You want to open up your copy of God's Word in the book of John, chapter number 7. I had intended last week to preach all the way really through verses 25 through 36, but we didn't make it. We only made 25 through 29. And so this week, we'll tackle verses 30 through 36. John gives us some very distinct timelines, and we're trying to follow them. Keep in mind, background, Jesus is at the temple. It is the annual feast of tabernacles. Big, huge celebration. A week-long celebration. And Jesus, just like every other law-abiding Jew, has built his temporary tent, taking limbs and branches in the boughs of trees and has made a little makeshift tent. to live in it for a week as a reminder of God's faithfulness in delivering Israel for the 40 years that they were in the wilderness and lived in tents. And so Jesus, at this fall festival, really, this is about the same time of year as we are in now, they gather together for this huge celebration, and Jesus is left there. We are informed by verse 14, it is the middle, somewhere around the middle of the feast, middle of that week-long celebration, And Jesus is teaching. And as He is teaching there, He's gathering a crowd around Him. Some for, some against, some just trying to figure out what's going on. So we break into that narrative there this morning. Verse 30, John 7, 30, Then they sought to take Him, but no man laid hands on Him, because His hour had 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 has done? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him, or arrest Him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, ye shall not find me. Where I am, thither there ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, whither, where will he go? We, we shall not find him. Will he go unto the dispersed, the diaspora, those Jews have been dispersed, scattered, because the Babylonian captivity, the Assyrian captivity, spread them all over. Will he go to the dispersed among the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that said that he said, ye shall seek me, ye shall not find me, and where I am thither ye cannot come? That's the title of this morning's message, we asked and answered, is Jesus the Christ? We prayed, answered that well and said, yes indeed, Jesus is the Messiah of God, the Christ of God. Today I want to give some thought to this unstoppable nature of this man and his ministry. So let me begin like this. Every good story that has ever been written plot, but it also has several subplots. Whether it's a short story, a movie, or a novel, there will be a major theme and then several underlying themes. Let me use a pretty famous movie to illustrate my point. The Wizard of Oz, one of Miss Pat's favorite movies. In the movie, Dorothy longs for home. I think the argument could be made that the main theme of the movie is this sense of belonging, of being home. Dorothy yearning for warmth and security in a home filled with family, friends, and love. I would say that that is the major plot, main theme. Yet at the same time, the movie, we're introduced to some underlying characters and themes. The wizard, who just isn't all he's cracked up to be. The cowardly lion, seeking for courage. The scarecrow, who wants a mind of his own. who believes that he has no heart or no feelings. And no doubt, good and evil are contrasted throughout the movie. And as that story, the movie, develops, the true nature of every character begins to be realized. It begins to be revealed. The wizard is a fraud. The cowardly lion is actually very brave. The scarecrow is wise. The Tin Man is compassionate, and good overcomes evil, because the people all celebrate the wicked witch is dead. More could be said, but I think the apex moment of the movie is Dorothy clicking her magical heels together and saying, there's no place like home. Now I've dragged you through that movie review for this reason. Throughout the Gospel of John, there is one dominant theme. Jesus is the Christ, the divine Son of God. But like all great writing, there are several subplots in the book. And we see some of them in our text today. I will briefly mention them in the hopes that you will see them develop. as the sermon and as the narrative develops. One of the underlying themes of John and what we'll see together today is opposition to Christ and to his ministry. Opposition to Christ and his ministry. We'll also notice Jesus working according to God's timetable. Jesus' ministry following God's timetable. There is this recurring theme, this is all throughout John, of belief and unbelief. Belief and unbelief. And then a great emphasis that Jesus gives, and we'll see it together this morning, is the Son returning to the Father. The Son returning to the Father who sent Him. All of these subplots, I think, support the title that I have chosen for today, The Unstoppable Christ. Today we will see our Lord face opposition from all around, but He will not be stopped until He has accomplished all that the Father has given Him to do. There are some who are truly converted, or we can say it like this, Throughout John, we come face-to-face with believers, unbelievers, and