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Call to worship: Psalm 69:1-9

Text: John 7:1-24

Summary:

Half a year has passed since 'the hard saying.' Jesus has ministered in Galilee. Acknowledging His claims, His siblings tell Him what they would do if they were Him. 'Go big, or go home. Put up, or shut up, brother.' It's unbelieving counsel. They were, at this time, part of the evil world. Jesus makes this explicit. They may be from the same womb, but they need to be born again. He doesn't operate by their opinions, methods, aims, but by the Father's plan. He is God's Messiah. Apparently then, the Father's will comes clear: Jesus should go up, only not in a way that would expedite the cross before the appointed hour. Jerusalem is all up in arms about Him. All need to be willing to submit to Him as the definitive revelation of God. If any has a heart to take God at His Word, they will recognize Jesus to be the Truth. Therefore, the reason one might not is because, despite their claim to love God, they don't. They're yet sinners who hate exposure to the Savior. Sin makes one spiritually irrational, unwilling to come to terms with the divine truth, to judge of Jesus with right judgment: He is the Holy One of God.

Sermon Outline:

1. Wrong judgment #1: God's Christ should be about popularity with worldly people. (7:1-9)
   • The strategy of Jesus' siblings. (7:2-5)
   • The obedience of God's Christ. (7:1, 6-9).
2. Wrong judgment #2: God's Christ will be obvious to worldly people. (7:10-24)
   • Opinion and revelation. (7:10-14)
   • Sinners and the Holy One. (7:15-20)
   • Criminal or Christ?: Judging with right judgment. (7:21-24)

Prepare

Discussion Questions:

1. Read John 7:1-24. Read also psalm 69.
2. In 7:1-5, why had Jesus stayed in Galilee? What event called faithful Jewish people to Jerusalem? How do Jesus' siblings seize upon that as a kind of promotion strategy for Him? How would you summarize the strategy? Is it a strategy from faith or unbelief? What becomes of Jesus' siblings? How is their unbelief in this text and their eventual faith in the risen Jesus an 'apologetic' for the truth of the Gospel?
3. In 7:6-9, what does Jesus mean by 'my time'? What's meant by 'their time'? Why can't the world hate them? What does it hate Him? Why does Jesus wait to go up to the feast? Is He waffling and irresolute? Or to the contrary, is this another instance of just how in-tune the Son is with the will of the Father? Is this another instance of His perfect obedience on display?
4. In 7:10-23, His identity takes center stage. Is Jesus content to let us think whatever we will without providing His own self-disclosure? How ought our opinions of Him relate to divine revelation about Him? What 'humble-honor' does Jesus ascribe to His teaching? What aim, perfectly kept, keeps His teaching perfectly divine? How is His teaching distinct, even from godly teachers? How were they to discern whether Jesus' teaching was God's? Did they have a will to do God's will? How does Jesus make this plain? How does He seek to turn them to the truth?
5. In 7:24, Jesus gives a double exhortation. What is it? In the flow of the text, what is He talking about? How had they judged by appearances? What had they judged by appearances? What does it mean to 'judge with right judgment'? What are we to judge of Jesus if we judge with right, i.e., Spirit-given judgment? Consider 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.