Know the Word
Discern Truth by Knowing God’s Word
SCRIPTURE:
John 7:45-49 NKJV - Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? "But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."
OBSERVATION:
In John chapter 7, we see an ongoing debate over Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath. The religious leaders simply could not accept it. They had made it their mission to silence Jesus and eventually put Him to death. Yet the more they tried, the more they failed—because it was not yet Jesus’ time. Yes, He would be put to death, but His death would cause the good news to spread like wildfire.
John describes a scene in which the people begin to wonder: Could Jesus be the Messiah?
This enraged the religious leaders. Rather than investigate honestly, they belittled the people. In their pride and self-righteousness, the religious leaders told the people they were too uneducated to understand the Scriptures—only they, the religious elite, were “enlightened.”
They went so far as to claim the people were deceived and accursed. Yet among the religious leaders, one man stood in opposition: Nicodemus—the same one who had come to Jesus at night.
John 7:51 NKJV - "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"
Nicodemus challenged them with their own law. They knew the law but refused to follow it. Instead of listening, they ridiculed him.
John 7:52 NKJV - They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."
They didn’t want the truth. They only wanted to protect their sacred traditions and interpretations. They refused to be corrected and refused to see.
APPLICATION:
If you ever find yourself in a church where the pastor tells you that you're too simple or uneducated to understand the Bible, run!
If you ever hear a pastor claim to have a “new revelation” from God and say that anyone who disagrees is deceived, run!
If you ever sit under teaching where Scripture is used only to support personal agendas—and truth is ignored—run!
You and I must know God’s Word for ourselves. We must study it. We must learn it.
As Paul instructed:
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV - Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
John 7:45-49 NKJV - Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? "But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."
OBSERVATION:
In John chapter 7, we see an ongoing debate over Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath. The religious leaders simply could not accept it. They had made it their mission to silence Jesus and eventually put Him to death. Yet the more they tried, the more they failed—because it was not yet Jesus’ time. Yes, He would be put to death, but His death would cause the good news to spread like wildfire.
John describes a scene in which the people begin to wonder: Could Jesus be the Messiah?
This enraged the religious leaders. Rather than investigate honestly, they belittled the people. In their pride and self-righteousness, the religious leaders told the people they were too uneducated to understand the Scriptures—only they, the religious elite, were “enlightened.”
They went so far as to claim the people were deceived and accursed. Yet among the religious leaders, one man stood in opposition: Nicodemus—the same one who had come to Jesus at night.
John 7:51 NKJV - "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"
Nicodemus challenged them with their own law. They knew the law but refused to follow it. Instead of listening, they ridiculed him.
John 7:52 NKJV - They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."
They didn’t want the truth. They only wanted to protect their sacred traditions and interpretations. They refused to be corrected and refused to see.
APPLICATION:
If you ever find yourself in a church where the pastor tells you that you're too simple or uneducated to understand the Bible, run!
If you ever hear a pastor claim to have a “new revelation” from God and say that anyone who disagrees is deceived, run!
If you ever sit under teaching where Scripture is used only to support personal agendas—and truth is ignored—run!
You and I must know God’s Word for ourselves. We must study it. We must learn it.
As Paul instructed:
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV - Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
If it's true, it's not new, and if it's new, it's not true. – C.S. Lewis
Know the Bible, for it contains the words of life. It always points to Jesus; the work is complete. Nothing needs to be added. Hold fast to the truth.
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that it is true—tested and proven over time. Help me know it more—not just for myself, but so I can share it with others, so they, too, might come to know Your truth. May I never be in a place where it could be said of me: “Deceived and accursed” because I did not know Your Word. Keep my heart soft. Keep my mind sharp. And may Your truth forever be my anchor.
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that it is true—tested and proven over time. Help me know it more—not just for myself, but so I can share it with others, so they, too, might come to know Your truth. May I never be in a place where it could be said of me: “Deceived and accursed” because I did not know Your Word. Keep my heart soft. Keep my mind sharp. And may Your truth forever be my anchor.
Know Scripture for yourself so you’re not misled by those who twist the truth.
Posted in 04 - John
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