make-believers. But none of them will deter Christ from completing His work. At the appointed hour, the Son will return to the Father who sent Him, and until that very moment, on God's calendar, Jesus is unstoppable. So let us learn from this text, the ministry of the Messiah will be perfectly accomplished. Regardless of animosity, hatred, and opposition, this King cannot be stopped. You cannot stop the Son of God. You cannot stop the Christ. He will fully and finally complete all that the Father has given Him to do, and until that hour, nothing and no one can deter the Christ King. I want us to notice together four ways in which we will see Jesus as the unstoppable Christ. First, notice with me from verse 30, Jesus is invincible until the appointed hour of His death. Point one, Jesus is invisible until the appointed hour of his death. Verse 30 begins with then or really therefore, because of, and that has to take us directly back, just very quickly, verse 29, I, those red letter words, but I know him for I am from him and he has sent me. And Jesus has just made this scathing indictment to all who have ears In fact, the text said he cried aloud, spoke very publicly, very boldly, saying, you don't know God, but I know Him. Not only do I know Him, I am from Him and He has sent me. That didn't go over so well. People do not like his claim to be sent from God as God and returning to God. And so verse 30 says, "...and they sought to take him." It seems that this first attempt to seize him was in direct response to his claim of divinity, that he was sent by God. And the language here seems to indicate that it is the crowd, the people, some of those gathered around him that attempt to seize him. It's not the religious leaders, not at this time. We will get to them in this text. But right here, it seems, there were some folks within the crowd who did not like his claims. The point John would have us see, and it will develop more through this text, is that there are many voices trying to stifle Jesus the Messiah. If I can, I'm going to ask you just quickly, I'd like to peruse this passage. I want you to consider the opposition that Jesus is against. Verse 30 is just a sample of it. If you will follow with me just real quick in verse 1. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee. He would not walk in Judea anymore. Notice, because the Jews sought to kill him. Verse 11. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? Verse 25. Some of them of Jerusalem said, isn't this the one they're trying to kill? Verse 30, our text. Then they sought to take him. Verse 32. Close of it says the chief priest sends officers to arrest him. Verse 44. Some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Verse 45. Then came the officers and the chief priests and said, why haven't you arrested him? Why haven't you brought him to us? That is a very common theme, right? You can see that. Just a very quick, brief overview, you can see this opposition facing Jesus. People trying to kill him. They want him dead. They're looking for him. They want to seize him. They want to arrest him. They want to lay hands on him. They want this man Jesus stopped. And it's not just the religious leaders, even some among the crowd want Him stopped. And you might think, with all of these angry individuals and this deceiving mob lined up against Him, surely, surely they would capture Jesus and crush Him Right then and right there. But verse 30 says, but no man laid hands on him. And then it tells us why. His hour had not yet come. Friend, you need to take notice of that little line right there. That's important in John. I've tried to tell you major themes, underlying themes, plot, subplot. One of the huge subplots in the book of John is the hour, the appointed hour, that time. Matter of fact, I'm just going to give this to you. You don't have to run back through it. But when Jesus makes reference to His hour, He is clearly referring to the coming time in which He would be arrested, crucified, and healed. And He's saying that time is coming. There is an appointed hour. But not yet. In chapter 2, verse 4, Jesus tells his mother Mary, it's not yet my time. It's not my hour. In chapter 7, verse 6, he tells his brothers, Jesus tells his brothers, my time has not yet come. In verse 8, I go not up to the feast for my time is not yet fulfilled. And then over in the next chapter, chapter 8 and verse 20, It says again, no man laid hands on Him because His hour had not yet come. That is a major theme throughout the book of John. A major underlying theme throughout the book of John. No one laid hands on Him. Why? Because His hour had not yet come. There was an appointed hour in which Jesus would be nailed to a Roman cross be made an open spectacle and shame, would lay down his life for us, be made sin for us, would give up his spirit and die and be buried. That hour is coming, but it's not yet. And then there's this shift or transition actually in the very language of Jesus. We're gonna get there. But when you get to the last few days of the life and times of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus says, John 12, 23, the hour