Week 20: John 7:1-52; "There are no Closet Christians."

 Week 20: John 7:1-52 This morning, we find ourselves (somehow) in John 7. Throughout the gospel of John, we have found people confronted with one basic choice-- will they give their allegiance to Jesus, or not? Some people, hearing Jesus' words, and learning, have come to place their trust in Jesus. They've given their allegiance to him. Other people-- people who are wicked, and/or who make too much of Moses-- refuse. We, as AJ's readers, are used to this pattern by now. When we see Jesus interacting with people, we find ourselves wondering, will they respond like Jesus' disciples, and the Samaritans, and the official whose son was healed, and give their allegiance to Jesus? Or, will they respond with hostility, and reject Jesus, and try to kill him? Or, will they try to stay neutral, and uncommitted either way-- like the crowds? Now, we've hopefully also been noticing one another thing about the way that people respond. Lots of people find themselves attracted to Jesus at first, knowing that he is in some sense from God. They are somewhat open to Jesus. But when people refuse to really come to Jesus, and abide with him, that openness begins to disappear. What we find, instead, is people hardening their hearts against Jesus. And where has this been happening? In Judea, among Jesus' own people-- among the Judeans. Now, before we read anything in John 7 today, we need to refresh our memory, and read about what happened last time Jesus was in Judea. Let's turn to John 5:1-18: (1) After these things, there was a feast of the Judeans, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (2) Now, there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate, a pool, the one being called in Aramaic (Hebrew?) Bethesda, five porticos having. (3) In these a great number of the sick ones were lying1 down-- blind, lame, paralyzed. (5) Now,2 a certain man was3 there, 38 years being in his sickness. (6) This man4, Jesus, seeing lying there, and knowing that a long time already he is sick, says to him, "Do you want, healthy, to become? (7) The sick one answered him, "Lord/sir, a man I don't have, in order that whenever the water is stirred up, he would put me into the pool." Now, while I am coming, another before me goes down." (8) Jesus says to him, "Rise up. Take your mat, and walk!," (9) and immediately, he became healthy-- the man-- and he picked up his mat, and he walked. Now, it was a Sabbath on that day. (10) Then, the Judeans were saying to the one having been healed, "A Sabbath it is, and it isn't allowed for you to pick up your mat." (11) Now, he answered them, "The one making me healthy-- that one to me said, 'Pick up your mat, and walk!'" (12) Then, they asked him, "Who is the man-- the one saying to you, "Pick up and walk." (13) Now, the one being healed didn't know who it is. For Jesus withdrew, a crowd being in the place. (14) After these things, Jesus finds him in the temple, and he said to him, "LOOK! Healthy you have become. No longer sin, in order that worse to you, something may happen." (15) The man departed, and he proclaimed/declared5 to the Judeans, that Jesus, The one making him healthy was, (16) and for this reason, the Judeans were persecuting6 Jesus, because these things7 he was doing on the Sabbath. (17) Now, he answered them, "My Father until now is working, and I am working." (18) Then, for this reason, even more, the Judeans were seeking to kill him, because not only he was breaking the Sabbath, but also his own Father, he was calling [the] God, equal himself making with God. At this point in the gospel, Judeans have flat-out rejected Jesus. They've hardened their hearts, and they've decided that they are going to kill Jesus. So Judea has become a place of great danger.8 Now, let's start reading in John 7. In verses 1-2, AJ gives us our background/framework for reading: (1) And after these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee. For he didn't wish in Judea to walk, because they were seeking him-- the Judeans-- to kill.9 Jesus knows that Judea is a place of danger, because the Judeans want to kill him. And so he doesn't want to go to Judea. He doesn't want to die. Is Jesus staying in Galilee because he's afraid to die? Is he simply being wise? This should raise a question in our minds. Verse 2: (2) Now, the feast of the Judeans10 was near-- the [feast of] Tabernacles. Maybe next week, I'll talk a little about the Feast of Tabernacles. For now, let's just stay focused on the three pieces of information AJ wanted us to know, going in to chapter 7: (1) The Judeans (in Judea) want to kill Jesus; (2) Jesus doesn't want to go to Judea; (3) it's the time of the Feast "of the Judeans." Verses 3-5: (3) Then, they said to him-- his brothers-- "Depart from here, and go to Judea, in order that also your disciples shall see your works that you are doing. For no