Don’t Judge
Sermon Audio
Today we’re continuing our Visible God series, which is about seeing God through the life of Jesus. We’re studying a book of the bible called the Gospel of John, which records the life and words of Jesus as it was written by an original source, an original follower of Jesus, and today we’re talking about not judging by appearances...We’re talking about not judging by appearances, which is something we love saying in our society. We love saying Don’t judge, or Who am I to judge? Who are you to judge? But the truth is there’s some situations where it’s right to judge. For example if a stranger knocks on your door at night wearing a hockey mask, holding a machete, asking to come in your house. You don’t go “Well let me think about it. Maybe he’s a nice guy, maybe he wants to give me brownies or something. Who am I to judge?” You don’t say that to a guy wearing a hockey mask holding a machete. The right decision isn’t to let him in! It’s stranger danger, you don’t let him in! It’s the right decision, the right judgement, to make in that situation. So as much as we like saying Don’t judge! Who am I to judge? Who are you to judge? There’s some situations where it’s right to judge.
But in many situations it isn’t right to judge, especially when it comes to judging by appearances. In fact we all know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this, to be judged by our outer appearances. Some of you were judged by your appearances in school. You didn’t get to sit with the cool kids or you were picked last on the kickball field...Some of you were judged by your appearances for a job. You were highly skilled but wrongly overlooked, because of age, race, or gender...Some of you’ve been judged by Christians. You were told you’re going to hell or that you’re not good enough to be in church...We all know what it’s like to be judged by our appearances, and it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good, we don’t like it, and in today’s text Jesus is on the receiving end of it. Jesus is the one being judged by his appearances, and he doesn’t like it either, so let’s turn to John 7:1-24 and get into it. If you open the bible to the middle, turn a few books to the right, you’ll find John. It’s John 7:1-24. The title of today’s message is Don’t Judge, and here’s the big idea. Don’t judge by appearances, get to know the person behind the appearances...Don’t judge by appearances, get to know the person behind the appearances.
Context:
Here’s your context. In John ch 7 a lot of Jews are questioning Jesus wondering if he’s the real Messiah, the real Savior. There’s actually about 20 questions being asked about Jesus in this chapter. They’re asking things like: Who is Jesus? Where’s he from? Where did he go to school and get his education from? It’s a lot of questions about his identity, because they’re wanting to know if he’s the real Messiah, the real Savior or not. Many of them are skeptical of Jesus, and they make all kinds of judgments about Jesus. They judge his actions, his identity, his teachings, they judge all kinds of things about Jesus, and so let’s see how Jesus responds.
The Word:
John 7:1-24 states, “After this Jesus went about in Galilee.” After this, meaning after the events that’ve taken place in ch 6. It’s after Jesus feeds the 5000 hungry people, after he walks on water and calms the storm, after he teaches that he’s the food that’ll endure.
Again vs. 1, “After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.” The Feast of Booths was a holiday where the Jews would set up tent like booths throughout the city of Jerusalem. They’d live in them for several days to remember how they lived in the wilderness when God delivered them from Egyptian slavery. It was a time of thanksgiving and celebration that brought thousands of Jews to Jerusalem. The text says Jesus isn’t going to the feast at this time, instead he’s staying back in Galilee because the Jews are seeking to kill him. But Jesus’ half brothers know there’s thousands of people attending the feast, so they try to get Jesus to go. It’s because they have a different agenda than Jesus, and they try pushing that agenda on him.
Vs. 3, “So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.” Now historically we know his brothers eventually believe in him after seeing him rise from the dead, but at this point they don’t. So Jesus is being judged even by his own brothers, by his own family. And notice that it doesn’t say they didn’t believe in his works, it says they didn’t believe in him. So they believe in his miracles, they just don’t believe in the type of Messiah he came to be. They want him to be a popular Messiah who puts on a “Jesus Got Talent” show, so they can gain popularity too. They’re like “That whole Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood speech you gave, it chased a lot of people away. A lot of people unfriended you on Facebook, but if you do a few more miracles, you’ll gain popularity again. People love the miracles, so let’s do more miracles.” They’re telling him what to do as if they know what’s best, which is exactly what we try to do!
