Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 7. As we turn there this morning, we see what our text is about this morning. We’re reminded of John’s words to open his gospel in chapter 1, where he is introducing us to what he’s going to tell us about. And he tells us in verses 10 and 11 of John chapter 1 that he, meaning the Word, Jesus, was in the world.

And the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to what was his own and those who were his own did not receive him. And that has proven to be an understatement, if anything, in our study of John’s gospel. We have seen the responses to Jesus fall into one of two categories. that of belief and rejection. And John does not give us a third category.

Right from the beginning of the gospel, we saw the Jews resisting and opposing the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist. As soon as John ends his introduction, his prologue after verse 18, we pick right up with the Jews sending investigators to John to figure out what he’s doing and resisting him. And then that’s followed up with the belief of the first disciples.

And in chapter 2, you see a miracle at the wedding at Cana where Jesus turns water into wine. And then he goes and he cleanses the temple. And there we read that Jesus had made a scourge of cords in John 2 verse 15, and he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, certainly not seeking to make any friends there at the temple, but in response. We do see in verse 23 that when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw his signs that he was doing. Sounds great. His ministry is off to a great start.

But we see the wisdom of Jesus in the next verse as it continues, but Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them. For he knew all men. And because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.” He himself knew. Something we’re reminded of over and over and over in John’s gospel. He knew. He himself knew. None of these responses surprised him.

And as we come through the different chapters we’ve covered, and you get to John chapter 6, as the rejection and opposition continue to build more and more, Jesus says in John 6 verse 64, But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning, as we’ve seen, Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, who would not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. He knew. He knew from the beginning, which is why He knew at the beginning of John 7, as we have seen, that He was not yet to go up to Jerusalem, where they were looking for Him, to seize Him. He knew who they were. And he knew his hour.

That’s what we read in John 7, verse 8, where he tells his brothers, go up to the feast yourselves. I am not yet going up to this feast because my time has not yet been fulfilled. And as we saw last week, they were seeking to seize him in verse 30, but no man laid a hand on him. because his hour had not yet come. They were seeking to seize him, to arrest him. All because he told them that he was from the father and that he knew the father that they didn’t know. He warned them, you don’t know God. You don’t know the father. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. As we pick up our study here in John 7 today, we are still here in the temple in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. And as we saw earlier, this feast was to remind people of God’s provision for them.

God’s provision for the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness, coming out of Egypt. This feast reminded people of two specific blessings that God gave them, two specific things that they celebrated in this week-long celebration. One blessing was the manna that he gave them, the bread he provided them from heaven. It’s no coincidence that John has just finished telling us in chapter six that Jesus brought up that manna to them. When he told them that he was the bread of life, the true bread from heaven. And the other benefit, the other blessing that they celebrate in this feast was the water. The water that came from the rock there in the wilderness. When these people were at their most desperate and God provided for them what they needed. You see that account in Numbers chapter 20. But this provision from God was what was celebrated. And here, the ultimate provision from God in a Savior is standing before these people, telling them who He is.

And as we’ll see in the passage we come to next week, at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, at the end of this week, they would perform a ceremony. Remembering this water where they would pour water out of these golden vessels from the temple. And Jesus takes that opportunity to tell them he is that living water. And that he has come to offer them God’s true provision. And we’ll focus on that next week. But where we find ourselves today is at the end of Jesus’ confrontation with these Jews in the temple. in the middle of the week of celebration.

And it’s here that he gives them a warning and a rebuke, a frightening warning to these people that’s also a kindness that they did not deserve. And the way that we’ll study this text this morning, we’ll cover verses 32 through 36, and first we see the Savior’s kindness. The Savior’s kindness in His warning to them, and then secondly, we’ll see the unbelievers’ contempt. The unbelievers’ contempt for Him, for simply warning them.

So allow me to read John chapter 7, verses 32 through 36 this morning. This is the word of the Lord. The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him. And the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize him. Therefore, Jesus said, for a little while longer I am with you. Then I go to him who sent me.

