Thank you for leading us again this morning. Thank you, Mark, for filling in last week. I had a kind of a nasty man cold. You know, men get it worse than women do. It's, I think that's a scientific fact. So anyway, I'm mostly better, still working out a little bit so hopefully not from the pulpit this morning.

We are continuing our study of the gospel of John this morning in chapter 7 for our communion service. And this morning we come to a chapter that gives us the opportunity to believe. We see a lot of unbelief in this chapter, but I believe the message is that Jesus gives us the opportunity to believe. In verse 17, he gives us this great promise: 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.

In verse 33, he says, as he stands before them, their very salvation standing before him, he says, "Now is the time to believe." He says, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and not find me, and where I am, you cannot come." He's with them now. He's offering them salvation through faith in him.

But as we have seen in chapter 6 and now through this chapter in his brothers and the crowds and the leaders of Israel, there is no will to believe. And then we see that amazing invitation—the opportunity to believe—in the promise of Jesus in verse 37 of this chapter. "On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

He who believes in me, this is the invitation to all men. Jesus is the opportunity to believe, to have life, to be saved from the wrath of God for our sins, to be made new and delivered out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of his love. And Jesus offers us these same promises: the promise to believe, to know concerning the doctrine, what is true, what is from him; the promise of the Spirit of regeneration, living water springing up for all who thirst. 

And for those of us who have believed Jesus, who know him, who have experienced new life and the power and provision of the Spirit in us, we still have the opportunity to believe Jesus each moment, each day as we live this life in Christ—to know him through his word, to trust him and believe him, and see that life springing up in us and to flow out through us for his glory and for our good. 

So this chapter is an opportunity—one that so many reject, who will not and go the way of perdition. But for those who believe, who seize the opportunity—the promise that Jesus gives—there is life, there is grace, there is abundance and fruit and glory to God.

Let's look at chapter 7. I'm going to read a little bit further down to verse 31. 

John 7:1: "After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of the tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, 'Depart from here and go into Judea that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.' For even his brothers did not believe in him."

Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast, I'm not going up to this feast for my time has not yet fully come." When he had said these things to them, he remained in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast—not openly, but as it were in secret. 

Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, "Where is he?" 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." However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. 

Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. 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. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent me is true, and no unrighteousness is in him."

"Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision—not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers—and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man received 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? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look, he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he is from." 

Then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from, and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. But I know him, for I am from him, and he sent me." Therefore they sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not come. 

And many of the people believed in him and said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this man has done?"

I've given you five points on your outline: first, the Jews sought to kill him; second, his brothers did not believe him; third, the people were indecisive; fourth, willing to do his will; fifth, a gracious opportunity.

Well, in verse one of our text, we see John use a familiar phrase in his writings: after these things. This phrase indicates that some time has passed since the last events recorded in chapter 6. We saw at the beginning of chapter 6—we were in the Passover time in the spring—and now we are in the fall, around October, for the Feast of Tabernacles. So, about six or seven months has passed since the events of chapter 6. 

Jesus has spent this time in Galilee, staying away from Jerusalem and Judea, because the text says the Jews were seeking to kill him. It's now only about six months until the next significant Passover—when Jesus would go to Jerusalem and would give himself on the cross for our sins. The hatred has been building for some time in their hearts. The Jewish leaders have been longing to kill Jesus since he came on the scene, began to draw crowds, and became incredibly popular, primarily because of the words that he spoke—the condemnation he brought to their religious system, the threat that he posed to their power through his words. It was always the words—the truth—that they hated. 

They loved the works. The people loved the works—the miracles, the healings, the feeding—but when he began to speak about sin and judgment, religious hypocrisy, and the truth, as we see in this chapter, that they had the law but did not keep it, that they were guilty, deserving of death, that they were sons of Satan—the blind leading the blind. These are the things that really brought out the hatred in their hearts, and they were seeking to kill Jesus.

And because it was not yet time, Jesus remained in Galilee, ministering there for over a year before he would go back up to Judea and then to Jerusalem. So, we see that the Jews hated him; we see that they were seeking to kill him.

Next, we see that even his own brothers did not believe him. Verse 2: "Now the Jews' feast of tabernacle was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, 'Depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.' For even his brothers did not believe in him."

Well, Jesus had four brothers mentioned several times, named in Matthew 13:55: "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?" Like Mark was talking about this morning, it was a shock to me when I was first saved and began to read the Bible that Mary was not a perpetual virgin, that she had four other sons and also daughters. Also, that Mary was not sinless as I had been taught, but in Luke 2, she rejoiced in God her Savior—Savior from what? Savior from her sin, from the wrath of God for her sin. 

