John 7 - NIV Study Bible

7:1—8:59 In Chs. 7–8 John records strong opposition to Jesus, including repeated references to threats on his life (7:1,13,19,25,30,32,44; 8:37,40,59). John seems to have gathered the major arguments against the Messiahship of Jesus and here answers them.

7:1 After this. Since 6:4 refers to the Passover Festival and 7:2 to the Festival of Tabernacles, the interval was about six months.

7:2 Festival of Tabernacles. The great festival in the Jewish year, celebrating the completion of harvest and commemorating God’s goodness to the people during the wilderness wanderings (see Lev 23:33–43; Dt 16:13–15; Zec 14:16 and note). The name came from the leafy shelters in which people lived throughout the seven days of the festival. Its key symbols were water and light.

7:3 Jesus’ brothers. See note on Lk 8:19.

7:4 It is not clear whether the brothers claimed some knowledge of Jesus’ miracles that other people did not have or were suggesting that any claim to Messiahship must be decided in Jerusalem. Their advice was not given sincerely, for they did not yet believe in Jesus (v. 5).

7:6 My time is not yet here. Jesus moved in accordance with the will of God (see notes on 2:4; Ro 5:6).

7:7 The world. Either (1) people opposed to God or (2) the human system opposed to God’s purposes (see note on 1Jn 2:15). Jesus’ brothers belonged to the world and therefore could not be the objects of its hatred. Jesus, however, rebuked the world and was hated accordingly.

7:8 not. See NIV text note. Jesus was not refusing to go to the festival but refusing to go in the way his brothers suggested—as a pilgrim. When he went, it would be to deliver a prophetic message from God, for which he awaited the right time (see note on v. 6).

7:10 not publicly. Rejecting the brothers’ suggestion to show himself (v. 4).

7:12 whispering. Because it was not safe to speak openly (cf. v. 13).

7:14 halfway through the festival. When the crowds would be at their maximum. Teaching in the temple courts at such a time would reach many.

7:15 The Jews. Here distinct from “the crowds” (v. 12), who were also largely Jewish (see note on 1:19). without having been taught. By a rabbi. Jesus had never been the disciple of a recognized Jewish teacher (see Ac 4:13 and note).

7:16 not my own. The Father, from whom he came, had been his “rabbi” (see note on 4:34).

7:17 chooses to do the will of God. Reflecting a whole attitude of life. A person sincerely set on doing God’s will welcomes Jesus’ teaching and believes in him (see 6:29 and note). will find out. Augustine commented, “Understanding is the reward of faith . . . What is ‘If any man be willing to do his will’? It is the same thing as to believe.”

7:18 is a man of truth. Or “is true.” They should have recognized that Jesus was not self-seeking. In this Gospel, no one is spoken of as being “true” except God the Father (see 3:33 and note; 8:26) and Jesus (here). Once more John ranks Jesus with God.

7:19 the law. These Jews congratulated themselves on being the chosen recipients of the law, but Jesus told them that they all broke the law of which they were so proud (cf. Ro 2:17–29). trying to kill me. A striking example of their failure to keep the law (cf. 7:51).

7:20 You are demon-possessed. The accusation of demonic possession is made elsewhere in John (e.g., 8:48–52; 10:20–21; cf. Mt 12:24–32; Mk 3:22–30). crowd. Probably the pilgrims who had come up to Jerusalem for the festival—different from “the Jewish leaders” who were trying to kill Jesus (v. 1) and the group in Jerusalem who knew of the plot (see v. 25 and note).

7:21 one miracle. Evidently that of healing the lame man (5:1–9), as the discussion about the Sabbath shows.

7:22 circumcision. The requirement of circumcision was included in the law Moses gave (see Ex 12:44,48 and note; Lev 12:3), yet it did not originate with Moses but went back to Abraham (see Ge 17:10–12 and notes). The Jews took such regulations as that in Lev 12:3 to mean that circumcision must be performed on the eighth day even if it was the Sabbath. This exception is of critical importance in understanding the controversy (v. 23). Jesus was not saying that the Sabbath should not be observed or that the Jewish regulations were too harsh. He was saying that his opponents did not understand what the Sabbath meant. The command to circumcise showed not only that work might sometimes be done on the Sabbath but that it must sometimes be done then. Deeds of mercy are in this category (see notes on 5:10; Mk 3:2).

7:25 people of Jerusalem. An expression found only here and in Mk 1:5 in the NT, probably referring to the group in Jerusalem (see note on v. 20). They did not originate the plot against Jesus, but they knew about it.