has come. John 12, 27, I came for this hour. And then in his high priestly prayer, John 17, verse 1, The hour has come. So they want him dead. They want him arrested. They want him dead. They want him killed. They want his movement crushed. They want it stopped. But no man lays hands on him. Why? It wasn't time. His hour had not yet come. Jesus is aware In fact, he makes it very clear that he is aware when his hour is coming, because he says, the hour has come, Father, the hour has come. He knew when that appointed hour was, and he knew it was a time. That dark, bloody, redemptive hour of the crucifixion of the Christ would come, but not yet. It's still about six months or so away from this time that we're studying. And so when you look at the text, John leaves us with some, really some unanswered questions. Verse 30, they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him. And the only explanation that John gives is because his hour had not yet come. When you study that, you want to maybe ask, well, what prevented them? from seizing Jesus then and there? Were those who wanted to lay hands on him, were they afraid of his followers? Well, probably not. If you know the first followers of Jesus, they weren't the bravest band of soldiers that a man could have behind them. Were they afraid that he had some there who wanted to hear him teach, and so they didn't want to arrest him? in fear of how some of that group may respond. Was his preaching too powerful? We don't know. We don't know what exactly hindered them, but we know who hindered them. Right? And we know why. We don't know the exact means that God used Jesus was working on God's timetable. predetermined when and where and how Messiah would die. And then until that time, nothing could stop Him. He was invincible. If you will remember even when Jesus was arrested and stood before Pilate, Pilate said, man, don't you realize I have the power to free you or I have the power to put you to death? He said, you have no power over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. And even, even while hanging on the cross, when death came knocking, Jesus had to invite death in. He was invincible until the appointed hour of his death. He willingly yielded up his spirit to the Father. Not even death had power over him. Until he had accomplished all that God had given him to do, he was invincible. This is why all of this opposition you see is brewing and it is brewing, but no one can do anything because it's our and not yet come. Until the Christ fulfilled all the requirements that the Father had for him, he could not be stopped. He was invisible until the appointed hour of his death. Are you ready? And Christian, the same thing is true of you. Mmm, chew on that a minute. The same thing is true of you. Like Jesus, God has a plan for your life, a purpose for your life. And until you complete the work God has for you, you are safe and secure in His hands. Don't run to some extreme and say, well, the preacher said I could do anything I wanted to do and it wouldn't shorten my life. That's not what I'm saying because that's not what Jesus did. Jesus did not take unnecessary risks. Jesus did not take his own life. Jesus did not have a death wish. He did not make bad choices, life choices, that led to a premature death. And neither should you. Neither should I. Instead, he walked and lived in loving obedience to his father, just as we should. And because of that, he was absolutely invincible. until his work was completed. Friend, that's true for you. God has set the bounds of your habitation. You realize that? You don't know when it is. But somewhere on the calendar, time, God has appointed the hour of your death. The time, the place, the means, God has appointed those things for you. Does the Bible not say, There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. God has predetermined these things and the circumstances surrounding them, and you will live, Christian, and you will live safely and securely in the hands of the sovereign majesty on high until that very hour. You too are invincible until that appointed hour. And so I tell many a saint, especially in these older saints. I don't know why I'm still here. Because God still has something for you to do. That's why. And when he's done with you, then he'll take you home. But not until. Jesus is invincible until the appointed hour. Secondly, Jesus is unbeatable even if his followers are afraid. Verse 31, Jesus is unbeatable, even if his followers are frail. Look at that passage with me. And many of the people believed on him and said, when Christ comes, will he do more miracles than these, which this man has done? I have really struggled. with what to make of this verse. I think we are supposed to see a contrast between two groups of people. In the last verse, some people want him silenced. In this verse, some people believe in him. And I want to celebrate at this verse many of the people believed on him. And I want to celebrate that, and maybe we should. Or maybe we shouldn't. Are these people truly converted? Are they truly saved? Are they truly born again? The text says many believed