You know, the Bible sheds a lot of light, a lot of truth on religion. But we see that Jesus had four brothers, and in this event in John 7, they come to him, perhaps to go to him a little bit. They challenged him to go up to Judea to the feast to show himself openly to the people, to make public who he is, to demonstrate his power. But Jesus responds in a most interesting way. In verse 6, he says, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast; I'm not going up to this feast for my time has not yet fully come." 

Jesus says twice here, "My time has not come; my time has not fully come." It was not time. It was not God's time—God's time for him to go to Jerusalem, to have a confrontation with the religious leaders, to give himself as a sacrifice for our sins. You see, everything that Jesus did was on a divine timetable. He was working according to God's perfect schedule. 

In the fullness of time, he came just at the right moment. And that was true of his death, burial, and resurrection. God was in control of this, and God was orchestrating these details according to his time. Notice what Jesus says to his brothers: "My time has not come, but your time is always ready." 

It's really curious about what he meant by that—your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, he says, but it hates me. Because I testify, because I tell the truth about sin and evil and justice and righteousness. You see, his brothers were still of the world. They were still part of that system. They could go now or go later—anytime. They could go and worship in the temple, they could offer their sacrifices, celebrate the feast, live, and do as the people were doing, and it didn't matter. 

The world did not hate them because they were of the world. But if Jesus went, as we will see, he would be hated. He would have to speak the truth, testify that they were evil, that they needed a Savior. He could only speak the truth and do according to the will of his Father. And this set him at odds with the world, with the people, and especially with the religious system and its leaders. I was thinking about that; you know, we have an option. 

We don't always do the Father's will, right? We don't always choose to believe him or to trust him. We can kind of soften things a little bit, maybe, or choose not to speak, choose not to say the truth boldly. We should do that, right? We should speak the truth, but Jesus always told the truth. Jesus always did the will of the Father. He always spoke concerning the need of men and their condition and the truth that he was the only Savior.

His time was prescribed by God. At just the right time, in the fullness of the time, God's will would be accomplished—but not before. But what we see is that Jesus went up secretly. He didn't travel with the large caravan and his relatives—not even the normal path to get there—but secretly, up through Samaria. Jesus went to the feast, as was required of every man. 

In verse 10, it says, "But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast—not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, 'Where is he?'" 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." However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.

And at the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me." This is a message directly from God. 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. 

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent me—sent him—is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. We see in verse 12 that the people were indecisive about Jesus—conflicted. Some said he was good; some said that he was evil. We hear that today, don't we? Some people say, "He's a good man; he's a good teacher; he's a good example." What they didn't say was that he was the Son of God. They didn't understand why he came. 

They had no idea about the suffering Messiah. They did not believe. They were fickle. We will see in just a few short months that they will sing praises to him, lay down palms before him, and call him the Son of David—and at the end of that week, will call for his blood, to crucify him. The people were not willing. He came to his own, and they received him not. He longed to gather them under his wings as a hen gathers her chicks, but they were not willing.

But Jesus always gives the opportunity to believe. He gives a great promise in verse 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." 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. 

Jesus says, "My doctrine is not mine. It's from God. It's from him who sent me, from the Father. The words that Jesus spoke, the truth he taught, was from the Father—was truth. And he makes this great promise: if anyone wills to do his will, he shall know. He shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God." 

Jesus says the key to knowing the truth, to understanding the words of God, to know what is from him and what is not from him, is the will—the will to do his will. And this promise has amazing application for any and every man in coming to Jesus, in believing him—but also for each one of us in the many realms of our Christian life: in our work, in our families, in our churches, in our witnessing, and particularly for me in my preaching and teaching. 

This verse guides me in my understanding of my role as pastor-teacher of this church. It is my will to do his will, to know concerning the doctrine—to say what God says. I have no system. I have no overriding theology. My great desire is to come to each text of the Scriptures, the next set of verses as we work through the books of the Bible, and to say what God says. My will is to do his will in the realm of preaching and teaching, to know the truth—what is from God and what is from man. And I have no time for what is from man. Only what God says is what matters.

I remember meeting with a pastor years ago—actually, Pastor Krenz and I met with him—and he was teaching a system called Kingdom through Covenants, and I asked him where he got that. Well, the book, you know, in seminary we had this book called Kingdom through Covenants, and I said, "Well, did you read that book?" And he said, "Well, it's 880 pages. I didn't really read that." I thought, "So here you're forming your entire ministry, and you're preaching and teaching according to this book—this system designed by men—teaching that at every opportunity, and you haven't even read the book. And you don't even know what's right or what's wrong about that book according to the Scriptures."

