John 7 Wednesday, September 20, 2017 John 7:1 5 (NKJV) 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. 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. Because Jesus had healed the person in the previous chapter on the Sabbath and had a terse conversation with the Pharisees, making it very clear that He was equal with God and cited proof, they, that is the Pharisees, plotted to kill Him from that moment on. Now this was another kind of Feast/Holiday. The Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called the Feast of Booths. It was a Jewish family camp. Pronounced Sukkot in Hebrew, is celebrated in the fall. Families would build a sukkah - a hut - to commemorate the wilderness wandering of the nation and recount how God had taken care of the people for those 40 years in the desert region outside of the Promise Land. His brothers are goading Jesus to risk His life to go to Judea, the region where Jerusalem lies. Jesus is well north of that at the present. Why did his brothers do such a thing? Vs.5 explains - For even His brothers did not believe in Him Yes, Jesus had half brothers and sisters. In Mark 6:3 a bunch of people who also did not believe in Him chided Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us Out of the list of brothers names, two obviously came to believe in Him after His death and resurrection. James and Judas - each have written a small epistle in our Bibles and James was in charge of the first church; the church in Jerusalem. You can verify that by reading the Book of Acts. 1 of 8
John 7:6 9 (NKJV) 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. Jesus was constantly time-conscious. Sometimes you ll read My Hour has not yet come. There was a certain day, a certain hour that Jesus would ride triumphantly into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and three days later be crucified. Then be buried for another three days and then rise from the dead. Before that time there were many things that He must complete to ensure that the church would survive after His death. Mainly, He was preparing His disciples for that work. John 7:10 13 (NKJV) 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. Everyone expected to see Him there. So there was a lot of gongysmos (gongees-mos) about Him. ESV translates it a muttering. There was a lot of low level talk about Him because they did not want to be overheard talking about Him by the Jewish leaders. The conversation was pretty much like it is today. A few believe in Him and follow Him, but most do not. John 7:14 15 (NKJV) 14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this Man know letters, having never studied? Blown away at His knowledge of the Word they said to themselves, How does this guy know the gramma? ( the body of information acquired in school or from the studying of writings. ) 2 of 8
John 7:16 19 (NKJV) 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? So Jesus steps out of hiding, so to speak, and goes right into the temple and begins to teach. The Religious leaders are spellbound by His vast knowledge of the Word and the authority in which He presents it. So then Jesus responds directly to them. See anything wrong with My doctrine - or TEACHING? No? Well that s because it s not Mine, it s My Father s, who is in Heaven. Then Jesus calls out fake teaching. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory There is definitely a lot of that going on today. Pastors are either seeking their own glory, their own popularity, power, prestige, pocketbook - OR - they are seeking the glory, the popularity, if you will, of Jesus. You can tell by their doctrine, their teaching. Fake news comes from dishonest people. Fake preaching comes from dishonest pastors and teachers. It s impossible to keep the Law, so they hadn t. Therefore the question is noteworthy. Why do you want to put Me to death? John 7:20 (NKJV) 20 The people answered and said, You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You? It would be more like this - You have a demon that s making you crazy, no one is trying to kill you! John 7:21 24 (NKJV) 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 3 of 8
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. Wuest s New Testament, is always a good read. Listen as I share a few of these verses with you. Since a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath (circumcision was done on the 8th day - regardless of what day it fell on). Again - Since a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath in order that the law of Moses might not be broken, are you filled with bitter spleen against me because I made a man completely sound on the Sabbath? Stop judging according to external appearance. But be judging the just judgment. John 7:25 27 (NKJV) 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. Sounds like a lot of confusion going on here. That s why it s important for us to be students of the Word. I m thrilled that that s who you are. They are thinking that He could be the Messiah because of His powerful teaching. This group obviously doesn t think that He s crazy. But they wonder why the religious leaders - whom they know want to kill Him - are idly standing by. That s observation and must be given to a variety of interpretations. Wisdom, the kind of wisdom that you can stand on, act on, make decisions by comes from the Word of God. we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from. Really? How about - 4 of 8
Micah 5:2 (NKJV) 2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. John 7:28 29 (NKJV) 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. That first phrase from Jesus is more like a Yeah, you think you know everything. You know me and you know where I m from. Really? - I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me. Truth is, you don t know much. You don t know Him who sent me, but I do (ESV - I come from Him, He sent me! ) John 7:30 31 (NKJV) 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? There are always those who do not want to hear the truth. They want fake news. Paul told his prodigy Timothy that the church would soon take a drastic turn away from the truth. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Tim 4:3-4). John 7:32 36 (NKJV) 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? 5 of 8
OK - now catch this. Jesus says to those temple guards who were there to arrest Him - - - - He says, I know that you are here to take me, but I m going to be around for a while longer. After that I am going to ascend to Him who sent Me. The next verse 34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come. does not refer to personal salvation. There was coming a time, 70AD when the Romans would utterly destroy the city. First of all they would lay a siege against it. No one could come into the city with supplies and no one would be able to escape from the city. They would slowly starve to death. At such a time they would certainly desire that the Messiah would come and rescue them. You will seek Me. Well they won t find Him because they killed Him and He ascended into Heaven. You will not find Me. Furthermore, they aren t going to be able to escape the Romans by ascending into heaven themselves. And where I am you cannot come. Truly we can be forgiven of our sins. But it s presumptuous to assume that we will be rescued from their consequences. They would reject their true Messiah and murder Him, setting the consequences in motion. John 7:37 39 (NKJV) 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, (that would be the 22nd of their month Tishri - - - that would be Wednesday, October 11th this year - starts on the 4th and ends on the 11th.) 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. There were no lavish furnishings in that wilderness wandering. They were out there to die because they had disobeyed God. The wages of sin is death. 6 of 8
It wouldn t be until the last of that generation who refused to cross into the Promised Land had passed away that they would be permitted to have a second chance. Yet God did provide for them. Their clothes didn t wear out. There were no new ones - no side trip to the Mall, but the old ones lasted the entire time. Also there was bread and water supplied daily. Manna. The nation is currently focused on what God had done for them in the wilderness and so Jesus takes one of those provisions to make this announcement. There was a sect of Judaism in Jesus day called the Qumran. They were located near the Dead Sea for the most part. It was in the Qumran caves that archeologists discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. But like the Dead Sea there was no outflow of religion from these folks. Contrasting that with what Christianity should be today because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we should be freshly taking in and consequently releasing. Let me say it this way. We should be constantly growing in our faith, moving in our walk, experiencing the freshness of the Spirit of God and then releasing our experiences with others. John 7:40 44 (NKJV) 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. Once again we receive that the division came about because of a lack of knowledge. Jesus was from the town of Bethlehem. Jesus was from the lineage of David. Still today people are making up their minds about Jesus without knowledge. The division among the people in these verses still goes on today. You are either for Jesus or against Him - there is no neutral ground John 7:45 52 (NKJV) 45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why have you not brought Him? 46 The 7 of 8
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. In fact, there was a prophet from that area - Jonah, who was a type of Jesus Christ came from Gath Hepher, which was three miles north of Nazareth in Lower Galilee (2 Kings 14:25). 8 of 8