John 7

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Jesus attends the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, initially in secret, where he teaches in the temple. His claims about his divine origin and the source of his doctrine cause great division among the people. Despite attempts by the Jewish authorities to arrest him, no one lays hands on him, as his appointed time has not yet come.

Jesus and His Brothers Before the Feast 1–10

¶ After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.

His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.

For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.

For neither did his brethren believe in him.

Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.

The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

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.

Secret Arrival and Public Debate 11–13

Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

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.

Jesus Teaches in the Temple 14–24

¶ 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 answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

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.

Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

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.

Debate Over Jesus' Identity and Origin 25–31

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. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

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.

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.

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?

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32–36

The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.

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.

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?

The Promise of Living Water 37–39

¶ 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.

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.)

Division and the Failure to Arrest Jesus 40–52

Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Others said, This is the Christ. 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.

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.

Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

The Woman Caught in Adultery 53

And every man went unto his own house.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for John 7

Verse 1

he would not walk in Jewry — 'Jewry' is Judaea, the word translated 'Judaea' in v.3. 'Walked' and 'walk' are one verb (peripateo): he moves freely in Galilee, not in Judaea. The reason is the purpose first stated in John 5:18, 'the Jews sought the more to kill him', and it is named again in vv.19 and 25.

Verse 2

feast of tabernacles — Skenopegia, the setting up of tents, occurs only here. The Law calls it a feast 'unto the LORD' on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Lev 23:34), kept by dwelling in booths 'that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths' (Lev 23:43); all males were to appear (Deut 16:16).

Verse 5

neither did his brethren believe in him — These are the brethren who press him in vv.3–4, the family named in Matt 13:55 as 'James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas'. After the resurrection they are with the disciples 'with one accord in prayer' (Acts 1:14), and the risen Lord 'was seen of James' (1 Cor 15:7).

Verse 6

My time is not yet come — Kairos is an appointed season. His brethren's 'time' is 'alway ready' (hetoimos): any day suits the world. The word returns in v.8 ('not yet full come'); in v.30 the word is 'hour' (hora), the one of John 2:4 and 13:1. In this chapter neither is set by his brethren or the crowd.

Verse 8

I go not up yet — The 'yet' (oupo) matters: he does go up, after his brethren, 'not openly, but as it were in secret' (v.10). 'Go up' (anabaino) is the pilgrim's verb, used in vv.8, 10 and 14. 'Full come' is pleroo, to fill up: the time has to be filled, and it is not yet.

Verse 13

for fear of the Jews — Parrhesia, open speech, is the word of v.4 ('seeketh to be known openly') and v.26 ('he speaketh boldly'). 'The Jews' feared are those with power to act, who sought to kill him (v.1); so in John 9:22, 'the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.'

Verse 14

about the midst of the feast — The feast ran seven days (Lev 23:34), so he appears near its centre. Mesoo, to be half-way, occurs only here. 'Went up' is the verb of vv.8 and 10, now into the temple. He teaches there, cries 'in the temple as he taught' (v.28), and speaks again on 'the last day' (v.37).

Verse 15

How knoweth this man letters — Grammata, writings, is the word used of Moses in John 5:47, 'if ye believe not his writings'. The surprise is that one who has 'never learned' knows them. His answer in v.16: 'My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.'

Verse 17

If any man will do his will — 'Will do' is two words, thelo, to be willing, and poieo, to do: the readiness to do God's will comes before the knowledge. The knowing (ginosko) is of whether the doctrine is 'of God' or whether he speaks 'of myself'. John 8:31–32 states the order: continue in his word, then 'ye shall know the truth'.

Verse 19

none of you keepeth the law — Jesus answers the charge of breaking the sabbath (5:16, 18) with the sixth commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill' (Ex 20:13). 'Go about' is zeteo, to seek, the verb of 'sought to kill' in v.1 and 'seek to kill' in v.25: Moses 'gave' the law, and none of them 'keepeth' it.

Verse 20

Thou hast a devil — The speakers are 'the people', the festival crowd, not the rulers, and they do not know of the plot: 'who goeth about to kill thee?' The Jerusalemites of v.25 do know. The charge returns in 8:48, 52 and 10:20, 'He hath a devil, and is mad'.

Verse 22

Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision — The commandment is older than Moses: 'not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers', as Gen 17:10–12 shows. The law of the eighth day (Lev 12:3) is kept even when it falls on a sabbath, which is the argument of v.23: 'are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?'

Verse 24

judge righteous judgment — 'Appearance' is opsis, the face or outward sight. Moses had commanded, 'Ye shall not respect persons in judgment' (Deut 1:17), and Isa 11:3–4 says of the Messiah, 'he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes… But with righteousness shall he judge the poor'.

Verse 25

them of Jerusalem — Hierosolymites occurs only here and in Mark 1:5. These residents know what the pilgrim crowd of v.20 did not: he is the man 'whom they seek to kill'. Their surprise follows in v.26: 'he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?'

