A Picture of Unbelief

John 7:25-30 — People often view the Jews who encountered Christ but did not believe him as fools. They ask, How could they not see he was the son of God? How could they be so stubborn and full of unbelief? However, in Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ sermon on John 7:25, he shows us that but for the grace of God, we might have done the same thing. Dr. Lloyd-Jones first explains why the Jews in the passage believed so strongly that Jesus was not the Christ. He describes how the Jews, believed their whole lives that no one would know where the Christ would come from. Because they knew Jesus and where he came from, he could not be the Christ. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that the place they believed him to be from, Nazareth, was actually wrong, and no one really knew his birth place, Bethlehem. Jesus could have explained this simply to the Jews and refuted their point; however, in sheer stubbornness and “dogmatism” the Jews talked over Jesus and refused to listen to him. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows us how the passage relates to the reason behind why many people reject the gospel today. Unbelievers today often dismiss the gospel as folklore and myth before even hearing it. They, with their dogmatic beliefs in philosophy and worldly knowledge only care to find biblical inconsistencies to prove the gospel wrong, rather than listening to it and learning about it. They make claims that morality is completely separate from Christianity and that death is the end, as if they absolutely know them to be true. However, they don’t “know” these things. They can only wonder and assume that these claims are true. Just like the Jews, who had convinced themselves that the Messiah would appear in marvelous glory and set them free from the Romans, unbelievers today are so heavy set on their world philosophy and knowledge that they don’t even consider that Christianity could be true. Like Aristotle and Plato, the unbelievers may try to know God or reject his existence, but they will never be satisfied with their conclusions. The only way to know God and receive eternal life is through Christ. Dr. Lloyd-Jones concludes his sermon by asking the question, “Will you base you position on the dogmatic positions of men, or listen to Christ?” Don’t risk your eternal future on man’s wisdom; listen to Christ.