A Dire Warning

A DIRE WARNING

John 7:25-36

A present day concept that many people have is “God is a loving and good God therefore; everyone who is also good is going to go to heaven.”

“I am a good person; I try to do what is right and good. And since I am one of the good people, I am going to go to heaven.”
That is how people think.

And that is what a lot of people thought here in the passage that was read. Many of them thought they were a good person.

That even included the Jews who opposed Jesus; when it came to righteousness they considered themselves a step ahead of everyone else; they studied the Law and they got upset with anyone they thought was violating the Law; they considered themselves to be faithful to God; they often went to the temple; so individually, they considered themselves to be a “good person.”

Even the regular citizens considered themselves to be “good people.” They kept the Sabbath; they participated in the required feasts; here in this passage they are spending the week in temporary shelters like they were required to do; and in this passage they are in the temple (we might say they were in church) listening to the teachers (vs. 14); so basically, they considered themselves individually to be a good person; just like most people do today.

But I want you to notice vs. 34. Speaking to these “good people”, to these “religious” people Jesus says, “You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

This statement caught got their attention! The reason we know it caught their attention is because they repeat it in vs. 36. Look at what they say:

What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

What does Jesus mean here when He says this? These “good people” wanted to know and it is something we need to know and understand ourselves.

What Is He talking about?

Well, let’s break this passage down to help us understand what Jesus is saying.

If you remember Jesus has come into Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths.
He doesn’t come at the beginning of the Feast because He wanted to avoid the hatred and vicious intention of the Jewish leaders; vs. 1.
He also waits due to a better opportunity to teach; because of the Feast Jerusalem with be teeming with thousands of people who have come for the Feast so He will have a bigger audience when He teaches.

So, when He arrives in Jerusalem He goes to the temple and begins teaching (v. 14).

And in vs. 15 the people “marvel” at what He has to say.

They are amazed; shocked, stunned.

Now, look at vs. 25: Therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 “And look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?

These people don’t know what to think. They are confused. They knew that the Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Jesus and yet, Jesus is speaking publicly and the leaders aren’t saying anything!

Here He is He is teaching about salvation and the Law, and sin and judgment and righteousness and forgiveness and mercy and grace and the kingdom of God.
And He is claiming again to be the Son of God, and the Messiah, and the source of eternal life…and no one is stopping Him!

So the people ask themselves, “Could it be that the rulers know that this Man is really the Christ?”

But wait a minute! The thought of Jesus being the Christ goes away in a hurry. Look at vs. 27: “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”

That wasn’t true! “No one knows where He is from!?

Did they not know the scriptures? Micah the prophet said in Micah 5:2 that the Christ would come from Bethlehem. .
And their leaders knew. Remember in Matthew 2 how Herod gathered the chief priests and the scribes and said, “Where is the Messiah to be born?” and they said, “In Bethlehem of Judea just as the prophet has said.”
The Jewish leaders knew that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem and they also knew He would come from the line of David; and if they really wanted to know about Jesus the records in the temple would show where Jesus was born and that He was born from two Davidic families.
So to say that “No one knows where the Christ is from” is not true.

The truth is, what they say in vs. 27 was simply an excuse for rejecting Jesus.

They did the same thing in chapter 6:42 and they will do same thing here in chapter 7 in vs. 41 and 42; and you read this same thing in Matthew 13.
This was their stock answer for rejecting Jesus: “We know where He is from; we know His family; this is the carpenter’s son; He is from Nazareth and nothing good can come from Nazareth.”

These people didn’t want to accept Jesus because to accept Jesus meant you had to accept His teachings and His claims.

And if you accepted Jesus you had to accept the fact that as “good as you think you are, you are not good enough to save yourself.”
And if you accept Him you had to accept the fact that unless you repent and make some changes in your life you are headed for a divine judgment.
And if you accept Him you had to accept the fact that only when you turn to Him and follow Him can you obtain eternal life (6:40).
Accepting Jesus as Messiah, as the Son of God, could cause them to be rejected by their family, by society, and could even cost them their lives.
And these people are not sure they want to do that.

And this has not changed today. Accepting Jesus, following Jesus requires some sacrifices that many people don’t want to make.

So, to justify their rejection of Jesus they said, “We know where He came from; we know His family; we know His town; therefore He cannot be the Christ!”

That was their safe haven for rejecting Christ.

Now, look at vs. 28: Jesus therefore cried out (loud shout) in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.

