John 7 Commentary

From the Pulpit—Video & Full Transcript

John 7:1-13 Preparing for the Festival of Tabernacles
John 7:14-36 Teaching at the Festival of Tabernacles
John 7:37-52 The Last Day of the Feast of Tabernacles

Commentary

7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

1. “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee…”

2. 1. Jerusalem was an urban, high-population density area, but Galilee was a rural region.  The tendrils of the Jewish leaders were much less likely to strike at Jesus while he was in this peripheral area.

   2. Jesus didn’t go to this region out of cowardice.  To the contrary, he knew he was headed towards the cross, but it wasn’t time for that yet.  Jesus knew that God’s appointed timing (referred to as kairos in Greek) didn’t always follow the first given opportunity in linear, human time (chronos in Greek).  This is a strategic and obedient waiting, not a fearful retreat.

   3. “He withdrew too now to Galilee, because the hour of His passion was not yet come; and He thought it useless to stay in the midst of His enemies, when the effect would only have been to irritate them the more.” -Theophylact, Explanation on the Gospel of John, Ch. 7.

3. “…the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near…”
   1. The Festival of Tabernacles, known in Hebrew as Sukkot, was one of the three great festivals where Jewish men were commanded to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There are several important aspects to this festival:
      1. Harvest Celebration– It was a joyous harvest festival, occurring after the crops had been gathered. This timing meant people had the resources and the time to make the pilgrimage.

      2. Historical Commemoration– The festival commemorated the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. During this time, they were sustained directly by God’s provision, such as manna from heaven.

      3. Ritual Practices– To remember that time of wandering and reliance on God, participants would build and dwell in temporary booths (sukkot) for the duration of the festival. This act of “camping” was a tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness despite their disloyalty.

      4. These themes all give a symbolic backdrop as Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s presence and provision, has come.

   2. “At the present time… we acknowledge that we are journeying in the wilderness… What is it to be in the wilderness? In the desert waste. Why in the desert waste? Because in this world, we thirst in a way that no water could quench. But yet, let us still thirst that we may be filled. For, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6). And our thirst is quenched from the rock in the wilderness: for the Rock was Christ, and it was smitten with a rod that the water might flow.” -Augustine, Tractate 28, 9.

4. Jesus’s Family and Siblings
   1. John 7:3-5 shows Jesus had brothers who did not believe in him during his ministry. His most prominent brother was James, later author of the Epistle of James in the Bible.
   2. Protestants and Catholics read this section very differently.  Protestants say that Jesus had brothers, whereas Catholics say that they were only Jesus’s cousins.
      1. The Catholic Interpretation 
         1. Doctrinally, Catholics believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary.
         2. This doctrine was formed in the late-second to early-third century, partially to defend the virgin birth from people who insisted that Mary probably had relations with Joseph or other men to have Jesus.

         3. Some early Christian myths dating from the same timeframe assert that Joseph married Mary at God’s request specifically to defend her and take care of her.  He was much older than her and never actually consummated their marriage.

         4. Note that this interpretation evolved to counter the claims of non-Christians against the Bible, but it goes beyond the Bible’s claims to defend the Bible.

      2. Protestant Interpretation
         1. The Greek word used in this instance is adelphoi (ἀδελφοί ), literally “brothers.” Etymologically, the word comes from a (together with) and delphys (womb) to create a word that would literally be something like, “from the same womb.”

         2. While adelphoi can be metaphorical (Paul uses it in this sense throughout his epistles), the context here doesn’t fit a metaphor; these “brothers” taunt and doubt Jesus.  They certainly aren’t acting like comrades in any sense of the word.
         3. Another Greek word, anepsios (ἀνεψιός), specifically means “cousin.” It isn’t an uncommon word.  It appears in Colossians 4:10 (“Mark, the cousin of Barnabas”), in the Septuagint (Numbers 36:11), and in Josephus’s histories. If these men were Jesus’s cousins, John would have used that word to describe them.

      3. Theological Significance
         1. It matters whether Jesus had siblings because it shapes our understanding of holiness and Jesus’s life. Mary’s holiness is shown in being a normal wife and mother whom God used, ordinary people can be holy. You don’t need to go to a monastery and take a vow of celibacy to be holy.

         2. Jesus having unbelieving siblings who frustrated him means he experienced family conflict and can relate to those torn down by family rather than built up.