on Him. But did they? Now don't get me wrong. I'm not calling into question the reliability of Scripture. I'm calling into question their conversion and whether or not they were truly saved. And just so you know, I'm not going off the deep end or anything like that. just to stir back your mind, look back a few chapters to John chapter 2. You remember this? Some of you perhaps will, others maybe were not here, but look at the close of John 2. Going back in the history, back to the earlier ministry of Christ, but in John 2 verse 23, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Listen to this. Many believed in His name when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. A brief summary of John 2, 23 through 25. Some supposedly believed in Jesus, but Jesus didn't believe in them. In other words, all they had was a superficial faith. It wasn't real. It wasn't genuine. It wasn't justifying faith. They saw the signs. They oohed and aahed and were impressed by the miracles and these inexplicable feats that Christ did But we know that there were some who John says believed, but they didn't really believe. And so when I'm in John 7, and I read in verse 31, many people believed when they saw the miracles. And in fact, it's sort of a shoulder shrug confession. Maybe this is Him. When Messiah comes, will He do more miracles than this? Probably not, so maybe He is. So if you understand my hesitation at the verse, we have seen other individuals who the text says believe but didn't truly believe. And they too, it was because of their the signs and the miracles. Not because of a true heartfelt understanding that this is the Christ of God. And so I find myself in something of a conundrum. Maybe I'm being overly critical. Maybe I'm being too sharp. Or maybe John left this ambiguous on purpose. Maybe he left it sort of up in the air on purpose so that our faith would not rely on the supposed faith of others, but on God. Our faith that Jesus is the Christ must not be based on what some people sort of said, probably so. I would like to think that the people in this passage are true believers, but listen to me. Faith based solely on signs is shallow at best, if not purely superficial. Fast forward a few months, Jesus is going to come right into Jerusalem. on the back of a young donkey. And there will be a mass of people that will lay down palm trees. This is all rich fulfillment of prophecy. They'll be crying out, Hosanna, Hosanna, save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the king. Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh. Some of that same crowd, less than a week later, will be saying, crucify him, crucify him. Because if you've been a Christian long, you've been in this thing long enough to know that not everybody that claims to be saved is truly saved. People can show up and look good for a while, but do they remain? Do they continue? Do they abide in Christ? Some of us, us, we have some prodigal moments. We turn from the Father, we get in the ugliness of sin, we turn away from Christ, and we get like that prodigal son, we're down in the ugliness of the world in the hallmark. But every true son will return to the Father. Every true child of God will return to the Father. So while I want to celebrate and say, yes, at least some in the temple there, they hear and believe, John wants us to be cautious, not to be too presumptuous. Because I think the greatest test of genuine saving faith is not just some brief experience based maybe on some miracle, but have you continued to follow Christ throughout your life? Has your life, ever since your conversion, has it been a pursuit of Christ? Maybe you stumbled, maybe you failed, maybe you've gotten away. Some of us have done that. But have you returned? I think John just sort of leaves it this way, that our faith would not rest in men, but in Christ. True believers, even if they backslide, if they go prodigal, they're going to return. But either way, our faith must not be in men, but in the Savior of men. So Jesus is invincible and He is unbeatable, even if His followers are frail. Even if we are. He's unbeatable even if His followers are frail. Number three, Jesus is undefeatable. even if His enemies unite against Him. He is undefeatable, even if His enemies unite against Him. In verse 32, the Pharisees heard the people murmur. So, Jesus is teaching. Some are mad and they want to lay hands on Him, but they can't. Some hear and seemingly maybe believe and say, this has got to be Him. Look at all the signs and the miracles He's doing. And word gets back to the religious leaders in verse 32. The Pharisees hear the people are murmuring, saying, whispering these things about Him. They don't even want people talking about Jesus, let alone following Jesus. And the Pharisees and the chief priests send officers to take Him. hearing that perhaps his ministry and movement is growing, an arrest warrant is issued. The religious powers that be order the arrest of Jesus. They dispatch what we could call, rightly call, the temple police. And they want Jesus, in our language, they want him handcuffed and thrown in jail. They want him