JOHN 7:1-2 1
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in
Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2
Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
Why did Jesus avoid Judea, the southern 1/3 of Israel?
The Jewish authorities, or
"Jews", were concentrated in
Jerusalem of Judea and
"sought to kill Him".
(John 7:)
Was Jesus afraid of them?
No, and He would eventually leverage them to bring about His crucifixion,
but now was not the time.
What is the "Feast of Tabernacles" (John 7:2)?
Also known as the "Feast of Booths" because people lived in
booth, tents and other makeshift shelter for 7-days, it was a feast God
commanded the Jews to keep in order to commemorate God having led and
provided for them for 40 years in the wilderness after freeing them
from slavery in Egypt:
"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak
to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month
shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD... You shall
dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in
booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel
dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD
your God.’” (Leviticus 23:33-34, 42-43) This feast was also called
the
"Feast of Ingathering" (Exodus 23:16) because it took
place at the end of the harvest. So just as the land was full of food, the
people were to remember that is is God who gave them food for 40 years in
the desert, and it is God who still gave them their food. Since this feast is about 6
months after the Feast of Passover, about 6-months had elapsed since John
chapter 6.
JOHN 7:3-9 3
His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea,
that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.
4 For no one does anything in secret
while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show
Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His
brothers did not believe in Him. 6 Then
Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always
ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but
it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.
8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet
going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.”
9 When He had said these things to them,
He remained in Galilee.
Who were Jesus' "brothers" (John 7:3)?
The sons Mary had with Joseph after she had given birth to Jesus,
"her firstborn son." (Matthew 1:25)
What were their names?
"James, Joses, Simon, and Judas" (Matthew 13:55)
Did they believe in Jesus?
Acts 1:14 says that Jesus' disciples
"all
continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and
Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." So,
eventually, His brothers eventually became believers, and one of them,
James, even became a Christian leader. But that's after Jesus' resurrection.
Here, they
"did not believe in Him"
(John 7:5), considered Him to be
an embarrassment to the family and are taunting Him to
"Depart from
here and go into Judea" (John 7:3) and
"show Yourself to the world."
(John 7:4)
Did Jesus say that He wasn’t going to go to the feast?
No, He said He wasn’t
“yet” (John 7:8) going.
JOHN 7:10-14 10
But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast,
not openly, but as it were in secret. 11
Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?”
12 And there was much complaining among
the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on
the contrary, He deceives the people.” 13
However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
14 Now about the middle of the feast
Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem "in secret"?
The Jews were trying to kill Him and
"sought Him at the feast".
(John 7:11)
If Jesus came to die, why not get captured and killed?
He not only had to die, but die for the right reason at the right time. He
still had 6 months to go for that.
What effect do you think His brothers going ahead had?
"There was much complaining among the people concerning Him."
(John 7:12) And the Jews were asking,
"Where is He?"
(John 7:11) So
when Jesus' brothers arrived in advance and spread the word that He wasn't
coming to the feast, the Jews probably lifted
whatever trap may have been laid for Jesus.
When He does arrive, does Jesus remain hidden?
No, He went right
"into the temple"
(John 7:14), whose large crowd could hear His message and make it tricky for the
Jews to arrest Him without cause,
"and taught"
(John 7:14).
JOHN 7:15-19 15
And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having
never studied?” 16 Jesus answered them
and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
17 If anyone wills to do His will, he
shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I
speak on My own authority. 18 He who
speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of
the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet
none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
What kind of study do you think the Jews were referring to in John 7:15?
Rabbinic studies.
What did that consist of?
Aspiring rabbis had to memorize the first
five books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy - by 13 years of age, then be tested by a rabbi for their
memorized knowledge. Those who studied under
the rabbi, often in rabbinic schools. Once they've learned
all that the rabbi could teach them, their rabbinic studies were deemed
completed and they were ordained as rabbis with the authority have and teach
their own disciples.
So what are the Jews implying?
Since Jesus wasn't taught under a rabbi, His doctrine must be something that
He made up on His own.
How does Jesus respond in John 7:16-19?
His doctrine comes directly from God the Father, and those who truly seek
after God instead of their own glory will recognize that. As for the Jews,
they don't even keep the doctrines handed down through Moses since they're
trying to kill Jesus in violation of the Commandment not to commit murder.
JOHN 7:20-24
20 The people answered and said, “You
have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” 21
Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel.
22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision
(not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a
man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives
circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be
broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on
the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according
to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Why did the people think that Jesus had "a demon"
(John 7:20)?
Unaware of their leaders' murder plot against Jesus, they thought He was
paranoid or possessed for saying that He was under a murder plot.
What "one work" (John 7:21) that made them
marvel is Jesus referring to?
The last time He was in Jerusalem, Jesus had healed by the pool of Bethesda
a man
"who had had an infirmity thirty-eight years." (John
5:5) Because this healing had taken place on the Sabbath, they had been
angry with Him in their misperception that He had broken the Sabbath.
Why does Jesus bring up circumcision and judgment in John
7:22-24?
They had been wrong to be angry at Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath
when they themselves regularly circumcise 8-day old boys on the Sabbath in
order to adhere to the commandment that Moses had recorded:
"And on
the eighth's day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised."
(Leviticus 12:3). Jesus is reminding them that they had judged Him wrongly
in the past, and were to
"judge with righteous judgment"
(John 7:24)
this time.
Why does John 7:22 include the phrase, "not
that it is from Moses, but from the fathers"?
The
"fathers" refers to the patriarchs who precede Moses.
God's command to
circumcise doesn't start
"from" Moses but
from the first patriarch, which is Abraham:
"This is My covenant
which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you:
Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be
circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be
circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your
house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant."
