Notes on the Gospel of John: Chapter 7

If you are the kind of person who doesn’t like confrontation, then this chapter is not for you. As he preached, healed and taught, Jesus gained more and more followers. It is toward the end of Chapter 6 that He gets in the face of those following Him and basically challenged them to eat His body and drink His blood. That this is not a game. It is not a sideshow. Jesus is the living, breathing Son of God and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Many turned away.

In John 7:1-11, I am struck by a couple of things. First, is the idea that Jesus had brothers – a family. This has always fascinated me. One of the most striking theological precepts is the idea that Jesus was God enfleshed on earth -- He was fully human yet fully divine. This means that He had friends. He had a family. How weird is that? Question: Who is your brother? Answer: Jesus, you know, the Messiah.

Second, the idea of time. Remember that just before performing His first miracle as requested by His mother, Jesus says that His time is not yet come.

He says it again here in talking to His brothers. They encourage Him to go to Judea to reveal to all who Jesus is, who He is. Yet Jesus refuses. Why? “The right time for me has not yet come.”

Another striking thing about this section is Jesus’ deception. He tells His brothers that He is not going; yet, he goes in secret. Why? It’s at the feast and at the temple courts that Jesus no longer teaches in secret. People recognize Him and are talking about Him. Some good things. Some bad things.

Jesus says the teaching is not His own. That it comes directly from God – that He has a direct line to the almighty. Then in verse 19 He references an earlier incident – a basically is poking His finger in the eye of the Pharisees.

Remember: In Chapter 5, Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath. In verse 19, he is telling them that they circumcise on the Sabbath so why in the world is it wrong to heal an entire man on the Sabbath. And He calls them out for plotting to kill Him.

I thought verse 30 was interesting – what does it mean “they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him because his time had not yet come.” There’s the time again.

Honestly, I don’t know what this means. Perhaps the Jewish authorities were attempting to arrest Him but the crowd kept them away? Perhaps God changes the hearts of the men?

It is the final speech in 7:32-52 that really sends the Pharisees over the edge.

Jesus’ words are really getting the crowd riled up. And as the people are pouring water into the temple fonts, Jesus stands up and boldly declares: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Now we have people in the crowd declaring Jesus as the “Christ.” Not good. Not to mention the fact that Jesus is calling on the people to believe in Him – He is equating Himself to God.

The Pharisees send guards to arrest Him and they come back mesmerized by Jesus’ teachings also.

And in the midst of all this, whom do we see in verse 50? Yes, our good friend Nicodemus, who visited Jesus in Chapter 3. Has Nicodemus been converted? It appears so because he bravely questions what his fellow religious leaders are doing. And they turn on him quickly.

Amen.