1. Before the Feast (verses 1-9)
2. During the Feast (verses 10-36)
3. On the Last Day of the Feast (verses 37-44)
4. After the Feast (verses 45-52)

Last week, I began my message by talking about Francis and Edith Schaeffer and their ministry at L'Abri. If you remember, the Schaeffers were sent to Switzerland in 1947 as missionaries by the Independent Board For Presbyterian Foreign Missions. It was eight years later (in 1955) that 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. They wanted to provide a place where Christians could come and think and study. They also wanted to provide a place where skeptics and doubters could come as well, because the Schaeffers believed that the Christian faith could answer all of the great questions of life. It often simply took some time and patience and love. Something that the Schaeffers were willing to give.

Now, what I didn't tell you last week is that Francis Schaeffer faced his own spiritual crisis, which led him to the establishment of L'Abri.

Listen to the Preface of Schaeffer's book, "True Spirituality."

This book is being published after a number of others, but in a certain sense it should have been my first. Without the material in this book there would be no L'Abri. In 1951 and 1952 I faced a spiritual crisis in my own life. I had become a Christian from agnosticism many years before. After that I had become a pastor for ten years in the United States and then for several years my wife Edith and I had been working in Europe. During this time I felt a strong burden to stand for the historical Christian position, and for the purity of the visible Church. Gradually, however, a problem came to me—the problem of reality. This had two parts: first, it seemed to me that among many of those who held the orthodox position one saw little reality in the things that the Bible so clearly said should be the result of Christianity. Second, it gradually grew on me that my own reality was less than it had been in the early days after I had become a Christian. I realized that in honesty I had to go back and rethink my whole position.

We were living in Champery at that time, and I told Edith that for the sake of honesty I had to go all the way back to my agnosticism and think through the whole matter. I'm sure that this was a difficult time for her and I'm sure that she prayed much for me in those days. I walked in the mountains when it was clear and when it was rainy I walked backward and forward in the hayloft of the old chalet in which we lived. I walked, prayed, and thought through what the Scriptures taught as well as reviewing my own reasons for being a Christian.

As I rethought my reasons for being a Christian I saw again that there were totally sufficient reasons to know that the infinite-personal God does exist and that Christianity is true. In going further, I saw something else which made a profound difference in my life. I searched through what the Bible said concerning reality as a Christian. Gradually I saw that the problem was that with all the teaching I had received after I was a Christian, I had heard little about what the Bible says about the meaning of the finished work of Christ for our present lives. Gradually the sun came out and the song came. Interestingly enough, although I had written no poetry for many years, in that time of joy and song I found poetry beginning to flow again—poetry of certainty, an affirmation of life, thanksgiving, and praise. Admittedly, as poetry it is very poor, but it expressed a song in my heart which was wonderful to me.

This was and is the real basis of L'Abri. Teaching the historic Christian answers and giving honest answers to honest questions are crucial, but it was out of these struggles that the reality came, without which an incisive work like L'Abri would not have been possible. I, and we, can only be thankful.^[2]

This personal crisis of Francis Schaeffer is why he approached his evangelistic/apologetic ministry at L'Abri the way that he did. Not with proclaiming hard facts and science and proofs for believing in the truth of the Bible, but by encouraging people to come with their questions about Jesus and the Bible, and trusting in the providence of God, that a safe and loving environment is ripe for people to see Jesus.

It's not that the one way is wrong, we see Jesus doing this in John 5, when he proclaims himself to be the true Son of God, who has the testimony of John the Baptist, his Father, and the Scriptures on his side. But Schaeffer believed in "Teaching the historic Christian answers and giving honest answers to honest questions."

In a sense, that's what we see in John, chapter 7, which is the text of my message this morning. The teaching picture that we have for chapter 7 is a bunch of question marks. I counted this week, some 15 questions in chapter that the people in this chapter asked. All of them have to do in one way or another with one central question: "Is Jesus the Christ?"

This is the title of my message this morning: "Is He the Christ?" this was my same title as my message last week, so this week, it's "Is He the Christ? (part 2)" from John 7:32-52, essentially, the last half of the chapter.

Now, this chapter isn't exactly like L'Abri, in that these questions aren't dealing with the big questions of life and purpose. But John, in this chapter is bring forth all of these questions that the people had about Jesus. He is showing how they all point to the reality that Jesus, is indeed, the Christ.

Now, to catch us up to speed, I want to read through the first half of the chapter, commenting lightly as we go along. Let's begin in verse 1.

