Comments on: John 7 (NIV) http://findinggrace.com/blog/2007/11/19/john-7-niv/ Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:32:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: JP http://findinggrace.com/blog/2007/11/19/john-7-niv/#comment-669 JP Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:54:12 +0000 http://findinggrace.com/blog/2007/11/19/john-7-niv/#comment-669 Not much in the gospels is funnier than watching the Jewish religious leaders get stomped on repeatedly. These guys have been going around for probably hundreds of years being sure that they're all great and enjoying obeisance from the masses and suddenly John the Baptist comes out of nowhere, the original crazy guy, and he's all on them, and then even worse, here comes Jesus from Nazareth (which I understand to be the veritable backwoods of Israel) and he gets the best of them at every turn. They counted on people being blind followers and being frightened of their rules and regulations so that they could elevate themselves. Jesus did signs WAY more powerful than anything these dudes are credited with, yet he never got on people for asking sincere questions. It's cool that Jesus never asked for blind faith, really. He did miracles to help people believe, sure, but he also rewarded questioners and thinkers. Nicodemus risked his job and probably his life by coming to see Jesus in secret, and he didn't just say "ok" when Jesus shared the truth with him, he said "How can this be? How can this happen?" Jesus rewarded him with John 3:16 and by sharing spiritual truth one-on-one with this guy. Jesus invited discussion; he told stories on purpose that were designed to make people think. He wanted people to say "What exactly are you saying? Is this what you mean?" He was dying for people to discuss his teachings and the scriptures with him Some of the students I appreciated most as a teacher were the ones who refused to just accept an explanation at face value and go on. I had a group of young men who sat together in one remedial algebra class, and these guys asked and asked until they understood. You could tell by their questions that they were working to understand, that they cared about the material, and they were determined to do a good job. I know I appreciated that a lot as their teacher. I think Jesus liked people asking questions of the non-pompous-Pharisee variety, too, because it showed they were working to understand him; they wanted to know what he was saying and really get a hold of it. I mean, the greatest commandment discussion came directly from a Q&A session. Jesus had just gotten done owning the Sadducees over their goofy resurrection/wives question. (Mark 12:18-34) The guy who stepped up after them was asking from a different attitude, I think. Whereas the Sadducees were trying to trip Jesus up, the guy who asked him "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" looks like he was really trying to get into Jesus' mind and see what he thought. He seemed to be an earnest seeker after the truth, eager to hear how Jesus would answer his heartfelt question. And Jesus responded in a gracious manner and gave him a good answer, quoting directly from the Old Testament and delivering the Greatest Commandment. The guy seemed pleased with the answer and in his reply, he revealed that he saw right through to the heart of the matter, that *love* is the most important thing, far better than any burnt offerings or ceremonial forms of obedience. Jesus recognized this guy's heart, I think, and was glad for his question. It presented a great learning opportunity for everyone in earshot, not just the questioner. So did Jesus say to him "Now stop asking me questions!"? No, he said "You are not far from the kingdom of God." He appreciated an earnest questioner and thinker and complimented him greatly. Not much in the gospels is funnier than watching the Jewish religious leaders get stomped on repeatedly. These guys have been going around for probably hundreds of years being sure that they’re all great and enjoying obeisance from the masses and suddenly John the Baptist comes out of nowhere, the original crazy guy, and he’s all on them, and then even worse, here comes Jesus from Nazareth (which I understand to be the veritable backwoods of Israel) and he gets the best of them at every turn. They counted on people being blind followers and being frightened of their rules and regulations so that they could elevate themselves. Jesus did signs WAY more powerful than anything these dudes are credited with, yet he never got on people for asking sincere questions.

It’s cool that Jesus never asked for blind faith, really. He did miracles to help people believe, sure, but he also rewarded questioners and thinkers. Nicodemus risked his job and probably his life by coming to see Jesus in secret, and he didn’t just say “ok” when Jesus shared the truth with him, he said “How can this be? How can this happen?” Jesus rewarded him with John 3:16 and by sharing spiritual truth one-on-one with this guy. Jesus invited discussion; he told stories on purpose that were designed to make people think. He wanted people to say “What exactly are you saying? Is this what you mean?” He was dying for people to discuss his teachings and the scriptures with him

Some of the students I appreciated most as a teacher were the ones who refused to just accept an explanation at face value and go on. I had a group of young men who sat together in one remedial algebra class, and these guys asked and asked until they understood. You could tell by their questions that they were working to understand, that they cared about the material, and they were determined to do a good job. I know I appreciated that a lot as their teacher. I think Jesus liked people asking questions of the non-pompous-Pharisee variety, too, because it showed they were working to understand him; they wanted to know what he was saying and really get a hold of it.

I mean, the greatest commandment discussion came directly from a Q&A session. Jesus had just gotten done owning the Sadducees over their goofy resurrection/wives question. (Mark 12:18-34) The guy who stepped up after them was asking from a different attitude, I think. Whereas the Sadducees were trying to trip Jesus up, the guy who asked him “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” looks like he was really trying to get into Jesus’ mind and see what he thought. He seemed to be an earnest seeker after the truth, eager to hear how Jesus would answer his heartfelt question. And Jesus responded in a gracious manner and gave him a good answer, quoting directly from the Old Testament and delivering the Greatest Commandment. The guy seemed pleased with the answer and in his reply, he revealed that he saw right through to the heart of the matter, that *love* is the most important thing, far better than any burnt offerings or ceremonial forms of obedience. Jesus recognized this guy’s heart, I think, and was glad for his question. It presented a great learning opportunity for everyone in earshot, not just the questioner. So did Jesus say to him “Now stop asking me questions!”? No, he said “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” He appreciated an earnest questioner and thinker and complimented him greatly.

]]> By: dave hensleigh http://findinggrace.com/blog/2007/11/19/john-7-niv/#comment-666 dave hensleigh Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:51:40 +0000 http://findinggrace.com/blog/2007/11/19/john-7-niv/#comment-666 Sometimes people don't listen and sometimes they don't think. Both are critical for a healthy life in Christ. Do you catch in verses 41-43 and 52 how the people don't listen and think? Do you see where they are totally missing the simple facts about Jesus? Sometimes people don’t listen and sometimes they don’t think. Both are critical for a healthy life in Christ.
Do you catch in verses 41-43 and 52 how the people don’t listen and think? Do you see where they are totally missing the simple facts about Jesus?

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