Unit 1: Love Completes, Law Falls Short
Key Verse:
John 7:18 NLT
18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.
Lord, may I always be thankful for your great grace. For, it is by grace that we have life.
Prelude:
Leviticus 23:42-43 NLT
42 For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters. 43 This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
John 7:2 NLT
2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters,...
Let me offer a short synopsis of the Feast of Shelters, also known as the Festival of Booths, or simply ‘Sukkot’ as a prelude to this week's lesson. In short, it is one of the seven major festivals and one of the three pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish Heritage. The pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot required all of the meen of Israel to come to Jerusalem in observance of said Holy Day (Sabbath). Established by God through Moses, Sukkot was a fall festival that occurred after The Day of Atonement and after Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Sukkot was sort of a Jewish Thanksgiving.
Occurring in early October, it combined a celebration of thankfulness for the fall harvest along with a solemn remembrance of Israel’s deliverance through the wilderness under God’s loving care. The sukkot (depicted above) is a simple three-sided booth made of branches with a thatch ceiling that allows the inhabitants to look into the heavens and be reminded that God is always watching them. The fact that there were only three sides to the (four-sided) structure left the inhabitants with the understanding and assurance that God’s Presence was with them, just as it had been in the wilderness.
Sukkot was a festival that commemorated the forty-year passage through the wilderness. More importantly, it foreshadowed the eventual return of the Messiah and His deliverance of His people into their Heaven Inheritance (The Promised Land). It is within the context of the Sukkot that we view today’s lesson.
The Lesson
John 7:14 NLT
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach.
Jesus had refused to join His stepbrothers on the pilgrimage to observe Sukkot, but how could He stay away? The celebration of Sukkot reminded Him that the children of Israel had been forged during their time in the desert, transforming them from slaves to God’s Holy nation. Certainly, at the height of His earthly ministry, Jesus saw the need to be with His people, just as He had been with them in the wilderness.
John 7:15 NLT
15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.
John 7:52 NLT
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes[a] from Galilee!”
The people thought they knew everything they needed to know about Jesus. By now, all the available questions had been broached. They thought He was from Galilee. Certainly, no prophet had ever hailed from there. Additionally, He had not attended a noted madrassa (school of the prophets). Based on their (mis) understanding, Jesus was not qualified to instruct the people in the mysteries of God. Yet, the people were awestruck at His wisdom and His knowledge of the wonders of the Kingdom of God.
John 7:16-17 NLT
16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.
Jesus didn’t provide an easy answer. He didn’t try to correct any errors or assumptions about Himself. Instead, He added to their confusion by declaring the truth; that His knowledge came directly from God. His teaching, His miracles confirmed that truth, revealing the love and grace from Heaven that caused those who were humbly awaiting His appearance, the appearance of the Good Shepherd, to rejoice. Sukkot. Thanksgiving.
John 7:18-19 NLT
18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. 19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”
It was during this interruption that Jesus called out His detractors. The three major Sabbath festivals, Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot were all meant to be times of corporate humility before God. Yet, the religious leaders in Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, to extinguish the very Word of God because He did not align with their purposes. At what should have been a time of peace, murder filled their hearts. Jesus did not divide Jerusalem. Rather, he exposed the dark hearts of the religious leaders who opposed Him. Who plans to murder during so sacred an occasion as Sukkot?
John 7:20-21 NLT
20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon-possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed.
The crowd retorted by accusing Jesus of being possessed by demons. This was an obvious attempt to scare the people who had heard His teaching and were being drawn to Him by His message of love. Most certainly, religion seeks to control the masses through fear and intimidation. Jesus offered relationship, a direct connection to Heaven by the Spirit of God and by His preaching the Word of God, preaching full of mercy and grace. Jesus reminded the crowd that they had witnessed such a miracle of grace; He had healed on the Sabbath. Should not the Messiah do exactly that? Bring deliverance on the Sabbath? Had not God promised Sabbath Rest for His people? Wasn’t that what Sukkot promised?
John 7:22-23 NLT
22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?
But religion sought to turn the Word upside down. The religious leaders forbade ‘work’ on the Sabbath. That included any ‘work’ that might result in anyone’s physical or spiritual benefit. Jesus called out their hypocrisy, by pointing out that if the appointed day for the circumcision of a baby boy fell on the Sabbath, tradition demanded that they make provision for the ceremony even though it was to occur on the Sabbath. Sadly, it was only in circumstances like these that the religious leaders came near to the heart of God, eschewing the tradition of men for the true intent of the law; to bring God’s people into their inheritance. To usher God’s people into His Presence.
Wait. Is that not the mission of all of God’s appointed messengers? To lead God’s people into His Presence? Into divine and everlasting freedom? Should not our message be one of …. liberation? Should not we, ministers of the Lord, declare that God has emancipated His Church through the shed blood of the Lamb of God? Whom the Lord has set free is free indeed! Sukkot!
John 7:24 NLT
24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
Lord, help us, by your Holy Spirit, to discern your heart’s desire so that your wonderful message of grace might be rightly communicated by us, your servants, liberating your people from sin and preparing them for an eternity of freedom and glory in your Presence that we can only barely imagine. Help us to remember and walk in the grace promised in Sukkot!
Selah,
wb
1 Timothy 2:5-7 NLT
5 For,
There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
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