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Well, please turn with me in 
the Bibles to John's Gospel. We're in John chapter 7, finishing 
up John 7 this morning. Our focus will be verses 40 to 
53. What I want to read beginning 
in verse 25 is to remind us of the context. Jesus is in Jerusalem 
at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, and he uses that opportunity 
to teach to preach, to call sinners to faith in him and repentance 
unto life. So I wanna read beginning in 
verse 25 of John 7. Now, some of them from Jerusalem 
said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look, he speaks 
boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed 
that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this man 
is from, but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he 
is from. Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, 
You both know Me and you know where I am from. And I have not 
come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from 
Him, and He sent Me. Therefore they sought to take 
Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not 
yet come. And many of the people believed in Him and said, When 
the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this 
man has done? The Pharisees heard the crowd 
murmuring these things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the 
chief priests sent officers to take him. Then Jesus said to 
them, I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to 
him who sent me. You will seek me and not find 
me, and where I am you cannot come. Then the Jews said among 
themselves, where does he intend to go that we shall not find 
him? Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks 
and teach the Greeks? What is this thing he has said, 
or that he said, you will seek me and not find me? And where 
I am, you cannot come. 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. But this he spoke concerning 
the spirit whom those believing in him would receive, for the 
Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. 
Therefore, many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, 
said, truly, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. 
But some said, will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not 
the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seat of David 
and from the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was 
a division among the people because of him. Now some of them wanted 
to take him, but no one laid hands on him. And the officers 
came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, why 
have you not brought him? The officers answered, no man 
ever spoke like this man. And the Pharisees answered them, 
are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the 
Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not 
know the law is accursed. Nicodemus, he who came to Jesus 
by night, being one of them, said to them, does our law judge 
a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing? They 
answered and said to him, are you also from Galilee? Search 
and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
our Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the 
privilege to gather in the house of God on the Lord's day to worship 
you, the living and true God. We come to the Father through 
the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, and we confess that 
God is all in all. We praise you for creation and 
providence and for redemption. We praise you for the gospel 
of our salvation and the joy that it is to be reminded of 
our blessed Savior, who, as the bride describes Him in the Old 
Testament, is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. 
And God, may we now learn of Him even more. May you be merciful 
and gracious to those that are dead in their trespasses and 
sins. Raise them, make them alive together with Christ by the power 
that is yours. Forgive us for all sin and transgression 
and all unrighteousness. Cleanse us in that precious blood 
of the Lamb. And we pray in the name and for 
the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, as 
you read through the gospel records, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
you will see that Jesus is a controversial character. It's not because of 
him per se, but it's because of the audience. It's because 
of the people. But we are prepared by John in this gospel for controversy. If you go back to John chapter 
1, in the prologue, John tells us who Jesus is. Verse 1, he 
tells us, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, And the Word was God. He's consubstantial with the 
Father. We notice in verse 3 that all things were made through 
Him. Without Him, nothing was made that was made. Verse 14 
tells us about the second person of the Trinity becoming man, 
for us men and for our salvation. Notice, and 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. But 
going up just a bit into verse 10, notice it says, I'm sorry, 
verse 10, he was in the world and the world was made through 
him and the world did not know him. He came to his own and his 
own did not receive him. So when we move through the pages 
of the gospels, it is something that we are prepared to see. 
There is dissension, there is division, there is some enmity 
and animosity targeted against our Lord. Turn over to John chapter 
3, John 3, specifically at verse 18, Jesus says, He who believes 
in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned 
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten 
Son of God. And this is the condemnation, 
that the light has come into the world, that's the Lord Jesus, 
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
were evil. For everyone practicing evil 
hates the light and does not come to him, lest his deeds should 
be exposed. But he who does the truth comes 
to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they 
have been done in God. And then over in John chapter 
5, the Lord Jesus heals that man, that lame man at the pool 
of Bethesda. And the response on the part 
of the religious leadership was not to praise God, from whom 
all blessings flow, rather it was to target for destruction 
the Lord Jesus who had wrought this miracle. So notice in 5.16, 
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. That brings us to chapter 
7. There is a feast of tabernacles 
in Jerusalem, and initially we read that Jesus does not want 
to go, according 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. He reproves them for that when 
he eventually does go to the feast in verse 19. Did not Moses 
give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. 
Why do you seek to kill me? So in the midst of this controversy, 
in the midst of this division, he nevertheless preaches. And 
that preaching culminates in verses 37 and 38. It says, 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. On that last day of the 
feast, the great day of the feast, they would customarily take water 
from the pool at Siloam and march it to the altar at the temple 
and there pour it on the altar in preparation for sacrifice. 
So in the midst of the Feast of Tabernacles, the one who tabernacles 
among men calls upon sinners to come to him and drink to receive 
freely the gift of everlasting life and the Holy Spirit. Now 
on the heels of this, there is first a reaction to him in public, 
and then there is a rejection of him in private. So let's look 
first at the public reaction to Jesus and his teaching in 
verses 40 to 43, then we'll take up the private opposition to 
Jesus and his teaching in verses 44 to 53. But notice, with reference 
to this sort of division, it again focused upon, or it centered 
in, his identity, who is he, and his authority. How does he 
do what he's doing? He's not been to rabbinic school, 
he's not been trained in Bible college, he doesn't have a PhD. 
What makes him think he can stand up in the middle of the Feast 
of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, at the Temple, and teach us the 
people of Jerusalem? So notice the identity of Jesus 
is at the forefront in this reaction in verses 40 and 41. It says, 
therefore, many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, 
the saying of verses 37 and 38, when he lifted up his voice, 
when he told the thirsty sinner to come to him and drink and 
to receive freely of the Holy Spirit, when they heard this 
saying, many from the crowd said, truly, this is the prophet, and 
others said, this is the Christ. Now, there was a messianic expectation. Messiah is the Hebrew version 
of Christ. Both terms simply mean anointed 
one. And the Old Testament is a messianic 
document. That means there are multitude 
of promises in the Old Testament concerning the coming of a Messiah, 
an anointed one sent by God to bring in the kingdom of God. 
