John 7 - Holman KJV Study Bible

7:1-8:59 On the heels of the unbelief of many disciples (6:60-66), chapter 7 opens with the unbelief of ­Jesus' brothers and closes with the unbelief of the Jewish leaders (7:45-52). Chapters 7 and 8 convey ­Jesus' teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. ­Jesus' teaching is given in two cycles (7:10-24,37-39; 8:12-30), climaxing in His invitation to all who are thirsty to come to Him and drink. Once the Spirit was given, believers conveyed "rivers of living water" (7:37-38). The second cycle begins with ­Jesus' startling affirmation that He is the "light of the world."

7:1 Galilee (under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas) was safer than Judaea (under the Roman prefect) for ­Jesus.

7:2 This feast was celebrated in September or October, two months before the Feast of Dedication (see note at 10:22). People temporarily lived in booths to remember God's faithfulness during Israel's wilderness wanderings (Lev. 23:42-43; cp. Matt. 17:4). See note at 2:13.

7:3-5 ­Jesus' brethren were naturally born sons of Mary. Their names were James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon (Matt. 13:55 and Mark 6:3). Their poor advice stemmed from unbelief and revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of ­Jesus' messianic identity (Matt. 4:5-7).

7:6-10 On ­Jesus' time, see note at 2:4. In 7:8, ­Jesus refused to go to the feast openly, as His brothers suggested, but He went secretly. It surprises many readers to realize that ­Jesus acted shrewdly to combat opposition and false expectations.

7:12 The charge that ­Jesus deceiveth the people may hark back to Deut. 13:1-11 (cp. Matt. 27:63; Luke 23:2). Later Jewish literature called ­Jesus a deceiver.

7:13 The phrase fear of the Jews (cp. 9:22; 19:38; 20:19) refers to Jerusalem authorities represented by the Sanhedrin council (see note at 3:1).

7:14 On the temple, see note at 2:14.

7:15 The Jews may include Judaean crowds and Jewish authorities. ­Jesus lacked formal rabbinic training (as did His disciples; Acts 4:13), but His teaching and authority came from God (7:16; 8:28; cp. Matt. 5:21-26; 7:28-29).

7:16 Unlike other rabbis, ­Jesus claimed direct knowledge from God (8:28).

7:17 Obedience comes at the beginning of the Christian life. We do not need to wait until we know all doctrine before we begin to do God's will.

7:18-19 ­Jesus as authoritative source contrasted Himself with vain, false prophets (Deut. 18:9-22). The Jews were proud of the fact that Moses had given them the law (cp. 9:28; Rom. 2:17; 9:4).

7:20 This is one of several instances where ­Jesus was charged with demon possession (8:48; 10:20; Matt. 12:24); the same charge was leveled against John the Baptist (Matt. 11:18). Other charges against ­Jesus included breaking the sabbath (5:16,18; 9:16), blasphemy (5:18; 8:58-59; 10:31,33,39; 19:7), deceiving the people (7:12,47), being a Samaritan (i.e., apostate, 8:48), madness (10:20), and criminal activity (18:30).

7:21 The one work ­Jesus referred to was probably the healing in 5:1-15.

7:22-23 Circumcision was given by the fathers (i.e., Abraham; Gen. 17:9-14) and Moses (Exod. 12:44,48-49; Lev. 12:3). ­Jesus' argument was "from the lesser to the greater." The Jews were to circumcise their males on the eighth day even if that day fell on the sabbath (the "lesser" issue). If "perfecting" one part of a human body on the sabbath was legitimate, how much more the healing of an entire person?

7:24 ­Jesus' statement about judging may allude to Lev. 19:15 (cp. ZeDeut. 16:18-19; Isa. 11:3-4; ch. 7:9).

7:25-44 The next three scenes (v v. 25-31,32-36,37-44) center on the question, "Is ­Jesus the Christ?" Representative queries (in some cases involving misunderstanding) from the crowd serve as foils for dealing with this issue (v v. 27,31,42), in turn focusing on the supposedly unknown origins of the Messiah, His performance of miracles, and Bethlehem as the Messiah's birthplace.

