The sermon focuses on the biblical passage from John 7:10-24, where Jesus attends a feast in Jerusalem secretly, avoiding public attention. It discusses the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who were intent on killing Jesus despite their knowledge of the law, which prohibits murder. The sermon highlights how Jesus' teachings differ from theirs, emphasizing the importance of seeking God's glory over self-glory. It explains that true understanding of Jesus' doctrine comes from a willingness to do God's will, which reveals the truth of His teachings. The sermon also underscores the importance of judging with righteous judgment, admonishing the audience to recognize and rectify their own double standards. It calls for self-examination to address hypocrisy within oneself, urging believers to live lives that honor God and embrace His righteousness and mercy through repentance and faith in Jesus.

Music We are continuing in the Biblical John. Our text this morning in John chapter 7, in verse 10, we're going to read it for you. And then we'll just kind of work our way through it. But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he?

And there was much complaining among the people concerning him. Some said, he is good. Others said, no, on the contrary, he deceives people. However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

And the Jews marveled saying, how does this man know letters having never studied? Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. If someone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it's from God or whether I speak on my own authority. He who speaks for himself, from himself, seeks his own glory. But he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true and no unrighteousness is in him.

Didn't that Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" The people answered and said, You have a demon who's seeking to kill you. Jesus answered and said unto them, I did one work and you all marveled. Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it's from Moses but from the fathers and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath if a man receives Circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken Are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath Do not judge according to appearance But judge with righteous judgment Ordery, thank you.

We just thank you for this portion of Scripture. It's more than just a historical account of some time Jesus spent in Jerusalem. It's meant to pierce our hearts by your Spirit, to reveal us and in us, Lord, this whole area of hypocrisy and double standard that we seem to carry because of our nature that the scribes and the Pharisees carried so well. And we just ask you Lord to just speak to us this morning but allow our hearts to be open to you in what you're telling us in Jesus' name. Amen.

I have absolutely no idea when Becca picked out those songs. But I want you to know that when we sing songs like this morning about God's mercy and we see what's going on in our text, I trust that you're so grateful for God's mercy like I am because it just it was just so so apparent. Well I want to talk this morning about the hypocrisy. Just this double standard that the scribes and the Pharisees put on Jesus. And as we begin to go through our discussion we begin to see that you know the time is set, the situation is set.

You remember Jesus was talking to his brothers and his brothers told him in their previous Sunday, hey go up to Jerusalem, promote your ministry, Everybody there will be impressed and you'll get a chance to be popular and you'll get a chance to grow this thing. And Jesus told them what? My time is now you come. So we pick it up in verse 10 And it says, but when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. So it didn't say he wouldn't go, he just said his time wasn't yet.

So now we know the time. He went up, but he didn't go up publicly. He didn't go up declaring who he was, he didn't go up with a lot of people and a lot of fanfare. He went up secretly. Not promoting his ministry, but obedient to the Father, because he told us in the last time we looked at this text earlier that he would be obedient to the Father.

And obviously the Father released him now to go and to be about his business in Jerusalem. So as he comes and as everybody gathers in Jerusalem for this feast, we have the Jews looking for him and they're about, where is he? We're looking for him. The Jewish people, the scribes and the Pharisees particularly, knew the rules. They knew that this was a time when all the males were to come to Jerusalem for this feast, and they expected Jesus to be there.

And so as they looked for him, it wasn't they were looking for him for the things he did. It wasn't that they were looking for him being the Messiah, the Son of God, they wanted to kill him. We know that from chapter 5. And the people there had kind of a mixed opinion, as frustrating as it might be. He said there was much complaining among the people concerning him.

Some said, he's good. Others said, on the contrary, he deceives. However, no one spoke openly for the fear of the Jews. It's interesting. They have this kind of divided opinion.

One would look at his works, one would look at his miracles, one would look at all he had done feeding the 5, 000, etc. And say, he's good. There's something special about this man. Another group would say, no, he's deceiving people. He claims to be somebody he's not worth following.

He's not the one he claims to be. But they could agree on one thing. We can't talk about him in front of the Jews because they hate them. That common kind of theme we'll find throughout the rest of the account is as we look at it And as we see how they really looked at it, Jesus comes not openly, he comes in secret. They're looking for him.