And Jesus is obviously that man. He is obviously that person. 
And yet at this stage of the game, there's still this division. 
Some associated the coming of the Messiah with a prophet figure, 
or perhaps they saw the Messiah as being a prophetic figure. 
But there was an expectation concerning a prophet to come, 
and that comes from the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 18, 
15. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me 
from your midst, this is Moses, from your brethren, him you shall 
hear. There's already been curiosity 
concerning Jesus as to whether or not he was that prophet. Turn 
back to John chapter 1, specifically at verse 21, those from Jerusalem 
sent to investigate who this Jesus Christ is. Chapter 121, 
they asked him, what then, are you Elijah? He said, I am not. 
Are you the prophet? He answered, no. Turn over to 
chapter 4, the woman at the well. Specifically in verse 19, the 
woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. And then 
again in chapter six at verse 14, then those men, when they 
had seen the sign that Jesus did said, this is truly the prophet 
who is to come into the world. Now remember Israel at this particular 
time in the first century, they had had no prophetic message. 
Malachi had been dead and buried for about 400 years. There had 
been this long silence, and yet there was this expectation based 
on their scriptures that one was going to come heralding the 
coming of the kingdom of God. And so at Jerusalem at this particular 
time, they're convinced this must be the prophet. Now others 
say, no, others say this is the Christ. That's what we see there 
specifically in verse 40. or 41, this is the Christ. Now the Christ, obviously it 
was promised. And if you look back in this 
context to chapter seven at verse 25, same sort of division concerning 
his identity. Now, some of them from Jerusalem 
said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look, he speaks 
boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed 
that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this man 
is from, but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he 
is from. Then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple saying, 
you both know me and you know where I am from. And I have not 
come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. 
But I know him for I am from him and he sent me. As we've 
seen many times in the gospel of John, it's one of the favorite 
ways of our Lord to identify his father. He's the one who 
sent me, consistent with what we see in the prologue. The word 
became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The 
glory is as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace 
and truth. So he has emphasized time and again who he is. He's 
emphasized time and again that he is in fact the Christ. He's 
emphasized this in terms of his direct teaching. They continue 
not to get it. They continue to resist it. They 
either don't listen, they have very poor comprehension skills, 
or their darkened hearts are in such a condition that they 
will not receive the truth as it is in Jesus. They underscore 
what we learn in John chapter 3, unless a man is born again, 
he shall not enter the kingdom of God. Now notice, the origin 
comes to pass now. So not only his identity, truly 
this is the prophet, others said this is the Christ, but some 
said, will the Christ come out of Galilee? They knew that he 
wouldn't, and verse 42 indicates that. Verse 42 says, has not 
the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David 
and from the town of Bethlehem where David was? So you see the 
connection there. Some are saying this is the Christ, 
but then others are saying, but the Bible doesn't tell us that 
the Christ will come out of Galilee. They know that he will be both 
the seed of David and born in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. How do 
they know that? 2 Samuel 7, the Davidic covenant, 
God tells David that from his seed, a king will rise up whose 
kingdom will have no end. And then in Micah chapter 5 in 
verse 2, we learn in the birth narrative of our Savior that 
he would be born in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. So this shows their 
ignorance concerning Christ. Remember, it was early on that 
Christ moved to Galilee. He was born in Bethlehem in accordance 
with the Holy Scripture. He fulfilled every jot and tittle 
that was promised of him. But the murderous rage of Herod, 
wanting to extinguish or exterminate the innocents in a manner that 
is parallel to Pharaoh destroying the male babies born at the time 
of Moses, Joseph and Mary take Jesus away from Judea. They take 
him first to Egypt and then when they return back to Israel, they 
don't go to Jerusalem or Judea, they go to the northern part 
of Israel, they go to Galilee. So these persons are ignorant 
in terms of his birthplace. They only know that he hails 
from or comes from Galilee. And so it's a legitimate division 
on behalf of the people. Well, the scriptures has not 
said that he will come from Galilee, but he doesn't come from Galilee, 
he was born in Bethlehem according to the promises made concerning 
him. And then this brief section ends with that division. The 
apostle tells us clearly in verse 43, so there was division among 
the people because of him. We know that division. Some said 
he's the prophet. Some said he's the Christ. And 
now notice in verse 43, now some of them wanted to take him, but 
no one laid the hands on him. So there is this division concerning 
the Lord Jesus, a controversial figure in first century Israel, 
because he's righteousness, he's light, he is the God of heaven 
and earth, and he's come to his own, and his own have received 
him not. They are darkened, they are ignorant, they are sinful, 
they are rebellious, and Christ, in the midst of that, says what 
he says in verses 37 and 38. If any man thirsts, let him come 
to me and drink. Notice he doesn't come to a holy, 
polished, righteous people. There's a book by J.C. Ryle called 
the Christian Leaders of the 18th Century. And if you're familiar 
with the Christian Leaders of the 18th Century, there were 
some big guns. God used some men in some incredible 
ways. And oftentimes, for us, we look 
back on a situation like that and say, well, you know, there 
must have been a lot of common grace, and people were already, you 
know, sympathetic to religion, and everybody was, for the most 
part, moral and upright. Brethren, there is nothing new 
under the sun. The heart of man is deceitful above all things 
and desperately wicked. Whether he lives in the 18th 
century, whether he lives in the 5th century, whether he lives 
in the 1st century, wherever man is found, man is a sinful 
rebel in the sight of God Most High. So these 18th century leaders 
didn't come to a prepared people. They came to a wretched people. 
