An Expository Study of John’s Gospel
CHAPTER 7
Scripture Reading: John 7 (KJV)
THE REVELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO ISRAEL
7:1 … “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry (Judaea), because the Jews sought to kill him.” We now enter a period of conflict. Attitudes of conflict have already been expressed, but, until now they were not settled or final. Beginning with this chapter, we see some settled attitudes both for and against the Lord. In fact, the leaders of the Jews have already made up their minds. As far as they are concerned, Jesus must go. And, they mean to not dismiss him from the country, but kill Him. To them, Jesus cannot be tolerated because as far as they are concerned He is attempting to destroy their place of respect among the Jews. They felt they were losing popularity, while Jesus was gaining. So, now they were seeking the opportunity to deal with the Lord. Beginning with this chapter, onward, as far as the Jewish leaders were concerned, the Lord was living on borrowed time. In fact, as we learn in this chapter, the Lord is waiting, not for the appointed time desired by the Jewish leaders, but for the fulfillment of God’s appointed time.
7:2 … “Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.” This was in the fall of the year, before our Thanksgiving, and about 6 months before the Lord’s death on the cross.
7:3-5 … “His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.” These were his half brothers in the flesh. “For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly . . .” In other words, if you have something to offer, let it be known; it pays to advertise; expose yourself to the public. “If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.” After the Lord’s resurrection, He appeared to James, His half brother. After His resurrection His brothers did believe. But, it took His death, burial and resurrection to gain their belief. Now, six months before His death, His brethren do not believe in Him.
7:6 … “Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.” Here, the Greek word for time is kairos, which means a fixed time or season. The Lord said, “My time;” My fixed time or season to reveal Myself has not yet come. He points out to them a great truth. They do not need to be concerned about time because their lives are the same, day after day, and anytime will suit their time. His time is fixed. The Lord here is referring to His appointed time for revealing His glory. That time has not yet come.
7:7 … “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” 1 John 3:1 says, “. . . therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” The Reason? If we are loyal to the Lord, the world does not know us because of the same reason it did not know Him. A Christian’s life is the living reputation, the living rebuttal of the evil lives of the worldly. If we live as Christ teaches, then we are going to be the living contradiction of what other people believe and do. The Lord lived this way. He was the very embodiment of their condemnation. Therefore, they hated Him!
7:8-11 … “Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?” While, at this point, we do not know exactly why the Jews are seeking the Lord, we can be sure for the record thus far, it was not to flatter or honor Him. They sought Him in order to complete what they have already committed themselves to do.
7:12, 13 … “And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.” Since the people did not know where the leaders of the Jews stood on the subject of Jesus, they simply kept quite.
7:14, 15 … “Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” Jesus had never attended a Jewish school, and they felt one could not learn enough to be a teacher, without going to their school. The Lord taught in a superior way, and the people cannot understand how or where He gained His knowledge. By sitting in the temple and teaching, Jesus asserts authority, because only Rabbi’s were permitted or dared teach in the temple. So, by taking that position, the Lord assumed authority. But, immediately He began to teach that He had no message of His own His message was from God. This was always confusing to the Jews, not accepting Jesus as the Son of God, Messiah; even though He was brilliant in His teaching; wonderful in His person; and helpful in all the miracles He performed.
7:16 … “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” Jesus was bold to go into the temple teaching as a Rabbi, not being a recognized Rabbi. The Lord had a certain amount of confidence, self-assertion. Now, the Lord demonstrated humility, by pointing out to them that He taught not His own message, but the message of the One who sent Him. So, the Lord is both aggressive and humble at the same time. Then, in v. 17, He lays down an acid test for anyone desiring to follow Him.
7:17, 18 … “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” This remains the acid test until today. Teaching someone who desires to obey the will of the Lord is not difficult. It is hard to teach someone who does not will to obey God. The Lord wants us to know, if we are willing to do God’s Will, we will be able to decide whether the Lord is speaking for Himself, or for God. The Lord, having lost a large body of His followers, is now teaching those in Jerusalem, having gone to the feast. Jesus is now in the area of Judea, where most of the hostile Jewish leaders lived and worked. The Lord is actually more at home in Galilee, because the people there are more inclined to believe and obey Him. They are less inclined to believe and obey in Judea. The Lord begins his last six months on earth in the area of Judea, where He faces more hostility and conflict.
7:19 … “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? . . .” One reason they did not like Jesus was because He convicted them for many of their faults. Even today, there are some who disagree with anything negative being said in the pulpit. By their definition, one would think everything in the world and the church is exactly as the Lord desires. But, as long as sin is in the world, Christians must not be silent. Jesus left us an example of speaking out against sin. In our verse, Jesus convicts the people as lawbreakers, although in their minds they were standing firm on the Law. “Why go ye about to kill me?” Jesus was aware of their desire to kill Him. He lived in this constant awareness. How difficult it would be to constantly live among people who did not like us. Not only did they not like the Lord, they wanted Him dead. He had done only good, never hurting anyone. He taught them eternal Truth they needed to know and yet, He was constantly aware they wanted Him dead.
