John 7A. In all these elements, John wanted us to recognize how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Exodus account

Transcription

1 Jhn 7A Jhn 7:1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, fr He was unwilling t walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking t kill Him. Jhn 7:2 Nw the feast f the Jews, the Feast f Bths, was near. Jhn 7:3 Therefre His brthers said t Him, Leave here and g int Judea, s that Yur disciples als may see Yur wrks which Yu are ding. Jhn 7:4 Fr n ne des anything in secret when he himself seeks t be knwn publicly. If Yu d these things, shw Yurself t the wrld. Jhn 7:5 Fr nt even His brthers were believing in Him. In chapter 6, Jesus fed thusands f peple with bread, then crssed a bdy f water miraculusly, and then explained that the crwd was fllwing Him fr the wrng reasns In all these elements, Jhn wanted us t recgnize hw Jesus was the fulfillment f the Exdus accunt In fact, Jhn said specifically that these events tk place as the Passver drew near The Passver was the feast that began with the Exdus, f curse S, Jhn included mentin f the Passver as a way f pinting us back t the Exdus stry After the events f chapter 6, Jesus remained in the Galilee teaching fr sme time Jhn says Jesus didn t venture dwn t Jerusalem because His enemies, the Jews, were seeking t kill Him Jhn calls thse living in Judea the Jews t distinguish them frm thse living in the Galileans But in reality, bth regins were mstly ccupied by Jews Therefre, the Jews f Judea is a reference t the varius religius leaders f the natin wh ppsed Jesus Then in v.2, Jhn gives us anther timestamp reference, telling us that the events f chapter 7 ccur as the Feast f Bths was near 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 7A 2 f 20 The Feast f Bths r Tabernacles cmmemrates the Jews arrival in the Prmised land On the Jewish calendar, it ccurred six mnths after the feast f Passver S we knw that six mnths have elapsed between Jhn 6 and Jhn 7 Mre imprtantly, these tw feasts were amng three feasts that all Jewish men were required t bserve in Jerusalem each year Besides Passver and Tabernacles, the third feast was the Feast f Pentecst S in the six mnths between Jhn 6 & Jhn 7, Jesus ntriety within the Galilee has grw expnentially After a very a very dramatic and public miracle like feeding thusands, Jesus is elevated t rck star status amng thse in the Galilee But as we see here at the beginning f chap 7, it s als prduced enemies fr Jesus in Jerusalem Which explains why Jesus wants t remain in Galilee fr nw He s nt interested in a cnfrntatin until the time is right Gd s timing is all that s standing between thse wh cheer Jesus n being verrun by thse wh wish t put Him t His end And this is a central theme in this chapter and thers that fllw In fact, the pening line f the chapter als serves as its tpic sentence There were sme in Israel wh wuld accept what Jesus said abut Himself, and there were sme wh wuld nt And nly thse wh had heard frm Gd culd and wuld accept While thse wh have nt heard frm Gd, will nt accept And this divisin existed even in Jesus wn husehld In v.5, Jhn says nt even Jesus wn brthers were believing in Him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 7A 3 f 20 Jesus brthers refers t Jesus half-brthers, including Jude and James, wh wrte the New Testament letters Obviusly, these tw and prbably thers came t believe in Jesus after His resurrectin But at this pint, Jesus is just an lder brther desperate fr attentin and with sme pretty impressive tricks up His sleeve S in v.3 Jesus brthers ffer Him sme friendly, helpful advice They tell Jesus t leave the Galilee, where Jesus has been spending all His time thus far, and g t Jerusalem They insinuate that a real prphet is seen and heard in Jerusalem And s if Jesus wants t be received by the greatest crwds, He will have t be prepared t play n the largest stage Like the sng says, If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere... Their advice is neither friendly nr helpful First, we already knw they were nt believing in Jesus claims t be the Messiah, as Jhn tld us S as unbelievers, we can be sure they dn t have Jesus best interests at heart On the cntrary, we knw their desires and values and instincts are set against Gd Secndly, we can see they re baiting Jesus, hping He ll take their advice s they can expse Him as the fraud they think Him t be They accuse Jesus f hiding away in Galilee They re