November 17, 2010
WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK?
John 7:1-13
Julie Sedberry
Central Truth
Fear can stifle God's best for us.
Key Verse | John 7:13
Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews. (John 7:13)
John 7:1-13
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews 1 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers 2 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 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. 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 3 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 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.
Dive Deeper | John 7:1-13
I have missed out on a lot in my life. Although I met Jesus at a young age, fear has kept me from knowing and experiencing God's best for many of my 36 years. Fear of being weird, fear of not being cool, fear of failure, fear of missing out on the fun, fear of not looking good in the world's eyes, and fear of not being perfect. The list of my fears was endless, and the final result was becoming the lukewarm Christian that God despises (Revelation 3:14-16). I definitely "loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43).
Similarly, even though Jesus' teaching amazed the people of Judea (John 7:15), they still refused to support Him publicly for fear of what others would think. Their Jewish leaders would have banished from the synagogue anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ (John 9:22). This cultural threat kept everyone silent, even the believers. They much preferred to look good to their community rather than to God.
In Matthew 10:32-34, Jesus tells us that "everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." God, our Father, is not interested in appeasing the masses. He does not care if the world thinks He is cool. He is our God—our Creator—the Beginning and the End! He wants us to comprehend that. He wants us to share with the world that the sun rises and sets because of Him! Jesus tells us that when we believe in Him, we "will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life" (John 8:12). We will "have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10)! Through His Holy Spirit, He will give us peace (John 14:27) and joy (John 15:11).
What more could we ask?
Discussion Questions
1. How does Satan use fear to paralyze you? What keeps you silent?
2. How can you overcome the trouble of this world and have peace?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What were the people around the festival saying (verse 12)?
2. What kept the people from speaking up about Jesus (verse 13)?
3. Talk about the fear that keeps you from sharing about who Jesus is.
4. What can you do to become more confident in sharing about Jesus with people who don’t believe in Him?