John 7 - Jon Courson's Application Commentary

Because Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath, thereby claiming equality with the Father (John 5:18), the Jewish leaders made plans to kill Him. Consequently, we see Jesus walking prudently by staying out of Jerusalem altogether.

As they camped out in tabernacles-little lean-tos-the Jews commemorated God’s provision for and protection of His people through their wilderness wandering. It was, in effect, the Jewish equivalent to Family Camp.

It’s as if Jesus’ brothers challenged Him, saying, “Go show the people in Jerusalem what you can do. We dare You.” Brothers do things like that.

Can you imagine growing up with a Brother who never did anything wrong, who never called you a name, never teased you, or never made fun of you? Jesus was the nicest brother who ever lived. Yet His brothers didn’t believe in Him. We know, however, that later on, Jesus’ half -brother, Jude, came to such a saving knowledge of Jesus that a Book in the Bible bears his name. And His half brother, James, so strong in the faith that he was the leader of the early church, penned the Book of James. But neither James nor Jude became believers until Jesus was crucified on a Cross and resurrected from the dead.

A lot of times we think, If I’m a nice person, my neighbor is going to get saved. I’ll mow his lawn; I’ll bake him cookies; I’ll smile when he drives by. I’ll be a lovely person-and that will convert him. Gang, there was no lovelier person than Jesus Christ. Yet His brothers did not believe in Him until after the Resurrection. Therefore, I think some of us need a greater aggressiveness in preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You can wave to your neighbor for twenty years and wave him right into hell. Or you can take the time at some point to say, “You know what? Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again from the dead-and you must believe on Him.” May we be wisely, but aggressively and radically, bold in sharing the full story of the gospel.

“You can go to Jerusalem anytime you want,” Jesus said to His brothers. “You can fit in. You have no reason to fear. But because they hate Me, I must walk wisely.” Jesus did, however, end up going to Jerusalem. Why did He go if the Jews were out to kill Him? Why did He go if He couldn’t fit into that scene? Because in Deuteronomy 16:16, God commanded Him to go. Therefore, even though it may not have been prudent for Jesus to go, prudence bowed to obedience as He submitted to His Father.

What does this mean for me? It means that, while I am to walk wisely and circumspectly-not looking for confrontation, not endangering myself or others, not moving in the world’s scene, or going where it’s dark-the Word of God has priority over my own understanding. How I thank the Lord that His Word doesn’t change from day to day, month to month, year to year; that it is immutable, timeless, and practical; that it needs no addenda, updates, or changes. I think sometimes we who come week after month after year to study God’s Word begin to perhaps take for granted the profundity of the truth that has been given to us therein. Jesus knew the Word completely. Thus, fulfilling the law perfectly, He went to Jerusalem secretly.

As in verse 40, we will see people divided time and time again because of Jesus.

The first time Jesus went to Jerusalem, He cleansed the temple (John 2:13-16). This time, He’s teaching in the temple. And that’s always the way it is: Before Jesus can impart His Word effectively to me, there must first be a cleansing within me. The moneychangers must be driven out, the cattle chased away. That is why as you study the Word with us corporately and in your devotions personally, it’s always good to say, “Lord, before I even begin reading, search my heart. Show me that which needs to be confessed.”

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,” declared the psalmist (Psalm 66:18). Why? Because our Father won’t allow us to live in sin that will hurt both us and those around us. Consequently, He says, “I’m going to break communication with you not because I’m angry with you or because I’m giving up on you, but because something’s amiss within you that will bring pain into your life and problems into the lives of those around you. So when your prayers aren’t being answered or when the Word doesn’t seem to speak to you, call upon Me. Let Me come in and cleanse your temple. And then I will teach. Then you will hear My voice. Then you will see My face.” I think too many of us minimize the importance of quietly waiting on the Lord and asking Him to search our hearts. Before teaching, there must be cleansing.

At the time Jesus was ministering, there were at least thirty seminaries in and around Jerusalem. Jesus had a degree from none of them. Consequently, when the Jewish leaders heard Him speak, they wondered where He had garnered such insight. The same thing would later be said of His followers, for when Peter and John spoke in Acts 4, the Jews marveled at their boldness. Then they realized they had been with Jesus. That’s the key. You see, it’s not what you know; it’s who you know that counts. And if you’ve been hanging out with Jesus, if you’ve logged in some morning time with Him, some afternoon breaks in His Word, or some evening sessions of contemplation, even if you’re unlearned and ignorant according to the world’s scholastic system, people will marvel at you.