And it says in the fourteenth verse, about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, how does this man know letters, having never studied? They're impressed with his ability to communicate. They're impressed with his operative, the way that he communicates the truth from the scrolls. He never went to school.

How does he figure this out? In Mark chapter 7, I want to read what this is supposedly and it's hard to tell this because it's not in this chronological area, but in Mark 7 this is what he was preaching And as we look at it, he answered them and said, Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups and many other such things. And he said to them, all too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition." So imagine, you know, praise God for Jesus' boldness, praise God for his uncensored truth of God's Word and God's heart as he is he teach in that.

And as we shared, the end of the saying that people were astonished as reading for he taught them as one having authority not as the scribes. And as we looked at that from that's the Matthew's account, he's teaching with some kind of authority that's not the scribes and the Pharisees. They don't have that kind of authority. Theirs is just intellectual. They're just parroting what's been shared with them, but there's no new life hidden within these scribes and Pharisees.

But Jesus wants them to understand, just like he wants us to understand from his word whose authority it is and what is he teaching. And he goes on to tell him, he said, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine but his who sent me. My teaching is not mine but it's the teaching of God the Father who sent me. He gave me these words. He gave me what to tell, what to speak.

He gave me what to preach. He's given me the power to heal, to raise the dead, to feed the 5, 000. It's my Father in heaven. He tells us in Matthew chapter 28, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. So as Jesus is proclaiming his relationship with his father, the father who sent him, and we know that truth from John 3.16, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son.

So Jesus is just telling these people, as well as the scribes and the Pharisees, I've come from the Father. I am speaking to you from the Father's heart. You don't hear me. You're so bound up in your traditions and in your rule keeping and in your laws and in your commandments, the commandments and teachings of men, that your ears are stopped to the truth of His Word. But I want to explain to you, Jesus is saying, how you can know if my teaching is true or not.

Now that's an important point for you and I because there's a number of people there's probably a millions of people who can read this book and say well yeah But I don't know if it's all true. People, it's all true. From Genesis to Revelation, it's all truth. Sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth.

This is the Word of God and it is all true. And you can know that it's true this way. Listen to what he says in verse 17 of our text. If anyone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it's from God or whether I speak of my own authority. Now we learned from Matthew that the authority from God has been given to him but so he's speaking from God's authority continually not his own authority but he said what?

If you will to do his will. I love phrases like that because it doesn't say if you do his will. It says if you will to do his will. That original language speaks about determining to do, delighting to be about. It's like that reverse promise, if you will, in the rest of God's scripture where it says, he who desires to follow God will be persecuted.

You know, you don't have to just desire. If you will to do His will, if you set your mind, set your will to do the will of God, you will know whether this is true or not. So if there's any doubt in your mind today, of anyone here listening to this word, set your will to do his will, and you will know if this is true or not. Because God's Spirit will speak to your heart and life. David rephrased that so succinctly for all of us.

Would that we could all pray what David prayed. I delight to do your will, O God. Your laws within my heart. I delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.

Would that that would be our prayer would that would be our will our desire our intentions if you will and Those who have surrendered their will to do his will Will know what is true The Holy Spirit will speak to him. He went on in our text to say this, He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, But he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory. That's what his brothers wanted him to do. You remember how that went?

His brothers wanted him to go and go and promote himself and go and promote his ministry. But Jesus is proclaiming, if you're speaking from yourself you're seeking your own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true. And there's no unrighteousness in him. Not personal fame, not glory for himself, but honors the Lord, honors God the Father. Once again, Matthew tells us this is our motivation what does he say let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works.

Glorify your Father in heaven." Perhaps there's all of us along the way need to learn how to deflect that glory to God the Father. Some Sundays people tell me, Pastor, that was really a good sermon. Yeah. No. God gets the glory.

It's all about Him. You know, Man, how you take care of those people. You know, you're a saint. No, God gets the glory. We have to learn how to deflect that glory back to God.

Just as Jesus did. But he tells us This is our motivation. And all of a sudden the conversation comes to an end here in our text. And he stops this discourse about who sent him, whose authority he has, what he's teaching, and he begins to expose their hypocrisy or their double standard. And he says this, did not Moses give you the law?

Yet none of you keep the law. Why do you seek to kill me? Now what's one of the commandments of Moses, the law? You know it, thou shalt not kill. You know in the New Testament Jesus always expands that, and we'll probably talk about that a little later.