      4. [E]ven his brethren did not believe in him. Hence we infer how small is the value of carnal relationship…So much the more ridiculous is the superstition of Papists, who, disregarding everything else in the Virgin Mary, extol her only on the ground of relationship, bestowing on her the title of the Mother of God, as if Christ himself had not reproved the woman who exclaimed from the midst of the crowd, “‘Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that suckled thee;’ for Christ replied, ‘Nay, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God,’” (Luke 11:27-28)” -John Calvin, Commentary on John, John 7, 5.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

1. “My time is not here yet…”
   1. Despite his brother’s taunting, Jesus prioritizes God’s timing over public or relational pressure.

   2. “[H]alf the power of: a Christian life depends upon its being timely. The bringing forth of fruit in due season is one of the marks of the tree planted by the rivers of water; and one of the signs of the Son of man, who delighted in the law of the Lord, was that he said, “My time is not yet full come.” When it did come, then he went.” -Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions on the Bible, John 7.

   3. Jesus’s response is unambiguous about the world’s evil and even implies that his brothers are complicit in it.  Why is he so fierce?  Because the conversation concerned his identity and work, which are critically important.
      1. Jesus models being both a “lamb” (gentle) and a “lion” (fierce and combative when necessary).

      2. Most of us naturally favor one role; we should learn from Jesus’s example to embody both.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

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 leaders.

1. “…he went also, not publicly, but in secret…”

1. 1. Jesus chose to go to the festival secretly, but not because he was afraid.  He wanted to fulfill God’s command for devout Jews to go to Jerusalem, but he also wanted to honor God’s timing first and foremost.  Making a public statement to his brothers or to Jewish leadership would have pushed the timetable in an unhelpful way.

   2. By contrast, the crowds in Jerusalem are very afraid.  They whisper about Jesus, but they don’t dare to do it publicly because they’re worried about what the leaders might do.

   3. Do not let fear keep you from doing what God has commanded, but also don’t rush in recklessly.  If you feel unprepared, it may be a sign to wait for God’s timing.

   4. Pray, prepare, and gather the things that you need while you discern the right time to act.  Jesus didn’t ignore his mission while he waited on the Father’s timing.  He walked closely with the Father and understood when the time was right.

2. “But who were those that did not speak of Him for fear of the Jews? Undoubtedly those who said, ‘He is a good man,’ not those who said, ‘He deceives the people.’ As for those who said ‘He deceives the people,’ their whispers were heard like the noise of dry leaves. ‘He deceives the people,’ they sounded more and more loudly.  ‘He is a good man,’ was whispered more and more quietly. But now, brothers, in spite of the fact that glory of Christ which will give us immortality has not yet come, but now I say, His Church so increases, He has clearly decided to spread his Gospel abroad throughout the whole world, so that it is now ‘He deceives the people,’ is only whispered, and and more and more loudly it sounds forth, ‘He is a good man.’” -Augustine, Tractate 28, 11.

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

1. “Not until halfway through the festival…”
   1. Jesus came to the Festival of Tabernacles as a devout Jew following God’s commands, not as a public figure intending to do teachings or miracles, but he could not tolerate hearing falsehoods being taught.

   2. One can imagine all of the different sects of Judaism there that might have frustrated Jesus to the point that he had to speak up:
      1. The Sadducees and their denial of the afterlife.

      2. The Pharisees and their hyper-fixation on the law.

      3. The Essenes and their ritualistic apocalypticism.

      4. The Zealots and their anti-Roman fervor.

      5. Some would-be political messiah trying to drum up support.

   3. Truth was so important to Jesus that he had to speak, even when the world longed for him to be silent.

2. “How did this man get such learning…”
   1. Jesus’s teachings were profound to the crowd.  Given their location, there’s no doubt that they had heard other highly-educated rabbis speak, but Jesus’s teachings seem to have made all others look like little children in comparison.

   2. Unlike other rabbis in his era like Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai, Jesus did not cite others at length.  He taught with authority because he was God, the ultimate source of truth.  Who could he have possibly quoted that would add even an ounce of authority to the divine “I am?”

   3. Some did seem concerned that Jesus did not possess a traditional rabbinic education.  Typically, there was a lengthy apprenticeship (up to ten years) under an established rabbi.

   4. There can be no doubt that education is valuable, but the purpose of any education is to find truth, which is more important than any formal credentials or accolades.  Jesus himself was the truth.  Nothing could add to what he already embodied.

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory 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?”

Jesus proves that his knowledge is legitimate in three different ways

1. Scripture: “My teaching is not my own…”
   1. The Israelites had the word of God with them in the Old Testament Scriptures.  To verify Jesus’s teachings, they could literally check to see if Christ’s words were his own, or if they aligned with the word of God.

