Gospel John Chapter 7 -- John Karmelich

  1. Chapter 7 of the Gospel of John is all about Division
    1. Division in what people think about Jesus
      1. In the opening verses, his own brothers do not believe Jesus is the Messiah
      2. In the crowds of Jerusalem, the Jewish people were not sure about him
        1. Some thought He was the Messiah
        2. Some thought He was a new Prophet
        3. Some thought He was just a good man
        4. Some thought He was a false teacher
      3. The religious leaders were also divided over him
        1. Most did not believe in Him
        2. Yet there was Nicodemus… who was at least open to the idea..
  2. As we approach the end of the century, and the end of the 2nd millenium
    1. The media is filled with stories about who is the greatest person of our century
      1. Time Magazine is about to name their "Man of the Century"
      2. Magazines are running articles about
        1. Who made the greatest contribution to our century
        2. And who is the most important people of the last millenium…
    2. How do you tell who is the most important person?
      1. By the number of lives influenced by that person?
      2. Maybe the number of books and articles written about that person?
    3. While Jesus has not been around physically for 2,000 years
      1. I would argue there is more articles and books written about Jesus than anybody else this century or millenium
      2. There are more lectures given on Jesus (think of all the sermons) than anyone else this century
      3. As great as many of the men and women there have been this century, how many people take time out of their schedule on a Sunday to go hear lectures about anyone other than Jesus…
    4. The reason I bring all this up, is that it ties very well to Chapter 7…
      1. 2,000 years after the times of Jesus…
        1. Jesus is still causing division
          1. There are millions who bow the knee and call him Lord of their lives
          2. There are many who call Jesus a great man, but not God
            1. Just like the Jewish people who thought of him as a Prophet, but not the Messiah
          3. There are those who aggressively argue that Jesus is not the Messiah today, as well as 2,000 years ago
          4. Jesus causes division among family members
            1. Just as his own brothers did not believe him…
        2. Jesus said in Luke 12:51 that:
          1. "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?
          2. I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (NKJV)
        3. 2,000 years later that has not changed.
  3. The more I read Chapter 7, the more I was impressed with how Jesus handled the division over his life
    1. He used that division to teach lessons about Himself to those who would listen
    2. He was merciful to those who would eventually turn and become his disciples
    3. He was harsh on those who Jesus knew had hard hearts and were beyond hearing.
  4. With that let’s go to John Chapter 7, Verse 1: After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.
    1. The Gospel of John jumps back and forth a lot between the Galilee region and the Judea Region.
      1. It was a full-day’s walk distance in-between these two regions
      2. The purpose of John’s gospel is not to give a full narrative account of Jesus’ life
        1. But to pick specific miracles and specific discourses
        2. To show who Jesus was (and is!)
    2. The reference to "The Jews" were waiting to take his life
      1. (or "kill him" in other translation)
      2. This is a reference to John 5:18:
      3. Therefore The Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18 NKJV)
    3. As I mentioned in the beginning, this chapter is about division
      1. Jesus causes division
        1. It was true then, It was true now
    4. Why didn’t Jesus go up to Jerusalem publicly with his brothers?
      1. The point of Verse 1 is that Jesus did not go into danger unnecessarily
        1. Is God in Control? Of Course
        2. Could the Jews have killed Jesus prior to the time appointed by God
          1. No… God is always in charge, and the World is working on His timetable, not ours
        3. This verse is given to us as a precaution…
          1. God wants to be a witness
          2. God does not want us to lead reckless lives in being a witness.
  5. Verse 2: But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,
    1. This is a feast ordained in the Book of Exodus that required all Jews to be in attendance
      1. It is to remember their ancestor’s "wilderness wanderings" and God’s preservation through this time period
        1. The Jews built temporary shelters
        2. And lived in them for 7 days. (They still do this today)
        3. An interesting side-note is that there will be a future day when all nations will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles
          1. This is stated in the Prophecies of Zechariah Chapter 14.
  6. Verse 3: Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
    1. Jesus had 4 brothers and at least two sisters (Matthew 13:54-55)
      1. At least two of his brothers became believers after the resurrection
        1. Two of the books of the New Testament were written by Jesus half- brothers (James and Jude)
      2. But at this point in Jesus’ life his brothers did not believe him
    2. It must have seemed incredible to Jesus’ brothers that Jesus wanted to avoid publicity.
    3. To paraphrase, what Jesus brothers were saying to Him was
      1. Look Jesus, if you are quote "The Messiah" unquote don’t waste your time out here in hicksville. Go to the big city and show yourself. You need publicity. Forget this small town stuff, take your show on the road and hit Jerusalem!
      2. To our ears, Jesus’ brothers advice was very practical.
        1. If we want to advertise our product, we need to reach a wide audience
        2. If I was one of his brothers, I may not have been as sarcastic as them, but I probably would have agreed with their advice.
      3. As usual, Jesus does it His way (or make that God’s way) and not our way.
        1. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Cor. 1:25 NIV)
          1. When you read the Bible as a whole, you notice God going out of His way constantly to pick an unusual method of accomplishing His goals…
          2. Mainly to prove God can do what man can’t do and the fact that His ways are wiser than ours
    4. Notice Verse 5: For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
      1. Jesus predicted this: ""A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." (Matthew 13:57 NKJV)
  7. Verses 6-10 is Jesus response to His brothers: 6Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. :10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
    1. First of all, notice the lack of scolding by Jesus to His brothers:
    2. Jesus did not say to his brothers: Look, you idiots, don’t you know who I am?
        1. Jesus did not immediately zap them to Hell for their disbelief in Him
      1. If you want an example of the Grace of God… Look at the relationship of Jesus and his half-brothers.
        1. They didn’t believe he was the Messiah when He was alive
        2. They talked with Him sarcastically
        3. He predicted their lack of belief
        4. None of his brothers defended Jesus at his trials
        5. None of his brothers were there at the cross…
        6. Yet after Jesus died… We know that he appeared to his brother James
          1. And made him one of the leaders of the church (1 Cor 15:7)
        7. That is a great example of the Grace and forgiveness of God!
    3. Jesus makes two specific statements in Verse 6:
        1. 1) The right time for me has not yet come
        2. 2) for you any time is right
      1. 1) The right time for me has not yet come
        1. God has His own plan and His own time-table
          1. Jesus knew that, and followed along that time-table
          2. Our job as Christians, is, as-best-we-can, figure out that time-table and go along with it.
          3. Jesus knew the Jews could not kill Him before the appointed time.
            1. He still went up to the feast (secretively vs. 11) because
              1. 1) It was God’s will for Him to do it that way
              2. 2) To avoid unnecessary confrontations
              3. 3) To teach us to avoid unnecessary confrontations
      2. 2) Second Point… "For you any time is right)
        1. Also notice Verse 7: (same thought) The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil
        2. What Jesus is saying is that as long as you conform to the world’s ideas, they will praise you and not condemn you.
          1. It is only when you start telling people
            1. "Your lifestyle is wrong, or
            2. Unless you repent and believe the Gospel
          2. That people will hate you for your statement.
        3. There are times when we need to take a Stand for Jesus
          1. We need to risk being unpopular and stand up for the Truth
          2. People will call you judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, etc.
            1. But that doesn’t matter
            2. They called Jesus the same thing
            3. The question is IS THIS THE TRUTH?
              1. Or Is Jesus who He claims to be
              2. That’s what the Gospel of John is out to prove
              3. Who is Jesus, and What is his Mission!
  8. Now the scene moves from Jesus home in Galilee to The Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem
    1. At this point, picture a city with a million plus people,
      1. All out in public for a festive holiday.
    2. Visualize thousands of temporary shelters made out of Palm branches
      1. everywhere in the City of Jerusalem
      2. And the big buzz going around…
        1. Have you heard about this Jesus of Nazareth guy?
        2. Just like today, people are divided
        3. With that, let’s go to Verse 11
  9. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, "Where is that man?"
