No One Ever Spoke Like This Man

John 7:40-52
January 1, 2023
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

Part 1 - Summary

So we’ve been going through the book of John. And a lot has happened leading up to today’s passage. Allow me to summarize.

The book of John is about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And he came to us. He became flesh and dwelt among us. And starting with his twelve disciples, Jesus called people to repent of their sins and believe in him for salvation.

There were many miracles and signs and witnesses that showed that he is indeed the Son of God. Jesus turned the water into wine. He cleansed the temple. He healed the sick and the lame. He fed the five thousand. He walked on the water of the sea. John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus.

Jesus also taught the truth about his salvation. He spoke to people like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Nicodemus learned about being born again and how God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The Samaritan woman at the well learned about living water and how Jesus is the promised Messiah.

And news about him spread throughout the land. Crowds started to follow him.

But drama was beginning as well. Many people started to go against Jesus. They thought that Jesus broke the law when he healed the lame man on the Sabbath. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus was calling God his Father. They grumbled when Jesus said that he is the bread of heaven. They just did not believe in him and his salvation. And so many people started to go against Jesus. Some even began to seek to kill him.

This hostility against Jesus became official at the Feast of Booths. At the feast, Jesus openly spoke about his identity, his authority, his truthfulness and righteousness, and his ultimate glory. The chief priests and the Pharisees got wind of it and sent officers to arrest Jesus.

And on the last day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

And that brings us to today’s passage.

Part 2 - Division

When people heard all that Jesus said in the feast, there was division and a moment of truth. It was as if a light suddenly turned on. Jesus is the light. The light shined in the darkness. And people revealed where they stood.

Some began to truly believe in Jesus. Some people said, “This really is the Prophet.” They were referring to the promised messiah in Deuteronomy 18 who would be like Moses and therefore like a prophet. Some people said, “This is the Christ.” They began to believe that Jesus was the promised messiah who is heir to the throne of David. Praise the Lord that some began to truly believe in him.

But other people began to truly reject Jesus. Others said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?” They couldn’t believe that anything good could come out of Galilee. Others ironically said, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” This is ironic because they were right. Scripture says that the Christ would come from the line of David and the town of Bethlehem. But for some strange reason they didn’t know that Jesus was indeed from the line of David and the town of Bethlehem. Rejection and disbelief is ultimately foolish and baseless.

Dear Highland, as we wait for Jesus in this old and fading world, know this and wake up and be sober-minded. Jesus brings division. Not division in the church (obviously). But division between the church and the world. Division between believers who want to glorify Christ and non-believers who want to hate Christ and persecute Christians. Jesus brings that division in human life.

Listen to Jesus’ words from Luke 12:51-53. “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Jesus brings division. He is the light. And when he shines upon the world, those who are of the light are drawn to the light. And those who are of the darkness draw back and turn away.

You will see this in your lifetime. So be ready. Stand firm. Draw near to Christ always. Be clear about where you stand as Jesus divides people. Do not try to compromise. Do not think that you can have one foot planted in the kingdom of God and the foot planted in this old and fading world. You are children of light. So be in the light.

Part 3 - Let Us Boast in Jesus Our Prophet

The chief priests and the Pharisees sent their officers to go and arrest Jesus. But the officers couldn’t do it. And the reason why is profound and glorious.

The people of darkness said to the officers, “Why did you not bring him?” And the officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” No one ever spoke like Jesus.

This is awesome. This is so amazing and cool and perhaps even a little bit humorous. I bet the officers were pretty big guys. They were the muscle that worked for the chief priests and Pharisees. And yet, they were stopped in their tracks. They couldn’t make a move against Jesus. They had no strength nor willpower to arrest Jesus. And it wasn’t because they were physically outmatched in any way. It wasn’t even because they were scared of Jesus.

It was because they were amazed at Jesus’ words. They were struck by what Jesus said at the feast. They heard the words of our Lord, they heard the truth about the salvation of Christ Jesus, and they could not carry out their original mission to arrest Jesus. And they said, “No one ever spoke like this man.”

I can imagine Jesus at the feast saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” And I can imagine one officer thinking to himself, “You know, I think I want this living water.” No one ever spoke like this man.

I can imagine another officer listening to Jesus’ words breaking down in tears because of his life of darkness. No one ever spoke like this man.

I can imagine another officer trembling in fear of the Lord, realizing through the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in his heart that Jesus is no mere dude from Galilee. Jesus is the Son of God. No one ever spoke like this man.

Dear Highland, we can imagine this. Because this is how we are saved. We are saved because Jesus speaks. We are saved because Jesus speaks his powerful and life-giving words. You are saved because Jesus is your Chief Prophet.

The Son was ordained by the Father and anointed with the Spirit to be your Chief Prophet. And as your Chief Prophet, Jesus teaches you and reveals to you your salvation in him. He fully reveals to you his secret counsel and will concerning your redemption (Heidelberg Catechism Q31).

This is a huge part of his work. Jesus carries out the work and the office of a prophet in order to reveal to you your sin, your need for forgiveness and grace, and your need for Jesus alone to save you. And the way that Jesus speaks to us is through his written word that is the Bible.

Dear Highland, you need to think deeply about this and be amazed and changed. Jesus has words to say to you. God, the Son of God, speaks to you through his written word. And no one ever spoke like him.

Therefore, listen to him. Listen carefully and commit yourself to studying diligently his written word that is the Bible. Take his words seriously. Do not just be hearers of his word, but rather be doers of his word. This is Christian life in its purest and best form. We are sheep who are always listening attentively to the voice of our Shepherd.

And there is a really cool result when we listen. We start to talk like and sound like Jesus himself. As we meditate upon his words, our meditation flows into imitation.

We become better prophets ourselves (Heidelberg Catechism Q32) as we confess the name of Christ and as we talk about Jesus in fellowship and in evangelism. The officers said, “No one ever spoke like this man!” A great compliment to hear from people would be something like: “Wow, not a lot of people talk the way you talk!”

How awesome would it be if we reflected the wonderful words of Christ in conversations with our spouses, in talks with our friends, in dialogue with our family members, in chats on social media, or in discussions here at church. Let us be people of God’s word. Because Jesus is our Chief Prophet.

In Closing

At the end of today’s passage, we see Nicodemus and how he stood up for Jesus. The Pharisees were against Jesus and wanted to arrest him. But Nicodemus said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

A few chapters earlier, Nicodemus struggled to understand what it meant to be born again. But by God’s grace, we see here Nicodemus taking a small step forward in his faith in Jesus and in his Christian life. He recommended logic and justice before the Pharisees even though they were hypocritically being illogical and unjust toward Jesus.

Let us look forward to meeting Nicodemus in the new heavens and new earth.

Let us marvel at how Jesus changed Nicodemus’ life - how Jesus divided Nicodemus from the Pharisees and how Jesus spoke to Nicodemus as his Chief Prophet.

And let us marvel at how Jesus changed our lives are well.

This is who our Lord is.

Come, Lord Jesus, come soon!

May the grace of Christ be with you all.

Soli Deo Gloria