   2. Early Christians constantly pointed to the Old Testament for evidence of God’s coming work in Christ.
      1. In his famous Dialogue with Trypho, Justin Martyr (a Christian) debates a Jew named Trypho and uses the Old Testament extensively to persuade him of Christ’s divinity.

      2. “If I undertook to prove this by doctrines or arguments of man, you should not bear with me. But if I quote frequently Scriptures, and so many of them, referring to this point, and ask you to comprehend them, you are hard-hearted in the recognition of the mind and will of God.” -Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Ch. 68.

      3. The ultimate authority for teaching is Scripture, not any degree or certification
         1. “In the Bible we have a perfect library, and he who studies it thoroughly will be a better scholar than if he had devoured the Alexandrian Library entire”. -Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students, Lecture XIII.

1. 1.  
2. Action: “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God.”
   1. He tied knowledge to lived experience, asserting real knowledge changes one’s life.  In embodying his teachings, you could feel the power of God.

   2. Many people carry strange pet conspiracy theories about the world, but these theories go unacted on.  They aren’t real enough to affect a life, and so they are not really real at all.”

   3. Choosing to pray, to read Scripture, and to ask God for help are often significant moments where someone who is only theorizing about being a Chrisitan sees the power of God.  Living like a Chrisitan shows the power of God in your life.

   4. Wesley famously emphasized the value of living the will of God to understand it better.  In his commentary, he notes on this verse: “This is a universal rule, with regard to all persons and doctrines. He that is thoroughly willing to do it, shall certainly know what the will of God is.”

3. Personal Witness- “He who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth. There is nothing false about him.”
   1. Jesus’s motivations are selfless.  He’s putting himself at risk to teach, rather than others who taught for personal glory.

   2. Christ’s life was so blameless and obviously beyond reproach.  He’s so confident in this fact that he asks the crowd why they dare to attack him when they all break the law.

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 amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

1. “You are demon-possessed…Who is trying to kill you?”

1. 1. In this particular instance of Scripture, “are you demon possessed,” might translate to something like, “Are you crazy?”  They’re saying that Jesus is wildly inconsistent with reality.

   2. In verse 13, they deliberately stayed quiet about Jesus because they were afraid of the leaders that wanted to kill him.  They know.

   3. The crowd would rather be comfortable than brave.  Openly admitting that the leaders are corrupt would be life-shattering, so they claim Jesus is crazy rather than affirming what their hearts know is true.

2. “…you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.”

1. 1. Circumcision is a ritual that does a small amount of damage to someone to keep the law of God.  This was allowable on a Sunday.

   2. Jesus healed someone on a Sunday and got in trouble.  If a small amount of pain is tolerable for God’s sake on the Sabbath, why is a miraculous healing inappropriate?  The logic is inconsistent.

   3. “By this example he defends his action, although he does not merely argue from what is similar, but draws a comparison between the greater and the less. There was this similarity between circumcision and the cure of the paralytic, that both were works of God; but Christ maintains that the latter is more excellent, because the benefit of it extends to the whole man. Now if he had merely cured the man of bodily disease, the comparison would not have been applicable; for circumcision would have greater excellence as to the cure of the soul. Christ, therefore, connects the spiritual advantage of the miracle with the outward benefit granted to the body; and on this account he justly prefers to circumcision the entire cure of a man.” -John Calvin, Commentary on John, Ch. 7, 188.

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 Messiah? ²⁷ But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah 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 authority, 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 hour had not yet come. ³¹ Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

1. “Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?”
   1. Some in Jerusalem wondered if the authorities believed Jesus was the Messiah since he spoke publicly unhindered.

   2. They dismissed this based on a folk belief that the Messiah’s origin would be unknown, while they knew Jesus was born in Bethlehem, failing to search the Scriptures, which do prophesy his birthplace (Micah 5:2 )

2. “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from…”
   1. “Therefore Christ asks in a tone of sarcasm: “‘You know where I come from?  How well you know it!  For because you do not know him who sent me, how could you know me and know where I come from?  To be sure, you know that I was to come from Nazareth, from Galilee and Judea, and that is true; but that is not enough to know about my origin.’” -Martin Luther, The Fifth Sermon on John 7, (1531).

3. “no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”
   1. When the crowd finally grasped beyond a doubt that Jesus was climbing to be the Son of God from Heaven, they dashed to seize him!  Their logic had failed at every turn, and so they resorted to force.  There was no room for convenient ignorance about his claimed title and purpose.

