're just blown away. Where did he get this authority? 
How does this man have this wisdom? He wasn't trained in our schools. 
And now notice the source of his teaching. And he lays out 
three particulars that need to be considered. First, the unity 
with his father, verse 16, the reception of his word in verse 
17, and then the mission of the son in verse 18. Remember, this 
is a threefold response to this question of verse 15. When they 
say, how does this man know letters having never studied? So the 
first emphasis is the unity with his father. Look at verse 16. 
Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but 
his who sent me. Now, at first read or first glance, 
we might believe that Jesus is distinguishing himself from his 
father. He's saying, I'm not teaching 
you anything that is what the father intended. But that's not 
what he's saying. He's underscoring the unity that 
he has with the father. In other words, my doctrine didn't 
originate with myself. My doctrine wasn't learned in 
your rabbinic schools. My doctrine wasn't achieved by 
an internet site where they sent me my degree after I paid the 
fee. My doctrine is the doctrine of 
Him who sent me. Now go back to John 5. There's 
a parallel construction. John 5, in which this particular 
chapter, chapter 7, and our section goes back to in terms of some 
parallel thought. Remember that the Jews were upset 
because Jesus healed this paralyzed man on the Sabbath day. Instead 
of saying, praise God, this man who had been bound for 8 and 
30 years is now able to walk, instead of glorifying God, they 
got upset with him. They got upset with this man. 
They got upset with Jesus. And now they want to stone Jesus 
for Sabbath breaking. And because he being a man made 
himself equal with God. So notice that specifically in 
verse 18, therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him 
because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God 
was his father making himself equal with God. How does Christ 
respond? Does he say, Oh no, that's absolutely 
incorrect. I am not equal with the father. 
I am a completely other thing. I am not what you suggest that 
I am. That's not how he answers. He 
takes the next long section in John 5 to underscore that he 
is one with the Father, that he is consubstantial with the 
Father. And as readers of John's gospel, we already know this 
because John 1, 1 begins, in the beginning was the Word, and 
the Word was with God, and the Word was what? He was God. He's one in substance with the 
Father. He is equally glorified and honored with the Father. 
But notice in 519, then Jesus answered and said, most assuredly 
I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what 
he sees the father do. For whatever he does, the son 
also does in like manner. So far from Jesus saying, I am 
impotent, Jesus is underscoring that he's omnipotent. He says 
he does nothing of himself, but he does it in perfect union with 
the father, because each has the divine essence. not divided, 
not shared, not partialed out, but the son is one with the father 
at the level of substance or deity or divinity. So going back 
to John 7 at verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine 
is not mine, but his who sent me. And that's another way that 
the Lord often refers to himself as the one sent by the Father. The one sent by the Father has 
the authority of the Father. And therefore, when he teaches, 
we're supposed to listen. We're supposed to submit. We're 
supposed to respond. When Jesus says later on in this 
particular passage, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. 
Now, the thirst there isn't physical, it's not temporal. He doesn't 
say, if you're thirsty, go upstairs and fetch a drink out of the 
faucet. No, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. There is 
never a crime or never a sin or never a problem in a sinner 
responding to Jesus. Coming when he says come. Believing 
on him when he says believe. That is hyper-Calvinism, which 
teaches that when he says that, he doesn't really mean it. You 
just stay. Stay away from him. Resist him. 
Continue in your unbelief and in your rebellion. No, when Christ 
says, if any man thirsts, let him come to me. then because 
he's invested with the authority of God himself, we're to respond, 
we're to believe, we're to repent, we're to come to the blessed 
Savior who does satisfy that soul thirst better and only than 
any other thing can. Believe you me, you talk to a 
believer and you say, what was it like before you were a Christian? 
