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1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely
staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take
his life.
2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,
3 Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and
go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since
you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."
5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not
yet come; for you any time is right.
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that
what it does is evil.
8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because
for me the right time has not yet come."
9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also,
not publicly, but in secret.
11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, "Where
is that man?"
12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some
said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he
deceives the people."
John 7:1-12
Explanation: 7:2 The feast of Tabernacles is described in Leviticus
23:33. This event occurred in October, about six months after the
Passover celebration mentioned in John 6:2-5. The feast commemorated
the days when the Israelites wandered in the desert and lived in
booths (Leviticus 23:43).
7:3-5 Jesus' brothers had a difficult time believing
in him. Some of these brothers would eventually become leaders in
the church (James, for example), but for several years they were
embarrassed by Jesus. After Jesus died and rose again, they finally
believed. We today have every reason to believe because we have
the full record of Jesus' miracles, death, and resurrection. We
also have the evidence of what the gospel has done in people's lives
through the centuries. Don't miss this opportunity to believe in
God's Son.
7:7 Because the world hated Jesus, we who follow
him can expect that many people will hate us as well. If circumstances
are going too well, ask if you are following Christ as you should.
We can be grateful when life goes well, but we must make sure it
is not at the cost of following Jesus halfheartedly or not at all. 7:10 Jesus came with the greatest gift ever offered,
so why did he often act secretly? The religious leaders hated him,
and many would refuse his gift of salvation, no matter what he said
or did. The more Jesus taught and worked publicly, the more these
leaders would cause trouble for him and his followers. So it was
necessary for Jesus to teach and work as quietly as possible. Many
people today have the privilege of teaching, preaching, and worshiping
publicly with little persecution. These believers should be grateful
and make the most of their opportunities to proclaim the gospel.
13 Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." But no
one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple
courts and begin to teach. 15The Jews were amazed and asked, "How
did this man get such learning without having studied?"
16Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from
him who sent me. 17If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find
out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my
own. 18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself,
but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man
of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19Has not Moses given
you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying
to kill me?"
20"You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who
is trying to kill you?"
21Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished.
22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did
not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a
child on the Sabbath. 23Now if a child can be circumcised on the
Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you
angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging
by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
John 7:13-24
Explanation:
Jesus Reveals Himself as a Disciple of God, Not of the Rabbis (7:14-24)
On the last day of the feast Jesus makes his startling claim to
offer living water (7:37-39) and to be the light of the world (8:12).
In the time between his secret entrance and dramatic conclusion
he goes up to the temple and begins to teach (7:14). "What
does this mean but a fulfillment of the prophecy, `The Lord whom
ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple' (Mal 3:1)?" (Dodd
1953:351).
His teaching prompts the question, How did this man get such learning
without having studied? (7:15). He had not studied under a rabbi,
nor had he been in a rabbinic school. He did not support his teaching
by appealing to recognized teachers, yet his teaching made use of
rabbinic-style arguments, as is evident later in this section. In
the Talmud (b. Sota 22a) it is said that the person who studied
the Scriptures and even the Mishnah but yet "did not attend
upon Rabbinical scholars" is no better than an 'am ha'arets--one
of the "people of the land" who are cursed because they
do not keep the law with the strictness of the Pharisees. This text
from the Talmud is dated later than the New Testament, but the sentiment
was current in the days of Jesus, and indeed it is reflected in
this very story (7:49).
Although Jesus has not studied under a rabbi, that does not mean
he is on his own. Throughout the Gospel he is emphatic about his
dependency on the Father. In this passage he agrees with the theory
behind the rabbinic succession of teachers (v. 18) but says, My
teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me (v. 16). In
saying this Jesus is claiming to be not just another rabbi, but
rather a prophet whose teaching comes from God (v. 17). Jesus is
a disciple of God, not of a rabbi.
How is such a claim to be assessed? Jesus and the Jewish opponents
agreed that Scripture is the word of God, but whose interpretation
of Scripture is correct? Jesus does not point to confirmation from
external sources. He points rather to the internal disposition of
the individual, a heart that is God-centered: If anyone chooses
to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from
God or whether I speak on my own (v. 17). One who is centered in
God rather than in oneself will be able to recognize God's voice
in a teacher come from God. To choose to do God's will is not just
a matter of moral purity as such; it is a hungering and thirsting
after righteousness, a seeking first the kingdom. Such a heart is
open to God, committed to him and his ways and willing to act on
what is revealed. It is a heart like Jesus' own heart--like is known
by like (cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:108).
Jesus spells out the alternative: He who speaks on his own does
so to gain honor for himself (v. 18), or, more literally, "The
one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory." One either
speaks from God or one speaks from self, no matter how many external
authorities are appealed to. One seeking God, who is caring for
God's glory rather than one's own, such as Jesus refers to, is able
to believe (5:44). Jesus', "humility and obedience allow him
to speak with the authority of God" (Barrett 1978:318), and
these are the same qualities that enable a person to recognize God's
word in Jesus' teaching.
He then addresses the Jewish ideal behind the appeal to rabbinic
authority: He who works for the honor of the one who sent him is
a man of truth; there is nothing false about him (v. 18). In this
saying Jesus affirms the Jewish view of tradition. His disciples
are to pass on faithfully what they have received from him (cf.
Jn 15:27; 21:24; Mt 28:16-20) and to ensure that it continues to
be passed on by faithful teachers (2 Tim 2:2). So the rabbinic ideal
is not wrong, but it must be coupled with a heart that is open to
God, in contact with God and guided by his Spirit.