suggesting that Jesus has becme ppular nly because He s playing the part f a big fish in a small pnd - He s thrwing fastballs at bush league batters But what happens if yu have t make yur case under the bright lights in the big city? Ntice they presume Jesus was seeking t be knwn publicly in v Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 7A 4 f 20 They re daring Jesus t submit Himself t harsh criticism f the religius leaders in Jerusalem during the mst ppular feast f the year They re taunting Jesus t risk everything, and they re expecting He will fail The brthers advice is bad advice, f curse, and it s wrng because it rests n tw wrng assumptins First, the brthers have assumed that Jesus wasn t a cntender fr the rle f Messiah unless He gained the backing and supprt f the peple His small healing and teaching engagement centered in the Galilee wasn t ging t meet that test Jesus needed t present Himself t the leaders in Jerusalem and t the masses at the feast If they accepted Jesus, then He might win the title He was seeking But this assumptin is cmpletely wrng, and if they had paid clse attentin t their Old Testament scriptures, they wuld have knwn this The Old Testament prphets like Isaiah, David and Mses fretld that the Messiah wuld be rejected by His wn peple Instead, He wuld be embraced by a peple wh are nt Gd s peple, meaning the Gentiles Furthermre, the Old Testament fretld that the Messiah wuld die a shameful death, hanging n a tree at the hands f thse He came t save Clearly, Gd s plan fr His Sn, the Messiah, didn t depend n winning public apprval Which leads t their secnd assumptin, that truth is determined by public pinin r acceptance f an idea The brthers expected that a Messiah culd nly rise t pwer with ppular supprt Like a plitician seeking public ffice, the title f Messiah was smething that an adring public bestwed upn a wrthy candidate 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 7A 5 f 20 And therefre the true Messiah by definitin wuld be the ne wh culd persuade the masses f his wrth But if Jesus culdn t even cnvince His wn family, what chance did He have, His brthers assumed But nce again, their thinking culdn t be further frm the truth The truth f any matter desn t turn n public pinin Jesus was Messiah because the Father appinted Him t that rle The truth f that appintment didn t rest n hw many peple accepted it t be true It was true if ne persn believed it r even if n ne believed in it But the sinful wrld has always measured truth like a ppularity cntest Whatever psitin is accepted by the majrity must be the truth Because we naturally assume that the mre peple wh agree with a given psitin, especially if it s ur wn psitin, then the mre wrthy it is f ur trust This is relativistic thinking and it s never the way we find truth Fr example, prir t the 15th century, mst peple were cnvinced that the Earth was a flat square with edges If smene traveled t far in any ne directin, he wuld fall f the face f the Earth int Hell This was a ppular public pinin And it was als false Similarly, mst peple used t believe that sex prir t marriage was immral But then ppular thinking began t change S fr many peple the truth changed But the mrality f frnicatin, r adultery r hmsexuality isn t determined by public pinin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 7A 6 f 20 It is determined by the Law Giver Wh revealed Himself in scripture s that we might knw the truth But nw frnicatin has becme mrally acceptable t the wrld simply because it s widely practiced Nt because Gd changed His view f sin r because we discvered new revelatin Merely because public pinin shifted Obviusly, we knw that Christ s missin was nt a public relatins campaign rchestrated t win men s apprval Nr d we wish t establish the truth f the Gspel in the minds f men by building ppular acceptance f its claims Our Gspel isn t mre true because millins believe it And it isn t less true with the whle wrld mcks it Scripture tells us that in the end, every knee shall bw and every tngue shall cnfess Christ (Isa 45:23) In fact, turning back t Chap 7, lk what Jesus says in respnse t His unbelieving brthers Jhn 7:6 S Jesus said t them, My time is nt yet here, but yur time is always pprtune. Jhn 7:7 The wrld cannt hate yu, but it hates Me because I testify f it, that its deeds are evil. Jhn 7:8 G up t the feast yurselves; I d nt g up t this feast because My time has nt yet fully cme. Jhn 7:9 Having said these things t