Well, I had this, and I had this, and I had that, but God saved 
me, and I don't have those things anymore. Well, do you feel bad 
that those things are gone? Oh, no. Look at Paul in Philippians 
chapter 3. What things were gained, these 
I've counted lost. They're rubbish. They're that 
which is fitting. to throw to the dogs. Now I have 
Christ, I have everything in the one who is altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. So the source of his authority, 
the source of his teaching is the fact that he is the son of 
God, the sent one of God. So the declaration in 519 is 
not one of impotence, but rather of omnipotence. And here the 
declaration is not one of difference or limitation in doctrine, but 
rather equality in doctrine. Matthew Poole says, but it is 
mine as it is the doctrine of the Father that sent me. And 
I and my Father both are one and agree in one, 1 John 5, 7 
and 8. To hear the Son is to hear the Father. So Christ answers 
in what would later be enshrouded in the Nicene Creed. Jesus' authority comes because 
he's God from God, light from light, true God from true God, 
being of one substance with the Father, through whom all things 
were made. So where did this man get his 
authority to teach as he did? Because he is the son of God 
sent by the Father to come to preach and teach his blessed 
doctrine. Notice secondly, the reception 
of his word, verse 17. So he underscores the unity with 
the father in verse 16, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent 
me. And now in verse 17, it's intriguing. He says, if anyone 
wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, 
whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority. One man said it this way, the 
Jews challenge the ability of Jesus to teach, Jesus challenges 
the ability of the Jews to hear. See, here's the problem. If anyone 
wills to do His will, if anyone has been born again, if anyone 
has been drawn by the powerful grace of God, if anyone has believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, they're not going to have any disparity 
between the Father's doctrine and the Son's doctrine. They're 
going to see it as the selfsame doctrine. In other words, when 
the Spirit of God works in your hearts to make you a new man 
or a new woman, when the Spirit of God gives you the graces of 
faith and repentance to close with the Savior, the Spirit of 
God leads you to a worship of the Trinity, Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. So notice, Jesus is questioned 
concerning his authority, and now Jesus questions them concerning 
their ability. So verse 17, if anyone wills 
to do his will. Earlier, look back at chapter 
321. Chapter 321, these sorts of people are described as those 
who do the truth. 321, but he who does the truth 
comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they 
have been done in God. The Jews even stumbled on this 
in John chapter nine. You can turn there to verse 31. Now they are saying it in a way 
that is vilifying their sort of competition in terms of theology. But notice in 931, now we know 
that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worship, or 
I'm sorry, this is the man. Now we know that God does not 
hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper, worshiper of God 
and does his will, he hears him. So going back to John chapter 
7, Christ is saying something that would get him kicked off 
university campuses today and get him thrown out of the political 
arena. How dare you question the hearer? How dare you actually 
think that there's something wanting in them? You're obviously 
the problem, Jesus. They've all thrown up their hands 
in wonder. Where did this man get this knowledge? 
He's not studied, he's not been trained in the particular universities 
or college settings. He says if anyone wills to do 
his will, the question will be settled. If anyone wills to do 
the will of the Father who sent the Son, you're not going to 
stumble with reference to the Son. He who has the Father has 
the Son. He who has the Son has the Father. 
Go back to John 5, the same emphasis in verse 23. That all should 
honor the Son just as they honor the Father. We're not supposed 
to honor the Son with just about as much honor as we give to the 
Father. No, in this divine and infinite being there are three 
subsistences, or three persons. We honor Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit equally. That all should honor the Son 
just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son 
does not honor the Father who sent him. That sheds light on 
his statement in verse 17. If anyone wills to do his will, 
he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from 
God or whether I speak on my own authority. In other words, 
to reject Christ is to reject the Father. So a lot of religious 
people in this world, a lot of people that actually not so much 
anymore. It's not religious, but I'm spiritual. I'm spiritual. It's such an anemic 
and weak term to describe something that is alien and contrary to 
Holy Scripture. It really doesn't matter the 
object of worship. It just matters that I worship. 
It doesn't really matter the object of my faith. It just matters 
that I have faith. No, that's absolutely contrary. 
You need to worship the true and living God, and you need 
to come to the Savior King, the Lord Christ, in faith, because 
that's the only way of salvation. He is the way, the truth, and 
the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. 
So this answer to people that say, well, you know, I love God, 
and I serve God, and I'm spiritual, and I'm religious. Well, what 
think ye of Christ? Well, I'm not one of those Christians. 
I'm not one of those born-againers. I'm not one of those weirdos. 
I'm not one of those Bible thumpers. Well, then you're not His. Because 
if you reject the Son, you reject the Father who sent the Son. 
And Christ says, if anyone wills to do His will, then the matter 
will be settled. Is the Word of Christ divine? 