4. “Still, many in the crowd believed in him.”
   1.  “There was a certain crowd of people which quickly saw its own sickness, and without delay recognized His remedy.” -Augustine of Hippo, Tractate 31, 7.

³² The 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 am going 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? 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’?”

1. “Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks…”
   1. The leaders ensure that willful ignorance returns to the crowd.  Despite Jesus talking about divine realms, they immediately pivot the conversation back to the earthly and interpret a meaning that isn’t at all rational in the conversation.
   2. “The Lord was indeed about to go to the Gentiles, not by His bodily presence, but still with His feet. What were His feet? Those which Saul desired to trample upon by persecution, when the Head cried out to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ (Acts 9:4).” -Augustine of Hippo, Tractate 31, 7.
      

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 

1. The First Seven Days: Daily Water Libation Ritual
   1. During the Feast of Tabernacles, a water libation ritual was performed for the first seven days.

   2. A priest would carry a golden pitcher from the temple to the Pool of Siloam to fill it with water.  He would then go back to the temple, leading a celebratory procession on the way, and pour out the water on the temple’s altar alongside a little wine.

   3. The water symbolized gratitude for God’s provision in the past (especially how he provided for Israel during their time in the wilderness) and how he had provided the crops that they just harvested that year.

   4. The wine was a reminder that God had not just provided sustenance, but joy.

2. The Last (Eighth) Day of the Feast
   1. On the eighth and final day, there is no water libation ritual.  Instead people pray for water for the coming year to nourish their crops.

   2. Jesus is standing up on a day that everyone is praying for water and using the metaphor of water to speak to people in a way that addresses exactly what they’re praying for.

   3. This is also the last day of the feast, so Jesus won’t have another opportunity to address this particular crowd of people.

   4. It’s easy to imagine how passionate his teaching would be on this particular date.  He’s like a pastor that’s giving one last heartfelt sermon to his congregation before he moves on.  “If there’s one thing to learn, here it is!  Please listen!”

   5. “On the last day. The first thing that ought to be observed here is, that no plots or intrigues of enemies terrified Christ, so as to cause him to desist from his duty; but, on the contrary, his courage rose with dangers, so that he persevered with greater firmness. This is proved by the circumstance of the time, the crowded assembly, and the freedom he used in exclaiming, while he knew that hands were stretched out on all sides to seize him; for it is probable that the officers were at that time ready to execute their commission.” -John Calvin, Commentary on John 7

3. The Invitation: “Come to Me and Drink”
   
   
   1. “O blessed invitation, how sweet it should be to every thirsty soul! ‘If any man’ — prince or pauper, ‘any man’ — moral or utterly debauched, ‘if any man thirst, let him come unto me,’ — not to ordinances, nor to human priests, ‘let him come unto me, and drink,’ as much as he will “without money, and without price.” -Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible, John 7.

   2. The invitation is broad and open to anyone.  It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, or where you’re from, or what your heritage is.  There are a few prerequisites to answer the call, but it’s not about any of that.

   3. Prerequisite 1: Being Thirsty
      1. “The first prerequisite for a person to co me and drink is that they have to be thirsty.  In Scripture, thirst is commonly associated with a deep yearning for closeness with God: Ps 42:1-2, Psalm 63:1, Isaiah 55:1, Isa 65:13 etc.

      2. Sin has disrupted our relationship with God.  We aren’t in a good place with him naturally.  That’s why we yearn for the closeness that was lost at the dawn of humanity in Eden.

      3. Some people have been thirsty so long that they don’t even recognize it anymore.  They assume that deep emptiness is just normal, or they push it down by pursuing other things that will never fill the yearning in their heart, but might distract them and numb them for a time.

      4. There are many who call themselves Christians that still aren’t really thirsty for God.  They assume that a bit of church in their life or a spare prayer is enough God for them.   Jesus needs thirsty people to come and drink, not people who have had enough of him for now.

   4. Prerequisite 2: Taking Action
      
      
      1. If a person wants to come to Christ and drink, they have to actually act on that interest.  Even the thirstiest person stays thirsty if they sit by an oasis and refuse to drink.

      2. There is no amount of theorizing that can end in salvation.  Thinking can prime the pump, but until it is accompanied by action, it’s insufficient.

      3. Sometimes, we excuse delays in coming to Jesus.  Our life is too busy!  Too chaotic!  This just isn’t the right season for devotion.  We’ll get right with the Lord tomorrow.  There are a million excuses to delay action.