them, He stayed in Galilee. Jhn 7:10 But when His brthers had gne up t the feast, then He Himself als went up, nt publicly, but as if, in secret. First, Jesus says smething we ve heard befre: My time has nt yet cme Yu prbably remember back in chapter 2 when Jesus tld Mary smething very similar And in fact, the circumstances were very similar as well 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 7A 7 f 20 Mary had been pushing Jesus t enter int the limelight in a manner and at a time that wasn t cnsistent with the Father s plans S Jesus rebuked His mther fr trying t dictate Gd s timetable Once again, Jesus issues a rebuke here t His brthers fr making the very same mistake When it s time fr Jesus t enter int the public eye in Jerusalem in the midst f a feast, He will d s It wn t be this year and it wn t be this feast, but it will happen Then Jesus adds that His brthers time is always pprtune Jesus means that His brthers were nt cnstrained in their decisin making by cnsideratins fr what the will f Gd might be On the cntrary, as unbelievers these men acted as they pleased at all times In that sense, it was always the right time fr them t d whatever they pleased But Jesus was strictly bund t the will f the Father, which is the definitin f sinlessness Secndly, Jesus brthers culd venture int Jerusalem at any time withut fear f persecutin, because they were f the wrld Jesus is speaking f spiritual identities Everyne persn s spiritual identity is aligned either with Gd r with the wrld Since His brthers were unbelieving, we knw they were spiritually aligned with the wrld All thse wh are aligned with the wrld belng t Satan, and he knws wh are his, and he desn t waste energy trying t tear dwn his wn wrld except where he finds sme advantage in it - As Jesus said, a huse divided against itself cannt stand S Satan and the wrld nly ppse Gd and thse wh are spiritually aligned with Gd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 7A 8 f 20 The wrld ppses Christ, the Bible, Christianity, and Christians It des s because these things are spiritual enemies f darkness because the truth is light that expses the evil deeds f the wrld S while it s safe fr these brthers t be in Jerusalem, it is nt fr Jesus, which becmes increasingly evident in this chapter Thugh Jesus rejects the brthers advice, nevertheless He still ges t Jerusalem in His wn way in v.10 Why des Jesus say He will nt g up t Jerusalem fr this feast and yet He des g? Did He lie t His brthers? N. Jesus rejecting the idea f attend in the manner they suggested, that is by drawing attentin t Himself T this, Jesus said yu are free t d this but I am nt Therefre, Jesus separated Himself frm His brthers by telling them t g up withut Him While His wn time t g up has nt yet arrived Later, after His brthers depart, Jesus ges up t Jerusalem in secret He ges first t be bedient t the cmmand t bserve the feast Secndly, Jesus will engage in anther dialg with a crwd, this time in the temple T help us get a sense f the envirnment Jesus was walking int, Jhn gives us three verses f backgrund leading us int the next sectin Jhn 7:11 S the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, Where is He? Jhn 7:12 There was much grumbling amng the crwds cncerning Him; sme were saying, He is a gd man ; thers were saying, N, n the cntrary, He leads the peple astray. Jhn 7:13 Yet n ne was speaking penly f Him fr fear f the Jews. First, we see that Jesus cncerns were well-funded 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 7A 9 f 20 Even thugh Jesus has nt yet made an appearance, the Jewish leaders expected Him t travel dwn t Jerusalem fr the feast as every Jewish male was required S they were seeking Him That seeking was nt a friendly srt f inquiry They were seeking t accuse Him f smething and have Him cndemned Secndly, the crwds are grumbling abut Jesus He has becme the talk f Israel This backwater Rabbi frm the Galilee has the entire city talking abut Him in His absence during the largest celebratin in the Jewish year The talk runs alng tw lines, as we might expect Jhn says there were thse wh were saying Jesus was a gd man These peple were generally supprtive and defended Jesus ministry it wuld appear And then f curse, there were thse wh claimed Jesus led the peple astray In ther wrds, they accuse Jesus f making false claims abut Himself and the scriptures Of curse, we re nt surprised t learn that Jesus has ppnents in the city, but perhaps we re