Bible Study Notes 7:24-36

Bible Study Notes John 7:24-36

When is the last time you searched furiously for anything?  Did you ransack the house; empty the trunk of your car, overturn everything in your garage and practically demolish anything and everything in your path?  Search and rescue missions for missing children in response to Amber Alerts operate with similar tunnel vision.  Every nook and cranny of the area where the missing child was last seen is searched thoroughly multiple times.  As precious time elapses, panic ensues as you begin to feel you will never find the person.  Sometimes, finding material possessions assume equal worth for some people as they frantically look for loss items.  Moreover, people search for non-corporeal riches such as happiness, joy, peace and success.  Whether physical, financial or personal, loss items force people to search with undivided attention.

Interestingly, life can be a perpetual search.  The enduring riches of love, truth, justice and wholeness often elude many people.  Searches for these attributes continue though many persons thought they had previously found answers to life’s most pressing questions.  Additional degrees and continuing professional training are practical means of searching for ultimate success.  Promotions at work with loftier job titles are other signs of fruitful searches for enduring wealth.  Other people look for fulfillment in community activities and personal interests such as memberships in fraternities, sororities and myriad other organizations. 

In this passage, the crowd that listens to Jesus’ authoritative teaching is still searching for the Messiah though He stands in their midst.  Many times, the object of our searches lay right in front of us.  The crowd had traveled to Jerusalem to encounter God during the Feast of Tabernacles.  For nearly three thousand years, they expected a Messiah to return Israel to the glory of David’s and Solomon’s reigns.  For three hundred centuries, these people wholeheartedly wait for God’s deliverance through the Messiah. Despite Jesus’ miracles, healing and teaching, the crowd misses the reality that God answered their prayers.  They still search for the Messiah.

The crass commercialization of contemporary American Christianity cloaks the authenticity of Christ as the Bible reveals.  Though crowds gather in praise and worship at countless churches throughout the nation, many persons still search for Jesus Christ.  They can hardly find Him because of the commoditized depictions of Him that the “Religious Right” and other ecclesiastical institutionalists perpetrate upon disciples and seekers.  Regrettably, the cacophony of high-tech worship services which mimic concerts and productions of the secular marketplace prevent genuine seekers and maturing disciples from hearing the voice of the Lord.  Hopefully, they will continue to search until they find Him.

Consider the following ideas and questions as you study the text.

·         A division ensues over who Jesus actually is.  Some people in the crowd wonder about His ability to continue teaching though they are aware of the Jewish leaders desire to kill Jesus.  Some begin to ask whether the leaders have concluded that Jesus is the Messiah.

·         Is Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah?  How can it be?  “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  Note the presuppositions of the crowd?  Are they also given to the assumptions that appearances determine authenticity?  Does the crowd also believe that the Messiah would hail from an affluent region and possess royal lineage?

·         Since the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus teaches openly.  The crowd marvels at His lessons and knowledge realizing Jesus has no formal training.

·         The religious leaders and secular authorities do not marshal forces to apprehend Jesus.  In response, some persons in the crowd ask whether this refusal to arrest Jesus means the leaders have determined Jesus is the Messiah.

·         Yet, the crowd remains skeptical and uncertain.  Consistently, they are fickle as members of a crowd are.  They are still searching for the Messiah though He stands right in front of them.

·         Historic assumptions and religious traditions blind them to seeing the Messiah.  Amazingly, the day for which they longed for centuries had dawned and they do not see it.

·         Facilely, they determine Jesus could not be the Messiah because they know from whence He comes. 

·         In these biblical times, people were known by their towns and regions.  A person’s area supposedly reveals a lot about his character.

·         As a consequence, the crowd eliminates the strong possibility that Jesus of Nazareth could be the Messiah.

·         In the City of New York, residents of within each of the five boroughs insist their neighborhoods and boroughs have more positive distinguishing characteristics than their counterparts.  Citizens who live in Brooklyn do not want anyone to mistake their place of residence with anywhere in the Bronx.

·         In the State of South Carolina where I spent my formative, childhood years, persons who grow up in small towns encounter difficulty seeking statewide office as it is hard to imagine someone from Dalzell, Mayesville, Waterboro and Wisacky possessing a large enough worldview to manage lofty affairs.

·         Recent American history demonstrates the fallacy of labeling people by their towns of origins.  Many persons from very humble beginnings achieve incredibly significant dreams and goals which ultimately benefit humankind.  Dr. Ben Carson, one of the world’s foremost neurosurgeons, grew up in the projects of Detroit, Michigan.  Former President William Jefferson Clinton lived in a trailer park in Hope, Arkansas.  Mary McLeod Bethune, one of the most important advisers to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a strong advocate for African American civil rights and education, came from Mayesville, South Carolina.  Gordon Parks, the first African American to direct a major motion picture, spent his childhood in poverty in Kansas and lived homeless in Minneapolis, Minnesota in his adolescent years.  Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the mothers of the Civil Rights Movement, lived in rural Mississippi.  These great Americans demonstrated incredible resolve and possessed formidable characters as they courageously pursued the desires of their hearts and thereby empowered countless other people.  Their places of origin did not limit their vision of a brighter future.