one, anything in secret, does, and he himself seeks with openness/boldness/outspokenness to be.11 If12 these things you are doing, reveal yourself to the world. (5) For not even his brothers gave allegiance to him.13 When we read the brothers' words, It's almost possible to think they are sincere. How is life supposed to work for people who are a big deal? How should you live if you're Bezos, or Trump, or LeBron? If you want to be a public figure, and be a big deal, you need to be a public figure. You have to go on TV, do the interviews, make the public speeches, tweet. If Jesus is actually doing "these things"-- and they aren't convinced that he is-- then he should do them publicly, on the big stage, in Judea. Stop doing these things in rural ND; it's time for Hollywood, or Washington D.C. We could hear their words as sensible, wise advice. Jesus' brothers know that Jesus just lost almost all of his disciples (John 6:66). And so they tell him, it's time to find a bigger stage, and prove to your disciples that you are who you say you are. But verse 5 keeps us from hearing their words as sincere. Jesus' brothers think that Jesus is nothing. They've heard the stories, but they don't believe them. They put an "if" in front of it. And so we should hear their words as mocking-- as sarcastic. His brothers are not people who have given their allegiance to Jesus. In verses 6-8, we read Jesus' response: (6) Then, he says14 to them-- Jesus-- "My time, not yet, is present. Now, your time always is ready/prepared. (7) The world isn't able to hate you.15 Now, me it hates, because I testify about it, that its works, evil, they are. (8) You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time, not yet, has been fulfilled." In verse 8, we learn why Jesus isn't going to Judea. It's not that he's scared to die. It's that Jesus' life is playing itself out on God's larger timeline. And it's not his time, yet, to die. Verse 9-10: (9) Now, saying these things, he abided in Galilee. (10) Now, when his brothers went up to the feast, then also he went up, not openly (=not revealing himself),16 but as in secret. For two thousand years, Christians have wrestled with exactly how they should understand Jesus' actions here. The simplest answer, is that Jesus does nothing in the gospel of John in response to human command, or request (his words are like John 2:4; 4:48). He only does what his Father tells him to do. And we are supposed to understand that his Father didn't tell Jesus to go up to Judea, until after his brothers had left. In verses 11-13, AJ brings his story from Galilee, to Judea. [Here, AJ sets up his next flannel board for us, to understand what Jesus does next]: (11) Then, the Judeans were seeking him in/at the feast, and they were saying, "Where is that one?", and grumbling about him, there was much among the crowds-- on the one hand, some were saying that "A good one,17 he is," on the other hand, others were saying, "No, but he deceives the crowd." (13) However, no one in boldness was speaking about him because fear of the Judeans. Notice that there are two different groups of people in verses 12-13. We read about "crowds," and about "Judeans." The "crowds" are torn about Jesus. Some people think he's good; others think he's evil. But everyone in the crowd is scared of the Judeans. No one wants to get on their bad side; no one wants to get put on their hit list. So at least some in the crowd are open to Jesus. But they aren't going to take any steps of faith toward becoming Jesus' disciples. They won't talk about Jesus, or come to Jesus, or abide in/with him. Instead, they will stick to the safety of the herd. Verse 14ff: (14) Now, while it was already the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple, and he was teaching. (15) Then, the Judeans were being amazed, saying, How does this one, letters/learning does he know, not having been taught?" (16) Then, he answered them-- Jesus-- and he said, "My teaching isn't of myself, but of The One Sending me. (17) If anyone wishes his will to do, he will know about the18 teaching, whether from God it is, or [if] I from myself I am speaking. (18) The one from himself speaking, his own glory he seeks. Now, the one seeking the glory of The One Sending him, this one, true, he is, and unrighteousness in him, there isn't. Let's pause here. Over the course of your life, you may have lots of people teach you about God and the Bible. How can you tell if their words, are actually God's words? The first thing that's necessary is in verse 17. You have to desire to do God's will. If you have no intentions of obeying God, or hearing his voice, you're not going to know whether or not a teacher's words are from God. You may be able to evaluate a lot of other things about them-- their skill in speaking, their gift for storytelling, their flair for the dramatic, the quality of their clothes. But if you aren't seeking