You will seek me and will not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. The Jews were saying to one another, where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Is he intending to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and to teach the Greeks? What is this statement that he said, you will seek me and you will not find me? And where I am, you cannot come.

What we see first here is the Savior’s kindness. And this response from Jesus is really set up from the previous three verses. So if you go back to verse 30, it says, they were seeking to seize him, yet no man laid his hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

But many of the crowd believed in him, and they were saying, when the Christ comes, will he do more signs than this man did? And the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about him. And the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize him. So some angrily reject Jesus and want to seize him and silence him. Because you know, that always works. To arrest and seize and shut up someone to make them go away. But on the other hand, many of the crowd believed in Him. The signs that Jesus had done had convinced them that He was the Messiah. He had to be. They could not imagine that the Christ who they knew was coming would perform more signs than He did. How much more can someone do? What more would the Messiah do when He comes? This must be Him.

This is what John the Baptist wondered when he was in prison. Is this really him? And what was the proof that Jesus gave him? It’s found in Matthew chapter 11, starting in verse two. Now when John, in prison, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for someone else? The same thing these crowds are wondering. Is this really him? It seems to be.

And Jesus answered and said to them, go and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Tell him. Tell him about the signs. The signs were the proof. The signs pointed to who He really is. Yes, He is the Christ. He is the Messiah, the one you’ve been waiting for. And He’s proven it. And these visitors to the city at this time of the feast, the visitors from Galilee, they would have remembered the signs He did there.

The miracle at the wedding at Cana. He turned water into wine. He fed 5,000 plus women and children in Galilee. and the people from Judea, they would have remembered the sick man that he healed the year before at the pool of Bethesda. Not to mention all of the other miracles that Jesus performed that John tells us he didn’t even write down.

All of these things, they’ve seen them. This must be him, right? And when the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about him, That really set them off. This word for whispering here is that word we saw a while back for grumbling. It’s that same word. They’re grumbling now in Jesus’ favor. They’re whispering under their breath because they feared these Jews. They didn’t want to speak openly like Jesus did. But the Pharisees did hear their whispers. They heard what they were talking about. Is this really Him? This must be Him. And they didn’t want people to speak about Jesus at all. And here they were suggesting that He was truly the Messiah. This must really be Him.

And so, we see the chief priests and the Pharisees, the leaders. of the Jews here. The religious leaders send officers to seize him. They send officers to seize Jesus, to arrest him. These officers here are the temple guards. They were kind of a police force made up of the Levites for the temple alone, and they were responsible to keep the crowds orderly in the temple when there was big feasts like this.

It was very busy. A lot of people were around. They weren’t Roman guards or soldiers, so they really had no real governmental authority. They were basically mall cops, if you will. They had their jurisdiction in the temple. They were security guards. The Pharisees and chief priests sicced the security guards, the mall cops, on Jesus. And apparently they failed, because Jesus responds to these Pharisees and chief priests in verse 33. Therefore Jesus said, for a little while longer I am with you, then I go to him who sent me. In a few short months, at the Passover, in the spring, Jesus would be crucified. And then he would rise from the dead and eventually would ascend to the father who sent him.

But as long as those six months had not yet passed, no one could take him. His hour had not yet come. So Jesus here has no fear. They send these guards to arrest him. And he says, it’s not my time yet. In his comments on these verses, Martin Luther, the reformer, said this. He said, who is Christ’s protector? Who fends off his enemies? No one. Nothing is said about many thousands of mounted soldiers or many thousands of foot soldiers who would defend him.

No, his entire armor is a little hour granted to him until his crucifixion. And that hour was not yet at hand. Since it was not, all of the designs of his enemies against him were futile. No matter how hard they tried, it wouldn’t matter because Jesus knew it was not yet his hour. It was not yet time for them to seize him. So Jesus tells these security guards as they’re running to arrest him, nope. Not time yet, not time for that. That time is coming, but not now.

And then he tells them what will happen. What will happen when that time comes, that he will go back to the Father. And the rest of the New Testament makes it clear what he’s talking about. He’s speaking of his ascension, his departure from earth after he rises from the dead.

