John 7 - King James Version Bible Commentary

Jn 7:1-5. After these things. After many people had forsaken Him (Jn 6:66), Christ remained in Galilee because of a Jewish plot to kill him (Jn 5:18). The Feast of Tabernacles was a harvest feast which commemorated the years of wilderness wandering. His brethren. His brothers (James, Joseph, Simeon, and Judas) perceived that Christ should go to the feast and exert His influence by performing mighty works. Their desire was that Jesus would impress all the people at the feast openly. They gave this bad advice because they themselves had not believed in the spiritual ministry of the Messiah. They wanted someone who would unite the Jewish people and establish a kingdom.

Jn 7:6-7. Christ’s time to go to the feast had not yet come. He knew that if He would go, the Jews would kill Him, and that time had not yet come. The world (people separated from God) could not hate Christ’s brethren because they were part of that world. They hated Christ for His message that exposed sin.

Jn 7:8-9. My time is not yet fully come. Christ’s time to go to Jerusalem and be crucified had not yet become full. He had no desire to gain popularity and influence people with His works.

Jn 7:10-13. The Lord eventually went to the feast in secret (that is, without public fanfare). Perhaps He traveled the back roads with only His twelve disciples. The Jews refers to the religious hierarchy. Where is he? They had hostile intentions (Jn 15:18). The people were divided in their opinion of Christ. Some thought Him a good man (moral, honest), while others thought He was a deceiver (interested only in leading people astray). Because the Jewish hierarchy had not stated their opinion, the people feared expulsion from the synagogue if their open opinion conflicted with the Sanhedrin.

Jn 7:14-16. Halfway through the feast, Christ went to the Temple and began to teach. The Jews were outraged at His boldness and objected to His teaching. They were amazed that He could be educated without ever having studied formally. Christ establishes a higher authority for His teaching than Jewish schools: God the Father.

Jn 7:17-18. To understand His teaching, one must have the desire to do the will of God. With this commitment a person could evaluate the authenticity of Christ’s teaching. This person would also realize that Christ was not seeking his own glory but rather the glory of the One who sent Him.

Jn 7:19-20. To do God’s will is to obey God’s law. Christ is saying that these Jews had not kept the law, and consequently, they were not doing God’s will. Therefore they were not in a position to properly evaluate His message. In fact, they wanted to break the sixth commandment by killing Christ. The people are unaware that the leaders have plotted to kill Christ, and they assume that Christ is insane: Thou hast a devil.

Jn 7:21. One work. The healing of the impotent man on the Sabbath, recorded in chapter Jn 5, caused them to plot His death (Jn 5:18).

Jn 7:22-23. Christ appeals to the Jewish rite of circumcision which could be performed on the Sabbath. If that work of ceremonial cleansing could be performed on the Sabbath, then a work of complete healing should also be performed. The Jews had no logical answer for this convicting question.

Jn 7:24. Christ tells them to stop judging on the surface. Judge righteous (just) judgment.

Jn 7:25. The attitude of the Sanhedrin is found in verse Jn 15:15, the attitude of the pilgrims in verse Jn 15:20, and now the Jerusalemites who are aware of the leaders’ plot react to Christ.

Jn 7:26. They are amazed that Christ spoke boldly (openly), and for a moment think that perhaps the rulers have been convinced that He is the Messiah.

Jn 7:27. The idea was quickly dismissed since they believed that the Messiah would appear suddenly, but everyone knew that Jesus came from Nazareth. The true Messiah, according to the leaders, would come from Bethlehem.

Jn 7:28-29. Christ acknowledges their opinion about his earthly home. However, they were unaware of His divine origin. The Lord thoroughly knows the Father who sent Him. The Jerusalemites did not accept Him as the true Messiah.

Jn 7:30-31. Because of these divine claims with regard to origin, they were anxious to arrest Him. However, His hour of divine appointment had not yet come, and all the hatred and plots of the Jews could not harm Him. Many believed on Him (Gr construction indicates saving faith) on the basis of His miracles.

Jn 7:32-34. The leaders have had enough. People are actually accepting this Jesus as the Messiah, and the leaders decide to apprehend Him. Christ indicates that in a little while (about six months or the time between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover He would return to the Father. The Jewdish nation would then seek Him but their search would be in vain. They could not go to the Father, because in rejecting Him they had rejected the Father.

Jn 7:35-36. The Jews did not understand the spiritual meaning of Christ’s statement. They thought that after Christ’s failure in Judaea, He would go to the dispersed (Jews who lived around the world) and teach the Gentiles (Gr helle¯n, Greeks). Unknowingly, these leaders had uttered a true prophecy. Christ, through His disciples, would spread His message around the world.

Jn 7:37. The last day. The seventh or eighth day of the feast. During the feast, a priest would fill a golden pitcher with water from the pool of Siloam and carry it to the altar at the Temple where he would pour it through a funnel leading to the base of the altar. Probably, after this ceremony, Christ invited those who thirsted to come to Him and drink. The emptiness of Judaism is emphasized in that it fails to satisfy.

Jn 7:38. The one who believes not only gets satisfied (vs. Jn 7:37), but also that person becomes a channel of blessing to others; out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (Isa 44:3, Isa 44:4; Isa 55:1-2).

Jn 7:39. This indwelling blessing would be available through the Holy Spirit after Christ was glorified (ascended into Heaven). The Spirit in the Old Testament came upon people, but Christ promised that the Spirit would come to live in people.

Jn 7:40. Christ’s invitation is responded to in different ways. Some thought He was a prophet.

Jn 7:41-42. Some thought He was the Messiah. Others said He could not be the Messiah because the Messiah was predicted to come from Bethlehem. They were correct about this, but they were incorrect in that they assumed Christ was born in Galilee. Consequently, their conclusion that Christ was not the Messiah was also wrong.

Jn 7:43-44. There was division among the people.

Jn 7:45-46. The group whom the Pharisees sent to arrest Christ returned without Him. They were overwhelmed by the message and manner of Christ and were powerless to apprehend Him.

Jn 7:47-49. The Pharisees were mad and sought to instruct officers that an intellectual and spiritual leader would not believe in Christ. Only those who knoweth not God’s law are deceived. They describe these people as cursed, the scum of society.

Jn 7:50-52. Nicodemus … being one of them, that is, being one of the rulers that were violating the law in judging a man without hearing him. They ignored Nicodemus’ question and told him that if he would search the Scriptures, he would discover that no prophet had ever come out of Galilee. This again shows their ignorance of the Scripture, since Jonah, Nahum, and Hosea came from Galilee.

Jn 7:53. The Sanhedrin adjourns and the people go home.

H. Christ as the Light of the World.John 8:1-9:41

There has been debate over the authenticity of this story of the woman taken in adultery. Many older manuscripts do not include it. However, it is included in the AV and will be dealt with here.