pleasantly surprised t hear He has His supprters But let s be careful befre we make any assumptins There are thse saying He is a gd man, but ntice what they aren t saying They aren t saying He is the Messiah As we ve said befre, there is a big difference between saying Jesus is a gd persn r gd teacher r even a prphet and saying He is Gd Jesus wasn t just claiming t be a gd persn Or a gd teacher 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn 7A 10 f 20 Or even a prphet Jesus was claiming He was literally Gd Yet we dn t see anyne making that public declaratin in this crwd In fact, that s the third pint Jhn makes in v.13: n ne was willing t speak pening f Jesus in any case Why wuld peple be s unwilling t share pening their pinins f Jesus? Clearly, they must be afraid f the religius leaders Which tells us that the leaders s ppsed Jesus that n ne dared run the risk f crssing these men But it als tells us that even thse wh supprted Jesus weren t willing t take a public stand It s int this envirnment Jesus travels incgnit and starts t teach in the temple Jhn 7:14 But when it was nw the midst f the feast Jesus went up int the temple, and began t teach. Jhn 7:15 The Jews then were astnished, saying, Hw has this man becme learned, having never been educated? Jhn 7:16 S Jesus answered them and said, My teaching is nt Mine, but His wh sent Me. Jhn 7:17 If anyne is willing t d His will, he will knw f the teaching, whether it is f Gd r whether I speak frm Myself. Jhn 7:18 He wh speaks frm himself seeks his wn glry; but He wh is seeking the glry f the One wh sent Him, He is true, and there is n unrighteusness in Him. In the larger curtyard f the temple, Jesus began t teach and as He des s, he attracts a crwd Wrd gets ut quickly that Jesus has cme up fr the Feast and is in the temple Once again, His teaching astnishes the crwd They wnder hw smene wh was nt trained as a Pharisee culd be s learned in spiritual matters 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn 7A 11 f 20 As if t suggest that knwledge f Gd can nly be btained thrugh manmade institutins f higher learning Jesus answered them saying He is simply delivering them what the Father has given Him t say In ther wrds, Jesus is speaking the wrd f Gd directly t them And s they are feeling the impact f knwing the truth delivered straight frm the surce When yu hear the truth, directly frm Gd thrugh His wrd, yu will knw it It will stand ut in a way that is unexplainable and undeniable - Like the men n the rad t Emmaus wh heard Jesus teach them and then remarked Luke 24:32 They said t ne anther, Were nt ur hearts burning within us while He was speaking t us n the rad, while He was explaining the Scriptures t us? Jesus adds in v.17 that thse wh are willing t d the will f the Father pssess the discernment t recgnize whether Jesus teaching is truly frm Gd Thse wh have been giving the heart t knw and bey Gd s will shall als pssess the ability t recgnize His wrds Jesus expresses this same thught in simpler terms elsewhere in the Gspels when He says thse wh have ears t hear, let him hear If we wish t knw the truth and avid the false teaching the enemy brings, we nly need t be willing t bey the Lrd And if ur heart is directed tward bedience, we will then recgnize and fllw the truth f Gd s wrd But if ur hearts are deceived by sin and unwilling t repent and fllw the Lrd, then we are in danger f missing the truth when it is revealed t us Ntice what Jesus says next Jhn 7:19 Did nt Mses give yu the Law, and yet nne f yu carries ut the Law? Why d yu seek t kill Me? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn 7A 12 f 20 Jesus says t the crwd that Mses had delivered the Law t Israel, and certain the natin revered Mses as their prphet And yet the natin did nt keep the very Law they revered N man culd keep it fully S here was the essential prblem f Israel: they weren t willing t d the will f Gd They weren t willing t d Gd s will because their very nature precluded it Sinful flesh cannt bey Gd Rm. 8:6 Fr the mind set n the flesh is death, but the mind set n the Spirit is life and peace, Rm. 8:7 because the mind set n the flesh is hstile tward Gd; fr it des nt subject itself t the law f Gd, fr it is nt even able t d s, Rm. 8:8 and thse wh are in the flesh cannt please Gd. Since by nature sinful flesh cannt keep the Law, then it was als lacking in an ability t discern His teaching Yet while the natin was unrighteus fr failing t keep the wrd f Gd, Jesus