    1. "The Jews" refer to the leadership. This is the ruling council of Sadducee’s and Pharisee’s.
  10. Verse 12-13:Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
    1. And so we see the division. The rumors were flying about Jesus, but everybody was talking about Jesus "under their breath"
    2. "The fear of the Jews" is a fear of the Jewish leadership
      1. We learn in Chapter 9 that if anyone confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, he would be thrown out of the Synagogue (John 9:22)
      2. To be ex-communicated from the Synagogue
        1. To a semi-religious Jew, this is a death sentence
          1. And would mean you would be shunned by your community
      3. It is similar today among some Orthodox Jews
        1. They hold funerals for family members who turn to Christianity
        2. And no longer recognize them as being alive
  11. Now enters Jesus. Picture a large crowd that was all abuzz about Jesus.
    1. The leaders were all looking for Him
    2. The crowd is all talking about Him
    3. And then he appears:, Verse 14: Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
      1. The Jewish leaders were amazed by His teachings..
        1. The average Jew was not an expert on Scripture
        2. There were no books in those days.
          1. Everything was written on expensive scrolls
          2. They were only available to the scholastic Rabbi’s
        3. The leaders were saying, "Hey, this guy did not graduate from one of our Yeshiva academy’s!… How does He know His Bible so well?
        4. And before we go condemning those evil Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s, give some consideration to our own lives:
          1. Are you willing to listen to Bible study’s from someone who is younger and less experienced a Christian than you are?
          2. Are you willing to listen to Bible study’s who is not a Seminary Graduate
            1. There is nothing wrong formal Christian education
            2. The point is "God will use who God chooses to use!"
  12. Now here comes Jesus condemnation of the religious leaders: Verse 16: 16 Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?"
    1. Jesus is making several very bold statements here
      1. 1) What I teach is not what I think, but what God told me to say (Vs. 16)
      2. 2) If you are willing to do God’s Will…than you will know God sent me(Vs. 17)
      3. 3) People who teach any other doctrine are doing it for their own gain (Vs. 18)
        1. But if you teach about God (as I am presenting it), you are teaching the truth (Vs. 18)
      4. 4) You Jewish leaders who are diligently studying Moses law and working with all your might to KEEP this law, are failing miserably!
    2. Each of these statements is a sermon unto itself…here’s a few brief thoughts:
    3. In Verse 16, Jesus is claiming His authority is not Himself, but God
      1. How do we verify this?
        1. Lots of Ways…
          1. God has sent the Holy Spirit show us What is the Truth
          2. Jesus performs all sorts of miracles as validation of Who He is
          3. 30% of the Bible is Prophecy (future predictions)
            1. Jesus Himself prophecies about Himself & The future
            2. Why? To validate His words as True!!
            3. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
              1. (Rev 19:10b)
    4. Vs 17 may be the most radical claim of the group: If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
      1. This is a challenge to anyone within earshot of hearing or reading this verse
        1. Jesus is saying… If you are truly diligent to Seek God, and do His Will, you will know Jesus is who He claims to be
        2. I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. (Proverbs 8:17 NKJV)
    5. Verse 18 Naturally flows from Verse 17: To paraphrase Verse 18:
      1. People who teach any other doctrine are doing it for their own gain,
      2. but if you teach about God (as I am presenting it), you are teaching the truth
        1. This is one of the biggest pitfalls of the 20th Century Christian preacher.
          1. The danger of the "liberal" church is when they get away from preaching the Word, and focus on social agendas…
          2. Social agenda’s have their place, and are an important outreach to the community.
          3. But if you look at the decline in both Catholic and denominational Protestant attendance over the past few decades, and the rising increase in attendance in non-denominational churches, a lot of it has to do with getting away from preaching the Word!
            1. Praise God the trend is reversing, both in the American Catholic and Protestant Churches… as they are realizing their mistakes and reversing the trends.
