“Mixed Responses” – FBC Morning Light (10/30/2024)

Well, a good Wednesday morning to you. Today in our Bible reading we're reading Matthew chapter 8 and a parallel account in Luke chapter 9, just a few verses in each of those passages. And then the bulk of our reading is in John chapter 7 and then on into chapter 8.

And what I want us to see today is that, well, you've heard the old adage, the more things change the more they stay the same. Well, that's applied to a lot of different things and it's applied to politics, it's applied to, yeah, and so on.

But it's also applied to how people respond to Jesus. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We have come through in the last couple thousand years, the period of the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the period of the Reformation, we've come through the Enlightenment, the period of the Enlightenment, we've come through the last century and a half of intellectualism, secularism, and all the rest of this stuff.

And the more things change, the more they stay the same. We've transformed this world from one that was fully agrarian to one that is largely, in most countries, industrial, and even now the Information Age.

A lot of changes in the last couple thousand years, right? But the more things change, the more they stay the same. And this is especially true in relationship to Jesus. And I want to just look at this passage in John chapter 7 where Jesus is in Jerusalem and you see very clearly a variety of responses to Jesus, and they all exist today.

People respond to Jesus in the same, the very same ways today. So let's notice some of these. Some respond to Jesus with skepticism, and even perhaps an angry skepticism. Let me show you what I mean. In verse 20, Jesus had just said, did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?

Why do you seek to kill me? Jesus knew that this was the objective of the chief priests and the Pharisees and so forth. Why do you seek to kill me? But the people answered and said, you have a demon. Who is it that's seeking to kill you?

So rather than believing what Jesus is saying, they respond with hostility, right? With hostility, you have a demon and skepticism. Who's out to kill you? All right, that's one way that Jesus has responded to.

And then in verses 25 through 27, there are some who respond to Jesus with sincere questions. Let me explain. So some of them from Jerusalem said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? Now see, they knew, right?

Earlier you had those responses, nobody's trying to kill you. And now there are some who are saying, hearing Jesus, and say, wait a minute, isn't this the one that they're wanting to kill? But look, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to them.

Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Messiah? You see, they're sincere, and they're wondering, is this man really, is this really the Christ? Is this really the Messiah? Then they go on, but however, we know where this man is from.

Like, they knew he came from Nazareth, but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he's from. So they're not hostile to Jesus, they're not dismissing him, they're not just outright rejecting him. They're sincerely questioning.

And there are people who hear about Jesus, they hear about the Bible, and they don't just flagrantly reject him. But they wonder, they question, isn't he just really a man? I mean, I just heard that there's all kinds of myths about him.

They're sincere, and they're questioning. Some are just, frankly, intrigued. So the officers, the chief priests and the Pharisees, they sent officers, guards, temple guards, to seize Jesus and take him.

And we'll say more about that in just a minute. And they, these officers go, and they hear Jesus speak, and they come back empty-handed. And the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who said to them, why haven't you brought him?

And the officers answered, no man ever spoke like this man. They are intrigued. They are dumbfounded that what Jesus has said has struck a chord with them. But then there are those who respond to Jesus with just outright hostility and flagrant unbelief.

And that would be the part of these religious leaders, the Pharisees and the chief priests. After all, verse 32 says, when the Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Jesus, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.

They sent officers to take him. Why? They wanted to silence him. They hated him. And that's going to become clear, more and more clear, as we get closer to crucifixion day. But then in verse, as we saw in verse 45, the officers come back, they don't take Jesus.

And then the Pharisees, in verse 47, answered them when they said, we've never heard anybody like this. They answered him and said, are you all so deceived? Have any of the, listen, have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him?

You get what they're saying? We're united in our unbelief, in our rejection of this Jesus. And then, finally, there is a minority. In verse 31, it says, many of the people believed in him. Many of the people believed in him.

So there's never been a time in the history of man when everybody believed in him. There's honestly never been a time when the majority have believed in Jesus, truly, savingly believed in Jesus. But many have.

And these same responses carry on to this day. Some will believe. Most will reject in some form or another. Some are curious, sincerely questioning. Some, skeptics, just dismiss him in anger. I trust that you are one of those whom God has graciously touched your heart, and you believe in him.

Our Father and our God, we thank you for the Lord Jesus, and we thank you for your grace that calls many to believe. And I pray that as we continue to grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, so would our faith and trust in Jesus, our Savior, increase, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. All right, listen, have a good rest of your Wednesday. May God bless.