All right, I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 7 this morning. John chapter 7, it's good to see a good crowd out this morning. I'll meet you over there in John chapter 7 in just a moment. If you wonder if I'm going to preach a Christmas message because it's Christmas week, the answer is no and yes. And well, I don't like interrupting what I'm preaching on to preach necessarily just particularly about Christmas, but... Since we're dealing with the life of Christ, I suppose that any message about the life of Christ pertains to Christmas, and so this will do. And we'll make a little bit of application in that manner this morning. Have you ever been in a crowd of people that were milling around in a place kind of without direction, and a few people who were... Wow, the sound came on. All right, a few people who were looking for direction, and maybe some people that were suggesting some ideas, and then all of a sudden in the crowd somebody stood up with a voice of authority and said, all right, everyone call to order and this is what we're doing. Has that ever happened to you? And then you realized, okay, somebody knows what's going on. You know, when we're in confusing situations, we hear a lot of voices, people saying divergent opinions and, you know, one person expressing something and another person expressing something, we need to have the authority to know what we should be following. What voice should we listen to? I want to speak to you this morning on the subject of a Jesus you cannot ignore, a Jesus you cannot ignore. Here we are in John chapter 7. We're going to read actually the entire chapter. It's a lengthy portion of Scripture, about 53 verses, and we're going to highlight five voices which speak in this passage concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll begin reading in John chapter 7 verse number 1. You follow along as I read out loud. The scripture says, "...after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." Now let me stop right there and say, after these things, after what had... transpired in John chapter 6. After Jesus had fed the multitude, after Jesus had walked on the water, and then after Jesus had preached the pivotal message concerning the bread of life, which we find at the conclusion of John chapter 6, Now about six months has transpired after those things and John tells us in chapter 7 in verse number 1 after these things. What we are looking at in John chapter 7 and the conclusion of John chapter 6 is a pivotal turning point in Jesus' ministry. Up till this point, He has been followed by the multitudes, for the most part, lauding Him and applauding Him and enjoying His ministry. But now Jesus has decidedly set His face toward the cross, as it says in the book of Luke, And now the crowds are beginning to turn in their opinion concerning him. And therefore, he was careful about not walking in Jewry, that is, in Judah, where the Jewish leaders were centered. Now, verse number 2, Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world." Now verse 5 gives us a hint about why they're speaking this way to the Lord. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come, but your time is already ready. The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast. I go not up yet unto the feast, for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said, He's a good man. Others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit, no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. But he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil, who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers. And ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receives circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit hole on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? 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. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. 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? 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 him, 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? 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. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto him, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives, chapter 8, verse 1. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Father, would you meet with us during the next few moments? We know, Father, that it is so important and such a pivotal issue this morning about our opinion concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we have to take a stand. We must make a choice. There are many voices calling out in our world which are dividing us and causing us to Perhaps some here to question about who Jesus is and whether they should believe in Him. And so I pray that this morning you would just direct my words, direct our thoughts together around the Word of God and teach us from your Word. We ask and pray all these things in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Now, I've already said to you that Jesus was facing a pivotal moment in His ministry. He was just at this period in His ministry, nearly a little over the midway point, as the popularity tide was beginning to change, as Jesus already knew that it was going to. Jesus already had understood that the end of His ministry would be the cross, that it would be the agony that He would endure for the sins of mankind. He understood all of that. His disciples did not understand that. But Jesus here is at this turning