It is God in his grace and in his mercy who opens the heart 
and causes sinners to close with our blessed Savior. And the same 
is the case today. The same was the case in this 
particular context. Jesus doesn't say, well, you 
know, you're polished and right, so therefore I'm going to come 
to you. No, he says just the opposite. The Son of Man did 
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So 
if you're visiting with us this morning, if you're a person that 
is not a believer in Jesus Christ, may I commend to you Jesus Christ, 
because none of us who are found safely in Him were necessarily 
sympathetic toward Him. It's not like we were raised 
in Sunday school and we were tutored in our confession of 
faith and we learned all these Bible verses. No, all we like 
sheep have gone astray. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There was none of us who sought 
after God. There was no fear of God in our 
hearts. There was everything about us 
that was only liable to God's wrath and curse, both in this 
life and that which is to come. We know the story. Christ in 
His mercy, Christ in His grace, Christ with all of His efficacy 
and power saved us from our sin. And that same Christ is now enthroned 
at the right hand of the Father, and He saves all comers. All 
that the Father gives me will come to me, He says in the former 
chapter. And the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast 
out. There's no way! He's not going to say, I reject 
you, I resist you, I don't want anything to do with you. You 
come to Christ in faith, and He will receive you, and He will 
bless you. That's the emphasis in verses 
37 and 38, and it's on the heels of that that there's this public 
reaction to Him. And at the end of verse 44, notice, 
now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on 
Him. That's not owing to their goodness. That's not owing to 
their restraint. That's not owing to their dignity. 
That's not owing to common grace. It's owing to the sovereignty 
of God Most High. If you look at verse 30, therefore 
they sought to take him. This is the religious leadership. 
But no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet 
come. The hour speaks concerning his death. He had come to die. He had come to die as the Lamb 
of God who takes away the sin of the world. After having fulfilled 
a life of obedience and righteousness, he then goes to the cross as 
a sacrifice in order to save us or cleanse us from all of 
our sin. He's raised again the third day 
such that whoever looks to him in faith will have everlasting 
life. But with reference to his timeframe, 
it wasn't willy nilly. It wasn't sort of fate. It wasn't 
chance or luck. He was on a mission, and that 
mission must be executed completely in accordance with the will of 
the Father. And so these men were restrained by the sovereign 
God of heaven and earth. Our brother prayed, he cited 
Proverbs 21.1, the heart of the king is in the hand of Yahweh, 
and Yahweh turns it like he does the rivers of water wherever 
he wishes. So the time for Christ's death 
was not yet, that's why they're restrained at this point. So 
don't read the end of verse 43 and say, oh, they found their 
better part. They found their kinder and gentler 
part. No, they were restrained by God 
most high. They could not exercise their 
desire to kill Jesus. Now notice secondly the private 
opposition to Jesus and his teaching in verses 44 to 52. You have 
first the return of the officers, then you have the response of 
the Pharisees, and then you have the reproof of Nicodemus. Nicodemus 
is the voice of reason crying in the wilderness that was Jerusalem 
in the first century AD. But notice the return of the 
officers. verses 45 and 46. Then the officers came to the 
chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, why have you not 
brought him? The officers answered, no man ever spoke like this man. 
Who are the officers? The temple police. They were 
the security guards. They were the guys to make sure 
that during the feasts that Israel conducted in Jerusalem, nobody 
got out of line, there were no riots, there were no things that 
would sort of instigate the Roman government to get involved and 
start liquidating. You remember the Summer of Love 
in 2020 when American cities were being burned down? That 
wouldn't have happened in the Roman Empire. That would not 
have taken place in the Roman Empire. You set fire to a public 
building, you're done, that's it, you're over. The Roman emperor 
doesn't say, well, you know, it's just too bad that those 
kinds of things happen under my rule and reign. No, absolutely 
positively not. So you effectively had temple 
police. You had men whose task it was to make sure nobody got 
out of line, nobody got, you know, dumb and ignorant in a 
public place, and that necessitated involvement by the Roman government. 
Remember chapter 7 at verse 32? Verse 32 says, the Pharisees 
heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning him, and the 
Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. So 
they dispatched the temple police, they send these security guards, 
they send this particular detail to silence Jesus. capture him 
and bring him to us. Again, their interest is not 
a theological debate with a fellow rabbi. Their interest is liquidation, 
extermination, silencing him. Now we might say, well, their 
theology was jeopardized. Well, that might be a little 
bit, but it was their politics that were jeopardized. It was 
his fame. It was his prestige. It was the 
fact that everybody now wanted to hear him versus them that 
enraged them. And as a result, they want to 
neutralize the perceived threat. So they send these guards to 
go get Jesus. Now notice their return. The 
officers return to the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin is simply the name 
for the Jewish council that was the head of the politics and 
the religion in Israel under subjection to the Roman government. 
And the officers return empty-handed and then notice they're questioned 
about that. Verse 45, why have you not brought 
him? You got to love their answer. 
The officers answered, no man ever spoke like this man. You 
sent us on a fool's errand. You sent us on a mission of futility. No man ever spoke like this man. 
You guys obviously aren't paying attention. You're obviously not 
listening. As far as the rabble is concerned, 
the hoi polloi, they see him as the prophet. They see him 
potentially as the Christ. They see him as the one promised 
by Moses, whom this man speaks better than. They see him as 
one of the prophets that the prophets spoke concerning. And 
this man speaks better than them. This man speaks better than John 
the Baptist. No man ever spoke like this man. That is a wonderful response 
that they give. And notice what conquers their 
heart. It isn't the fear of political 
ramifications. It's not the fear of what may 
happen in Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. 
