John 7 (NIV)
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.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14 Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 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. 18 He 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. 19 Has 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?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now 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? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
Is Jesus the Christ?
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 Then 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, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The 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? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On 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. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39 By 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.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Christ.”
Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally 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? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, 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?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
53 Then each went to his own home.
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November 19th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Sometimes people don’t listen and sometimes they don’t think. Both are critical for a healthy life in Christ.
Do you catch in verses 41-43 and 52 how the people don’t listen and think? Do you see where they are totally missing the simple facts about Jesus?
November 19th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Not much in the gospels is funnier than watching the Jewish religious leaders get stomped on repeatedly. These guys have been going around for probably hundreds of years being sure that they’re all great and enjoying obeisance from the masses and suddenly John the Baptist comes out of nowhere, the original crazy guy, and he’s all on them, and then even worse, here comes Jesus from Nazareth (which I understand to be the veritable backwoods of Israel) and he gets the best of them at every turn. They counted on people being blind followers and being frightened of their rules and regulations so that they could elevate themselves. Jesus did signs WAY more powerful than anything these dudes are credited with, yet he never got on people for asking sincere questions.
It’s cool that Jesus never asked for blind faith, really. He did miracles to help people believe, sure, but he also rewarded questioners and thinkers. Nicodemus risked his job and probably his life by coming to see Jesus in secret, and he didn’t just say “ok” when Jesus shared the truth with him, he said “How can this be? How can this happen?” Jesus rewarded him with John 3:16 and by sharing spiritual truth one-on-one with this guy. Jesus invited discussion; he told stories on purpose that were designed to make people think. He wanted people to say “What exactly are you saying? Is this what you mean?” He was dying for people to discuss his teachings and the scriptures with him
Some of the students I appreciated most as a teacher were the ones who refused to just accept an explanation at face value and go on. I had a group of young men who sat together in one remedial algebra class, and these guys asked and asked until they understood. You could tell by their questions that they were working to understand, that they cared about the material, and they were determined to do a good job. I know I appreciated that a lot as their teacher. I think Jesus liked people asking questions of the non-pompous-Pharisee variety, too, because it showed they were working to understand him; they wanted to know what he was saying and really get a hold of it.
I mean, the greatest commandment discussion came directly from a Q&A session. Jesus had just gotten done owning the Sadducees over their goofy resurrection/wives question. (Mark 12:18-34) The guy who stepped up after them was asking from a different attitude, I think. Whereas the Sadducees were trying to trip Jesus up, the guy who asked him “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” looks like he was really trying to get into Jesus’ mind and see what he thought. He seemed to be an earnest seeker after the truth, eager to hear how Jesus would answer his heartfelt question. And Jesus responded in a gracious manner and gave him a good answer, quoting directly from the Old Testament and delivering the Greatest Commandment. The guy seemed pleased with the answer and in his reply, he revealed that he saw right through to the heart of the matter, that *love* is the most important thing, far better than any burnt offerings or ceremonial forms of obedience. Jesus recognized this guy’s heart, I think, and was glad for his question. It presented a great learning opportunity for everyone in earshot, not just the questioner. So did Jesus say to him “Now stop asking me questions!”? No, he said “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” He appreciated an earnest questioner and thinker and complimented him greatly.