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Without a lot of opening fanfare, Keith gets right to the focus of the episode, right after a quick promo for the Christian Podcast Community. We wrap up this chapter in John 7 with a look at the religious leaders coming a little unglued. Betrayed by the confusion of the crowd, as seen in earlier sessions, and now betrayed by their own security force and even one of their own.

Spine of a Bible ca. 2001, "Used with permission from Microsoft."

John 7:45-52

The officers who were sent back in verse 32, now return empty handed. At the command of the religious leaders, they had authority to haul in prisoners, jail them, and take them under force if needed. Why had they disobeyed? how could Jesus have slipped through their fingers?

The crowd was beginning to believe, and wondered that the leaders let him teach. Remember the events of verse 27 when the crowd began to wonder if they supported him?

Matthew 7:29 (ESV)

for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Did the officers also wonder at the authority of his teaching? Were they beginning to believe, or see a higher authority in Jesus than in the religious leaders?

There had been much muttering, murmuring, and division in the people. Now the guard is being accused of this. To hear Jesus was to believe. Even the worst of sinners could be healed, reconciled and believe. Only the stubborn, hard hearted ones kept turning a blind eye, and a deaf ear. The stubborness reached even as high as the most educated in religion.

In Jewish history, an enemy king threatened that no one could keep the Israelites from falling to his hand. God still supported Hezekiah, and defeated the enemy king instead. As summarized from 2 Kings 18.

Is the status quo right? Should we seek to be on the right side of history? How about if we find out what God wants and join him in doing his work.

Even to his death the religious leaders called Jesus an imposter. Matthew 27:63 Paul puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 6:8 (ESV)

through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;

In verse 26, the crowd had their doubts, thinking Jesus was being accepted, and getting mixed signals from the religious elite. We'll find that Nicodemus was on hand, as seen coming up in verse 50. From his description and taunts from the other leaders, he was inclined to believe Jesus. He may not have been the only of these educated leaders to believe.

John 12:42 (ESV)

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;

Jeremiah 5:4-5 (ESV)

4 Then I said, "These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.

5 I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God." But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds.

Matthew 11:25 (ESV)

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

Acts 6:7 (ESV)

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

God makes the wisdom of the world foolishness,. He chose the foolish to shame the wise and the strong. If these rulers would have understood, they would not have wanted to crucify Jesus.

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We look at Exodus 19-20

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Getting right to the topic, Keith keeps the opening remarks short.

Before digging into John 7:28-44, some review is in order.

At the feast of booths, Jesus arrived late but didn't waste time in getting to the temple to preach. His preaching divided the crowd. Were the religious leaders for him or against him? Do the people know where he is from, or not?

Spine of a Bible ca. 2001, "Used with permission from Microsoft."

Jesus responds to his listeners by acknowledging they may know where he was from geographically, but he has been sent, and by the high authority of truth. Jesus knows this source of authority personally, though his listeners haven't recognized that yet. He is on a mission.

30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

ESV

They sought to arrest him. Who are "they"? Presumably the religious leaders, but they didn't do it. It wasn't his time yet. What did the crowd think? Has anything been cleared up?

Though John's writing doesn't mention Jesus doing miracles, he must have been doing enough for the crowd to witness. Jesus' miracles had convinced many. The mutterings from the crowd urged the religious leaders to action and ordered him to be arrested.

Jesus foretold his death in a little while. When it was his time, he would go along peaceably. It would happen in about 6 months, at Passover. Even then, the leaders would seek him, but not find them especially after his death and resurrection. His death would put him in his place, at the right hand of God, where unbelievers couldn't come.

The religious leaders were on the wrong track. They were trying to guess what kind of tricks this man had up his sleeve to stir things up. Might he stir up discontent outside the realm? Was he going to start something with the Jews dispersed into Greek territories? The Jews couldn't make sense of where Jesus might go to not be found or followed.

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

ESV

Previously Jesus described himself as bread from heaven, but here he hints at being the life-giving water. He alludes to the spiritual nature of this living water. The understanding of his being living water is spiritual. The only revelation by the spirit can cause understanding, and the spirit is yet to come. The spirit could only be given after Jesus' departure after his ascension.

Some thought he may be the prophet who precedes Messiah. Some thought he might be the messiah. But there was still a challenge on the table. Why would messiah come from a backwater place like Galilee?

The challenge continues with a more dignified option. Everyone knew messiah would come from David's royal line. They knew about Bethlehem. A much more acceptable place. How could this man from Galilee meet those requirements? It only goes to show they didn't know his human background as well as they supposed.

43 So there was a division among the people over him.

44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

ESV

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To get started, Keith reviews a few honorable mentions of the year. He shares the top 10 shows, using stats from web page views. The focus switches to download stats, and a countdown to the…

To get started, Keith reviews a few honorable mentions of the year. He shares the top 10 shows, using stats from web page views. The focus switches to download stats, and a countdown to the top episode of the year begins.

We notice some trends. Web site viewers found posts from previous years that have a sticking quality. Shows that feature a classic view of theology and those responsive to challenges to the Christian worldview. When counting actual audio downloads, the trend is to favor our Truth Exposed shows. Expository ones with clear gospel doctrine, or with difficult teachings of Jesus. A surprising format for us was the responses we had to interview shows in the past year. A big thanks are due to our guests who volunteered to be interviewed.

For the upcoming year, we'll try to bring those features into more of our discussions on all our Quest for Truth shows.

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The audio version of Christmas Timeline is back! With remixed musical track, and updated contact info.

The print edition is still available on Amazon. Check it out and support the podcast by picking up your copy for the massive amount of $0.99.

Here's my official Amazon description:

Comparing well known bible passages, and developing a chain of events that walk through the activities surrounding the birth of Jesus, this short edition offers a glimpse of the times. But what about the people, customs, or events that don't seem to fit? Was there really a star? Were the shepherds and wisemen together at the manger? What was it like to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem compared to today? Archeology, astronomy, and some help from the web offers interesting insights as well.

Here's 3 easy steps you can do to help me.

1. Read the book: Christmas Timeline

Subtitle: Investigating the events of Christmas

Author: Keith Heltsley

2. Leave an honest review. Say what you liked about it, and why you gave it the rating you did.

3. Share it on all your social media. Tell all your friends about the book.

Well? Go check it out. I'll be looking forward to hearing your response in your review.

#Christmas Timeline. Read it, review it, RT to your friends. Share it on all your social media. Visit the book page now!

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Despite some Internet flakiness, your hosts, Nathan and Keith, meet live in Churchhouse Studio to share a few memories and changes through the last six years. As we talk about the beginnings of the podcast and its mission, we share the messages that our listeners contributed, starting with a fan who goes all the way back to episode 1, and another who has gone back to the first shows to binge listen. Talk about dedication, or maybe just a big case of insomnia.

A nod is given to a new podcast that aims to be family friendly, humorous, and informative, That Sounds Funny. Inspired by James Kennison and his long standing work over at That Story Show and who has also been a guest on this podcast a number of times.

Nathan and Keith review past segments and our old theme music. Does anyone remember what an early trademark of the show used to be? Or what our original theme music was? As the episode moves along, the Internet pretty much drops off, never to return. Keith manages a hasty drama with the Retrobots, but has to finish the show solo. Thanks to Andrew Rappaport for the word of encouragement, and allowing us to participate in his Christian Podcast Community. Last but not least, the first person we interviewed from our first season shares his thoughts on our milestone episode. Greg Koukl is back with some updates of his own. Check out his new and improved, updated Tactics book.

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