·         Jesus chastises the crowd for using his town of origin as tool against Him.  He acknowledges that they indeed know His earthly and geographical origin but they fail to understand His true origin which is divine.  Jesus of Nazareth is of divine origin.

·         The evangelist desires that his community of believers understand Jesus’ divine nature as the Son of God and His centrality to faith.  Understanding the heavenly origins of Jesus is critical for disciples.  The Gospel opens with a glorious hymn of praise to Christ, revealing Him as the Word who was in the beginning with the Heavenly Father.

·         Contemporary disciples grapple with the same question that members of the crowd had.  Who is Jesus?  From whence does He hail heaven or earth?  If He is from heaven, is He the Messiah and Son of God?  Are contemporary disciples still searching for an authentic revelation of God?  Are they looking for someone or some teaching that can bestow their heart’s desire inclusive of love, happiness, joy, peace, and wholeness?  Do they believe Jesus’ teachings?  Have they had a genuine encounter with Jesus?  The evangelist posits an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ is the answer to life’s probing and penetrating questions. 

·         Jesus’ claims of divine origin compel some members of the crowd to try and seize him.  In addition to the religious leaders, some people in the crowd believe His claims reek of blasphemy as Jesus equates Himself with God.  His statements offend their religiosity and cultural traditions.  The division about Jesus sharpens amongst members of the crowd.  The traditionalists side with the religious leaders and relegate Jesus and His teachings as insanity and blasphemy.  Astonished by the miracles and wisdom of Jesus’ teachings, other people in the crowd ponder whether Jesus is the Messiah.  Quite possibly, He is from God otherwise how can a person explain the incredible acts of healing Jesus performs.  As Nicodemus concluded earlier in the Gospel, no one can do what Jesus does with God’s approval.

·         In God’s providential care, no one lays a hand on Jesus as “His time has not yet come.”  This small yet significant phrase assures disciples of God’s defense, protection and provision when we pursue His will and purpose.  No human power can harm any disciple who obeys God’s will. 

·         Ironically, many persons in the crowd put their faith in Jesus but they still search for the Messiah.  They exclaim, “When the Christ comes, will he perform more miraculous signs than this man?”  Although they put their faith in Jesus, they are still searching!  Their predicament foreshadows the emptiness of religion which leaves adherents unfulfilled and searching for something more.  Perhaps, next week’s worship will be more exhilarating and yield the experience of Almighty God for which I long.  Conceivably, a change in churches may give me the inner satisfaction that I greatly desire.  Endless excuses and possibilities abound to explain the aimlessness and restlessness of many contemporary disciples.  Dedicated churchgoers throughout the United States are still looking for Jesus as they have never encountered Him as members of the religious crowd.

·         The crowd about whom John writes and contemporary American religious persons could resolve their dilemma in similar ways.  Had they focused more greatly on Jesus’ teachings, they would discover they have answers to their questions.  The Messiah is right in front of them.  The search has ended.  They need to delve more deeply and faithfully into the divine wisdom that Jesus imparts.  For contemporary disciples, psychosocially respectable religion will not replace Jesus.  A deeper spirituality and relationship with the Lord is the peace and wholeness for which many disciples long.

·         John adds a parenthetic comment which foreshadows the plot to kill Jesus that will develop amongst the Sanhedrin later in the Gospel.  The Pharisees listen as the crowd considers favorably that Jesus is the Messiah.  In response, they summon the temple guars to arrest Jesus.  Their fear of the loss of their religious, economic and political motivates them to eliminate Jesus of Nazareth as a potential threat to their authority.

·         Alluding to the teachings of Deuteronomy and the Prophets, the evangelist encourages his audience to look for Jesus with their whole hearts.  Jesus tells the crowd He will only be with them for a short while until He returns to the Father.  They will look for Him but will not find Him.  His words warn the crowd against reliance upon miracles, healings, food and anything physical as a evidence of faith.  Faith cannot rely upon scientific and empirical data though faith must be reasonable.  Long after the miracles fade in their memories, the truth of Jesus’ teachings endures.  He encourages them to base their faith upon the truth and reliability of the eternal Word.  For contemporary disciples, repetitive practice of religious rituals will not suffice to substantiate their faith or cause its growth.  Rather, they find assurance and growth in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Again, practicing daily spiritual disciplines is the primary means of developing this relationship.

·         Jesus’ last saying in this passage dumbfounds the crowd who asks a set of questions about His intentions.  Where does Jesus intend to go where no one can find Him?  Will He live amongst the Greeks and teach them?  What exactly does He mean when He says, “You will look for me and cannot find me.  Where I am you cannot come?”  Notice just how literal these questions are.  They continue to assess His teachings with their carnal minds and natural eyes.  As a consequence, they are still searching for the Messiah as they completely miss Jesus’ lessons and thus do not understand that He is in their midst.

·         If you are still searching for Jesus despite a longstanding commitment to a church or some other religious organization, you will find Him if you seek Him with your whole heart.  Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “They you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all you heart.”  As your brother in Christ, I encourage you to utilize the search plan of daily spiritual disciplines which will reveal assuredly a greater revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ for you.