A Good Man, a Deceiver or God? He can only be One

After the discourse of chapter 6, delivered just before Passover, Christ Jesus did not go up to Jerusalem. Instead He actively work in various parts of Galilee, of which John does not say much. During this time there is the gradual falling away of the people, the widening of the breach with the Pharisees, and a deepening of the faith of the apostles. It is during this time that Peter was led to acknowledge Christ Jesus as the Son of God, and the prophecies of Christ Jesus' Death and Resurrection are made. It is also the time of the Transfiguration. When, in October, Christ Jesus went up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, His Galilean ministry was over, and He knew that His death was impending.

“After these things.” It was probably September or October, about six months after the feeding of the five thousand. Christ Jesus now “walked in Galilee,” a beautiful way to describe His ministry.

A pastor was able to take part in an unforgettable service celebrating the life of his eighty-seven-year-old uncle, a vibrant, pioneering missionary among the Naga hill people of northeast India for twenty-eight years. All through the joyful worship service of singing, sharing, and preaching, the pastor found himself remembering the incredible journey he and his wife had been able to make some years ago representing his uncle in a four-day anniversary celebration among the Sema-Nagas, one of the tribes among whom his uncle had evangelized and taught. Seventy-five years earlier, the gospel had come to these people, and fifteen thousand of the twenty-eight thousand believers came to sing and dance, hear the Word, and to remember how they had been set free in Christ.

The pastor and his wife met Kijung Luba Ao, a trusted, beloved leader among these people, now well into his seventies. He was so eager to share his profound debt to “Papa Anderson,” who had introduced him to Christ and baptized him. Kijung told the pastor, “Everything I am I owe to Anderson, who taught me the Bible and the meaning of the Jesus way as we walked from village to village. He showed me how to drive a nail and said that if I agreed to be at a place at 7:00, then I must be there at 7:00.” That “walking discipling” between these two men had taken place over fifty years earlier. But how fruitful it was, for Kijung has trained innumerable pastors among the hill people, passing on what he learned from Anderson.

This was Christ Jesus’ style of ministry—teaching, sharing, and modeling as He walked from place to place with His small band of disciples—His was a lasting kind of discipling. His ministry for these months had been in Galilee because in Judea His opposition, the Jewish religious leaders, were determined to kill Him. But now the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand and Christ Jesus was eager to attend.

John 7:1-24
7:1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him. 6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. 10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, "Where is that man?" 12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. 14 Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?" 16 Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?" 20 "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?" 21 Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

1. Brothers of the Messiah (vs. 1-9) – In these first 13 verses, we learn about the significance of the feast, the attitude of Christ Jesus' brothers, and the reaction of the crowds.

Debate in Galilee – (vs. 1-9) - The Feast of Tabernacles began on the 15^th day of the 7^th month, five days after Yom Kippur. It was one of the three main feast of the Jews, symbolizing their protection in the wilderness.

Christ Jesus' brothers (presumably half brothers all younger that Himself), were still skeptical and maybe even a little jealous of Him. They put pressure on Him to go to Jerusalem so that the great holiday audience could see His works. If He was to get a movement going, why limit Himself to out-of-the- way places in Galilee?

Their motivation was not based on belief, but instead unbelief. They were trying to get Christ Jesus to follow the pattern of secular politicians and miracle workers. The Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem was a media event, a photo op for any prophet seeking stardom. “Show Yourself to the world,” they told Him. Dazzle them and you will win a following. But we have seen that miracles did not bring true belief.

Christ Jesus has another time schedule, a moment of opportunity, which was yet to come. The issue at stake here was time. Christ Jesus' brothers did not understand this. They did not face the hatred of the Jews as Christ Jesus did. They did not realize that God's Messiah was on a strict schedule. They lived casually and easily with the fleshly moods and understandings of the world.

Three times Christ Jesus talks about time in this section. Clearly, the time had not yet come.  There is human time and there is God's time; careless time and precious time; earthbound time and eternal time.

We live on a linear time line that is finite. Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-15 

God on the other hand is the creator of time and so is not bound by time as we know it. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3

This morning take some of your human time and convert it into precious time by investing in eternal time. Ask Christ Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour and receive the free gift of grace and eternal life.

Jesus was a great man. Some believe that the distinction of Jesus Christ was not that he was God. He was merely the first spirit-child of many others to follow. His birth was just as natural as any other human birth.

