JOHN 7: 1-13 [The 5th Discourse]
THE COURAGEOUS CHRIST
[Leviticus 23: 33ff]
John chapter 7 conveys the reactions of the world to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Again and again throughout this Gospel John has emphasized the difficulty and unwillingness of people to publically accept what God is doing in Christ. In the introduction to John’s Gospel we learned about the rejection of the Word by the world (“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not comprehended it” 1:5) and His rejection among His own people (“He came unto His own, but His own did not receive Him” 1:11). For seven chapters now we have witnessed how Jesus enters as “light in darkness,” revealing the condition of the human heart. [Burge, Gary. NIV Application Commentary, Book of John: John. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 2000, 233.]
As the light shines, the hostile opposition to it, and thus to Jesus the light bearer, grows.
It was now dangerous for Jesus to appear in Judea, so that His appearance at Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles must be carefully arranged. Even so it was a feat of courage, and an attempt was actually made to arrest Him. But though danger was threaten Jesus continued on His appointed path.
[In John 7 we read about Jesus in Jerusalem among His own people, struggling for recognition, being battered by questions, and in the end, being condemned by those who are experts in theology. ]
I. THE THREAT TO HIS LIFE, 1.
II. THE DISCUSSION WITH HIS BROTHERS, 2-8.
III. THE REACTION OF THE CROWDS, 9-13.
Verse 1 introduces a new occurrence. After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
After these things indicates that John knows what Jesus has been doing but does not record any of it. He is not writing a complete history of Jesus’ ministry. It seems He was going from place to place in Galilee praying, discipling, preaching, and healing.
It has been six months since the Passover Festival in John 6, and Jesus has been avoiding Judea because He knows the depth of hostility waiting for Him there (7:7). Ever since the healing of the paralytic in Jerusalem on the Sabbath His opponents had been seeking to kill Him (5:18). As time progresses their hatred increases until they finally do kill Him.
II. THE DISCUSSION WITH HIS BROTHERS, 2-8.
In verse 2 John references the event that created the interactions. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.
The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths occurred in October (the second week) about six months after Passover (Jn. 6:2-5). It began five days after the Day of Atonement and lasted eight days. (Yom Kippur when the high priest annually entered the Holy of Holies to apply the blood of an innocent spotless lamb to the horns of the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the Covenant.) It is described in Leviticus 23: 33ff and was held in commemoration of the time Israel wandered in the wilderness and lived in booths or tents (Lev. 23:43). Each family constructed its own temporary shelter of branches to live in for the period of the feast. It also was the celebration of ingathering or harvest. It was one of three annual feast at which attendance was required of all Jewish men (Deut. 16:16).
The celebration of Tabernacles was also called the Feast of Ingathering or harvest. It was a time of thanksgiving primarily for the blessings of God in the harvest, but it was also observed with special reference to the blessings received during the wilderness wanderings; the time when God was pleased to manifest Himself in the tabernacle.
Neither in the tabernacle in the wilderness nor the temple which replaced it, was God fully manifested. The final and perfect manifestation of God was in Jesus, who dwells neither in a tent nor in a temple, but in men’s hearts by His Spirit.
Is the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in your heart?
We begin learning of an encounter with Jesus’ brothers in verse 3. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.
Apparently Jesus’ bothers had seen Jesus perform miracles and thought they were impressive and would impress others also. Their advice was to Jesus was to join the crowds in Jerusalem so the He might enhance His reputation and gain more followers. I imagine it would also good for their notoriety to be the brother of such a public figure.
From verse 4 we learn that most of Jesus’ miracles were done where the public was not present. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
If Jesus possesses the powers His miracles imply, He should display them to the best advantage and capitalize on them. You cannot establish your reputation by working in remote places. Establish yourself in the capital city before the multitudes. Do some spectacular things. They had little idea of what His true mission was or how hated He would become.