Absolutely, positively. Why? Because the Father sent 
Him. He sent Him in the fullness of the time, born of a woman, 
born under the law, to redeem those under the law. So when 
they said, how does this man know letters? He says, you're 
unable to understand my letters, even if I teach them, because 
you're not born again. You haven't come to me. You haven't 
believed. That is a prerequisite. We must 
be born of the Spirit. The apostle in 1 Corinthians 
2.14 tells us, the natural man does not receive the things of 
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he 
know them because they are spiritually discerned. What is Christ teaching? Christ is teaching that dead 
sinners don't respond to His Word. Christ is teaching that 
when you are in that depth of depravity, when you have that 
corresponding inability to come to Him, unless the Father who 
sent me draws Him, unless the Father who sent me calls Him, 
unless the Father who sent me awakens Him by the power of the 
Holy Spirit and gives Him the graces of faith and repentance, 
You'll never understand the word of Jesus Christ. So when they 
say, how does this man know letters having never studied? He says to them, you don't have 
the ears to hear. You don't have the wherewithal. 
And it's not just at the intellectual or cognitive level. He's not 
saying you're a bunch of morons and you couldn't understand 2 
plus 2 equals 4 if I spelled it out to you. He's saying you 
don't have that spiritual discernment. Sin affects in such a way as 
to promote or produce deadness in the sinner. That's why in 
Ephesians 2, you being dead in your trespasses and sins. Who 
gets praised for awakening dead sinners? It's God most high. 
Never does the Bible say good on you for making yourself alive. Good on you for the decision 
that you've made. Good on you for raising your 
hand at that altar call. Good on you for signing that 
card or registering online that you're a new believer. The Bible 
never does that. It tells us it does not depend 
upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows 
mercy. Jesus taught this to Nicodemus 
in John chapter three. Unless a man is born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God. This shows that all of us are 
dependent upon God. All of us stand in need of God's 
grace. All of us need what Christ talked 
of in John 6, 37. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will certainly 
not cast out. Verse 44, no one can come to 
me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Same emphasis in 
John 6 at verse 65. So Christ hasn't forgotten these 
lessons in the synagogue at Capernaum. They undergird the entire teaching 
ministry that he's about. He wants to show sinners that 
they don't have the wherewithal, but God has the grace. He wants 
to show sinners that they don't have the ability, but God has 
omnipotence. He wants to show sinners that 
they ought not to depend upon their own resources or upon their 
own works, but upon God most high, who sent the son of his 
love to live, to die, and to rise again. So to the question, 
how does this man know letters? First, because he is one with 
the father. Second, because they are unable 
to understand his word. But then notice thirdly, the 
mission of the son in verse 18. He says, he who speaks from himself 
seeks his own glory. That's an obvious, you know, 
sort of a thing. I don't think I need to spend a lot of time 
here. We're all like that, right? We all like to shine the light 
upon our own ability, upon our own knowledge. I mean, there's 
actual social media now that's been founded to advance that 
absolutely unworthy cause. We get to tell everybody every 
day everything that we're ever doing. That is native in the 
heart of man, to glorify ourselves. That is native in the heart of 
man, to try to steal from others, to try to steal from God, that 
which belongs to God alone. So Jesus lays this down as axiomatic 
in the first part of verse 18. He who speaks from himself seeks 
his own glory, but that's not why Christ came. He's underscoring 
his mission. To the question, how does this 
man know letters? It is for this reason I have 
come to declare the Father. Again, this connects us back 
to John 1. You can go to John 1. 1-1, in the beginning was 
the Word. The Word was with God and the 
Word was God. Verse 14, the word became flesh 
and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the 
only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. And 
then verse 18, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten 
son who is in the bosom of the father He has declared him. So going back to chapter seven 
at verse 18, he who speaks from himself seeks his own glory. 
Christ is not on a mission to get glory for himself. Whatever 
glory he speaks of coming to him, glorifies the Father and 
the Spirit. Because in this divine and infinite 
being, there are three subsistences. But notice, he who seeks the 
glory of the one, or but he who seeks the glory of the one who 
sent him, Christ uses that terminology so that we'll never forget His 
specialness, His divinity, His consubstantiality or union with 
the Father. And then notice, He says that 
He, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true. 
So whatever you Jews who are opposing me may think, Jesus 
knows that he's telling the truth. Jesus knows this because in the 
beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word 
was God. In the language of Psalm 31, 
he is the Lord God of truth. There is no lie in him. There 
is no falsehood in him. There is no badness in him. And 
that's how he ends this section in verse 18. There is no unrighteousness 
in him. Now, this particular statement 
looks back and it looks forward to what's going to happen in 
this dispute with the Jews, to which we now turn the intention 
of the Jews. Notice, first he confronts them 
in verses 19 and 20, and then secondly, he defends his ministry 
in verses 21 to 24. Notice the confrontation in verse 
19. They're questioning him about his authority. They're questioning 
him about his training. They're questioning him about 
his pedigree. How does this man know what he's 
talking about? He hasn't done all the things 
that our rabbis did. He's the son of a carpenter. 