Jesus is a created being, second in command to God. Some believe that Jesus is a "god" and not the Almighty God as the Christian faith proclaims. Jesus was the first created of God and not God himself. They also, interestingly enough, hold that Michael the Archangel was indeed Jesus. 

 

Jesus' existence began when he was conceived. Some believe that Jesus is NOT God because there was a time when Jesus did not exist. They believe that Jesus is the son of God and not God the Son.

Jesus was a prophet of God. The Koran states that Jesus was a messenger (or apostle) of Allah. It goes on to say, "Far be it from his glory to have a son." 

 

Jesus is not as great as some believe him to be. This is a typical view of the atheists. They do not believe in God so Jesus was merely a man. They even hold that Jesus is not as great as some other historical figures such as Buddha or Socrates.

Jesus is a great moral teacher. Some people hold that Jesus isn't deity but he is still a great moral teacher.

Jesus is a mystic, the way to self-discover. New Age thinkers hold that Jesus is a way to self-actualization. Jesus is a channel or an ancient that give them a look at the past. His purity is obtainable by all, due to the fact that he was previously reincarnated.

2. Messiah, Good Man or a Deceiver? (vs. 10-13)

Christ Jesus did go up to the feast. Not with the train of worshipers that traveled together, He went alone. As Christ Jesus moved among the crowd there was confusion about this strange wonder-worker. Who is He? This was and still is the central issue. The people murmur and wonder, “Is He a good man or a deceiver?” Theirs was the quiet gossip of the back streets, for they fear their leaders (Jews) who were intent on destroying Christ Jesus.

Who is He? This is a question you must answer for yourself. Only you can weigh the evidence and come to a conclusion. However I feel if you look at the evidence with an open mind, you can come to only one conclusion – Christ Jesus is God. And a personal relationship with Him is the only way to salvation.

Halfway through this eight-day feast, Christ Jesus walked into the center of everything and began to teach (v. 14). His words have life and authority. No wonder the Jews were amazed. To them, Christ Jesus was an uneducated fellow who has never studied under the scholars. His claim to interpret the truth was to them a blasphemous impertinence.

3. Message of the Messiah (vs. 14-24)

The source of Christ Jesus’ teaching cannot be compared with any rabbi. 'My teaching, like that of the prophets of old, is a direct inspiration from God, and not, like that of the scribes, a tradition of men. It appeals to the heart, not to the head. Not the learned, but those who apply themselves earnestly to do God's will, will perceive that it comes from God. - A Commentary on the Holy Bible: The One Volume Bible Commentary. 

Unlike the religious leaders Christ Jesus' message does not originate within Himself. It is God Himself, the One who sent Him, whose truth He is opening to them. Christ Jesus did not speak for Himself, because He was not seeking His own glory. He spoke this truth out of a life of obedience to His Father’s will.

You are not keeping the Law. Moses commanded you not to shed innocent blood, and yet you seek to slay Me, an innocent man.' Those He spoke to were strangers to the truth of the law which they proclaim and sought to teach. They were breaking the very law they profess to obey. Their disobedience was revealed in their obsessive desire to kill Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

His opponents hypocritically try to make Him think they were innocent. When Christ Jesus exposed their evil intent, the Jews accuse Him of having a demon. This was more of a derogatory saying, similar to, “You are just being paranoid.” But Christ Jesus was not imagining things. He was well aware that His “one work” (v. 21), the healing of the crippled man on the Sabbath some months before, has aroused their fierce opposition. It was then they first began plotting to kill Him.

Now Christ Jesus dealt with them on their own ground. Didn't the law of Moses as handed down by Abraham, allow the act of circumcision to be performed on the Sabbath? This was only a partial healing, a sign of belonging for God’s people. How then could they condemn the total healing of a man on the Sabbath?  

Verse 24 stands as a reminder for all humanity in all times and places. Human-designed religion lives in the constant quagmire of error. The absence of faith creates attachment to icons and holy places. It causes judgment without rightousness.

Conclusion: Where are you placing your faith this morning. Are you like Christ Jesus' brothers, placing your faith in fame and fortune. Are you unsure about who Christ Jesus is? Maybe you are like the religious leaders of Christ Jesus' day placing your faith in man made religions. I pray this morning that you realize that Christ Jesus is the only way to have a restored relationship with God the Father. That He is God made flesh and dewlt among us so that you might have eternal life.

So you have to decide which He was,  a good man, a deceiver or God.