This ideal is a true test of the character of the messenger, but
it is not a guarantee of the truth of the message--that depends
on the one who sends the messenger. If Jesus is a true messenger,
passing on what he has received, then the opponents do not have
a problem with him but with the one who sent him to deliver this
message. Since God is the one who has sent Jesus, the opponents'
alienation from God is again made clear.
The rabbinic teachers trace their teaching back to Moses himself,
so Jesus turns from defending himself to attacking their claim to
Moses (cf. 5:45-47). The foundation on which they build is wrong.
Moses indeed gave them the law (v. 19); Moses was a faithful teacher
who passed on what he received from God, not caring for his own
glory but for the glory of the one who sent him. The issue is not
with Moses and the law, it is with the opponents who do not keep
the law (v. 19).
Jesus' charge that his opponents are not keeping the law turns up
the heat of the debate. They believe Jesus does not keep the law,
and now he says the same of them. Jesus brings two pieces of evidence
to show they fail to keep the law. The first piece of evidence is
that they desire to kill him (Jn 5:18; 7:1). Jesus could be referring
to a violation of the sixth commandment (Ex 20:13), but something
much more profound is going on. If Jesus is a false prophet, he
deserves to die according to the law (Deut 13:5). But Jesus is actually
the one of whom Moses wrote in the law (Jn 1:45; 5:46). So their
desire to put Jesus to death shows they violate their own law because
the law itself witnesses to Jesus.
While Jesus is addressing the whole crowd, he is speaking primarily
to his opponents (v. 21). Most of the people listening would be
either citizens of Jerusalem or pilgrims present for the feast.
The Jerusalemites are aware of the authorities' desire to kill Jesus
(v. 25), so only the out-of-towners would not know anything of the
controversy surrounding Jesus. Some of these pilgrims respond, saying,
You are demon-possessed. . . . Who is trying to kill you? (v. 20).
Here is another example of the people's failure to recognize who
Jesus is. The very Word incarnate, who is the truth, is said to
be wrong about something which is common knowledge to the Jerusalemites.
Most commentators view the crowd's saying Jesus is demon-possessed
as their way of saying, "You're nuts." Perhaps this is
all that the crowd intended. If so, they are still completely clueless,
ignorant of both Jesus and the Jewish authorities. But the larger
context is the debate about the source of Jesus' teaching. The charge
of being a false teacher would put one in league with the devil.
So we may have another of John's double-entendres: the crowd would
mean "you're nuts," but the opponents would mean something
more sinister (cf. 8:48).
Jesus reminds the opponents of their response to his healing on
the sabbath (v. 21). They had been astonished, not in the sense
of giving God glory, but in the sense that they were scandalized,
some to the point of seeking his death (5:16-18; Schnackenburg 1980b:134).
This response is unjustified even on the basis of the law, as Jesus
now demonstrates in good rabbinic fashion.
Jesus begins by bringing forth a second piece of evidence that shows
they do not keep the law. Moses gave them circumcision (Lev 12:3),
though in fact it was a sign of the earlier covenant, from Abraham
on (Gen 17:10-14). According to the law a male child is to be circumcised
on the eighth day after birth, but what happens if the eighth day
is a sabbath? Circumcision takes precedence over the sabbath. "They
may perform on the Sabbath all things that are needful for circumcision:
excision, tearing, sucking [the wound], and putting thereon a bandage
and cummin" (m. shabbat 19:2). Thus, in order to keep the law
regarding circumcision they must do what is not otherwise lawful
on the sabbath.
They would not have viewed this as a breaking of the law since this
order of precedence among the commands existed precisely in order
to keep the law (cf. Carson 1991:315). Therefore Jesus says the
"work" of circumcision is performed on the sabbath so
that the law of Moses may not be broken (v. 23). Jesus questions
them, saying, if this work is allowed in order to keep the law,
why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?
(v. 23). In other words, he is also working with an order of precedence,
and his activity on the sabbath should be viewed from this perspective
rather than as a breaking of the law.
Jesus is using a "how much more" type of argument, which
was popular in the ancient world, not least among the rabbis. Indeed,
at the time John was writing, this very point was being argued by
rabbis using the same type of argument. Rabbi Eliezer (c. A.D. 90)
said, "If one supersedes the sabbath on account of one of his
members [in circumcision], should he not supersede the sabbath for
his whole body if in danger of death?" (t. shabbat 15:16; cf.
b. Yoma 85b). So there is an order of precedence not only between
commands in the law, but for the sake of saving a life. Jesus, however,
goes even further and says not only does the saving of a life take
precedence, but so does doing good (Mt 12:12 par. Mk 3:4 par. Lk
6:9; cf. Acts 10:38), which includes healing. This is an application
of his principle that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27). If this principle is accepted,
then Jesus is not a lawbreaker.
Indeed, circumcision is a sign of the covenant, and the covenant
itself is about doing good, about acting in keeping with God's own
character of love and mercy. Jesus makes this connection when he
says, literally, "Because of this Moses gave you circumcision"
(v. 22). The "this" refers back to Jesus' deed of healing
on the sabbath (v. 21). So Jesus' form of sabbath observance--healing
and doing good--was the very purpose for which Moses gave them circumcision.
"Jesus' attitude is not a sentimental liberalizing of a harsh
and unpractical law . . . nor the masterful dealing of an opponent
of the Law as such; it is rather the accomplishment of the redemptive
purpose of God toward which the Law had pointed" (Barrett 1978:320-21).
Thus it is not Jesus but his opponents who are going against Moses.
