John 7: Preconceived Notions & Judgement

Admin
Jun 25
10 min read

In the seventh chapter of John, we see preconceived notions leading most people to wrong judgments concerning Jesus. To presume means to determine a result on the basis of probability. Beliefs about prophesied events may be a result of misguided teachings or presumptions.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Luke 12:6-7 AKJV)

God is so much greater than we are, to presume we know what He must do and how He will do it is sheer folly. Who are we to tell God, who knows the number of hairs on each person’s head what He should do or limit how He accomplishes anything? To presume about God is prideful audacity and may lead you to reject that which you should embrace.

God calls prophets and tells them what He will do, but how He will do it often remains a mystery until it is accomplished. We see this concerning the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, who was the topic of over 100 prophecies.

Jesus told the crowd that they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood, then returned home to Galilee. His family wanted Him to go to Jerusalem when the Feast of Tabernacles began.

So His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples [there] may also see the works that You do. [This is no place for You.] For no one does anything in secret when he wishes to be conspicuous and secure publicity. If You [must] do these things [if You must act like this], show Yourself openly and make Yourself known to the world!” For [even] His brothers did not believe in or adhere to or trust in or rely on Him either. (John 7:3-5 AMPC)

The Lord’s family didn’t find His actions and revelations any more palatable than the crowd. They wanted Him to stop talking about stuff that made them uncomfortable and go out and prove Himself in the world. In essence, what they were saying is that if Jesus was the Messiah then He needed to go and gather a following so He could be King.

The Lord refused to go with His family to the Feast of Tabernacles because He knew that He came to conquer the spiritual leader of the world, Satan, not to become the physical King. He wasn’t looking for a following that would place Him on the throne, He came to take spiritual authority, not physical power. Letters from Paul shows us that Satan had spiritual authority over this world until the Lord took it back:

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God… (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV)

God’s enemy took spiritual control over the world when the residents of the world listened to him instead of God. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden at Satan’s urging. Jesus had to come and be obedient to God to take back spiritual authority over the Earth:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18 ESV)

Once Jesus rose from the grave, all authority was given to Him. To receive this authority, He had to do what His Father wanted, not what He or his siblings desired. It was through perfect obedience, even unto death itself, that Jesus was able to conquer the spiritual realm.

Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, but stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.

And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:6-9 AMPC)

Jesus was God, then He chose to become human so that He could rescue us from Satan. The Lord knew His destiny was to die on the cross and not become a King. Because of the way they interpreted prophecies, Israel expected the Messiah to deliver them from their enemies and rule the world. This will happen, but it will occur the second time Jesus comes.

Because of the preconceived notions about the Messiah, Jesus’ family wanted Him to go in a stately caravan to Jerusalem to gather a powerful following. The Lord had other ideas: He told them that His time had not yet come and declined to travel with them. Then we see what God had in mind:

But after His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He also went up, not publicly (in a caravan) but in private.

The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is He?”

And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, He is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews, no one spoke openly of Him.

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching (John 7:9-14 ESV)

This was an ingenious marketing strategy that only God could have designed! The lack of a public appearance by Jesus created a “buzz” as people looked for Him. By not appearing right away, people’s interest was piqued even more: He was the hot topic at the Feast.

Jesus waited until the Feast was half over before stepping forward. He spoke with the wisdom of God that none could deny, though He had no formal training. The Lord spoke plainly about the plot to kill Him, refuting their accusations with scripture. The speech made some accuse Him of being crazy while others followed Him.

A tabernacle is a tent, a temporary dwelling. The Feast of Tabernacles is a celebration of the journey through the wilderness where Moses led God’s people and taught them God’s ways. Israelites refer to this time as “when God dwelled among them.” On the final day of the Feast, Jesus revealed what His goal was with His first coming to the Earth; how God intended to dwell among His people once more.

Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38 AMPC)

The reason the Lord came was so that all God’s people could receive the Holy Spirit. Rivers and springs are known as “living water” because they continually flow from their source. That is what the Holy Spirit is like. He continually flows from God into us and then to those around us. This can occur because we are now the God’s new temple:

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV)

Jesus stood in the Temple of God in Jerusalem, speaking about God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, being given to mankind. This was part of what He was sent to accomplish. Until His death, the Holy Spirit only came upon certain people, like prophets. If you wanted to be in God’s presence, you needed to be in the Temple. Jesus came to change all that. The first time Jesus spoke of the “Living Water” He could give, He also spoke about the time when the Temple would no longer be the only place a person could make contact with God.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. (John 4:21 ESV)

We no longer have to go to a particular place to worship God. His Spirit lives in us! This teaching, along with the miracles Jesus did, was causing great division in Israel.

