The Mission of Christ

October 25, 2026 | The Mission of Christ| John 7:25-52

JD Cutler

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Good morning church family. Let me invite you to take your Bibles and open to John chapter 7.

We are going to pick up where we left off last week.

As we have studied both the epistle of 1st John and now John’s gospel account, we have referenced the uniqueness of his writing style. He often introduces themes and then rather than exhausting everything there is to say about those themes, he develops them throughout his writing, almost in a cyclical way, reinforcing and expanding on each pass. 

For the last two weeks we have been in the part of John’s gospel documenting the third time Jesus has been in Jerusalem since his public ministry began. Each time he comes to this religious center of Judaism, he comes into more and more conflict with its religious leaders. On his first trip, you’ll remember that he cleansed the temple, upsetting the Jews but not enraging them. On his second trip, he healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath which incited the religious leaders against him, when confronted Jesus doubled down and equated himself with the Father, leading John to record “18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” Now, after staying away from Jerusalem for almost a year, Jesus has returned and we find the religious leaders still furious with his seeming disregard for the law, at least their interpretation of it. 

John uses these encounters as well as Jesus’ responses to them to continue developing themes surrounding his purpose in writing. That those who hear or read this account will believe that Jesus is the Christ and by believing they will have life in his name.

In John’s great prologue, he establishes that Jesus is the Word of God, that he was with God and was God, that he came as the light of the world, to make the Father known and to bring life to those who would believe.

Since those opening words, John has been circling those themes.

In the particular section of scripture we are studying today, John records Jesus’ words and continues to reveal to us what he will later state explicitly in the upper room discourse starting in chapter 13 and extending through chapter 17. There, as he begins that section he says. 

John 13:1, 3 “1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. … 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,” 

That’s how he introduces the upper room discourse, that begins with Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. 

Jesus knew these things, yes, but he also taught these things. Regularly. Openly. What I want us to focus on today are three statements Jesus makes that summarize his mission as Christ.

Three statements that summarize Christ’s mission.

These statements bring the crowds that hear them to a place where they have to either accept his claims or reject them based on their own thoughts and prejudices. The reality is, as we examine them, the same is true for each of us. 

Our goal today is to understand what Jesus said about himself and then ask ourselves if we have appropriately responded to his claims. 

Let’s read John 7:25–52 ESV

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “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. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?” 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Let’s go back through and examine each one of Christ’s statements beginning with the statement. 

I. Jesus was sent by the Father. 

We mentioned last week that because of the response recorded in verse 20 that it seems many of the possible visitors to Jerusalem did not know that the religious leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. But now we see that some people who were from Jerusalem, who had heard the talk, say. ‘Hey, isn’t that the guy they’ve been after for a while?’ ‘He’s literally teaching in the temple and no one is saying anything to him!’

I love their conclusion almost as much as their confusion.

Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?

We saw last week that there was much muttering about Jesus among the people. Some people think he is a good man, some think he is leading people astray, but no one is really speaking openly about him because they fear the religious leaders. 

Now, the conversation is changing. Jesus has shown up, he is teaching in the temple, they start to wonder, maybe the religious leaders know that this is the Christ. 

But… There was an idea in 1st century Judaism, that when the Christ appeared no one would know where he came from. It seems their idea is that there would be mystery about him, no one would know where he comes from. But as we will see, the people also knew that the Christ would come from the offspring of David, from Bethlehem.

They were holding these two contradictory ideas, which is somewhat understandable.

Biblical prophecy is not always easy to figure out before it is fulfilled.

But notice Jesus doesn’t address that. He doesn’t say, actually, I was born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt, and grew up in the exact area where I did that I might be called a Nazarene, all things which fulfilled prophecy. Rather, Jesus presses deeper in. 

Yes, you may know me and you may know where I come from. There isn’t any great mystery or mysticism around me. But what you do not know is that I have not come of my own accord, but I have been sent. 

This is by far the greater reality concerning the Christ, God’s anointed one. Instead of asking where Jesus came from, they should have been asking if God had sent him. 

He continues, he who sent me is true, and him you do not know.

Jesus is essentially saying, you assume that your knowledge of my earthly background gives you the ability or grounds to judge my identity. Your religious knowledge gives you confidence, but the problem is that you don’t really know God the way you think you do. If you did, you would know that he sent me.

This is very similar to what he said in verse 17 when he said, 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

The question is ‘should they have known that he had been sent by the Father’, or ‘how could they have known if he was sent by the Father?’