    6. Verse 19 is a condemnation against not keeping the Law of Moses
      1. This is a real slap-in-the-face to a religious Jew
        1. These men spent their lives studying the Laws of Moses & trying their best to keep them
        2. For Jesus to claim that they can’t do it, does not hold well for us and our ability to keep the law
          1. If you’ve never studied the Sermon on the Mountain (Matt 5-7)
            1. You are in for a real shock in how strict and extreme is Jesus interpretation of the Law.
            2. And how no man, on their own will-power can keep it
  13. Verse 20: You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?"
    1. Notice the crowd did not focus on What Jesus said about the Jewish leaders.
      1. The crowd seemed to know what hypocrites the leaders were,
      2. Because they did not challenge Jesus’ words on their hypocrisy
      3. But the crowd focused on the fact that Jesus knew the Jewish leaders were trying to kill him
        1. Apparently at this point, this plan was unknown most of the crowd!
  14. Verse 21: Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs(Abraham, Issac, Jacob), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." (emphasis added)
    1. In Jewish Law, a baby is circumcised when He is 8 days old.
      1. The odds are 1 out of 7 that his 8-day birthday is on the Sabbath.
      2. Even though for a Jewish doctor, performing a circumcism on the Sabbath would definitely be "work", they made an exception as they figuring it is more important to obey the "8th day" rule than the Sabbath rule
      3. Jesus used this familiar illustration to make a point
        1. Hey guys, what’s more important…
        2. Healing someone’s life or working on the Holiday?
        3. He is saying not to get too obsessed about the rules in order to achieve the greater good
        4. And of course, if someone is doing a great good for Jesus, but does not do it by our (religious) standards and our "ways of doing things’, who are we to condemn?
    2. Also, I love verse 24: Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
      1. Jesus is not saying, Don’t Judge people’s actions…He says judge righteously!
        1. "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:2 NIV)
  15. Verse 25: At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
    1. Here you begin to see the division of the people about Jesus…
    2. Verse 27 states that the When the Messiah comes, no one knows where He is from. Most commentators speculate that the common rumor of the day was that the Messiah "will suddenly show up in the middle of the action" without any prior knowledge of where He came from..
  16. Verse 28: Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me."
    1. Sometimes you have to stop the crowd rumblings with a good shout of authority
      1. Notice Jesus silenced the rumor-mill with a shout of who he was
        1. You know me (my background, my hometown, my miracles)
        2. He shouts I am not here on my own, but am proclaiming God’s truth!
        3. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus pounds home the point that He was sent by God (Vs 29b: but I know him because I am from Him)
          1. Jesus spends a lot of time stating His authority
          2. That’s for us, as well as them
            1. When we are distressed, down, and focusing on our problems, Jesus is constantly reminding us that He is from God and we need to look to Him for solutions!
  17. Verse 30: At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?"
    1. Some tried to seize Him (Verse 30)
    2. Others put their faith in Him (Verse 31)
    3. Again the Apostle John emphasizes that everything is in God’s timing, not man’s.
      1. Vs 30b: but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
  18. Verse 32: The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
    1. When someone gets frustrated because they are not getting what they want, they often resort to violence.
      1. Since the Pharisees couldn’t stop Jesus, they tried to arrest Him
    2. "Temple Guards" were pretty powerful folk. Our own equivalent might be the Military Police (MP’s) on a military base. They answer directly to the Chief Priest.
  19. Verse 33: Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."
    1. Jesus didn’t fear man.
    2. He knew he had a short time-table and was here to accomplish a specific mission.
    3. Jesus was talking about his Death and Resurrection
      1. As we can see by the next set of verses, they didn’t comprehend this.
  20. Verse 35: The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people (i.e. The Jewish people) live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, `You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and `Where I am, you cannot come'?"
    1. The Jewish people didn’t get what Jesus was talking about
    2. Remember that even the apostles didn’t comprehend the death and resurrection until after it happened
      1. Reading the scriptures carefully, only Mary Magdalene seemed to comprehend the death & resurrection prior to the event itself.