What breaks them or what subdues them is the word of our blessed 
Savior. The ancient commentator Cyril 
of Alexandria, writing in the 5th century AD, says, and we 
heard Jesus say these things, verses 37 and 38. He who boasts 
in superhuman words without fear of danger, then must be God by 
nature. Thus, how dangerous must it be 
for anyone to try and hunt down by force and violence the one 
who is above creation? How could he be captured by us 
against his will when he is as far above us as God is above 
humanity? Now, perhaps they spoke better 
than they knew, but the bottom line is they knew enough to avoid 
him. They were not gonna lay their 
filthy hands upon the son of God, drag him over to the Sanhedrin 
so that they could execute him. A modern commentator makes this 
observation. He says, whatever incompetence 
this reveals about their role as temple police, I mean, it 
would be incompetent, right? Go get that fellow and bring 
him to us. They go, they don't get that 
fellow, and they don't bring him to us. That's a failure to 
carry out your job. So this is a good observation. 
Whatever incompetence this reveals about their role as temple police 
only magnifies their competence as witnesses to the otherness 
of Jesus. Again, the words of Jesus are 
highlighted as significant. There is no mention of the chaotic 
crowd or the political ramifications that might result from their 
inability to act, or even the escape of Jesus. The only thing 
that stopped them was his word. That's it. He speaks like no 
one else has ever spoken. And again, a little autobiography 
on the part of all those here saved by grace through faith, 
we can all attest to that, can't we? When we hear of Christ saying, 
come, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, 
we know what that rest is, don't we? We don't have that heavy 
burden of sins weighing us down anymore to the point where we're 
crushed. Oh yeah, we've got remaining 
corruption and the good that we wish to do, we don't do, and 
the evil we don't want to do, we find ourselves doing. But 
we know that the power of reigning sin has been done away with by 
our blessed Savior. When he says, come those who 
are thirsty and drink, we know what that's like, don't we? We 
know what the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit is. 
We don't know it as we'd like to, we don't know it as much 
as we hope to, but we know it in a way we never knew it before. 
We know what it is to have passed from death to life, to now proclaim 
the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into marvelous 
light. The words of Jesus are the best 
of words, and that's what these men are underscoring. Says, no 
man ever spoke like this man. Again, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Why? Because Moses and Isaiah 
and Jeremiah were pointing to Jesus. The bride describes him 
as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. He stands in the 
midst of the Feast of Tabernacles and offers salvation to very 
needy sinners. And on the heels of that, there 
is this public reaction. But now there's this private 
rejection, this offensive posture taken by these men. Notice the 
response of the Pharisees, verse 47. The Pharisees answered them, 
are you also deceived? You know what that indicates? 
It indicates ignorant men who have no valid argument. This is ignorant men who have 
no valid argument whatsoever. They don't ask, what do you mean 
no man ever spoke like this? What do you mean that others 
are saying that he's the Christ and others are saying that he's 
the prophet? What do you mean by it? Oh no, are you deceived 
also? Are you a rube? Are you one of 
those morons? Are you one of those people that 
get duped by deceivers like him? Look back at chapter 7 and verse 
12, this is already alluded to. Verse 12, there was much complaining 
among the people concerning him. Some said he is good, others 
said, no, on the contrary, he deceives the people. The assumption 
that Jesus is a deceiver is obvious amongst these leaders. In later 
rabbinic literature, the term deceiver was a significant title 
given to those accused of being heretics and was the specific 
accusation made against Jesus by later Judaism. See, we think 
that the Jews and the Christians have always just mingled so beautifully 
and wonderfully together. That's not so. Read the Talmud, 
the edition that came out of Babylon, and see how they speak 
of our blessed Christ, our blessed Redeemer. They called Him the 
deceiver. They called Him the one with 
the problems, and that's what they do here. The religious opposition 
to these temple police say, are you also deceived? I mean, when 
they say no man ever spoke like this man, They're not saying, 
we gave our hearts to Jesus, we raised our head when every 
eye was closed and every head was bowed, we walked the aisle, 
we signed a card, we put our name on the... They don't do 
that. All they say is, no man ever spoke like this man. Are 
you deceived also? Are you deceived like all the 
others that would dare to assume that he's the prophet of the 
Christ? See, the idea being is that to follow Jesus, that obviously 
demonstrates that you're not altogether there. If you're going 
to be led astray by that deceiver, that says something about you. 
Brethren, that continues unabated today, doesn't it? You tell somebody, 
I'm a Christian. Do they say, oh, that's wonderful. That is awesome. What a display 
of your intelligence. What a display of your integrity. 
No, if they don't say it outspokenly, they at least think Arub, another 
person that's been taken in by this cult, by this religion, 
by this ideology that's ultimately in the end, futile. That's how 
the religious opposition deals with Jesus and those who would 
follow him. Notice the challenge that they 
issue in verse 48. Have any of the rulers of the 
Pharisees believed in him? You see what they're doing? You just look around, look at 
the religious guys, come on. Everybody who knows anything 
rejects him. Everybody who knows anything 
stays far away from him. Brethren, if this sounds like 
today, it's because it is like today. There is nothing new under 
the sun. The enemies of our blessed Lord 
aren't very bright, and they don't develop sort of new tactics 
or strategies. They do the same thing. Are you 
also deceived? Have any of the religious leaders, 
have any of the Pharisees, have any of the scribes? which is 
patently false because Nicodemus is gonna be that voice of reason 
that tries to call them to some degree of obedience to their 
law. So it's false on the one hand, but it's all designed to 
discredit the Savior. It's all designed to discredit 
the Savior's followers. The apostle speaks to this in 
1 Corinthians 1, not many wise, not many noble, not many mighty 
come. Though some do, we can't say 
none ever do. Nicodemus came by God's grace 
to this blessed Savior. So again, their tactics have 
not changed. They've certainly not improved. 
