Weekly Gathered

August 21, 2022


John 7:25-52

Is He the Christ?



Songs for Sunday - Click for Spotify Playlist

  • I Will Follow
  • Ancient Of Days
  • Is He Worthy
  • How Firm a Foundation


“Can I talk to you for a moment about something important?”


Do hearing words like that sometimes strike a bit of fear in your heart? What about saying them?


Most of us have probably avoided an important discussion before. We know it’s important, but we’re dreading “the talk.” We avoid the hard decisions, the hard confessions, the hard revelations, and other hard conversations because, well, they’re hard. Some of the difficulty is the unknown, and even if we know the details of the subject of conversation, we know that behind it lie all sorts of unknowns. How will the person react? What will I find out? How will this impact my life? What are the implications and repercussions?


At some point, despite these fears, despite our attempts to hold it off, the discussion happens. When it does, it’s often a bit messy.


Last Sunday, Pastor Michael preached on Psalm 81, that starts with a reference to the Feast of Booths, a time of remembrance of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. Our text today describes events that happened in Jerusalem many years later, but also during the Feast of Booths. Israel is again in the midst of a long wilderness experience, and in the midst of it has appeared a a man named Jesus. And Jesus’ presence provokes many difficult conversations, conversations that people are reluctant and even fearful to have (see John 7:13).


But, as Josh McDowell wrote years ago, the evidence demands a verdict. And so, in the middle of the Feast of Booths, the discussions among the people begin, and they are messy.


This week as you prepare for our Sunday gathered together in worship, please read the entirety of chapter 7 and reflect on the chapters leading up to our text (7:25-52).


Questions:

  • What is the evidence so far that demands a verdict?
  • What are some of the fears that might have been keeping people from having these discussions?
  • What might have been some of the implications to the Jews in Jerusalem if Jesus was:
  • A good man or a deceiver? (7:12)
  • Accepted or rejected as the Christ by the Jewish leaders? (7:26)
  • A (or “the”) Prophet? (7:40)
  • The Christ, the Son of God (7:41; 20:31)
  • What evidence have you seen that demands a verdict?
  • If Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of God, what hard discussions about the implications are you avoiding?