He's just like one of us, basically. Who does he think he is? Jesus 
doesn't leave it there. He answers their question. Unity 
with the Father, the reality that you must be born again to 
receive His Word, and the fact that the mission of the Son is 
to bring glory to the Father. He answers their charge. And 
now He turns the cannon back on them, and He questions their 
ethics. They're wondering about his authority. 
He's wondering about their ethics, their ethical rebellion to the 
true and living God. You've got a lot of nerve to 
question me. He doesn't sound like this, and 
he doesn't probably talk like this, but this is probably the 
spirit in which he said it. Like, who do you think you are? 
You're asking me about my authority and you want to kill me, an innocent 
man, a holy and a harmless and an undefiled man, the only innocent 
man that has ever walked the face of the earth. You really 
have the chutzpah that people claim concerning the Jews. And 
that's precisely what he does here in verse 19 and 20. Notice 
his charge, verse 19. Did not Moses give you the law? 
Let's not forget this, okay? You guys are the covenant community. 
You are the inheritors of the oracles of God. You are the proud 
possessors of Genesis to Malachi. You have the Holy Scriptures. 
You have what God has given. You have the revelation of God. You claim Moses as your teacher. You claim the Pharisees are consistent 
with Moses, and yet you want to violate that law in your hatred 
and opposition to me. So he says in verse 19, did not 
Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. That's a general statement. None 
of you, whether Jew or Gentile, keeps the law. Just read Paul 
in Romans 1.18 to chapter 3 in verse 20, and you will see that 
all men everywhere are under the just condemnation of God 
because they don't keep the law. That is generally true. There's 
nobody that has escaped the sin of Adam. There's nobody that's 
escaped total depravity. There's nobody that's escaped 
total inability. There is none of us that come 
out of the wombs always wanting to obey the law of God, always 
saying, with Jesus, my meat is to do the will of him who sent 
me. That's not us, generally speaking. But notice the specific 
transgression that they themselves are guilty of, and he calls them 
on it. You're asking me about my authority. 
He says, why do you seek to kill me? Again, this brings us to 
verse 1. After these things, Jesus walked 
in Galilee, for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the 
Jews sought to kill Him. Go back to John chapter 5. The 
healing of the man at Bethesda brings us to chapter 5 at verse 
16. For this reason, the Jews persecuted 
Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things 
on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My father has been working 
until now, and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all 
the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, 
but also said that God was his father, making himself equal 
with God. So the Lord Jesus presses them 
now. The Lord Jesus asks them about 
their conduct. As I said, he turns the canon 
back around and says, I want you to answer this particular 
charge with which there is much evidence to corroborate. So notice 
how they respond. The people answer. Now the people 
here is probably the hoi polloi or the multitudes of verse 11. 
They're not the religious leaders, but their answer or their response 
indicates now their solidarity with the religious leaders. Remember 
when Jesus comes to the Feast of Tabernacles at verse 11, then 
the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? And there 
was much complaining among the people concerning him. Some said 
he is good, others said no on the contrary, he deceives the 
people. However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the 
Jews. The fear of the Jews, there in 
verse 13, is the religious leaders. So verse 20 may start to be indicating 
this slide. The hoi polloi, the multitudes, 
the general commoners, now they're starting to show solidarity with 
the religious leaders. And this is what we see in the 
latter part of all the gospel narratives, this rising animosity 
to our blessed savior, which culminates ultimately in in his 
crucifixion. Notice, the people answered and 
they said, you have a demon. Now this is what it says, you 
have a demon, the spirit of Beelzebub is in you. Later on in chapter 
10, you can turn there, it's translated, differently, and 
probably it has the same sort of meaning here. It has the same 
sort of semantic range. Notice in chapter 10 at verse 
19, therefore there was a division again among the Jews because 
of these sayings, and many of them said, he has a demon and 
is mad. Why do you listen to him? Same 
sort of situation here in chapter 7 at verse 20. They ask him specifically, 
or they answer and they say, you have a demon, you're mad, 
you're out of your mind, you don't know what you're talking 
about. Who's trying to kill you? Well, just because they don't 
know that the religious leaders are trying to kill them doesn't 
mean it isn't so. But they are showing now their 
hand in terms of solidarity with the religious leaders. It's slow 
and it's gradual, but it's ultimate, because at the end of John, we 
find them crying out in unison, away with him, away with him, 
crucify him, which again shows us the power of persuasion of 
our religious leaders. Right? These men hated Christ. 
