2017.01.08                         John 7: 1-24

     Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles Part 1

Good morning everyone… I am glad that you are here… I have good news for you…. His name is Jesus… I trust that you had a good Christmas Season… As most of you know we study the Word of God verse by verse… We want to know and understand our great God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ… We are studying the Gospel of John and will pick up where we left off… John ch 7… Look with me at v1…

John 7: 1-5                              NLT  Neues Leben

1 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

1 Jesus blieb noch eine Weile in Galiläa und zog von Dorf zu Dorf. Er mied Judäa, denn dort schmiedeten die führenden Männer des jüdischen Volkes Mordpläne gegen ihn. 2 Doch die Zeit des Laubhüttenfestes rückte näher, 3 und seine Brüder drängten ihn, zum Fest nach Judäa mitzugehen. »Geh doch nach Judäa, damit deine Jünger deine Wunder sehen können, die du tust!«, spotteten sie. 4 »Wenn du dich so versteckst, wirst du nie bekannt werden! Falls du wirklich so wunderbare Dinge tun kannst, dann beweise es vor aller Welt!« 5 Denn selbst seine Brüder glaubten nicht an ihn.

1a… after this… or after these things… What things or events is John talking about??

 I am very glad that you asked… When we study the life of Jesus we need this whole book… Old and New we need all of it...  and especially we need the 4 Gospels for the events of His Life and Ministry here on the earth… They fit together and show us a more detailed picture…  In order to help us today... I want to do a very quick review of the events leading up to John ch7… You need to read the accounts in Matthew and Mark and Luke to get the full picture… But we can note a few important events by looking back at John as well… As we look at ch 4… Jesus has been ministering in Galilee and as we pickup John 5… v1… It is Passover and Jesus goes up to Jerusalem… In v 5 Jesus heals a man who had been lame and crippled for 38 years… And because this man was healed on the Sabbath… the news of it spread like wildfire throughout Jerusalem… And it became known by the leaders of the Temple as well… That is why the leaders began to plot to kill Jesus… John 5: 16…

Jesus proclaimed the Gospel to everyone everywhere… Even His enemies heard him tell them the truth about their sin and pride and rebellion... He reached out to the Jewish leaders as well… He was showing them Grace... Even though they were trying to kill Him… That´s grace…

And so He reveals the truth about Himself to the priests and Pharisees…

Jesus reveals that He is the long promised Messiah… He reveals the fact that as Messiah... He is God incarnate… Immanuel…. God come in the flesh…. God with us…  He offers eternal Life to all who will repent and believe the Good News… v24... Then  in v 39-40 He says... Search the scriptures that you say you believe… They testify of me…  Then He makes the first of the famous “I am” Statements… I am the bread of life… John 5: 48… Then in John 6 Jesus goes back to Galilee and ministers there for about 6 months… Remember... The purpose of John´s Gospel is the give us Jesus´ Words of Life…. John presents them in the context of the events in Jesus ministry… Ch 6 included the feeding of the five thousand... and a very long section of Jesus teaching… He focused on His revelation that He is the true bread come down from heaven… Luke ch9 fills in the picture even more... Luke tells us more of Jesus´ Words of Life… Like The cost of true Discipleship… Luke 9:23… He reminds us that Jesus repeatedly prophisies His death and resurrection…. Luke 9:22….9: 44… He tells us about the incredible events that occurred during this time… Events like The Transfiguration… Luke 9: 27-36… 

This is where we find ourselves as we read Ch7… v1… After this…

 By the way we are now entering the last 6 months of Jesus Earthly ministry as we get to Ch7 v1…

v1b… He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death… It was not a lack of courage that made Jesus stay in Galilee... He knew that the shadow of the cross was over the cradle on the day he was born...  He had already Prophesied of His death and resurrection... but it was not time yet...

v2… soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters… This is the Feast of Tabernacles celebration that was celebrated very fall… It  was a joy filled, weeklong celebration…  It was THE FEAST… One Jewish historian described it as ‘the holiest and greatest east of all... Everyone was expected to live in temporary Shelters during this celebration... and these shelters were set up all over the city… Zech 14… Is about the future of this feast… it is very interesting…

 Symbolism                                           Tabernacles slide

The feast of Tabernacles reminded them of God´s provision in the past… And it also pointed to the future... God called for this feast… To remind them of the 40 years in the Wilderness… and most importantly to remind them of God´s promise to Dwell with His people… John uses the Feast of Tabernacles as the framework for the next 2 chapters.... That´s 118 verses of his Gospel account… One important feast to represent a great promise...  

