John - Week 21

Work on the Sabbath 

READ 

John 7:20-24 

20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” 

The crowd didn’t like it when Jesus accused them of trying to kill Him for breaking the law. He turned the table on them by saying they broke the law also. A male baby had to be circumcised on the eighth day and sometimes that fell on a Sabbath. It was hypocritical of the Jewish people to criticize Jesus for doing a good deed on the Sabbath when they were doing the same. Jesus urged them to think about it so they would have a better judgment.  

REFLECT 

As you reflect on what some others are doing that bothers you, is it possible that some things you are doing displease God just as much? What are some examples? 

RESPOND 

Read Matthew 7:3-5 then think more seriously about your life. Be sure you have a clear conscience before God and others. 

Is He the Messiah 

READ 

John 7:25-27 

25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? 27 But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.” 

Because some of the people did not know the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus they thought He could not possibly be the Messiah. He was born in Bethlehem as Micah 5:2 promised, but this shows they were ignorant of this prophecy. Even though there were two Bethlehems in Judea, Micah 5:2 was specific in naming the particular one. The crowd clearly had zeal without knowledge. 

REFLECT 

Think about the possibility that you can make inaccurate statements about events in the New Testament if you do not know the background from the Old Testament. 

RESPOND 

Look up Micah 5:2 and be prepared to answer anyone who claims the Scriptures do not make clear which of the two Bethlehems would be the place of the birth of Jesus.  

The One Who Sent Jesus 

READ 

John 7:28-29 

28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” 

Whereas the people were claiming they would not know from where the Messiah would come, Jesus talks about His true origin. The heavenly Father, the first member of the Trinity, sent Him to earth. Those who would claim to know God needed to realize that the Father sent the Son to them. The Scriptures make clear that anyone who denies the Son of God is also denying the Father who sent Him. The Scriptures emphasize this in 1 John 2:23. 

REFLECT 

Consider what 1 John 2:23 says so as you witness you can remind others if they reject Jesus they also reject the Father. 

RESPOND 

To your knowledge, also add 1 John 4:14 that states why the Father sent the Son. 

Still Too Soon 

READ 

John 7:30-31 

30 Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?” 

In the sovereign plan of God, no one could harm Jesus until His time had come to be harmed. At the same time there were those who could not deny He was the Messiah because of His miracles. A distinction needs also to be made in the Scripture: likely many present were Jews who believed in Him. When the Scriptures tell of the Jews who rejected Him, however, it primarily refers to the Jewish leaders, not the common people.  

REFLECT 

Even though some who stand behind pulpits today do not believe in the miracles of Jesus, do you? Let the Bible be your authority and not leaders who do not believe the Bible. 

RESPOND 

Take notice of the miracles Jesus performed as you read the four Gospels. Then you can ask an unbeliever, could He have done these if He were not God and the Messiah of Israel? 

Where I Am Going 

READ 

John 7:32-34 

32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.” 

Now the Jewish leaders show up after learning about what the crowds were hearing. The leaders realized they needed to have Jesus arrested to keep Him from making followers. Then Jesus told the leaders something they would not understand. He was soon to return to the one who sent Him and they would not be able to go where He was going. Authoritative leaders never like to be told they cannot do something and these did not like it either. 

REFLECT 

As you read the Scriptures you can look back and know what Jesus was talking about. But the unbelieving leaders at that time had no idea about the meaning of His words. Have sympathy for unbelievers who do not understand your terminology sometimes.  

RESPOND 

Review your presentation of the Gospel. Are there terms you need to better explain? What do you believe an unbeliever would think of terms such as “lost” and “grace.” Are there other terms in your presentation that need more explanation?