CHAPTER 7 JESUS, UNDER CONSTANT THREAT OF DEATH, PROCLAIMS THAT RIVERS OF LIVING WATER WILL RESULT FROM HIS DEATH. In the previous chapter Jesus has proclaimed His coming death (John 6:51), being aware that the Judaisers were planning to kill Him (John 5:18). That was preparatory for what is now com... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Judea because the Judaisers sought to kill him.' ‘After these things'. A loose connecting phrase indicating a change of narrative and having little other significance except to link with, and probably date it later than, the... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS IN DANGER (JOHN 7:1). It is now made clear that at this stage Jesus was under constant threat of death from the authorities in Judea and Jerusalem, so much so that He was unable to go there openly. It is, of course, true to say in their defence that His opponents did have a responsibility to r... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now the Jew's Feast of Tabernacles was at hand'. The Feast of Tabernacles was the feast celebrating the end of the year's harvests, and took place around September/October. It was one of the main feasts celebrated by the Jews, being one of the three that were commanded to be celebrated at their ce... [ Continue Reading ]
‘His brothers therefore said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For no man does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things show yourself clearly to the world.” For even his brothers did not belie... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus therefore says to them, ‘My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready.' But what they failed to realise was that Jesus' life was directed by God. ‘My time has not yet come', He declared. Others were free to do what they liked, ‘your time is always here', but not He. As He had said... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I declare that its works are evil'. He points out to his brothers that they had given the world no reason for hating them, so that they had nothing to beware of and nothing to fear. No one wanted to arrest them. But it was different with Himself. W... [ Continue Reading ]
‘You go up to the Feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.' And having said these things to them he remained dwelling in Galilee.' So He told His brothers to go to the feast, while He remained in Galilee, awaiting God's time. What He, of course, meant was that H... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when his brothers were gone to the Feast, then he also went up, not publicly but as it were in secret.' Once His brothers and the Galilean party had gone up to the feast, however, no doubt to be given the onceover by the Judaiser's spies, Jesus followed quietly and without any fuss. He did not... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Judaisers therefore were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?”.' True to form the Judaisers had had their spies out. There was no doubt that they had been looking for Him and had evil intentions towards Him. This was common knowledge to many, for people were fearful of talki... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there was much murmuring among the crowds concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man”. Other said, “That is not so, but he leads the mass of people astray”. However no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Judaisers.' Huge crowds would arrive in Jerusalem and its surrounding districts for... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS TEACHES OPENLY IN THE TEMPLE AND PLEADS FOR RIGHT JUDGMENT (JOHN 7:14). But whilst Jesus was taking every precaution He knew that He could not allow His own safety to hinder the proclamation of His message, with the result that, once He was in Jerusalem He waited awhile to lull the authoritie... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when it was now the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the Temple and taught.' The Temple was the place where religious teachers would regularly go to pass on their teachings. They would sit to teach, and their disciples would gather round them while they sat and taught, whilst interested... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Judaisers therefore marvelled saying, “How does this man know letters, having never learned?” ' As they listened to Him even His enemies were impressed. They were amazed. They could not understand how He had such wide knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures when He had never been through... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus therefore answered them and said, “My teaching is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man really wants to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself”.' Jesus answered their amazement and explained the source of His teaching. ‘My teaching i... [ Continue Reading ]
‘He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true and in him there is no falsehood'. He pointed out that the one whose authority we claim is the one whose glory we seek. Thus those who speak in their own name or the name of their group a... [ Continue Reading ]
“Did not Moses give you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?' He points to Moses in order to reveal one of the cracks in their position. The Judaisers constantly proclaimed Moses as their chief authority, the one who showed them the will of God. Well and good. But... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The crowds answered, ‘you have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you?' This suggestion upset the people who were listening. They may well have been standing round in the Temple area, listening to various teachers. Note that it was ‘the people' who said this, some of whom were not aware of the dark o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I did one work and you all wonder at it'. This looks back to the man at the pool who was healed on the Sabbath (John 5:2). This was the incident that above all had turned the Judaisers against Him. By it He was seen not only as a Sabbath-breaker but also as One Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
“This is why I tell you that Moses has given you circumcision, not that it is of Moses but of the fathers, and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you hotly angry with me because I made a man totally whol... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Do not judge by appearances, but judge righteous judgment'. Jesus acknowledged their right to judge, but stressed that it was incumbent on them to ensure that their judgment was righteous, and not superficial. Those who claimed the right to judge had a special responsibility to ensure that they ju... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NET IS DRAWING TIGHTER - QUESTIONS AMONG THE PEOPLE (JOHN 7:25). It is quite clear that the impact of Jesus' ministry has been such that everyone is talking about Him. The whole of Jerusalem is stirred He has become a prominent topic of conversation. His Name is on everyone's lips whether in su... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Some therefore of those of Jerusalem said, “Is not this he whom they seek to put to death? And see, he speaks openly and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the Rulers indeed know that this is the Messiah?”.' Some of the people of Jerusalem now asked questions among themselves. The threat to J... [ Continue Reading ]
