John 7:10-36 WILL DO HIS WILL In the service of God there are times to be out in the public and times when it is best to be in the background. At this time in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, He waited until much of the religious forms of the feast of Tabernacles had been gone through, and the social aspects of the week would have begun to settle down. It was then He went into the temple and taught. It was time for the truth to be told. It was time from God's word and God's will to be spoken of rather than leave the people in a state of religious deception. The middle of the feast would have been three or four days into the time of remembering the history of the Jews when they had journeyed through the wilderness living in tents. There is only so much reminiscing people can do before they get restless and want to do some more exciting things.
In this setting, Jesus, with eloquence and clarity, taught the truth of God against the background of dry formalism. His intellectual ability and approach to spiritual truth surprised those who had attended the established schools of learning in Jerusalem and thought themselves superior to those from Galilee or distant places. They had thought this teacher would have been one of lesser intelligence and ability than the leaders of the Jews. When one teaches spiritual truth, it is well we remember for whom we are speaking. The dignified, godly presentation of divine things under the guidance of the Holy Spirit has an effect on those who listen. The difference between spiritual teaching and the learn`ed teaching of men, is that it has first affected the speaker before it is passed on to others. Learned teaching is often very correct, cut and dried because it is unfelt truth. The Lord Jesus made it plain that what He was teaching was the doctrine of God, not just some school of thought and man's ideas. Among God's people some of the most capable teachers have learned from God and experience, rather than some school of religion.
People often miss the point of a message if they are only impressed with the speaker himself. One point well presented is of far more value that ten points impressively delivered without unction. To be moved by the messenger rather than the message defeats the whole purpose of teaching. The Lord Jesus Christ stated the fact that His teaching was from God, the highest possible authority, and it was possible for people to understand it. The qualification for understanding what He taught was if a person was willing to do what was taught. The door of understanding remains closed to those who do not want to do what the Teacher says. When we hear a person speak, in order to determine if what he says is right, test it with what we already know is right. If it is contradictory to revealed truth, reject that teaching. Sometimes the teacher's teaching points to himself rather than God. That teaching also should be rejected.
Why was there such hostility against the teaching Jesus gave? It was because it exposed the inward thoughts of the hearers who were planning to kill Jesus and break Moses law, but who outwardly seemed to obey that law. Jesus knew their hearts and exposed their hypocrisy when He taught. Their hostility and animosity was not hidden in any way from Him and was even able to be seen by those around. They would circumcise a child at eight days of age on the Sabbath day, but didn't want a person who was sick for decades to be healed on the Sabbath day. This kind of inconsistency is still in practice today when people appear religious on the Lord's day but live sinful, ungodly, covetous, materialistic lives the other days of the week. When we teach God's truth in fellowship with Him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, He can use those thoughts to produce in the hearers what we may never know in out lifetime. Our responsibility is to be "the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message."
There is a saying, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." The people who heard what Jesus had said to the Jewish leaders began to consider what they had overheard. Apparently, they had heard someone teach that when Messiah came, no one would know where He came from. This is not according to the Old Testament scriptures but was probably what someone had added to the scripture to appear very learn`ed. The unprovoked hostility of the leaders set people talking among themselves. That was when Jesus called out to the whole crowd of people and told them who He was, where He came from and who sent Him. No one was able to lay hands on Jesus, not even the soldiers who were sent to take Him. The power and authority of Jesus cannot be contained or hindered by mere mortal men no matter who they are. We can be strengthened in our work by remembering "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."
His miracles, signs and power over all the forces of men and demons made many to want to believe on Him. The position and pride of the Jewish leaders was in conflict with the dignity, truth and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Truth and traditions of men are contrasted when truth is demonstrated by love, and tradition by hatred; truth is revealed in grace, and tradition by intimidation; and when truth is presented by One who is meek and lowly in heart, and tradition by those who in pride of their position produce fear and embarrassment. Following Christ does not mean we add to the requirements of the law. One who follows Christ does, by the influence of his or her new nature, what the law intended. The blindness of willful unbelief is as morally dark as it is possible to get. When a person does not want to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, they will find they cannot. People who will do what God wants, will find not only can they do it, but are given power to do what they could never do by themselves.