We’re like “Okay Jesus here’s my plans. I have a plan for my marriage, a plan for my kids, a plan for buying a house, a plan for retirement, a plan for my life. It’s all written down in my heart, and I expect you to follow it. I’ll give you lots of praise if you follow it. You give me my plans, I’ll give you my praise. It’s a win for the both of us.” But it doesn’t work like that! You’ll just keep getting frustrated if you expect Jesus to submit to your plans, because you won’t always get what you want. You’ll end up being like his brothers, and you won’t praise him when he isn’t following your plans. But if you’re willing to submit to his plans, that’s when you’ll want to praise him. It’s because you know his plans are better than yours. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” If you believe that’s true, then trust his plans over yours, and praise him. His brothers don’t trust his plans, so they don’t praise him. But Jesus knows better than them and us, he doesn’t submit to their plans, and it’s a good thing he doesn’t. Listen to vs 6.
Vs. 6, “Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.’ 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.” So his brothers want him to go to the feast to do some miracles to gain more popularity, but Jesus repeatedly tells them it’s not the right time. His plans and timing are always perfect, and he doesn’t go because he knows they’ll eventually crucify him and it’ll cut his ministry short. A lot of people put Jesus on their hit list because he’s exposed their sin, especially the sins of some corrupt religious leaders. So Jesus can’t go to the feast yet, but he says his brothers can go because the unbelieving world doesn’t hate them. The world doesn’t hate them because they’re not living any differently than the unbelieving world. It’s evident by the way they’re trying to use Jesus for their own selfish gain. They’re living for their own glory instead of Jesus’ glory. So Jesus tells them to go to the feast, because they’ll fit right in.
City Awakening is the same true about you? Have you been living for your glory, or for Jesus’ glory?...Can your unbelieving friends tell the difference between your lifestyle and theirs?... Do they even know you’re a Christian, that you love Jesus...OR...would Jesus tell you to go to the feast, because you’ll fit right in?...Jesus tells his brothers to go the feast, because they’ll fit right in with the rest of the unbelieving world. Jesus isn’t against going to feasts, parties, hanging with unbelievers, because we see him hanging with unbelievers all the time. He just doesn’t live an unrighteous lifestyle like his brothers, who have unrighteous plans for their self-seeking gains.
Vs. 10, “But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.” So Jesus ends up going to the feast not “publicly,” but “privately.” When he says he isn’t going in vs 8, he means he isn’t going in the manner they want him to go, which is for public popularity. Jesus didn’t come to be a popular celebrity, he came to be a suffering Savior. He didn’t come to be filled with egotistical fame, he came to die so we could be filled with his sacrificial love. His brothers wanted him to be a popular celebrity, but Jesus didn’t follow their plans for public popularity, instead he came privately, humbly, and eventually sacrificially.
Vs. 11, “The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, ‘Where is he?’ 12 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.’ 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.” The people are judging him, talking about him, “murmuring” about him like the text states. His brothers are judging his actions, these people are judging his identity, and they’re all believing whatever they want to believe about him. Some are saying he’s a good man and others are saying he’s leading people astray. Everybody’s judging Jesus, everybody’s forming their own opinions about Jesus, and the judging continues even further.
Vs. 14, “About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, ‘How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?’” So they judged his actions, they judged his identity, and now they’re judging his education. It’s specifically the Jewish leaders and educated class that’re judging him now. The text says they marveled at his teaching, but it’s not marveling that leads them to believe in Jesus. Instead they’re perplexed, they’re shocked by how much Jesus knows about God and the Holy Scriptures, considering he isn’t a part of their educated social class. But Jesus knows these things because of his divinity, because of his divine relationship with God the Father.
Vs. 16, “So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 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. 18 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 is saying his education didn’t come from their teachers and rabbis. It came from a much higher source and authority, it came from God the Father. Simply put, he’s saying his teachings are the very teachings of God...His teaching are the very teachings of God...
Vs. 19, “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?’ 20 The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?’ 21Jesus answered them, ‘I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 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?’” What Jesus is talking about here is the miraculous work he did in ch 5, where he healed a guy who’s been paralyzed for 38 yrs. Instead of celebrating it, these Jews wanted to kill Jesus for it. They wanted to kill him for breaking their Sabbath laws which he didn’t do, and they wanted to kill him because Jesus calls God his own Father implying he’s co-equal, co-eternal with God. So he reminds them of that healing, but he also reminds them of how they’ll sometimes circumcise people on the Sabbath. He does this to expose their own hypocrisy. He’s like “You’re saying I have a demon, you’re saying I’m crazy, and you want to kill me, but for what? What laws have I broken? You want to accuse me of breaking the Sabbath, but you circumcise people on the Sabbath! If you’re okay with doing that on the Sabbath, shouldn’t you be okay with me healing an entire guy’s body on the Sabbath?” It’s a genius argument that reveals his sanity, and exposes their hypocrisy.