to obey God, you'll have no way to know if their teaching is from God. The second part of examining a teacher, to see if his words are from God, is to see where the glory goes. A good teacher understands that he is not the big deal. God is. And that teacher will relentlessly, single-mindedly, seek God's glory. A good teacher, teaching words from God, will leave you on your knees, arms raised in praise (or repentance), giving God glory. And if, somehow, you leave praising the teacher, it will be despite his best efforts, and not because of them. And, third, if a teacher lives to seek God's glory-- not just in his teaching, but with his life-- there will be no unrighteousness in him (sounding very much like something out of 1 John). I can read these words as a challenge to myself. And I can read them, as an encouragement to you, to consider how you evaluate teachers. But what's maybe surprising about all of this, is that Jesus implies this is all true for him. You can tell that Jesus' teaching is from his Father, because Jesus is not here to make a big deal about himself. Jesus is here to reveal God to the world (John 1:18), and save the world for God. He seeks his Father's glory, and not his own. [And so John the Baptist may make a big deal about Jesus, but Jesus makes a big deal about his Father.] So Jesus' brothers had it all wrong. They thought Jesus was trying to elevate himself, but Jesus is trying to point people to his Father. [The Father is the one who will glorify his Son.]. Jesus continues, verse 19: (19) Hasn't Moses given you the law?, and none of you do the law. Why, me, do you seek to kill? (20) The crowd answered, "A demon, you have. Who, you, is seeking to kill?" The "crowd" here, doesn't do so well. It accuses Jesus of having a demon. It doesn't realize that the Judeans want to kill Jesus. [But it also shows, the crowd doesn't have the hostility that Judeans have]. Verse 21: (21) Jesus answered, and he said to them, "One work I did,19 and all of you are amazed. (22) For this reason Moses has given you the circumcision-- not that from Moses it is, but from the fathers-- and on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. (23) If circumcision, a man receives on the Sabbath, in order that it would not be broken-- the law of Moses-- with me are you furious,20 because an entire man, whole, I made on the Sabbath? (24) Don't judge in accordance with outward appearance, but [in accordance with] the righteous judgment, judge. Jesus has already talked about how you can tell if a teacher, and his teaching, is from God. There are clear guidelines you can follow. Here, Jesus challenges the crowds, because they are using the wrong guidelines. The crowd judges a teacher based on outward appearance. Specifically, they judge Jesus on the basis of his observance of the Sabbath. Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, and so they decide that he is a lawbreaker, and not from God. Jesus responds to them by forcing them to realize their hypocrisy in all of this-- specifically, by talking about circumcision. Circumcision marked you off as part of God's special/covenant people. Anyone not circumcised, is considered cut off from God, and from his people. If you had a little boy, he was supposed to be circumcised on the 8th day. But what happens, when that day falls on a Sabbath? You know that the covenant is life. You know that you need to be faithful to God, and obey Him. And so you'd circumcise your son, even on the Sabbath. You fix the small part of him that needs fixing, in order to give him the life that is found in God, and in the covenant. You circumcise him, to make him whole. Jesus then goes on to argue from the lesser to the greater. If you're willing to break the Sabbath to fix a small part of someone-- and that's a good thing, that's doing the right thing-- then you should be willing to break it to make someone completely whole. Their own actions prove that Jesus did the right thing, in healing the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. In verses 25-27, our flannel board changes: (25) Then, some of the Jerusalemites were saying, "Is this one not the one whom they are seeking to kill?, and LOOK! With openness/boldiness he is speaking, and nothing to him they are saying. Can it be that truly, the rulers know that this one is the Messiah/Christ? but this one, we know from where he is. Now, the Christ/Messiah, whenever he comes, no one will know from where he is." The Jerusalemites see Jesus openly teaching in the temple, and they understand, that this is abnormal. No one should be allowed to teach the things Jesus is teaching-- unless what he says is true. How is it, that Jesus is allowed to publicly say these things? What could be the cause for his freedom? "By what power is Jesus not taken?" (echoing Augustine). The crowd doesn't realize that God's hand of protection is on Jesus. Instead, they