point. And in chapter 7, you may have, as you read it with me, you may have, as I read it first, I thought, wow, what a swirl of motion. I mean there's all of these things that are going on and it's kind of confusing who's saying what and and who's thinking what about Jesus and I think that's exactly what John purposed when he wrote John chapter 7 was that we would understand that there was a great tumult there is a huge amount of confusion that was going on. There were many voices which were crying out concerning an opinion about Jesus Christ and as a nation the Israelites were grappling with who is this man called Jesus, this carpenter from Nazareth, who is He? You know, people are still grappling with that question today. Have you noticed that? People... There's no other way to account for this controversy other than that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh than to say... I mean, people today, they write books, they argue about, well, Jesus was this and Jesus was that, and they try to make people believe their particular perspective on who Jesus was. There are those who say, well, He was a good teacher, and that's all that He was. Some people say, well, He was just... a big fake. Some people say he never existed at all. It was all made up by the early church, and it was all just a big story that's been fabricated upon mankind. But what is to account for the fact that Jesus Christ, a humble man, A man of very small means, that is, as he said to some who would have followed after him, the son of man hath not where to lay his head. He had nothing to his name, as it were, the riches of this world. He was a simple carpenter, a man who was not trained in a rabbinical school, so he was not a man of letters, and yet he was a great teacher. He was obviously someone who could do miracles and therefore the crowd was divided about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I have identified in John chapter 7 at least five voices which I want you to consider this morning as we consider this thought that Jesus is not someone that you can ignore. I think even at this time of the year so many people would just as soon ignore the fact that Jesus Christ became flesh, that God was incarnate, that He came into this world. So there's so many people who would just as soon that we never discussed that or talked about that, they would be just as happy, for instance, at this season of the year, if we could have like the video that we watched in Sunday school, you know, bunnies having presents and Santa Claus and just, you know, centered around family and friends and lights and all that kind of stuff. But why do you always have to bring up Well, because he's the pivotal character in all of human history. Now, I want you to consider these five voices with me this morning, and we'll be brief, hopefully, although they didn't bring the timer over, I noticed that, so I don't have any idea when I started or when I should finish, so you all just bear with me, all right? I'm just joking. I looked at the clock. John chapter 7, notice first of all there is a voice of skepticism. Skepticism. In the first couple of verses of John chapter 7, and I struggle to understand this. I mean, when you read it, how could the brothers of Jesus Christ miss who He was? The physical brothers. We're talking about the fact that after Jesus was born of Mary, born of a virgin, Mary and Joseph had children. The Bible teaches that very clearly. They were husband and wife. They had more children. And so there were brethren, or if you will, half-brothers that Jesus shared the house with. Now, could you imagine growing up with Jesus? and having Jesus as your brother or sister. Some of you may think, well, I grew up with a brother or sister who thought that they were Jesus. But could you imagine actually having a brother or sister, a brother who was Jesus? Some of you think, wow, that would have been amazing. He would have always treated me kindly. He would have always done the right thing. He would have always had the right attitude. He would have always been obedient. And you would have always been chafing under the perfect brother, wouldn't you? And that's almost the picture that we see here of Jesus Christ. These brethren said, okay, Jesus, the Feast of the Tabernacles is taking place in Jerusalem and here you are hiding up in Galilee. You keep telling everyone you're the Messiah and you say you want people to follow you. So why don't you go to Jerusalem and just tell everybody who you are and do some miracles down there and then let's get things moving. Now, John reveals to us their motivation. They didn't say it in so many words, but there in verse number five, neither did his brethren believe in him. They were skeptical. They said, okay, we hear these claims that Jesus is making about being the Messiah, but we grew up in the same house with Him. I mean, we know about Jesus. We know. And that's the thing that baffles your mind. They knew about Jesus. They knew His behavior. They knew His demeanor. They knew everything about Him. The Scripture tells us that the brethren of Jesus did not believe on Him until after the resurrection. And then, in fact, they became notable followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of them, James, his brother, wrote one of the epistles which we find in our New Testament and became the pastor of the church at Jerusalem later on. But at this point, they were very skeptical about who Jesus was and who Jesus claimed to be. You