{"id":30853,"date":"2024-04-30T22:00:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-7_1-13-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T22:26:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T05:26:08","slug":"john-7_14-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-7_14-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisdom from the Father"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 7:14-24 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 7:14-24.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 7:14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0 The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 8 days.\u00a0 According to some scholars, it had been approximately 18 months since the last time Jesus visited Jerusalem.\u00a0 Many were expecting Jesus to make a public appearance at the Feast, but Jesus does not appear when everyone expects.\u00a0 Only when the Feast is halfway through did Jesus begin to teach in the temple courts.\u00a0 There he amazes the crowd with his teaching.<\/p>\n

John 7:15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 15:\u00a0 When the Jews ask, \u201cHow did this man get such learning without having studied?\u201d, some scholars read this as the Jews simply being amazed that a man without formal rabbinical training like Jesus could teach with such wisdom and power.\u00a0 However, there is probably also a streak of skepticism in their question as well.\u00a0 In other words, the Jews who questioned Jesus were challenging Jesus\u2019 authority and credentials to teach.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if they were saying, \u201cYou haven\u2019t been to our schools.\u00a0 What gives you the right to express your own opinions this way?\u00a0 You\u2019re not a real rabbi, just a self-proclaimed teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

John 7:16-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16-17:\u00a0 In response to his critics challenging his credentials and questioning his authority to teach, Jesus says two things: First, his teaching is not his own but comes directly from the Father, \u201cfrom Him who sent me\u201d (v16).<\/p>\n

Second, Jesus says that anyone who chooses to do God\u2019s will will be able to tell if he is merely a self-proclaimed teacher or if his teaching is truly from God.\u00a0 How does that work?\u00a0 \u00a0The phrase \u201cif anyone chooses to do God\u2019s will\u201d (v17) reminds me of Micah 6:8 where it says, \u201cHe has showed you, O man, what is good.\u00a0And what does the\u00a0LORD\u00a0require of you?\u00a0To act justly and to love mercy\u00a0and to walk humbly with your God.\u201d God\u2019s will is that we act with justice, love mercy, and walk with humility.\u00a0 Perhaps one way to understand verse 17 is: if you are committed to these 3 things \u2013 justice, mercy and humility \u2013 you will see that Jesus\u2019 teaching is from God.<\/p>\n

John 7:18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0 Whereas a self-proclaimed teacher looks to gain honour for himself, Jesus works for the honor of the Father who sent him.\u00a0 Thus there is no self-interest in Jesus (\u201cnothing false about him\u201d).\u00a0 Thus we can trust what Jesus has to say.\u00a0 Perhaps when Jesus, in John 1:47 says of Nathanael, \u201chere is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false\u201d, it could be that Jesus saw in Nathanael a man who wanted to live for a purpose bigger than himself, than for his own glory.<\/p>\n

John 7:19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19:\u00a0 Previously, when Jesus had healed the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, the Jews tried to kill Jesus (see John 5:18).\u00a0 So now, 18 months later, Jesus is back in Jerusalem.\u00a0 In verse 19 he is pointing out the hypocrisy of the Jews who on one hand claimed to follow the law of Moses but who on the other hand were clearly violating it by plotting Jesus\u2019 murder.<\/p>\n

John 7:20-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now 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?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-23:\u00a0 Here Jesus points out another way in which the Jewish leaders were being hypocritical: on one hand they would circumcise children on a Sabbath day and did not consider this to be a violation of the command to rest on the Sabbath.\u00a0 Yet on the other hand they considered Jesus healing a man on a Sabbath day to be a violation of the command to rest on the Sabbath.\u00a0 Whereas Jesus\u2019 critics questioned Jesus\u2019 credentials and suggested that Jesus was a false teacher, Jesus makes it clear that his critics were the ones guilty of hypocrisy and falsehood.<\/p>\n

John 7:24 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 24:\u00a0 Jesus gives some sound advice to his critics: \u201cstop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.\u201d (v24)\u00a0 We would be wise to heed this advice too.\u00a0 Whenever we make false judgments, it\u2019s because we haven\u2019t thoroughly understood the situation and only jumped to conclusions based on appearances and first impressions.\u00a0 When we do that, we\u2019re no better than the critics who misjudged Jesus.\u00a0 We need to be wiser than that.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t jump to conclusions based on appearances alone, but give careful thought to the situation first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, You are wisdom personified.\u00a0 I pray for wisdom today, that whenever I see situations that concern me, I wouldn\u2019t make judgments based on mere appearances only.\u00a0 Instead by Your wisdom and grace please help me to make right judgments based on a thorough and sound understanding of the situation.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 7:14-24.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 7:14 (NIV)
\n14\u00a0\u00a0Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.<\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0 The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 8 days.\u00a0 According to some scholars, it had been approximately 18 months since the last time Jesus visited Jerusalem.\u00a0 Many were expecting Jesus to make a public appearance at the Feast, but Jesus does not appear when everyone expects.\u00a0 Only when the Feast is halfway through did Jesus begin to teach in the temple courts.\u00a0 There he amazes the crowd with his teaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30853"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30857,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30853\/revisions\/30857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}