What Jesus is saying here is, “Yes you know me; and yes you know where I am from; but I am not here on my own accord. I am here because I have been sent and you do not know the One who sent Me!

In other words Jesus is saying, “Yes, you are familiar with Me, but you really don’t know Me at all.
And that is true today.

Listen, to know a few minor details about Jesus; to know a few external things, to know a little bit of His history, and to know a few stories about Him is really to know nothing about Him at all.

And we see that in our culture today.
In our culture Jesus is a household word; people put what is supposed to be His picture on the wall; they put His name on the refrigerator; and people see the Christmas story on TV and they know about Easter.
And yet people don’t know what He says, what He teaches; what He condemns, or what He desires.

Today people wear crosses around their neck and claim to know Jesus and yet they have children by a woman they are not married to; and some of the children don’t have the same mother.

And today people claim to know Jesus and yet they are involved in homosexual or immoral activities.
And people today claim to know Jesus and yet they take His name in vain and are frequently involved in coarse jesting.

And look at the end of vs. 28. Jesus says, “He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.”

This is a supreme indictment against Israel.
They prided themselves on being the people of God who knew God and Jesus says, “You don’t know Him.”

Why don’t people know? Why don’t they know what God is like; what He commands?

Because they don’t know His word.
His word is an expression of His nature and His will and you cannot know Him if you do not know His word.

So, the people claim to know Jesus and Jesus basically says in vs. 29; “If you knew Me (like you claim) you would know that God has sent Me.”

And look at their response; vs. 30.

They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Redemption (man’s salvation) was planned by God and executed by God’s sovereignty; when it comes to redemption everything happens according to His purpose, His plan and timing.
That is the reason why these people couldn’t put their hands on Jesus.
They couldn’t act because they were under divine control.

31 But many of the multitude believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”

This must have made the Jewish leaders a little more nervous.
Based on His record of doing all of these miracles it may be that some in the crowd are starting to buy into the fact that Jesus might actually be the Messiah

32 The Pharisees heard the multitude muttering these things about Him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.

And if you want to know what more about these “officers” who were sent to seize Jesus you can look at vs. 45; the officers come back to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they ask, “Why did you not bring Him?”
And the officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”

So, the Pharisees see the crowd moving in the direction of believing in Jesus and they send “officers”; or temple police to seize Jesus. And now look at vs. 33:

Jesus therefore said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.”

Jesus may have said this to everyone; He may have just said this to the “officers” who were sent to arrest Him; He may have said this to the Pharisees and Jewish leaders; it is hard to know.

But what Jesus is saying is, “It is not going to be long. It is soon going to be over and I am no longer going to be problem for you. I am going to be out of our life.”
“I am going to the One who sent Me.”
“I came down from heaven; I am going back to heaven.”

And this brings us to vs. 34. Jesus says:

“You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me;

What a horrible reality!

What Jesus is saying is, “Because of your rejection there will come a time when you will seek Me; you will want and need what I can give you and do for you; and you will not fine Me.”

“It will be too late!”

And then He says: “ …and where I am, you cannot come.”

Where is He going to be; vs. 33? He is going to be in heaven; He is going to be with the Father.
And they can’t come!

Why? Because they have rejected Him; because they don’t know Him; and because they don’t know God!

What you have here in vs. 33-34 is a warning: A warning about the consequences of rejecting Jesus; a warning about the consequences of riding the fence about Jesus; a warning about being indecisive about Jesus.

And it doesn’t matter who you are: there is no hierarchy between the common people and the rulers; there is no class separation.
Anyone who rejects Christ; who rides the fence out of confusion, who cannot make up their mind about Jesus will be shut out of heaven.

So, here are some additional truths that are learned from this passage;

Hell is itself truth discovered too late.

Hell is suffering for sin.

Hell is eternal regret without remedy.

Hell is everlasting remorse without hope.

Hell is not where Christ is forgotten. It is where Christ is unavailable.

Good people; even religious people go to hell; faithful people go to heaven.

So, here it is again: Vs. 33 “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 “You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

But, now the rest of the story: Jesus cries out this dire warning; but then He closes with an invitation. Look at vs. 37: Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.'”

He says, “If any man is thirsty”; it is open to everyone; if anyone has a thirsty soul; If anyone is longing for hope; longing for peace with God; longing for forgiveness; for salvation.
He says, “Come”; approach Jesus because He is the only source of living water or salvation.
And “Drink”: means to take Him in; make Him your own; embrace Him; leave the sinful life behind and obey Him.