JESUS SOUGHT THE GLORY OF GOD

Passage: John 7:14-36

Key verse: 18

NIV

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.(A) 15 The Jews(B) there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning(C) without having been taught?”(D)

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.(E) 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out(F) whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory,(G) but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law?(H) Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”(I)

20 “You are demon-possessed,”(J) the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle,(K) and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision(L) (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs),(M) you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”(N)

Division Over Who Jesus Is

25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?(O) 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities(P) really concluded that he is the Messiah?(Q) 27 But we know where this man is from;(R) when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,(S) cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.(T) I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.(U) You do not know him, 29 but I know him(V) because I am from him and he sent me.”(W)

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,(X) because his hour had not yet come.(Y) 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him.(Z) They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs(AA) than this man?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time,(AB) and then I am going to the one who sent me.(AC) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(AD)

35 The 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(AE) among the Greeks,(AF) and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”(AG)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up (A)into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore (B)marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[a] when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, (C)“My teaching is not mine, but his (D)who sent me. 17 (E)If anyone's will is to do God's[b] will, (F)he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I (G)am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority (H)seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 (I)Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. (J)Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, (K)“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (L)one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 (M)Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but (N)from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, (O)are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 (P)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom (Q)they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, (R)speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that (S)the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But (T)we know (U)where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, (V)no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, (W)as he taught in the temple, (X)“You know me, and you know where I come from. But (Y)I have not come of my own accord. (Z)He who sent me is true, (AA)and him you do not know. 29 (AB)I know him, for I come (AC)from him, and (AD)he sent me.” 30 (AE)So they were seeking to arrest him, but (AF)no one laid a hand on him, (AG)because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet (AH)many of the people believed in him. They said, (AI)“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd (AJ)muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent (AK)officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, (AL)“I will be with you a little longer, and then (AM)I am going to him who sent me. 34 (AN)You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? (AO)Does he intend to go to (AP)the Dispersion among (AQ)the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, (AR)‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

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Footnotes
  1. John 7:15 Or this man knows his letters
  2. John 7:17 Greek his
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The Jews were amazed by Jesus’ teaching, but they challenged Jesus’ credentials (15). Jesus told them that his teaching was not his own but came from God. There was nothing false in Jesus, for he sought the glory of God. When we seek God’s glory, we too become people of truth (17-18). Those who do not obey the truth cannot understand Jesus’ words. A wise person once said, “Obedience is the best way to learn the will of God.”

The Jews rejected Jesus and his ministry and even tried to kill him due to his unconventional attitude toward the Sabbath. They judged Jesus by appearances, not by his teaching; their judgment was biased. People doubted his identity, but Jesus declared, “I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true…I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going back to the one who sent me” (28-29, 33). Jesus is the Messiah, sent by God to bring his people back to the kingdom of God through his death and resurrection. Those with only human sight could not recognize their Messiah, but those who loved truth put their faith in him. The Pharisees failed to arrest him because God’s time for him to die had not yet come.

Prayer: Lord, help me to do your will and seek your glory so that I may make the right judgment.

One Word: Choose to do the will of God