7:20 … “The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?” This shows us that the population did not seek to kill Him; they did not hate Him. It appears the people did not fully understand the desire of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus.
7:21 … “Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.” In chapter five, Jesus healed the man at the pool in Jerusalem, on the Sabbath, telling him to arise and take up his bed and walk. Because the Lord told the man to take up his bed and walk on the Sabbath, the leaders of the Jews became upset, and had never forgiven the Lord for what they considered a serious violation of the Sabbath. Some people never forget or forgive what makes them unhappy, and these particular Jews are no exceptions.
7:22-24 … “Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” We need this last teaching. So often today, we make judgments based on appearances, both physical and situational. Most often these judgments are false. Christians should do as little as possible by impulse, unless it is for a good and righteous cause, such as giving to a needy orphan or widow, or feeding the hungry and caring for the old and sickly. Never fear to do a righteous and good thing by impulse. But we should never do evil or be critical of others on impulse. If, at a later time, righteous judgment is necessary, it can at that time be expressed in gentle terms and a loving spirit.
7:25, 26 … “Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him . . .” Many of the people were bewildered. They were aware that He was not liked by the leaders and they knew that some attempts had been made to capture Him. Yet, here He is in the Temple, teaching and none lay hands on Him. They are not aware that the leaders of the Jews were afraid of the multitude. The Lord had a large number of supporters there. That is the reason the leaders would not come to take the Lord in such a public place. However, before our chapter is over, they attempt to make arrangements for someone else to do that very thing. They conclude by saying, “Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?” They are voicing a speculation for even they do yet believe He is in fact the Christ. But, they are wondering if the leaders of the Jews suspect that He is the Christ and perhaps for that reason they would like to get rid of Him.
7:27 … “Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.” Here is ignorant speculation out of ignorant information. Certainly they knew who Jesus was. They knew, for instance, His parents, where He lived, His brothers and sisters and that He had worked as a carpenter. It was difficult for them to place the boy they had watched grow up, in the place He now took in the Temple, giving evidence of a remarkable knowledge about God, the Law and all the things pertaining to His mission on earth. So, on one hand we have ignorant adulation. On the other hand it is ignorant opposition and criticism. It is hard to keep ignorance silent; most of the time it comes out. Usually, when we express our ignorance, we are aware of it. There is an old, but true, saying, “He who knows, and knows that he knows, listen to him; he is wise. But he who does not know, and does not know that he does not know, watch him; he’s a fool.” The Lord was wise, and He knew He was wise and that what He said was wise. They should have listened to Him.
7:28 … “Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.” This had to be a bewildering statement to them. They did not know the One from whom He came. Therefore, they did not know who Jesus really was. But in a few moments He tells them: I know from whence I came; why I came; where I am; and where I am going. One who knows what he is going to say; why he is going to say it; and what the consequences are for saying it, makes a good teacher.
7:29, 30 … “But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.” God was still in charge of the affairs of His Son, and since God did not want anyone to take Him at this time, no one took Him. From God’s point of view, the Lord’s hour of destiny had not yet arrived, therefore, no one was going to harm Jesus.
7:31 … “And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” This is a good question. Could anybody do more than this man has done? Nicodemus had said in John 3:2, “we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” These people in chapter 7 were of that persuasion, though we do not know how deeply it had penetrated them.
7:32 … “The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.” Apparently they reached the point of taking all they were going to take. They felt it was now time to take action. So, they called in some of the Temple guard and sent them out to take hold of the Lord and bring Him back. They came to Jesus for that purpose, but they are not yet going to take Him.
7:33, 34 … “Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.” To people who cannot accept this kind of teaching, these words of the Lord must have been bewildering. The more the Lord said, the more confused they became.
7:35, 36 … “Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?” They raised the question, but did not get an answer. Often, the Lord let people simply ponder what He taught, in their own confusion. If He had plainly explained to them the answer, they would have either misunderstood or refused it. So, the Lord did not give them an answer. He knew that if they were true and loyal disciples, they would stay with Him until they learned the Truth. The Lord did not give a quick answer. This was not His way. He knew that if they were not sincere disciples, not only would His answer be rejected, probably they would not follow Him any further anyway. So, in His own wisdom, He withheld any response.
7:37 … “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” This is the feast of Tabernacles, the feast of Ingathering (Ex. 23:16; 24:22). It not only ended this particular festival week, it also ended the festival season for the year. There were three annual feasts to which Jewish males usually attended, some being required to attend, every year: the feast of Passover; the feast of Pentecost; and the feast of Tabernacles (when used in reference to the harvest it is called the feast of Ingathering). The feast of Tabernacles began on the 15th day of the seventh month, or Tishri (September or the beginning of October) and lasted for seven days. Every day, while the morning sacrifice was being prepared, a priest, accompanied by a joyous procession with music, went down to the Pool of Siloam, and drew water into a golden pitcher. They offered this water in honor, praise and glory to God. There are two possible motives for doing this:
1. They may have realized they needed rain for the coming season of planting and harvest; or
2. They may have been celebrating the cleansing of the people from their defilement when they came out of Egypt and in the wilderness God gave them water.
