John Chapter 7

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

The Feast of Tabernacles began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, five days after Yom Kippur. It was one of the three main feasts of the Jews, symbolizing the protection of Israel in the wilderness (Lev. 23; Deut. 16). The events of chapter 7 took place six months after chapter 6, since John referred to the Passover in 6:4 and now mentioned the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. The record of chapter 7 begins before the feast and takes us to the last and greatest day.

This occasion raised an issue. From Zechariah 14:16-21, the Jewish people knew that the Feast of Tabernacles was to be fulfilled by the messianic kingdom. Therefore, Jesus’s four half-brothers chal­lenged Him to go to Jerusalem and make Himself king in fulfilment of these verses. (CS)

They were saying, “If you really are the Messiah, go to the Feast of Tabernacles and make yourself king, as Zechariah 14 predicted.”

The appointed time for Jesus to fulfil Zechariah 14 had not yet arrived. However, their appointed time of death was un­known to them; therefore, just in case they were in the final days, they should always be ready and walk worthily.

The world hated Jesus because He testified of its sins. He recognized the danger He would face in Jerusalem. The works of His half-brothers were evil in that they were already trying to have Him killed. So He said to them

Jesus would not die at this Feast of Tabernacles. When He said I am not going up to this feast, it did not mean He would not go there at all. It meant that He was not going in response to their challenge. Jesus did go to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, but not in response to the brothers’ challenge to make Himself king.

That could not happen be¬cause His time was not yet fulfilled. In light of the fact that the nation had rejected Him, this was not the time to set up the kingdom.

The Messiah left for Jerusalem, but not in response to the challenge of His brothers. He went on the basis of His own motiva¬tion, His own program, His own plan. Yeshua knew that this would be the last Feast of Tabernacles before He would be received up into heaven. This celebration marked the beginning of the last six months of His life.

Jews here are Judeans

The ques­tion challenged Yeshua's authority: How was this man able to speak with authority, since He had never attended nor received ordination from any of the rabbinical schools? The multitudes knew that the lead­ers had rejected Him.

As the critics saw it, there were only two possibilities:
(1) Jesus must have been enrolled as a regular student in a rabbinical school; or
(2) Jesus is simply spouting his own ideas.

The Jews depended on education and authorities (Rabbis of old) and received their doctrine second-hand, but Jesus insisted that we experience the authority of truth personally, from the Holy Spirit.

f Jesus were only self-taught (speaking on His own) or a genius, then His ministry would be self-exalting.

Their hearts (inner thoughts) were full of evil

The charge of demonism now came from the multitudes and they insulted Him, saying He was demon-possessed. (Cf Matthew. 11:18).
Jesus had told His half-brothers the world hated Him back in John 7:7, because "everyone who does evil hates the light" (John 3:20).
To call Jesus, who is sent from God, demon-possessed is to call light darkness.

Circumcision is a religious rite that predated Moses. Abraham circumcised as a sign of the covenant (Gen. 17:9–14), and Moses gave Israel circumcision as part of the Levitical system.
Under the Mosaic Law, "On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised" (Lev. 12:3). The rabbis themselves said that the law of circumcision superseded the law of the Sabbath. If, for example, the eighth day of a boy's life happened to fall on a Sabbath, the rabbis were required to circumcise the child, though it was considered a "work."

24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

Their problem was that they understood the Scriptures only superficially. Their superficial understanding was caused by their hostility against God's Representative.

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?

26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?

27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."

False logic

1. Nobody knows where the Christ comes from.
2. We know where Jesus of Nazareth came from.
3. Conclusion: Jesus cannot be the Messiah.

28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.

29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me."

Jesus' response to their confusion was three simple statements:

1. You know me in terms of my physical presence on earth;
2. But I really came from the Father, and you do not know that because you do not know him; and
3. Nevertheless, I know him because he sent me to earth

These people were proud of their covenant relationship and claimed to know God (Rom 2:17, 23), but Jesus shows that people cannot know the true God until they have come to know his Son.

This God is unknown to these opponents of Jesus because they have turned away from his only Revealer and rejected his message of salvation.

30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus was in reality free from all danger, because it was not the will of God that he should die at this time.

31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"

They were convinced by the signs they had seen and wondered if anyone else could have performed more miracles than Jesus had already done. The obvious answer was "no."