But right now we're just talking about this commandment, thou shalt not kill. Chapter five of John tells us they sought to kill him. How does that work? You talk about keeping the commandments and yet you want to break the commandments and killing me. Just as Fred read a little earlier, you know, do as I say, not as I do the scribes and the Pharisees.

We all have to stop and examine ourselves. Do we live what we declare? Do we live what we expect others to live? We'll talk about that in a little while. The people didn't understand.

Can't expect them to. Now this is when it talks about the people in the next verse it's not talking about the scribes and the Pharisees it's talking about the people gathered there and they said to him you've got a demon who wants to kill you they didn't understand they didn't comprehend Jesus statement they can only attribute what Jesus was saying that perhaps he had a death wish or he had a demon or he felt personally, you know, whatever it was, they did not understand the heart of the scribes and the Pharisees who declared they wanted to kill him. And they justified their declaration by Jesus proclaiming and blaspheming according to their definition that he was somebody that he really wasn't, the Son of God. And they resented that and they wanted to kill him, they hated him. Jesus said, I did one work and you marvel.

It kind of all goes back. Now from chapter 5 where he healed that man in the Sabbath, we went through all the more miracles that he performed. The feeding of the 5, 000, the walking of the wheat, kind of talked about that. But He's saying you're focusing on this one thing and you marvel that it took place and you're upset that it took place on the Sabbath. And you're trying to keep the law in your own righteousness and forget the righteousness of God and what he is asking all of us to be bound.

In Romans chapter 10 it just kind of defines that for they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God. Then it goes on to say in Romans, for Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believes. Now obviously Romans, this comes after this discourse. This comes after his death and resurrection. When we're told and we understand in his death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled all of the law.

And it's talking now that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. It's no longer keeping the law for righteousness. It's hope and trust in Jesus Christ and the work he did on Calvary's cross. And Jesus said, I did one work. A paralyzed man was healed.

I'll give it to you. It was on the Sabbath. But then he said this, Moses gave you circumcision. Not that it was from Moses, it was from the Father. You circumcise a man on the Sabbath.

If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? That double standard, hypocrisy. You'll do something on the Sabbath and you say it's okay because you're supposed to be circumcised in eight days and if that eight day falls on the Sabbath that's the day it has to happen to fulfill the law. That's the requirement. Jesus said I made a man completely whole on the Sabbath and you're mad at me?

I hope in our hearts and lives we can begin to see this hypocrisy. I hope in our hearts and lives we can begin to see this hypocrisy. I hope in our hearts and lives we can begin to see there are times perhaps when you and I have the same kind of mentality. It's okay for me, it's not okay for you. I don't know if this is the time I I should share this I will anyway.

We had a household rule you know having eight boys in our household you got to have some rules right. One of the rules was no roughhousing. Good rule? Eight boys? Great rule.

Except when dad wants the roughhouse. Well, that's what they're saying. You know, that's me, and it's probably you as well. And we begin to think, you know, And we judge and we evaluate and we say, I'd never be like that. People we are.

It's in our hearts. And Jesus is revealing their hard hearts and their independent, hypocritical hearts. And he's saying, Moses gave you a sign of the covenant and you're willing to do it on Son, the Sabbath. I'm making a man completely whole, acknowledging that God is looking for his people and he wants to be their God, the true covenant that God is living in and fulfilled on Calvary's cross, and yet you're upset with me. And he goes on to say at the next verse, the last verse of our text, don't judge according to the appearance but judge with righteous judgment.

Judge with righteous judgment. Judge from the heart of God. End your hypocritical attitudes. Put away from you your hard hearts and your pride that you can say, we kept the law. And understand that the law is fulfilled in Christ and in Christ alone.

How often times as we look at this text and see what's going on, don't we come to that same place that describes in the Pharisees, holding others to a standard that you and I are not willing to uphold ourselves. And evaluating their walk with Christ on that. It's performance based, not grace based. And God doesn't look at us like that. He looks at our hearts.

And he tells us, as in Ephesians chapter 4, he said, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the heroes, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you." We refer to Psalm 139 a lot, and it's an important Psalm for you perhaps even to memorize. But it takes courage to say, search me, O God. Try me.

