Wednesday Bible Study: The Walk of John Part 6

 

At the very beginning of Jesus's ministry, at the wedding in Cana, Jesus told His mother, "My time has not yet come"- and yet, the time had come to START the ministry, to the disciples and Gentiles, with the miracle of the wine.  And we open chapter 7 in a similar way:

Joh 7:1  After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
Joh 7:2  Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.
Joh 7:3  So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
Joh 7:4  For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."
Joh 7:5  For not even his brothers believed in him.
Joh 7:6  Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 

And yet...

Joh 7:9  After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Joh 7:10  But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 

I feel you could write a book on the takeaways from just this, but let me just point out two things.  First, the obvious:  This sets off a second section of His ministry, where He becomes directly confrontational with the Jewish leadership, and more concentrated on the Chosen People.   A further proof will come in a second on that one.  Second, the subtle:  The difference to God between "the time has not yet come" and go time isn't always a long one- it can be on you before you realize.  And maybe one more thing- the Jews expected a public Messiah, full of wondrous signs; Jesus came to them "in private".  Unbelievers often chide us for not showing God in wondrous signs, but we are saved, ultimately, in private.

So he comes to the Feast on the lowdown; but by midway through (V14), He begins teaching in the Temple.  He's about to burst onto the Jewish scene; and I'm going to skip both ahead and behind to set this up.  Remember the woman at the well in Samaria?  He offered her Living Water, which she was happy to accept, and spread it to all her people in the city.  Keeping this in mind, let me share what commentator Adam Clarke has to say about the feast:

But the ceremony at which the Jews testified most joy was that of pouring out the water, which was done on the eighth day of the feast. A priest drew some water out of the pool Siloam, in a golden vessel, and brought it into the temple; and at the time of the morning sacrifice, while the members of the sacrifice were on the altar, he went up and poured this water mingled with wine upon it, the people all the while singing, with transports of joy, Isa_12:1-6, especially Isa_12:6 : With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. To this part of the ceremony, our Lord appears to allude in Joh_7:37, of this chapter.

So now, look slightly ahead of where I'm at:

Joh 7:37  On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
Joh 7:38  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
Joh 7:39  Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

He had identified Himself as the fulfillment of the most beloved part of the feast- He was the water from the wells of Salvation.  In other words, He had thrown down the gauntlet of faith to the Jewish people.  But unlike the acceptance of the Gentiles, they had questions, just like Paul said:

1Co 1:22  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
1Co 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1Co 1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

So let's look at the questions:

1- "Where is He?" (v11).  Like His brothers, some thought He should be out in the open, making a spectacle of Himself.  He was there; they just were not wanting to look for Him.

2- "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" (v15) They had yet to make the connection between Him and the Father.

3- At this point, he asks them a question- one that the leaders knew darn well what He meant, but the people did not:  "Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" (v19)  This was in reference to the leaders seeking to kill Him for healing on the sabbath (last week) when it was just a sign, like the sign of circumcision that Moses taught- and allowed on the sabbath.  Moses could 'bend the rules', but the Maker of Rules could not.  Which led to their obvious question- "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" (v20) Soon, they ALL would be.

4- Ironically, the ones "in the know" came to the fore right after: "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? " (v25) So basically you have half the people, knowing little, thinking He's crazy because of what He knows, and the other half, a little more informed, thinking He's crazy because He's putting His life in danger.  Regard their next question:

5- " And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? " (v26).  Ah, yes, the conspiracy theorists.  You know, I saw a Tweet the other day from someone who read a book claiming that Jesus never existed, he was a ROMAN conspiracy, for some unknown and potentially idiotic reason.  Now, the Leaders actually had an answer for this:

Joh 7:27  But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."

Well, they thought they did. Some, who only knew His public life, thought Him Galilean.  Others, knowing His genealogy, thought Him from Nazareth.  He didn't bother with human facts, He claimed only to be from the Father- a satisfying answer to the believer, an evasive one to the non-believer.

6- "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?" (v31) Again with the signs.  This is what Jesus meant when (last week) He told us His works testified to Him.  About this time, knowing they were losing the crowd, they sent officers to arrest Him, though they really didn't have a charge.  Jesus, prophesying His death and resurrection, told them that soon, He would go where they couldn't follow, which led to the next question:

7- "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?" (vv-35-6)  Looking at it through worldly eyes- although the Greeks would indeed be taught.

Now, we hit His "Living water" speech, which got the people really considering if He was who he claimed.  But, they still had that one hang-up...

8- "Is the Christ to come from Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" (vv41-2)  They knew to dig into the Scripture; but it was meaningless unless they dug into HIM.  But it was enough to get them asking themselves questions; and that didn't go over with the leaders, who didn't really care if He was Messiah or not:

9- Joh 7:45  The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?"
Joh 7:46  The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!"
Joh 7:47  The Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?
Joh 7:48  Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
Joh 7:49  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."



Three main pillars here- they weren't listening to Him; they were offended that everyone didn't listen to THEM; and thus, the people were stupid.  The leaders only had questions born of their own arrogance.

One of them, however, had an honest and questing mind- Nicodemus, whom we met before.  And he brought to the arrogant leaders the question they dared not ask themselves...

10- "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" In this statement, he challenged all three of their pillars.  And their 'answer' is what we've come to expect from unbelievers challenged by faith:

11- Joh 7:52  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search the scriptures and see that a prophet has not been raised out of Galilee."
Joh 7:53  And they each went to his own house.


Insults, false facts, and turning the back to him.  Insults, because the leaders considered Galileans 'hillbillies'. False facts, because at least Jonah and Nahum (thanks again to Adam Clarke) were Galilean.  And they went home to sulk- because they knew in their hearts they were making a false stand, and Nicodemus had just exposed them.

The dividing line had been drawn; between those who would seek Him, and believe; and those who would take any lie to their heart to AVOID believing in Him.  And that's the same line we still are divided by today.