critics were accusing Him f leading peple astray S Jesus pints ut that all He has dne is repeat the wrds f Gd, which any Gd-fearing persn culd recgnize and accept Yet His very critics were the bviusly unrighteus nes, but yet they sught t kill Him He s pinting ur the hypcrisy f their leaders And f curse, at this pint things get a little testy Jhn 7:20 The crwd answered, Yu have a demn! Wh seeks t kill Yu? Jhn 7:21 Jesus answered them, I did ne deed, and yu all marvel. Jhn 7:22 Fr this reasn Mses has given yu circumcisin (nt because it is frm Mses, but frm the fathers), and n the Sabbath yu circumcise a man. Jhn 7:23 If a man receives circumcisin n the Sabbath s that the Law f Mses will nt be brken, are yu angry with Me because I made an entire man well n the Sabbath? Jhn 7:24 D nt judge accrding t appearance, but judge with righteus judgment Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn 7A 13 f 20 First, the crwd thinks Jesus is suffering frm a persecutin cmplex, because they dubt His assertin that smene was seeking t kill Him They think Jesus must be demn pssessed As a side nte, ntice that n ne in scripture every accuses anther persn f being crazy Instead, they accuse smene f having a demn In ther wrds, acts f insanity in the Bible are explained by demnic activity Jesus ignres their attempts at pretense and stays n the ffensive He reminds them f the miracle that started His ppsitin in the city f Jerusalem: the healing f the paralytic in Jhn 5 That was the last miracle Jesus perfrmed in Jerusalem, and it was the ne that gt Jesus int ht water with the Pharisees They bjected t Jesus healing n the Sabbath And n that basis, they sught t kill Jesus Jesus says that fr healing a man n the Sabbath, smene wants t kill Him and yet these same men make similar judgments in their wn favr all the time Fr example, they circumcise infants n the eighth day even when it falls n the Sabbath A part f a child s bdy was fixed even when it cnflicted with anther Law This was permissible n the Sabbath because bedience t Gd s cmmands is never wrk in the sense f vilating the Sabbath Yet they bjected t Jesus fixing the entire bdy f a man n the Sabbath Once again, there was n law against Gd healing smene n the Sabbath Jesus is highlighting the leaders hypcrisy, which is judging by appearances rather than by true righteusness 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn 7A 14 f 20 The main pint f the chapter is starting t cme t light at this stage f the chapter Jesus identity is the primary questin thrughut Jhn s Gspel, and in this chapter Jhn is expsing the strng difference f pinin that existed in Israel ver Jesus And hw the religius leadership acted as a wedge driving the tw sides apart Jhn wants t drive hme the reality f this divisin amng the peple As we lk at the rest f the discurse, pay attentin t the way Jhn highlights the crwd s uncertainly And they re reliance n their leaders fr instructin cncerning Jesus Jhn 7:25 S sme f the peple f Jerusalem were saying, Is this nt the man whm they are seeking t kill? Jhn 7:26 Lk, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nthing t Him. The rulers d nt really knw that this is the Christ, d they? Jhn 7:27 Hwever, we knw where this man is frm; but whenever the Christ may cme, n ne knws where He is frm. Jhn 7:28 Then Jesus cried ut in the temple, teaching and saying, Yu bth knw Me and knw where I am frm; and I have nt cme f Myself, but He wh sent Me is true, whm yu d nt knw. Jhn 7:29 I knw Him, because I am frm Him, and He sent Me. Jhn 7:30 S they were seeking t seize Him; and n man laid his hand n Him, because His hur had nt yet cme. Jhn 7:31 But many f the crwd believed in Him; and they were saying, When the Christ cmes, He will nt perfrm mre signs than thse which this man has, will He? Jhn 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crwd muttering these things abut Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent fficers t seize Him. Jhn 7:33 Therefre Jesus said, Fr a little while lnger I am with yu, then I g t Him wh sent Me. Jhn 7:34 Yu will seek Me, and will nt find Me; and where I am, yu cannt cme. Jhn 7:35 The Jews then said t ne anther, Where des this man intend t g that we will nt find Him? He is nt intending t g t the Dispersin amng the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He? Jhn 7:36 What is this statement that He said, Yu will seek Me, and will nt find Me; and where I am, yu cannt cme? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn 7A 15 f 20 The crwds saw all the signs that wuld lead them t suspect Jesus was the Messiah And they re wn wrds betray them in that respect They ask is this nt the ne they are seeking t kill, referring t the Jewish leaders? In ther wrds, isn t this that famus rabbi whse been causing all that truble? And as they hear Him speak, they marvel that Jesus is willing t speak in the pen publicly, since His life was in danger And then in v.26 the peple ask d the leaders nt really knw that this man is the Christ? In ther wrds, they are saying, We knw ur leaders want this guy t be seized and put in prisn and yet here he is teaching...is this because they have cme t agree He is the Messiah? Their statement tells us tw very imprtant things abut what s ging n in the peple s minds at this pint First, they are aware that the questins abut Jesus center n the questin f Messiahship The whle cntrversy ver Jesus was Is this guy the Messiah r what? The religius leaders wanted t seize Jesus fr leading the peple astray n this specific questin Leading the peple astray was an ffensive in Israel punishable by stning Yet Jesus taught and perfrmed miracles in a cnvincing manner, s that the questin f whether He was the Messiah was nt clear cut And nw the mere fact that Jesus was teaching pening withut fear f the authrities caused this crwd t wnder if perhaps the leaders had a change f heart Maybe they had accepted Jesus claims t being Messiah That leads us t the secnd thing we learn frm their statement: the peple f Israel relied heavily n their leaders t establish their pinins n any spiritual matter 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn 7A 16 f 20 The crwd waited t hear frm their leaders befre deciding if Jesus claims t be Messiah were true r nt The spiritual leaders had the ability t direct the fate f the natin in that regard If the natin was tld t fllw Jesus, they wuld and the natin wuld receive their King If nt, then the entire generatin f Israel wuld perish, like lemmings walking ff a cliff T help them justify their dubts, in v.27 they fall back n a myth in Israel that the true Messiah s earthly rigins wuld be a mystery But this was easily disprven frm scripture, which declared specifically that the Messiah wuld be brn in Bethlehem Which leads Jesus in v.28 t remind them f as much He says yu knw me, meaning yu knw I m Jseph s sn Which means they als knew He was brn in Bethlehem as Scripture required And that Jesus was f the right tribe and family In ther wrds, Jesus was cunting the myth while at the same time emphasizing He was qualified t meet these tests But then Jesus ges further and says the One Wh sent Jesus is One the crwd des nt knw In ther wrds, they dn t knw the Father This is an unbelieving crwd, which explains their lack f spiritual insight Then Jesus said He was frm Gd, sent by Gd, which f curse brught back the anger f the crwd, which perceived Jesus as speaking blaspheme There was an interest in arresting Him, but miraculusly n ne is able r willing t d it Jhn explains because Jesus time t be crucified had nt yet cme, Jesus was safe Prbably, sme mved t seize Jesus 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn 7A 17 f 20 But in v.31 we hear that many in the crwd believed in Jesus, and that supprt prbably prevented anyne frm acting against Him By this pint, the leaders have heard as well, s they mve t arrest Jesus in the temple Knwing the leaders were mving against Him, Jesus warns the crwd that their windw f pprtunity will nt last lng In fact, fr Israel the pprtunity t seek the Messiah is limited They were nly ging t have Him fr a shrt time lnger After that, they might seek fr the Messiah, but they wn t find Him Why was Jesus s definite in that statement? Because Israel s unique relatinship with Gd placed them in an equally unique psitin The Messiah was prmised t Israel And they had the prphets sent by Gd s that the natin wuld have n excuse fr verlking Christ when He arrived as prmised If the natin recgnized and embraced their Messiah, then He was prepared t set up an earthly Kingdm fr them And Israel wuld be exalted as the chief natin n earth in this kingdm But if they rejected their Messiah, then that generatin t see Christ wuld be judged harshly Mrever, Israel as a whle wuld see great sufferings fr many generatins afterward Only in the last days f this age wuld a distant generatin f Israel have pprtunity nce again t knw and receive their