John 7 - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible

7:1 John summarizes events that occurred during the six-month period from April to October. The other Gospel writers give a detailed account (see Mark 7—9).

7:2 The Feast of Tabernacles, which is celebrated at the end of September and the beginning of October, is a thanksgiving festival. It also commemorates the divine guidance granted to Israel during the nation’s wandering in the wilderness. During the festival the people erect and dwell in temporary shelters made of palm and other tree branches. See text and note on Num. 29:12–39.

7:5 After the Resurrection of Jesus, His brothers were among the believers (see Acts 1:14).

7:15 Letters refers not to the basic ability of reading and writing but to Jesus’ knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. Their puzzlement was over Jesus’ extraordinary knowledge without having . . . studied at one of the prestigious and official rabbinic schools of Shammai and Hillel.

7:17, 18 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of John.

7:17 The teachings and claims of Jesus will be accepted by those who are intent on doing God’s will.

7:21 The one work refers to the healing of the cripple at the pool of Bethesda, the only miracle Jesus had performed in Jerusalem (5:1–15; see v. 23).

7:24 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of John.

7:27 The people were puzzled because they knew facts about the background of Jesus, whereas they supposed the coming of the Messiah to be shrouded in secrecy.

7:35 The Dispersion refers to Jews scattered throughout the Greek world. Later the term also denoted the Christians scattered abroad (1 Pet. 1:1). The Jews’ ignorance was only heightened by their supposition that Jesus was surely not going to preach to the Jews but to the Gentiles instead.

7:37–39 Each day during the Feast of Tabernacles a joyous celebration was observed in which the priests brought water (symbolic of the water supplied from the rock in Ex. 17) to the temple from the pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher. During the procession the people recited Is. 12:3. The water was poured out on the altar as an offering to God, while the people shouted and sang. Jesus was the fulfillment of all that the ceremony typified (see 1 Cor. 10:4).

7:38 Those who are satisfied by Jesus will themselves become channels of spiritual refreshment for others. The figure of rivers contrasts with “a fountain” (4:14), illustrating the difference between one’s new birth and one’s experience of the overflowing fullness of the Spirit-filled life.

7:39 John interprets the words of Jesus to refer to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit that was still to come. The Holy Spirit existed from all eternity, but was not yet present in the sense indicated. Soon the fullness of the Spirit would be a blessing that all of God’s people could experience (see Acts 2:33 and notes on Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:13).

7:40 The Prophet refers to the promise of Deut. 18:15, 18. See note on 6:14, 15.

7:53—8:11 That this passage was part of the original text of John’s Gospel is disputed. However, there is little doubt that the incident actually occurred. The motive of the Pharisees was not passion for holiness but a desire to entrap Jesus in a dilemma (v. 6).