1. Before the Feast (verses 1-9)
2. During the Feast (verses 10-31)

In 1947, Francis Schaeffer and his wife, Edith, were sent to Switzerland as missionaries from the Independent Board For Presbyterian Foreign Missions. Eight years later (in 1955), they opened their alpine home "to curious travelers as a forum to discuss philosophical and religious beliefs."^[1] They named their ministry, "L'Abri," which is a French word meaning, "the shelter." They wanted to provide a safe space (a shelter) for people to come and live with them and wrestle with the big questions of life.

When they began the ministry, word of mouth led to a steady stream of visitors in their home. Just one year after beginning, in the summer of 1956, they averaged 31 visitors every week in their home. Their ministry continued on until Schaeffer's death, for nearly 30 years later, in 1984. L'Abri continues on today, where it has expanded to nine different countries.

Not only did Schaeffer welcome Christians to come and study with him. He also welcomed skeptics and doubters, believing that a loving and patient and welcoming environment was just the place for such people to grapple with questions of the meaning of life. Schaeffer believed that the Christian faith could answer all of these questions.

L'Abri wasn't a school in the sense that people would go to class and engage in a curriculum with lectures to obtain a degree. It was very open-ended, aimed at helping each individual with their doubts and questions. Schaeffer (and others on his ministry team) would meet individually with each student, and help guide them to answers to their questions, leading them on a journey of questions and discovery. Sometimes students would stay for a few days, sometimes students would stay for a few weeks, or even several months, whatever happened to be their path with their particular questions.

At the heart of L'Abri was the community. Schaeffer believed that the community important if anyone was to believe in Jesus. In his book, "The Mark of the Christian," Schaeffer wrote this: "Without true Christians loving one another, Christ says the world cannot be expected to listen, even when we give proper answers. Let us be careful, indeed, to spend a lifetime studying to give honest answers. … It is well to spend time learning to answer the questions of men who are about us. But after we have done our best to communicate to a lost world, still we must never forget that the final apologetic which Jesus gives is the observable love of true Christians for true Christians."^[2]

So, at L'Abri, the community would share meals together, the community would read the Scriptures together, the community would engage in long discussions together. But the place had to function. So students were expected spend a portion of their days in work, cleaning or maintaining the facilities, or helping in the kitchen with the meal preparation and service. Another portion of their day was spent in study.

The atmosphere was relaxed. Nobody was rushed into a decision. Nobody was coerced into a faith. Schaeffer believed that the Spirit of God would work in each individual's life in God's own time, especially as they were engaged in a gracious and loving community. L'Abri is like an apologetics center of sorts, where people could come and search out their questions about faith and life with the Schaeffers. Yet, L'Abri was sort of like a hippie commune, which was popular in the 1960's. Yet, it had a decided slant in directing people to the claims of Christ.

Perhaps the most important question that was asked was about Jesus. "Is He the Christ?" Those who came to L'Abri were encouraged to wrestle with this question. Because, when you come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, so many more things in life become clear.

The title of my message this morning is this important question, "Is He the Christ?." My message comes from John, chapter 7. John 7 is filled with questions. If you remember the pictures that we have presented for John 7, you remember that it looks like a question mark (which looks a bit like the number "7"). Throughout the entire chapter, we see questions about Jesus. Fundamentally, the questions all have to do with who Jesus is. Is Jesus the Christ? Or is he not the Christ?

Is this not the purpose of the entire book? Again, let us remind ourselves why John wrote his gospel.

John 20:30-31
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I have introduced my message this morning by talking about L'Abri, because of the approach that is taken in persuading people of the faith. L'Abri didn't take the truth of Christianity and shove it into the face of people. L'Abri welcomed your questions and your doubts. The Schaeffers were particularly patient with the many who walked through their doors.

I think the spirit of L'Abri is captured well in John 7, with all of the questions put forth about the identity of Jesus. John 7 don't come with any particular logic. As a result, the chapter is difficult to outline. John 7 don't really come to a point with a direct conclusion. In fact, the chapter ends with a bunch of questions for us to answer for ourselves, whether, in fact, Jesus is the Christ.

To be sure, John 7 is an apologetic chapter, like John 5, but it's different in style. Perhaps you remember back in that chapter how Jesus put forth his claims of being the Messiah, logically, and direct from his mouth, giving an apologetic for faith in him. Jesus bore witness about himself, about his work (John 5:19-20), about his ability to give life (John 5:21), about his power to judge (John 5:22), about the honor he is due (John 5:23). Then, he logically bring other witnesses to bear upon his life: The witness of John the Baptist (John 5:33-35); The works that Jesus, himself did (John 5:36) The witness of the Father (John 5:37-38) The words of the Scriptures (John 5:39-47).