7:26 The rulers are probably the Sanhedrin council (v. 48; 12:42; see notes at 3:1 and 7:13).

7:27 Some rabbis taught that the Christ would be wholly unknown until He set out to procure salvation for Israel. Others felt His birthplace was foreknown (v. 42; cp. Matt. 2:1-6).

7:28 On the temple, see note at 2:14.

7:30 On ­Jesus' ability to elude His enemies, see note at 2:4.

7:31 Since Christ would be a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15,18) and Moses performed many miraculous signs at the exodus (Exod. 7–11), the Messiah was expected to perform miracles as well (see notes at 6:30 and 6:31). It would have been natural for people to wonder, after witnessing ­Jesus' miracles, if He was the Messiah.

7:32 The Pharisees and the chief priests, representing the Sanhedrin, deployed officers to arrest ­Jesus. The temple police were drawn from the Levites. The public persecution of ­Jesus implied that He was a criminal (but see note at v v. 45-52). The leaders hoped this would discourage people from following Him.

7:33 Six months after ­Jesus issued this prediction, He was crucified.

7:35 People misunderstood ­Jesus' statement in verse 34. Ever since the exile, many Jews had not returned to Judaea but continued to live in the Dispersion (Gk diaspora).

7:37 While verse 14 referred to the Feast of Tabernacles being already half over, this was now the last and great day. ­Jesus' invitation harks back to OT prophetic passages such as Isa. 55:1 (see Isa. 12:3).

7:38-39 Internal rivers of living water fulfill the end-time blessings predicted in the OT. These streams are emblematic of the Spirit, who would be given after ­Jesus' exaltation with the Father (20:22).

7:40-42 The Prophet is the figure referred to in Deut. 18:15-18 (see note at 1:19-21; cp. 6:14). This "Prophet" and the Christ were thought to be different persons by some first-century Jews, but ­Jesus turned out to be both. Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem in the heart of Judaea, was foretold as the Messiah's birthplace in Micha 5:2 (cp. Matt. 2:5-6; see note at John 7:27). As David's city (1 Sam. 16:1,4; 20:6), Bethlehem had important messianic implications. The irony is apparent: the people knew that ­Jesus hailed from Galilee, but did not realize that Bethlehem was in fact His birthplace.

7:44 On ­Jesus' ability to elude His enemies, see note at 2:4.

7:45-52 The Sanhedrin council's meeting highlighted the increasing threat that ­Jesus' popularity represented for the Jewish leadership. But Nicodemus's plea for fairness shows that the Sanhedrin was not yet united in their opposition.

7:45 On the attempt to arrest ­Jesus, see note at verse 32.

7:46 The temple officers heard many people teach in the temple courts, but they recognized ­Jesus' teaching as unique (Matt. 7:28-29; see note at John 7:15).

7:48 Rulers probably refers to members of the Sanhedrin council (see note at 3:1).

7:49 This disparaging remark reveals the arrogant contempt many rabbis had for the unschooled masses.

7:50 ­Jesus' previous encounter with Nicodemus is described in 3:1-15.

7:51 Old Testament law charged judges to investigate accusations fairly (Deut. 1:16) and thoroughly (17:4; 19:18). Nico­demus's plea for fairness was later duplicated by the rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-39).

7:52 Contrary to the Pharisees' implication, prophets occasionally did arise from Galilee. These included Jonah (2 Kings 14:25), possibly Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), and Nahum (Nah. 1:1).

7:53-8:11 The story of ­Jesus and the adulteress may be authentic, but it is doubtful that the account is part of John's original Gospel. Reasons include: (1) the account is absent from all the oldest copies of John; (2) where it does occur in later manuscripts, it is found at various places (after 7:36,44,52; at the end of John's Gospel; or after Luke 21:38); (3) virtually every verse from 8:1-11 (except for 8:5) features words not elsewhere found in John's Gospel, and standard vocabulary used in John is conspicuously absent; (4) the account appears to interrupt the narrative flow from 7:52 to 8:12, breaking the literary unit 7:1–8:59; and (5) the account was virtually unknown by early church fathers before the fourth century.