They say, oh, you're deceived also, or have any of the rulers 
or the Pharisees believed in him? But then notice the condemnation 
in verse 49. It says, and this is technically 
an informal logical fallacy called ad hominem. You've probably heard 
that Latin phrase before. It simply means, to the man. 
If somebody were to say, 2 plus 2 equals 4, and you say, well, 
you know, you're a drunk. I don't have to believe what 
you have to say. Those are apples and oranges. He's right. 2 plus 
2 equals 4. That's obvious, isn't it? I know 
we're in a shifting sort of fluid age. I know we can't say men 
are men and women are women anymore. But I think we're still okay 
with two apples plus two apples equaling four apples. I haven't 
seen anybody yet, you know, stand on the grounds at the Capitol 
saying, oh no, there's no objectivity in math. We want to reduce that. 
We want to get rid of that. We want to obliterate that. But 
the fact is, is that sometimes miserable, horrible people say 
things that are right. Sometimes miserable, horrible 
people say things that are factually correct. Now, I'm not suggesting 
that Jesus is a miserable, horrible people. I'm suggesting this is 
how they frame their particular charge. Notice in verse 49, this 
crowd that does not know the law is accursed. this crowd that 
does not know the law is accursed. So they're not in any position 
to judge or adjudicate who the prophet is. They're certainly 
not capable or competent to tell us who the Christ is. And look 
at how they're speaking about their fellow countrymen. The 
Sanhedrin was made up of 71 people, 70 men and then one leader over 
them, one sort of ruler of the Sanhedrin. They were supposed 
to be the go-to guys in terms of religion and theology and 
ethics and politics. Look at the disdain they have 
for the people of Jerusalem at that particular time. You find 
a contrary opinion? Well, what do you do? You just 
insult them. You just rebuke them. You just 
write them off. You just engage in argument ad 
hominem. These people are cursed. There's 
no way that they would ever be able to stumble upon the fact 
that he's either the prophet or the Christ. Now, consider 
their inconsistency. That's why we have the bit of 
the lengthy introduction. What are these guys wanting to 
do to Jesus? They want to kill him. They want 
to murder him. Now, kill can be a legit or an 
illegitimate thing. The word kill in and of itself 
is neither good or bad. There's legitimate instances 
given in the scripture whereby men may kill other men. Now, 
I realize that this is not a happy subject, but when it comes to 
a lawful war, you may kill other people. When it comes to self-defense 
or the defense of others, you may kill other people. When it 
comes to capital punishment or execution by the hands of the 
civil magistrate, you may kill other people. So killing is legitimized 
in the Bible. Murder, however, is when you 
kill somebody without any cause. When you have premeditation in 
your heart, malice aforethought. Now, we've already seen back 
to chapter 5 that these guys want to kill Jesus. We see chapter 
six takes place at the time of the Passover, and then the Feast 
of Tabernacles is about six months later. They haven't changed. 
They haven't gotten any new light. They're not suggesting now, well, 
we wanna just visit with him and have a theological debate. 
We'll publicize it. We'll try to win our group, and 
he wins his group, and then we'll go our own merry way. They want 
to murder him. And all the while, they're saying 
that this crowd who doesn't know the law is accursed. We're not 
supposed to listen to them? The probable background is Deuteronomy 
27, 26. Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words 
of this law by observing them. They just ridicule and insult 
the crowd because the crowd is stumbling onto the fact that 
Jesus is either the prophet or the Christ. Again, brethren, 
this wasn't a tent meeting. It's not like everybody here 
got Jesus. Everybody here got religion. 
Everybody here is singing about that old time religion. That's 
not it. I mean, they're just asking questions. They're making observations. 
Could this be the prophet? Could this be the Christ? The 
temple cops say, no man ever spoke like this man. That was 
enough to bring to the forefront the rage of the Sanhedrin at 
this particular point. They wanted to get rid of Jesus. 
So the obvious inconsistency, verse one, Jesus doesn't want 
to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Verse 
19, did not Moses give you the law yet none of you keeps the 
law? Why do you seek to kill me? And then again, we have in 
verse 32, the Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things 
concerning him and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers 
to take him. And then of course, what we find 
here is contrary to what we see in chapter five. You can turn 
back there. The Sanhedrin prided themselves in being adherents 
to the law of God. Now the law is used in different 
ways. There's different connotations 
for that word law. Law means statutes or ordinances 
or imperatives. It's the 10 commandments. Law 
can refer in a broader sense to teaching. Law can refer to 
the five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and 
Deuteronomy. And so these men were champions 
of the law as far as they were concerned. You ask them, they 
would say, oh yeah, you cut us, we'll bleed the law of God. We'll 
notice in John chapter 5 and our Lord's reproof to that. Verse 
39, you search the scriptures for in them you think you have 
eternal life. And these are they which testify 
of me, but you are not willing to come to me that you may have 
life. I do not receive honor from men, but I know you that 
you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my father's 
name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, 
him you will receive. How can you believe who receive 
honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes 
from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the 
Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you 
would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe 
his writings, how will you believe my words?" Going back to John 
7, two observations on John 5. First, they're very inconsistent, 
right? Oh, this crowd that doesn't know 
the law is a curse. You guys are conspiring to commit 
murder against the only innocent man that ever walked the earth. 
Okay? Think about that. For 33 years, 
Jesus never sinned. For 33 years, Jesus only ever 
did that which was pleasing to his Father. In Hebrews 7, the 
Apostle describes him as holy, harmless, and undefiled. So the 
only man that would ever walk this earth that was without sin, 
they are premeditating to commit murder against. And they have 
the gall and the wherewithal, the chutzpah, as the Jews would 
say, to condemn the crowd because the crowd is accursed. These 
are wretched men. But the second observation, based 
on that reading there in John 5, and I'm not legitimizing this, 
I'm not saying it's okay, but you can see why they hated him. 
