John 7:31

John 7:31 says, And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?  Jesus continues to speak to the people about Who He is and why and how He had come to them, and the people continued to be divided over Who He was. Many people believed in Him and asked when Christ comes, will He perform more miracles than those which Jesus had done.  They believed because of the miracles. Only One sent from God could have this power over natural forces. There may be some who come to Christ today because they have seen a miracle, and that is good.  Even believing in Him, they asked if the Christ when He came could do more.  This could be seen as doubt but was likely an expression of new faith.  Could any else do more.  No one could. Today we might occasionally ask the same thing, and we have to answer that no one else can do what Christ did.  Verse thirty-two adds, The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.  When the Pharisees and chief priests heard the people, they sent officers to take Him.  People today are still trying to hush the voice of Jesus and His disciples.  Verse thirty-three continues, Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.  Jesus told them that He would be with them for a little while and then He would go to Him Who had sent Him.  Jesus’s mission was never to stay here in human form. 

John 7:28

John 7:28 declares, Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.  Jesus declared in the Temple that they knew Him, and they knew Who He was, and that He had not come of Himself, but He Who had sent Him was true, and that they did not know Him, but He, the Heavenly Father, did, since He was from Him, and He had sent Him.   Jesus spoke loudly so those Jews hunting Him might hear Him.  Once again, we can be sure that Christ will make Himself known to us.  He isn't hiding away making it hard for us to know Him.  Salvation was made simple so the least of us could understand, and God calls out for us to respond.  Jesus said they did know Who He was physically, but that wasn't enough.  We today have to know more than the physical facts about Jesus.  That does not let us know Who He is.  He said He did not come of Himself.  He was sent by the Father, as the Messiah that they looked for.  God had promised the Messiah would come, and His word was true.  Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise. When we witness today, people are going to know who we are in the eyes of the world, but we must make them understand that we come in the name and under the power and leadership of God.  Jesus said that the people there didn't know the Father.  He was speaking mainly to the religious leaders who wanted to kill Him.  We need to pray that we will never attempt to proclaim the word of God without knowing Him.  Verse twenty-nine continues, But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then Jesus said He knew the Father because He was sent by Him.  When we as His followers go into the world today, we go because He has sent us.  Verse thirty concludes, Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.  They attempted to take Him, but could not, because His hour was not yet come.  They were prevented from taking Him by the power of God. We have that same power protecting us today, but we must realize that for some, our hour may come.  The question is whether we will be faithful until the end. 

John 7:25

John 7:25 says, Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?   The people questioned the religious leaders.  They asked if Jesus was not the one they sought to kill.  When people chose to oppose God, they often do not even recognize Who He is.  No matter how much people attempt to discredit or deny God, His work in the world is always visible.  The Jewish leaders who were attempting to kill Jesus evidently didn't even either recognize or acknowledge Him.  Verse twenty-six adds, But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?  They said Jesus spoke boldly and they did nothing to Him.  Then, more in derision than belief, they asked if the religious leaders didn't know Jesus was the very Christ.  Even under the threat of death, Jesus spoke boldly, and so must we.  We can never let a real or perceived threat keep us quiet about salvation and the goodness of God.  Verse twenty-seven continues, Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.  They denied that Jesus could be the Christ, because they knew where He came from and none would know where Christ came from.  They were mistaken in more than one aspect of the coming Messiah. They saw only the human nature of Jesus, but not His divine nature.  We can only be saved by Christ if we recognize both His human and divine nature. Also, though none knew when the Messiah was coming, His birth was foretold in the Scriptures.  We need to realize that people will even use the Bible in an attempt to discredit Christ.  Some do this from a superficial understanding of what the Bible says, and others from a deliberate distortion of what it says.  We must ensure that when we speak of what the Bible says that it is from a God given understanding. 

John 7:21

John 7:21 says, Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.  Jesus said that He had done only one work and they marveled.  They were not talking about His healing the man, but about His doing it on the Sabbath.  We cannot set time limits on God's work.  If a person is doing something good for God on a Sunday at church time, we don't need to condemn them for working and missing church.  Verse twenty-two adds, Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.  Jesus reminded them that Moses had given them the Law, from the Father, which they were attempting to persecute Jesus on, but the Jewish people circumcised on the Sabbath. Circumcision was ordained and practiced by the Jews forefathers before Moses and was incorporated into Mosaic Law. It took priority over the Sabbath.  Verse twenty-three continues, If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?  Jesus said if it was lawful for them to break the Sabbath rules to do something they saw as more important, then why were they condemning Him.   Healing was of a higher priority than not working on the Sabbath. Verse twenty-four concludes, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Jesus warned them about doing things simply for appearance’s sake, as we can do with worship service today if we don’t keep the emphasis on glorifying God.  We must be careful that we don't condemn people for breaking one religious' rule, or even Commandment if we would be more accurate, when we are guilty of breaking others ourselves. There is never a time when we should fault a Christian for doing good works for God.  If religious rules come in conflict with doing the will of God, stand on His will. 

