CHAPTER 7

(A.D. 32)

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

¹After these things Jesus walked in Galilee (covers a span of approximately six months, from the Passover in April to the Feast of Tabernacles in October): for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him (spoke of Jerusalem and Judaea; these were the religious leaders of the Nation, and are to be distinguished from the multitude of the people).

²Now the Jews Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

³His brethren therefore said unto Him (refers to James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude [Mat. 13:55]), Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that Your Disciples also may see the works that You do (a proclamation of sarcasm; by the use of the Word, Your Disciples, they were saying that they [His Brothers] are not His Disciples, and want all to know that they have no association with His group).

⁴For there is no man who does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly (they knew full well the animosity of the religious leaders against Jesus; so they cannot help but know that He would be greatly exposing Himself if He went there at this time). If You do these things, show yourself to the world (very similar to the temptations offered by Satan in the wilderness [Mat. 4:1-11]).

⁵For neither did His brethren believe in Him (had His mother, brothers, and sisters presented themselves as moral lepers for cleansing from their sins, they would have learned Who and What He was, for knowledge of spiritual realities only reaches the soul through a sin-convicted heart, not through a religious intellect).

⁶Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come (He was speaking of the time of His Crucifixion, which would take place in about six months; they did not understand this, and neither did His closest Disciples): but your time is always ready (His statement proclaims that their ideas were akin to the world and, hence, the Devil).

⁷The world cannot hate you (their thinking at that time was in line with the thinking of the world, which was of Satan); but Me it hates (the world of religion), because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil (pertains mostly to anything in the religious sense which is not Scriptural).

⁸Go ye up unto this Feast (pertains to the fact that most of the people who attended this Feast little understood its true spiritual meaning): I go not up yet unto this Feast; for My time is not yet full come (His time for fulfilling what this Feast represented had not yet come, and will not come until the Millennium).

⁹When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee (waited there two or three days before He finally went to Jerusalem).

¹⁰But when His brethren were gone up, then went He also up unto the Feast (insinuates that Jesus did not want to travel with His brethren, considering their hostility, even though His other reasons for delay were far weightier), not openly, but as it were in secret (proclaimed such being done for particular reasons).

¹¹Then the Jews sought Him at the Feast, and said, Where is He? (This speaks of the religious hierarchy of Israel. To be sure, they were not seeking Him for the right reasons.)

¹²And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him (pertained to both negative and positive remarks): for some said, He is a good man: others said, No; but He deceives the people (the latter group, no doubt, was attempting to curry favor with the religious leaders of Israel, whom they knew were in opposition to Christ).

¹³Howbeit no man spoke openly of Him (spoke favorably) for fear of the Jews.

THE TEMPLE

¹⁴Now about the midst of the Feast Jesus went up into the Temple, and taught.

¹⁵And the Jews marveled (spoke of the ruling and learned class), saying, How knows this man letters, having never learned? (This spoke of the great theological schools in Jerusalem. In spite of their opposition to Him, the immediate effect of His Message was great astonishment. Despite themselves, they were moved by what He said and how He said it.)

¹⁶Jesus answered them, and said, My Doc trine is not Mine, but His who sent Me (presents a far greater claim than any of the Prophets of Old; in other words, His Doctrine is of God).

¹⁷If any man will do His Will (is willing to do Gods Will), he shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself (if you truly know God, and are striving to do His Will, you will instantly recognize My Words as Truth, thereby knowing them to be from God).

¹⁸He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory (refers to those who speak words of mans origin, whether of themselves or others): but he who seeks His Glory Who sent him (seeks to bring glory to God), the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him (Christ is saying that He is True and Righteous because He seeks that all Glory go to God).

¹⁹Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you keep the Law? (The idea is that they claimed they did keep the Law, and Jesus, in effect, is calling them liars to their faces.) Why go you about to kill Me? (This was in itself an indictment against their claims of Law-keeping, inasmuch as the Law forbade murder.)

²⁰The people answered and said, You have a devil (these were the people, and not the religious leaders): who goes about to kill You? (They were ignorant of the plot, and so were astonished at His statement.)