arrested. They want him squashed, his ministry squashed. Right here would be a good place to stop and ask, why? What has he done? What has he done wrong? What criminal charges could be placed against You see, the religious leaders, we'll talk about it more in just a second. These religious leaders are the authority of the temple. And there are some Levites who serve as security guards for the temple. They're under the authority of the leaders. And so the leaders say to the police force, go arrest this man. nothing wrong. They just don't like what He has to say. They don't believe He is the Messiah. They don't believe He's been sent by God. They don't believe He's going back to God. They can't deny His miracles, but they certainly can't deny that He is the long-awaited, long-promised Messiah. And shockingly, and you and I don't feel the weight of this because this is so far removed from us. but there is an unholy trinity that unites in this passage against Jesus. The Pharisees, the chief priests, and the ruling leaders of the religious establishment all unite together against Jesus. We're so far removed from this ancient setting that we do not appreciate the oddness the rarity of these groups getting together to agree on anything. This is not Republicans and Democrats, it's far more divided than that. This is the Sadducees and the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. The three of them uniting together to work against Jesus. all the religious power of Israel, uniting together to stop and squash Jesus. You don't see it. It's easy to read past the Pharisees and the chief priests. That's language that includes the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Sanhedrin. He repeats that in verse 45. John repeats it because it's a big deal. We don't really see what a big deal it is, but it'd be like Republicans and Democrats and Independents all gathering together to get one thing done. Here are these people who are in life normally sworn enemies that have gathered together as one to try and squash Jesus. Normally they are opposing factions, but now they share a common enemy, the Son of God. Their hatred for Jesus is even greater than their disdain for one another. So they unite together to put an end to this supposed Christ and His movement. They dispatch some police to arrest Him, But when you get to verses 45 and 46, it's days later, and guess what? They still ain't arrested Jesus. I know that's not good English, but it's good preaching. They still haven't arrested Him, even days later. You had one job. Go arrest Jesus. But I'm telling you, the man could not be stopped. His ministry could not be stopped. But what you see, is some of the early shadows of the cross. When all the ugly envies of holiness and righteousness and goodness unite together against God and His Christ, against the Lord and His Christ. Or to say it another way, this is the early shadows of the cross. where you see Psalms 2 unfold. Psalms 2. That's what this is. The leaders of this world unite together against the Lord and against His Christ. It makes me want to preach Psalms 2. You know what God's response is to the rebellion of men? He laughs. He laughs. If I may steal a line from Pastor H.D. Charles, when God laughs, it's not funny. God is not laughing with you, He is laughing at you. Listen, Jesus cannot be stopped. He cannot be deterred. The gates of hell will not prevail against His church. Even if all the armies of fallen men and fallen angels rise up together against him, he will conquer all his foes. Christian, hold on to this. Through him, you're on the winning side. Through him, you are more than a conqueror. You hear that language out of Romans 8? We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. I know we don't always feel that way, but it is true. Our king and his kingdom cannot be stopped. His kingdom will grow. His kingship will grow. It'll spread like lemon until finally the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Even if all the powers of fallen men and hell itself unite together against Jesus, He is invincible. He is undefeatable. He is unbeatable. He is unstoppable. John wants you to look at Jesus and say, Wow! What a Messiah King He is! That's why He's telling us about all of these things uniting, these individuals uniting together against Him. to marvel at the Messiah, to stand in awe of His ministry and His commitment to fully carry out everything the Father gave Him to do. Let me remind you something, Christian. You are not a victim. And don't let this culture convince you that you're not a victim. If you are a believer, you are a victor, more than a conqueror. the strength of our King and our Captain. He is the unstoppable Christ. He is invincible, He is unbeatable, and He is undefeatable. And then fourthly, Jesus is undeterred in spite of confusion and criticism. Verses 33 through 36. Jesus says unto them, yet a little while. It wouldn't hurt you if you went on through the rest of John and highlighted yet a little while. Because he's going to say that a lot. Another underlying theme. Just a little while. I'm going to be here just a little while longer. Remember, six