Who is trying to kill you? - John 7:11-36

Apparently when Jesus’ brothers show up to Jerusalem without Him, it causes quite the commotion, for “the Jews sought him at the feast, sand said, Where is he? And there wsa much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.” But all this was kept relatively quiet because the people didn’t want to upset the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus and his disciples had snuck in to Jerusalem without a big fanfare, and Jesus began teaching in the temple. We’ve talked about what it meant for Jesus to be considered a “rabbi” among the people, because I highly doubt that anyone who felt that they were sufficiently versed in the scriptures could just announce themselves as a rabbi and be able to teach “doctrines” to the people, and rightly so, there is an order to becoming a teacher of the people, but Jesus hadn’t gone through the traditional process of rabbinical instruction. In fact, Jesus was a laborer, he used his hands to make things, that was his craft.

While Jesus taught the people, they “marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” How did Jesus know so much doctrine having never been taught the traditional way? Jesus answers them, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” Jesus is giving them a “find out for yourself” kind of answer, he’s asking them to consider him and his teachings and ask themselves, “is he trying to teach people wicked things? Or righteous things? Is he trying to con us out of money? Is he trying to gain power over us?” They can think about this and use logic to figure this out, but the true testimony comes if they will do what he’s teaching, then the Holy Ghost will be able to testify of the truthfulness of what he’s saying. In my life, I’ve found that the pattern is “obedience, then the lesson.”

Rarely are we given the reasons or logic of a commandment before we are obedient to it. The reason for that has been explained to us, if we are taught and convinced of the reasons to obey a certain commandment, then we don’t obey it based on faith, and so we don’t grow spiritually anymore than if we put on our seatbelt to stay safe in the car. The IM quotes President James E. Faust as teaching, “We acquire a testimony of the principles of the gospel by obediently trying to live them. Said the Savior, ‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.’ A testimony of the efficacy of prayer comes through humble and sincere prayer. A testimony of tithing comes by paying tithing… I testify that if you continue in the purposeful process of searching for and accepting spiritual light, truth, and knowledge, it will surely come. By going forward in faith, you will find that your faith will increase.” The IM says, “As Jesus taught in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, some Jews marveled that He could teach as He did without having studied their theology. Jesus taught these people that His doctrine came from his Father and that those who applied the doctrine would know of its truth.”

The traditional teachings that the Jewish rabbis went through was based on the Law of Moses, which was incredibly strict, and was made that way because of the difficulty that the people had in obeying vaguer commandments that required personal revelation to interpret. Jesus makes a pretty inflammatory comment, saying, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?” There are several inferences made in that statement that are pretty aggressive. First is the implication that they don’t keep the law of Moses, which the Pharisees and many Jews at the time prided themselves on. It would make sense that this conversation is going on with the Pharisees, because it makes sense that they were the ones who were thinking, “how does he know this stuff if he didn’t go to our schools?” Telling the Pharisees they didn’t keep the law of Moses is like telling a cop they are a terrorist, that’s deep. He accuses them of having murder in their hearts, and uses the word “kill” which is explicitly forbidden in the law of Moses using that exact word, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Understandably, their response is outrage, “Thou has a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?” You’re frickin nuts, who’s trying to kill you? Jesus cites back to a time when they persecuted him, and if I remember correctly, the first time they decided that Jesus needed to die. He says that the Pharisees perform circumcision on the Sabbath as prescribed by Moses, but “ye are angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day.” Jesus says, “Judge not according to your traditions, but judge righteous judgments.” This is the JST of this verse and the difference in interpretation is very important. The KJV reads, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgments.” The way that this is written makes it very difficult to understand and seems to almost change the subject completely. Jesus is asking them to look at what is doctrine and what is tradition and to change their ways from arbitrary rule followers to righteous men. The IM says, “This is an important doctrine not only for the Jews in Jesus’ day but for our time as well. At times, we may need to abandon certain traditions in order to keep the laws of God.”

It must have been a mixed audience, Pharisees and regular Jews, and the regular people said of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, “Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?” The people who are watching this interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees know that they are indeed trying to kill him, I guess it’s a very poorly kept secret. They note that they are not responding to his allegations, and they recognize Jesus as the Christ, and wonder if the Pharisees can really plot to kill the Messiah that they’ve been waiting centuries for. The Pharisees are not pleased with how this is going down, so “they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.” This was one of the miraculous escapes where Jesus was not bound by natural laws, he was not eligible for death, so he chose not to die, and walked away.

Many people believed that Jesus was the Christ they’ve been waiting for and asking, “When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” It’s interesting if we think about human history, and all the people who claimed to be the Christ, and we have to think, what proof do we have that they are the Christ other than them just saying the words? They cannot perform miracles because miracles are performed by the power of God, and a false Christ cannot have God’s power. Their motivation for perpetrating that fraud can only be for self-aggrandizement, like Jesus said, “he that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory.” Are the actions of the self-proclaimed Christ, self-less or self-ish? Does he call himself the Christ so that he can teach people doctrines that will bring them closer to God and happiness? Or does he call himself the Christ so that he can teach people to give him things and do things for him? Does he empower others or manipulate? Does he serve others or enslave them? When the people ask “will another Christ do more miracles than this guy?” They are asking themselves these very questions, is he the Christ based on what he does and who he is as a person?

Again, the Pharisees are not pleased and again move to have him arrested. Jesus gives them some foreshadowing saying, “Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.” This can be a difficult statement to understand, but the IM references the commentary from John 8:21-24 which says, “The Savior has repeatedly told His followers that those who believe in Him will eventually join Him in His Father’s kingdom. While the Savior invites all to come unto Him and eventually be where He is, some will decline the invitation and ‘die in (their) sins- meaning they will not repent and be made clean through the Atonement. The Savior’s statement ‘whither I go, ye cannot come’ applies to those who understand the invitation and the opportunity to accept the Savior but decline.”