were wondering, if Jesus' freedom is evidence that the rulers know that Jesus is actually the Messiah. But even though they speculate about this, they can't personally accept that Jesus is Messiah. Where they get stuck, is that no one is supposed to know where the Messiah is from. And everyone "knows" where Jesus is from. [A number of Jewish texts talk about how the Messiah's origins will be a mystery; cf. Moloney]. Into this, Jesus speaks, to try to help the crowd. Verse 28: (28) Then, he cried out in the temple,21 teaching-- Jesus-- and saying, "And me you know, and you know from where I am, and from myself I have not come, but He is true-- The One Sending me, whom you don't know. (29) I know him, because from Him, I am. That one, me, he sent. (30) Then, they were seeking, him, to seize, and no one laid on him a hand, because not yet it had come-- his hour. (31) Now, from the crowd, many gave allegiance to him, and they were saying22, "The Messiah/Christ, whenever he comes, won't more signs do than this one did, right?"23 Verse 31 should tell us a lot about what it means to "believe," or "give allegiance," in the gospel of John [I need to go back to the intro with this verse]. The crowd here "believes into" Jesus based on his signs. But what does this mean? The crowd doesn't believe that Jesus is Messiah. It doesn't believe that Jesus is from above, sent by God. It "knows" where Jesus is from, and it's not there. So content-wise, the crowd is a total mess here. It has a terribly inadequate "faith." So what can it mean, that the crowd "believes into" Jesus? The crowd here "commits" to Jesus. It "gives its allegiance to" Jesus. But it does so, because it can't imagine anyone else-- even the Messiah, whenever he comes-- doing more signs than Jesus. So the crowd has faith. But we understand, that this is a limited, inadequate, flimsy faith. This is the kind of faith that Jesus knows is untrustworthy (John 2:23-25). [And the crowd certainly doesn't "believe that Jesus died on the cross for its sins, and rose from the grave." We are a very long ways from the way the church usually teaches John 3:16 here.] Verse 32: (32) The Pharisees heard the crowd grumbling about him these things,24 and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent the temple police, in order that they would seize him. (33) Then, he said-- Jesus--25 "Yet a small time, with you I am, and I am going toward The One Sending me. (34) You will seek me,26 and you will not find, and where I am, you aren't able to come. (35) Then, they said-- the Judeans-- to one another, "Where is this one about to go, that we will not find him? Not to the dispersion of the Greeks he is about to go, and to teach the Greeks, right?27 (36) What is this word that he said, "You will seek me, and you will not find, and where I am, you aren't able to come"?28 Jesus tells them, the day is coming, when it will be too late for you. One day, you will seek Jesus, and he will be gone. On one level, we understand that Jesus is foretelling his death and ascension. On the day that Jesus returns to his Father, none of them will be able to follow. On that day, they could look everywhere- crossing lakes, searching from town to town-- but they wouldn't find him. But I think we are supposed to read into this passage, and see a second meaning (partly because AJ makes a big deal about these words by reduplicating them-- he wants us to stop and really think about them). "Judeans" (it switches to them in verse 35) aren't able to come to Jesus. They've made their mind up, and can't overcome their biases and flawed thinking. The day will come when they will realize their mistake, and they will seek Jesus [in a good way, instead of seeking to kill him]. But on that day, it will be too late. I assume that Jesus is talking about the day of judgment here (John 5:29). The time to come to Jesus, is now. Verse 37: (37) Now, on the last day-- the great one-- of the festival, Jesus stood, and he cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, he must come toward me, and he must drink. The one giving allegiance to me, just as it says-- Scripture-- "Rivers, from his belly, will flow of living water." (39) Now, this he said concerning the Spirit, who they were about to receive-- the ones giving allegiance to him. For not yet was the Spirit, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.29 (40) Then, some from the crowd, hearing these words, were saying, "This one is truly the prophet." (41) Others were saying, This one is the Christ/Messiah." Now, some were saying, "No. For not from Galilee does the Messiah come, right?" (42) Didn't the Scripture say that from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem the village, where David was, the Christ is coming?"30 (43) Then, a division/schism happened in the crowd because of him. Now, some of them were wishing to seize him, but no one laid upon him the