months or so from this point, Jesus will be crucified unto you. But I want you to get something out of verses 33 and 34 very clearly. Jesus says, yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to him who sent me. You're going to look for me? And you're not going to find me? Because where I am, you can't come. Folks, this is gospel language. Jesus is making reference to His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension. Listen to that. A little while I'm with you. I'm going to die. And then I'm going to go to Him who sent me. You're going to look for me, but you're not going to find me because you're going to be looking in all the wrong places. And isn't that exactly what happened? After Jesus died and rose again, didn't the religious establishment say, we've got to find him? Where is he? Where's his body? We've got to find his body and prove that he's actually dead, but they couldn't find him. You know why they couldn't find him? They were looking for him down here when he went up there. He ascended back to his father, where he was from, ascended back and sat down on the throne. But they didn't see that. They didn't believe that. They didn't understand that. They refused to believe that God sent Him. And they refused to believe that He went back to the Father. This is clearly, clearly Jesus is saying, I'm going to die. I'm going to be buried. I'm going to rise again. And then I'm going to ascend back to my Father. Hear that gospel language from the words of Jesus here. And believe that He did that for you. I want you to notice something right there at the close, verse 34. You want to talk about some sad words in the Bible? Where I am, you can't go. If you die without faith in the Lord Christ, listen to this, where He is, you can't go. And that is rich when you compare it to John 14. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. He is telling those, if you die without trusting in my atoning work, where I'm going, you can't come. The door will be shut. The ark will be closed. And you cannot enter in. But if you will believe in me and you will receive me, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And I'm going to come again. And I'm going to gather you up and take you with me that where I am there you may be also. The entirety of verses 35 and 36, it is full with confusion and criticism. But Jesus is undeterred by it. Verse 35, where's he gonna go that we're not gonna find him? The concept that he's going back to heaven never enters our mind. Is he gonna go to the diaspora? That is, if you go back in your mind, you remember the Assyrians captured the northern tribes, scattered them to the four winds, Babylon, the Babylonian Empire, scatters the southern tribes, scatters them to the four winds, So the Jewish people are not just in Israel, they're scattered all over the known world. And so the Jews here, the leadership says, where's Jesus gonna go? Is he gonna go to these different parts of the world and preach and teach to these other Jews? Or even worse, to Gentiles? Is that where he's going? You know what the irony is? That's not where Jesus is going. He's not going to the scattered Jews on earth. He's going to the gathered saints in heaven. But that is where His church is going. This is where His people will go. To all the known world, carrying the message of Jesus to them. It is an ironic term. It is the very disciples of Jesus who will take the gospel message to this very place. In verse 36, they just don't understand. What does this mean? You're going to look for me and not find me. Where I am, you cannot come. What does that mean? That's a sad truth they don't understand. I hope you understand. I hope you know what it means. I hope you trusted in this unstoppable Christ. You see, all the confusion and the criticism would not deter the Messiah from fulfilling all the Father had given Him to do. The opposition, even perhaps make-believers or weak-believers, none of these things. Jesus is the Christ and He is the unstoppable Christ. John is telling us these things just so we will marvel at Him, being awe of this Christ King with all that was stacked against Him. Enemies and unbelief and weakness among His own. Still Jesus would not be stopped from accomplishing His plans and purposes. As I close, isn't it wonderful, Christian family, to have a King who cannot be conquered? To have a Savior who is immortal, invincible, unbeatable, and to have a Christ And He can be yours today if you will embrace Him because He did all this and more. And you can trust that He is who He claims to be. If I may, one day this unstoppable Christ will return. And nothing on earth or in hell itself will stop that return. One day, Christ, the unstoppable King, will set foot on planet Earth. He will make a new heaven and a new earth. And we're going to, every Christian, we're going to dwell with Him forever in this glorious new place that He has gone to prepare for us. And you know what? I think that we can say the heart of every Christian will yearn and say, there's no place like home. There's no place like home. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.