John 7 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: John 7:1-10: Jesus’ brothers ‘encourage’ him

A. Find Out:    

1. Why was Jesus avoiding Judea? v.1
   • After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him.
2. Why did Jesus’ brothers say he ought to go to the Feast? v.2,3
   • But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do.
3. How did his brothers persist, and why? v.4,5
   • 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.
4. What was Jesus’ reply? v.6
   • Therefore Jesus told them, ‘My time is not yet here; for you any time will do.
5. Why did Jesus say the world hated him? v.7
   • The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
6. So what did he say and do? v.8,9
   • You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.’ 9 After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.
7. Yet what did he subsequently do and how? v.10
   • However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.

B. Think:

1. How would you summarise what Jesus’ brothers were doing?
2. How would you summarise Jesus’ answer?
3. How do we try to get one another to conform to our expectations?

C. Comment:

A major feast is about to occur in Jerusalem to which many devout Jews would go. It was fairly natural therefore for Jesus, his family and his followers to go, yet that wasn’t what was behind his brothers’ words. There was a sense of antagonistic provocation in what they suggested because, as John records, they didn’t believe in him.

In one sense the brothers are trying to provoke Jesus to conform to their expectations of him: if you are this great leader you ought to be out front doing stuff that people can see, and this is a great opportunity to do it, so why don’t you go for it! Jesus’ answer to them indicates that he has a sense of timing of which they are unaware. He clearly has a sense of divine purpose which will not be rushed. We must not try to rush Jesus’ purposes!

When Jesus says his time has not yet come, he means his time for the final confrontation, so although he will eventually go up to the feast, it will not be in such a way that inflames the crowd and incites the leaders to move against him. Yet he will go and does go, but in his time and his way

D. Application:

1. Jesus always moves in accordance with His Father’s will and His Father’s timing. He will not be rushed.
2. We need to learn to rest in His timing and His will and have patience to wait for Him to do what He wants to do.

Passage: John 7:11-15: Gossip in Jerusalem

A. Find Out:

1. What were some Jews doing at the Feast? v.11
   • Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, ‘Where is he?’
2. What was being said about Jesus? v.12
   • Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’ Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people.
3. Why wouldn’t people speak openly about Jesus? v.13
   •  But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
4. When did Jesus go and teach at the temple? v.14
   • Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.
5. Why were the Jews amazed? v.15
   • The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’

B. Think:

1. What does this passage say about people’s understanding of Jesus?
2. How was “public opinion” being suppressed?
3. How was Jesus seen to be carefully in control of the situation?

C. Comment:

There are two groups of people who are noteworthy in this passage. First of all, there are “the Jews”. Throughout John’s Gospel there is constant reference to “the Jews” and the term is used to indicate that group of the religious community who were hostile to Jesus. It probably included Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, Levites, most of whom were opposed to Jesus. In v.1 we saw that Jesus was aware that they were waiting to take his life. In today’s passage we see they were waiting for him, expecting him to turn up. When he did make his presence known and started teaching, they revealed their prejudice, their belief that only a traditionally taught rabbi could teach. Jesus showed them that that was not so!

The second group are the common people simply referred to as “the crowd”. Yes, they are probably Jews but not in the religious sense of the group considered above. This group quietly discuss and wonder who Jesus really is, but though they are probably the majority they are intimidated by the religious grouping and are fearful of saying anything publicly that might be construed as acceptance of Jesus.

Finally, we should note Jesus’ own actions. He waits until halfway through the Feast before he starts teaching. He doesn’t want a popular following to rise up yet, it is too early.

D. Application:

1. “Religious” people are often the ones who oppose Jesus!
2. We should never be intimidated against testifying for Jesus.

Passage: John 7:16-20: Jesus responds

A. Find Out:

1. Where did Jesus’ teaching come from? v.16
   • Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.
2. How will you know if it is from God? v.17
   • Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
3. Who is a man of truth? v.18
   • Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
4. What did he say they were not doing? v.19a
   • Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law.
5. What did he say they were trying to do? v.19b
   • Why are you trying to kill me?’
6. Of what did they then accuse him? v.20
   • ‘You are demon-possessed,’ the crowd answered. ‘Who is trying to kill you?’