 

John 7:19

John 7:19 says, Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?  Jesus reminded the Jews that Moses had given them the Law, but they didn't follow it.  He then asked them why they went about trying to kill Him.  The nation of Israel was unique, not because they were any better than any other group of people, but because they had been chosen by God to be His people and to reach the rest of the world.  As such, they had been entrusted with the Law given to Moses.  They failed to keep that Law, making the need of the Messiah necessary.  We today as His followers, His people, are entrusted with the Gospel, but we often fail to live up to our calling.  Jesus asked the Jews searching for Him to kill Him why they were doing that.  When we look to the people of the world hoping God will punish them for their evil deeds, we have to ask who we are to condemn them, since we are all underserving of salvation.  Verse twenty adds, The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? The people accused Jesus of having a devil.  They accused Jesus of either being demon possessed or delusional.  How far from the truth could God's people get?  We need to pray that we will never get so determined to mold God into our own desires that we attempt to credit His work to the devil. They also seemed unwilling to believe that their religious leaders were attempting to kill Him.  We should always support our religious leaders, unless we know that what they are doing goes against God's word and will. Jesus did not answer their accusation.  He knew the truth and was there to lead them to the truth.  We do not need to argue all the false claims made against Christ and Christianity.  We only need to present the truth and lead others to it.  Jesus was being charged with working on the Sabbath, and this is one of the reasons the Jewish leaders were using to persecute Him. 

John 7:17

John 7:17 says, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or I speak of. myself.  Jesus said that if anyone would do His will, he would know if the doctrine was of God, or whether He spoke of Himself.  Speaking to the Jews, Jesus said if they knew God's will, they would know the doctrine of Christ, of the Messiah, and whether He only spoke of Himself.  The only way we can know the truth of whether what someone is proclaiming as the word of God is or nio is if we do the will of God.  Verse eighteen adds, He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.  Jesus said if someone is calling attention to himself, and not to God, he is seeking his own glory.  The message some people proclaim today is all centered around what God has done for them, how He has blessed them, and how they have been rewarded materially.  We need to point people to Christ through the power of God's will.  Again, if we are to be His followers, we must look to His example, and that leads us to daily take up or cross.  Jesus never said He would make us rich in this world, but that we were to lay up our treasures in heaven.  If we follow Him, we must live by faith in Him and not by faith in things of the world. When we hear someone say that God wants us to be happy, so He is going to materially bless us, point them to the example of Christ.  Material things will never satisfy.  We must learn to be content in Christ, no matter our material status in the world. 

John 7:14

John 7:14 says, Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.  Jesus went up to the Temple to teach.  This is not the action of someone who is hiding in fear.  Even if the whole world were to be against Him, God will never hide in fear.  That is what we as His followers often do, though.  We often surrender without a fight because we fear those who are in power more than we trust God.  Verse fifteen adds, And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?  The people marveled, wondering how Jesus could know so much when He was unlearned.   People may marvel at the teachings of the Bible today and still not accept it as the truth of God.  Verse sixteen continues, Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  Jesus told them that His doctrine was not His own, but that of He Who sent Him.  There are many highly educated people today who do not know God and they look down on poorly or less educated people who proclaim Christ as Savior.  We must realize that education, though important, is not the determining factor in knowing Jesus and understanding God's will.  The only way to understand the will of God is through a personal relationship with Him, and then we must listen to and proclaim His doctrine.  We can almost come to worship formal education more than a calling from God.  Jesus did not call His disciples based on their education, but instead on their willingness to follow Him.  If we are to be effective witnesses today, we must be grounded in the doctrine of God.  We will understand His doctrine as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, and His doctrine will always be consistent with His written word, the Bible.  Jesus did not cite His credentials or His degrees, but simply said He was teaching the doctrine of God.  That is our challenge today, no matter what the opposition might be.