“However it is, we know from where this man comes. But when the Messiah comes, no one will know from where he comes.” This, however, raised a further problem for them. There were differing views about the origin of the Messiah. Some said his origin would be unknown, others that he would be born in... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus therefore cried in the Temple, teaching, and saying, “You both know me, and know from where I am. But I am not come of myself, and he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know him because I am from him and he sent me”.' Jesus now took them up on their certainty about His origins. He d... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So they sought to arrest him.' Again ‘they' means the Judaisers and the authorities. Yet they were clearly having difficulty in arresting Him. But why? Elsewhere we are told it was because they were afraid of the people who saw Jesus as a prophet (Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19). In other words they would... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Yet many of the crowds of people believed in him, and they said, ‘When the Messiah appears, will he perform more signs than those which this man has done?' So the whole of Jerusalem seemed to be talking about Jesus, with many differing views being voiced. And many believed that He was the Messiah.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Pharisees heard the crowds murmuring these things about him, and the Chief Priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.' This surge of support for Jesus clearly had the Pharisees worried, and they reported back to the authorities, with the result that ‘the chief priests and Pharisees... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus therefore said, “Yet a little while I am with you, and I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.” ' Aware of the growing situation Jesus said to those who were around Him, which included a number of Judaisers, ‘I will be with yo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Judaisers therefore said among themselves, “Where will this man go such that we will never find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come'?” ' The Judaisers we... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now on the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, “If any man thirst let him come to me and drink”.' ‘On the last day, the great day.' The feast came to its climax with a special Sabbath, which was the eighth day. And it was probably on this day, so that the people wou... [ Continue Reading ]
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his inner being will flow rivers of living water.” At such a time, reference to flowing water would immediately bring to people's minds the water poured out daily before God at the Temple, symb... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RIVERS OF LIVING WATER (JOHN 7:37). Meanwhile the Feast of Tabernacles was drawing to a close with its emphasis on harvest and the prayers for rain for the coming year. The people were totally dependent on that rain for survival, and during the seven days of this feast a ceremonial procession w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But this he said about the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit was not, because Jesus was not yet glorified' (the word ‘given' is not in the Greek text). To some extent we must distinguish v. 37 from v. 38. The promise in v. 37 was available to the people... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Some of the huge crowds therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is certainly the Prophet”. Others said, “This is the Messiah”.' His words stirred up the people, who were already in a high state of excitement because of the Feast. Therefore some said, ‘this is the anticipated Prophet',... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But some said, “What? Does the Messiah come out of Galilee?” Has not the Scripture said that the Messiah comes of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem where David was?” ' Others, however, cast a dampener on them and said, ‘will the Messiah come from Galilee?' They knew that the Messiah was to be... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY (JOHN 7:53 TO JOHN 8:11). This passage is in fact omitted by almost all the most ancient manuscripts (it is only in D), and by the oldest versions (Syriac, Coptic and some of the old latin), and is not mentioned by the earliest fathers, with the exception of Papias (early... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So there arose a division in the crowd because of him. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him.' And so there was division among them. Some wanted His arrest, others wanted to support Him. The city was divided. And this was demonstrated by the fact that even the officia... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The officers therefore came to the Chief Priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”. The officers answered, “Never did man speak in such a way”.' The officials returned to the people who had sent them and informed them of what was happening. And when they were asked... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES DISMISS BELIEF IN HIM AS RIDICULOUS (JOHN 7:45). Sitting waiting in their quarters the leading religious authorities were seething. The last thing that they wanted was a popular uprising in support of Jesus, for it would both undermine their own status, and bring the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Pharisees answered them, “Are you also led astray? Have any of the leading authorities believed in him, or the Pharisees? But this crowd who do not know the Law are accursed”.' The Pharisees, of course, had not had to face the huge crowds and could therefore afford to be brave, and they respond... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Nicodemus, he who came to Him before, being one of them, says to them, “Does our law judge a man unless it first hear from himself and know what he does?” Present among them was Nicodemus, who had previously consulted Jesus (John 3) and was a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish governing body). He... [ Continue Reading ]
‘They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and discover that no prophet arises from Galilee”.' The reply tells us all we need to know about the genuineness of these particular Pharisees. What Nicodemus had suggested was basic justice and in accord with the law of Moses. But... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they went every man to his own house but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives'. This proposed closure of the previous section clearly reflects the contrast between the One who goes aside to pray and those have no such intent, those who live in accordance with the world. It is being made clear tha... [ Continue Reading ]