Who Is This Man? (John 7:32–52) — A Sermon by R.C. Sproul

0:01 Now I invite the congregation to stand for the reading of the Word of God. We continue to read today from the Gospel according to St. John. We're in chapter 7, reading from verse 32 through verse 52. Hear then the Word of God.

0:25 Now the Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him. And the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. And then Jesus said to them, I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to him who sent me, and you will seek me and not find me, and where I am you cannot come. Then the Jews said among themselves, Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, You will seek Me and not find Me? And where I am, you cannot come.

1:19 Then on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore, many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, Truly this is the prophet. And others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem where David was?

2:17 And so there was a division among the people because of Him. And now some of them wanted to take him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees who said to them, Why have you not brought him?

2:38 The officers answered, No man ever spoke like this man. And the Pharisees answered them, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. Nicodemus, he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them, said to them, Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?

3:11 And they answered and said to him, Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. He who has ears to hear the Word of God, let them hear. Let us pray. Father, take now this Word that You have revealed by Your Spirit of truth and use it to pierce our souls, to cut between bone and marrow, between sinew and muscle, that we may be changed by its hearing. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Once again, we notice the context of the narrative that I just read to you, that these things have taken place during the Feast of Tabernacles, when the pilgrims from all over the country journeyed up to Jerusalem to spend a week there in celebration.

4:24 in our study of John's gospel, we saw Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles at the beginning of His ministry, and now He returns again to Jerusalem for that same feast. If you recall, that feast commemorated the time that the Israelite people spent in the wilderness, and two benefits they received from God during their sojourn in the desert are recalled and celebrated in the liturgy of tabernacles. The one was the receiving of the manna from heaven in which God provided the necessary provisions to keep these pilgrims out of Egypt alive. And that, of course, is linked to what we've just studied recently where Jesus gave His discourse on the bread of heaven, the bread that He is the bread of life. But the second commemoration of tabernacles had to do with Moses providing water from the rock for the people of God when they were besieged by thirst during the wilderness experience. And that's important because during the celebration of the tabernacles, as I mentioned earlier in the text, there was a water-pouring ceremony, which water was carried to the temple in golden vessels, and that was the highlight of the feast. And we will see then what transpires in the middle of this celebration of the tabernacles. The section I read this morning begins with a somewhat ominous announcement that the authorities in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin, had written a formal commission for Jesus' arrest, and they sent the temple officers with their announced task and duty

6:31 to go and search him out and to put him under arrest and to bring him back for trial with a view towards execution. But we're only in the seventh chapter of John. It's too early for us to have Jesus being arrested and executed. And Jesus, of course, has already noted that His hour had not yet come. The Pharisees were convinced that the hour had come. They had had all they wanted to hear from Jesus, and so they were prepared to act and to act decisively, so the arrest warrant was issued and the officers were sent. And it's in this context of the arresting officers coming to Jesus that Jesus speaks publicly. And He says, I shall be with you a little while longer, then I go to Him who sent Me, and you will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come. Now, the people had no idea what Jesus was talking about here. But the rest of the text of Scripture makes it abundantly clear what Jesus was talking about, particularly in later chapters in this very gospel, that Jesus is talking about His departure by way of ascension. I'm convinced that the most neglected dimension of the life of Jesus in our church today is the ascension. Without the ascension, the cross is meaningless and the resurrection is meaningless. But the climax of Jesus' earthly ministry comes when He ascends into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God,

8:39 where He goes to His investiture, to His coronation, where the Father crowns Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. And it's at that moment that the glory is restored to Christ in His heavenly kingdom. Now, we know that Jesus is talking about that by what He says just a few moments later, but for now, it's cryptic. He said, I'm going someplace, and where I'm going, you're not going to be able to find me.

9:13 And where I'm going, you're not going to be able to go. The Jews said among themselves, where does he intend to go? We won't be able to find him. Is he going to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, those Jews who had been dispersed beyond the borders of Israel into Alexandria, into Greek colonies around the world? Those were the Greeks of the diaspora, or the dispersion, the Greek-speaking Jews. Is that where He's going? Is He going to leave the nation? Is He going to go out into the hinderlands where those Greek-speaking people are that will never be able to find Him? What is this thing that He said, you will seek Me and not find Me? Where I am you cannot come. Now, the narrative breaks at this point.

10:08 It leaves us with this discussion among Jesus' contemporaries about His enigmatic statement. But then in verse 37 we read what happens on the last day of the feast. On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out." Now let's get that in our minds. Here are all these people gathered in Jerusalem for this sacred celebration. And Jesus comes into the middle, and He begins to shout. And everybody stops what they're doing and they turn and listen to His words, because indeed His words are provocative. He says, if anyone thirsts, this is while they're pouring the water out, remembering the water that comes from the rock in the Old Testament, Jesus hollers, is anybody thirsty?

11:12 Anyone? come to me and drink For he who believes in Me, as the Scriptures have said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." These very words that our Lord virtually whispered privately to the woman of Sychar, To the Samaritan woman at the well, He now screams to the masses. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for The Holy Spirit was not yet given.

12:07 because Jesus was not yet glorified. Beloved, do you hear this? What does that mean? The Holy Spirit was not yet given. Through the pages of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit's all over the place. It's the Holy Spirit that anoints the prophet. It's the Holy Spirit that anoints the priest. It's the Holy Spirit that anoints the King. It's the Holy Spirit that changes the hearts of unbelievers in the Old Testament and makes them the people of God. There's no regeneration. There's no salvation apart from the operation and ministry of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was present in the Old Testament. But the anointing of the Holy Ghost, the empowering of the Holy Ghost, was limited to a few isolated individuals like Moses or Elijah or Samson. And you recall the story of Moses when God commanded him to take 70 elders, and he would take from the Spirit that was upon Moses and distribute it to those 70 so that those 70 could help carry the burden of ministry with Moses.