Does it surprise us that the people they taught, the people 
that followed them, the people that attended their synagogues, 
would hate Christ as well? The very Messiah promised by 
God, the very Messiah specified in the Old Testament Scriptures, 
the very One has come to His own, but His own receive Him 
not. And so they are expressing this union with the religious 
leadership, which is showing that this is an increasing conspiracy 
against Christ. Now, notice the defense of his 
ministry. And again, we have three things 
here. First, the healing of the lame man. Second, the appeal 
to Moses. And then third, the standard 
of judgment. Notice first the healing of the 
lame man. He points back to that man in Bethesda. I told you there 
was a strong connection between this section in John 7 and what 
happens in John chapter 5. So verse 21, Jesus answered and 
said to them, I did one work and you all marvel. Right? They all marvel. This man had 
been paralyzed for 38 years. He'd been hanging out by the 
pool of Bethesda. When Christ alights on him, he 
says, well, there's nobody to help me into the water. He's 
kind of the victim there. He's kind of the whiner. He's 
kind of the moaner. I just couldn't get in there on my own. So Christ 
picks that one man out of many, and he heals him. And notice 
that Christ refers to that and says, I healed this man. And 
you all marvel. What happened? What's become 
of this? Well, now he appeals to Moses, 
which is common among the rabbis. The fact that he appeals to Moses 
shows that he didn't need to go to their schools to outsmart 
them. He didn't need to go to their 
schools to best them in argument. He appeals to Moses. And I think 
that sometimes commentators convolute this and make it a lot more difficult 
than it needs to be. but look specifically at verses 
22 and 23. He says, Moses therefore gave 
you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers. He appeals to circumcision. It 
comes from Abraham and God's dealings with him. In Genesis 
chapter 17, God had made a covenant with Abraham and he affirms it 
and gives this particular sign in Genesis chapter 17. It became 
binding upon the Jews. It was something that became 
sort of a badge of national identity. You got circumcised to be a participant 
in the covenant community. That's a no-brainer. That just 
happened. That's the way it was. So he 
says, Moses commands you to circumcise, and it's perfectly acceptable, 
and it's perfectly okay, and it's perfectly lawful to circumcise 
a man on the Sabbath. Now, probably the backdrop here 
is the very intention of the Sabbath. It seems to me, based 
on John 5, and based on what Jesus does here, and the Sabbath 
wars in the Synoptic Gospels, typically today, Christians who 
have a problem with the Sabbath think about the Sabbath the way 
the unbelieving Jews did. They think about the Sabbath 
the way that the Pharisees did. We don't think about the Sabbath 
the way that Jesus taught it in Mark's Gospel. He says the 
Sabbath was made for the man, and not the man for the Sabbath. 
When he says the man, he's talking about Adam. Sabbath predated 
Sinai. Sabbath is there at the original 
intention of God Most High in making the world and all things 
in it. He displays by his own example in Genesis 2, 1 to 3, 
God the Lord Sabbaths. He's enthroned over the creation 
and he finds complacency and rest in that. But with reference 
to the Sabbath in the Jewish mindset, it became a series of 
rules that man was made to fulfill. That's why Jesus says in Mark 
2, the Sabbath wasn't made for the man. God didn't say, I'm 
going to make this Sabbath, and then I'm going to just make sure 
that they have to jump through every hoop, they have to imbibe 
every jot and tittle, and I'm going to crush them if they don't. 
No, the Sabbath was made for the man. Imagine that the creator 
of the world said, I'm going to give you a day to rest. And 
in that day to rest, you're going to worship me. You're going to 
glorify me. You're going to get to be with 
your brothers and sisters. You're going to get to say with 
David, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house 
of the Lord. So Jesus says that if circumcision 
is appropriate on the Sabbath day, I made this man whole, and 
you've got problems with that? Remember, he upbraids them in 
the synoptics with the illustration over the ox or over the donkey. 
If your ox or your donkey fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, 
would you leave it there? Would you say, I'll be back for 
you tomorrow morning, beast of burden? No, you'd fetch him out. 