And the ascension is a crucially important part of the work of Jesus. Without the ascension, the cross and the resurrection work are incomplete. This is the climax of Jesus’s ministry. When he comes to the mountain and he ascends to heaven and sits down at the right hand of the Father.

This showed that God approved of His sacrifice and our salvation. This shows that He had completed His obedience, even to the point of death on a cross. As Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2, therefore God also highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and those who are on the earth and under the earth. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And he tells these Jews seeking to arrest him that this is going to happen. I will go back to him who sent me. Just like he told Nicodemus. Back in chapter three, the Son of Man must be lifted up. He knows. He’s telling them the whole time what’s going to happen. Jesus came to live and die for a reason. He came to live in full obedience every minute of every day. And that means he had to know what he had to do. And he did. He knew where He was going. He knew what was coming. And He obeyed perfectly.

As the Bible tells us, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And He was buried and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. According to Scripture, just like the Bible said. This is what had to be done to save sinners.

This is what had to be done to save you and to save me. And he knew the whole time. And he did it. And he tells the very ones trying to arrest him, the same ones who will successfully arrest him, I know I have a little while longer. But when that time comes, I’m going back to the one who sent me. And that was the first part of the warning.

But Jesus goes on to say, in verse 34, you will seek me and you will not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. You cannot come. This is a terrifying warning. Everyone who rejects Jesus cannot come to where he is going, and where he is ascending to, and where he currently is, seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven, because they will die in their sins.

This is what Jesus tells these Jews in the next chapter. In chapter 8, as this is the same setting, a few days later, Jesus says to these Jews again, John 8 verse 21, then he said again to them, I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. He says it again. You will seek me, and you will die in your sin.

And later, in chapter 13, Jesus tells his disciples, chapter 13, verse 33, little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, and now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. Now that seems confusing. What do you mean the disciples can’t come? But he will clarify in a few verses. Down in verse 36, as Peter has that question, what do you mean? What do you mean we can’t come with you? I thought that’s why we were following you. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going?

And Jesus answered, where I go, you cannot follow me now. but you will follow me later. He’s talking about heaven. He’s talking about eternity. And to the disciples, he said, you cannot come now, but you will come later. You will come when it’s your hour.

That’s not what he said to the Jews. That’s not what he said to these Jewish leaders, rejecting him and opposing him and trying to arrest him. To these Jews, he said, you cannot come. Period. I don’t know that there are any scarier words in the whole Bible. You cannot come.

John MacArthur titled his sermon on this passage, Shut Out of Heaven. And that’s what this is. This is what he’s talking about. If you do not come and follow Jesus and repent and believe in Him, you cannot come. This is what MacArthur goes on to say about this verse.

Where I am, you cannot come. shut out of heaven forever. Common conception is that God is basically good, and everybody who is good is going to heaven. We’re all going to heaven, right? Anybody who is good is certainly going to go to heaven, and I’m good. I’m one of the good people, so I’m going to heaven.

That’s how people think. It’s hard to imagine a more clear and devastating statement than this. You will seek me and you will not find me, and where I am you cannot come. Heaven is not for everybody. Wow. Heaven is not for everybody. Heaven is not for good people. Heaven is for God. And heaven is for God’s people.

This is a warning. And the kindness of our Savior is that he tells them. The kindness is that he gives them any warning at all. You see, in his time on earth, teaching and preaching to lost people, Jesus spoke a lot about heaven, but he spoke more about hell. Jesus spoke much more about warning people about what eternity would be like if they did not come to him. For example, here’s a few of the many things that Jesus had to say about those who will be shut out of heaven. Matthew chapter 8.

Starting in verse 11, and I say to you that many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom, these Jews, the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13 verse 41, the son of man will send forth his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all of the stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. A few verses later, picking up at verse 49 of Matthew 13. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus wanted them to know this is what it will be like. when you cannot come. And John, the author of this gospel, he tells us in Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ, Jesus’ words to John about the end. He speaks about what existence will be like for those who are shut out of heaven for eternity. In Revelation 14, for each one who does not come to Jesus Christ and repent of their sin and believe in Him.