They are breaking the law by their observance of the sabbath because
their observance does not include doing good.
Jesus concludes by telling them, Stop judging by mere appearances,
and make a right judgment (v. 24). He is using language from Moses'
teaching regarding the responsibility of the judges and officers
of the people (Deut 16:18). The opponents are not acting in accordance
with this injunction, and thus their disobedience is exposed yet
again. The right judgment of which Moses speaks includes such things
as refraining from showing partiality and taking bribes. Jesus'
opponents are not blinded by bribes (cf. Deut 16:19) but are blinded
by receiving glory from one another (Jn 5:44). They are observing
the letter of the law, but do not understand what the law is really
about, neither in its witness to Jesus nor in its goal of expressing
God's own love and mercy in the life of God's people. Making a right
judgment (he dikaia krisis) is dependent on seeking God's will and
not one's own (5:30). They lack this disposition; they are too shallow.
They have no depth in themselves and thus cannot recognize God at
work among them. God himself is the one who is dikaios ("right,"
"righteous"; cf. Jn 17:25; 1 Jn 2:29; 3:7; Rev 16:5),
so their lack of right judgment is yet another indication not only
of their law breaking but of their alienation from God.
This call to right judgment is a challenge to each of us, for we
are all guilty at times of judging by appearances. The only way
to avoid such shallowness is to be united with God and to share
in his truth about Jesus and about our own lives. This requires
that we will God's will (7:17), which means God's will as God knows
it, not as our prejudices and sins tailor it. To will God's will
is to have a purity of heart and a clarity of vision that come through
death to self. Until we have found our own heart (which lies deeper
than our emotions and imagination) and made contact with God there,
we will be in danger of judging by appearances instead of with right
judgment.
Is Jesus the Christ?
25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't
this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly,
and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really
concluded that he is the Christ? 27But we know where this man is
from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes,
you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own,
but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29but I know him
because I am from him and he sent me."
30At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him,
because his time had not yet come. 31Still, many in the crowd put
their faith in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, will
he do more miraculous signs than this man?"
32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest
him.
33Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then
I go to the one who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will
not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."
35The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend
to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live
scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he
mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find
me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?"
John 7:25-36
Explanation:
Jesus Reveals Himself as the Messiah Who Has Come from God and Who
Is Returning to God (7:25-36)
The people of Jerusalem now question Jesus' messiahship on the basis
of where he has come from. They think that the Messiah's origin
will be unknown; so since they know where Jesus is from, he is disqualified
(v. 27). Later we will hear of others among the crowd who think
the Messiah's origin is known and who disqualify Jesus because he
comes from Galilee (vv. 41-42). Neither of these opinions is accurate,
which reveals the confusion and ignorance of the people, who, like
the opponents, are judging by appearances rather than with right
judgment.
Jesus' teaching about the sabbath and his reference to the people
seeking to kill him (vv. 19-23) leads some Jerusalemites to conclude
that he is the man the authorities are trying to kill (v. 25). They
realize Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah (v. 26), so the fact
that he is speaking publicly and without interference from the authorities
raises the question of whether the authorities have concluded that
Jesus is the Messiah after all. If false teaching is not opposed,
then people get the impression that either it is not false or it
is not significant.
So the people think the authorities might be confused. We will learn
later (chap. 9) that the authorities themselves are indeed divided
over Jesus. But these Jerusalemites assume the authorities could
not have concluded that Jesus is the Messiah because he does not
fit their own messianic expectations: But we know where this man
is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from
(v. 27). They seem to have in mind the idea that the Messiah would
be hidden until his public debut (cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:110-11).
As a Jew in the second century reportedly put it, "Christ--if
he has indeed been born, and exists anywhere--is unknown, and does
not even know himself, and has no power until Elijah come to anoint
him, and make him manifest to all" (Justin Martyr Dialogue
with Trypho the Jew 8).
Among the apocalypticists the origin of the Messiah had more profound
implications. In two texts that probably come from late in the first
century, about the same time John is finalizing his gospel, we read
of the mysterious origin of the Messiah in God and his hiddenness
there (1 Enoch 48:7; 4 Ezra 13:51-52). The figures depicted in these
texts may not be divine, but they are more than human (J. Collins
1995:208). Such notions build on earlier reflections regarding divine
Wisdom. For example, Job 28 says the place of Wisdom is hid from
all creatures; only God knows where Wisdom is to be found.
In Jesus we see the fulfillment of this motif from the wisdom and
apocalyptic writings. The one hidden with God has now come forth
and revealed himself. In response to the Jerusalemites' musings
Jesus cried out (krazo) in the temple (Jn 7:28), an expression John
uses for significant proclamation, even revelation (1:15; 7:37;
12:44; cf. Bultmann 1971:75 n. 1). He begins by saying, Yes, you
know me, and you know where I am from (v. 28). In keeping with good
Jewish reckoning, a person is usually known by where he or she comes
from (Talbert 1992:146). So to know where Jesus is from is to know
him. But this is bitingly ironic since their knowledge of him as
a Nazarene misses the most significant truth of his origin; they
are judging by appearances. For in fact they do not really know
where he is from because he is from the Father. They do not know
his ultimate origin, and therefore they do not really know him.Jesus
continues by speaking again of the Father and of his dependency
on the Father. He has just said that he does not speak from himself
(ap' emautou, 7:17-18) and that fact establishes that he is true
(alethes, v. 18). Now he says that he has not come on my own (ap'
emautou, v. 28) and that the one who sent him is true (alethinos,
v. 28). For John, truth is objective reality--that which corresponds
to reality and reveals it (cf. Dodd 1953:177). The Father is the
source and standard of all truth, so truth is based on relationship
with him. Jesus has such a relationship, and his opponents do not,
as Jesus says flat out: You do not know him, but I know him because
I am from him and he sent me (vv. 28-29).
