John 7:1-24

Wed. Night Bible Study

John 7:1 “And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him.”

A lot of things happened in the spaces between chapter 6 and ch. 7. You can look through Matt. chapters 15 up till 18, Mark 7-9, Luke 9 and you can see how much transpired in that time.

Many things happened.....

The feeding of the 4000

Jesus foretells of His death and resurrection

Transfiguration

Blind received their sight, the demon possessed are liberated, the deaf and dumb can hear and speak!

Many things were done! All the while Jesus is preparing His disciples for what was to come and He was teaching them!

Also, these things Jesus done in the region of Galilee (north of Jerusalem). Basically, He spent 7 months teaching His disciples and doing many works.

Jesus’ time wasn’t ready for Him to enter into Jerusalem because of the stir of murderous hearts in the city and with the leaders (The Jews).

When John is speaking of “The Jews” here it is the religious leaders.

There flame of murder was kindled when Jesus in John 5 at Jerusalem healed the paralytic man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath.

John 7:2 “Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand.”

Israel’s 3 great feasts:

Passover feast: celebrated at the first of the year. Actually it was two feasts—Passover, followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread—its specific purpose was to remember, for all time, God's redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Feast of Weeks (also called Pentecost or Harvest Feast): This was to be a celebratory feast 50 days ("penta" = 50) after Passover celebrating the first fruits of the wheat harvest in the spring of the year (Leviticus 23:15-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-12).

Feast of Tabernacles (also called Feast of Booths and Feast of Ingathering): This feast, in the fall of the year, commemorated two events—the pilgrimage from Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan and the fruitfulness of the Promised Land (Leviticus 23:33-43; Deuteronomy 16:13-15). Celebrants lived in rough booths during the week to remember the sparse living conditions in the 40-year journey through the wilderness.

Every male had to attend these feasts and they were only held in Jerusalem. For it to be right, you had to be in Jerusalem.

So, the “Jews” would know that and know that He would be coming and they probably were waiting for Him.

This is why the delay, it was unusual for a Jewish man to be late for the feast. We are now and Jesus was then on God’s timeline.

John 7:3-5 “His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him.”

His half-brothers (virgin birth): Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?”

Not Judas Iscariot but Jude a writer of the book of Jude and James the writer of the book of James.

Yes these were His brothers and yes, they didn’t believe in the claims of Jesus, at this time.

This conversation was somewhat mocking by the brothers. If you are Who You claim to be go show them the works that you are doing........... “If”.......who also said this to Jesus?

Satan did in his temptation of Christ: Matthew 4:3-6 “3 And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.............6 If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

The folks at the cross of Christ hollered: Luke 23:37 “and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself.”

His brothers basically saying the same: “If you do these things.....”

Their belief was that if you was wanting folks to believe that you were the big dog you would show yourself to the world.

Nobody if they had the power would ever do them in secret.

Mockingly, they are saying if you have this power and you are Who You say You go to Jerusalem to the leaders and show yourself to them.

Jesus had already did that! He got run out!

Let us not right here at this point, Jesus was not on man’s timetable, He was not at the mercy of man, man’s ways was not effective in His ministry, so all of this rhetoric was useless and that was His answer.

John 7:6-8 “Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled.”

God’s timetable is a timetable that is not really regulated to time, because He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere.

2 Peter 3:8 “But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Some have made this in to a teaching how long is a day or thousand years. This was said not for that.....this was said for us to know that time is not an issue with God, it His plan (will) that is the key and it is until those are fulfilled that we will see and understand.

This is what Jesus is saying to His brothers, that His time wasn’t according to human thinking!

However, their time for believing is now!

At this time, they were of the world and knew nothing of God’s purposes. So, anytime would do for them to start looking into Jesus, honestly and begin a belief in Him!

2 Corinthians 6:2 “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

Jesus’ brothers lack an appointed time because they belong to the ‘world’ . The world cannot hate you, Jesus tells them, for they belong to it, and the world loves its own (15:19). By contrast, the world hates Jesus, not only because he does not belong to it, but because he testifies that what it does is evil.

Thus v. 7 simultaneously explains why Jesus will not rise to the challenge set him in v. 4, and why, for the brothers, any time is right. Their alignment with ‘the world’ means they know nothing of God’s agenda. They do not listen to his word, do not recognize it when it comes, and cannot perceive the Word incarnate before them. They are divorced from God’s kairos, his divine appointments, and so any time will do. All appointments that ignore God’s kairos are in the eternal scheme of things equally insignificant.

Jesus is regulated by the Father’s will, we have learned this over the last few chapters, Jesus then told them to go on to Jerusalem.

John 7:9-10 “And having said these things unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up unto the feast, then went he also up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.”

Jesus hung out in Galilee a little while longer and then departed in secret, through Samaria.

Luke 9:52 “and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.”

Jesus waiting on His appointed time and the others were in an uproar.

Patience and know that God’s timing is perfect, but we must be faithful and not applying human means into that timing!

John 7:11-13 “The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him: some said, He is a good man; others said, Not so, but he leadeth the multitude astray. Yet no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.”

There was a stir in Jerusalem as they waited for Jesus, wondering where He was, disputing about what He was like.

The people were discussing this amongst themselves, disagreeing about Jesus, but nobody would speak about Jesus openly because of “The Jews”. They were fearful of the religious leaders!

John 7:14-18 “But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. The Jews therefore marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus therefore answered them and said, My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself. He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”

Jesus just appeared in the middle of the week of this celebration, He went to the temple and taught.

The religious leaders questioned His teaching and where it was from, because Jesus had never had any of THEIR schooling.

He was teaching in such a way that caused them to be marvelled!

It must have been perfect teaching and they cannot deny that is was something great!

But, they questioned where it came from......

After the Sermon on the Mt. it was said of Jesus in Matthew 7:29 “for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

But, they also said is not this man from Nazareth and come from Mary and Joseph....in the last chapter.

John 3:10-11 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.”

Jesus told these at the temple, that if they would follow the will of God, believe in it, they would know the teaching...... In John 6, Jesus tells everyone that if you are earnestly are seeking Bread for life, then the Father will teach you, Jesus is our teacher because He has seen the Father!

If we seek out the teaching of man, we seek our own glory (boasting). Everybody that has taught about a different Jesus or doctrine of Jesus is seeking their own selfish desire!

Jesus cam solely to glorify the Father and accomplish His will!