The Feast of Tabernacles

 

The midst of the feast- there is debate     John 7v10-36

 

“Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said where is he? There was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for, some said He is a good man, others said nay, but He deceiveth the people.

Howbeit no man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews.”

 

What was playing out here was the celebrity factor.  They sought Him at the feast out of curiosity, for they had no regard for the truth.  They engaged in a whisper campaign because they were afraid of the Jews, their rulers.  They were more afraid of men than of God.  A deeply religious occasion had turned into nothing more than a gossip chamber.

 

“Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  But the Jews marvelled saying, how knoweth this man letters having never learned?”

By letters they presumably meant an accurate knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures and of the Jewish religion. They had to acknowledge he was speaking accurately, they could not criticise His doctrine, so they questioned His personal credentials.  This is typical of many today, when they cannot fault the ministry, they attack the man.  Jesus answered them, for fools in their folly need to be answered-Proverbs 26v5.

 

His teaching is from God

 

“My doctrine is not mine but His that sent me.  If any will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine and whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.  Jesus said He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory, but he that seeks God's glory is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.  Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law.  Why go ye about to kill me?  The people answered and said, thou hast a devil, who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said into them, I have done one work and ye all marvel.  Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and ye on the Sabbath day, circumcise a man.  If a man in the Sabbath day receive circumcision that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day?  Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgement.”

 

There is an abundance of material here to reveal the true nature of communication of the truth of God, that we must not miss the import, particularly those engaged in public work.  He said His doctrine was not His own.  He did not learn it in the rabbinical schools, but in the school of God.  He was sent by the Father, and his words were the words of the Father.  The evidence that he was speaking for God was that he was doing the will of God.  His words were authenticated by his works.  To know the doctrine is to exhibit it in living reality.  In the Old Testament there are two stark realities about service for God-in Jeremiah 14v14 and 23v21 the Lord said there were prophets He did not send and who do not speak for Him; see also Job 42v7 where Job’s counsellors did “not speak of the Lord the thing that is right.” How many are claiming to be sent from God?  How many are claiming to speak the words of God? The proof will always be, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”  It says that John the Baptist was sent from God; it also says that Jesus was sent from God.  In both cases, the evidence is there for all to see.  He came from God, He spoke for God, He lived for God, and it was only blinded eyes that couldn't see it.

If we speak of ourselves, whether of our own thoughts, or of the teachings of men, we are seeking our own glory.  Jesus sought only the glory of God.  We do not speak to draw attention to ourselves to glorify the speaker but only for the glory of God.

When a man seeks the glory of God, in speaking of Him, he will be speaking truth, accurate, genuine and there will be no unrighteousness in him.

Moses teaching did the people no good for they did not obey it and are still breaking the commandments.  When God speaks we should all be standing to attention, not paying lip service to the word.

Long neglect of the Divine word had made them insensitive to reality.  They were not aware of the plots to kill Jesus.  Typical of spiritual insensitivity is ignorance of the true state of things; this apathy was evident in the days of Malachi-2v14; 2v17; 3v7; 3v13; also in the church at Laodicea-Revelation 3v17 where ignorance of their spiritual state was rife.

Insensitivity to Divine things led to double standards based on misinterpretation, and misapplication, and misunderstanding of scripture.  He refers to the one miracle He did in Jerusalem (chapter 5) which caused them to marvel-not in a wonderful way, rather in a cynical sense, because He healed a man on the Sabbath.  He points to Moses whom they venerated.  He said, Moses gave you circumcision (not that he was the instigator of it, the patriarchs introduced it), yet Moses allowed the Sabbath to be overridden in the case of circumcision, which must be on the 8^th day according to the terms of the rite-Genesis 17.  So in following Moses, it is right to perform the operation of circumcision on a person, but not to make a man wholly fit on the Sabbath-what duplicity, and for that they plotted to kill Him!  No wonder He closes with “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment”.  Insensitivity to the word of God had rendered them faulty in judgment.  And so it is today where there is little discernment of the proper application of scripture.