(Genesis 17:10-12)
By the way, do you know what molecules in the body enable blood to coagulate
and clot over wounds?
Vitamin K and Prothrombin. Vitamin K induces the liver to produce Prothrombin, which enables blood to
clot.
Any guess as to when the levels of Vitamin K and Prothrombin peak
during a man's life?
8 days after birth.
When was this medical discovery made?
It was made and published in 1984 by Dr. S.I. McMillen (McMillen, S.I., M.D. (1984),
None of These Diseases (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell)),
or 3984 years after God told Abraham to circumcise on the 8th day. Scientific advances continue to explain God's logic and design expressed in
the Bible.
JOHN 7:25-31
25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said,
Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26
But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers
know indeed that this is truly the Christ? 27
However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no
one knows where He is from. 28 Then
Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me,
and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who
sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29
But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore they sought to take Him;
but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
31 And many of the people believed in
Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these
which this Man has done?”
Who vindicated Jesus' assertion of a murder plot?
Some in the crowd who were
"from Jerusalem"
(John 7:25), where the
Jewish
"rulers" (John 7:26) lived. Not everyone in the
crowd were visitors for the feast. Some were locals to whom the murder plot
apparently had leaked out, and who now wondered if the rulers' silence
amounted to their recognition of Jesus as the
"Christ"
(John 7:26).
How many errors are in their statement in John 7:27?
Two.
What is one of them?
Their claim,
"when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."
(John 7:27) is false since the prophet Micah had prophesied that the
"One to be Ruler" will come out of
"Bethlehem"
(Micah 5:2).
What is the other error?
Although Jesus was from Galilee, where they thought He had been born, His
birthplace was Bethlehem.
Is that what Jesus tells them in John 7:28-29?
No, He skips over that and reveals His real origins, which isn't a place,
but God the Father in heaven.
Why couldn’t they take Him?
"Because His hour had not yet come."
(John 7:30)
Who will determine when that hour has come?
God.
By the way, why might God have had chosen a place called, "Bethlehem" as the
place of Jesus' birth?
"Bethlehem" in Hebrew literally means, "house" (
beth) of "bread" (
lechem),
so the
"bread of life" (John 6:48) came from the bakery.
JOHN 7:32-36 32
The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and
the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.
33 Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be
with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.
34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and
where I am you cannot come.” 35 Then the
Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall
not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks
and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this
thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am
you cannot come’?”
What tipped the "Pharisees and the chief priests"
(John 7:32) into action?
The crowd starting to murmur if Jesus was the Messiah.
Who were the “officers” in John 7:32?
The Hebrew temple guards under their control, not the Roman soldiers.
How much longer is "a little while longer"
in John 7:33?
Jesus would be on the cross at the next Passover, which was 6 months from
this Feast of Tabernacles.
Where will Jesus go thereafter?
He will return to God the Father, who sent Him.
Where do the Jews wonder He intends to go?
To the Jewish communities dispersed in the Greek-speaking world outside of
Israel.
JOHN 7:37-39 37
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out,
saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the
Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the
Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit
was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When did Jesus already talk about coming to Him to drink
water?
At the well in Sychar, to the Samaritan woman as described in John chapter
4.
But that was at a well. What about here? Why would Jesus
suddenly cry out about drinking water?
There was water here too.
"On the
last day, that great day of the feast,” (John 7:37) the priests walked around
the altar 7 times while chanting Psalm 118:25 - “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O
Lord, I pray, send now prosperity." - and then poured out water to symbolize
the water Moses made to pour from the rock:
"Then Moses lifted his
hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly,
and the congregation and their animals drank." (Numbers 20:11) Most
likely, as the people watched the water being poured, Jesus stood "
and
cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the
Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
(John 7:37-38)
When would the Holy Spirit be given?
At the Pentecost as described in Acts chapter 2.
JOHN 7:40-53 40
Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly
this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said,
“This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of
Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said
that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of
Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there
was a division among the people because of Him.
44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on
Him. 45 Then the officers came to the
chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought
Him?” 46 The officers answered, “No man
ever spoke like this Man!” 47 Then the
Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived?
48 Have any of the rulers or the
Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this
crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them)
said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a
man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
52 They answered and said to him, “Are
you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of
Galilee.” 53 And everyone went to his own house.
53 And everyone went to his own house.
What seems to have been the effect of the Jesus'
declaration in John 7:37-38?
Make the crowd question deeper. At least some are now talking about the
Bethlehem prophecy.
Did the crowd keep the officers from arresting Jesus?
No, the Words He
"spoke" (John 7:46) kept them from arresting Him.
Why is Nicodemus (John chapter 3) with the "chief
priests and Pharisees"?
He is one of them - not a chief priest, but a Pharisee
and a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council:
"There was a man
of the Pharisees named, Nicodemus, a rule of the Jews." (John 3:1)
What is he doing in John 7:51?
He is trying to stand up for Jesus by reminding them of the Jewish law that
forbids condemning anyone until they have had a chance to speak for themselves.
How kindly do they accept his reminder?
Not kindly at all.
Was it true that "no prophet has arisen out of Galilee"
(John 7:52)?
No, a number of prophets, including Jonah and Nahum, had arisen out of Galilee.
In fact, what town was Nahum from?
Capernaum, which in Hebrew is "Kfer Nahum", meaning "Village of Nahum."
Based on John 7:50-52, what is the correct answer to the
question in John 7:48?
Yes, at least one of them - Nicodemus - did believe.
What criterion for truth were they implying in John 7:48?
Whether or not the “learned” people believed it.
Is what you believe based on your own personal investigation of the
Bible or what some "learned" person said about it? If the latter, should
the destiny of your soul really be outsourced to a human being?
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