13:28 And when the Spirit came upon these men, we remember the story of Eldad and Medad wandering outside the camp speaking in ecstatic utterances, and people began to realize that the Spirit was upon them. And Joshua was very upset, and he came to Moses. He said, Moses, Eldad and Medad are out there prophesying in the camp. Forbid them. Moses said, are you envious, Joshua, for my sake? I would to God that all of the Lord's people were prophets and that He would put His Spirit upon them. And that anguished cry of Moses became a prophecy in the lips of Joel, and that looked forward to the day where what Luther called the priesthood of all believers would be made a reality when Every single member of the community of faithful would be endowed by the Holy Ghost, empowered from on high to participate in the ministry of Christ's kingdom.

14:39 If you are a Christian. then you have received the Holy Ghost. You are an anointed person, and you are to be used of God to the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ. But that great outpouring of the Spirit upon the people of God was a future hope in the Old Testament, and it was not fulfilled until the day of Pentecost. When all heaven broke loose and the Spirit descended upon the church. But what we are told here in the text is that couldn't happen. until first the Messiah entered into His glory. The Spirit had come upon him at his baptism, but it was not to come onto the church until he was lifted up, until he was returned to the Father.

15:48 Then together the Father and the Son send the Holy Ghost into the world in a more powerful way, in a more complete way, to apply the work of the Son. Today that is the chief ministry of the Holy Ghost. to take the work of the Son and bring it to fruition in us.

16:14 And so Jesus is saying here what He says in more detail later to His disciples, hey, I have to go away. Because until I go away, the Spirit cannot come. Therefore, many of the crowd when they heard this saying said, truly this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, the Christ? Is Christ going to come out of Galilee? Nazareth? We all know where the Christ is going to come from. We've read the Old Testament. We've read Micah. Christ is going to come from Bethlehem, from Judea, from the city of David. Now these people had no idea that that's exactly where Jesus had been born. All they knew was that He had come to them from Galilee." And so the people were scratching their heads, who is this man?

17:16 Is He a prophet? Is He demon-possessed? Is He the Christ from Galilee? So, there was a division among the people because of Him. What else is new? That division is as serious this morning in this world as it was that day in Jerusalem. Now, listen to this, some of them wanted to take him, but no one laid hands on him. Where were the cops? They were sent to arrest him. And when they come there, they come to arrest this man, and while they come forward to grab him, all of a sudden everybody stops and they hear this voice, is anybody thirsty?

18:13 Amen. And the police stop in their tracks. And they listen to all these people around them saying, this is the prophet, this is the Christ. So with their tails between their legs, they go back to the authorities in Jerusalem, and the Pharisees are beside themselves, where's your prisoner? We didn't get him. Why not?

18:44 We've never heard anybody talk like this before. You should have been there. There was no way we were going to put our hands on him. Then the Pharisees said, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. I'll tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, there's never been a more arrogant bunch in all of history than the Pharisees. In the rabbinic tradition, they talked with contempt about what they called the Am Haaretz. the people of the earth. The Greeks would call them the hoi polloi, the uneducated masses, the people who didn't have the sophisticated learning that we looked at a couple of weeks ago with respect to Jesus and His credentials. These Pharisees thought, what are you going to listen to these people that say He's the prophet and that He's the Messiah? Is anybody saying that who's a Pharisee.

19:52 Just the people of the earth. And they're saying, let the people be damned. That's what they're saying. Then one of their own steps forward and says, excuse me, is this the way we operate with our law? We condemn somebody without even hearing him or without investigating, without having the evidence in place? Excuse me, I'm not one of the Amharetts. My name is Nicodemus. I'm a member. of the Sanhedrin. And here this one who came secretly to Jesus at night, now in this crisis moment in the life of Christ, steps up to the plate and speaks in our Lord's defense.

20:58 And so the moment passes, and the attempt to arrest Him is aborted, as the people continue to argue who He was. But already the storm clouds were rising, and Jesus could see the ominous foreboding events that were about to unravel that would take Him out of this world and back to His Father. And that's why we're here. that's why the table is set that's why the apostle reminded us in the words of institution for the Lord's Supper that in the night in which he was betrayed our Lord took bread and when he had blessed it he broke it and he said this is my body that is broken for you and then after they had eaten in like manner he took the cup And he said, this is now the cup of the New Testament, the cup of my blood which is shed for the remission of your sins.

22:13 And His church invites all who are in Christ, all who examine themselves, all who are in a posture of humility and who are in a spirit of repentance are invited to come because we are thirsty people. we're to come to Him and drink. We're to come to Him that He would touch us and minister to us. And yet we are warned, and I have to warn you as the New Testament warns us, not to come to this table if you're not a believer because no one comes neutrally to the Lord's table. You either drink this cup unto life.

23:10 or you drink it unto damnation. There's no drinking of this cup in unbelief with impunity. So again, we fence the table inviting all Christians, Christians who are not under the discipline of a true church, who have not been banned from the table because of discipline, but all who are in Christ are not only invited but encouraged to come. Come because you're thirsty, because you have a hunger and thirst for him, and he is here to give you to drink and to feast upon the bread that is from heaven. Let us pray. Our Lord Jesus, that we could come to your table is almost impossible for us to believe.

24:18 And yet you have made a place for each one of us there. and we are thirsty. Take these common elements now. By the power of your Holy Spirit, transform them into the uncommon, to the holy and to the sacred. that our thirst may be satisfied. Amen.