You can see why they despised him, because he told them the 
truth. You are lying deceivers yourselves. You're in the highest place of 
authority in Israel at that time. And you have zero regard for 
the law of Moses. You have zero regard for the 
promises of the prophets. You have zero regard for the 
scriptures that you are supposed to be the teachers of. It was 
a miserable condition that obtained at the time of our blessed Savior. 
And he went head to head with these people. Now notice finally 
the rebuke by Nicodemus in verses 50 to 52. Now, first it just 
tells us the man, Nicodemus, and then it goes on to explain. 
Parenthetically, John, the apostle, gives us further information. 
He who came to Jesus by night being one of them. Go back to 
John 3. John 3, verse 1, there was a 
man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man 
came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you 
are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs 
that you do unless God is with him. Now he was an official delegate 
on the part of the Sanhedrin. If you go back to John 7, after 
mentioning Nicodemus in verse 50, it tells us he who came to 
Jesus by night, being one of them, He was one of them when 
he came to Jesus by night in John 3. He came to vet, he came 
to figure out who this Jesus was. He came on an investigation. And so here he now interposes, 
and now here he offers up a good reproof to these men. So Nicodemus, 
he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them said to them, 
does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he 
is doing? In essence, Nicodemus says, hey guys, does Moses say 
we can just grab anybody haphazardly, take them and issue a summary 
execution? Is Moses okay with Stalin? Is 
that okay? Just take them out back and shoot 
them in the head? Is that what we've degenerated 
into? Remember that one of the purposes 
that God gave the law to Israel is such that the nations around 
Israel would see them and say, what manner of God do they have? What a wise nation, what a wonderful 
nation governed by such a wonderful law. And it would bring glory 
to God most high. These men are acting like thugs. 
These men are acting like commies. These men are acting like fools. 
These men are at least now being checked by this man, Nicodemus. And it's a good question. Does 
our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is 
doing? Perhaps in his mind were several passages. Deuteronomy 
chapter 17, for instance. Deuteronomy chapter 17, verse 
two, if there is found among you within any of your gates, 
which the Lord your God gives you a man or woman who has been 
wicked in the sight of the Lord your God in transgressing his 
covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, 
either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which 
I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, 
notice, then you shall inquire diligently. Right? So there's 
this allegation that one amongst us has engaged in gross idolatry. We'll just go shoot him in the 
head. No, that's not how Israel functioned. They were regulated 
by law. And so you are to inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and 
certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 
then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has 
committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that 
man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death 
shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 
He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 
No capital punishment in Old Covenant Israel on the testimony 
of one witness. That was settled fact. Brethren, 
I'm not suggesting that the Sanhedrin is operating in that manner. 
I am suggesting, however, they are disregarding the very law 
that they're condemning this crowd for being a curse because 
they don't keep the law. Or turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 
19. Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 15, one witness shall not rise 
against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits. 
By the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be 
established. If a false witness rises against any man to testify 
against him of wrongdoing, then both men in the controversy shall 
stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who 
serve in those days. And the judges shall make careful 
inquiry. Do you see a theme here in old covenant law? You see 
a theme here with reference to Moses? So they've already shown 
disregard for the sixth commandment. We want to murder Jesus. They've 
also shown disregard for the biblical mandate for due process. Notice in the text, he goes on 
and verse 18 says, and the judges shall make careful inquiry. And 
indeed, if the witness is a false witness who has testified falsely 
against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought 
to have done to his brother. You understand that? If I charge 
Mark of a particular crime, and I schlep him before the high 
court, and it turns out I'm false, turns out my testimony is wrong, 
turns out I'm lying, then whatever they would have done to him had 
he been guilty of that crime, they do to me. That's a good 
principle, isn't it? It would sure weed out the courts 
from frivolous lawsuits in a litigious nation where we're just bandying 
about character assassination and things that destroy human 
beings. False witness is to murder somebody. False witness is terrible. There 
is a commandment given to the prohibition of giving false testimony 
of another person. Verse 20, "...so you shall put 
away the evil from among you, and those who remain shall hear 
and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil 
among you." In other words, if you carry out the law, it will 
have a good influence upon those in the body politic. See, when 
you actually punish people for their crimes, Other people see 
it and they take it to heart. I know that's a zany concept, 
I know it's bizarre and strange, I know it's odd, but brethren, 
that's what the Word of God says. Your eye shall not pity, life 
shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, 
foot for foot. Turn to Proverbs 18. Proverbs 
18, no doubt Solomon has these rules of evidence and witnesses 
and due process in his mind, when he's composing the Proverbs, 
ultimately for us, but initially for his sons that would succeed 
him on the throne in Israel, those who would be given to matters 
of jurisprudence, those who would be given to matters of hearing 
offenses and transgressions and having to give and render verdict. 
And of course, the Sanhedrin should have known the wisdom 
of Solomon. The Sanhedrin should have known 
the laws of Moses. So Nicodemus' charge here is 
absolutely legit. Does our law just allow us to 
grab people off the street under the cover of night and put a 
bullet in their head? Of course it doesn't. Notice Proverbs 18, 
13, he who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and 
shame to him. Verse 17, the first one to plead 
his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. 
We've probably all been guilty of both of those. We hear half 
a story and we're ready to go. Oh, I can't believe so-and-so 
did such a thing. And then we hear the other side 
and we say, oh, now I can understand why so-and-so did such a thing. 
