Year 2, Day 255: John 7

All For The Wrong Reasons

People followed Jesus, but not for the right reasons.  Even here in John 7 we have His own family who miss the boat.  Jesus’ brothers are walking with Him.  They are even headed to Jerusalem to try and be spiritual – albeit through the Law!  But even in their attempt to be spiritual they miss the Messiah.  They think that Jesus is using His gifts all wrong.  Instead of dealing with the small country folk – among whom Jesus has been ministering in order to avoid premature conflict with the Jewish leaders – His brothers think that Jesus should head to Judea.  They think that if the people of Judea – especially Jerusalem – could see Him at work then He’d be much more popular and attract a much bigger crowd.

All the wrong reasons.

Jesus is not looking for quantity.  Jesus is looking for quality.  Jesus is looking for people who will follow Him for all the right reasons.

The Right Reason

Jesus does head up to the feast – but in private.  Jesus cannot head into Jerusalem in public, because He knows that the Jewish leaders are trying to kill Him.  He cannot go up to Jerusalem and do miracles, but He can go up and do a little teaching.  He can do enough to get people to marvel at Him.  He can plant seeds of faith even if He can’t do grand demonstrations of God’s power.  There is always a place for planting seeds.

Then Jesus says something really profound.  Jesus says that it is simple to tell the person who speaks falsehood from the person who speaks truth: where is the glory going from what is being said?  If I say something and the glory ultimately falls to my shoulders, then am I speaking God’s truth?  No!  If I speak and I am the beneficiary of the glory of my words, then I am a self-monger.  But if I speak and God is glorified, then I am speaking truth.

I am absolutely stunned by the profoundness of the truth in this statement.  Think about all the things that people say today.  Ever hear a pastor give a sermon that was more about glorifying themselves than God?  That’s not truth in preaching.  Ever hear a church member speak or act in such a manner as to fish for compliments or praise?  That’s not truth in mission.  Ever hear someone try to get you to buy something so they can profit but they do it by trying to convince you that you absolutely must have it?  That’s not truth in any shape!  Ever listen to a politician speak about how great they are and how much better the country will be with them as the leader?  I don’t care what side you are on … if a politician is self-glorifying they are not speaking the truth.  The only one who speaks the truth according to Jesus is the one who seeks to glorify God.  That’s what verse 18 is all about.  What a profoundly sage piece of wisdom in this age.

Of Course There is Debate

Naturally, people begin to debate about Christ.  They question His authority.  They even question His origin.  They think they know where He came from.  Sure, they may know He was born of Mary.  As Jesus hints at, they may know that He was raised by Joseph and Mary.  But do they really know where He came from?  Do they really know that He came from God?  Do they really know that Jesus is fully human and fully divine?  Clearly not, because they sought to arrest Him.  Yet they couldn’t arrest Him because God knew that the time was still not right.

I love the double entendre of Jesus words when the Jewish leaders do send people out to try and arrest Him.  “You will seek me and you will not find me.”  They will seek Jesus, but again – for all the wrong reasons.  They will seek Him to persecute Him and His followers.  But they will not find Him because He will not be present in the flesh.  They will not find Him because in order to find Christ one must seek Him spiritually.  They miss the boat both now and in the future because their hearts are set of worldly things and not spiritual things.

Again, there is more division.  People argue about Jesus.  This is no surprise.

Nicodemus, Part II

What is neat is that we get a second glimpse into the mind of Nicodemus.  We can see as this chapter ends that Nicodemus’ perspective on Jesus is changing.  Nicodemus’ earlier conversation with Jesus in John 3 has been working on him.  Nicodemus is not so quick to condemn Jesus as the other Jewish leaders.  He at least calls for a trial.  He wants to hear what Jesus has to say for Himself.  He wants Jesus to have an opportunity to face His accusers.  Nicodemus is looking to judge Jesus based on how He handles Himself.

This is such a cool setup for the rest of the story.  We know how Jesus responds when arrested.  In Jesus, Nicodemus is going to see a man who lays down His life.  In Jesus, Nicodemus will see a man who truly does turn the other cheek.  Oh that we would all judge Jesus based on how He acted.  He gave His life willingly, like a lamb led before the slaughter.  What’s not to love?

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