In John, chapter 5, Jesus was very authoritative, calling others to believe (John 5:24) in him, because he had the life to give (John 5:25-26), warning his hearers that he will be the final judge (John 5:27-29).

This is in contrast to John, chapter 7. If you have a red-letter Bible, that puts the words of Jesus in red, then, you can see that the last half of John 5 is printed with red ink, because it's all about Jesus proclaiming the truth. Not so John, chapter 7. If you have a red-letter Bible, you can see that much of John 7, simply tells the story of the questions that the people had of Jesus, and the short interactions that Jesus has. If you look at the end of the chapter, you can see that the last words of Jesus are an appeal (in verses 37-38), but then the chapter ends with thirteen verses describing the differing opinions of Jesus, not with Jesus putting forth his truth.

The number of questions about Jesus put forth in this chapter are much like those who came to L'Abri to wrestle with the foundational question of life. So, this morning, the call of our text, is for each of you to decide for yourselves the answer to the question: "Is Jesus the Christ?"

So, let's begin the chapter by reading the first two verses:

John 7:1-2
After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.

These first two verses help to set the context of these questions that come in chapter 7. Verse 1 sets the geography. Verse 2 sets the time.

Verse 1 tells us that after feeding the 5,000 and walking on water, and dealing with the fallout of his preaching, remained in the Galilee area. That is, north of Judea, where Jerusalem and the temple was. Verse 1 tells us that Jesus remained up north, because the Jews, who were in the south, in Jerusalem, near the temple, were seeking to kill him. It makes sense that Jesus would avoid Judea.

Verse 2 tells us what time of year it was. It was the time of the Feast of Booths. This was about 6 months after the events of John 6, because, we read in John 6:4 that "the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand."

The Jews celebrated the Passover in the first month of their year, because, the Passover was the time when their nation began. The nation began when the angel of the LORD went through Egypt and struck dead all of the first-born in the land, but the angel "passed over" the Jews, who had applied the blood of the lamb to their doorposts. The Passover is a picture of the gospel. The way to avoid eternal death is by applying the blood of Jesus to your own soul by faith, that eternal death might not come upon you.

But in Egypt, with the death of his first-born son, Pharaoh demanded that the Jews leave Egypt! This Passover event cause Pharaoh to demand that the Jews leave Egypt, and thus, they began their identity as a Jewish nation. God told Moses, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you" (Exodus 12:2). Every Spring the Jews celebrate the Passover. Their calendars begin with the first month in the Spring.

Then, six months later, during the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, there are several other feasts that take place. The Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the month (Leviticus 23:23-25). The Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the month (Leviticus 23:26-32). The Feast of Booths, beginning on the 15th day of the month, (Leviticus 23:33-43), and lasting for a week, when the Jews would make booths, or tents, in which to dwell for seven days. These tents were remind the Jews of their wanderings in the wilderness. This is the feast that was at hand in John 7. "Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand."

Now, the fact that between John 6 and John 7 was six months, shows that John isn't trying to give us a complete biography of the life of Jesus. Rather, John is giving us some snippets of his life that we might believe in Jesus (John 20:30-31). The events in the first nine verses take place before the feast, which is my first point:

1. Before the Feast (verses 1-9)

Before the feast, we see the unbelief of the brothers of Jesus. Look at verse 3,

John 7:3-5
So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." For not even his brothers believed in him.

First off, Jesus had brothers. These are the children of Mary and Joseph. The Roman Catholic Church, holding to the perpetual virginity of Mary, would hold that these brothers were merely "close relatives." The word here means brothers.

The important point here comes in verse 5. "For not even his brothers believed in him." What an surprising statement! At this point in the life of Jesus, he was in his public ministry, doing signs, and people were beginning to take notice of him. But his brothers weren't convinced. They didn't believe in him (verse 5). They had their own questions and doubts about Jesus.

His brothers surely had an interesting perspective of the life of Jesus. Jesus was the older brother who could do no wrong, literally. Jesus did no wrong. "In him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). The brothers had a front row seat to see and experience it all. Through no fault of Jesus, it seems as if his brothers were resentful of him. Perhaps Mary, in her sin, would say, "Why can't you be like your brother Jesus?" Perhaps they saw their own sin, and how they never lived up to Jesus. The natural tendency of unbelief would turn to resentment.