The Feast of tabernacles

 

Chapter 7       Jesus the living water

 

In chapter 6 He is the bread of life; in chapter 7 He gives the living water.  The main thoughts are Divine sustenance and Divine satisfaction.  The overall testimony of scripture is always to point to Christ.  We should always look for what it says about Him.  Clearly, the teaching in these two chapters is that He is sufficient for both our sustenance and for our satisfaction.   In a world which mainly seeks material things, we should grasp the meaning of this spiritual challenge to all of us. The backdrop to the chapter is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.  There are three time periods indicated;

v1-13, the feast is near-there is disbelief.

v14-36, the midst of the feast- there is debate.

v37-52, the last day of the feast-there is division.

 

The feast is near   v1-13      disbelief   All of chapter 6 took place in Jerusalem at the Passover; in chapter 7 we are now at the Feast of Tabernacles which is 6 months later.  Jesus left Judea for He did not court trouble, and plenty was brewing in Jerusalem for Him.  However He did return for the Feast which is the background here. 

 

At the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews camped out in booths, much as today people will holiday in tents or lodges or caravans, a time of holiday and rejoicing to celebrate God’s goodness to them.  This was one of the big feasts of the year and attracted many visitors.   As before, what commenced as a Feast of the Lord, had deteriorated to a mere festival of the Jews.  In this life, this is the pattern of degeneration everything seems to follow.  The state of the hearts of the people was anything but religious for they were plotting to kill Him.  Continuing religious gatherings in the name of God does not mean we are in tune with God-Isaiah 1v10-15.   When the gatherings of religious groups sink to being a man-made, meaningless ritual, God is not in it because God is not in their hearts.  The wonderful meaning of the Feast is at one and the same time a looking back to God's faithfulness, and a looking forward to God's glory among them, a celebration of His goodness.  But this had been reduced to a gathering of people who were on holiday.  Their unbelief was so pronounced that even his brothers, brought up in the same home, did not believe in Him.  They had witnessed closely His mighty miracles and knew all that He had done but they did not believe in Him as to who He truly was.  They said if you’re so confident of doing all these works, why paddle about in lowly Galilee?  Go up to Judea where all the action is go to the Feast show yourself to the world.  Anyone with your ability should be in the limelight.  They were reducing Jesus to the level of mere man.  His reply is twofold:

My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready.  Jesus  followed a very definite plan, and moved to the timing of the Father.  There are 12 references to the hour in John's gospel, the Divine timing of perfection of everything.  God not only works to a plan, but the component parts of the plan are fully timed.  Jesus had learned not to move before God's time.  Secondly, He said the world hates me for I testify against it that their works are evil.  He said you go up to the feast.  My time is not yet fully come so he remained in Galilee, but He went privately later to the Feast.   The Jews sought Him but He did not reveal Himself immediately.

Men choose their own destiny

 

Delineating choice          John 6v59-71

 

There comes a point where spiritual truth is accepted or rejected.  God is not playing games, He sent His Son into the world for a very distinctive purpose, to redeem fallen man and reconcile him to Himself.  It must be on His terms, and when His truth is expounded it finds out people where they are.  In these closing verses of the chapter we shall find true disciples struggling with the teaching; we shall find some who go away, and even one who was in league with the devil!

This was a hard saying even for the disciples to take in-“This is a hard saying who can hear it?”  Jesus knew that His disciples struggled with this and murmured one to the other. There's nothing He doesn't know about what we're thinking and so He says “Doth this offend you?” What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.  The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.  But there are some of you that believe not.  For Jesus knew, from the beginning, who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.” 

 

Heavenly things, the things of the Spirit are only discerned by faith in the word, not by the flesh.  If they found it difficult to believe His words, what will it be when He is glorified, ascended back to heaven as judge of the whole earth?  These things are spiritually understood, human logic is worthless in the things of God.  It was not lack of knowledge that was the problem, it was lack of faith, for some so-called disciples did not really believe Him.  In the band of followers there were unbelievers, and at least one traitor.  What we are is exposed when faced with the living Word of God.  Paul addresses this in second Timothy 2v19 when he says, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal: the Lord know them that are His and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”  The reality of where we all stand is known to God. The measure of that reality is our faith in His word-faith that is expressed in actions.  Yet again we are presented with his omniscience His manifest Deity.  He concludes, “Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given to him of my Father.”   Favour from God is the gift of God, not something we deserve: and only when we accept Him as the Son who was sent by the Father will we be blessed.