Their counsel may have been more to stir things up than an attempt to be helpful because of what we learn in verse 5. For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
It is not inappropriate to hear cynicism in the encouragement of Jesus’ brothers for Him to attend the autumn festival (7:3). They may be reminding Him of His religious obligation (despite the danger) or even pushing Him to place His messianic identity into full public view. Either way, they do not believe in Him (7:5) and thus the truth about Him.
Some of Jesus’ brothers like James and Jude eventually will believe in Him and become leaders in the church, but they had not yet believed. Jesus’ brothers portray the view found in chapter 6. They acknowledge that Jesus can do miracles, but miracles do not necessarily lead to faith (6:25 – 34). Only God can provide the divine insight needed for a person to comprehend fully the identity of his Son (6:44 – 46).
We find Jesus’ response to His brothers in verse 6. So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.
Jesus asserts that He is not living under the influence of chance opportunities, but by a divine calendar predetermined by His Father. Jesus moved in accordance to the will of the Father, not according His own will and not according to people, not even His own family. He was going to Jerusalem, but not when and as they wanted, but when and as God directed.
You too need to hear what God tells you to do and not man. If God tells you to go to the bars and preach, go. But get His authorization before you go. Don’t just go on your own initiative. We are called to go but we still need to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit as to exactly how, where, and when we are to do what God wants us to do.
[If you are not God’s then you can direct your own life or your time is always opportune, but not if your life, which is made up of time, belongs to God.]
Jesus differentiates Himself from His brothers in verse 7. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. [that what it does is evil. NIV]
Since they were lost they were just like the world. It is in them and they belong to it. But Jesus is not of the world. He points out the evil of the world instead. The evil-doer does not like to have his sin exposed and rebuked. The hatred of those who will not follow God is the inevitable result when their sin is exposed.
Jesus separates Himself from His worldly brothers in verse 8. “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
The different leadership they are under leads to different action. Jesus tell His brothers to go to the feast without Him. He is not refusing to go, but refusing to go according to their plan.
Jesus is not avoiding Jerusalem out of fear but out of obedience. We know that, because He does go. He just doesn’t go on His brother’s terms but on God’s. Jesus is not afraid to die. He knows what lies beyond that transition.
On the other hand, Jesus does not flirt with death. There is no death wish. He has an exemplary, healthy attitude toward death. Ready to take that step in God’s timing—but fully resistant toward any kind of premature death.
It is our responsibility to resist premature death. It is our responsibility to take care of our spiritual, emotional and physical well being so that we can finish the course God has given us to run. It is presumptuous to be reckless and negligent in those areas.
III. THE REACTION OF THE CROWDS, 9-13.
In verses 9 & 10 we see Jesus acts in accordance with God’s intent, not the intent of others. Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee. (10) But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.
Jesus’ brothers take His words at face value. They see things from an earthly perspective and assume that Jesus is simply going to avoid the feast. Jesus intends no deception but attends the feast on His own, keeping His identity as quiet as possible in order to avoid those who would like to harm Him (Mark 9:30). The more Jesus taught and did publically, the more the leaders would cause trouble for Him and His followers. So it was necessary for Jesus to teach and work as unobtrusively as He did.
Our safety also is found in simply obeying the Lord, following the principles He has taught us in His word, listening to His voice.
In 1912 the "unsinkable" TITANIC was launched in Liverpool, England. On board was a family, which was unexpectedly transferred to Titanic for its maiden voyage. The god-fearing mother of seven-year-old Eva Hart saw the pride and disregard for normal safety measures exercised by the ship’s captain. After reading the shipbuilders’ claims, Mrs. Hart believed--and so stated--"This is flying in the face of God!"
Because of Mrs.’ Hart’s spiritual convictions and concern for the presumption of the ship’s leadership, throughout the voyage she stayed awake at night aware of the pending disaster. Because of her sensitivity to God’s warning she was able to move her family to an upper deck almost immediately after the ship collided with the unseen iceberg. Her family did not join the 1,500 others who died that night.
Jesus lingered in Galilee because it would have been presumption to go to Jerusalem without being under the Father’s directive. Thus He goes up privately to be in place for the public teaching the Father would have Him proclaim unhindered.