We find the answer in the words of some of the crowd in verse 31.  “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” 

This is a connection that Jesus makes abundantly clear in John 5 and again in John 10. John 5:36 “36… For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” They should have recognized that Jesus was sent by the Father because the works he performed testified to his divine commission. Yet, rather than honestly evaluating what he did and said, they judged him according to their own assumptions about his origins.

When it comes to who Jesus is, how are you judging his claims? Are you trusting God’s revelation or are you judging by some other means?

If Jesus has been sent by the Father, to fulfill the purpose of the Father, as he claims here, then his message is true, his words are true and we should listen. The next statement we want to look at is…

II. Jesus came to accomplish the Father’s will and knew he would return to Him.

We find Jesus’ words here in verse 33 seemingly in response to officers showing up to arrest him.

Verse 32 tells us that as the noise surrounding Jesus grew, as people started talking openly about how they were letting him teach in the open, about his miracles and mighty works, and about him being the Christ, the Pharisees were getting increasingly concerned. So much so, that they send a group of temple officers to arrest him. 

If they had a legitimate charge, we aren’t told, simply that they sent officers to arrest him. So these men come to essentially take him away, which prompts him to say, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

I love this. Jesus, maybe even a little tongue in cheek says, I am not going away right now, with you. My time has not come, but after a little longer, then I am going back to him who sent me. He continues, seemingly saying, you found me easy enough, but there is coming a time when you will seek me and you will not find me. 

In what way will they seek him? The Jews are still looking for the Christ to come.

They are still going through the motions of religious obedience. Like these Pharisees, seeking God through observation or keeping of the law. 

Once Jesus finishes his work and returns to the Father, they should not expect to be able to find him if they rejected him and his words when he was among them. But even more striking than that, is that we know that Jesus is not going to simply return to the Father at some point in the future. That’s not what he’s talking about here. He is talking about being crucified for sin, being nailed to a tree, bearing the weight of sin for those who believe, dying and buried. That’s the road in front of Jesus. That is the hour he keeps talking about.

Jesus did not just come to reveal the Father, although he did that.

Jesus did not just come to expose the errors in Judaism, although he did that.

Jesus did not just come to expound on God’s word, although he did that.

Jesus did not just come to heal the sick and raise the dead, although he did that too.

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost…by being the perfect sacrifice for sin.

Jesus knew what he had come to do and he knew he would return to the Father when it was accomplished.

What did he come to do? In chapter 6 he says, 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Looks on the son and believes in him.

Looks on the son, how?

Believe what?

If we look to Jesus as a great teacher?

If we look to Jesus as a great miracle worker?

A moral person?

A rebel? 

No, we must look on the son where we find him at Calvary, bearing the incomprehensible weight of our sin, as he is crushed for our iniquities.

That offensive, bloody, messy scene is where we see our Lord bearing the guilt of our sin, mine, yours, all those who belong to him. That’s what we believe, that God has provided the only way to be saved through sending his only begotten son to die for our sins. 

That is the only way to have eternal life and be raised up on the last day in Christ.

But of course, Jesus is speaking in such a way that they misunderstand his heavenly talk for earthly talk. Much like the woman at the well did, much like Nicodemus did, much like the crowds after the miraculous feeding did. 

They say, where does he intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the dispersion and teach the Greeks? Essentially they say, having failed to teach in Jerusalem, will he go to the gentiles and teach, which consequently is a ridiculous thought to them. No Jewish rabbi would go teach gentiles…and yet, in their ignorance and mocking they actually prophecy the exact course that Christianity will run. Having been rejected by the Jews, Christianity spreads to the gentile world. 

As we approach passion week in John’s gospel, we are reminded here that the crucifixion, the hour Jesus refers to throughout his ministry is not plan b. It’s not an unforeseen circumstance, not happenstance, but rather God’s plan from the beginning. Jesus knew that he had come for a purpose and he knew he would return to the Father. 

The crowds didn’t understand it, the religious leaders didn’t understand it. I wonder, do you understand it?

Do you understand that Christ came into this world for the purpose of dying for sin? Do you understand that rejecting that truth or not believing in it leaves you with no other way to God? Do you understand that Christ knew why he had come and he willingly walked towards the cross?

Why?

Because he came for a purpose, which brings us to our last statement this morning. 

III. Jesus came to secure salvation for all who would believe. 

Jesus knew where he was from, he knew where he was going, and he knew what he would accomplish. So much so that he promised salvation to those who believe before he had even secured salvation for those who believe.