The people of Jerusalem have raised the question of Jesus' origin.
This is a good issue to raise, for instead of disqualifying him,
the answer is in fact one of the main witnesses to who he is and
to the validity of his message and deeds. Like the Son of Man of
1 Enoch, Jesus has come forth from the presence of the Lord. Like
the prophets of old, he has been sent by God with God's own message.
The issue at stake is knowledge, as the use of the word know seven
times in verses 26-29 indicates. These Jerusalemites claim to have
knowledge, but they do not. Jesus is the one who knows God, knows
who he himself is and knows the truth about his opponents. The opponents
are out of touch with reality.
Jesus, the truth incarnate, has just spoken to these people of Jerusalem,
and they respond by rejecting him: At this they tried to seize him
(v. 30). Presumably they were intending to take him to the authorities,
who, as they knew, wanted to kill Jesus (v. 25). In any case, they
are unable to carry out their will because it is not God's will:
his time ["hour," hora] had not yet come (v. 30; cf. 2:4).
These people, like Jesus' brothers (7:5-7), are of the world and
have no sense of God's sovereign plan, which is at work among them.
Their action confirms that they do not will to do God's will (v.
17). Again the judgment is taking place, for the light is shining
but these people are preferring darkness.
These Jerusalemites turn against Jesus, yet many in the crowd are
more responsive and put their faith in him on the basis of the signs
they have seen (v. 31). It is unclear which signs they are referring
to. John has only recounted five signs up to this point (changing
water into wine, healing the royal official's son, healing the paralytic
at the pool on the sabbath, feeding the five thousand and walking
on water), but he has indicated that there were many other signs
as well (2:23; 3:2). Signs are certainly intended to lead people
to faith, but it is unclear whether the faith of these people is
solid. They may be like those in the next chapter who believe but
whose faith is not good soil for the seed (see comment on 8:31).
Having seen his impact on the crowd the Pharisees get together with
the chief priests and send servants to arrest Jesus (v. 32). We
know this attempt will be no more successful than the crowd's effort
to seize Jesus (v. 30; the word piazo is translated seized in v.
30 and arrest in v. 32). But John does not tell us whether they
seize him until after he relates Jesus' teaching about his departure
(the great invitation to come to him for living water) and describes
further the division of the people (v. 45). John's storytelling
conveys how inconsequential their threat is. Those who seem to have
such power, whom the people greatly fear (note their whispering
in v. 32), are not able to disrupt even slightly God's purposes
for Jesus. God's purposes are just as secure for those of us who,
like Jesus, will to do his will.
After commenting on his origin Jesus speaks of his departure and
destination (vv. 33-36). The leaders want Jesus off the scene. They
are threatening him with arrest and death. He tells them serenely
and sovereignly that he will indeed be leaving soon. The crucifixion
is probably about six months away, though we cannot be sure of this
since we do not know how much John is leaving out of the story (cf.
21:25). They will indeed put him to death, but even in death he
will go to the one who sent him (v. 33; cf. v. 29).
After the guards are sent, Jesus says, You will look for me, but
you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come (v. 34). The
opponents had been looking for him at this feast (v. 11), but they
were not able to find him until he appeared openly. Their seeking
has not been like the disciples' seeking (cf. 1:38; 6:24); they
are judges who stand self-condemned by their response to him. He
will be with the Father. Since he is the way to the Father (14:6),
they cut themselves off from the Father when they reject Jesus.
Again, Jesus implies that they are alienated from God.
These opponents are fulfilling a pattern from the prophetic and
wisdom traditions (cf. Brown 1966:318; Cory 1997). Amos says the
days are coming when people will search for the word of the Lord
and not find it (8:12). Hosea says the peoples' hearts are full
of prostitution and arrogance, so they will seek the Lord but not
find him since he has withdrawn himself from them (5:3-6). Wisdom
says,
Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
Since they hated knowledge
and did not chose to fear the Lord,
since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. (Prov 1:28-31)
Part of God's judgment is to withdraw access to his revelation.
The "judgment will consist in the very fact that he has gone,
and therefore that the time of the revelation is past. . . . They
will long for the revelation, but in vain; for then it will be too
late; he will no longer be accessible to them" (Bultmann 1971:307).
Those who seek God's word and wisdom with their unfaithful hearts
cannot expect to find what they seek. Jesus, as the incarnate Word
and Wisdom of God, must be sought with a heart that wills to do
God's will.
We can see from the response of these opponents, now referred to
as the Jews (7:35; see comment on 1:19), that they are alienated
from God. Jesus has spoken of the Father, but they completely miss
his point. They speculate on where Jesus intends to go. If he were
to go among the Greeks (v. 35), then they would not find him since
they would not want to go looking for him there. Or perhaps they
think that because he has been exposed as a false prophet in Israel
he will go to the Greeks to try to drum up a following there (Talbert
1992:147). They are keying in on Jesus as a teacher (v. 35), as
they did earlier in the chapter (vv. 14-17, 28), but they are not
receiving his teaching.
There is, of course, enormous irony in their thinking Jesus might
go among the Greeks. It is the arrival of the Greeks, who ask to
see Jesus (12:20), that signals the coming of his hour. Through
the witness of his disciples he will indeed go and teach the Greeks
(cf. 10:16; 17:20). These opponents say more than they realize,
just as Caiaphas will later (11:49-50). In both cases what is said
refers to Jesus' death. These opponents are seeking to kill Jesus,
but through his death the world will be saved.
