Grace Messages

As we reflect on this Christmas season, in the light of so much gift giving and receiving, we want to stop and reflect on all the good gifts that God has given us. We have so many good gifts from God!

Last week Jesus was once again providing strong, courtroom-like, testimony as to His identity, just as He had in John 5 with this same group of people. This morning, He is going to start getting even more direct. Even though the Jewish religious leaders hate Him, Jesus loves them and He does NOT want any of them to die in their sin (of unbelief)! Jesus is going to articulate the ONE and ONLY ONE condition that they must meet in order to NOT ”die in their sin”…

As we continue this morning, Jesus is still in Jerusalem, immediately following the Feast of Tabernacles. In fact, this is the day after the feast is over, and is the same day as Jesus' interaction with the woman caught in adultery. One interesting connection from 7:52 to 8:12 is what the Jewish leaders said in 7:52 about a prophet coming out of Galilee and what Jesus says in 8:12 (See Isaiah 9:1-2). In His conversation with the religious leaders, Jesus is now going to re-introduce some of His argumentation from John 5 regarding witnesses to His identity.

The Feast of Tabernacles is over – the Jews who have traveled to Jerusalem from out of town are probably getting ready to head back home, and yet because of the BUZZ created by Jesus, many have probably stayed a little bit longer, hoping to get some more time with Him. This morning, we will look at an event that transpired the day after the feast. We will cover an amazing passage – it is a passage that many people throughout the ages have thoroughly enjoyed because of the Grace, Mercy, and Truth that Jesus extends to the woman in this story.

Jesus has been teaching in the Temple and interacting with multiple groups within the crowds. The setting again is the Feast of Tabernacles and one group in the crowd – the religious leaders – have had enough, and they set a plan into motion to take Him into custody. To make matters worse from a human perspective, Jesus just stole the show and made some pretty bold claims (See v37-v39)! This morning, we are going to look at the aftermath of Jesus’ bold declaration! There is a great schism between the varied groups in His audience.

This time of year, we take time to express thanks for the things and people we are thankful for. For most of us, there are people in our lives that jump to the top of that list. These are people who have invested in us, sacrificed for us and the like. We can and should be thankful for them! However, what about those people who have only caused us grief, harm, or pain? In our passage today, Paul is going to say we can be thankful for ALL people; NOT, just some!

Jesus has been teaching in the Temple and interacting with multiple groups within the crowds. The setting again is the Feast of Tabernacles and one group in the crowd – the religious leaders – have had enough, and they have now set in motion a plan to take Him into custody. This morning, we see Jesus finish His dialogue with His audience and then He seems to lay low for a few days. However, on the last day of the feast, He will burst forth publicly and make an incredible public invitation to all within earshot!

Remember, Jesus has been teaching in the Temple right in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles. His teaching was amazing and the conversation with His audience has progressed. Last time, Jesus had called out the religious leaders' "Sabbath hypocrisy" and by doing so, He effectively silenced them! Now, this confuses the Jewish crowd because they know the religious leaders hate Jesus and want Him gone, so why are they not doing anything? As a result, they begin discussing and debating Jesus' identity, and because He knows this, He seeks to clarify WHO He is and where He is from. When He does this, the religious leaders’ blood begins to boil as they will send temple officers to take Him into custody. They are now beginning to put “shoe leather” on their plan to kill Him…

John 7:28-32

Last week Jesus took a position at a pillar in the Temple during the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles to teach the people. His teaching was incredibly good and very impressive to friend and foe alike. During the dialogue that followed regarding the origin of His teaching, Jesus called the Jewish religious leaders out, by pointing out they stood on the Law of Moses and yet were actively trying to break the Law of Moses. As Jesus goes on, He is going to leave them speechless and the crowd is amazed!

Last week we saw that Jesus was the talk of the town in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, which was the most popular of all the Jewish feasts. Even though Jesus had come to the Feast in Jerusalem clandestinely, this morning He will make His public appearance midway through the feast. So, He does NOT stay quiet and, in the background. He begins to teach openly in the Temple and His claims once again cause quite a stir!