 

Some depart and one is demon possessed  

 

“From that time. Many of his disciples went back and walked no more with Him.  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away?  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life.  We believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.  Jesus answered them., have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil?  He speak of Judas Iscariot of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”

 

Nice words from Simon, Peter, but Jesus keeps their feet firmly on the ground almost as if to say don't get too carried away.  For one of your number is in league with Satan.  Words are sometimes cheap, actions reveal the reality.  The whole book is presented “that we might believe.”  This chapter ends with those who ceased believing, and one who had never truly believed.

 

Feeding on Christ the living bread

 

Coming to Him involves close and intimate fellowship with Him and with the Father.                   John 6v52-58

 

“The Jews, therefore strove among themselves, saying. How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

 

Note the progression in the chapter; v28 doubting; v41  murmuring; v 52 fighting; v66 abandoning.  The alternative is coming to Him in all that He is, and in all He represents.   Scripture uses extreme language here to present spiritual truth.  It does not mean cannibalism but a close intimate relationship with God the Father and with God the Son.  Eating flesh and drinking blood is metaphorical for closest intimacy.  Coming to Him is not the wonder of a moment, it is a whole of life commitment.  Just as the food we eat becomes part of us, so Christ comes to live in us.  It is wholly a change of diet as well as a change of destiny.  At the slaying of the paschal lamb in Egypt, part of the process was to eat the roast lamb.  The progression was “Take it…keep it…kill it…eat it.” The blood was for God, the flesh for the people.  In redemption there is a change of diet as well as a change of destiny.  Israel, redeemed by the lamb, fed on three significant things after they left Egypt;

The Passover lamb-representing Christ in His death

The Manna-representing Christ in His life

The Old Corn of the land-representing Christ in resurrection

 

Thus what spoke of Christ became the permanent food of Israel

 

His flesh….God incarnate; His blood…God redemptive.  Eat and drink, it must be as intimate as that, He becomes part of us in all that He is His person, and in all that He did in His work.  His blood to satisfy the demands of God; His flesh to satisfy the needs of humanity.  Everyone outside of this has no life in them.  Coming to Him is no passing fancy, no nine day wonder, it is a new life altogether. 

 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth of my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him.  As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father, so he that he eateth me even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.”

 

Coming to him, and eating and drinking with Him is to dwell in Him and He in us.  It is in fact to live with Him, and He with us.  In the same way as Jesus has a close relationship with His Father, and, according to revealed Scripture has had from all eternity, and continued even all through the days on Earth-so coming to Him means that we shall have the same relationship with Him and with the Father through Him. The concept is awesome but it is true, and is the reason we were all created.

 

All whom God knows will come

 

All come to Christ at the discretion of the Father  John 6v36-40

 

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him to cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.  And this is the Father's will, which hath sent me that of all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day.  And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 

