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John 7:10-24 [10] But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. [11] Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” [12] And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” [13] However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. [14] Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. [15] And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” [16] Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. [17] “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. [18] “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. [19] “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” [20] The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” [21] Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. [22] “Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. [23] “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? [24] “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” What are the facts of the passage?:
What do those facts mean?: (Verse
10) - Here we
see an interesting example of a ''change of mind" on Jesus' part.
From the human point of view, there is certainly nothing wrong with
someone changing their minds; you and I do it all the time. However, Jesus
was net just a man. He was God. As God, He had the Divine character and a
part of that character was immutability. Immutability refers to God's
essential nature and means that in regard to His Being (which includes His
knowledge and His intentions or purposes) He does not change. Change is a
function of time and God is essentially and ultimately outside of time. As
such, nothing about His essence changes. And
so we are left here with a statement that is difficult to understand. How
is it that Jesus could ''change His mind" here and go to the feast
after He had said He would not go? It is admittedly problematic. However,
the problem can be solved when
we remember that we are talking an unchanging God Who is acting out His
eternal purpose in changing time and space. As such, it would certainly
have to appear as though He changed His mind, when actually He is simply
doing as He desired all along. Some
will say that He said He wouldn't go and then went and argue that this was
deceptive if it wasn't a legitimate change of mind. The problem here is
that we are trying to pass judgment on a infinite God by imposing finite
standards and definitions on Him. The fact remains that what is happening
here is that the actions of an invisible and transcendent God are being
described by the use of finite and limited human language. Is it any
wonder that et falls short and that some supposed discrepancies crop up?
Rather than siege or these and charge the failings to God, let's exalt and
uphold God's character and recognize the shortcomings of both human
language and human understanding. Isn't that better than making God like a
man? (Verse
11-13) - That
the Jewish leaders expected Him to be there is predictable. It also not
unexpected to see that these was disagreement among the people about
whether Ide was good (from God) or a deceiver (not from God). Christ still
excites such debate today. The leaders try to make popular hay by implying
that 1te has stayed away when He should haul been there. Could it be that
they are implying that He stayed away because He was afraid of them? This
might have been some of what His brothers implied in the prior section. It
is interesting that no one spoke of Him openly because of fear of the
leaders. Apparently they knew to be true what the leaders themselves deny
in just a verse or two. Not only were they after Christ, but also it was
common knowledge that they would come after anyone who even gave the
appearance of supporting or approving of Him. This is one of a number of
supporting evidences concerning the hatred that the Jewish leaders had for
the Lord and the desire they had to see Him dead. (Verse
14-15) - What
is interesting here is that Christ did teach with authority that even His
enemies recognized. This statement really underscores the culpability of
the Jewish leadership. If Jesus taught with Divine authority, one would
think that any reasonable person would at the least give Him the benefit
of the doubt and at least hear out what He was saying and consider its
value. Sadly, this was not the case! (Verse
16-17 ) -
This is what we have all long suspected. If one is genuinely seeking after
God, one will be led by God into right doctrine. If one is rightly seeking
God then one will recognize others who are of God. (Verse
18-19) - It
is interesting that in their zeal fo deny that they wanted to kill Him,
they skipped over the charge that they weren't really keeping the Law! (Verse 20) - The cynic in me wants to say "Of course, what else would they say?" How do those facts apply to my life?: I too need to be sure that I am not judging by appearances, but to judge righteously and truly. I must learn to recognize the voice of God when ever I hear it. What should I do in response?: I must see to it that I judge in the fashion that God says I must. |
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