hands. (45) Then, they came-- the temple police-- toward the high priests and the Pharisees, and they said to them-- those ones-- "Why did you not bring him?" (46) They answered-- the temple police-- "Never has one spoken like this-- a man." (47) Then, they answered them-- the Pharisees-- "Not also you have been deceived, right?" None of the rulers have given allegiance to him, nor of the Pharisees, right?", (49) but this crowd-- the ones not knowing the law-- accursed, it is. (50) He says-- Nicodemus-- to them-- the one coming toward him before-- one being of them-- (51) "Our law doesn't judge the man unless only it hears first from him, and it knows what he is doing, right?"31 (52) They answered, and they said to him, "You aren't also from Galilee, right? Search and see, that from Galilee, a prophet doesn't rise."32 -------------------------------------------------------------------- When we read John 7:1-52 all at once, what stands out above everything else is the idea of schism, or, divide. When people respond to Jesus-- either for him, or against him-- it places them into one of two groups: The chapter began with Jesus' brothers. They don't understand Jesus, and mock him, and refuse to give their allegiance to him. Then we read about the crowd. The crowd was torn over Jesus. Some thought he was good; others thought he was deceiving the crowd. They were divided. But they were divided from a distance-- none of them were willing to take a step, either way. Judeans aren't torn over Jesus-- they judge by outward appearance, and they are determined to kill him. They are united in opposing him. The temple police find themselves drawn to Jesus, recognizing that no human has ever talked like Jesus has. They are like the crowd, still waffling. But the Pharisees and the rulers reject Jesus. They argue that none of the Pharisees and rulers have given their allegiance to Jesus. I can understand why Jesus is a polarizing figure. I understand how seeing his actions, and hearing his words, forces people to make a choice either for or against him. What's surprising, though, is how this division comes with such terrible hostility. Being one of Jesus' disciples doesn't seem like something that should bother people. What difference should it make to anyone, if I give my allegiance to Jesus? Why should it bother my family, if they disagree with me? My siblings, my spouse, my parents, my friends, my coworkers? But we know that the world-- people who aren't Jesus' disciples-- hates us (John 7:7). And for some of you, that hatred is close to home. Every week you go to church, it's a sore spot. Your family loves you-- maybe, hopefully-- but they hate that you do this. They think you're throwing your life, and your money, away. Maybe, they are quiet about this, usually. It's just one of those things you don't talk about at home. Just a quiet hostility every Sunday morning. Every time they catch you doing devotions, or praying, their face darkens. With your larger family, maybe all of this is just that awkward thing you can't talk about at Thanksgiving or Christmas. They just ignore it, and play nice. But maybe it's not that way at all. Your allegiance to Jesus is an explosive issue. And you know, when you get together, there's a good chance something will set it all off, again. This will end in anger, or screaming, or tears. Again. You read about Jesus' brothers, and you find yourself thinking that those verses hit close to him. Now, when you first came to Jesus, you maybe didn't realize that this would happen. And now that you are suffering because of your allegiance to Jesus, you find yourself wondering, "Is this worth it?" Or maybe you think, "Am I doing something wrong?" And maybe you find yourself thinking, "I wonder if there's a third way. Maybe I can be a secret disciple. Maybe no one needs to know what I really think about Jesus. Maybe I can give my allegiance to Jesus, quietly, while still remaining part of the crowd." And this brings us to the one person in our story who doesn't quite fit: Nicodemus. Let's reread 7:50-51: (50) He says-- Nicodemus-- to them-- the one coming toward him before-- one being of them-- (51) "Our law doesn't judge the man unless only it hears first from him, and it knows what he is doing, right?" Nicodemus tries to thread the needle here, and (mixing metaphors) straddle the line between "belief" and "disbelief." No one knows what he really thinks about Jesus. The Pharisees hear his words-- his strictly procedural defense of Jesus-- and they know it sort of sounds like he's defending Jesus. "Our"33 law doesn't judge a man unless it first "hears" from him, and knows what he "does, right?" Nicodemus is right, in saying this. The Pharisees are being unjust judges, who judge according to appearance, and who are breaking their own law. They haven't really "heard" Jesus (John 5:37; 6:45, 60). They don't understand what Jesus is "doing" (John 