know, this happens sometimes. There's a phrase that we use sometimes. We say, familiarity breeds contempt. And I think that's true. Young people sometimes who grow up in a Christian home and they hear the Word of God over and over again, they could tell you the gospel backwards, forwards, from the middle to the back, from the middle to the front, however many times you want to say. They could repeat all the details. They've memorized all the verses. They know all about it. And then they just say, I'm not going to have anything to do with it. And you might be tempted to say, oh, they must know something really, you know, about how false it is. No, it's just that familiarity breeds contempt. Here were the very brothers of Jesus Christ who should have known who He was and they dismissed Him. They thought surely He could not be who He claimed to be. What a sad, sad predicament. I think that if the brothers of Jesus had only taken the time to examine what Jesus had said, if they had only taken the time perhaps to question their mother Mary and ask her about the conception of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they had only taken the time to put aside their skepticism and really their bias against Jesus Christ, it seems they didn't want to believe that He was who He was. But if they had set it aside and examined it honestly, of all people they should have been convinced of the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they were not. And so they were mocking Jesus and they said to him, well you need to go to the feast. Now this feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, we're told that it was probably the most joyous of all of the feasts that took place in Jerusalem. You could picture the scene. It was a several day long feast and people would come from all around in the countryside and they would set up these tabernacles, these booths, like a tent. You know, be like a big camp out. Be like, hey church, we're going to go camping. and we're all going to go somewhere, and we're going to pitch our tents, and some of you would enjoy that, and some of you would say, no, I'll meet you there for services or something, but I'm not sleeping in a tent, all right? But here it was, kind of a big festive atmosphere there in the city of Jerusalem, and around the city walls, everybody would set up their temporary place, and they would be worshiping God in the temple, and all of this was going on, and so Jesus told his brothers, he said, you guys go to Jerusalem, it's not my time. I'll go when it's my time. So we see the voice of skepticism. But then, right in the middle of the chapter, we see another group of people, and these were all the people that were in Jerusalem. Now, as Jesus later went, after His brothers had left, He secretly, quietly went to Jerusalem. He didn't want to cause a stir, because His time was not yet come. He wasn't planning on causing a big hubbub, necessarily. It wasn't time for Him to be crucified. So He went quietly to the city of Jerusalem. And the second group of people, or the second voice that we see in John chapter 7, I've called the voice of suspicion, or you could phrase it this way, the voice of schizophrenia. And don't try to spell that, all right? Just phoneticize it on your paper if you're taking notes. people. Here they were, and Jesus wasn't at the feast yet. The Bible tells us He was on His way, He came secretly, and notice there in verse number 11, His brother had come, then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? Where is Jesus? Where is Jesus? Where did Jesus go? Why didn't Jesus come? We want to see Jesus. We want to talk to Jesus. So they were looking for him. I'm not exactly sure that they had noble intentions in why they were looking for Jesus. Nonetheless, they were looking for Jesus. They wanted to see where He was. In verse number 12, notice this, "...and there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him. For some said, Well, He's a good man, and others said, Nay, but He deceived the people." We have this schizophrenic crowd. I mean, they couldn't decide about Jesus. One minute they were saying, Oh, Jesus the Messiah, and the next they were saying, Oh, He's a deceiver and we can't trust Him and we don't know if we should follow Him or not. They're just back and forth and back, like so many people today. I mean, they'll hear a message, and they'll think, well, maybe I ought to believe in Jesus, and then they'll think of some objection, and they'll think, well, maybe I shouldn't believe in Jesus, and they just go back and forth and back and forth. The book of James speaks about the double-minded man and says this, the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. That word, double-minded, described the crowd that was in Jerusalem at this time and this unstable condition. This double-mindedness would continue now. It was about six months until Jesus would be taken to the cross. But now, for this time, this double-mindedness would become more intense. It would get to the point where Jesus, as He was coming into the city some weeks later, they would be throwing their garments on the ground and calling Him the King of the Jews and praising Him. Only days later, the same crowd screaming out, crucify Him. crucify Him and putting Him on the cross. This crowd just could not make up their mind. Many people today cannot make up their mind about Jesus Christ. They can't decide. I mean, for them, Jesus is okay for Sunday. So on Sunday they worship