Notice Jesus said if any man do His will, he shall know of the doctrine. Revelation is directly linked to application. If you do what you’ve already been told, more will be revealed to you concerning His doctrine. The problem with us so frequently is that we don’t do what we already know to do-and then wonder why we don’t learn more. Truly, obedience is the door through which revelation enters.

“Why are you angry with Me? Why are you out to kill Me?” asked Jesus. “Because I healed a man on the Sabbath day. Yet you allow circumcision on the Sabbath.” Indeed they did-and still do. You see, according to Genesis 17, eight days after birth, Jewish boys were to be marked through the cutting away of the flesh as those who had a covenant relationship with God. Jesus’ argument here is brilliant. He says, “You’re not upset when someone causes pain on the Sabbath, when something is taken away on the Sabbath, when there is a cry of anguish on the Sabbath. Yet because I healed on the Sabbath, because I restored health on the Sabbath, because there was a cry of joy on the Sabbath, you’re upset.”

Isn’t that typical of religion? Religion says, “You better not be happy. If you’re spiritual, you should be miserable. If any of you are having a good time on Sunday, shame on you.” That’s religiosity, the way of the law-painful, heavy, and miserable.

But here’s Jesus, our wonderful, radical Savior, saying, “Does it really make sense that you circumcise on the Sabbath but won’t let Me heal on the Sabbath?”

The reference here is to Isaiah 53-the classic prophecy concerning Messiah. In this passage, the Jews understood Isaiah to say no one would know from whence Messiah came. Therefore, because they knew Jesus’ parents (or thought they did), they argued Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah.

Unable to argue with Jesus, the Jewish leaders resorted to violence against Him.

Jesus could deal candidly and boldly, straightforwardly yet lovingly with people because He did not live in the fear of men, trying to fashion a reputation or build a ministry. His sights were set on heaven. He knew He would be there soon, and the implication of His statement is that the Pharisees and chief priests wouldn’t be joining Him.

The Jews wondered what Jesus meant. “Is He going to be some kind of missionary?” they asked.

On the great day, the last day of the feast, the priests provided a powerful picture of Israel’s longing for her Messiah. You see, whereas in the previous seven days, the priests had drawn water from the pool of Siloam and poured it out in the temple courtyard as an illustration of God’s provision for the thirst of their bodies, on the last day of the feast, the priests returned from the pool of Siloam with empty pitchers as an illustration of their need for One to satisfy the thirst of their hearts. Thus, it was at the very moment when the priests held empty pitchers in their hands that Jesus cried out, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” Certainly the crowd must have wondered about this itinerant Rabbi, this Carpenter from Galilee who had the audacity to cry out in the midst of the congregation. Yet no one called for the ushers or deacons to escort Him out because something about Him rang true. Perhaps something in His eyes, perhaps something in His voice caused people to listen when He spoke.

For topical study of John 7:37-39 see “Living in the Living Water”.

There was a division among the people because of Him. Haven’t you found that to be true in your family, at your job, or in your school? Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Therefore, don’t be surprised; don’t be shocked when you sense divisions due to your stand as a believer in Jesus Christ. It’s inevitable. It happened here, and it will happen in our lives as well.

“We went to arrest Him,” said the officers sent by the Pharisees and chief priests, “but we ended up arrested by Him, for we never heard anyone talk like He talks-with such generosity, such clarity and such authority.”

“Don’t be duped by this Galilean,” said the Pharisees. “We’re the ones with the education and degrees.”

In John 3, as Nicodemus first came to Jesus, he was in the midnight hour of his soul. Here in John 7, not yet sure who Jesus is, he is in the twilight of transition as he pleads for fairness on the part of his fellow Pharisees. In John 19, we’ll see Nicodemus in the daylight of salvation. When did the sun finally rise on Nicodemus’ understanding? At the Cross (John 19:39).

Folks, as you talk with people about the Lord, don’t get tangled up in evolution, philosophy, or existential mind games. Keep focused on what Jesus Christ did on the Cross and how He rose from the dead. That’s where people see the Light. Turn every conversation, every debate, and every discussion back to the Cross. “Jesus died, rose again, and wants to be your Savior, King, and Friend. What are you going to do with Him?”

Thinking Nicodemus a fool, his fellow Pharisees asked him if he too was an unschooled Galilean. I am amazed that these guys who prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture didn’t know that, according to 2 Kings 14:25, there was indeed a prophet from Galilee. His name? Jonah.

The great day of the feast over, the little booths knocked down, the sleeping bags rolled up, everyone headed to his own house. Not Jesus. Having no house, He headed home-into the company of His Father, as we’ll see in the opening verse of chapter 8.