Sunday Gathering - John 7 : 10-24 - Andy Holingum - Sermon Only
Ep. 19

Sunday Gathering - John 7 : 10-24 - Andy Holingum - Sermon Only

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Episode description

Andy Holingum continues a sermon series in John’s Gospel, preaching from John 7:10-24, set during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. After recounting recent weeks in John 5 and 6 — the Sabbath healing of a paralytic, the feeding of the five thousand, and many disciples falling away — he sets the scene: Jesus goes up to the feast secretly while the Jewish leaders watch for him and the crowd whispers divided opinions, afraid to speak publicly. Halfway through the feast, Jesus steps into the temple courts and teaches with an authority that amazes the crowd, who wonder how an uneducated man can speak this way.

Holingum unpacks Jesus’ answer in verses 16-18, identifying three grounds for his authority: his teaching comes not from himself but from the one who sent him, so it is nothing new but the continuation of all God has said in the Old Testament; it is verified in lived experience, for anyone who chooses to do God’s will will find out whether his teaching is from God; and his motives are selfless, seeking the honour of the one who sent him rather than his own. He then moves to verses 19-24, where Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of leaders who keep the letter of the law — circumcising on the Sabbath — yet rage at him for healing a whole man on the Sabbath, and concludes with the command to stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment.

The through-line is that Jesus’ authority is divine, not merely religious, and that following him means moving beyond surface-level religion and face-value judgment to the reality of a loving, merciful God. Holingum applies this to the tendency to cling to comfortable religion, to tribalism and gossip, and to the fear that keeps people silent about Jesus, calling the congregation to speak up, to test Jesus in everyday life, and to look beyond appearances as Jesus himself did with the Samaritan woman and the woman caught in adultery.

Bible passages

  • John 7:10-24
  • John 7:1-9
  • John 5:1-18
  • John 6:1-71
  • John 7:37-38
  • Acts 2:1-4
  • Psalm 34:8
  • John 4:1-42
  • John 8:1-11
  • Luke 10:25-37

Key points

  • Jesus went up to the Feast of Tabernacles secretly, but halfway through he began teaching in the temple courts with astonishing authority.
  • The crowd was divided — some called him a good man, others a deceiver — yet no one spoke publicly for fear of the Jewish leaders.
  • Holingum gives background on the feast: a pilgrimage festival lasting eight days, with booths, daily sacrifices, and thanksgiving for God’s provision in the wilderness.
  • Jesus grounds his authority in Scripture: his teaching is not new but the continuation of what God has already said in the Old Testament.
  • Jesus ties his teaching to lived experience: anyone who chooses to do God’s will will discover that his words are true.
  • Jesus’ motives are selfless — he seeks the honour of the one who sent him, not his own glory.
  • Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of leaders who permit circumcision on the Sabbath yet condemn him for healing on the Sabbath.
  • The command of verse 24 is to stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment.
  • Jesus modeled this himself with the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, and in parables such as the Good Samaritan.
  • Gossip is always based on face value; Holingum’s test is whether what we hear is loving, true, and necessary.

Calls to action

  • For those who have never professed faith: do not settle for thinking of Jesus as merely a good man or a deceiver — test his words in lived experience and discover that he is who he claims to be.
  • For believers: speak up for Jesus publicly rather than staying silent out of fear of family, peers, society, or government.
  • For believers: study Scripture diligently so that God’s voice and authority become the yardstick for all teaching.
  • For believers: follow leaders who point to Jesus rather than to themselves, and help build a church that carries on beyond any individual.
  • For believers: stop judging at face value — move beyond tribalism, love people who are not like you, and squash gossip by asking whether it is loving, true, and necessary.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/BuNXv1_qsnA