John Wrote about the future fulfillment of this promise in Revelation ch21… V3,4… look at it with me...

Revelation 21: 3,4                        NKJV   slt 2000

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.“

3 Und ich hörte eine große Stimme von dem Thron her, die sprach: Siehe da, die Hütte Gottes bei den Menschen! Und er wird bei ihnen wohnen, und sie werden seine Völker sein, und er selbst, Gott mit ihnen, wird ihr Gott sein; 4 und Gott wird abwischen alle Tränen von ihren Augen, und der Tod wird nicht mehr sein, noch Leid noch Geschrei noch Schmerz wird mehr sein; denn das Erste ist vergangen.

We can see here a wonderful connection between The Feast of Tabernacles… And God´s Promise to be with us forever… We also see the restoration of everything that was lost in the fall in the Garden of Eden… Here we see this big picture idea in the presence of Jesus… The true bread come down from heaven… To save a lost and dying world… Tabernacles includes lots of symbolism… we will look only a few of them or else we will be here till midnight… The first is water… Living water was familiar to each of them... It represented the Word of God with it´s power to cleanse and purify from the stain of sin… During this important feast… The Temple is also known as the House of Outpouring… The ceremonial pouring out of water on the steps of the Temple represented the    outpouring of the Holy Spirit…The second is light… The huge Candelabras in the Courtyards of the Temple… Represented the Light of the Gospel shining out to the heathen nations… The heathen nations were also a focus of this feast… There was also one special night of light as well… As the brief night of the great Temple-illumination closed… Solemn testimony was made before The Lord God against Godlessness… It must have been an unbelievable scene…

It was quite a week... Jesus will use these vents to proclaim the Good News... Back to John 7..v3...  

v3… Jesus’ brothers said to him…  Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles!  v4… You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!”   Essentially, Jesus' brothers are telling Him… "Take Your Miracle working power and show the leaders and rulers of the Temple... They say, "If You really do have all this miracle power, why don't You go to Jerusalem and make Yourself really famous?"

Sadly, they do not really believe in Jesus at this time...  V6...

John 7: 6-9               NLT  Neues Leben

6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going[a] to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee. 6 Jesus erwiderte: »Für mich ist der richtige Zeitpunkt noch nicht da; aber ihr könnt jederzeit gehen.

7 Euch kann die Welt nicht hassen. Mich dagegen hasst sie, weil ich sage, dass ihre Taten böse sind. 8 Geht ihr nur hinauf zum Fest. Ich bin noch1 nicht so weit, zu diesem Fest zu gehen, weil meine Zeit noch nicht gekommen ist.« 9 Und Jesus blieb in Galiläa.

6… Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go…   but you can go anytime… Because Jesus was completely submitted to the will of the Father… the timing of God the Father was important… But for Jesus' brothers…  any time was fine!

John 7: 10-13                    NLT   Neues Leben

10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

10 Doch nachdem seine Brüder zum Fest aufgebrochen waren, folgte ihnen Jesus, allerdings heimlich und ohne öffentliches Aufsehen zu erregen. 11 Die führenden Männer des jüdischen Volkes ließen ihn suchen und fragten überall nach ihm. 12 Die Menschen sprachen untereinander heimlich über ihn. Ein paar sagten: »Er ist ein guter Mensch«, andere meinten: »Er ist nichts als ein Betrüger, der die Leute verführt.« 13 Aber keiner hatte den Mut, in aller Öffentlichkeit für ihn einzutreten, weil sie den Konflikt mit den führenden Juden scheuten.

v12… There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” Jesus divides people… Jesus demands a choice…. No Neutrality… Either repent and believe or refuse to repent… and walk away from your only hope… When the time was right… Jesus went quietly up to the celebration… v14…

John 7: 14-18        NLT   Neues Leben

14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked. 16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.