5:19; 7:17). But instead of being honest about this, they challenge Nicodemus instead. They say, "You're not a Galilean, right?"34 And what's Nicodemus' response? I don't know. Nicodemus says nothing. At the very moment we'd expect him to boldly confess that he's the exception to the rule-- that he is a Pharisee who has given his allegiance to Jesus-- there's only silence. AJ doesn't tell us, at the end here, what to think about this. But this doesn't sit well, right? Nicodemus is surrounded by people who are determined to kill Jesus. Who think anyone following Jesus is cursed by God. Who think they are the only ones who know, and obey, God's word. We read what Nicodemus says, and what he doesn't say, and we think, everything about this is wrong. We read this, and we think, there is no third way. There are no secret disciples. We can't be silent about Jesus. But how do we know that? How can I prove that to you? Two ways, I think. First, I can point you to Jesus' example. Jesus is open about who he is, and who his Father is.35 Jesus is willing to suffer, and get killed, for his Father. The time is not yet right for him to die-- it's only John 7. But Jesus is perfectly willing to suffer anything, if it means speaking the truth, and giving his Father glory. Jesus accepts that the world hates him. Second, I can point you to Jesus' words. Let's reread verses 37-39: "If anyone is thirsty, he must come toward me, and he must drink. The one giving allegiance to me, just as it says-- Scripture-- "Rivers, from his belly, will flow of living water." (39) Now, this he said concerning the Spirit, who they were about to receive-- the ones giving allegiance to him. For not yet was the Spirit, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.36 If you want the living water Jesus offers, you have to leave the crowd, and come toward Jesus. You have to overcome your fear of the "Judeans" (John 7:13). And when you leave the safety of the herd, everyone will know. The world will hate you. But know this: If you are silent about Jesus, you haven't really come to him. [And probably this is what AJ actually means, more broadly, when he makes "coming to" Jesus one of the discipleship verbs-- part of the cluster of verbs you have to do, to be part of his family.] Translation: (1) And after these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee. For he didn't wish in Judea to walk, because they were seeking him-- the Judeans-- to kill.37 (2) Now, the feast of the Judeans38 was near-- the [feast of] Tabernacles. (3) Then, they said to him-- his brothers-- "Depart from here, and go to Judea, in order that also your disciples shall see your works that you are doing. For no one, anything in secret, does, and he himself seeks with openness/boldness/outspokenness to be.39 If40 these things you are doing, reveal yourself to the world. (5) For not even his brothers gave allegiance to him.41 (6) Then, he says to them-- Jesus-- "My time, not yet, is present. Now, your time always is ready/prepared. (7) The world isn't able to hate you.42 Now, me it hates, because I testify about it, that its works, evil, they are. (8) You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time, not yet, has been fulfilled." (9) Now, saying these things, he abided in Galilee. (10) Now, when his brothers went up to the feast, then also he went up, not openly (=not revealing himself),43 but as in secret. (11) Then, the Judeans were seeking him in/at the feast, and they were saying, "Where is that one?", and grumbling about him, there was much among the crowds-- on the one hand, some were saying that "A good one,44 he is," on the other hand, others were saying, "No, but he deceives the crowd." (13) However, no one in boldness was speaking about him because fear of the Judeans. (14) Now, while it was already the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple, and he was teaching. (15) Then, the Judeans were being amazed, saying, How does this one, letters/learning does he know, not having been taught?" (16) Then, he answered them-- Jesus-- and he said, "My teaching isn't of myself, but of The One Sending me. (17) If anyone wishes his will to do, he will know about the45 teaching, whether from God it is, or [if] I from myself I am speaking. (18) The one from himself speaking, his own glory he seeks. Now, the one seeking the glory of The One Sending him, this one, true, he is, and unrighteousness in him, there isn't. (19) Hasn't Moses given you the law?, and none of you do the law. Why, me, do you seek to kill? (20) The crowd answered, "A demon, you have. Who, you, is seeking to kill?" (21) Jesus answered, and he said to them, "One work I did,46 and all of you are amazed. (22) For this reason Moses has given you the circumcision-- not that from Moses it is, but from the fathers, and on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. (23) If circumcision, a man receives