A number of scholars see traces of Gnostic thought here: the themes
of origin and destiny, whence and whither, are two major concerns
among the Gnostics. The gnosis (knowledge) they sought was largely
concerned with understanding the cosmos and human nature (Schmitz
and Schütz 1976:393-94). "But for the Christian the answer
. . . does not lie in gnosis about his own origin, but in faith
in the one sent by God, who truly comes from God and leads the way
to him (cf. 14:2-6)" (Schnackenburg 1980b:147). Jesus is here
seen as the true gnostic with the ultimate answers about whence
and whither. Salvation is indeed a matter of gnosis (17:3), but
this knowledge is a relationship with the Father through the Son.
Knowledge, for John, "has primarily the sense of the recognition
and reception of love" (Bultmann 1964:711).
37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said
in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me
and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[3] the Scripture has said,
streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By this
he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to
receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus
had not yet been glorified.
John 7:37-39
Explanation:
Jesus, the Source of Living Water, Extends an Invitation to All
Who Thirst (7:37-39)
John now takes us to Jesus' shocking, clear claim made on the last
and greatest day of the Feast (v. 37). On each day of the feast
there was a procession of priests to the pool of Siloam to draw
water (m. Sukka 4:9). The priests returned to the temple, where
the water was taken in procession once around the altar with the
choir chanting Psalms 113-118, and then the water was poured out
as a libation at the morning sacrifice. All-night revelry lead up
to this morning libation. This was a time of joy so great that it
was said, "He that never has seen the joy of the Beth he-She'ubah
[water-drawing] has never in his life seen joy" (m. Sukka 5:1;
cf. Deut 16:14-15; Jubilees 16:20, 25). This joy was associated
with Isaiah 12:3, "With joy you will draw water from the wells
of salvation." On the seventh day of the festival the priests
processed around the altar with the water not once but seven times
(Bloch 1980:200; cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:113 for a more detailed
description).
At this high point of the festival Jesus dramatically cries out
loudly (krazo, as in v. 28), If anyone is thirsty, let him come
to me and drink (v. 37). If he spoke this invitation during the
revelry, he would have to shout just to be heard. But we have also
an allusion to the image of Wisdom, calling out, inviting all mankind
to come and drink (cf. Prov 8--9; Sirach 24:19). What Jesus offers
is the fulfillment of the very things they were celebrating. Here
is grace upon grace (Jn 1:16). Here the Son is repeating the offer
of the Father, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the
waters" (Is 55:1). Indeed, he is fulfilling the role of God,
who "will guide them and lead them beside springs of water"
(Is 49:10). His offer shows he is far more than just a prophet or
an agent; here we have God himself offering us life.
In Jewish writings water is a very rich symbol (cf. Goppelt 1972:318-22).
God himself can be called "the spring of living water"
(Jer 2:13; 17:13). Other texts that use water imagery speak of Wisdom
(Baruch 3:12; Sirach 15:3; 24:21, 25-27, 30-31), the law (Sifre
on Deuteronomy 48) and, as here in John 7:39, the Holy Spirit (Genesis
Rabbah 70:8; Targum of Isaiah 44:3). Jesus, in offering the Spirit
(v. 39), is claiming to be able to satisfy people's thirst for God.
The cries of the psalmists are answered. David prayed, "O God,
you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my
body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water"
(Ps 63:1). The sons of Korah sang, "As the deer pants for streams
of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Ps 42:1-2).
Both of these psalms go on to speak of meeting God in the temple:
David has seen God in the sanctuary (Ps 63:2), and the sons of Korah
speak of "leading the procession to the house of God, with
shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng" (Ps
42:4). When Jesus cries out at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles
on this particular day, the worshipers meet God in his sanctuary--in
the person of his Son. The longing for God is met with God's invitation
to come and be satisfied. In Jesus, God's own desire for man is
expressed and the desire of man for God is met. All that the temple
represented is now found in Jesus.
This invitation to come and drink is the climax of a series of references
to water in this Gospel: the water turned to wine (chap. 2), the
water of the new birth (chap. 3), the living water (chap. 4), the
cleansing water of Bethesda (chap. 5) and the calming of the waters
(chap. 6). All of these have revealed Jesus as the agent of God
who brings God's gracious offer of life.
In offering them the Spirit he is claiming that the age to come
has already arrived. Just as water flowed out from the Garden of
Eden (Gen 2:10-14), so a river flows from the eschatological temple
(Ezek 47). Ezekiel's vision has begun to be fulfilled in Jesus'
offer in the temple, and it will come to completion in heaven in
"the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev 22:1). That heavenly
water of life is already available through Jesus. His invitation
at the Feast of Tabernacles is repeated in the invitation at the
end of the book of Revelation: "Whoever is thirsty, let him
come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water
of life" (Rev 22:17).
The words of Jesus' invitation echo in our ears. Jesus stands at
the doors of our hearts and speaks to the heart of each person on
earth, offering the water of eternal life--the life that flows from
God. Evangelism is a matter of our giving voice to this spiritual
call. Christians need to hold up Jesus in all his beauty, that those
with a desire for God may find the God who is offering himself.
While Jesus is clearly offering the water of the Spirit, it is not
entirely clear to whom him refers (v. 38). Both the ancient church
and modern scholars are divided over whether him refers to Jesus
or the believer (cf. NIV text and margin). A reference here to Christ
is more in keeping with John's thought. Christ is clearly described
as the one through whom believers receive the Spirit; he breathes
on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (20:22).