There are those who will come and those who will not come, the final outcome is not in doubt.  God knows the end from the beginning, He does not force Himself on anyone; neither does He deal in possibilities only in certainties.  He knows those who are real and those who are unreal, those who believe and those who believe not.  He refers to ”those whom the Father has given Him” in a seemingly unrelated aside, but which goes to the heart of His self-revelation in scripture.  This occurs 9 times in this gospel-6v37,v39; 10v29; 17v6,v9,v11,v12,v24; 18v8.  In the context of those who believe, and those who believe not, those who believe are seen as a love-gift from the Father to the Son.  In the great prayer of the Son to the Father, chapter 17v6 says “Thine they were, thou gavest them me…”.  They were the Father’s in creation, and are given to the Son as a special possession in redemption.  They are all known to God, those who believe are described as the elect.  The reality is that only believers are in the elect, and therefore an elite group of people.  They are not elect and elite because of any merit of theirs, but only by belief in Him.  God does not choose as we do, for His thoughts are not ours, and His ways higher than ours.  By reason of astonishing omnipotence, He knows the end from the beginning and on that basis, He chooses those who are in Christ, who believe on Him.  There is no thought in all of scripture of Reprobation, that is the false doctrine that God predetermines the destiny of many for judgment.   His election is based on His foreknowledge as scripture clearly states-Romans 8v29 and 1^st Peter 1v2.   He chooses those who are in Christ and this has been known before time began.  All who come, who have come, who are coming, and who will come, Christ will accept as the gift of the Father.  His intimate knowledge of the workings within the Godhead serve only to assert His Deity.  He that comes, everyone who comes, who is thinking of coming, who is sincere about believing in Him will be received-“I will in no wise cast out”; the term is very strong, absolutely no doubt that those who come will be received.   The bible dictionary says this emphasises “By no means, assuredly not!”-the phrase is variously translated, “not”, as in absolutely not, over 40 times in the N/T; “in no wise”, Matthew 5v18, 10v42, John 6v37, Acts 13v44; “in no case”, Matthew 5v20; “by no means” Matthew 5v26; “never” John 8v51, 10v28, 13v8, Hebrews 13v6- Greek scholars tell us this can stand repetition up to six times, making it an absolute certainty.  The end result is known only to the Father, and nothing shall interrupt the process of anyone coming to Him.  His door is open to all who are genuinely approaching Him. 

 

He came explicitly to do the Father’s will, and the Father’s will is to secure all who come, and enter the joy of eternal life.  The decision made in time and on earth will have everlasting consequences, and so the issues are solemn.  No one who comes will be lost, all who come will receive everlasting life.  There is no limit on this invitation, except the limit we put on it ourselves.  All are invited, all are given opportunity, some will reject, as the Jews in Jesus’ day did, and as many today are doing.

 

 

 

Christ the true bread

 John 6v32-35

Asserting His Deity      v32-58

 

Christ the true bread   v32-35    A human being, created by God, can be satisfied with nothing less than God.  Even the things that are made, the material creation are not enough, only a hunger and thirst for God Himself, to use biblical language.  Job, who knew God more than most said “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food…”Job 23v12; other scriptures are, Matthew 4v4 (from Deuteronomy 8v3); Matthew 5v6; Psalm 42v1-2; 63v1-5; John 4v34, and others.  When we have the best in life, and few of us have, of the material blessings of this world, there is still a dimension missing that only God can fill.  This is why Jesus came as “the bread of God that gives life to the world”.  The figure of bread is graphic in describing the work of Christ for all mankind.  Consider the chain of growth: seed falls into the ground; the seed dies; the seed rises high on stalks; ears of corn form; the corn ears are gathered and crushed to powder; the resulting flour is refined, then baked in the oven.  The result is life-giving bread.  This is what Christ is to the believer, He is indispensable bread to the human soul. This is the theme of John, the Deity of Christ who gave Himself for the life of the world.

 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven and giveth the life unto the world.”

   

This is the vivid picture of the manna which came from heaven to feed Israel in the desert, where there was no food.  The manna was indispensable to the life of Israel, and is a picture of what Christ is today.  Notice the important detail: each morning for almost 40 years the manna rained on the camp of Israel.  It is estimated that 4500 tons were necessary every day-the logistics were enormous.  This heavenly provision speaks of Christ as the daily portion of God’s people.  We consider the typology of the manna, the narrative is in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11.  Space forbids us to engage a detailed study of the manna, but readers can profit by applying the nature of the manna to Christ who is our daily portion of spiritual food.  In this section we have further evidence of His Deity, followed by objections from the Jews.  The narrative here will lead to separating those who are real from the others.  Acceptance of the Deity of Jesus Christ is fundamental to spiritual life.  For all who receive Him as Divine, this portion is a goldmine of information, as He unfolds His person and defines His mission.   

