Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
John 7
What should I learn from this chapter?
- The comparisons between Jesus, Joseph the son of Jacob, and Moses
- See Topic: Joseph and Jesus
Jesus’ Brothers Disbelieve
John 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the (ruling authorities) Jews sought to kill Him.
Note: Jerusalem and the temple are in Judea. Jerusalem in a hilly country with valleys surrounding it.
John 7:2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
John 7:3 His brothers (Joseph and Mary’s biological sons) therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.
Jesus brothers knew the Jewish leaders were seeking Jesus’ life, and yet they encourage Him to go openly to the Feast. They were mocking him.
2. Growing up with the “Son of God” created a division between them. They resented Him just as Joseph’s brothers resented Joseph. Joseph “ratted” his brothers out and told their father Jacob what they were doing. Likewise, Jesus made them feel as though they were being “ratted” out exposing their sins. They believed He (Jesus) was seeking His own glory.
- Like Joseph, the son of Jacob of the 12 tribes of Israel:
Jesus’ brothers mocked him.
They were envious
They set Him up to be killed.
Like any sinner, they were ratted out whenever He spoke the truth.
John 7:4 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.”
John 7:5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
John 7:6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.
John 7:8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.”
John 7:9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.
The Heavenly Scholar
John 7:10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast (of Tabernacles), not openly, but as it were in secret.
John 7:11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?”
John 7:12 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.”
John 7:13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews (Jewish leaders).
John 7:14 Now about the middle of the feast (of Tabernacles) Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
John 7:15 And the Jews (Jewish scholars) marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
John 7:16 (So) Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His (God’s) will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I (Jesus) speak on My own authority.
John 7:18 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.
John 7:19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
- An abrupt statement of Jesus’ righteousness and their unrighteousness.
John 7:20 The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
John 7:21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did (only) one work, and you all marvel.
John 7:22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you (are willing to) circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
John 7:23 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?
John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
- He confronts them with their hypocrisy. The Hebrew word for hypocrite is “actor”.
Could This Be the Christ?
John 7:25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill?
John 7:26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?
John 7:27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ (the looked for Savior, the Messiah) comes, no one knows where He is from.”
John 7:28 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.
John 7:29 But I know Him (the Father God), for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
John 7:30 Therefore they sought to take Him (Have him killed, after denying it); but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 7:31 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?”
Jesus and the Religious Leaders
John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.
John 7:33 Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.
John 7:34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I AM you cannot come.”
John 7:35 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?
John 7:36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those (would be) believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (crucified and risen from the dead with a glorified body).
Who Is He?
John 7:40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is THE Prophet.”
The crowd is not saying “a prophet”, they are saying “THE Prophet” from Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
A Prophet Like Moses
When Jesus began performing miracles in the sight of all who were watching they said, “This is truly THE Prophet who is to come into the world.” What did they mean by using the word “THE” instead of “A”? (Not just “A” Prophet). They were referring to the prophet Moses spoke of, with an expectation among the people in Israel that this prophet was about to appear. Moses spoke an amazing prophecy about the Messiah in the Book of Deuteronomy where he reminded Israel all God had done for them, and encouraged them to be faithful. The prophecy goes like this:
Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, ….
And then God spoke to Moses regarding the prophecy: Deuteronomy 18:18 God said to Moses – “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. `And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”
- Moses said to Israel: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.
- God told Moses the Messiah would be a prophet – like Moses. The LORD previously said that when He speaks to the prophets he speaks to them in a vision or in a dream, but that’s not how He spoke to Moses. The LORD said He spoke to Moses “face to face as a man speaks to his friend.”
- If we look more closely at this prophecy:
* First, the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses.
* Second, The Messiah would be from among their brethren. Moses said the Messiah would be a Jew.
* Third, God said “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” The LORD basically said that the words coming out of the Messiah’s mouth would be the very word of the Father.
* Fourth, whoever will not hear God’s words, which the Messiah will speak in God’s name, God will judge him and hold him accountable, whomever it may be. And the judgement will be because they chose not to hear the words that came out of the Messiah’s mouth.
All this was written at the time of Moses
Now if we examine the words of Jesus carefully we will find striking similarities, Jesus said, “For I have not spoken this of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
* Jesus also said: “He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” – John 12:47-50
When Jesus was in a discussion with the Pharisees He said to them, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.” – John 5:43 This also corresponds with the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18
The Pharisees made an interesting statement:
- “We are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses.” John 9:28-29
Jesus summed it all up for the Pharisees. He said, “Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is already one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” – John 5:45-47
The ancient prophecies spoke about Jesus. All the events in Jesus’s life, His words, the places he went, the people he spoke with, the miracles, and everything about his character, and even his death and resurrection, were all in fulfillment of what was written about him by the prophets. ~Bible History Online: 3/23/19
John 7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee?
John 7:42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
John 7:43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.
John 7:44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
Rejected by the Authorities
John 7:45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
John 7:46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”
John 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived?
John 7:48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?
John 7:49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
John 7:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them,
John 7:51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
John 7:52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
An Adulteress Faces the Light of the World
John 7:53 And everyone went to his own house.
The leaders have something planned that will put Jesus in a predicament of blackmail that puts His mother in danger. Will He be able to escape? See John Chapter 8
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