Listening to those words, some of the multitude said, “This is certainly and beyond doubt the Prophet!”

Others said, “This is the Christ (the Messiah, Anointed One)!”

But some said, “What? Does the Christ come out of Galilee? Does not the Scripture tell us that the Christ will come from the offspring of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” (John 7:40-42 AMPC)

Some thought He was the Messiah, but they judged Him on what they thought they knew. This judgment kept people from truly believing He was the Messiah and fulfilled the prophecy that says, “None will know from where He comes.” Also, Galilee was like the “south side of the tracks.” It wasn’t a place of good repute, as many said, “Can anything good come out of Galilee.”

The ruling Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat to their hold over the people and they sought all the more to kill Him. When they sent their personal guards to arrest Him, it didn’t work out the way they planned.

Meanwhile the attendants (guards) had gone back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why have you not brought Him here with you?

The attendants replied, “Never has a man talked as this Man talks!”

The Pharisees said to them, “Are you also deluded and led astray? [Are you also swept off your feet?] Has any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him?” (John 7:45-48 AMPC)

Talking about harsh judgment! This prideful group criticized the guards for believing in Jesus because they did not approve of Him. When the time comes for God’s witness of the Second Coming will begin emerging, will the religious leaders have the same reaction? Just like the Pharisees did with John the Baptist? Let’s look at what else the leaders said:

As for this multitude (rabble) that does not know the Law, they are contemptible and doomed and accursed! (John 7:49 AMPC)

The heart of the leaders is clearly shown. They spoke judgment curses over the populous they should have been guiding. Basically, they are saying, “We are the only ones smart enough to know anything.” This isn’t God’s way! We are to be gracious to others, speaking blessings, which are God's will, and not curses, which give the enemy power in the lives of others.

There was one among them who had actually spoken personally with Jesus, and he attempted to defend Him.

Then Nicodemus, who came to Jesus before at night and was one of them, asked, “Does our Law convict a man without giving him a hearing and finding out what he has done?”

They answered him, “Are you too from Galilee? Search [the Scriptures yourself], and you will see that no prophet comes (will rise to prominence) from Galilee.” (John 7:50-52 AMPC)

A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Stereotypes exist for a reason and can apply in many cases, however, if they lead us to judge others quickly and harshly, we are guilty of violating what Jesus tells us to do:

Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you. (Matthew 7:1-2 AMPC)

This is the Lord speaking. When you judge others harshly and critically in a condemning way, others will do the same for you. If you want others to give you grace for mistakes and shortcomings, you need to give others grace. We need to continue reading Matthew to see what type of judgment the Lord is speaking of:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:3-6 ESV)

When we learn God’s ways we receive pearls of wisdom. It is tempting to judge others who are not yet ready to receive this wisdom, and even more tempting to try and share what we have learned with them. We must know that each of us is in a process with God. Let Him tell you what to share and when people are ready to hear it. Don’t focus on what you think others are doing wrong, instead, we should focus on what God wants us to do.

The Pharisees made this mistake. They judged Jesus quickly and harshly. He hadn’t learned about God from their sources. He hadn’t come from where they thought He should. They let these outward circumstances, these small specks, become their focus. They were determined to prove that Jesus was flawed. This caused the Pharisees to miss the first coming of the Messiah.

Judging others with a harsh and critical spirit can become a habit. It can be due to a generational curse or following leaders who are doing the same. We need to remove this hindrance from our lives! How many Christians will miss the witness sent to prepare the body of Christ because they do not have a “leader’s” stamp of approval?

John the Baptist was “one crying out in the wilderness” which means he had no allegiance to any church or religious group. He had no official training.

John was “dressed in sackcloth,” meaning he wasn’t refined or from the wealthy upper class. He was a bit rough around the edges.

Preconceived notions and a judgmental spirit will keep us from receiving all that God has for us. It will keep us from recognizing those who God has anointed to do His work, just as it kept the Pharisees from accepting the Messiah. Are you ready to remove the spirit of judgment?

Find out more in the free online class, Attacks from People in the Removing Attacks course at the Online Christian Church.