Him, or they pretend to worship Him, or whatever they do, they go to church, and then on Monday they don't know whether they are a follower of Jesus Christ or not. They just as soon follow the world, and they just bounce back and forth and back and forth. They cannot decide whether they're with Jesus or against Him. And Jesus said, look, you're either against Me Or you're with me? You can't just keep going back and forth. The prophet Elijah said, why halt ye between two opinions? What is this indecision that's going on? Here's this crowd that could not make up their minds. Some of them were saying, well, he's a good man. Not quite saying he's the Messiah, but he's a good man. Others saying, no, he's deceiving the people. And the whole thing is suppressed because the rulers of the Jews were causing everyone to be afraid about talking about Jesus. Don't talk about Jesus. You're not allowed to talk about Him, so everyone's kind of whispering, you know. You know how your kids are? When you see them whispering, you know something's up, right? What are you whispering about? Nothing? Oh boy, that's a bad thing, right? So the rulers of the Jews knew something was going on. Everyone's kind of going around, Jesus, he's a good man. No, he's deceiving people. And the rulers of the Jews are getting stirred up about this. And the crowd is getting more and more and more schizophrenic. Well, right in the midst of this, Jesus stands up. Verse number 14, right in the middle of the feast, Jesus stands up in the middle of the temple and begins to preach. Now, did you catch the impact of that? They were trying to kill him, and he knew it. And the people were divided, and he knew it. And he went right into the temple, and he stood up, and he began to preach. This would be like... I read a commentator, he said this would be like Martin Luther marching into the Vatican and standing under the shadow of the Vatican and preaching. Well, that's about the import of this. Jesus is in hostile territory. He stands up and He begins to preach a message and He begins to talk to them. And it was so amazing, the people in verse 15 marveled at Him. They said, how knoweth this man letters having never learned? I mean, He's never been to the school. He's never sat under the feet of Gamaliel or one of the other famous rabbis. How does He know so much about the scriptures? I'll give you a hint. He wrote them. He knows about the scriptures. You don't have to worry about that. He knew what he was talking about. Everyone was amazed at this Jesus. And Jesus began to speak. And he said something in verse number 19. He said, Why go ye about to kill me? And then you see in the next verse, in verse 20, how did the people answer him? They said, man, you're demon-possessed. You have a devil. Nobody's trying to kill you. Was that true? No, it wasn't true. Just a couple verses later, in verse number 25, some of them in Jerusalem said, is not this He whom they seek to kill? It was common knowledge they were trying to kill Jesus, and they thought they could fool Him. Oh, Jesus, nah, you're crazy. Nobody's trying to kill you. This crowd, they just couldn't decide. Oh, one minute they were saying, oh, this is amazing how He teaches. The next, He's demon-possessed. The next, oh, maybe He's the Messiah. They couldn't decide. They couldn't come down on an opinion. And it was causing them a great deal of trouble. Well, in verse 25, as they saw Jesus teaching and being so bold, then in verse 26 they said this, but lo, He speaketh boldly. And the rulers, they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Now, all of a sudden, you see what happened. The people begin to think, well, maybe the rulers of the people, the Sanhedrin, have decided that Jesus really is the Christ. Maybe they've decided He is the Messiah, and that's why they're letting Him teach in the temple, and nobody's trying to restrain Him. Well, really, that was just God. And Jesus' life was protected because it wasn't His time yet. But the people began to assume that the rulers have changed their mind. So now the people... Can you get the picture of this? They can't decide about Jesus. And up to this time, the rulers have been telling them, Jesus is a deceiver, He's a false prophet, He can't possibly be the Messiah, nothing matches up. And now they're thinking, well, maybe they changed their mind. And so they're kind of vacillating in their opinion back and forth and back and forth. Well, this is a hopeless situation trying to convince people who can't make up their mind of anything because they'll believe one thing one minute and something else another. And Jesus actually spoke to them regarding this in verse 28. He says, ye both know me, and ye know whence I am. 