14 Als das Fest zur Hälfte vorüber war, ging Jesus zum Tempel hinauf und begann zu lehren. 15 Die Juden waren zutiefst erstaunt, als sie ihn hörten. »Woher weiß er das alles, er hat doch die Schrift nicht studiert wie wir?«, fragten sie. 16 Da sagte Jesus zu ihnen: »Ich lehre nicht meine eigenen Gedanken, sondern die Gedanken Gottes, der mich gesandt hat. 17 Wer den Willen Gottes tun will, wird erkennen, ob meine Lehre von Gott kommt oder ob ich aus mir selbst heraus rede. 18 Wer nur seine eigenen Anschauungen vertritt, sucht Anerkennung für sich selbst. Wer aber den ehren will, der ihn gesandt hat, der ist glaubwürdig und ohne falsche Absichten.

v14… midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach Jesus avoided a grand entrance with spectacle and miracles... He  boldly proclaims the Good News of the Gospel... He is not afraid… This is Jesus... John describes Jesus as Full of Grace and truth… John 1: 14…

v15… How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained? Jesus answer is profound…  

v16… My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me…  Jesus doesn't point to His credentials… but to His teaching…   If the Jewish leaders listened carefully… they would know that it was all rooted in the Old Testament Scriptures… and that it was from God… Jesus was a gifted teacher… but He was not self taught…. He was God taught! So His authority was not from any Rabbi… But from His Heavenly Father….

John 7: 19-24                   NLT    Neues Leben

19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”20 The crowd replied, You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you? 21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.“

19 Keiner von euch gehorcht dem Gesetz, das Mose euch gab, ja ihr versucht sogar, mich zu töten! Mit welchem Recht?« 20 Die Menge erwiderte: »Du bist ja von einem Dämon besessen! Wer will dich töten?« 21 Jesus erwiderte: »Eine einzige Tat habe ich am Sabbat getan, an der ihr Anstoß nehmt. 22 Aber auch ihr arbeitet am Sabbat, wenn ihr einen Menschen an diesem Tag beschneidet, weil Mose euch das Gesetz der Beschneidung gab. Dabei ist der Brauch der Beschneidung älter als das mosaische Gesetz; er geht auf die Stammväter zurück. 23 Denn wenn der vorgeschriebene Zeitpunkt für die Beschneidung eurer Söhne auf einen Sabbat fällt, dann vollzieht ihr die Beschneidung, um das mosaische Gesetz nicht zu brechen. Warum also empört ihr euch und verurteilt mich? Weil ich einen Menschen am Sabbat geheilt habe? 24 Denkt darüber nach und richtet nicht nach dem äußeren Schein, sondern richtet gerecht!«

19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me… Jesus out of love… exposes them as hypocrites…. He was not playing Gotcha with them…. He was offering them the chance to see the truth about themselves so that they would repent… remember it was Because He healed a man on the Sabbath…. That the rulers wanted to kill Jesus (John 5:16)…

v23… For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?... Here is the invitation to see their own hearts…

v24… Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly… The NKJV Says...

John 7: 24                 NKJV  slt 2000

24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment 24 Richtet nicht nach dem Augenschein, sondern fällt ein gerechtes Urteil!   Jesus is inviting these leaders to stop being Hypocrites... To stop judging and condemning Him and each other... He is inviting all of us to examine our own hearts... That is where we must start... We have no business critiquing and condemning each other... We must start with ourselves... Richard Sibbes... That great Purtian Theologian wrote about this 400 year's ago...

I will paraphrase him... If true religion was only a matter of obeying rules and performing Good works... It would be easy to be a Christian.... That is a good description of the Pharisees... But that is not the Gospel... That is not Discipleship... Genuine belief is about our hearts…. It is discipleship… Luke 9:23… look at it please…

Luke 9: 23,24                      NKJV  slt 2000

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

23 Er sprach aber zu allen: Wenn jemand mir nachkommen will, so verleugne er sich selbst und nehme sein Kreuz auf sich täglich und folge mir nach.24 Denn wer sein Leben retten will, der wird es verlieren; wer aber sein Leben verliert um meinetwillen, der wird es retten.