Look at verse 37. On the last day of the feast, the great day. To remind you, this is the feast of tabernacles or booths. A festival to remind Israel of their time wandering in the wilderness and God’s supernatural provision and care for them during it. But it also looked forward to the coming year’s rains for a good crop, and even forward to Israel’s future restoration.

One of the things we know historically to have been included in this festival is that daily, the priest would go to the pool of Siloam, draw water and proceed to the temple altar, where joyful celebration included music from trumpets and flutes as crowds sang while the priest poured the water on the altar. The priests poured golden pitchers of water over the altar while offering prayers for restoration. 

Think about that for a minute. They are gathered at the temple, praying for the restoration of their people, prophetically pictured in many places as water flowing from the temple, God’s dwelling place, bringing life and healing wherever it goes. Jesus stands up and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Jesus is essentially saying that the restoration promised by God is coming through Jesus and the Spirit he gives. 

The sad reality is that they believe that God will bring restoration and healing, but when the source of it is literally standing among them, many don’t see it. Let’s look at the statement Jesus makes a little closer. First, what is the only requirement needed? If anyone thirsts. Jesus is again using a physical reality to reveal a spiritual one. One of the reasons they did this ceremony was that at this time of year, the dry season was ending, cisterns were drying up, fields had been baked by the sun, and people desperately needed rain for the next agricultural cycle. Everyone of his listeners would understand what it meant to be thirsty. 

That kind of thirst can be satisfied with any water. The kind of thirst Jesus is talking about is only satisfied with living water. 

There is a deep, fundamental spiritual thirst or emptiness that every human being feels. They may not understand it, but they try to satisfy it. Through material resources, religious ritual, or some worldly pursuit.

Every person is trying to find the thing that will finally satisfy them. Jesus says that the only way to find that is to come to him and drink, which he says is believing in him. 

This is the same message Jesus has been repeating over and over again in different ways.

John 3 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 4“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

John 5 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.

Come to me, believe in me, receive everlasting life. That’s the promise Jesus makes over and over again.

Right after recording Jesus’ statement, the apostle John offers this commentary. John 7:39 “39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” 

John is clearing up any confusion. You see, Jesus would go on to face calvary in about 6 months, then he would rise again showing himself alive for some 40 days, then he would ascend into heaven, and about ten days later, the spirit would be poured out at Pentecost, bringing the promised life for all those who believed. But that wouldn’t happen until Jesus was glorified. 

Don’t miss this though. Jesus does not speak in maybes or about what might be or could be.

He declares whoever believes, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Jesus assures an abundance of life to all who believe, before he secures it.

Why is that important? Because it shows us that Jesus knew that he would secure salvation for all those who believe. He didn’t say that whoever believes in me, may experience this, or can experience this, but will experience this. 

What’s the only requirement for salvation, according to Jesus here? That you believe in him.

What’s the evidence that you have? The Spirit indwelling you. 

Here’s the challenging reality of what Jesus says here. If you are a Christian, and especially the longer you have been following Jesus, you should not be experiencing the same kind of thirst as the world. Right? If you have the source of life flowing like a river, you shouldn’t be searching for meaning, purpose, satisfaction anywhere else, having found it in Christ. 

The reality is that John has already told us in his prologue how this story is going to end. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 

Jesus clearly taught that… …he was sent by the father… …he came to do the will of the father… …he came to secure salvation for all those who believe.

But sadly, the majority of his people did not receive him.

They rejected his claims because of some misguided notion that he wasn’t from the right place, or because he didn’t show up in the right way, or because he didn’t follow the right set of rules. Whatever their reason, they judge incorrectly. 

But that’s not the end of the story. John also tells us in his prologue that for those who did receive him, who did believe in him, they were given the right to become children of God.

Every person will ultimately fall into two categories. Those who ignore or reject Jesus’ claims and those who embrace them in faith. The Bible says only one of those will experience everlasting life. 

As we close this morning, let me pose a series of questions to you.

First, if you have never come to Christ in faith. What will you do with his statements we have looked at this morning? Whether this is your first time hearing them or the hundredth time, what will you do with them?

Second, for those of us who would say, I believe, the question is, does our life reflect the reality Jesus promised for those who truly believe? If we are still thirsty for something beyond Jesus, then there is a good chance we have never actually come to him and drank. 

Finally, for those of us who would say, yes beyond a shadow of a doubt, I believe in Jesus, I have the Spirit, the question is, am I sharing the good news to those around me so that they can respond to the claims of Jesus? Is the living water in you, spilling over into the lives around you. Jesus says he came to seek and save the lost. That was his mission, and church family, it ought to be ours who have been sought and saved. 

Let’s pray.