Although John 4:14--"Indeed, the water I give
him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"--refers
to the believer with language similar to that in verse 38, Jesus
speaks there not of an outward flow to others, but of an inward
well of eternal life. Christ indeed dwells in believers and radiates
from them his light and life and love, but, despite the claims of
some contemporary ministers, believers do not mediate the Spirit
to others. Rather, they bear witness to Jesus (4:39), and people
come to him (4:40-42) and receive the living water of the Spirit
(4:10) from him. This is clear in the context of Jesus' invitation,
for it is to himself that he invites the people to come (7:38) and
those who believe in him are the ones who receive the Spirit (7:39).
No Old Testament verse speaks of living water that flows from within
him, him being either a believer or the Messiah. But there are many
Scriptures that speak of God's provision of water as evidence of
his grace and as an image of his gift of life in his presence. Indeed,
many of these texts were read at this festival, such as the gift
of water from the rock (Ex 17:1-6), the water from the eschatological
temple (Ezek 47:1-11; cf. Joel 3:18) and the water from Jerusalem
that will flow in the age to come (Zech 14:8; cf. Beasley-Murray
1987:116). In Nehemiah there is a reference to the water from the
rock in the wilderness (Neh 9:15), which is followed by a description
of God's gracious provision: "You gave your good Spirit to
instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths,
and you gave them water for their thirst" (9:20; cf. Carson
1991:326-27). In Nehemiah the focus is on the giving of the law,
but the connection between the gift of the Spirit and the giving
of manna and water suggests correlations in the Jewish tradition.
Given John's motif of Jesus as the fulfillment of God's earlier
revelation, the reference here to Scripture probably recalls a general
set of images in the Old Testament rather than one particular text.
Jesus provides the promised water of the age to come, which was
itself a fulfillment of earlier provisions of water.
The people could not receive this Spirit until Jesus was glorified
(Jn 7:39), that is, until his death (cf. 12:16, 23; 17:1). In the
Son's death the glory of God shines brightest since God is love
and love is the laying down of one's life (1 Jn 4:8; 3:16). One
of the Spirit's roles is to bear witness to Jesus (Jn 15:26), and
he could not do this until the revelation was complete. Until the
Son's death, the heart of God could not be known and thus eternal
life, which is knowledge of God (Jn 17:3), could not yet be experienced
(cf. 1 Jn 2:20). Until the death of the Son, the life of God could
not be conveyed by the Spirit.
Jesus' offer of the Spirit is both universal and addressed to individuals:
If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink (v. 37). The
first requirement is thirst. Everyone has spiritual thirst, for
it is part of the human condition. Our need, our thirst, is what
we bring to our relationship with God. This verse is one of many
revealing, diagnostic texts in John. What do we thirst for? What
do we really desire? Sin is our seeking relief from this thirst
in something other than God.
Jesus invites those who know their need, those who are poor in spirit
(cf. Mt 5:3), to take the initiative and come to him and drink (v.
37). Drinking refers to believing (cf. v. 38), which means aligning
oneself with him, trusting him, receiving his teaching and obeying
his commands. Such faith will enable one to receive the Spirit and
enter an abiding relationship with Christ after his glorification.
All of this is based on who God is and what he has done for us.
When we believe we open our hands to receive what his grace offers--we
come and drink.
40On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this
man is the Prophet."
41Others said, "He is the Christ."
42Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee?
Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's
family[4] and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"
43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to
seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"
46"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards
declared.
47"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted.
48"Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?
49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse
on them."
50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their
own number, asked, 51"Does our law condemn anyone without first
hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
52They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and
you will find that a prophet[5] does not come out of Galilee."
John 7:40-52
Explanation:
Both the Crowd and the Pharisees Are Divided over Jesus (7:40-52)
Jesus' dramatic invitation to come to him for living water provokes
strong reactions. Some in the crowd believe he is from God, but
for others Jesus' is disqualified because of where he is from (vv.
40-44). The Pharisees are certain he is not from God and are desperate
to arrest him, despite the witness of their own guards and Nicodemus,
one of their own members (vv. 45-52). Thus, the pattern of events
earlier in the chapter is repeated (vv. 25-32; cf. Brown 1966:331),
but this time there is the added problem concerning Jesus' origin
and more detail concerning the leaders' rejection of Jesus. The
light is shining, but the leaders of God's people are showing a
determined preference for the darkness (cf. 3:19; 7:7).
John describes the crowd's very mixed response to Jesus. Some associate
Jesus with one or another of the eschatological expectations, while
others reject such claims. The words Jesus has spoken lead some
in the crowd to affirm that Jesus is the prophet like Moses (v.
40; cf. Deut 18:15,18). Perhaps Jesus' offer of water is seen as
a claim to be a second Moses, one who would repeat Moses' miracle
of striking the rock and providing running water for the people
in the wilderness (Ex 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13; cf. Jeremias 1967a:277).
Others in the crowd draw the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah
(v. 41). They seem to share the view expressed in a later rabbinic
text that the Messiah was expected to provide bread and water like
Moses did: "As the former redeemer caused manna to descend,
as it is stated, `Behold, I will cause to rain bread from heaven
for you' (Ex 16:4), so will the latter Redeemer cause manna to descend,
as it is stated. `May he be as a rich cornfield in the land' (Ps
72:16). As the former redeemer made a well to rise, so will the
latter Redeemer bring up water, as it is stated, `And a fountain
shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley
of Shittim' (Joel 4:18)" (Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:9).