7:26 Have the authorities really concluded . . . ? In Greek, the question is in a form that expects a negative answer. the Messiah. See note on 1:25.

7:27 no one will know where he is from. Some Jews held that the OT gave the origin of the Messiah (cf. v. 42; Mt 2:4–6), but others believed that it did not.

7:28 you know me. Irony, because in a sense they knew Jesus and that he came from Nazareth, but in a deeper sense they did not know Jesus or the Father (see 8:19 and note). Jesus mentioned again his dependence on the Father (see 4:34 and note) and went on to declare that he had real knowledge of God and that they did not. Both his origin and mission were from God.

7:30 they tried to seize him. Jesus’ enemies were powerless against him until his time came (see note on 2:4).

7:31 crowd. Of pilgrims (see note on v. 20). Many of them believed on the basis of the miraculous signs (cf. 6:26).

7:32 Pharisees. See note on Mt 3:7; see also article and chart. chief priests. This is the priestly aristocracy, the relatives of the high priest and other influential priests (see notes on Mt 2:4; Mk 8:31).

7:33 then I am going. Jesus changed the topic from his miracles to his death, to which he referred enigmatically (v. 34).

7:35 scattered among the Greeks. From the time of the exile, many Jews lived outside the Holy Land and could be found in most cities throughout the Roman Empire.

7:37 last . . . day of the festival. Either the seventh or the eighth day: The Festival of Tabernacles lasted seven days (Lev 23:34; Dt 16:13,15) but had a “closing special assembly” on the eighth day (Lev 23:36). See note on Mk 14:12. stood and said in a loud voice. Teachers usually sat, so Jesus drew special attention to his message. come to me and drink. Since the Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s provision of water in the wilderness, for Jesus to claim he is living water means he is the fulfillment of this festival. Jesus is worthy of worship.

7:38 See NIV text note. as Scripture has said. A general statement that may allude to such passages as Isa 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Zec 14:8. living water. See note on 4:10.

7:39 the Spirit. Explaining the “living water” (v. 38). had not been given. In the manner in which he would be given at Pentecost (see Ac 2:1–2,4 and notes). glorified. Here probably refers to Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation (see note on 13:31). The fullness of the Spirit’s work depends on Jesus’ prior work of salvation.

7:40 people. The “crowd” of v. 20 (see note there). the Prophet. See 1:21 and note.

7:41 from Galilee. Typical irony by John. The crowd doubts that Jesus is the Messiah because he comes from Galilee instead of Bethlehem. Apparently they are not aware of his Bethlehem birth (see Mic 5:2; Mt 2:1; Lk 2:4 and notes).

7:42 the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem. See 1Sa 20:6; 2Sa 7:12–16 and notes; Ps 89:3–4; Mic 5:2. from Bethlehem. There were different ideas about the Messiah’s place of origin (see v. 27 and note).

7:46 guards. They knew they would be in trouble for failing to make the arrest but did not mention the hostility of part of the crowd, which would have given them something of an excuse before the Pharisees. They were favorably impressed by the teaching of Jesus and were not inclined to cause him trouble.

7:47 Pharisees retorted. They must have been greatly irritated. Ordinarily the chief priests would have been the ones to rebuke the temple guards.

7:49 this mob. The Pharisees’ pejorative term for the pilgrim crowd (see note on v. 20). knows nothing. The Pharisees exaggerated the people’s ignorance of Scripture (cf. v. 42). But the average Jew paid little attention to the minutiae that mattered so much to the Pharisees. The “tradition of the elders” (Mk 7:3) was too great a burden for people who earned their living by hard physical work, and consequently these regulations were widely disregarded.

7:50–51 There is irony here. The Pharisees implied that no leader believed in Jesus, yet Nicodemus, “a member of the Jewish ruling council” (3:1), spoke up. They called for people to observe the law, but Nicodemus pointed to their own disregard for the law in this instance.

7:52 a prophet does not come out of Galilee. See 1:46; see also note on Mt 2:23. They were angry—and wrong. Jonah came from Galilee, and perhaps other prophets had as well. Moreover, the Pharisees overlooked the right of God to raise up prophets from wherever he chooses.

7:53—8:11 This story probably did not belong originally to the Gospel of John. It is absent from almost all the earliest manuscripts, and those that include it sometimes place it elsewhere (e.g., after Lk 21:38). But the story may well be an authentic account about Jesus.

7:53 This verse (along with 8:1) shows that the story was originally attached to another narrative, since Jesus was not present at the meeting of the Sanhedrin described in vv. 45–52.