 

He is the bread from heaven, the source is outside of this world; He is the true bread-spiritual, in contrast to the material which feeds the body.  We need to learn that the material world is not the real world, the needs of the body are transient-refer 2^nd Corinthians 4v18.  We need food for the soul, and He is that food.  He is the bread of God, not merely the bread which God gives, but that on which God Himself feeds.  This is made clear in the picture of the table of shewbread in the tabernacle-Exodus 25v30 and Leviticus 24v5-6.  That which the priests fed upon every sabbath was the portion of the Lord every day.  The import of this is obvious, if He is enough to satisfy the infinite God, He is enough to feed us!  He is the bread of life, just as food sustains the life of the body so Christ sustains the soul of the believer.  The manna from heaven contrasts with the food of Egypt which fed the flesh only.  The appetite of the Christian believer should change; when Christ saves us He not only changes our destiny but our diet.  Just as the Israelites gathered a portion every day, and early in the day, so we regularly feed on Him.  He is the subject of the library we call the bible, and a portion per day is what is suggested.  He is the living bread, the power motivating every changed life.  Several times through these verses He asserts He is the indispensable bread of life.

 

“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

  

He is the only satisfaction for the human soul.  Food for the body is not enough for the human being created body soul and spirit.  We need spiritual food and He is that food.  The first step is coming to Him, the only source of true spiritual life, and the fountain of living waters.  The ongoing steps are to feed on Him, the living bread and the refreshing water.  We know what it means for our bodies, we now learn to draw from Him in our souls.  Coming to Him means believing in Him and living in Him.  When we do we find our hunger and thirst in life are satisfied, our lives are full, as God intended it to be.  Never hunger, never thirst, the words are emphatic.  He is the unlimited source not only of salvation but of satisfaction.  This is life indeed and He is the life-giver.  Are we feeding on Christ the true bread?

Exposing materialism

 John 6v25-31

Exposing materialism     v25-31  The omniscient Lord, who knew their hearts, and who knows our hearts, saw through the clamour to see Him.

 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled.  Labour not for the meat that perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give  unto you, for Him hath God the Father sealed.”

 

In ancient times a legal document was always authenticated by an imprint or a seal to give it force.  The seal represented the power and authority of the sender, much like today where important documents may carry the seal of approval of the Queen, or the State.  This is to give authoritative power to the item sent.  Companies selling products today prosper when the Royal seal is on it.  This was a practise seen very much in the Middle Eastern world, especially as recorded in the Book of Esther, when at the command of the king, letters were sent to all 127 provinces under his control.  No one ignored the seal of the king for it was enforced by all the might of his armies.  God has put His Divine approval on Christ, by visible and verbal approval at his baptism; by prophesies fulfilled in His life; and by miracles that were done in the sight of all.  The Father’s seal signifies the authority of Christ’s words and works, that they are the words and works of the Father.  The Father sent Christ, He anointed Him at His baptism, spoke of Him from heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  By Him, Christ went about healing and raising the dead.  All of the prophets before Christ, including John the Baptist, and all that followed after, especially the apostles, were sent of God and spoke of Christ. God raised Him from the dead. The Spirit of God set His approval on Him.  These things are evidence that God the Father sealed the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, with His own Spirit so that He spoke and did all that God required of Him by the Spirit of His Father.
The Lord Jesus Christ must be heard because of the seal that He bears – it is the seal of Almighty God, the Father’s seal, and is the highest testimony to the authority of Christ as the Son of Man.  The Son of God bears the signet ring of Heaven’s throne   Therefore, we should hear Him.

 

The multitude had travelled across the lake to find Him, and because of the miracles they should have worshipped Him.  But Jesus knew their hearts; it was for material benefit they sought Him, not for spiritual reality.  His mission was not to feed the body but to sanctify the soul, and they had missed the whole point of His mission.  Material things, like food, are only for this life; the emphasis should be on the spiritual, which last for ever.  They shew their ignorance by asking Him what they must do to work the works of God.  His answer is the very heart of the gospel He came to bring-“This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom God has sent.”  Not works of yours, but works of mine which God will accept.  All you have to do is believe in me.  What follows amounts to incredible insensitivity, “They said therefore unto Him, what signs showest thou that we might see and believe on thee?  What dost thou work?  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

 

They have just witnessed an astonishing miracle- the feeding of 5000 men beside women and children from meagre resources. And now they ask Jesus what sign do you show us that we might believe?!  Sadly, their minds were so fixed on the material, they lost all rationality. This gives rise to the great discourse on the bread of God, who came down from heaven to supply the only life that we need.