B. Think:

1. What was the origin of Jesus’ teaching?
2. What is the key here, to understanding Jesus’ teaching?
3. How were the Jews shown to be false?

C. Comment:

Various things stand out about Jesus’ teaching in this passage. First, the ORIGIN of his teaching. The Jews were struggling. They thought you are either taught by a rabbi or you taught yourself. Jesus added a third origin: God himself. Second how to CONFIRM the origin of the teaching: if you genuinely desire to do God’s will then you will know that the teaching comes from God. Third, observe the MOTIVATION of the teacher: if it is to glorify and honour God then truth will ensue.

Jesus teaching was not from a rabbi and it was not from himself, it was from God. If we desire to do God’s will we will recognise that this is teaching from heaven, and finally we can clearly see that Jesus sought to honour His Father in heaven and his teaching was true.

Yet there is more! The Jews said they kept Moses’ Law yet their intention was to kill Jesus. They strongly defended themselves but nevertheless it was true. In this they showed themselves to be false. The Law said you shall not kill and yet they were plotting murder, so for all their religious appearances they rejected the Law.

D. Application:

1. The state of our heart determines what teaching we can receive.
2. We may say we are open to be taught but if our lives run contrary to God’s commands, we deny what we say by our actions.

Passage: John 7:21-27: Jesus’ challenges

A. Find Out:

1. Why had they been astonished? v.21
   • Jesus said to them, ‘I did one miracle, and you are all amazed.
2. Yet what did they do on the Sabbath? v.22
   • Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.
3. Why does Jesus challenge their anger? v.23
   • Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?
4. What did he tell them to stop doing? v.24
   •  Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.’
5. Why were some of the people surprised? v.25,26
   • 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 Messiah?
6. Why did they assume he couldn’t be the Christ? v.27
   • But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’

B. Think:

1. What point is Jesus making about the Jews?
2. Why are the people surprised at what he is doing?
3. What does this tell us about Jesus’ control of the situation?

C. Comment:

The Jews are starting to plan to kill Jesus and so he challenges them over their attitudes towards teaching and the Law. Yesterday we saw he declared they were not keeping the Law in their attitude towards him, and now he challenges them over the real reason why they are upset over him. He had previously performed a miracle of healing in Jerusalem (Ch.5) and they had been upset because it had occurred on the Sabbath. Don’t be silly, he says, you circumcise infants on the Sabbath so how much better it is to heal on the Sabbath. Then he goes to the root of their upset: stop going on externals, on outward appearances, and instead be concerned about realities. Stop worrying about what you ought to do to keep the rules, but go on what is real and right.

In saying this Jesus exposes the unreality of the Jews’ beliefs, based as they were on man-interpreted rules, not on the caring and compassionate heart of God! As Jesus does this the people round about who are watching and listening begin to wonder. They have heard about the plans to kill Jesus but here he is openly challenging them over their unbelief. What does this mean? See tomorrow!

D. Application:

1. Is our religion external behaviour focused or is it real with real things     happening from within us?
2. Man-originated rules or real relationship?

Passage: John 7:28-34: The Opposition builds

A. Find Out:

1. What did Jesus acknowledge they knew? v.28a,b
   • Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, ‘Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.
2. But who did he say they didn’t know? v.28c,29
   • I am not here on my own authority, 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.’
3. Why didn’t they arrest him then? v.30
   •  At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.   
4. How did some respond? v.31
   • Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?’
5. But what did the chief priests & Pharisees do? v.32
   • The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
6. What did Jesus say would happen? v.33,34
   • Jesus said, ‘I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going 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.’

B. Think:

1. What was Jesus indicating about his origins?
2. How clear was this and why?
3. What do you think Jesus’ teaching style says about his intentions.

C. Comment:

Let’s first looked at what happened and then consider why it was so. Jesus knew the people were wondering if he was the Messiah, and if he came from where Messiah should come from. They thought they knew but Jesus, somewhat enigmatically, refers to the one who sent him, implying that there was more in his coming than they thought. Indeed he later said he would return to the one who had sent him and they wouldn’t be able to come; even more strange.