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.

This gives us a time-frame as to when these things took place. The Feast of Booths took place in the 7th month of the Jewish calendar, which roughly is our September/October time frame. It was the time when the Jews remembered the days of wandering in the wilderness, by setting up "booths" (or tents) and living in them for a week. The feast lasted for eight days, from Sabbath to Sabbath (inclusive).

How ironic it is that Jesus, came to dwell with us in his own booth. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Literally, Jesus came and "tented" among us. He lived among us as one who lived in his own tent. Yet, as we shall see, those who were celebrating the Feast of Booths, missed the one who was tenting among them. Verses 1-9 describe what happened,

1. Before the Feast (verses 1-9)

These verses record a conversation that Jesus had with his brothers:

John 7:3-9
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. 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." After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

It is significant here that his brothers weren't believing in Jesus. They were the sort of "skeptics and doubters" that the Schaeffers would welcome to L'Abri. They were trying to get him killed by going up to the feast, as the Jews "were seeking to kill him" (verse 1). Only later would his brothers believe. Then, in verse 10, we begin to see what happened,

2. During the Feast (verses 10-36)

John 7:10-13
But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 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." Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

Here, we see the first question in chapter 7: "Where is he?" (verse 11). The attention that Jesus was bringing to himself was amazing! Those in Jerusalem had heard of the wonders that Jesus did in Galilee, feeding 5,000 people during the days of the Passover (John 6:4). Now, six months later, at the next feast, the crowds were expecting to see (and hear) from him, saying, "Where is he?" In verse 14, we see Jesus making his appearance:

John 7:14-15
About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?"

This is the second question in chapter 7. "Jesus was never taught by a Rabbi! How can he show so much learning?" Jesus answered by saying that God, the Father taught him. Verse 16,

John 7:16-19
So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 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. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?"

Picking up from what Jesus said in verse 19, the crowd asked their third question:

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

Jesus doesn't answer the question directly. Instead, Jesus appeals to the law, showing the crowds why it is so absurd that the Jews were seeking to kill him.

John 7:21-24
Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 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."

Then come two rapid-fire questions in verses 25 and 26.

John 7:25-27
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? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."

Jesus tells them that they know who he is.

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."

That didn't turn out well.

John 7:30-31
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"

Jesus had already done some great signs, but seemingly, they weren't enough for the Jews.

This is where we left off last week, by asking you the question: are the signs that John records enough for you to believe that Jesus is the Christ? They should be. John wrote these signs down that we might believe that Jesus is (indeed) the Christ, and that by believing we may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

John wrote about Jesus turning the water into wine, that we might believe. John wrote about Jesus healing the son of the royal official from afar, that we might believe. John wrote about Jesus healing the invalid at the pool of Bethesda, that we might believe. John wrote about the feeding of the 5,000, that we might believe. John wrote about how Jesus walked on the water, that we might believe. He will write about two more signs, the healing of the blind man (in chapter 9), and the raising of Lazarus from the dead (in chapter 11). All of these signs are written that we might believe, that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing, we might have life in his name. Let us not be like these crowd, insisting upon more!

Anyway, let's continue on to see what was happening "during the feast." Verse 32,

John 7:32
The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

This has reference back to verses 25 and 26, when the crowd was muttering in astonishment that Jesus was speaking openly, and nobody was laying a hand on him. "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?" For the Pharisees, this wasn't good. So, the Pharisees "and the chief priests" joined forces and sent the police to arrest Jesus in the temple. Once again, Jesus defies them! Jesus is amazing!

John 7:33-34
Jesus then said, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come."

Essentially, Jesus says, "Listen, I'm only going to be here just a little while longer. you are going to seek me, but you aren't going to find me." The Jews fired back with a bunch of rapid fire questions:

John 7:35-36
The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?"

With the first question, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?" the Jews were saying to Jesus, "You can run, but you cannot hide from us." Then, they think about a possible place that Jesus might go, where they really might not be able to find him. They thought of Jesus going to the Dispersion, that is, to the Jews who were living far from Judea and far from Galilee, among the Greeks, that is, among the heathen peoples of the world, where the Jewish authorities had no jurisdiction. And then, gasp, to actually teach them?

This question is so interesting, because these Jews had begun to grasp the scope of the mission of Jesus, not merely to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. This was the subtle message of John the Baptist, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). John spoke of the scope of application of the sacrifice of Jesus. It would extend not merely the Jewish people, but also to the world, to the Gentiles.