Verse 5 informs how we should interpret verses 3 and 4. They were words of mockery! "If you are claiming to be the Christ, then let your works be known to everybody! Go to the feast! Show yourself to the world. If you are something great, let everybody see how great you are!" If you couple this with verse 1, basically, the brothers of Jesus were trying to get him killed. Because the feast was held in Judea, in Jerusalem, and the brothers were urging him to go to Jerusalem, willing that he would die. Jesus responds in verses 6-8,

John 7:6-8
Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come."

This is the second time that we see Jesus aware of God's divine time-table of his life. The first was at the wedding in Cana, when his mother told him that there was no wine. Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come?" (John 2:4). Here again in verse 6, we see Jesus saying, "My time has not yet come."

Keep your ears open. Because, throughout the gospel of John, we see this theme come up again and again. Jesus knew that the time was coming for him to die for the sins of his people. But he says here to his brothers, "My time has not yet come. ... You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast." So, we read in verse 9,

John 7:9
After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

Now, the surprise comes in verse 10,

John 7:10
But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.

It's just like the wedding at Cana. Jesus told his mother that his hour had not yet come, but he still turned the water into wine. Here, Jesus said, "I am not going to up this feast," and then he does.

Now, he doesn't go to the feast in the same way that his brothers went. Apparently, they went "publicly," probably in a big traveling caravan with all of the other Jews going up to Jerusalem for the feast. But Jesus went up "in private," without drawing any attention to himself, without letting anyone know that he was at the feast. Perhaps this explains how Jesus said that he wasn't going up to this feast, he wasn't going to go with his brothers.

Anyway, in verse 10, we see our second point,

2. During the Feast (verses 10-31)

During the feast, many people had questions about Jesus.

John 7:11-12
The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?" And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray."

At this point in the ministry of Jesus, he had turned the water into wine (John 2), he had also cleansed the temple (John 2), he had healed the royal officials son (John 4), he had healed invalid (John 5), he had fed the 5,000 (John 6), he had walked on water (John 6). Jesus was making such an impact upon the people, that he was the topic of conversation at the feast, without anyone knowing that he was there!

The people were curious about where he was. Seemingly, they were expecting Jesus to make an appearance, as they were saying, "Where is he?" (verse 11). This gets back to the conversation that Jesus had with the brothers. If you really are somebody, you are going to show up and make yourself know. The people were expecting him to show. You can see the divided opinions of everyone at the feast. Some thought he was doing good. Others thought that he was evil, leading people astray. Yet, we read in verse 13,

John 7:13
Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

All of the conversation about Jesus was subdued. The Jews were trying to kill him (verse 1). It wasn't good to come out in public support of Jesus. Then, Jesus shows up. Verse 14,

John 7:14
About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.

It's significant at this point that Jesus didn't show up doing signs. He showed up teaching. In the gospel of John so far, we don't really see Jesus doing much "teaching." For the most part, he is just talking with people in conversation. Like in chapter 3, when he speaks with Nicodemus. Like in chapter 4, when he speaks with the woman at the well. In chapters 5 and 6, Jesus is debating with the Jews. But now, we find Jesus in a "teaching" posture in the temple. Certainly, opening the Scriptures and reading them and explaining them and applying them. His teaching was good teaching.

John 7:15
The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?"

That is, Jesus never had a formal education. In those days, it meant linking up with a Rabbi, who would instruct and teach. Jesus had none of this. Now, it's not that Jesus was self-taught. He was taught of God. This is what Jesus says in verse 16,

John 7:16
So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

Then, as is typical of Jesus, he confronts the Jews:

John 7:17-18
If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

Jesus puts forth a question for the Jews: Do you recognize the authority of my teaching? If you knew God's will, you would know that my teaching is from God. If you knew God's will, you would see that I'm not seeking my own glory. If you knew God's will, you would see that there is no falsehood in me.

The is really the question for all of us today as well. Do you recognize the teaching of Jesus as coming from God? If you, you will believe and submit to the teaching of Jesus. You will repent of your sins and follow him.

Then Jesus deals with the matter at hand, the people are marveling at his teaching, yet, they are seeking to kill him (verse 1). So, Jesus says,

John 7:19
Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?"

They didn't like this.

John 7:20
The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?"

Jesus could have easily responded to this with another question, "Why aren't you speaking openly about me?" "You all know that the religious leaders are trying to kill me." But he doesn't. Instead,

John 7:21
Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it.