These reactions reflect the variety of views within Judaism concerning
the one (or ones) God would send to rescue his people. Despite this
diversity, Jesus' words and deeds reveal him to be the expected
one. Those in the crowd who recognize him as the Prophet or the
Messiah still do not fully realize who it is they are dealing with
any more than the Samaritan woman did when she accepted him as the
Messiah. But such faith is the right start and true as far as it
goes. The sower has sown seed, and some of it is producing fruit.
But John does not dwell on those who have seen something of the
truth about Jesus. Rather, he contrasts them with those who reject
the idea that Jesus is the Messiah. Earlier some people rejected
Jesus because they knew where he came from and Messiah's origin
was to be unknown (7:27). Now a different tradition is in view--that
Messiah was to come from Bethlehem since he was the Son of David
(v. 42; cf. Mic 5.2). Both conclusions are ironic. Earlier the people
thought Jesus' origins were known when in fact they were unknown,
for he came from the Father. Now those who reject Jesus do so because
he is not from Bethlehem, when in fact he is.
John does not state elsewhere that Jesus is from Bethlehem, so a
number of scholars have questioned whether he was actually aware
of this fact. But Jesus' descent from David was well known in the
early church (Mt 2:4-5; Lk 2:4; Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8). "It seems
strange that any one should have argued from this passage that the
writer of the Gospel was unacquainted with Christ's birth at Bethlehem.
He simply relates the words of the multitude who were unacquainted
with it (comp. Luke 4:23)" (Westcott 1908:1:280). The point
is to reveal how ignorant those who rejected Jesus were and how
unjust their rejection was.
This is another example of rejecting Jesus on the basis of Scripture
(cf. 5:46). As this story continues it is clear that the role of
Scripture is a major focus (vv. 49-52). The problem is not with
Scripture nor with their desire to be faithful to it--Jesus shares
this attitude. The problem is their ignorance of Jesus. If they
knew him better, these objections would be met, for his origin is
not known: he is from the Father, and he is in fact from Bethlehem.
There is more to it than this, of course. For if Jesus is the one
he claims to be, then Scripture will have to be interpreted around
him. This means that much of the Jewish interpretation of God's
revelation regarding the nation, the land, the temple and the law
itself will have to be rethought. John's Gospel is a sustained exposition
of how Scripture actually bears witness to Jesus and against his
opponents (Whitacre 1982:26-68).
The result of Jesus' clear teaching is division among the crowd
(v. 43). This is the judgment that comes when the light shines.
Such judgment is part of the job description Jesus spelled out in
his keynote address (5:22, 30), as is evident throughout his ministry
and as will be addressed more directly later at this feast (8:15-16,
26, 50).
Another attempt is made to seize Jesus (v. 44; cf. v. 30). Instead
of receiving him as the Son of God whose word they should obey,
they wanted to have him under their own will. This disordered desire
is at the heart of human rebellion against God. But they do not
act on their desire: no one laid a hand on him (v. 44). Again we
see the contrast between the desire of rebellious humanity and the
sovereign outworking of God's plan.
John shifts from the crowd and their chaotic reaction to the Jewish
leadership, referred to as the chief priests and Pharisees (v. 45).
Their settled opposition to Jesus is contrasted with a few of their
associates' favorable response to Jesus--first their servants (vv.
45-49) and then Nicodemus, one of their own members (vv. 50-52).
The temple guards return empty-handed not because they had been
rendered powerless by Jesus (cf. their later experience, 18:3-6),
nor because they feared the crowds, for some among the crowds also
wanted to seize him (contrast later, Mt 26:5 par. Mk 14:2 par. Lk
22:2, 6). Rather, they are struck by the uniqueness of Jesus' message
(7:46). This probably accounts for the fact that they were gone
for four days (cf. 7:14, 32, 37) instead of an hour or so, as the
authorities might have expected! It is right that they should be
struck by Jesus' teaching--here the eternal Word was speaking about
himself, about God and about the salvation he had brought in fulfillment
of the promises made through the prophets. Jesus' very way of speaking
was unique, as befit his unique message: "The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (6:63). It is a
mark of our own spiritual dullness if we can read the Gospels and
be bored. Boredom is one response to Jesus we never find in the
Gospels.
Their own servants have born witness to Jesus, but the authorities
are rigid in their opposition. They accuse their servants of having
been deceived, a view expressed earlier by some in the crowd (7:12).
They knew their servants were learned in the Scriptures, so they
were surprised that "even they" (kai hymeis) have been
deceived. So they point to themselves as the ones learned in the
Scriptures and capable of discerning the truth of religious teaching
(v. 48), and then they contrast their secure assessment with that
of the crowd, which was ignorant of the law (v. 49).
To speak of the crowd as ignorant of the law and under a curse corresponds
to the rabbinic view of the 'am ha'arets, the people of the land.
Prior to the exile this was a more positive term, referring simply
to "the body of free men, enjoying civic rights in a given
territory" (de Vaux 1961:1:70). Later it meant the people in
distinction to various forms of leadership (de Vaux 1961:1:71).
A tone of disdain begins in Ezra and Nehemiah, where the term sometimes
refers to "the heterogeneous population which the returnees
found in the land" (Healey 1992:169; cf. Ezra 9:1-2; 10:2,
11; Neh 10:30-31). For the rabbis the term is theological and negative.