Maybe we're supposed to listen twice as much as we speak, and 
that would do better for us as normal human beings in God's 
world. Going back to chapter 7 in John, 
Nicodemus is on the right track. Does our law judge a man before 
it hears him and knows what he is doing? And of course, the 
Sanhedrin is cut to the heart. They're convicted. They say, 
oh yeah, we don't want to violate what Moses has commanded. We 
don't want to violate the sage wisdom of Solomon. We don't want 
to run on scent when it comes to the persecution or rather 
prosecution of this man, Jesus. We better just step back, take 
a deep breath, and clear our heads, and maybe have a coffee, 
and then sort of figure out what our strategy ought to be, like 
maybe talking to Him, and listening to Him, and maybe understanding 
that He is in fact the Christ that was promised to come. Of 
course, they don't do that. Notice what they do. They first 
insult Nicodemus, and then they demonstrate their ignorance. 
Again, brethren, there's nothing new under the sun. I could see 
this on the news right now and not be shocked or surprised at 
all. I could see this on Twitter and 
about five different cases on a Monday morning and not be shocked 
at all. This is the way that elites act. 
This is the way that men act. when they go unchecked by God, 
God directly, when God in his sovereignty permits men to do 
these sorts of things, or when the body politic don't check 
them back. And this is what they say. They 
answered and said to him, verse 52, Are you also from Galilee? They know good and well that 
he's not from Galilee. This is an insult. Are you one 
of the rubes from up there? Remember, Jerusalem and Galilee. Kind of like New York City and 
East Kentucky. Or, you know, Vancouver and Chilliwack. Have you ever gone to the city 
and, you know, go there over the years and, you know, you 
go there and they, are you a dairy farmer? Everybody in Chilliwack's 
a dairy farmer. Every one of us has, you know, 
a herd of cows that we milk on the reg. That's just how they 
see things. In Vancouver, the island I hear 
is pretty, you know, snobbish too. Is that kind of a mindset? You know, you're living in New 
York City and some, you know, some bumpkin falls off the apple 
cart and ends up there, and he's from Eastern Kentucky. There's 
that kind of a pride that man manifests. I don't mean to be 
cheeky, but that's what they're doing. Are you also from Galilee? Nicodemus is the voice of reason 
in the midst of a Sanhedrin that is compromised by their wickedness 
and their malice. These men are godless men. These men will lead the charge 
at the end of the Gospel of John saying, away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. Praise God that he sent Nicodemus 
to try to check them in their tracks at this particular time. 
But instead of receiving it, instead of imbibing it, instead 
of reflecting upon it, instead of saying, oh, absolutely, you're 
right, Nicodemus, what were we thinking? We aren't Stalin. We're not Pol Pot. We're not 
Mao. We can't just shoot people in the head. That's never been 
given to us in the law of Moses. Rather, we need to engage in 
due process. We need to hear a man. We need 
to see evidence. We need to give him the opportunity to meet his 
accusers. Paul gets that in Acts chapter 25. Paul gets that treatment 
at the hands of the Roman magistrate. And the covenant people of Israel 
have taken the law of Moses and they have cast it out. And all 
the while they are insulting the crowd in Israel or in Jerusalem 
because these people are cursed, because they don't keep the law. 
Come on already. These people are wretched and 
they're exhibiting that. But not only do they insult him, 
they show their ignorance. There's no prophet that's arisen 
out of Galilee. Oh yeah, there was. His name 
was Jonah the prophet, the son of Amittai. He was that prophet 
who was sent by God to Nineveh to call that great city to repentance 
and faith in Yahweh. So Jonah was in fact, historically 
speaking, 2 Kings 14 indicates this, verse 25 to be exact, that 
Jonah comes from the northern kingdom. He comes from Galilee. 
So they're just ignorant. They're not only lawless, they're 
not only insulting, they're not only, you know, just prejudicial 
towards our Lord Jesus Christ, but they're fools. They're not 
bright men. They're men that need to go back 
and learn. And this is why on several instances 
in the gospel records, Jesus will upbraid them in that manner. 
Go and learn what this means. Oh, that would have been an offense 
to them. I'm thinking specifically in Matthew's gospel, when he 
points them in Matthew chapter nine to the prophet Hosea. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Well, these guys knew those texts. These guys probably wore those 
texts on their arms or on their foreheads. These guys could recite 
the prophet Hosea, but they didn't know the prophet Hosea. They 
didn't understand the prophet. They didn't know that mercy was 
to be preferred over sacrifice. So these men were ignorant. These 
men were prejudiced. These men were blinded. These 
men were ultimately dead in their trespasses and sins. The chapter 
ends with everybody going home. The Feast of Tabernacles is concluded. 
Verse 53 and 81 tell us, and everyone went to his own house, 
but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. God willing, we'll take 
up the woman caught in adultery next week in John chapter eight, 
verses one to 12. But in conclusion, just a few 
thoughts. When it comes to the crowd, When it comes to the people, 
I don't want to say with the Sanhedrin, you know, this crowd 
is a curse because they don't know the law. But you certainly 
see confusion with reference to man in general. Confusion 
with reference to man in general. On the one hand, some say he's 
the prophet. On the other hand, some say he's the Christ. And 
on the other hand, some say we need to catch him and we need 
to take him to the Sanhedrin so that they can dispose of him 
and get rid of him. So man, at his best, is a confused 
being. You see the recurring emphasis 
by Jesus on his identity and origin in this feast, and yet 
they resist it. The recurring inability to track 
with Jesus' identity and origin. Now brethren, you may not have 
a fully developed doctrine of eternal relations of origin, 
You may not know all about inseparable operations. You may not know 
all of the particular details and nomenclature of the Christian 
doctrine of the Trinity. When Jesus says, my father sent 
me. That's pretty easy, isn't it? 
When you ask the question, where does Jesus come from? The answer 
is from his father, right? That's simple. Even if you don't 
have Augustine, even if you don't have John Owen, even if you don't 
have some of the guys writing today on the Christian doctrine 
of the Trinity, you can still understand pretty simply when 
Jesus says, I'm from the father, that he's from the father. And 
yet as many times as he says that, as many times they refuse 
to believe it. They reject it. They resist it. 