See if there be any wicked way in me. See if there's a hint of hypocrisy. See if there's just a twinge of this double standard in my life and in your life. In Luke chapter 6, there's a discourse and it goes like this. How can you say to your brothers, brother let me remove that speck you have in your eye when you yourself do not see the plank that's in your own eye, hypocrite.

First remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that's in your brother's eye. Isaiah says, Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows. For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly." We sing a couple hymns about mercy, but it says the Lord will nor have mercy on their fatherless widows. Everyone is a hypocrite. Everyone, including you, including me in our heart of hearts, has this hypocritical tendency.

Hold others to a standard you and I are not willing to uphold. Expecting that kind of behavior. Praise God for His gift of repentance. Praise God for His gift of conviction by the power of the Holy Spirit. Although perhaps you and I expect unbelievers to believe or behave like believers, they won't and they can't.

I need to preach this to myself until I get it right, because we have that expectation. Why don't they do it? Because they're unbelievers. But for believers it's a different story. For those who've seen themselves as a sinner that needs a Savior and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

For those who have repented and asked Jesus to cleanse their sin-sick heart with His shed blood, and that's the only way our sins can be forgiven by the atoning work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. For those who have accepted that forgiveness and invited Jesus into their heart as their Savior and Lord, to as many as received Him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, as to those who have been born again by the Spirit of God, there's a different power. There's a different ability. There's the Holy Spirit's gifting of power to live a life that brings God honor and glory. And in 1 John it tells us, if we say we have not sinned, we lie.

The truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just, and forgiving, cleanses of all unrighteousness. So as we, as if you've been born again by the Spirit of God, then you have a change of heart as to how you look at things, how you evaluate people, what's standards and how you look at things. And this becomes our standard. Not subject to my personal interpretation, but let Scripture interpret Scripture and get the whole counsel of God and live according to those standards.

There are two examples in our text of people who think keeping the law is somehow going to earn their favor with God. And we need to understand clearly that's not how it works. God says if you love me you'll keep my commandments. It doesn't say if you keep my commandments I will love you. We get it wrong.

And you and I need to come to this place of total surrender to His Lordship. We know from the book of James whoever to keep the whole law yet It stumbles at one point is guilty of it all we all stumble And Matthew he goes on to say if you have known what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned a guiltless, for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. People, if you have been born again by the Spirit of God and are living a life that brings Him honor and glory. He is Lord of the law.

He has fulfilled the law. He's complete the law. You and I have Jesus living in ourselves and our hearts and lives, the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us, you and I have the power to live that life, to bring Him honor and glory. It says judgment is without mercy in James chapter 2, to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Thou shalt not kill, you want to kill me. We've looked at this before. But it says, if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken, Are you angry with me because I made a man completely whole in the Sabbath? Don't judge according to the appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Prick their conscience a little earlier in our text when he said, didn't Moses give you the law?

None of you keep the law. Why do you expect me to? Why do you want to kill me? By faith, you and I rightly respond to the Word of God and live a life that brings humannery and glory. And that influence of our old nature has a tendency to creep in, but you and I have to resist that.

And you and I have to recognize, how do I so well identify sin in my brother and sister? Romans gives us that answer. You're inexcusable, O man, for whoever you are, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge, practice the same thing. Jung's literal translation says, therefore thou art an excusable man, everyone who is judging, For in that in which thou dost judge the other, thou thyself thou dost condemn.

For the same thing thou dost practice, who are judging. You and I identify sin in our brothers and sisters so well because why? It's in us. It's in us. But if you've been born again by the Spirit of God, our lives are to give evidence of that relationship with Jesus.

To surrender and to invite and invoke the power of the Holy Spirit in my life and in your life, to live a life that brings him honor and glory. Not evaluating and judging my brother and sister with a hypocritical view, expecting them to do what I'm not willing to do myself. Therefore, if anyone's in crisis, a new creation, all things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. God is purposing to make us new.

And we have to surrender, will to do His will. His will is to change us, sanctification is His will. And that's for me and for you. But the wisdom that's from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." God tells us, you and I are to live by this wisdom, and God's enabled us to do that.

Father, I would pray that we could be free from this sin of hypocrisy and double standard. That we would stop expecting others to do and live according to our standard rather than yours. But put it all away, Lord, And recognize that I can so easily identify sin in my brother and sister because it's deep within my life as well. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us, that we may live a life that brings you honor and glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.