Messiah a secnd time And in this secnd pprtunity they wuld crrect the mistake f the earlier generatin, embrace Christ, and receive the Kingdm Here we find the cnnectin t the feast f Bths as well 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn 7A 18 f 20 The Old Testament teaches that the Feast f Tabernacles is the feast that will begin the Kingdm f Christ after His secnd cming That feast pictures the arrival f the Kingdm fr Israel But it can nly arrive after the natin as a whle embraces Christ as Messiah All Israel must accept Jesus Christ is their Messiah, r else the Kingdm remains n hld fr Israel Mses made this prmise t Israel in the Law: Deut. 30:1 S it shall be when all f these things have cme upn yu, the blessing and the curse which I have set befre yu, and yu call them t mind in all natins where the LORD yur Gd has banished yu, Deut. 30:2 and yu return t the LORD yur Gd and bey Him with all yur heart and sul accrding t all that I cmmand yu tday, yu and yur sns, Deut. 30:3 then the LORD yur Gd will restre yu frm captivity, and have cmpassin n yu, and will gather yu again frm all the peples where the LORD yur Gd has scattered yu. Deut. 30:4 If yur utcasts are at the ends f the earth, frm there the LORD yur Gd will gather yu, and frm there He will bring yu back. Deut. 30:5 The LORD yur Gd will bring yu int the land which yur fathers pssessed, and yu shall pssess it; and He will prsper yu and multiply yu mre than yur fathers. Deut. 30:6 Mrever the LORD yur Gd will circumcise yur heart and the heart f yur descendants, t lve the LORD yur Gd with all yur heart and with all yur sul, s that yu may live. Deut. 30:7 The LORD yur Gd will inflict all these curses n yur enemies and n thse wh hate yu, wh persecuted yu. Deut. 30:8 And yu shall again bey the LORD, and bserve all His cmmandments which I cmmand yu tday. Deut. 30:9 Then the LORD yur Gd will prsper yu abundantly in all the wrk f yur hand, in the ffspring f yur bdy and in the ffspring f yur cattle and in the prduce f yur grund, fr the LORD will again rejice ver yu fr gd, just as He rejiced ver yur fathers; Deut. 30:10 if yu bey the LORD yur Gd t keep His cmmandments and His statutes which are written in this bk f the law, if yu turn t the LORD yur Gd with all yur heart and sul Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Jhn 7A 19 f 20 Ntice that the prmises f receiving this kingdm depend n all in Israel acting in this same way The prmise is cntingent n 100% f Israel acting in keeping with Gd s cmmandments And Mses als tells the peple that they may reach this level f bedience by a natinal cnfessin f repentance and faith... Lev. 26:40 If they cnfess their iniquity and the iniquity f their frefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they cmmitted against Me, and als in their acting with hstility against Me Lev. 26:41 I als was acting with hstility against them, t bring them int the land f their enemies r if their uncircumcised heart becmes humbled s that they then make amends fr their iniquity, Lev. 26:42 then I will remember My cvenant with Jacb, and I will remember als My cvenant with Isaac, and My cvenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. Here again, ntice that Gd s willingness t hnr His prmise f blessing hinges n all Israel acting in unisn t cnfess and believe If nly part f Israel is accepting f the Messiah, then these terms are nt met And the natin will nt receive the blessings f the kingdm S in this chapter, Jhn brings us int the feast f Bths, a feast intended t cmmemrate Israel s entry int the Prmised Land and ultimately t fretell their arrival in the Kingdm And yet that arrival is dependent n a universal acceptance by Israel that f Jesus is Messiah Clearly, Israel is nt f ne mind cncerning Jesus in this chapter And therefre, Israel is n clser t receive the Kingdm in this day And that s the main thrust f chapter 7: t shw the divisin amng the peple Which then explains why Jesus first cming culd nt fulfill the Feast f Bths...why it must wait fr the Secnd Cming 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Jhn 7A 20 f 20 Meanwhile, the Jews wnder where is Jesus ging t g and why can t we find Him them? Clearly, they dn t understand what Jesus is talk abut And that s been the prblem frm the start Next time we ll finish the chapter by lking at the climatic tie between the events f chapter 7 and the events f the Feast f Tabernacles 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.