  21. Verse 37: 37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
    1. There are 3 wonderful verbs in Verse 37:
      1. 1) Thirst 2) Come and 3) Drink
        1. Thirst represents need
        2. Come represents action
        3. Drink represents partaking of Him
    2. If you know your Jewish History and Rituals, there is actually more going on than meets the eye
      1. The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was ordained as a 7-day feast
      2. The Jews later added an 8th day, called "The great day of the feast"
      3. The Jewish leaders for 7 days, would bring pictures of water from the
        Pool of Silom and pour it out on the Temple Floor
        1. They would recite Isaiah 12:3:
          1. "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation
        2. Now visualize the Jewish leaders returning with the empty pictures
        3. In this context, visualize Jesus yelling:
          1. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink
          2. And Jesus himself would paraphrase Isaiah 12:3 referring to Himself (John 7:38b "as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.""
  22. The Apostle John adds his own commentary in Verse 39: By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
    1. John interprets the phrase out of His heart will flow rivers of Living Water to be the Holy Spirit, which was not given until Pentecost (after Jesus was resurrected).
    2. John himself did not understand what was happening until he had time to digest it all, after receiving the Holy Spirit
  23. Verse 40: Here comes the division: 7:40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."JN 7:41 Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
      1. Verse 43 is probably the best summary of this whole chapter:
        1. Thus the people were divided because of Jesus
        2. Just like they are today
    1. Notice also that some in the crowd knew the prophecy that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem and be a direct descendant of David
      1. One commentator pointed out that this means that even un-saved people can quote prophecy!
      2. They obviously did not Jesus life-history.
      3. Notice there is no record of Jesus claiming his fulfillment of these prophecies about Him
        1. Notice Jesus doesn’t cry out
          1. "I was born in Bethlehem, or I am the Son of David"
        2. Jesus knew that if they didn’t believe Him based on his teachings and his miracles, they wouldn’t believe Him if he did mention these facts
  24. Verse 45: :Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?" :46 "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.
    1. This is sort of comical. The guards were under order to arrest Jesus. They were so convicted by their action, they disobeyed direct orders! You would think that would lead the religious leaders to question Him further. But once somebody’s heart is very hardened, even last minute witnessing can’t help.
      1. These verses also remind us that sometimes we need to obey a "greater good" than direct authorities.
      2. Another example of this is Acts 5:29 (NKJV): But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.
  25. Verse 47: "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. 48 "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse on them."
    1. The leaders were saying "Don’t be duped by this guy, we’re the ones with the religious education and all the degrees!"
  26. In every crowd, Jesus always seems to plant at least one witness for himself. Here comes Nicodemus (for those who missed the earlier lessons on Nicodemus, see chapter 3).
    1. Verse 50: Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" :52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
    2. Notice Nicodemus style of witnessing…
      1. He doesn’t try to convert the other leaders,
        1. He just argues to give Jesus a fair hearing..
      2. Sometimes when we witness for Jesus, we make the mistake of trying to hit a home-run every time, when a bunt-sacrifice will suffice
        1. That’s what Nicodemus is doing here… Not trying to convert them, but simply making a reasonable suggestion to the rest of the leadership.
    3. For all you Bible Trivia buffs, the Pharisee’s were wrong about the fact that "No prophet ever came out of Galilee"
      1. The Prophet Jonah, who is revered among the Jews to this day, as one of their greatest prophets is from Galilee.
  27. Last Verse :53 Then each went to his own home.
    1. The booths were all knocked down. The Feast is over
    2. The division over Jesus continues
      1. As it does to this day…

Let’s Pray

Father, we thank you for these lessons that we learn about Jesus. We learn that the division about Jesus was as common two thousand years ago as it is today. Give us the faith to take a stand for the Truth, and, as Peter said, always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

 

 

JN 7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" JN 7:52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee." JN 7:53 Then each went to his own home.