I believe this is a promise from God, that if my will is to do his will, is to know the truth, what is from him, and the way of doctrine and truth, then he will make that known to me. He will guide me into all truth as I seek to know him through his word and obey what he says. So this is a promise to those who stood before him that day—an invitation to believe—and it is a promise for all men in coming to Jesus in faith, seeking to do the will of God—that is to believe his Son—and it is a promise for every believer, for the Christian life, for the agonizing, the seeking of truth, the studying of the Word of God, evaluating the systems of men. 

If you will to do his will, you will know. I try to hold fast to those words, the promise of Jesus in John 7:17. He follows that with these powerful words in verse 18. He says, "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." 

So the question comes, what are you seeking in your life? Is it your own glory? Do you speak from yourself? Or is it God's glory? I see so many preachers in the modern evangelical church seeking their own glory, teaching their own system, the thoughts and words of men, twisting the scriptures to fit their truth rather than seeking the truths of God's Word and standing for that truth no matter the cost.

In this, we seek God's glory when we seek the truth, when we speak from his Word, from the source of truth, and not from ourselves. We seek the glory of God when we seek his truth, his Word, and we proclaim it, and we stand on it, and against all that is foreign to it, and when we obey it, abiding in him, walking in the Spirit, praising him, pointing to him, worshiping him, when we are willing to do his will. 

But the people, the Jews, the leaders of the people, were not willing to do his will. They were interested in their will. We saw this in John 6 as well, right? They wanted a political Messiah. They wanted someone to do miracles to feed them. They weren't looking for a suffering Messiah; they weren't looking for salvation from the wrath of God for their sins. 

When we are willing to do his will, we will know. And so Jesus indicts them that day in the temple. Look at verse 19: "Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel." 

"Moses therefore gave you circumcision—not that it's from Moses, but from the fathers—and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 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? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look, he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that he is truly the Christ? However, we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he is from." 

Then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me and you know where I am from, and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. But I know him, for I am from him, and he sent me." Therefore they sought to take him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 

And many of the people believed in him and said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this man has done?" We see again the fickle crowds. Jesus spoke truth. He spoke spiritual truth—truth about salvation, about sin and judgment. He spoke truth about who he was, where he came from, the Father who sent him. And they did not hear; they did not understand. 

He told them, "You do not know him, but I know him, for I am from him and he sent me." The problem was that they were not willing. They did not will to do his will. They wanted what they wanted. They were comfortable in their system. They loved their power. They were not interested in glorifying God, but glorifying themselves. 

And it's no different among men and religion today. And yet, in the mercy of God, there's still the opportunity to believe. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." 

Paul quotes that in Romans 10:13 as well. John 6:37, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out." 

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink," Jesus said. "I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness." "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me." 

You know the last promise of the Bible? Almost at the very end, Revelation 22:17, what does it say? "And the Spirit and the bride say come, and let him who hears say come, and let him thirst come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." 

God's Word is an invitation; Jesus is an invitation. And that's what we see in our text in John 7—an invitation to believe. Look at verse 33, he says, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and not find me, and where I am, you cannot come." 

It's like the author of Hebrews. "Today is the day of salvation. Don't harden your hearts like they did in the rebellion. Let the hearing of the gospel be mixed with faith. Today is the day of salvation." This is the message of Jesus—the invitation to life through faith in him. 

Verse 37: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, he who believes in me, that's the key. That's the way to life, that's the way of life, believing Jesus." 

He says, "As the scripture said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Jesus is giving each one of us the opportunity to believe him, to trust him, to abide in him, to have life—eternal life, now and forever. 

And this opportunity is available to us because of the cross, because of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection—his death in my place for my sins. It is the cross that we come here this morning to remember. We come to proclaim his death until he comes, to remember what Jesus has done for us, to remember our first love.

It is in the cross—the one-time death of Jesus, taking the wrath of God that we deserve, dying in our place as our substitute to accomplish our salvation by himself. I love Hebrews 1: "When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of God." There's an end to all religion. And it is through faith alone in him that we can be saved. 

When we look at this chapter and we look at the people who rejected him—the people who hated him, the people who did not believe in him—and yet we see Jesus standing and offering himself, offering salvation through faith in him, if you would believe in him. 

How gracious God is. What an opportunity he gives to us, not only to come to salvation, but to live day by day through faith in him. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you. Thank you for the invitation that Jesus is, the gospel is, of salvation. Not by our works, not by our religious rites and rituals, not by things that we do, but because of what Jesus has done. We thank you for that great gift. We thank you for salvation through faith in him. And we thank you that we can live one day at a time, looking to him, trusting him, needing him, abiding in him as we wait for that glorious day when he will come to take us to be with him. We thank you for the cross. In Jesus' name, Amen.