on the Sabbath, in order that it would not be broken-- the law of Moses-- with me are you furious, because an entire man, whole, I made on the Sabbath? (24) Don't judge in accordance with outward appearance, but [in accordance with] the righteous judgment, judge. (25) Then, some of the Jerusalemites were saying, "Is this one not the one whom they are seeking to kill?, and LOOK! With openness/boldiness he is speaking, and nothing to him they are saying. Can it be that truly, the rulers know that this one is the Messiah/Christ? but this one, we know from where he is. Now, the Christ/Messiah, whenever he comes, no one will know from where he is." (28) Then, he cried out in the temple, teaching-- Jesus, and saying, "And me you know, and you know from where I am, and from myself I have not come, but He is true-- The One Sending me, whom you don't know. (29) I know him, because from Him, I am. That one, me, he sent. (30) Then, they were seeking, him, to seize, and no one laid on him a hand, because not yet it had come-- his hour. (31) Now, from the crowd, many gave allegiance to him, and they were saying47, "The Messiah/Christ, whenever he comes, won't more signs do than this one did, right?"48 (32) The Pharisees heard the crowd grumbling about him these things, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple police, in order that they would seize him. (33) Then, he said-- Jesus-- "Yet a small time, with you I am, and I am going toward The One Sending me. (34) You will seek me,49 and you will not find, and where I am, you aren't able to come. (35) Then, they said-- the Judeans-- to one another, "Where is this one about to go, that we will not find him? Not to the dispersion of the Greeks he is about to go, and to teach the Greeks, right? (36) What is this word that he said, "You will seek me, and you will not find, and where I am, you aren't able to come"?50 (37) Now, on the last day-- the great one-- of the festival, Jesus stood, and he cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, he must come toward me, and he must drink. The one giving allegiance to me, just as it says-- Scripture-- "Rivers, from his belly, will flow of living water." (39) Now, this he said concerning the Spirit, who they were about to receive-- the ones giving allegiance to him. For not yet was the Spirit, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.51 (40) Then, some from the crowd, hearing these words, were saying, "This one is truly the prophet." (41) Others were saying, This one is the Christ/Messiah." Now, some were saying, "No. For not from Galilee does the Messiah come, right?" (42) Didn't the Scripture say that from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem the village, where David was, the Christ is coming?"52 (43) Then, a division/schism happened in the crowd because of him. Now, some of them were wishing to seize him, but no one laid upon him the hands. (45) Then, they came-- the temple police-- toward the high priests and the Pharisees, and they said to them-- those ones-- "Why did you not bring him?" (46) They answered-- the temple police-- "Never has one spoken like this-- a man." (47) Then, they answered them-- the Pharisees-- "Not also you have been deceived, right?" None of the rulers have given allegiance to him, nor of the Pharisees, right?", (49) but this crowd-- the ones not knowing the law-- accursed, it is. (50) He says-- Nicodemus-- to them-- the one coming toward him before-- one being of them-- (51) "Our law doesn't judge the man unless only it hears first from him, and it knows what he is doing, right?" (52) They answered, and they said to him, "You aren't also from Galilee, right? Search and see, that from Galilee, a prophet doesn't rise." 1 imperfect verb-- scene scetting, preparing you for something else. 2 story taking a step forward. 3 imperfect verb again. 4 LDGNT Glossary calls this a "topic of verbless clause": Topic of verbless clause-Heuristic label to identify the topic or subject of a clause where both subject and the predicate share the same grammatical case. 5 not the word I'd expect. John 4:25; 16:13, 14, 15. 6 Bible translations treat this as an ingressive, marking the start of their persecution. Which is maybe true-- but the verb here is more an offline explanation for why Judeans struggled with Jesus. Verse 16 prepares us for verse 17-- the reason Jesus works on the Sabbath, is because his Father works then. 7 Jesus made a habit of healing people on the Sabbath. 8 and translating "Jews" as "Judeans" helps us keep this connection. Just one of the reasons why "Judeans" is preferable. 9 AJ helping us with a "for" statement, reminding us of John 5:18. 10 This is not "our" feast. This is "their" feast. 