Verse 27

no man knoweth whence he is — The crowd sets what 'we know' of this man against a belief about the Christ. Jesus answers that they know where he is from and do not know the one who sent him (v.28). The Scripture they cite in v.42 says of the ruler out of Bethlehem that his 'goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting' (Mic 5:2).

Verse 28

he that sent me is true — Alethinos is true in the sense of real, genuine. 'Cried' (krazo) is the verb of v.37. 'Sent me' is the refrain of the chapter (vv.16, 28, 29, 33). 'Whom ye know not' is the charge of 8:19: 'Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.'

Verse 30

his hour was not yet come — 'Hour' (hora) is the word of John 2:4, 'mine hour is not yet come', and of 8:20, where again 'no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come'. It is fulfilled in 13:1, 'Jesus knew that his hour was come', and 17:1, 'Father, the hour is come'. Until then the hands do not fall.

Verse 32

sent officers to take him — The 'officers' (huperetes) are attendants of the chief priests and Pharisees, the class of attendants who come with Judas in 18:3. What moved the Pharisees was what the people 'murmured' in v.31: 'When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?' The officers return without him in v.45.

Verse 33

Yet a little while — 'Him that sent me' continues the refrain of v.28. The same words are said to the disciples in 13:33, 'Yet a little while I am with you', and 16:5, 'I go my way to him that sent me'. In v.35 the Jews hear only a journey they cannot trace.

Verse 34

Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me — 'Seek' and 'find' recall Prov 1:28, 'they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me'. 'Cannot' (dunamai) states inability, not only absence: the same words are in 8:21, 'ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come', and to the disciples in 13:33.

Verse 35

the dispersed among the Gentiles — Diaspora, the scattered; James 1:1 and 1 Pet 1:1 use the word of their scattered readers. 'Gentiles' is Hellen, Greeks. Their question is answered later without their meaning it: in 12:20–21 Greeks 'came up to worship at the feast' and said, 'Sir, we would see Jesus'.

Verse 37

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink — The invitation of Isa 55:1, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters', is spoken in the first person. At the well in Samaria he had said the water he gives is 'a well of water springing up into everlasting life' (John 4:14). The feast closes with 'an holy convocation' on the eighth day (Lev 23:36).

Verse 38

rivers of living water — The Scripture is not named. Isa 44:3 has the figure, 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty… I will pour my spirit upon thy seed', and Isa 58:11 has 'a spring of water, whose waters fail not'. 'Belly' is koilia, the inward part; 'living water' is what he had offered the woman in John 4:10.

Verse 39

the Holy Ghost was not yet given — 'Given' is supplied by the KJV; the Greek says the Spirit 'was not yet' (oupo). The Spirit follows the glorifying of Jesus: 'if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you' (John 16:7); Peter reports it in Acts 2:33, 'having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this'.

Verse 40

this is the Prophet — 'The Prophet' is the one promised in Deut 18:15, 'a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken'. The question put to John in 1:21 was 'Art thou that prophet?', and the crowd at the loaves said, 'This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world' (6:14).

Verse 42

the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem — The Scripture they cite is Mic 5:2, 'Bethlehem Ephratah… out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel'. David came from Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:1, 'Jesse the Bethlehemite'). John does not answer their objection from Galilee (v.41), but Matt 2:5 and Luke 2:4 record the birthplace.

Verse 44

no man laid hands on him — The words repeat v.30 and are heard again in 8:20. Verse 43 gives the division 'among the people because of him'; some would have taken him, and none does. In 10:39 'he escaped out of their hand'. The hour, not the crowd, decides.

Verse 46

Never man spake like this man — The officers answer the question 'Why have ye not brought him?' (v.45). Their reaction is the one recorded after the sermon on the mount: 'the people were astonished at his doctrine' (Matt 7:28), for he taught 'as one having authority' (7:29). The same word 'officers' appears when they take him in 18:12.

Verse 48

Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? — The question expects no, yet Nicodemus is 'a man of the Pharisees… a ruler of the Jews' (John 3:1), and John says that 'among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him' (12:42).

Verse 49

cursed — Epikataratos occurs only here and in Gal 3:10, 13. Gal 3:10 quotes Deut 27:26: 'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them'. The Pharisees pronounce the curse on the crowd for not knowing the law; Paul says that 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law' (Gal 3:13).

Verse 50

he that came to Jesus by night — John identifies Nicodemus by chapter 3, where he 'came to Jesus by night', and by 19:39, where he brings 'a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight'. 'Being one of them' means he is of the council and the Pharisees; his question in v.51, 'Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him?', rests on the law.

Verse 52

out of Galilee ariseth no prophet — Scripture speaks otherwise. Jonah 'the prophet, which was of Gathhepher' (2 Kgs 14:25), a town on the border of Zebulun's lot (Josh 19:10, 13). Isa 9:1–2 speaks of 'Galilee of the nations' where 'the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light', and Matt 4:13–16 records Christ dwelling there as its fulfilling.