Jesus is referring to chapter 5, when Jesus healed the invalid who couldn't walk for 38 years, telling him to take up his bed and walk (John 5:8). This is the work that drove the Jews to want to kill Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. Jesus went on to reason about the Sabbath:

John 7:22-24
Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

In Jewish culture, a baby born was to be circumcised on the eighth day. In our day, this isn't so. In our day, circumcision takes place quickly after birth, even within the first day. Perhaps this explains this picture. So, if a son was born on a Friday (as our grandson was), then he would be circumcised on the following Saturday. But Jesus pointed out that the circumcision would be on the Sabbath. If Moses permitted doing that on the Sabbath, then what was wrong with me healing a whole man on the Sabbath? Jesus was confronting the Jews about their own inconsistencies.

But what amazed the Jews in the temple that day, wasn't the great teaching, it was the lack of action on the part of the Jews.

John 7:25-26
Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?

In other words, "Is this all a big conspiracy?" "Do the authorities know something that we don't know?" "Why aren't they arresting him?" Yet, the Jews were convinced that Jesus wasn't the Christ.

John 7:27
But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."

Apparently, there was some teaching during the days of Jesus that the Christ would appear from nowhere. But, the crowds say, "we know where Jesus comes from." He comes from Nazareth. He comes from Galilee. He cannot be the Christ! It all shows their confusion. Do the authorities really know that he is the Christ? But he can't be the Christ, can he? Then Jesus hits both sides:

John 7:28-29
So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me."

On the one hand, the crowds knew where he came from. Yet, on the other hand, the crowds didn't know that he came from heaven. This brings us back to the prologue: Jesus was in the beginning with God (John 1:1). Jesus was God (John 1:1). Jesus was the light that came into the world (John 1:9). So, really, they didn't know where he came from.

At any rate, we read (in verse 30),

John 7:30
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

Again, we see this concept of the hour of Jesus. His time for arrest had not yet come, so he wasn't arrested, even though they were trying to arrest him. This speaks to the sovereignty of God in our lives. David said, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 136:16).

God knows all about us from the day we were born, to the day that we will die. As George Whitefield said, "We are immortal until our work on earth is done." This is what John is saying: The authorities tried to arrest him. But his work on earth wasn't yet done. So they couldn't.

Oh, but there would be a day when he hour would come. "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1). "When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, 'Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you'" (John 17:1). That hour was the day when Jesus was lifted up upon the cross, that all who believed in him would have eternal life! Jesus still had work on earth to be done. So, no one laid a hand on him!

In verse 31, we see many believing in Jesus. Yet, in their belief, they still had questions:

John 7:31
Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"

So far in the gospel of John, we have seen five signs. Turning Water into Wine Healing the Royal Official's Son (John 4). Healing the Invalid (John 5) Feeding the 5,000 (John 6). Walking on Water (John 6). More will be done. Jesus will heal the blind man (John 9). Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11).

Is this enough for you? The sense I get from verse 31 is the more is wanted. "Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, 'When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?'"

Let me close with a testimony of a man who was transform by his time at L'Abri. His name is Dick Keyes. He writes,

My introduction to Francis Schaeffer came after my graduation from college when a roommate and I, neither of us Christians, stumbled into L'Abri in 1964. Schaeffer asked the two of us to join him for a day-off walk in the Swiss Alps where he'd hiked for years. We left his chalet at 10 a.m. with sandwiches. It was foggy and snowing lightly. At some point, with the terrible visibility, we took a wrong turn and realized eventually that we were lost. We finally got to a town at the bottom of the Rhône valley at midnight.

Memorably, Schaeffer talked with us—one at a time and both together—the whole time. We joked about being lost as we pondered the map together, but much of the time it was serious conversation. He was a good listener and had plenty to say to both of us, who were wrestling with relativism and agnosticism. I remember thinking, Hey, we're complete strangers, but this guy really cares about us—what we believe and where we're going. And when he talks to you, you really know you have his full attention. ...

The experience of hiking in the Alps wasn't the only memory I have of my first visit to L'Abri. More importantly, it was a shock for me to witness the Schaeffers' trust in God. They'd forfeited the normal human ways to get the real-world stuff of material necessities—yet there was always good food on the table. The demonstration of their integrity was part of what challenged me to take their faith seriously and later to trust in Christ myself.^[3]

May that be your testimony as well.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 19, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Abri.

[2] Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian (Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1970), 17.

[3] See https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/labri-40-years/, emphasis his.