The confusion of man in sin. Sometimes he just doesn't get 
it. That's why we need to be faithful and compassionate and 
consistent with those whom we witness. We know that they're 
not, you know, bright in terms of theology and Bible and things 
like that. I'm not insulting them or putting 
them down. You know, we come loaded for 
bear from church, or we've been reading our Bibles, we read Spurgeon, 
and then we, you know, we want to go out soul winning. Brethren, 
there's a reason why Paul tells Timothy in the last recorded 
command in scripture for the church, preach the word, be ready 
in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort, with 
what? With all long-suffering and teaching. With all long-suffering and teaching. I've seen it in my own experience 
here. There'll be times when I've preached and then times 
when I've gone and I come back, or I hear somebody else preach, 
and people say, wow, that guy said, Mike Kirkpatrick said this, 
and I had never heard this. And I could probably pull out 
notes from my drawer and say, yeah, you heard it on September 
12th in 2020. You heard it on August 8th in 
September whatever. I'm not saying that for any other 
reason than this. We need to be long-suffering. We need to be patient. We need 
to be gentle. I'm not sort of saying it with 
reference to these guys. These guys stand in need of all 
the condemnation we can heap upon their lawless selves. But 
when it comes to you, witnessing to your friends, to your family, 
to your relatives, know that man in sin is confused. Man in 
sin has a hard heart. And man in sin, apart from the 
power of the Holy Spirit, ultimately won't get it. You need to pray 
that God helps you by the Spirit. Now, in terms of the sinfulness 
of the Sanhedrin in particular, I mean, what they do here is 
wretched, right? This is bad behavior. And when 
you read the gospel narratives, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
they point this out. They show us this, and I think 
they show us this on the one hand to show us what our Lord 
put up with, to show us how much He loves us and how much He went 
through for us. But it also shows us how we're 
supposed to function in the midst of similar things. We have no 
promise from God that everything's gonna be peachy king going forward 
into 2023. We're gonna just have a wonderful 
life, the life that we've always known. Well, how do we function 
in a life that more and more has thugs at the helm? Well, 
we have to be wise. We have to follow our blessed 
Savior. We have to be cunning as serpents and harmless as doves. 
We have to employ the strategies that we find our blessed Savior 
employed. They rejected Him. They despised 
Him. They forsook Him. They would 
ultimately deliver Him up to be crucified. Again, the only 
innocent man that ever lived to be crucified on a Roman cross 
because they were full of envy. Notice in John 7, 24. The Lord 
Jesus gives this to all of the people there at the Feast of 
Tabernacles. He says, do not judge according 
to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. There had 
been a lot of intervention for these men. There had been a lot 
of reminders to these men. Verse 19, why do you seek to 
kill me? Moses told you you're not supposed to do that. Verse 
24, judge with righteous judgment. Nicodemus says, doesn't our law 
teach? These men continue to resist that. They continue to 
reject that. That's a dangerous position. for any man, woman, 
boy, or girl to assume. And then the final thing that 
we ought to appreciate with reference to the Feast of Tabernacles in 
John 7 is the testimony of our Lord. I mean, if there's the 
glory of Christ demonstrated in the gospel narratives, it 
is certainly here at the Feast of Tabernacles. Christ our Lord 
highlights His origin. He is from the Father. He confirms 
that He's from Bethlehem, Ephrathah as well, but He confirms that 
according to His divinity, He is from the Father, the only 
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He affirms 
his identity. You know, I've been amongst you. 
I've not hid. I've not, you know, just lived 
out on the bush. No, Jesus was right there at 
the feast. And then he also not only tells 
them in terms of his identity and his origin, but he promises 
life to all who come to him. The glory of Christ is displayed 
in that he's at the Feast of the Tabernacles, he's got a crowd 
there that's kind of out to lunch in terms of who he is and who 
he isn't, and he's got a Sanhedrin there that wants to deal with 
him very severely and very much in accordance with their own 
desires and not the law that is supposed to govern them. And 
yet in the midst of that, he stands up on that last great 
day of the Feast and he says, if any man thirsts, let him come 
to me and drink. That is our Savior. That is the 
Lord of Glory. That is the Blessed One that 
was sent by God to save His people from their sins. And the means 
by which that occurs is when people, by grace, believe on 
Him. When it says, thirst, let him 
come to me and drink." He's speaking metaphorically. The idea is that 
we believe in him, that we look to him in faith and receive all 
of the benefits that he purchased with reference to his life, death, 
and resurrection. So don't be like the Sanhedrin. 
Don't be confused like the crowd. Jesus is the Christ. The Bible 
tells us very clearly. The only response for any of 
you now is to look to Him in faith and receive everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this Feast of 
Tabernacles in John 7. And the One who became flesh 
and dwelt among us stood in the midst of that Feast and said 
to any comer that they would have everlasting life. And we 
know from the right hand of the Father, even now, all that come 
to him in faith will have everlasting life. Bless the word of God as 
it goes forth today. May it run swiftly and be glorified 
and may it accomplish the purpose for which you sent it. And we 
pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. We can turn in your 
hymn books to number 568. 568, we'll close our service this 
morning by singing the doxology in praise to our God and we'll 
stand together. O come, O come, O come, O come, 
O come, Praise him, all creatures, dearly 
beloved. Praise him, O God, we pray thee, O Lord. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Lord, help us today to glorify 
and honor you. We pray for all those people 
affected by the fires. We just ask God that you would 
protect them. We pray that these fires would be quenched and that 
you would be glorified in the midst of these things. Go with 
us now, help us to sanctify the day and to return tonight for 
the worship of God. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Please be seated for a brief 
time of meditation.