11 The Greek here is hard, I think. English Bibles all had words to clarify it, and they understand it in different ways. I think the idea is that it's not natural to do anything in secret. "Everyone" wants to be widely known. It's not natural to do great things in secret. Lenski puts it well: "They think that Jesus is largely wasting his efforts in these remote parts of Galilee, his place is on the grand stage in the heart of the nation" (Interpretation of the Gospel of John, 529). 12 "If." They've heard the stories, but seen none of the signs? And Jesus won't do anything on command/request in John. 13 AJ's commentary on them, telling us how we are supposed to hear their words (their tone)-- sarcastic, disbelieving. 14 Here, the historical present maybe helps mark a transition in the text? 15 "Judea" stands as representative of the larger "world" that rejects Jesus. 16 adverbially form of "reveal." not "revealing himself." 17 "good one" is an adjective, with masculine gender. They aren't calling him a good "man." There's nothing wrong/flawed/inadequate about this description-- Jesus is either good, or evil. 18 here again, "the" means "my." Unless we are being invited to read this wider, and think about how you can tell if any teaching is from God or not. 19 John 5. [Which is why I started by rereading it] 20 a strong word for anger. Brill glosses it as "to be full of bile, be mad, be furious." 21 Jesus' words here are a response to [the imperfect verbs of] verses 25-27. 22 imperfect verb here setting us up for verse 32. 23 So the crowd has committed to him, but obviously it's a flawed allegiance. 24 "these things" plural. (1) If the rulers know the truth; (2) if the Messiah, whenever he comes, would be able to top this. 25 so I think AJ delays giving the subject of the verb probably as a way to keep the story moving along. It makes it so you can't stop reading-- you're half-way through the sentence, or more, before you learn who is speaking. 26 prophetic? double meaning? Right now, they are seeking to kill him. Later, they will seek him, but it will be too late. Sounding like a prophet here. 27 This is ironic. Jesus will in fact go to the dispersion and teach, through his disciples. And commentators widely think that AJ's audience was supposed to hear themselves in these words. 28 The total reduplication of Jesus' words here points to their importance. 29 AJ helping us again. 30 They assume the answer is "yes" here. 31 Nicodemus's words show that they don't in fact know the law. The law requires that they judge impartially, and give everyone a chance to explain their actions (Deut. 1:17). They don't know the law; they don't do the law. 32 If they had searched, they'd have realized that here again, the Pharisees don't know the law. Jonah was from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25), so prophets do in fact come from there. Plus, Isaiah 9 says that the Messiah will come from Galilee. 33 The law is the "Judeans.'" 34 "Galilee" is a place of safety; "Galileans" are Jesus' disciples. Jouette Bassler is really helpful on this point. "The Galileans: A Neglected Factor in Johannine Community." CBQ 43 (2): 243-57. 35 And so his brothers are sort of right-- this is not the kind of thing that should be done in secret. 36 AJ helping us again. 37 AJ helping us with a "for" statement, reminding us of John 5:18. 38 This is not "our" feast. This is "their" feast. 39 The Greek here is hard, I think. English Bibles all had words to clarify it, and they understand it in different ways. I think the idea is that it's not natural to do anything in secret. "Everyone" wants to be widely known. It's not natural to do great things in secret. Lenski puts it well: "They think that Jesus is largely wasting his efforts in these remote parts of Galilee, his place is on the grand stage in the heart of the nation" (Interpretation of the Gospel of John, 529). 40 "If." They've heard the stories, but seen none of the signs? And Jesus won't do anything on command/request in John. 41 AJ's commentary on them, telling us how we are supposed to hear their words (their tone)-- sarcastic, disbelieving. 42 "Judea" stands as representative of the larger "world" that rejects Jesus. 43 adverbially form of "reveal." not "revealing himself." 44 "good one" is an adjective, with masculine gender. They aren't calling him a good "man." There's nothing wrong/flawed/inadequate about this description-- Jesus is either good, or evil. 45 here again, "the" means "my." Unless we are being invited to read this wider, and think about how you can tell if any teaching is from God or not. 46 John 5. 47 imperfect verb here setting us up for verse 32. 48 So the crowd has committed to him, but obviously it's a flawed allegiance. 49 prophetic? double meaning? Right now, they are seeking to kill him. Later, they will seek him, but it will be too late. Sounding like a prophet here. 50 The total reduplication of Jesus' words here points to their importance. 51 AJ helping us again. 52 They assume the answer is "yes" here. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------