In verse 11 we see the anticipation of the crowd. So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?”
The enemies of Jesus who were seeking to destroy Him (here call the Jews) kept on looking for Him. They wanted to locate Him so that they might arrest Him. Galilee was not under their jurisdiction (but under tetrarch Herod Antipas.) In Jerusalem they held executive power in Jewish affairs.
Verse 12 indicates that the common people were divided over Jesus. There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man;” others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”
The city was awash in discussion and disagreement about Jesus. What were they to think of Him? Some considered the help and blessing His work and words had brought to so many and concluded He was a good man. Others maintained that His words and works were simply a smoke screen to cover His real intentions. He was an imposter and was misleading the people. [Bruce, 174]
A MILLER AND HIS SON were driving their donkey to sell at the market when they met a group of women: “Look there,” cried one, “did you ever see such foolish fellows, trudging on foot when they might ride?” The old man hearing this, quickly placed his son on the donkey and walked merrily beside.
Presently they happened upon some old men debating: “There,” said one, “it proves what I said. No respect is shown to old age these days. That idle lad rides while his old father has to walk. Get down and let the old man rest his weary limbs.”
Upon this the boy dismounted and the father got up, and they proceeded until they met a company of women and children: “Why, you lazy old fellow,” cried several tongues at once, “how can you ride upon the beast, while that poor little lad can hardly keep pace by your side?”
The good natured Miller immediately took up his son behind him. But before they reached town, a citizen called out: “Pray, honest friend, is that donkey your own?”
“Yes,” replied the miller.
“One would not have thought so,” said the citizen, “by the way you load him. Why, you two fellows are better able to carry the poor beast than he you.” So the miller and his son got down, tied the legs of the donkey together, and with the help of a pole carried it on their shoulders over a bridge near the entrance to the town.
This entertaining sight brought crowds to laugh at it, till the donkey, disliking both the noise and the strange handling, broke the cords that bound him, and, tumbling off the pole, fell into the river and drowned. Trying to please everyone, they pleased no one, and lost the donkey in the bargain.
We need to listen to the voice of God and not all the other voices that are out there. We should live our life to please God and not to please man, who will criticize us no matter what we do anyway.
Among the crowds, there are those who are simply curious (7:14, 25 – 26, 41 – 42) while others are open and receptive, willing to exhibit faith (7:12, 26 – 27, 31, 40 – 41, 46). Still others in the crowd are openly antagonistic. The same types are in the world and church today.
Verse 13 conveys the tense divide atmosphere at the Feast. Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
Whether they approved or disapproved Him they did not voice their opinions too loudly. The authorities had a great deal of power over the common people and did not want Him to be discussed at all. Any one who disregarded their wishes was open to their displeasure. Excommunication from the synagogue was even threatened.
CONCLUSION / TIME OF RESPONSE
So the opposition to Jesus continues to mount. At first it seemed possible that men would come to make Jesus their Leader. The events this chapter shows that this will not be the case! From now to the end of Jesus public ministry there is a steadily deepening hostility.
[It was now dangerous for Jesus to appear in Judea so His appearance in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles must be carefully arranged. Even so it was a feat of courage, and an attempt was actually made to arrest Him. But though danger was in the air Jesus continued on His appointed path. He went up to the feast in due course, and there will give the teaching on the indwelling Spirit that was appropriate for the festival.
The great proclamation was His teaching on the Spirit. Jesus brings out the point that when the Spirit is within a man He overflows in abounding life. The Spirit-filled man cannot but be a blessing to other people.]
As a person reads and studies John 7 he or she has to make a fundamental decision. Once I understand the nature of the conflict Jesus has with the Jerusalem authorities, I have to decide where I stand on this issue. Do I see myself standing with Jesus (and those who are persecuted), or is it truer to admit that I stand with Jesus’ opponents? John penned this story not simply to record an event in Jesus’ life. He is conveying that real followers of Jesus may not be acceptable to World.
[In this chapter [and the next] John tells us about the arguments used by the enemies of Jesus. The objections raised to Jesus’ messianic claims all had their answers.]
