The Festival of Booths was near, and His brothers said, “No one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. Show yourself to the world.” (7:2-4). They said this because they did not believe in Him. (After His resurrection, that changed.) His brothers went; He also went, not publicly but in secret.
The Jewish leaders were looking for Him to arrest Him. People in the crowds complained about Him; “Others said, ’He is a good man,’ others said, ‘No, He is deceiving the people’ No one would speak openly about Him for fear of the Jews” (7:12-13).
He taught in the Temple. The Rabbis were astonished at Him, saying, “How does this man have such learning, when He has never been taught?” Jesus said, “My teaching is not Mine but His who sent Me. Any who wants to do God’s will shall know if the teaching is from Him or if I speak on my own.” He said, Moses commanded circumcision, and you circumcise on the Sabbath, which would be considered “work.” Yet, Jesus healed the man at Bethesda and made his whole body well on the Sabbath and for this they tried to kill Him (7:14-24).
Some said, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here He is speaking openly, but they say nothing to Him. Can the authorities know this is the Messiah?” Then Jesus said as He was teaching, “You know me, and you know where I am from;” He was thinking of the Heavenly Father, not of Nazareth. They tried to arrest Him, but His hour had not yet come (7:25-39).
The chief priests sent officers to arrest Him. Jesus said, “I will be with you a little longer; then I go to Him who sent me. You will look for me but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.” Some wondered if he planned to go to the Dispersion, that is the Jews scattered all over the world. He went to them, alright; He went to every nation through His followers.
At the festival, they poured water from the Temple, reminiscent of God’s provision of water as they wandered in the wilderness. When they did this, Jesus from the huge multitude of people cried loudly, “’If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ This He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.” (7:37-39).
When the crowd heard these words, some said, “This is the prophet” of whom Moses spoke. Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? We know he comes from Bethlehem” (7:40-44). Wm. Barclay said, “A great religious experience ended in the aridity of a theological wrangle.” (Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of John, p. 265) Jesus was both the prophet and Messiah.
How sad that people argue more than we love when it comes to what Jesus says.
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PRAY FOR YOURSELF
Father, I pray that I will not be moved by fear to be so silent I never speak of Jesus, my Savior, but make sure that I speak truth in love – with gentleness. Thank you, my Father. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, AMEN.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU (and for myself)
Father, why is it that we humans are so prone to argue about religion when we should be united in the name of Your Son. If we were of one heart and soul, we could win so many more for Him. Our arguments are so divisive, people turn away from us in disgust! Teach us how to be of one mind and gain strength from one another and from You. In His Name, we pray, AMEN.
Filed under: Following Jesus, John | Tagged: Never Man So Spoke, Rivers of Living Water, Trying to Kill Jesus |
Committed To Truth 
The officers who were sent to arrest Jesus came back. Those who sent them said, more or less, “Well, where is He?”
The officers said, “Never has any man spoken like this man!” The high authorities scoffed, just like the high authorities in our day scoff.
The world has always hated Jesus, especially in Western Europe and North America. Eastern Europe, except for the authorities in Russia, are open to His teaching, as are many third-world nations in Africa, India, and places such as China where the “authorities” oppose Him. Still, many people serve Him, hiding in small groups. Even the Muslim world has many Christians, even though they are severely persecuted. Persecution, in India, China, and Africa has not stopped the growth of Christianity. In other words, the world today is much like the Greco-Roman world of the first century. We need to be more evangelistic and quit fighting among ourselves. That would do more to turn people to the Lord than any one thing we could do. See John 17 where Jesuss prayed for unity among his disciples.
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