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. Now you say, what in the world is he talking about? Jesus was making a clear statement. of deity. He was saying, I am come from God. You say, how do you know that? Because they tried to get him. But his life was protected. So this crowd just can't decide. There's many people like this today. Just can't decide. Maybe some of you are like this today. You might hear a message like this and you think, well, that sounds really convincing. And then you'll go home and you'll think of something, oh, maybe not. And you're just back and forth and back and forth and you can't decide. And by the way, God says, come now, let us reason together. God is into a reasonable answer. God gives us evidences that we can believe both internal in the Scriptures and external. There's many reasons to believe the Scriptures. But at some point, you have to set your feet and say, this is where I stand. Oh, please, don't halt between two opinions. Some of you have been here so many times, you've heard so many gospel messages, and yet you've never given yourself to Jesus Christ, my friend. Don't halt between two opinions. It's a very dangerous place to stand. Well, this confusion continued on. If you go down in the chapter, and the bulk of the chapter deals with this vacillating opinion of the crowd. But if you go down, look there in verse number 43, So there was a division among the people because of him. The people were divided. They just could not make up their mind. And one of the reasons they were divided was, if you move up there in verse number 40 and 41 and 42, let me just point something out to you. Many of the people there in verse 40 said, of a truth, this is the prophet. The prophet speaking from the Jewish perspective of the one who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Now, who was that? John the Baptist. He had already come and he had already proclaimed that he was the one who is the forerunner. I mean, it was already declared, but people were still, well, maybe Jesus is the prophet. Other people in verse 41 said, well, no, this is the Christ. But then they started scratching their heads and they said, well, is Christ going to come out of Galilee? Now to you and me, that would be like, you know, Galilee, Judea, whatever, you know. But see, in Jewish days, in the city of Jerusalem, being from Galilee was like being from the wrong side of the railroad tracks. That was like being from, I don't know, if you're a northerner, that's like saying the Messiah was from down south. Or if you're a southerner, that's like saying the Messiah was from up... No, that couldn't possibly be. I mean, Galilee, they're just a bunch of hicks up there. And those people don't know anything. The really learned people are here in Jerusalem. The Messiah is going to come from the tribe of Judah. None of this makes sense. How can he come from Nazareth? They couldn't put the pieces together. And they said this was one of their things. We know where Jesus came from. But they didn't know. They didn't know. And this is the thing, when people come down and they decide, we know something, and they don't know. They've never checked it out. See, they just heard he's from Nazareth. Well, yeah, he lives in Nazareth, but nobody bothered to go and check and find out. that He was actually from Bethlehem, that He'd been born in Bethlehem. And here, part of this controversy was that the rabbis had been teaching them for years that when the Messiah comes, He's going to appear suddenly, nobody's going to know where He came from. Here He is, the Messiah. And it's exactly what was happening, and they were saying, but we know where He's from. but they didn't know where he was from. Do you catch the irony of the situation? They thought they knew something and they were totally off base. Many people are like that. They make an assumption or they take someone else's word for it. Can I say to you, if you're undecided about Christ, You can go out and you can pull the crowd. You can go out and you can ask all your family members and relatives and friends, you know, do you think Jesus is who he claims to be? And you'll get all kinds of different opinions. But can I just say to you, why don't you get in the Bible and read and see what God has to say. You say, well, what should I do? I'd recommend you start reading the Gospel of John. And you start just seeing who Jesus is and reading it for yourself and judge if Jesus is not who he claimed to be. I think you'll come away If you approach it with an honest mind, your faith will be founded when you read that Gospel of John. You'll see something that you've never seen before. But these people, they didn't bother to check into it, much like the brethren of Jesus. But then as we continue on, there's another voice. There was the voice of skepticism. There was the voice of schizophrenia, if you will. Third of all, there's a voice of scorn. A voice of scorn, which is crying out in the midst of this cacophony and this disastrous situation which is taking place in Jerusalem, the voice of scorn was the rulers of the Jews. These were the people who believed that they had the most to lose if Jesus really was the Messiah. This seems ironic to me because the rulers of the Jews, their job was to teach people about the scriptures so that they could be ready when the Messiah came. But now the Messiah was here and they were doing everything that they could do to discredit Him. You might say, well, do you really think that the rulers knew who Jesus was? I am fully convinced that many of those rulers knew who Jesus was and they purposely turned away from Him because He did not fit their criteria of what the Messiah must do. Therefore, it was almost as if they were telling God, God, the Messiah that you have sent is unacceptable to me. The Messiah that I want is the Messiah who's going to overthrow the Romans, who is going to allow us to keep our positions, and who's going to allow us to continue to be powerful religious teachers. And this Messiah, this Jesus, He doesn't fit the bill. We'll just wait for another one. Do you know they're still waiting? They're still waiting. And He's already come. But here they were scorning the Lord Jesus. I mean, in verse number 32, after the