You'd pull him out. You'd show mercy to him. So Christ 
comes in John 5, he heals this man at the pool of Bethesda and 
they lose their minds because it's the Sabbath? It's not that 
he broke the Sabbath, he kept the Sabbath. It was always God's 
intention that good could be accomplished on the Sabbath day. Read the prophet Isaiah and the 
indictment concerning the fasting of Israel and the Sabbath keeping 
of Israel in Isaiah 58. The last part of Isaiah 58, it's 
about doing good. It's about helping. It's about 
thinking about God Most High, rejoicing in Him. So the argument 
is a lesser to the greater. 22 again. Sabbath? It's an absolutely, 
positively beautiful response and answer. If you guys are the 
spawn of Moses, the religious pedigree of Abraham, if you are 
the covenant community, and you have this great and glowing respect 
for the law of God, such that you feel you can challenge me 
based on my authority, what about the law of Moses? You got a problem 
with authority at the most fundamental level. You reject and resist 
Moses and you now want to accuse me of having a demon and being 
a madman and ultimately wanting to deliver me up to be crucified? 
This is a threefold response. He first highlights the healing 
of the lame man. He appeals to Moses and then 
he brings it home with great power in verse 24. There is a 
standard of judgment and you men are found wanting. There 
is a standard of judgment and you men have missed it by a long 
shot. Notice, he says there is a wrong 
way to judge and he says there is a right way to judge. The 
wrong way is clear. Do not judge according to appearance. especially appearance that is 
as faultily informed as yours is. We cannot operate the way 
the world does at this particular level. Judgment is an absolutely 
necessary part of life. If you doubt that, come back 
tonight because we're going to look at Matthew 7 verses 1 to 
5. The church makes judgments according 
to Matthew chapter 18. The civil government makes judgments 
according to Romans 13, 4. Everybody makes judgment at some 
point or other. But we're not supposed to do 
it based on appearance. We're not supposed to do it based 
on feelings. There's a popular commentator 
today that says, facts don't care about your feelings. Where 
do you think he got that? He got it from the objective 
standard of God's holy word. Exodus chapter 23, you're not 
supposed to show partiality to a poor man. If I'm a judge in 
a courtroom and some poor slob comes wandering in, I'm not supposed 
to say, oh, well, that's okay that he committed armed robbery 
because he's some poor slob. No. Justice is supposed to be 
blind. Justice is not supposed to be 
based on appearance. We're not supposed to render 
judgment based on partiality. We're supposed to judge with 
righteous judgment. Notice, the appearance of a situation 
can be deceiving, especially when you don't know the law. 
If you assume that Sabbath breaking means you can't heal a lame man 
on the Sabbath day, or fetch your dog out of a ditch or your 
donkey or your goat out of a ditch, you don't understand the law. 
And you really shouldn't judge based on things you don't understand. The appearance of a situation 
can be prejudicial. Again, Exodus 23, Leviticus 19, 
Deuteronomy 1, Deuteronomy 10, Deuteronomy 16. What do we read? Yahweh does not show partiality 
in judgment. Guess what? Yahweh demands from 
his people that we don't show partiality in our judgment. A 
poor man is judged by the same rule of law that a rich man is. The rich man is judged by the 
same rule of law that a poor man is, because just as easy 
as we're typically, oh, you know, this poor guy, I'm just going 
to rule in his favor because everything's against him. So 
might we be bought off. So might we judge a rich man 
with a little bit of leniency, hoping he'll make a donation 
to our campaign. We're not supposed to do that. 
