John 7: 1-24 Legalism, hypocrisy & the Gospel

John 7: 1-24    Legalism, hypocrisy & the Gospel

Intro quote:

Hyman G. Enelow   1877-1934
President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis
and Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, New York City (Reform)

Jesus was not only born a Jew, but conscious of his Jewish descent.

Jesus realized the spiritual distinction of the Jewish people, and regarded himself as sent to teach and help his people.

Jesus, like other teachers, severely criticized his people for their spiritual short-comings, seeking to correct them, but at the same time he loved and pitied them. His whole ministry was saturated with love for his people, and loyalty to it.

Jesus, like all other of the noblest type of Jewish teachers, taught the essential lessons of spiritual religion -- love, justice, goodness, purity, holiness -- subordinating the material and the political to the spiritual and the eternal.

Who can compute all that Jesus has meant to humanity? The love he has inspired, the solace he has given, the good he has engendered, the hope and joy he has kindled -- all that is unequaled in human history.

"A Jewish View of Jesus", pp.441-442, 509 in Selected Works of Hyman G. Enelow, Volume III: Collected Writings (privately printed, 1935).

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Let’s start with a quick re-Introduction of John: (John Mark, Johnny Mac, John the Baptist, John Lennon, John Zebsson) Author is the Apostle John, termed the “disciple that Christ loved,” 1 of the sons of Zebedee, written around 85-95 AD

Purpose: John 20: 31 – “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  

John is less of a chronological narrative and more of a theological argument – putting Christ’s deity on display, John sought to strengthen the faith of 2^nd Cent Christians & blossom faith in others & correct false teaching of the time about Jesus.

Review key verses:

John 1:29 – Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

John 3:16 – Believe in him & have eternal life

John 6:28-29 – The work of God is to believe in him whom God has sent

I mentioned this last semester but the way I see it structured…John stresses 7 miracles prior to the death & resurrection of Jesus that John believes will convince you that Jesus is not only the promised Messiah but he is also God Himself clothed in flesh & walking among us.

In John’s argument we’re between miracles #5 & 6.  Can you guys remember some from last term?

1-    Turning water to wine, Ch 2

2-    The healing of the official’s son, Ch 4

3-    The healing at the pool of Bethesda, Ch 5

#4 The multiplication of the bread & fish ch 6

#5 is 2 fold: Walking on water & the calming of the storm ch 6

#6 healing of a man born blind ch 9

# 7 raising Lazarus from the dead ch 11

So in our passage today the Jesus says the ruling Jews really have it out for him….Give me some Reasons Why the Jews wanted to crucify Jesus

• He claimed Kingship - John 18:33-37; John 19:12-22
• Telling the truth - Luke 4:21-29, John 8:40
• Healing on the Sabbath - Matthew 12:9-14, John 5:16
• Envy - Matthew 27:18, Mark 15:10
• Blasphemy –
•             (A) Forgiving sins - Matthew 9:1-3, Mark 2:1-7
•             (B) Claiming equality with God - Matthew 26:59-66, Mark 14:61-64, John 10:25-33; 19:7

Here are a few other Jewish Accusations Against Jesus Christ - just from John

• He came from the wrong neighborhood - John 7:41, 52
• A deceiver and hypocrite - John 7:10-13
• Unlearned - John 7:14-15
• Had a persecution complex - John 7:20
• Demon possessed- - John 7:20, 10:20, 8:48, 52
• Provoked people to anger - John 7:23
• A divider of the people - John 7:43
• Unpopular, not recommended by leaders - John 7:45-49 (v. 48)
• False prophet - John 7:50-52
• Liar - John 8:13
• A bastard - John 8:19
• Had suicidal tendencies - John 8:22
• A half-breed - John 8:48
• Dishonorable - John 8:49
• Boaster, imposter prophet - John 8:53
• Ungodly, didn’t come from God - John 9:13-16
• A sinner - John 9:13-16
• Crazy, insane - John 10:20
• Perplexing, causing doubt amongst the people - John 10:22-24

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Read John 7:1-24

We’re going to look at today’s passage in 3 parts: #1 the brothers – right or wrong & why, #2 Jesus & the feast & #3 Jesus teacher of the Jews.  

#1 Our passage starts with an admonishment from Jesus’ brothers & cousins to go to Judea & be more public with his ministry. First off what do you guys think of their comment, “No one does things in secret & then demands public recognition?” Logically, doesn’t it make sense to say, “If He wanted to be accepted as the Messiah, He should show himself & His miracles publically?”

So why does the passage & commentators speak so harshly of their motives? What do you think was their intention? For Christ to become more widely believed in or merely more popular? I think Jesus’ point is in their sense of their words He never wanted to become King of Israel, a temporal, earthly ruler. In His own way and at His own time He wanted to reveal Himself as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. If you can see it then he can’t do things the way they would do them because he has a completely different goal in mind. 

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#2 Jesus & the Feast

After they left & Jesus had rejected his family’s view of notoriety, Jesus goes on in secret to the feast, many spoke in hushed tones about him both good and bad & our passage makes the point that the crowds erred in 2 ways:??? 1^st - the direct opposition & the 2^nd - was mere quiet or tacit approval but only done in secret like Nicodemus did in John 3 saying “we know you come from God because of the works you do” & yet he comes to Jesus in the quiet of night & not out in the open like Nicodemus does later taking Christ’s body after his crucifixion.

From the Lutheran view of the passage: the main way you can test (or tell) Jesus’ words come from God is by trying to live up to the righteous demands of the OT law, if the Jews earnestly began trying to Keep the Law perfectly they’d realize their inability to fulfill it on their own & fall back either to despair or to cling to Jesus’ message of the Gospel & in that they’d see this was God’s plan all along. Like Jesus says,  “Not to condemn the Law but to fulfill the Law for his people who would believe in him.”  

#3 Jesus teacher of the Jews

Both the fact that he could teach & also his content surprised the Jews. Where had he gotten this knowledge? He was not a known pupil of a known teacher, like Paul would be in Acts. Its like he’s home-schooled J This is where the Lord excelled, knowledge of scripture, no one made better application of the Jewish allegories & parables. Jesus says to them, His learning came directly from God. In a sense, it is his doctrine & yet it’s not his doctrine. Jesus’ teaches what he’s told or taught to teach & nothing else. 

A matter of six months ago He had performed one single miracle, healing of the man on the Sabbath which angered the Jews. And yet, they had the rite of circumcision. This rite continued through all their generations and yet regularly set aside the Sabbath law; for circumcision involved an act, a work, and yet it was performed on the Sabbath. This was not considered a breaking of the Sabbath law. Jesus therefore underlined their sanctimoniousness in emphasizing the outward observance of the Sabbath, while they actually transgressed the letter of the Law with every Sabbath circumcision, and yet they threw up their hands in horror at the great benefit which Christ had granted to the sick man on the Sabbath, making his whole body well.

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Closing quote-

I couldn't help writing on Jesus. Since I first met him he has held my mind and heart. I grew up, you know, on the border of Poland and Russia, which was not exactly the finest place in the world for a Jew to sit down and write a life of Jesus Christ. Yet even through these years the hope of doing just that fascinated me. For Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. You can analyze Mohammed and...Buddha, but don't try it with him. You either accept or you reject....¹

Sholem Asch
Yiddish Author
1880-1957