So why did Jesus speak in this somewhat unclear way? First of all he only gradually wanted to reveal who he was, he only gradually wanted the opposition against him to mount (for that it would surely do). Second, Jesus always speaks in such a way that only those who are seeking will hear and understand. The person who is already seeking after God will hear Jesus’ words and will know that they confirm what they were already sensing, that this IS the Son from heaven.

We see in the background the struggle of the authorities. Their desire was to arrest Jesus but somehow something prevented them, and John simply says it was because it was not yet the right time for Jesus to be arrested and crucified. Still the authorities persevered and tried again by sending guards to arrest him. See tomorrow!

D. Application:

1. Jesus speaks for those who will hear.
2. Do we desire to hear and understand?

Passage: John 7:35-39: Jesus speaks of the coming Spirit

A. Find Out:

1. What was the question in the mind of the Jews? v.35,36
   • The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our 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”?’
2. When did Jesus stand up and call out? v.37a
   • On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood
3. What did he offer to whom? v.37b
   • Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
4. What did he promise the believer? v.38
   • Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’
5. What was he speaking about? v.39a
   • By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
6. Why had the Spirit not yet been poured out? v.39b
   • Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

B. Think:

1. What, from this passage, appears a condition for blessing to come?
2. From where will it come?
3. What does it tell us about the supply?

C. Comment:

At the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews celebrated the time when Moses brought forth water from the rock and thanked God for the provision of water for the later year and prayed for it for the coming year. They also looked forward to the time when God would release water from the temple as prophesied in Ezekiel (Ezek 47) and the High Priest would go down to the pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher and bring back water and pour it through a funnel near the side of the altar as a picture of what they hoped would one day would happen.

In the midst of all this prophetic significance Jesus stands up and loudly proclaims that he is the source of water. He makes the staggering claim that if anyone believes in HIM, streams of living water will flow from within them! In this He is making the most audacious claim. You want real life sustaining provision, says Jesus, then come to me and get it from me! What was this living water? John makes it very clear, the Holy Spirit. Notice He will flow from within you and will be like stream s , ongoing supply, many and various. Jesus is thus the source of the Holy Spirit and He, the Spirit of Jesus, will bring life sustaining provision from within you.

D. Application:

1. God’s promise is of eternal life.
2. That life is His own Holy Spirit; He is the one who brings that new sustaining power that goes on and on. Do you ave it? Thank Him.

Passage: John 7:40-52: More questions anda defence

A. Find Out:

1. Who did some think Jesus was? v.40,41a
   • On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’ 41 Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’
2. What was their point of confusion? v.41b,42
   • Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’
3. What was the outcome? v.44,45
   • Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him in?’
4. Why hadn’t the guards arrested Jesus? v.46
   • ‘No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.
5. How did Nicodemus defend Jesus? v.50,51
   • Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 ‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’
6. What was still their problem? v.52
   • They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.’

B. Think:

1. What is the main thing that comes over to you in this passage?
2. Why was that?

C. Comment:

In contrast to the sharp clarity of Jesus’ call, comes the confusion of the various onlookers. Some sense that this man must be the Christ to be able to speak like this, but others are not convinced. They have a problem of partial knowledge; they only know part of Jesus’ history and that bit doesn’t seem to tie in with what they have been taught! Our problem so often, when we are tempted to criticize, is that we only have partial knowledge!

Their understanding was that the Messiah should come from David’s family and that was from Bethlehem in the southern half of the country. Jesus seemed to come from Galilee in the north, so surely, he couldn’t be the Messiah was their natural (but wrong) conclusion. They did not know that Jesus HAD been born in Bethlehem and they based their judgement on their ignorance!

In addition to this, it is likely that the Pharisees had a personal bias; they considered themselves to be the keepers of the moral and spiritual conscience of the nation and to be challenged in that position was, as they saw it, a challenge to their very prestige and power in the land. It was thus in their interests to oppose Jesus. When people today oppose Jesus, it is rarely on objective, unbiased grounds; it is usually because of personal biases.

D. Application:

1. Beware of criticizing when you have only half the facts!
2. Beware opposition when you have a personal bias!