Love Does Not Insist On Its Own Way - God

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February 25, 2006 - 1 Corinthians 12.31-13.5a

This study guide is based on John 7:14-24. Jesus is speaking about seeking glory, a glory that is in opposition to the purposes of God.

Open It

  1. When have you gotten so caught up with rules and regulations that you missed entirely the joy of living?

  2. When have you judged someone or something on appearance alone only to find out later that you were wrong?

Explore It

  1. What did Jesus do halfway through the Feast? (7:14)

  2. How did the Jews respond to Jesus' teaching? (7:15)

  3. From where did Jesus' teaching come? (7:16)

  4. How did Jesus say someone could discover whether or not His teaching came from God? (7:17)

  5. What quality did Jesus say a person of truth possesses? (7:18)

  6. What questions did Jesus ask the Jews? (7:19)

  7. What did the crowd accuse Jesus of being? (7:20)

  8. Why did Jesus say the Jews were astonished? (7:21)

  9. Why did Jesus comment on circumcision? (7:22-23)

  10. What evidence did Jesus use to show that the Jews also believed in doing good on the Sabbath? (7:22-23)

  11. How did Jesus compare His healing with circumcision? (7:23)

  12. What did Jesus instruct His audience to do? (7:24)

Get It

  1. How do people today respond to the teaching of Jesus?

  2. What gives you the confidence to believe that what Jesus taught is true?

  3. How can we become men and women of truth?

  4. What rules do we force on others while overlooking our own violations?

  5. What are the important issues in today's society about which the Church should be concerned?

  6. Why do we tend to judge things and people based solely on appearances?

Apply It

  1. What hypocritical standard do you need to change in your life this week?

  2. How can you put aside a prejudice in order to get to know a person you have misjudged?

Notes

John 7:16-18: Those who attempt to know God's will and do it will know intuitively that Jesus was telling the truth about himself. Have you ever listened to religious speakers and wondered if they were telling the truth? Test them: (1) their words should agree with, not contradict, the Bible; (2) their words should point to God and his will, not to themselves.

John 7:19: The Pharisees spent their days trying to achieve holiness by keeping the meticulous rules that they had added to God's laws. Jesus' accusation that they didn't keep Moses' laws stung them deeply. In spite of their pompous pride in themselves and their rules, they did not even fulfill a legalistic religion, for they were living far below what the law of Moses required. Murder was certainly against the law. Jesus' followers should do more than the moral law requires, not by adding to its requirements, but by going beyond and beneath the mere do's and don't's of the law to the spirit of the law.

John 7:20: Most of the people were probably not aware of the plot to kill Jesus (John 5:18). There was a small group looking for the right opportunity to kill him, but most were still trying to decide what they believed about him.

John 7:21-23: According to Moses' law, circumcision was to be performed eight days after a baby's birth (Genesis 17:9-14; Leviticus 12:3). This rite was carried out on all Jewish males to demonstrate their identity as part of God's covenant people. If the eighth day after birth was a Sabbath, the circumcision would still be performed (even though it was considered work). While the religious leaders allowed certain exceptions to Sabbath laws, they allowed none to Jesus, who was simply showing mercy to those who needed healing.

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