In the language of one commentator, he makes the observation, to 
show partiality in a judgment is not to give a judgment that 
is just because of love, or deference, or fear, or the status of a person. Which things have nothing to 
do with the case. Can we ever return to the standard 
of God's judgment? That's what Jesus calls them 
to. Don't judge based on appearance, 
but judge with righteous judgment. Now again, in the larger context, 
they want to murder him. They want to kill him. This isn't 
simply theoretical in the mind of the Savior. He's not just 
questioning their ethics. He's not just challenging them 
at the level of hermeneutics just for some sort of scholastic 
enterprise. He is telling these men, he is 
calling these people to reflect upon their conduct. Why? He wants them to see their sin. He wants them to understand their 
wretchedness. He wants them to see their lawlessness. Why? Because look at verses 37 
and 38. On the last day, that great day 
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, if anyone thirsts, 
let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the 
scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living 
water. Like he says on the occasion 
of the salvation of Matthew, the Son of Man did not come to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Christ is plowing 
up the field. Christ is hitting them with the 
law. Christ is using the law as a child tutor to show them 
their need, such that when he says, if anyone thirsts, let 
him come and drink. Let him come to the living fountain 
of waters. Let him come for that satisfaction 
that Christ and his gospel brings to guilty, vile, helpless sinners, 
to lawbreakers and transgressors, those who have despised the written 
word of God through Moses. He is calling upon them ultimately 
to repent of their sin, to believe the gospel, and to be saved. In conclusion, the authority 
of the Savior is seen in his person. That's what he underscores 
in verses 16 to 18. He is the sent one from God. That is His person. He is the 
only begotten Son of the Father, God from God, light from light, 
true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the 
Father through whom all things were made. But the authority 
of the Son is seen in His works as well, the miracles. Now, there 
have been other miracle workers in the pages of Scripture. One, 
think of Elisha. Elisha is very typical of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Elijah did miracles. The prophets, 
you see that. But they never claimed to be 
doing it in a way that Jesus did. Jesus asserted his equality 
with the Father. Moses didn't do that. Elijah 
didn't do that. Elisha didn't do that. If persons 
were to ever say to them, you're making yourself equal with the 
Father, they would have distanced themselves by a thousand miles. But Christ owns that. Christ 
assumes that. Christ confirms that. So the 
authority of Jesus is seen in his relation to the Father and 
in the works that he does. And the relation to the Father 
shows us as well that the doctrine is the same. My doctrine is not 
mine, but it is the one who sent me. Secondly, we should focus 
on the wretchedness of the Jews at this place. Not because they're 
Jews and we hate them, but because we all ape them. We're like them. We are similar. Jews and Gentiles 
are all under sin. First, they did not have the 
will to do God's will. Verse 17a, if anyone wills to 
do his will, he shall. They didn't have that. They were 
dead in their trespasses and sins. They had not been born 
again. They had not been called by God out of darkness into marvelous 
light. Secondly, they did not have an 
understanding of Jesus' doctrine as a result. They didn't will 
to do the will of the Father. Therefore, when He speaks, they're 
suspect. When He speaks, they're suspicious. 
When He speaks, they actually question His authority to say 
the things that He's saying. Third, they did not have a commitment 
to the law of God. Verse 19, did not Moses give 
you the law yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill 
me? It really is an interesting contrast that you find in the 
gospel narratives at the level of the opposition of the religious 
leadership to Jesus. These are the men that claim 
to be the champions of the law. These are the men that stand 
out on the street corner and they say, thank you, God, that 
I'm not like other men. I'm not a murderer. I'm not an 
adulterer. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not 
unjust. I'm not like these tax collectors. 
I'm not like these publicans. They really thought they were 
the cat's meow. It's probably an old statement that dates me. 
The kids are probably saying, what's a cat's meow? They thought 
they had it going on and they are confronting the very God 
of heaven and earth. As well, they did not have a 
respect for his glorious person. To accuse Jesus in verse 20 of 
having a demon, we see in the synoptics that that is the unpardonable 
sin. That is the blasphemy against 
the Holy Spirit. That's the one from which people 
don't come back. And this is dangerous ground 
for them to tread. They did not have a respect for 
his miraculous works. As I said, John 5, verses 1 to 
13. The man had been incapacitated 
for 38 years. And now he's out of the pool. 
He's on his own two legs. He's carrying his mat. And these 
killjoys, these horrible specimens of human beings are upset with 
him. They're angry. Who did this to 
you? Same thing in Luke's gospel. 
The Lord Jesus comes to a synagogue on the Sabbath day, and there's 
a woman there who's hunched over. She's bent over. I mean, she's 
been bound with a spirit of infirmity for years and years and years, 
which, nevertheless, she's in the synagogue on the Sabbath. 
She's not on her couch, you know, moaning and whining, and, hey, 
honey, bring me a cracker and some soda because I got a sniffle. 
She was in the synagogue on the Sabbath, even though she's hunched 
over with a spirit of infirmity. So Jesus heals her. Guess how 
the ruler of the synagogue responds to that? Hey, we've got a fellowship 
hall. We'll get a cake. not get one, 
we'll make one, it's the Sabbath, and we'll make sure that we have 
a celebration. No, he lambasts everybody in 
the synagogue. He wags his finger at them and 
says, six days you shall labor and do all your work. The seventh 
is the Sabbath of God. The six days are when you come 
for a healing, not on the Sabbath day. And Jesus again says, which 
of you hypocrites, if you had a donkey or an ox that fell into 
the ditch, you wouldn't fetch it out? And he says, think of 
it, this woman, this daughter of Abraham has been bent over 
all these years and now she stands before you whole? When you reject 
or resist the powerful work of God Most High and describe it 
to demons, you're in a bad place. We ought to rejoice in the goodness 
of God. We ought to thank Him for His 
mercies. We ought to revel in the things 
that He does on behalf of people. And they did not have an understanding 
of the law of God, and that ultimately affected their response to Jesus. 