While the priest was drawing water from the Pool of Siloam, he may have quoted from Isaiah 12:2-6, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
These words were literally coming true here in the seventh chapter of John, when Jesus teaches about water.
7:38, 39 … “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” So, Jesus crowned this particular feast period by asking the Jews gathered to come to Him for living water, as He had earlier asked of the woman at the well. Jesus was speaking about the Spirit. The Spirit is often referred to under the symbol of water or fire. Notice that Jesus says the Spirit will be given to those who believe, but was not yet being given because the Lord was not yet glorified. It is from Scriptures such as this that we need to look forward and come to various understandings of things said later about which, in some cases, differences arise in the body of Christ. For example, on Pentecost day, those that had earlier believed on Jesus, affirming their belief by being baptized by the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins as taught by John the Baptizer and later by the Lord's own disciples, did not have to baptized again.1 On the Day of Pentecost, at 9 a.m., the Holy Spirit, coming on the twelve in overwhelming measure, came also into the heart of everyone who had believed on the Lord through John the Baptizer and the Lord's disciples, because at that moment the Lord was glorified. The Lord said they that believed on Him were to receive the Spirit when He was glorified. This is why, in Acts 2:41, the Scripture says, “. . . and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” “Them,” refers to the Lord’s disciples, who had believed on Him and had proved that by their baptism for the remission of sins, waiting for His glorification and the gift of the Spirit which was promised them and which they received on the Day of Pentecost. So, Peter did not build the church. Some preach, “On this day, Peter became the founder of the church.” The Lord said in Matthew 16:18, “upon this rock” of truth that I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God, “I will build my church.” And He built His church. At 9 a.m., on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after His ascension, before Peter ever opened his mouth, it was in operation. The Kingdom was open. The church was in being. It was open to them, not to the general populous. Peter, having been given the keys of the Kingdom, opened it to anybody who would enter on the Day of Pentecost. But, those who had already responded to Jesus, who were already believers and who had qualified to receive the Spirit, received the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. They became, what we might call, charter members of the Kingdom. And on that day, there were added unto “them” about 3,000 more.
7:40-43 … “Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ . . .” The Prophet, according to Moses in Deuteronomy 18, was to be the Christ. So, the Prophet and Christ were the same. Some thought Jesus was the Prophet while others thought He was the Christ, but none of them thought He was one in the same. “But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him.” He did come from the seed of David. He was born in the city of David. They knew that somebody had been born in Bethlehem, but they did not know that the “somebody” was this “Somebody” now talking to them in the Temple. In various parts of the world, people build arches and in the center of the arch there is a slanted or key stone. When that stone is put in it keeps both legs of the arch from falling inward, holding the entire arch in position. It is the key-stone of the arch. So often a simple truth becomes the key-stone of the arch of knowledge, and without the key-stone it will not stand. With one missing fact, a thing is incomplete. Put that fact in place and you have a completed idea. Consider Saul, who became the Apostle Paul. He learned only one fact. But that fact completely changed his life. He knew about Jesus, before the Lord appeared to him. He knew he was fighting against Jesus and His disciples. When Jesus appeared to Saul, He said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul said, “Who art thou, Lord?” and the response was, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutes” (Acts 9:5). Here is the one fact. The one thing Saul did not know, that made him persecute Christians. So, the Lord blinds him, making him stay in the city of Damascus three days. Saul spent those days thinking about what had happened, reorganizing all he had ever learned, and putting everything in a new perspective. The one fact he learned changed his insight regarding everything he had previously known. This is an example of how tremendous key-stone truths are. It is no wonder, in our verse, a division arose. Jesus was speaking to people who, with a small amount of misunderstood knowledge, could not arrive at the central or key-stone truth of who Jesus was and is.
7:44-46 … “And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.” The key word is “man.” Never has a “man” talked like Jesus. He was not “man” as we think of “man.” He was also Divine.
7:47, 48 … “Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” This is truly presumption gone to seed. If the leaders and Pharisees had not believed in Him, who were these lay people to believe in Him. In effect, they were saying, “Who do you people think you are to believe in somebody that we have not accepted.” It was to the Divine credit of the people that they had believed, in spite of the leaders and Pharisees. 7:49 … “But this people knoweth not the law are cursed.” The people knew more than they did. Nicodemus, who came to the Lord in chapter 3, now expresses himself.
7:50, 51 … “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) . . .” Nicodemus was a member of the council. “Doeth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” This is a legal technicality, but a very important one. They could not legally convict a man without hearing his testimony. No one has brought forth any legal testimony against Him. How can they make a judgment?
7:52, 53 … “They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house.” They are being very bombastic probably because the louder one presents a weak case, the more it may appear strong. Nicodemus, being just one of seventy, may have been intimidated by their response. Perhaps he assumed that one day he would have a better opportunity. Obviously they were presently in no mood to understand Jesus, whom he secretly believed. Perhaps secret discipleship is better than none at all, but not much. Secret discipleship says that perhaps one has a small sense of shame, but not enough belief in the Lord to produce motivation and guidance. Later, when Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus did help take down His body from the cross.