We see in these verses, the obstinate blindness of the unbelieving Jews. We find them defending their denial of our Lord's Messiahship and yet in both these assertions they were wrong! (JCR)

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

The word we render "murmuring" does not necessarily imply any finding fault, but only a dissatisfied and restless state of mind, which found vent in much conversation and whispering among the people.

They dared not seize Him for fear of the people, and yet dared not go away to report their inability to carry out their orders.(JCR)

The Jews of course could not understand whom our Lord.

There is a great Bible truth taught here, as elsewhere, which is far too much overlooked by many - the possibility of men seeking salvation when it is too late, and crying for pardon and heaven when the door is shut for ever. Men may find out their folly and be filled with remorse for their sins, and yet feel that they cannot repent. No doubt true repentance is never too late; but late repentance is seldom true: Pharaoh, King Saul, and Judas Iscariot. (JCR)

Burgon remarks, that to this very day the Jews are in a sense seeking the Messiah, and yet not finding Him (exp after the holocaust)

Jews means all Jews not just leaders.

There was an existence of a large number of Jews scattered all over the Gentile world was acknowledged as notorious in our Lord's time.

There was also an impression that it proves to have prevailed among the Jews that a new teacher of religion might be expected to go to the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, and, beginning with them, proceed to teach the Gentiles. (JCR)

This question of the Jews is the language of people who saw that there was probably some deep meaning in our Lord's words, and yet were unable to make out which He meant.

Hating our Lord bitterly, as many of them did,—determined to kill Him the first opportunity,—vexed and annoyed at their own inability to answer Him, or to stop His influence with the people,—they suspected everything that fell from His lips.—"Do not these words of His imply some mischief? Is there not some evil at the bottom of them? Do they not indicate that He is going to dishonor the law of Moses by pulling down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile?"

Rivers of Living Water

Ie 3 days later from v36 (JCR) - perhaps the 7th day, the most important. Jesus stood and made this proclamation on that special morning, thereby presenting himself as the culmination of the water ceremony.

The expression "drink," is of course figurative, answering to the word "thirst." It means, "Let him freely take from me everything that his soul wants,—mercy, grace, pardon, peace, strength. I am the Fountain of Life. Let him use me as such, and I shall be well pleased."

Note of interest: during the first six days, the priests circled the altar only once; but on the last day, they circled the altar seven times and continued to recite from Psalm 118: Hoshanah Rabbah, save us in the highest (v. 25). The priests held an additional willow branch during their circuits around the altar, and water was especially emphasized.

By saying that if anyone believes, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water, He applied the ceremony individually rather than nationally. Those who accept His Messiahship will be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and rivers of living water will flow from within.

This verse has caused difficulties: e.g. there is no text in the Old Testament Scriptures which at all answers to the quotation apparently given here. JCR suggests the passages to which our Lord referred, and the substance of which He gives, are probably Isa 12:3; Isa 35:6-7; Isa 41:18; Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1; Isa 58:11; Zec 14:8, Zec 14:16. Of these passages our Lord gives the general sense, but not the precise words.

John's explanatory note: also note there can be no doubt that "water" does not mean "baptism," but the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was glorified, after His death, resurrection, and Ascension. The permanent, universal indwelling of the Spirit among all believers would only occur after His ascension. Old Testament saints experienced the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, which was different from His indwelling work.

Division Among the People

1) They viewed Yeshua as being the prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15.

2) Others said, "This is the Christ."  (Jn. 7:41a).

3) But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? (Jn. 7:41b).

They did not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and assumed He was born in Nazareth, which was not the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah. This leads to the motif of this section: So there was a division among the people over him (Jn. 7:43).

The officers sent to arrest Jesus tried to take hold of Him but failed because no one laid hands on Him (Jn. 7:44). (CS)

They responded that Jesus had not persuaded any of the Pharisees who knew the Scriptures and the law. He had only persuaded common people who did not know the law. The rabbis referred to these people in the Talmud as the am ha-aretz, "the people of the land," a derogatory term for those ignorant of Rabbinic Judaism.

Nicodemus reminded the Pharisees that their law required an open hearing before any word of condemnation could be spoken.

52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Calling a Judean a Galilean negatively implied, "Are you also as stupid as they are?"

They overstated their case, however, when they demanded: Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee. (Jn. 7:52b). At least three prophets came from Galilee: Hosea, Jonah, and Elisha.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

53 They went each to his own house

These words seem to indicate that the assembly of Pharisees, before whom the officers had appeared, reporting their inability to take our Lord prisoner, broke up at once without taking any further action. They saw they could do nothing.