We have seen in it already in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." That is, whoever believes in the world may have eternal life. That describes the scope of the ministry of Jesus, it's beyond the Jews.

They were asking this question in horror! This idea would have been repugnant for the Jews! That Jesus, a Jew, would go to the Gentiles. Surely not, they thought.

But John is hinting to us here in the gospel, that this is indeed what took place! Oh, Jesus, himself, didn't go to the Gentiles, but his disciples did! They have brought salvation to us today, in Loves Park, Illinois! far from Jerusalem. Salvation has come to the world! Salvation has come to all the sinful people of the world! So that any of you may believe that Jesus is the Christ! and that by believing, you may have life in the name of Jesus!

Of any gospel writers, John is the most global of them all! As we continue to work our way through the gospel, we will see this world-wide emphasis, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). In John, chapter 12, we will see the Greeks coming to the disciples, wishing to see Jesus, and Jesus will say, "I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness" (John 12:46). Oh, church family, let us not remain in darkness! Let us believe in Jesus. Let us believe that Jesus is the Christ.

OK, the third rapid fire question comes in verse 36, "What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?" The people are simply admitting that they don't understand who this man is. Note, throughout this chapter, how often the crowds are always talking about Jesus, but never using his name. It's always about "him" or "he" or "this man." "Where is he?" (John 7:11). "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" (John 7:15). "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?" (John 7:25). "We know where this man comes from" (John 7:26). "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?" (John 7:31). "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?" (John 7:35).

They never call him "Jesus" in this chapter. That's why my message is entitled, "Is He the Christ?" not "Is Jesus the Christ?" The Jews in this chapter, were not even willing to use his name. They were ignorant of who Jesus was, thus all of the questions about Jesus.

OK, then we come to verse 37, and our third point. I'm calling it,

3. On the Last Day of the Feast (verses 37-44)

Because, this is the time frame that verse 37 gives us,

John 7:37-38
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

A little background here is helpful. My guess is that none of us have ever celebrated the Feast of Booths to know what happened on the last day of the feast. The last day is known as "the great day" of the fest (as verse 37 says). It was eighth day of celebration.

On that day, on the final day, on the great day, the priests would walk down to the Pool of Siloam, and fill up some pitchers of water. They would walk into the temple with this water, and pour it out upon the altar of the temple, offering up prayers, seeking God's blessing upon the people of Israel, particularly in sending the winter rains!

It was a very festive time, as the people would be singing the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). There may have been dancing in the streets! while believing that pouring of the water would bring blessing upon the people of Israel! Jesus, seeing the water flow upon the altar, stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

At the climax of the feast, Jesus stands and turns the attention to himself! and uses a familiar metaphor to describe what coming to him is like. It's like a drink of water to a thirsty soul. Jesus will satisfy that soul! He will give refreshment! He will give life! Jesus was offering this life to all at the feast! to anyone at the feast who was thirsty!

The same offer stands today, because, Jesus wasn't talking about a physical drink. He was talking about belief. Look at verse 38, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

What strange picture! Jesus says, "You drink of the water that I give, and more water will come rushing out of you!" This is similar to what Jesus told the woman at the well. Do you remember? Chapter 4? After some back and forth with this woman, Jesus said to her, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). When you believe in Jesus, he will totally satisfy your soul. Not only will you no longer be thirsty, but you will have water to give!

Then, John breaks into narrative in verse 39,

John 7:39
Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John can say these things in retrospect, understanding what Jesus would say later in John 14 and John 16, of Jesus leaving and the Spirit coming, after his resurrection.

In other words, when Jesus was speaking about the water of life, he was referring to the Holy Spirit, who comes and indwells a believer and brings forth fruit of righteousness. This is how it works in the life of a believer! The Spirit enters, and fruit comes out! It's like watering a garden, and the garden plants arise.

This is one great way to know if you believe, if you see the Spirit working in your life, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness. Do you know this? Have you experienced the fruit of the Spirit in your life? giving you godly desires, giving you the will and ability to turn from the deeds of the flesh?

Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-24, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." This is what Jesus spoke about when he said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, is like waters that flow from a fountain, stirring up within you the love for those who are unlovable, the joy that is unspeakable, the peace that passes understanding, the patience that endures the talkative friend, the kindness that extends to all, the goodness that comes from him, the gentleness that turns away wrath, the self-control that overcomes sin.

