The Very Christ John 7::25-39 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
There are six ways to determine if Jesus was the very Christ in this text. The things that Jesus said in this text were spoken at the Feast of Tabernacles after the third Passover that Jesus had during His ministry. Within six months of this day Jesus would be dead, buried and resurrected. Forty days later He would have ascended and ten days after that was Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given, which would fulfill everything that’s discussed in the text. Therefore, within eight months they could have known he was the Christ if they had believed what He told them.
There are 6 things in the text by which they could have known that he was indeed the very Christ. By:
His Boldness
John 7:26 “But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?”
Act 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
Boldness was not only a characteristic of Jesus, but also of the Apostles after the Day of Pentecost once they had been filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul requested prayer for boldness in Ephesians 6:19, “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel”
Jesus Christ silenced the Pharisees with his boldness.
Matt. 22:41-46 “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.”
Matt. 21:25-27 “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.”
It was easy for Jesus and the Apostles to be bold because they were backed by the authority of the word of God. The ability to say something that was irrefutable was given by the authority of the scripture and the filling of the Holy Spirit.
His Generation
John 7:27-29 “Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.”
Matt. 2:1-2 “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Micah 5:2
Matt. 2:5-6 “And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” (quoted from Micah 5:2)
The earthly line of Jesus is indicated in Matthew 1:1 “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The genealogy from Abraham to Joseph is given in verses 2-17.
Then in Luke 3:23 the genealogy from Adam to Mary is given. In the line of Mary we see that Jesus is from Nathan, who is from David. Here we have two genealogies taken back to David, the testimony of Micah confirmed by the wise men from the east, the testimony of Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.“ The Pharisees knew all of this, but still refused to acknowledge that Jesus was The Very Christ! They knew this by His boldness, his generation and thirdly by….
His Divine Protection
John 7:30 “Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.”
John 7:25 “Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?”
Yet, Jesus taught openly in the Temple, so why couldn’t they take him by force? When the Pharisees finally did lay hands on Him in the Garden of Gethsemane He mocked them. Mark 14:48-49 “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.”
Matt. 26:53-54 “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be”
John 19:10-11 “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
His Miracles
John 7:31 “And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?”
Matt. 11:2-6 “Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
Jesus performed many miracles, including resurrecting Lazarus, but even greater than that was His own resurrection to which there were a multitude of witnesses.
1 Corinthians 15:4-8 “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”
In an American court of law only two witnesses are required to prove a matter. Being filled with the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul speaking with the authority of Jesus Christ assures us that there were over 500 witnesses to the resurrection.
Matt. 28:11 “Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”
The Pharisees bribed the soldiers to lie in an effort to deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Yet there were hundreds of times as many witnesses to the resurrection as the number of witnesses that the Pharisees claimed to have at the grave site. The Pharisees had plenty of evidence to know that this was indeed The Very Christ, but they did not want to know and willfully denied Him.
By His Ascension
John 7:32-36 “The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?”
Jesus was letting the Pharisees know that He was going to Heaven, but they did not understand, or chose not to believe what He was telling them. He was informing them of His coming ascension and they denied Him. The Apostles actually witnessed the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1:9-11 “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” When Stephen was about to be martyred he said in Acts 7:56 “And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.“ That statement confirmed the generation and return of Jesus Christ. By 96 A.D. John the Apostle had written of seeing Jesus Christ in Heaven and wrote of His return in the Book of Revelation.
By the Gift of the Holy Ghost
The Pharisees could have known by the Holy Spirit through believing on Jesus.
John 7:37-39 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
The Pharisees could have known by the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
To the Jews who had called for the crucifixion of Christ, the Holy Spirit could be received when they were baptized.
Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit without water baptism, or the laying on of hands.
Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days”
Paul explains the unifying element to what is happening in all of these differing situations.
1 Cor. 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
Every person that is saved is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. But the Pharisees would not believe in spite of having evidence in six different ways.