Message Notes

SUNDAY SCHOOL SPECIAL 12 September 2021
Text: John 7
Subject: Evangelism
Focus: “When Family Members do not Believe”

INTRODUCTION

1. Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ

a) Galilee

b) Judea

c) Samaria
(Limited)

2. Reasons for moving from place to place

a) Hostility (John 7:1)

i) The Jews sought to kill Him

ii) The Lord Jesus was not afraid of death

iii) Strong hostility will hinder effective ministry

b) Wisdom exercised

i) This is to be found and exercised

ii) Good lessons to be learned about Ministry (when, where and how)

c) Leading of the Spirit

i) This does not always have to be stated

ii) The leading of the Spirit is safely assumed (Luke 4:18-19)

d) God’s will

i) This must be given/disclosed to the Lord Jesus

ii) The Lord Jesus always waited on the Lord to instruct Him

THREE NATIONAL FEASTS

1. There were 3 Feasts that the pious Jews would try to keep in Jerusalem

a) Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread

b) Feast of Firstfruits (Tabernacles)

c) Feast of Ingathering (Pentecost)

These were specifically mentioned Exodus 23:14-19; Leviticus 23:4-22, 33-44

2. The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:9-14, 33-44)

a) The Feast of Tabernacles was at hand (John 7:2)

b) The brothers of the Lord Jesus spoke to Him about the Feast

3. The words of the brothers of the Lord Jesus (John 7:3a)

a) “Depart from here and go into Judea” John 7:3b

i) The Lord had left Judea to return to Galilee for a while

ii) Obviously He took time to see His family members (mother/siblings)

iii) An imperative verb was used here

iv) It was not “Let’s go to Judea together”

iv) It’s “You…”

v) “Depart… Go”

b) “That Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing” John 7:3c

i) They distanced themselves

ii) They were not His disciples

iii) They had probably heard about the works of the Lord Jesus
But perhaps they had not seen them

iv) These were not friendly words, to say the least

c) “For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly” John 7:4a

i) Open criticism of the way the Lord Jesus ministered

ii) He seems to be doing things in secret

iii) Yet He seeks to be known openly

iv) This seemed to be confusing

v) This also seemed contradictory

d) “If You do these things, show Yourself to the world” John 7:4b

i) This was the opinion of the siblings of the Lord Jesus

ii) This reflects poorly on them

iii) These were words without wisdom

iv) These were hurtful words

4. Comment of the Author John

“For even His brothers did not believe in Him” John 7:5

THE GENTLE RESPONSE OF THE LORD JESUS

1. “My time has not yet come” John 7:6a

a) His time was not His to decide

b) God the Father would decide

i) His Ministry

ii) His movements

c) This aspect is not well-understood by many, if at all

2. “But your time is always ready” John 7:6b

a) God’s leading is excluded

b) Many, including the siblings, were different from the Lord Jesus

i) They did not have His ministry

ii) They did not have depth of knowledge and wisdom

iii) They did not have a time schedule as the Lord Jesus had

c) The difference was wide and deep!

i) Two different planes of thought

ii) The difference is obvious

iii) They did not believe in the Lord Jesus

3. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil” John 7:7

a) The world hates the Lord Jesus and all He stands for

b) It hates the Lord Jesus for He had pointed out its evil works

i) Hypocrisy

ii) Hatred

iii) Hardness of heart

4. “You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come” John 7:8

a) His brothers were going up to the feast in Jerusalem

b) Till His Father had given Him clear instructions, He would not go up to Jerusalem yet

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LORD JESUS

1. He remained in Galilee (John 7:9)

2. What He did in Galilee at this point of time was not recorded by John the author

3. The Lord Jesus did go to the Feast

a) But after His brothers had gone to the Feast (John 7:10a)

b) He did not go to the Feast openly (John 7:10b)

c) He went secretly (John 7:10c)

CONCLUSION

1. Faith in the Lord Jesus

a) Ultimately, it is an individual decision

b) The Lord Jesus would never coerce anyone to have faith in Him

2. Some reasons the siblings of the Lord Jesus did not believe

a) Unbelief

b) Hardness of heart

c) Spiritual darkness

Similar reasons why some rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.