Recognizing the Will of God
Stay in His Word!
Recognize the Will of God
04-19-26 Pastor Scott
In John 7:16 to 30, Jesus stands in the temple and answers the growing confusion and hostility surrounding Him. The religious leaders question His authority, and the crowd is divided over who He truly is. In the middle of it all, Jesus speaks with clarity about the source of His teaching and the condition of the human heart.
He says in verse 16, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” This is a direct claim that His words come from God the Father. Jesus is not offering human opinion or borrowed insight. He is declaring divine truth. Yet He goes further in verse 17, saying, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God.” The issue is not a lack of evidence. The issue is the will. Those who desire to obey God will recognize the truth when they hear it. Spiritual understanding is not merely intellectual. It is moral and rooted in submission to God.
Jesus then exposes the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. They claim to uphold the law, yet they seek to kill Him. In verse 19 He says, “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.” Their outward religion masks inward rebellion. This is a warning that external devotion without a transformed heart is empty.
The crowd responds with confusion, even accusing Jesus of having a demon. Yet He presses on, pointing out their inconsistency. They are willing to circumcise on the Sabbath to keep the law of Moses, but they are angry when He makes a man completely well on the Sabbath. In verse 24 He commands, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” They are evaluating Him based on surface-level assumptions instead of seeking the truth of God.
As the passage continues, some begin to wonder if He could be the Christ. Yet their understanding is flawed. They think they know where He is from, assuming that the Messiah’s origins will be obvious and earthly. Jesus corrects this in verse 28, crying out, “You know Me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of My own accord. He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know.” Their problem is not lack of information about Jesus’ hometown. Their problem is that they do not truly know God.
This is the heart of the issue. To reject Christ is to reveal a deeper ignorance of God Himself. Jesus makes it plain in verse 29, “I know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent Me.” He alone perfectly knows the Father because He alone has come from the Father.
The response is predictable. They seek to arrest Him, but no one lays a hand on Him because His hour had not yet come. Even in the face of opposition, the sovereignty of God governs every moment. Nothing happens outside of His appointed time.
This passage confronts us with a simple but searching question. Do we truly desire to do the will of God, or are we content with appearances and assumptions? Right judgment begins with a heart that is willing to submit to God’s truth. And that truth is found fully in Jesus Christ, the One sent from the Father.
We always encourage everyone to check everything through the lens of the Scriptures. Be like the noble Bereans of Paul’s day. Please visit us here for much more, and remember, Christ is enough.
Until we meet again beloved friends, lets go serve our King!
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