{"id":30858,"date":"2024-05-01T22:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T05:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-7_14-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T22:30:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T05:30:31","slug":"john-7_25-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-7_25-36\/","title":{"rendered":"Know Jesus Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 7:25-36\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 7:25-36.\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 7:25-26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 25-26:\u00a0 Some in Jerusalem wondered why the Jerusalem authorities were allowing Jesus to preach publicly if they considered him to be public enemy number 1 (v25-26).\u00a0 By not doing anything seemingly to stop Jesus, the religious leaders were seen by some as possibly approving of Jesus\u2019 claims.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re silent on an issue, you may give others the impression that you accept the status quo as being okay.\u00a0 May you have wisdom to know when to speak up and when to remain silent.\u00a0 When you do speak up, may you speak up with wisdom, tact and courage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 7:27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 27:\u00a0 Some people in Jerusalem apparently grew up being taught that when \u201cthe Christ\u201d \u2013 that is, the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for \u2013 comes, no one will know where he is from.\u00a0 Thus they concluded that Jesus was not the Messiah, since they thought they knew where Jesus came from.<\/p>\n

What is the problem with their reasoning?\u00a0 The problem is that the idea that when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from is not in the Bible.\u00a0 At best this teaching represents a half-truth and at worst is a false and misleading idea.\u00a0 The fact is that the Old Testament did speak about where the Messiah would come from.\u00a0 For example, Micah 5:2 states:\u00a0“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.\u00a0 Thus the belief espoused by some people in Jerusalem that when the Messiah comes no one will know where he is from is not found in Scripture.\u00a0 What\u2019s the lesson here?\u00a0\u00a0You will hear many people claim that the Bible says this or that, but the question is: can they back it up?\u00a0 Sometimes well-meaning people can make completely wrong assumptions about what the Bible says about God or Jesus because they have not checked what they believe against what the Bible actually says.\u00a0 Don\u2019t make the same mistake.\u00a0 Check the things you believe and hear against what the Bible actually says.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 7:28-29 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him,
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-29:\u00a0 Despite people being able to know that Jesus was a Jew born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and living in Galilee, there was an aspect of Jesus\u2019 origins that no one could know personally, and that had to with his divinity.\u00a0 No one in Jerusalem could know where Jesus was from insofar as Jesus was sent from heaven and no one else could say that they know where heaven is.<\/p>\n

John 7:30 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 30:\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 critics were not able to lay a hand on Jesus because Jesus\u2019 \u201ctime had not yet come\u201d.\u00a0 Like John 2:4 and John 7:6-8, this verse focuses on how God the Father had a divine, appointed time for certain things to happen in His Son\u2019s life, such as when he would be handed over to his enemies.\u00a0 The time for Jesus to be apprehended simply had not yet arrived.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0You can\u2019t fight God\u2019s timing.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When God determines that something will happen, it will happen no matter how much you fight it.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0When God determines that something will not happen, it will not happen no matter how much you fight for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 7:31-36 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?”
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-36:\u00a0 Many Jews in the crowd thought they had Jesus all figured out when in fact they didn\u2019t.\u00a0 They thought they knew where Jesus was from (v27), when in fact they didn\u2019t grasp it fully.\u00a0 They were also confused by the things Jesus said like, \u201cYou will look for me but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come\u201d (v34).\u00a0 What did Jesus mean by that?\u00a0 Jesus was saying that one day Jesus would return to heaven (v33) and that from then on his critics would not be able to find him on earth (\u201cyou will look for me, but you will not find me\u201d \u2013 v36a), nor would they in their unbelief be able to go to heaven where Jesus is (\u201cwhere I am, you cannot come\u201d \u2013 v34).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Jesus said a bunch of things that are hard to understand unless you know Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0So if you\u2019re having a tough time understanding certain things that Jesus says, treat it as a signal to get to know Jesus better.\u00a0 The more you study the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit, the more you\u2019ll get to know Jesus and understand some of the more difficult statements He made.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, whenever I hear others talk about You, may I be careful to measure what they say against what Your Word actually says, so that I would not be misled.\u00a0 May I know You better through Your Word every day.\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 7:25-36.\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 7:25-26 (NIV)
\n25\u00a0\u00a0At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?
\n26\u00a0\u00a0Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 25-26:\u00a0 Some in Jerusalem wondered why the Jerusalem authorities were allowing Jesus to preach publicly if they considered him to be public enemy number 1 (v25-26).\u00a0 By not doing anything seemingly to stop Jesus, the religious leaders were seen by some as possibly approving of Jesus\u2019 claims.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re silent on an issue, you may give others the impression that you accept the status quo as being okay.\u00a0 May you have wisdom to know when to speak up and when to remain silent.\u00a0 When you do speak up, may you speak up with wisdom, tact and courage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30858","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\/30858","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=30858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30861,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30858\/revisions\/30861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}