Talking Loud/Saying Nothing
My first Bible study teacher taught me one of the most important lessons I ever learned. She taught me that I must assess any preaching or religious teaching against scripture to see if it aligns with God’s word. She was adamant that a message on a scripture text that was taken out of context of the intent of the passage or the broader bible was a pretext for some other motive of the one preaching or teaching. After decades of my own study, preaching and teaching, that lesson continues to serve me well. In John 7:14-24, Jesus gave people the keys to assessing whether His teaching and His actions were true, righteous and from God. And by extension, He gave people the means to assess truthfulness and righteousness of the teaching and actions of others. I pray that you will know and receive the benefits of true and righteous teaching from the word of God! Amen.
Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” (John 7:14–15) Jesus began teaching in the temple courts as the festival was already in progress. He began without fanfare, but immediately His understanding and His exegesis of the scriptures were without peer. The Jews were amazed at Jesus’ teaching, and finding nothing to attack Him on with respect to His teaching, they began questioning the source of His knowledge and wisdom.
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (John 7:16–21) Jesus responded to their questioning the source of His teaching by giving them 2 keys to answer their own questions. First, He told them to examine the scriptures for confirmation of whether or not it came from God. If they sought to do the will of God, they would in turn recognize godly teaching. Second, He distinguished a true and righteous teacher from those who taught from personal motives. Jesus was true and righteous, teaching to glorify God.
Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:22–24) Jesus pointed out that the same people judging Him had all violated the Law. (Indeed it is impossible to keep the Law perfectly, so it was safe to say that every one of them had been in violation of the Law at some point). Their response to Jesus pointing out the truth of their unrighteousness was not contrition and repentance, but to falsely claim that Jesus was demon possessed. They did not know about the plotting of Jewish leaders to kill Jesus. Jesus was judged by Pharisees as violating the Law because he healed a man with dropsy on the Sabbath. Jesus used the example of circumcision that was considered legal on the Sabbath by these same people. How much more was it acceptable to God to make a man while on the Sabbath. Jesus implored people to judge righteously, based on the word of God.
Jesus pointed people to God’s word in order to assess true and righteous teaching. To take from the 70’s R&B song by James Brown, some people who are preaching and teaching are “talking loud, but ain’t saying nothing”. Jesus implored the people of God to judge not by how people looked or how they sounded. He told the people in that courtyard to judge the teaching they follow by whether it aligned with the word of God. That is still sound teaching for us today. Unfortunately, they judged wrong when they rejected Jesus and called Him demon possessed. Even today, too many of us are believing lies and following the wrong people. You need to recognize and know the truth when you see and hear it, because the truth still sets people free. And it will keep you from following the wrong ideologies and doctrines put forth by people….who are talking loud but ain’t saying nothing!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