For each one, Revelation 14 verse 10 says, he will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his rage. And He will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of His holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day and night.

You will seek Me and you will not find Me. Where I am, you cannot come. You see, it’s often said that hell is an eternity without God. And that’s partially true. Hell is an eternity without God’s grace. Hell is an eternity of God’s wrath. They will be tormented in the presence of the Lamb. Forever and ever, the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night. There are no more frightening words in all of scripture than you cannot come.

And these words to these Jews that are trying to seize Him are the Savior’s kindness. And next we see the unbeliever’s contempt. Instead of listening to the words of Jesus, instead of heeding His warning, these unbelieving Jews did what unbelievers always do, and they reveal their contempt for Him. Verse 35, the Jews then said to one another, where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?

Is he intending to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this statement that he said, you will seek me and you will not find me and where I am, you cannot come. What is he talking about? Where will he go that we can’t find him? Unless he’s talking about going to those Greeks. Ew.

Why would he go to the Greeks? The idea that the Messiah would go to the Gentiles was revolting to them. But ironically, Because of this very rebellion and rejection of the Jews, that is exactly where the gospel of Jesus Christ went, to the Gentiles. And they mockingly repeat the warning that Jesus gives them.

Verse 36, what is this statement he said? You will seek me and will not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. And those very words will be ringing in their ears for eternity. Because they missed it. He was right there. He told them the truth. They had it in their own scriptures. As I read earlier in the service from Isaiah 55, seek Yahweh when he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Jesus gave them the warning.

I’m only here a little while longer. If you wait until it’s too late, You will no longer be able to find me. And Paul would give this same warning to the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 2. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. That’s what this means. Don’t wait. Now is the day of salvation. If you are breathing air, your time is running out. Now is the day of salvation. Eventually, he will say, you cannot come.

And in Hebrews chapter 4, we’re told in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 2, for indeed, we have had good news proclaimed to us, just as they also. But the word that was heard did not profit those who were not united with faith among those who heard. And a few verses later in verse six, therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news proclaimed to them failed because of disobedience, he again determines a certain day. Today, saying through David, after so long a time just as has been said before, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

He has determined a certain day. He has determined your day. But the hearing of the word does not profit those who are not united by faith. Is that you? Have you trusted him as your Savior yet? You’ve had the good news proclaimed to you. You’re here today. You don’t have any excuse any longer. You have heard.

You have heard that Christ was born and lived and died for sinners. That he’s the only acceptable sacrifice to God for your sin. That if you trust in him as your savior, you will be forgiven of your sins. And you will spend eternity with Him in the presence of God, experiencing the grace and the beauty and the majesty of Christ forever and ever.

But if you haven’t believed, there’s coming a day when it will be too late. And you will remain in your sin. and you will experience the cup of the wrath of God, and the fullness of his rage for eternity. For there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the smoke of your torment will go up forever and ever, and there will be no rest day or night. So what are you waiting for?

Jesus warned even those who hated Him and were seeking to kill Him. And I am warning you today. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Seek Him while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Please do not wait until all you have left to hear is you cannot come. Come to him today. Please stay behind and talk to someone here about your need for a savior.

Stand with me and we’ll close in a word of prayer. Our God in heaven, we do not deserve the Savior’s kindness. Not only in coming to take on the frailty of our human flesh, to live in perfect obedience every day, and to obey all the way to the point of the death on the cross. But also in the kindness of his warning to us. That we must come to him. That there is no other way. To be saved. There is salvation in no one else. No one can come to the father except through him. In the warning that one day will be too late. And those who are left in their sin cannot come.

Our God, we thank you. We thank you for saving us. We thank you for your provision of a Savior who loves us. And Lord, I pray that if there is anybody here today that is now without excuse, Lord, bring them to yourself. Save them. Have them cry out to you in faith, believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior. We thank you for who you are and we pray this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.