Jesus is the one described in Isaiah 11. The description of 
Messiah there tells us, "...his delight is in the fear of the 
Lord, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor 
decide by the hearing of his ears." So when Jesus upbraids 
them, when he indicts them, when he tells them, do not judge according 
to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment, he knows 
exactly what he's talking about. And yet they were so blinded 
in their prejudice toward him. They were so upset in terms of 
their response to him. They charge him as being a madman 
or being demon possessed. And they're basically saying, 
we want nothing to do with you. Now, if you find yourself in 
that particular place this morning, may I encourage you with what 
verses 37 and 38 say. If anyone thirsts, let him come. 
See, all of us are sinners. There is none righteous, no not 
one. No one in this church that is 
heaven-bound is heaven-bound because they're good. I think 
I can say that safely. Well, I know I can say that safely 
for everybody, right? We're not heaven-bound because 
we're good. We're heaven-bound because Jesus 
is good. We're heaven-bound because of 
his work, because of his death, because of his resurrection. 
When he says things like he does in John 4, my meat is to do the 
will of him who sent me. He is talking about the act of 
obedience. He's talking about his law keeping. He's talking 
about securing for us an imputed righteousness that is received 
by faith alone. We need his life, but we also 
need his death. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. Hebrews 9.22. Why was the sacrificial 
system in play in the Old Testament? To teach Israel that sinful man 
can't just wander into the presence of a holy God. They come through 
a bloody knife and a smoking altar. Which bloody knife and 
smoking altar under the Levitical system in the Old Covenant pointed 
forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? 
And so sinners who by God's grace believe in him have everlasting 
life. So listen to the words of the 
Savior. If you're not a believer here 
this morning, these come specifically to you in verse 37. If anyone 
thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Christ is a willing Savior 
for very needy sinners. And if you conclude, well, I've 
been really bad, been really evil. You know, if you've ever 
witnessed or you've gone door to door, if you've talked to 
people downtown and you say to Somebody, you know, there's salvation 
to be had in Jesus. You'll meet the odd doc once 
in a while who says, I think I'm beyond hope. I mean, you 
don't know my life, man. I'm really messed up. I've got, 
you know, lots of skeletons in my closet. I mean, it's just 
littered back there. I don't think there's hope for 
me. The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1 at verse 15 says, this is a 
faithful saying. worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners to save. And then Paul 
says, of whom I am chief. You're not worse than Paul. And 
yet Paul on the road to Damascus is conquered by the Savior. Paul 
on the road to Damascus is saved by the Savior. Paul on the road 
to Damascus is forgiven of his sins and he receives a righteousness 
that avails with God. How? By grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for 
the clarity of the teaching of our blessed Savior. We thank 
you for the consistent confirmation and testimony of the Apostle, 
under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ is 
God from God, light from light, true God from true God, one being 
with the Father. We rejoice in this gospel. We 
rejoice in the fact that he lived. that he died, that he was raised 
again the third day. As Paul summarizes so beautifully 
in Romans 4, he was delivered up because of our offenses and 
was raised for our justification. May you be pleased to save sinners 
today wherever this gospel is preached. And may you look down 
with mercy, with love, with kindness and compassion here and call 
sinners out of darkness into marvelous light. And we ask this 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. We'll take your hymn books 
and turn to 568 and we'll sing the doxology in praise to our 
great God. Please stand with me as we sing. ♪ Praise God the newborn as he is born ♪ Praise 
him, all creatures ♪ Raised in the body heavenly host 
♪ ♪ Raised, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Now may the God of peace who 
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd 
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you complete in every good work to do his will, working 
in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, 
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Father, thank you 
for this glad hour. Thank you for the mercy that 
you've shown us in the gospel of our salvation. Thank you for 
the glory of Jesus Christ and the power of his life, death, 
and resurrection. Help us to sanctify the day. 
Help us to call it a delight. Help us to enjoy the fellowship 
of the saints and to honor you. And God, bring us together tonight 
that we may worship again in spirit and in truth. And we pray 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.