rulers, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, now there was a large court. It was made up of 70 men who were leaders, men of privilege in the nation of Israel. They were men of... of studying the Old Testament Scriptures, and they were also men with great political power. One of them was Nicodemus, which we'll see in just a moment. Part of them was made up of the Pharisees, which was one political party, and part of them were the Sadducees, which was another political party. And if you had to choose between the two, well, the Pharisees were more conservative, and the Sadducees were more liberal, but truthfully, they were both corrupt. Sound familiar? Well, here they were, all right, and they said, we want to get rid of Jesus. They heard the people were murmuring. They heard that there was a lot of scuttlebutt going around town about, well, maybe this is the Messiah, and maybe the chiefs and the rulers have decided that He really is the Messiah. And they said, we have got to do something about this guy. Could you imagine a simple carpenter, a man who was poor, who was not trained in his letters, who purportedly had nothing to offer to the people, and they're scrambling to figure out how they're going to deal. with this Jesus. And so they came up with a plan. Verse 32, the Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Now there was, within the court of the temple, there was a group of men made up of the tribe of Levi, they were Levites, and their job was to police the temple grounds. They were to make sure that order was kept there. And there was a captain over them and men who were charged with basically just making sure that everything worked. They said, you guys get out there and you get a hold of that guy Jesus and you get him in here right now. We have had enough of this nonsense. Now that's kind of in between the lines. You have to read a little deeper to see that. But they were frustrated with Jesus. They were scorning Jesus. They wanted to get rid of Jesus at all costs. There's a lot of people like that today. I think that if they could just write Jesus off the pages of history, they'd do it, because He's just a pain to them, and He causes them so much problems, and they think, well, if I could just get rid of Jesus, my problems would cease. Can I say something to you? I want to be respectful, but if you're trying to get rid of Jesus out of your life, He's not going anywhere. He's going to be the same yesterday, today, and forever. You can try to dismiss Him. You can try to push Him out. You can try to destroy Him. You can try to convince people He's not real. He's real. He is who He claimed to be, and you're going to have to reckon with Him. He is the one with whom we have to do. You're going to stand before Him one day. My friend, scorning Jesus is a very poor decision. But these rulers were scorning Jesus. They thought, if we could just get rid of Him, then all of our problems would cease. It seems like at first they had kind of taken the route of ignoring Him and hoping He would go away. You know, I said the title of the message, Jesus You Can't Ignore. Have you experienced this in your life? Maybe some of you, before you got saved, you tried to just ignore Jesus. Jesus doesn't take to ignoring. And so, you might just, He comes, knocks, and you ignore His knock. Well, He'll knock harder. He might really knock hard. He's going to get your attention one way or another. He's going to make you come face to face with the fact that you must make a choice about Jesus Christ. Many people today would just as soon dismiss Jesus, but it's not quite that easy. Well, there was the voice of scorn and contempt. And the rulers, they wanted to be rid of Jesus. As it happened in verse 45, after they had sent the temple soldiers to take Jesus, they came back. And in verse number 45, the officers come back and know Jesus. He's not with them. And the Sanhedrin said, what's up with you guys? Where's Jesus? We sent you to get Jesus. Didn't you do what you were told? In verse 46, they said this, Never a man spake like this man. I mean, he spoke with authority. What were we supposed to do? The crowds were listening, and people were tuned in, and we couldn't just walk in there. It would have caused such a problem. We just left them be. Do you hear how the rulers addressed them? In the next verse, in verse number 47, "...then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?" Oh, have you also believed on Jesus? Now, I'm going to introduce another voice to you in just a moment, but here's... Can you picture the scene? A council of the most important men in the nation of Israel are sitting around. They're brainstorming, what are we going to do about the problem with this Jesus? The officers have been sent to get Jesus. They come back, no Jesus. They said, we can't take him. Never a man spoke like this man. Everybody's kind of sitting around and the Pharisees look at those soldiers, well, have you started to believe in him too? Now, I want you to see a little old fellow sitting over here. And he's kind of quiet. He's one of the council. He's one of the most important men in Judea. His name is Nicodemus. And the Bible tells us later on that he was a disciple. that he was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews. That that meeting in John chapter 3, which had taken place months before, had convinced Nicodemus so much of Jesus Christ and his identity that Nicodemus had secretly become a disciple of Jesus Christ. And here