Vs. 24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Jesus says don’t judge by “appearances,” but judge with “right” judgement. These people are judging him by all kinds of outer appearances, without doing due diligence to see if they’re judging him rightly. If Jesus was wearing a hockey mask holding a machete I could see that, but he’s not. He’s loving people, healing people, and they’re quick to judge him instead of getting to know him more. But we do this too sometimes! We not only judge a book by its cover, we actually give the book it’s cover. And that cover won’t change unless we’re willing to set aside our assumptions to get to know the person behind the cover. The same is true about Jesus. Your assumptions about Jesus won’t change, unless you get to know the real Jesus behind the bible’s cover. I mean the reason some people have the wrong idea of who Jesus is, is because they’ve never actually studied who the real Jesus is in the bible. They watch a documentary on Jesus, read a book like The Davinci Code, and make wrong judgements about Jesus because they didn’t go to the source, they didn’t go to God’s word. City Awakening it’s okay to ask questions about Jesus, just don’t be intellectually lazy. Don’t get your theology and Christology from a soundbite on YouTube, get it from studying the gospels, from studying the bible. Don’t judge Jesus by appearances, instead judge rightly by studying the bible, and getting to know the real Jesus behind the appearances.
The people in the text are content with judging Jesus by appearances alone, instead of judging with right judgement. It’s clearly a major point of this text, because everybody who comes in contact with Jesus is making a judgement about him. In ch 7 alone you’ll see 7 different reactions, 7 different judgements people are making about Jesus.
Vs. 5 = His brothers didn’t believe in the type of Messiah he came to be.
Vs. 6 = The disbelieving world hated him.
Vs. 12 = Some think he’s a good man.
Vs. 13 = Some think he’s a deceiver.
Vs. 20 = Some think he’s a demon-possessed man; they think he’s crazy.
Vs. 40 = Some think he’s prophet.
Vs. 41 = Some think he’s the true Messiah.
Everybody’s making judgements, making decisions about Jesus, and what matters more
than anything is what do you think?...What do you think, what do you believe about Jesus?... What’s your judgement about who Jesus is, and more importantly, have you judged him rightly? Like his brothers, some of you might’ve decided to turn him into whatever Messiah you want him to be. He never challenges your beliefs or lifestyle, because you turned him into a mirrored Messiah who reflects the image of yourself. Like the crowd, some of you might’ve decided he’s just a good man, a good moral teacher who gives you good principles to follow, but he’s not your Savior. Like the religious leaders, some of you might’ve decided he’s crazy and isn’t worth your time. We’ve all made judgements about Jesus, but the question is have you judged him rightly?
The Big Idea:
So here’s the big idea. Don’t judge by appearances, get to know the person behind the appearances...Get to know the person behind the appearances, especially when it comes to Jesus. So what’s your judgement?...What’s your judgement, what’s your decision on Jesus?...If you’re not a Christian, judge rightly by believing in the biblical Jesus, which is that he’s your Messiah, your Savior, your God who came to die for your sins on the cross. He came to give up his life, for your life, so you could have eternal life with him. If you’re a Christian, judge rightly by believing Jesus’ teachings are the very words of God, that’re worth your time. They’re worth your time studying, following, submitting your very life to. May we never stop learning, never stop pursuing this amazing Christ, who came to be not our popular celebrity, but our suffering Savior.
COMMUNION
At this time let’s have those serving communion start passing the plates. If you or your kids haven’t received the gospel yet, please allow the plates to pass you by. We’d rather you learn the importance of Communion, instead of going through motions of it. Communion’s a reminder of the gospel, it’s a reminder that Jesus came to be our suffering Savior. Jesus told us to do this in remembrance of him, in remembrance of who he is and what he did for us on the cross. So as the plates are being passed, take a few minutes to prepare your heart by praying, by asking Jesus to forgive you of any sins you’ve committed, including any false judgements you’ve been making about him. Maybe it’s false judgements about his actions, his plans for your life, or even false judgements about his identity, about who he is. Take this time to repent of your sins and false judgements, then thank him for loving you enough to die for your sins on the cross.
On the night Jesus was betrayed he was having a meal with his friends. He took some bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it saying “This is my body which is to be broken for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done for you.” When supper ended he took the cup, blessed it, gave thanks for it, and said“This cup is a symbol of my blood which is to be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink of it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done.” City Awakening let’s eat, let’s drink, then let’s stand and worship Jesus as our suffering Savior, and our living, breathing, resurrected Lord!