The Pharisees' use in our passage corresponds to this rabbinic view
and also probably reflects the power struggles within first-century
Judaism (cf. Meyer and Katz 1967:589-90). This term is basically
a code phrase for those who do not approach the law in the same
way as the rabbis and the Pharisees, who study the law constantly
and work out meticulous interpretations for how to fulfill its commandments.
Since one cannot keep the law if one does not know it, such ignorance
implies law breaking and thus God's curse (cf. Deut 27:15-26). Rabbi
Hillel (20 B.C.) said, "An uneducated man does not fear sin,
and an Am ha-aretz is not pious" (m. 'Abot 2:5). This does
not mean the 'am ha'arets were ignorant of the Scriptures or immoral.
It means they did not try to keep the form of ritual purity promoted
by the scribes and Pharisees. From the debates in all four Gospels
it is clear that Jesus was as learned in the law as the rabbis were,
yet he rejected their understanding of faithfulness to the Torah.
The opponents' ignorance or deceit is revealed in their response
to the guards (vv. 45-49). First, they say that not one (me tis)
of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Jesus when in fact Nicodemus,
who was both a Pharisee and a ruler (3:1), had acknowledged that
Jesus was a teacher come from God and, by implication, certainly
not a deceiver (3:2). Second, they take their stand on the law in
contrast to this mob that knows nothing of the law (v. 49). But
their whole way of handling the situation is contrary to the law,
as Nicodemus points out (v. 51). The Old Testament does not contain
an explicit text that makes Nicodemus's point, but the law's exhortation
to make a thorough investigation when passing judgment (Deut 17:2-5;
19:15-19) would include hearing the accused, as later rabbinic teaching
makes clear (m. Sanhedrin 5:4; Exodus Rabbah 21:3). This principle
was recognized at the time of Jesus, otherwise Nicodemus's response
would carry no weight. The text also implies that they knew of this
principle because they do not dispute Nicodemus's point.
Instead, they choose to defend their judgment using a different
supposed teaching of Scripture: a prophet does not come out of Galilee
(v. 52). The NIV margin note indicates that two early manuscripts
(p66 and p75) read "the Prophet" instead of a prophet.
A reference here to "the" prophet fits the context well
(v. 40) and has been accepted by a number of scholars. Since, however,
Scripture does not say where the prophet like Moses is to arise,
the opponents' rejection of Galilee is based more on prejudice against
that region than revelation.
This prejudice is even stronger if the reading a prophet is accepted,
as it probably should be. On this reading the evidence of their
perversity is further heightened because Scripture reveals that
in fact prophets had arisen in Galilee; for example, the prophet
mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 was Jonah, son of Amittai from Gath Hepher,
which was about three miles northeast of Nazareth. Indeed, rabbinic
sources from the late first-century A.D. speak of prophets having
arisen from every tribe of Israel (b. Sukka 27b). Thus, whether
we read "the prophet" or a prophet, there is great irony
in their false claim to scriptural authority for their view regarding
Galilee. Indeed, their very response to Nicodemus's accusation that
they are acting contrary to the law reveals yet more clearly the
truth of his charge.
On a deeper level this passage provides a vivid example of part
of John's primary assessment of these opponents. They are judging
by appearances (7:24) and are concerned more with human opinion
than God's truth (5:44). When their servants bear witness to Christ
they do not consider the authority of Jesus that the servants had
experienced. Instead, they assume the servants were swayed by the
crowd, and they contrast their own response to this response. They
are weighing one set of human voices against another. In this they
are acting as though they are in a trial: they attend to the witnesses,
as it were, but they do not confront the evidence of Jesus himself.
As Jesus will make clear, they are judging by weak and faulty human
standards (8:15).Nicodemus, unlike his peers, had undertaken an
investigation of the sort he here refers to (v. 51). He had come
to a conclusion based on Jesus' deeds (3:2), but when he then went
to Jesus and heard him Nicodemus came away confused. Thus, he had
already learned for himself the truth of the servants' report that
no one ever spoke the way this man does (v. 46). Our present passage
shows that Nicodemus is still inclined toward Jesus; he is even
willing to stick up for him in the face of severe opposition. He
is not a full disciple, but he is a supporter. This passage reveals
that the Pharisees are at the heart of the opposition to Jesus.
Given the strong dualistic language John uses throughout his Gospel,
it is important to see that he realizes that even the most negative
group, the Pharisees, contains a person who is open to Jesus. John
focuses on groups, but he also keeps sight of individuals.
As Jesus continues to act and speak it is increasingly clear that
one must either receive him and his message on his own terms or
utterly reject him. This is no less true today, not only for non-Christians
considering the claims of Jesus, but also for those who call themselves
his followers. Like these Pharisees it is all too easy to mistake
our interpretations of God's revelation for reality. We should hold
firmly to what has been revealed in Scripture under the guidance
the Spirit has given the church, but we must do so in an abiding
relationship with the living God in whose presence we live. We must
hold firmly to him in his objectively real presence and allow him
to correct our personal, faulty understandings of him and his ways.
The truth is in Jesus in perfection, but our apprehension of him
is not yet perfect.
In this section, then, we have a striking picture of the opponents'
rejection of Jesus. We are at the low point in Jesus' ministry;
most of his disciples have abandoned him, and he is moving about
like a marked man. Even in this setting, some are open enough to
respond by recognizing him as one sent from God in some sense (vv.
40-41). The division among the crowd and the positive response of
the leaders' servants and of Nicodemus serve to highlight just how
strong the opponents' rejection of Jesus is. This absolute rejection
prepares us for Jesus' teachings in the next chapter, in which he
will reveal the true identity of these opponents who claim to speak
for God.