they're mocking the soldiers and they say, have any of this council believed on Jesus? And guess what? One of them had. and he was sitting there. And I introduce to you now the fourth voice, which is the sheepish voice. It's Nicodemus. Now, Nicodemus wanted to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. It's possible that the Bible tells us that he was afraid. It's possible that he just didn't have the courage to say what needed to be said at this point. It would have rocked that counsel if he had. But he offered a half-hearted kind of an answer. Did you see it there in verse number 50? Nicodemus saith unto them, Now the rulers are just hurling vindictives against Jesus Christ. They're upset, they're angry. These people who are convinced by Jesus and they're listening to his teaching, these people who don't know the law are cursed. They're horrible people. If they weren't so stupid, they could see who Jesus is and they'd turn away from him. This is what is going on. And Nicodemus kind of pipes up out of the corner and he says this, Verse 51, "...Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" What is he saying? You guys who are so upset with these people who don't know the law, don't know the law. You're not following the law. You're not listening to what the law says. He offered a little bit of a half-hearted attempt. Have you ever been there in your life, Christian? You're in the midst of a room of people who are mocking the things of God and mocking the Lord, and you are the one. who's the disciple. And you hear all these things going around and you don't want to say anything because you know it could hurt your reputation, could hurt what people think about you, might lose your job or something like that, and you're just sitting there and you're biting your tongue and you're thinking, boy, am I going to say something? And so you offer a half-hearted attempt at rebutting the people. And what happens to Nicodemus? Well, they bite his head off. They insult him. Did you see that in verse number 52? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Now, that's a big body slam, all right? Oh, yeah, you're one of those hicks too, huh? You're from up in the sticks yourself. What about you, Nicodemus? Is that where you came from? And then they said something really interesting. They said, search and look. No prophet ariseth out of Galilee. They should have searched and looked because there's actually some notable prophets that came from Galilee in the history of Israel. We won't get into all of that. But you know, when people are scorning God, they don't necessarily care about all the facts. They just spout things out. And here's poor Nicodemus, and he's trying to make an attempt. Can I say to you that Nicodemus should have stood up and been bold and said, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, and he's told me about being born again, and I'm his disciple. He didn't do it. He should have, but he didn't do it. Have you ever been there? offer a half-hearted defense, and so there's no clear direction. In fact, the chapter ends just in this kind of turmoil in the city. Everybody's in turmoil. Now, there's one more voice I want to point out to you, the voice that everybody should have been listening to, the voice that everybody should have been paying attention to, and it's the voice of the Savior. Because in the midst of all this controversy, as the people are hating him, and some are lauding him, and the rulers are trying to kill him, and he knew all of this was going on, Jesus stood up in verse number 37, and 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." And he was speaking about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit would be given to those who believe on him. But Jesus stood up with authority. Part of the ceremony of the Feast of Tabernacles was the transport of water, and they would bring it in these large jars. And Jesus stood up and He said, I'll give you living water that'll come out of your belly, flowing, I'll satisfy your deepness. That's what Jesus said. In the midst of all this, could you imagine that Jesus spoke words of compassion, words of love, words offering forgiveness, restoration, fellowship, and all of the blessings of God in the midst of this controversy? And you say, what voice should we listen to? The half-hearted Christian? The scorning rulers? Should we listen to the brethren who are skeptical of who Jesus is? Should we listen to the people who can't decide? No, I say to you, you should listen to the Savior. His voice is still ringing loud and clear today. He says, if you want living water, come to me. You know, friend, it's the same today. Jesus, who's been scorned, who's been maligned. Jesus, who many are skeptical of. Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the world, who became God in the flesh, incarnate for us. He died on the cross for our sins. He still is mocked of men. He still is set aside by many people, and yet the same Jesus says, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. You might be here, and this is the ironic thing, all these people, these scorners, these scoffers, these people who couldn't decide, the offer was to them. If you'll come, I'll set your feet on the rock. If you come, I'll give you living water. You know, in your life, you could look back and you might say, if you're here without Christ, you might say, well, I've said some awfully hard things about Jesus Christ. I don't know if He'd ever accept me or love me or have me. You know the truth is, He'll forgive you. He'll give you eternal life. He'll give you rivers of living water. You say, well, I'm a half-hearted Christian, and I've offered a feeble defense in the cause of Christ. And hey, listen, God will restore you. He'll put you on the path. Eventually, Nicodemus became a vibrant disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, enough with this hiding. I'm going to be an out-and-out disciple of Jesus Christ. It came, it came, and the Lord accepted it. But how about you? What is your opinion about Jesus Christ? Are you having trouble setting your feet? Maybe you have set your feet, but you're not really telling anybody about where you've set your feet. What a great season of the year to let people know where you stand concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. What a great opportunity to share with folks about what Jesus has done in your life. Now, I want to point out one final thought before we close. In verse 53, at the end of this tumult and all this confusion and all these voices that are crying out and kind of an indecision of the whole city concerning Jesus Christ, in verse number 53, the Sanhedrin convened. After mocking Nicodemus, they didn't know what else to say. Verse 53, and every man went unto his own house. Like we're going to do here in a little bit, we're going to be dismissed, and we're all going to go to our own house. We're going to have lunch." Well, that's what happened. Every man went unto his own house. Can I say to you that the events of that day must have weighed heavily on each one of them as they went home? As they got comfortable at home, maybe they had their supper, they spent time with their families, and they were thinking about the events of the day, they must have each been considering the voices that they heard. Do you know, that's what happens with each one of us. Now there's cultures where people make decisions as a family concerning a lot of different things. But you know, the decision concerning Jesus Christ is an individual decision. It's a decision that you must make for yourself. Each of us are going to go to our own house. Each of us are going to go to the place of decision. Each of us are going to go to the place of contemplation and decide what will you do with Jesus Christ. But ironically, chapter 8, verse number 1, Jesus went into the Mount of Olives. Now, I don't know how much you know about the ministry of Jesus Christ and what He did in the Mount of Olives. But the Bible tells us there was a garden there, the garden of Gethsemane. And at the end of his life, it was the place where Jesus was betrayed. And the disciples tell us that it was a place where he was want to go so that he might pray. All these men went back to their homes, to the place of decision. What am I going to do about all the voices that I've heard today? Jesus went to the Mount of Olives where he was want to pray. He had not a place to lay His head. He went out under a tree and undoubtedly got down on His knees and talked with His heavenly Father and interceded for the schizophrenic crowd, for the skeptical brethren, for the scorning rulers, and even for the sheepish disciple as He prayed for them. His heart must have broken for their indecision, for their scorning, for their scoffing. I wonder if he thought those words that he said at one time, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee under my wings like a hen gathers her chicks, but ye would not. How his heart must have been broken. You might be here today, you say, well, I just can't decide about Jesus Christ. I don't know if I want to set my feet down. My family won't understand. People will mock. People will think I'm crazy." Listen, put your feet down. Decide about the Lord Jesus Christ and let people know where you stand concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He cares for you. He cares for you. Oh, we can get confused with all the voices, but we need to hear the voice of the Savior this morning. Would you stand with me? Every head is bowed and every eye is closed. Brother Joel's going to come. We're not going to have any singing this morning, but we're just going to have the piano play. Now, I know this is unusual here where we're meeting, but there is a place down here where you could kneel if you want to come and do business with the Lord. We'll just have a moment of song and opportunity to respond. But if God spoke into your heart, would you come at this time? Father, would you move and work in the lives of those who are here without Christ? Would you help them, Father, to make a decision about where they stand concerning you. I pray, Father, that you would work in their hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray for Christians who might be kind of like Nicodemus, a little bit sheepish, about admitting or proclaiming or declaring where they stand. And I pray that you'd stir us up, Father, to be bold witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, help us to tune in to the voice of the Savior this morning. Lord, how destructive it is when we try to ignore Jesus Christ. So have Your will and Your way at this time we ask and pray these things in Jesus' name and for His sake. Every head is bowed and every eye is closed. Brother Joel is going to play a verse of the Invitation Hymn. If God has spoken to your heart, you come. We'll not tarry long with the invitation, but we'll just give you a brief moment to respond if God has spoken to you.