²¹Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and you all marvel (He was speaking of a healing of a man on the Sabbath, which was done about a year and a half previous; more than likely, the religious leaders had brought up the subject).

²²Moses therefore gave unto you Circumcision (means that the Lord told Moses to include Circumcision in the Law); (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) (means that it actually had its beginning with Abraham [Gen. 17:9-14]) and you on the Sabbath Day circumcise a man (Jesus is pointing out that if Circumcision was lawful on the Sabbath Day, how much more lawful is an action which benefited a person greatly, such as healing).

²³If a man on the Sabbath Day receive Circumcision, that the Law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at Me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath Day? (The question meant that Jesus, Who was actually the fulfillment of these Laws, and to Whom they originally pointed, had done the very things these Laws symbolized, but could not perform.)

²⁴Judge not according to the appearance (in effect, says, if you think you have not violated the Sabbath in Circumcision, then how can you think I broke the Sabbath when I healed one of you who had been helpless for thirty-eight years?), but judge righteous judgment (says that Judgment must be rendered according to the whole Word of God, and not merely by taking a part and perverting it to ones own satisfaction).

²⁵Then said some of them of Jerusalem (concerned natives of that city), Is not this He, Whom they seek to kill? (This means that the plot to kill Jesus by the religious authorities was not a complete secret, at least to those in Jerusalem.)

²⁶But, lo, He speaks boldly, and they say nothing unto Him (Christ didnt pull any punches, and the rulers at this time said nothing to Him simply because of the massive crowds listening to Him). Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? (This proclaims how widespread and how detailed the idea of the Coming Christ was.)

²⁷Howbeit we know this man whence He is (this is said in a negative sense; they are meaning that they knew His parentage, the place of His early life, etc.; they gave Him no respect): but when Christ comes, no man knows whence He is (proclaims a common error of that time concerning the Messiah; the Bible taught the very opposite).

²⁸Then cried Jesus in the Temple as He taught, saying, You both know Me, and you know whence I am (in effect, says, you think you know Me, and where I come from, but you actually do not): and I am not come of Myself, but He Who sent Me is true (in effect, says, you know Me as Jesus of Nazareth; and yet you do not know Me, for you do not know Him Who sent Me; but I am from Him and He did send Me), Whom you know not (despite all their claims and great display of religion, He plainly tells them that they do not know God).

²⁹But I know Him (They were of the same essence): for I am from Him, and He has sent Me (means that He is from the Father in a unique way and position, as were no Prophets or Angels).

³⁰Then they sought to take Him (these were the religious leaders of Israel, and they were so incensed, so angry, and so empowered by Satan that they hated Him): but no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come (the Holy Spirit orchestrated events in holding back these jackals; it was not yet the time that Jesus should be Crucified, that coming about six months later).

³¹And many of the people believed on Him (did not refer at all to the religious authorities, but instead to the crowds gathered for the Feast of Tabernacles, who had come from all over Israel and even other parts of the Roman Empire), and said, When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than these which this Man has done? (The evidence of the Power of God in delivering people was obvious to all. Consequently, the religious leaders are now on the horns of a dilemma.)

³²The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him (constituted a different group than the rulers, but equally opposed to Him); and the Pharisees and the Chief Priests sent officers to take Him (proclaims these two groups as joining forces against Him).

³³Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you (in effect, Jesus is saying that in about six months, which would actually be at the next Passover, He would become the Passover Lamb for all men), and then I go unto Him Who sent Me (back to God the Father, which He did do!).

³⁴You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me(refers to the time when they would desperately need Him, which would be about thirty-seven years in the future when Titus would destroy their city and the very Temple in which they now stand): and where I am, there you cannot come (actually means that they can come now, but they will not do so because of their unbelief and rebellion).

³⁵Then said the Jews among themselves, Where will He go, that we shall not find Him? (This presents minds that are darkened by unbelief and are, therefore, putting ironical and confusing meanings into His Words, in order to pour an air of contempt over His reply.) will He go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? (Their question constituted the utter scorn of the Jewish mind for a pseudo Messiah Who, failing with His Own People and here in the Courts of the Lords House, would instead turn to the Gentiles. However, even though they meant it as the insult of all insults, still they were far closer to the Truth than they ever would dare realize.)