We can never be good enough to earn God´s approval… He says following rules is easy in comparison to what is really necessary...

This is where I would like us to look as we apply this Word to our own lives... John describes Jesus as full of grace and truth... Jesus shows us the perfect balance of loving grace and the truth that sets men free... True discipleship is to take up the Word of God and let it have it´s way in our hearts and minds... To repent from our hearts…  Repent our sin and pride and rebellion... To submit ourselves to Him and His Word... That is discipleship... And that is very difficult... Because we do not want to Face the truth about ourselves... We love ourselves too much to admit that we need to repent... To let God change our hearts... Powerful  words, aren’t they? This statement touches the deepest issues of the Christian walk... Here is the truth… The problem with us Christians is that we love ourselves too much... Our pride and rebellion prevents us from looking in the Mirror of God´s Word... But it is the Word of God that we so desperately need… that is what we learn from Paul letters to  Timothy… look at 2 Timothy 3… v16,17…

2 Timothy 3: 16,17              NLT    Neues Leben

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

16 Die ganze Schrift ist von Gottes Geist eingegeben und kann uns lehren, was wahr ist, und uns erkennen lassen, wo Schuld in unserem Leben ist. Sie weist uns zurecht und erzieht uns dazu, Gottes Willen zu tun. 17 Durch die Schrift bereitet Gott uns umfassend vor und rüstet uns aus für alles, was wir nach seinem Willen tun sollen.

We study the Word of God and it shows us our sin and pride…. It shows us the raw truth…. We are not perfect…. We are not God´s gift to anyone…. We need help… We need a Savior… None of us wants to admit such things about ourselves… We don´t read the Bible for the same reason that I don´t look in the mirror… I don´t want to see the truth… We would rather deny the truth than face it… We would really rather not know…  And so we deny the truth… And the ugly truth is that we cannot think clearly about ourselves or others… Here is the question for today…

How do we help someone we love to think clearly... To see the truth about themselves...  How do we learn to see and think clearly…? You know the answer…

The Word of God... It is the mirror that shows us our hearts… And it is possible to with love and grace help our brothers and sisters to face the truth about themselves too… In fact that is what we are supposed to do for each other… Look with me at Col 3:12-17…

Colossians 3: 12-17                 NLT  Neues Leben

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

12 Da Gott euch erwählt hat, zu seinen Heiligen und Geliebten zu gehören, seid voll Mitleid und Erbarmen, Freundlichkeit, Demut, Sanftheit und Geduld. 13 Seid nachsichtig mit den Fehlern der anderen und vergebt denen, die euch gekränkt haben. Vergesst nicht, dass der Herr euch vergeben hat und dass ihr deshalb auch anderen vergeben müsst. 14 Das Wichtigste aber ist die Liebe. Sie ist das Band, das uns alle in vollkommener Einheit verbindet. 15 Euren Herzen wünschen wir den Frieden, der von Christus kommt. Denn als Glieder des einen Leibes seid ihr alle berufen, im Frieden miteinander zu leben. Und seid immer dankbar! 16 Gebt den Worten von Christus viel Raum3 in euren Herzen. Gebraucht seine Worte weise, um einander zu lehren und zu ermahnen. Singt Gott aus ganzem Herzen Psalmen, Lobgesänge und geistliche Lieder. 17 Doch alles, was auch immer ihr tut oder sagt, soll im Namen von Jesus, dem Herrn, geschehen, durch den ihr Gott, dem Vater, danken sollt!

We are talking about learning to know God in real life... We are talking about actively reflecting Jesus…. Full of Grace and truth…  Jesus loves us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves... Because of His grace and unfailing love... He comes to redeem sinful people... People like me and you...  in order to Transform us into children of God’s glory... And we are expected to help each other grow in Grace as well… That is discipleship… That is church in the best sense… doing life together… Helping each other grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him… Let´s pray…