John 7:1-6

John 7:1–6 NASB95

1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.

Matthew 16:15- Who do you say that I am?

CS Lewis - Lunatic, Liar, or Lord [Introduction]

If we were to go and survey every student and professor here at Murray State with the question: “who do you think Jesus was?” What do you think the results would be? (A good moral teacher, a 1st century rabbi, a man who was crucified for upsetting the Jews, etc.)

Lewis argued that if you take all of Jesus’s statements and put them on the table about who He was or claimed to be, then one would be left with a handful of possible categories. Here are a list of quotes from all four gospels in which Jesus describes His own self identity:

Mark 14:61-62 (Son of Man who will be enthroned in power, and coming on the clouds -- a sign of deity) See Dan. 7:13-14 ; see also Matthew 26:65-66 (High Priest considered Jesus’ statement to be blasphemous)

Matt. 5:17-20 (Jesus sees himself as the fulfillment of the Law)

Mark 2:5-7 (Jesus sees himself as qualified to forgive sins)

Matt. 20:28 (Jesus sees himself as the sacrificial offering for the world)

Other categories which are relevant in the synoptics:

The fulfillment of Isaiah 61 in Luke’s gospel

The Messiah Son of David

The one who could call God “Abba” (Mark 14:36)

The Suffering servant of Isaiah 53

The Forsaken one of Psalm 22

In John’s Gospel, we get several other statements:

John 4:25-26 (Jesus claims directly to be the Messiah)

Seven “I am” statements in John which are a clear reference to God Himself in Exodus 3:14

John 6:48 (I am the bread of life)

John 8:12 (I am the light of the world)

John 10:7 (I am the door)

John 10:11 (I am the good shepherd)

John 11:25 (I am the resurrection and the life)

John 14:6 (I am the way, the truth, and the life)

John 15:1 (I am the true vine)

Other notable mentions: John 10:30-33 , John 8:58, etc.

The picture that we are left with in the gospels is not merely a moral teacher, but rather someone who conceived Himself to be God’s agent of redemption for the world and that through His work, all of humanity would be redeemed. It is no accident that the Jews frequently indict Jesus with blasphemy. Jesus claimed a very specific identity which means that we must weigh what is said. As it is said, when Jesus makes a claim about being God, we must discern: was He a crazy person (lunatic), a deceiver (liar), or Lord?

V. 1-5

After these things… Prior to chapter 7, the following occurred

Jesus has had a split occur in His following:

(1) Large group of His disciples withdrew and stopped following Him (John 6:66)

(2) Peter speaks up and confesses that Jesus is the Holy One of God (John 6:68-69)

Reasons for this are given by John:

(1) Identity People know Jesus as the son of Joseph. The Jews do not think that Jesus could have come from heaven, yet also have an earthly father. See also John 5:18

(2) Teaching Jesus’s teachings grew too hard for some of His followers to understand/keep.

Entering the passage (details)

Jesus is back where his ministry began (see John 2:1)

John indicates in numerous places that Jesus lived according to a divine timetable

John 2:4, 7;6, 7:30, 8:20 ; later authors such as Paul pick up this thread (Gal. 4:4)

Feast of Booths (or tabernacles) was enacted in Lv 23:39–43; the intent of the celebration was for Jews to look back at the Exodus and God’s deliverance by dwelling in tents (such as what the first and second generations did in the wilderness. Why does God require Israel to celebrate this? It is possible that God (speaking of divine timetables) ordained that Israel have a commemorative event that angled them to receive His salvation and embrace an even greater deliverance!

Small detail - it is likely that about seven months have elapsed between 6:4 and 7:2 (using the festivals as goal posts for keeping time in John).

Jesus’ brothers encourage Jesus to go back to Jerusalem to prove himself as the Messiah. Speculation exists about what the motivation is for Jesus’ brothers to say this. Many possible scenarios could be argued:

Wanted Jesus to be captured/put to shame

Wanted to put the whole “Jesus Messiah” thing to rest once and for all

Wanted Jesus to do more than the miracles he already performed

[Continued Point] Jesus’ brothers’ statement, though rationale, does not follow a divine timetable

V. 4 has been compared by some to the temptations of the Devil in Matt 4.

John indicates that even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him. (v.5)

Numerous details of the previous and surrounding passages indicate that Jesus’s family and contemporaries struggled with who He was. Example: 7:12 --> Some see Jesus as a “good man” while others see him as a deceiver. The latter group links neatly with phrases from the synoptics which are attached to the pharisees (see Matt. 27:63)

V. 6 - “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.”

When Jesus is referring to His Hour, it is always referring to His death.

Reading Jesus’s statement to His brothers ought to be a sobering reminder: every breath that a non-believer takes is an expression of God’s radical grace and mercy. Human beings have little control over their life. In fact, the majority of our lives will likely be characterized by a lack of control. We have no say over our coming into this world; we will be gone before too long also. Time matters. When we read John 7 verses 5 and 6, we see a massive story that applies to every person who walks the face of the earth. When we move to read James and Jude (later books of the NT), we see the massive grace which occurred in the lives of Jesus’s brothers. I don’t think that it is an accident that Jude refers so frequently to the mercy of Jesus and how through belief a person is snatched out of fire (Jude 23).

Theological Quest

In lieu of John 7:5, some might wonder about the Christology of James and Jude (Matt. 13:55)

Note: Arguments exist about NT authorship and relationships to Jesus; strong evidence indicates that James and Jude were Jesus’s half-brothers (but were full brothers to each other)

The letter of James has a handful of places where the Lordship of Jesus is clear and absolute:

James 1:1, 2:1; James 5:7-11

The letter of Jude (short read!) is filled to the brim with high Christological language.

Jesus is the master, lord, owner

Jesus keeps believers

Jesus is the merciful one who will preserve believers for eternal life in the end times. etc.

See Jude 1, 4, 17, 21, 24-25

Training Question: Are you prepared to answer the question: who is Jesus?

Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He came to earth in order to suffer and die for sins which all humans have before God. Jesus says that any person who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. So, Jesus is the one who paid my sin debt; because of His work, I am free from any worry that I could ever have about life after death. This confidence given to me by Jesus helps me live now with a freedom and joy that I wish all could experience. All of my hope is confirmed by the resurrection. Jesus’ claims about who He was/is are corroborated by an empty tomb. Because Jesus walked out of the grave, I know my freedom is real. Jesus is my Lord and my king.

Training Question 2: How Christ-centered is your testimony?