It's About Time

IT’S ABOUT TIME

John 7:1-24

S: Timing (sovereignty)

Th: The timing of Jesus

Pr: WE NEED TO BE DRIVEN BY THE WILL OF GOD.

?: Inductive

KW: Phase

TS: We will find six phases to the narrative found in John 7:1-24 that demonstrate how Jesus was driven by the will of God.

The ____ phase is…

I. DISTANCE (1)

II. DOUBT (2-5)

III. DISCRETION (6-10)

IV. DEBATE (11-13)

V. DOCTRINE (14-18)

VI. DIVISION (19-24)

Version: ESV

RMBC 14 July 02 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Choice (CA v. NJ)

About three dozen employees from around the country were sent to California for a training seminar on some equipment they would be using. At dinner one evening, the participants were asked to tell where they were from and what they did. A man seated in the middle of the table said that he worked for a chemical plant in New Jersey. "New Jersey?" the facilitator echoed. "How is it that California ended up with all the lawyers and New Jersey has all the chemical-waste dumps?" "New Jersey had first pick," he quickly retorted.

My apologies to our lawyers and chemists…

Remember to keep your sense of humor!

Well…

We are all faced with choices.

We make choices everyday.

You have already made choices today.

You made a choice to get up.

You made a choice to get dressed.

You made a choice about what to wear.

You made a choice to come to church this morning.

And there is more choices to come!

TRANSITION:

This morning, in the text we are studying, Jesus is being faced with choices.

We are continuing our study of the gospel of John.

Last week, we finished chapter 6.

Today, we move ahead to six months later as we begin chapter 7.

And we observe here that…

1. Jesus is deliberately moving toward the cross.

In this particular gospel, John doesn’t want us to miss this.

Jesus was very intentional.

He has a purpose in mind to accomplish.

And as He moves toward the cross, we see that…

2. The opposition to Jesus is getting more intense.

Just as He is moving more deliberately to the cross, there is also a deliberate plan to remove Jesus from the scene.

We are told over and over again that the Jewish leaders desired to kill Jesus.

Now the plan was being formulated.

With this in mind, as we come to today’s text, we are going to observe how Jesus desired God’s will more than anything else.

So…

3. We will find six phases to the narrative found in John 7:1-24 that demonstrate how Jesus was driven by the will of God.

4. The setting for this text is the Feast of Tabernacles.

It is also called the Feast of Booths.

It had three major purposes.

First, it was a memorial to when Israel wandered in the wilderness and lived in tents.

Second, it was a harvest festival, held during what is our October.

And third, it looked forward to the promised kingdom of the Messiah.

It was a real time of celebration and joy.

OUR STUDY:

I. The first phase is DISTANCE (1).

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

As we come to this section of John, the beginning of an open and militant opposition to Jesus and His ministry is evident.

This opposition is centered in the heart of the nation of Israel—Jerusalem.

So, Jesus kept to the north.

During this time, Jesus ministered where it would be best received.

He kept a low profile in Galilee.

John does not record what happened during this time, but Matthew, Mark and Luke do detail it.

John, though, does want us to note that Jesus kept His distance.

He is not going south to Jerusalem until it is time to go.

II. The second phase is DOUBT (2-5).

[2] Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. [3] So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. [4] For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” [5] For not even his brothers believed in him.

We find here that the half-brothers of Jesus challenge Him to go south to Jerusalem for the feast.

And they have advice for Him…

1. Jesus is advised to show Himself as Messiah.

Note what they recommend…

1.1 Advice #1: “You need a larger arena.”

Jerusalem is the place.

It is crowded with pilgrims from all over the world.

So now is the time!

It is time to get out of Galilee

It is time to get out of the sticks.