Do you see these things in your life? that can only be explained by the presence of the Holy Spirit? If not, believe in Jesus, experience this flow of living water.

The response of the crowd comes in verse 40.

John 7:40
When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet."

When Jesus stood among the crowd and cried out for everyone to hear, he was unlike any prophet. Usually, prophets would stand and say, "Thus saith the LORD." But here Jesus speaks with authority, and tells the crowds, not to go to the LORD, but to go to him.

This caused some of the crowds to think that Jesus was the Prophet of whom Moses spoke. Verse 41,

John 7:41-42
Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"

Again, we see some questions coming.

These Jews understood the Scripture. They understood that Micah 5:2 prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, some 6 miles south of Jerusalem. These Jews understood that Jesus grew up in the Galilee area, in Nazareth.

They reasoned rightly, "This man, therefore, cannot be the Christ." But what they missed in Christmas. That Jesus was from the offspring of David, and that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But he was raised in Galilee.

So, some thought this. Some thought that. So, verse 43,

John 7:43-44
So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

This gets back to the earlier narrative. Nobody arrested Jesus because "his hour had not yet come" (verse 30). Try as they did, God thwarted their plans.

OK, let's look at our last point this morning:

4. After the Feast (verses 45-52)

Now, the text doesn't technically tell us that verse 45 begins "after the feast," however, it seems as if the discussion that follows is more of a debriefing about what took place at the feast. It all has to do with the attempts to arrest Jesus. We read in verse 45,

John 7:45-46
The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!"

This shows that the leadership (the chief priests and the Pharisees) is out of control. They sent their officials to arrest Jesus (verse 32), and they come back empty handed. Then, the officials give a testimony to how amazing "this man" was! "Nobody ever spoke like him!" He amazed the crowds with his speaking. He kept the officials at a distance. Then, the religious leadership goes on the attack, attacking both the officials and the crowds.

John 7:47
The Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?

The agenda of the religious leaders his obvious. The call anyone following Jesus to be "deceived." Know that the world thinks the same today. If you believe in Jesus, there are many today who would deem you foolish. Because the cross is foolish to the world. "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

In verse 48, you see the desperation of the Pharisees:

John 7:48-49
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."

They wanted to know if anyone had been swayed by the teaching of Jesus. Throwing forth their power, they condemn the crowed. Then, in verse 50, we get another glimpse of Nicodemus. We saw him in chapter 3, when he came to Jesus by night.

John 7:50-51
Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?"

They replied,

John 7:52
"Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Nicodemus will show up again, helping to bury the body of Jesus. "Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight" (John 19:39). By the end of the gospel, it seems as if Nicodemus had become a believer. But his status isn't known here in chapter 7. Perhaps Nicodemus was like one of those skeptic who was asking himself, "Is he the Christ?"

This sort of question sounds exactly like the question that many have had as they traveled to Switzerland to speak with Francis Schaeffer, "Is he the Christ?"

Nancy Pearcy is one of those people who were impacted by the Schaeffers. She was impacted by the ministry of the Schaeffers and has continued to carry on their legacy in writing much about truth and the culture. Listen to her short testimony of how L'Abri impacted her.

After spending several years as an agnostic, I converted back to the Christianity of my childhood through the work of Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri in Switzerland, so I will always be grateful for that.^[3]

Nancy Pearcy is just like Nicodemus. She was raised a Christian, and then went to agnosticism and then came back. Nicodemus was involved in the religious world, but was transformed in his discussions with Jesus and his thoughts about him. Pearcy continues,

Schaeffer also introduced me to a form of Christianity that engaged with the intellectual and cultural world of the day, which was something I had never witnessed before. As a result, right from the beginning of my Christian life, I had an understanding that Christianity is meant to be an entire worldview–that it gives the resources to be involved in politics, science, and the arts, so that we don’t need to avoid or be intimidated by secular culture.^[4]

This is the idea of the questions in this text. When you come to ask, "Is He the Christ?" and then come to the conclusion that he is, you don't need to cower in fear at the culture that surrounds you. You don't need to fear being mocked as being out of touch and delusional. You can stand firm on Jesus. Whatever questions you may have today about Jesus. I'm telling you that you can believe him, despite what the world thinks, or what the world might to do sway you away.

May we all affirm fresh again, "Yes! Jesus is the Christ!"

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 26, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

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

[2] Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1971), iii-iv.

[3] https://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2005/07/blog-interview-with-nancy-pearcey-award-winning-author-of-total-truth/.

[4] Ibid.