³⁶What mannerof saying is this that He said, You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, there you cannot come? (By the very tenor of its construction, their sarcasm proclaims the spiritual meaning to be completely lost on them.)

THE FEAST

³⁷In the last day, that great day of the Feast (spoke of the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink (presents the greatest invitation ever given to mortal man).

³⁸He who believes on Me (it is not doing, but rather, believing), as the Scripture has said (refers to the Word of God being the Story of Christ and Him Crucified; all the Sacrifices pointed to Christ and what He would do at the Cross, as well as the entirety of the Tabernacle and Temple and all their appointments), out of his belly (innermost being) shall flow rivers of Living Water (speaks of Christ directly, and Believers indirectly).

³⁹(But this spoke He of the Spirit (Holy Spirit), which they who believe on Him should receive (it would begin on the Day of Pentecost): for the Holy Spirit was not yet given(He has now been given); because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (The time of which John wrote was shortly before the Crucifixion. When Jesus died on the Cross and was Resurrected three days later, He was raised with a Glorified Body, which was one of the signs that all sin had been atoned, now making it possible for the Holy Spirit to come in a new dimension.)

DIVISION

⁴⁰Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said (as the Temple Mount was thronged with people at that time, many hundreds heard what Jesus said and, as well, felt the power of what He said), Of a truth this is the Prophet (probably refers to Deut. 18:15).

⁴¹Others said, This is the Christ (this means The Anointed, which alone, at least in this fashion, spoke of the Messiah). But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? (This proclaims that they did not Scripturally connect Galilee with the Messiah. They evidently were overlooking the remarkable prediction in Isa. 9:1.)

⁴²Has not the Scripture said, That Christ comes of the Seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? (Christ was of the Seed of David, and was born in Bethlehem. However, it seems that they somewhat misunderstood Micahs prediction, thinking that the Messiah would make this little village his home. The Prophet Micah did not say that!)

⁴³So there was a division among the people because of Him (the division was caused by a lack of understanding of the Scriptures, plus a desire on the part of some to win the approval of the religious leaders [Jn. 7:48]).

⁴⁴And some of them would have taken Him (would have arrested Him); but no man laid hands on Him (evidently they were stopped in some manner by the Holy Spirit).

⁴⁵Then came the officers to the Chief Priests and Pharisees (the officers who had been sent to arrest Him, as outlined in Verse 32); and they said unto them (said to the officers), Why have you not brought Him? (This means that they had firmly intended that He be arrested.)

⁴⁶The officers answered, Never man spoke like this Man (it was the Holy Spirit they were feeling and sensing, although they little understood that, if at all!).

⁴⁷Then answered them the Pharisees (seems to indicate that these men were the leading spirits in this assault upon Jesus), Are you also deceived? (Even though this was directed to these officers, it was in reality their problem.)

⁴⁸Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him? (The Pharisees asked this question of these officers.)

⁴⁹But this people who know not the Law are cursed (should have been translated, but this ignorant rabble, in speaking of the people, unlearned in the Law, are a cursed set; this is what the religious leaders thought of the people!).

⁵⁰Nicodemus said unto them (presents this vaunted member of the Sanhedrin, who incidentally greatly outranked the Pharisees, now speaking up for Jesus), (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) (this refers back some three years earlier; he was one of the rulers.)

⁵¹Does our Law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he does? (Although feeble and timid as was the plea of Nicodemus, yet was it precious to the Lord, and so is honorably recorded here by the Holy Spirit.)

⁵²They answered and said unto him (to Nicodemus), Are you also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee arises no Prophet (they failed to check out the facts; Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Galilee; also, had they searched the Scriptures, they would have found that Jonah, Hosea, Elijah, Elisha, and others were from the Northern Kingdom and not from Judaea).

⁵³And every man went unto his own house (even though these men had houses to which they could retire, Jesus had no place to lay His Head; so the next Verse says that He went unto the Mount of Olives).