³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 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.

1. “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

1. 1. When John Wesley was banned from Anglican pulpits because of his “religious enthusiasm,”, he began field preaching and used this very verse to invite people to accept the gospel in his day.  His journal entry for April 8, 1739 reads: “About five thousand were in the afternoon at Rose Green (on the other side of Kingswood); among whom I stood and cried in the name of the Lord, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

2. “…rivers of living water…”
   1. Those who “drink” of God’s grace become life-giving sources for others, helping quench spiritual thirst.

   2. Believers should ask how often they nourish others.  A true Christian doesn’t just take; they give to everyone freely.

3. “By this he meant the Spirit…”
   1. “Yet we read of John the Baptist, He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15) And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied. Mary was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied of our Lord. And so were Simeon and Anna, that they might acknowledge the greatness of the infant Christ. We are to understand then that the giving of the Holy Spirit was to be certain, after Christ’s exaltation, in a way in which it never was before. It was to have a peculiarity at His coming, which it had not before. For we no where read of men under the influence of the Holy Spirit, speaking with tongues which they had never known, as then took place, when it was necessary to evidence His coming by sensible miracles.” (Augustine, De Trinitiate, iv. c. xx)

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants 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.

1. “the people were divided because of Jesus.”
   1. Division appeared at every level: Jesus’ family (His brothers), the crowd, between leadership and the people, and within leadership itself (Nicodemus vs. other Pharisees).

   2. Jesus made it abundantly clear that he would not be a unifying force for the world.  To the contrary, he would divide it (Matthew 10:34-37).

   3. Unity within a group of people is no substitute for the real power of Christ being offered to us by him.  It can be complicated to determine when we need to come together, and when something demands that we act divisively to cling to Christ, but we’re called to that work.

   4. A very large church going through the United/Global Methodist split once said that regardless of what the denomination’s official stance on Scripture or same sex marriage was, they would not leave the denomination because, “Division is not a kingdom reality.”  One can only wish that they were around to correct Jesus’s divisiveness, much less Paul’s constant concern about churches following false doctrine  that draws them away from Christ (Acts 20:29-30, 2 Corinthians 11:4).

2. “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?”
   1. Some people object that he can’t be the messiah because he’s not from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and not a descendant of David (Isaiah 11:1).  Jesus is both of these things, but they don’t bother to ask him to clarify.

   2. They use their concerns to keep a distance between themselves and Jesus, rather than recognizing them as an opportunity to seek the truth.

   3. “And how could they forget that Jesus was born [in Bethlehem]? Had not Herod given them terrible reason to remember it?” (John Wesley, Notes on the NT, John 7)

⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

1. “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”
   1. Temple guards, specifically loyal to the Sanhedrin, were sent earlier (Jn 7:32).  One must imagine that this was not the first man they’d ever arrested on the Sanhedrin’s orders!  But in spite of their loyalty, they can’t bring themselves to arrest Jesus.

   2. They were captivated by His words, which rang true.  They could not seize Him. God was at work in their hearts.

   3. “The Pharisees and Scribes profited nothing by seeing the miracles, and reading the Scriptures; but their officers, who had done neither, were captivated with once hearing Him; and they who went to take hold of Him, were themselves taken hold of by the miracle. Nor did they say, We could not because of the multitude: but made themselves proclaimers of Christ’s wisdom: The officers answered, Never man spake like this Man.” -John Chrysostom, Hom. lii. 1

⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸ “Have 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.”

1. The Pharisees’ Reaction
   1. The Pharisees answer with classism, calling the people a “stupid mob,” ignorant of the law and deceived.

   2. They argue none of the rulers or Pharisees believe in Jesus, which is is quickly proven false as Nicodemus is just about to speak in  his favor.

   3. They dismissed the guards’ experience, telling them to stop thinking and simply obey.

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been 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.”

1. “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
   1. Nicodemus’s, who previously spoke with Jesus in John 3, speaks up to defend him.

   2. Nicodemos’s defense isn’t even particularly intense.  He asks only that others investigate Jesus before condemning him, as is required by law.

   3. The Pharisees mock him: “Are you from Galilee too?” implying he’s a country bumpkin like the others that favor Jesus and certainly not one of them.

   4. “Nicodemus indeed knew, or rather believed, that if only they were willing to give Him a patient hearing, they would perhaps become like those who were sent to take Him, but preferred to believe. They answered from the prejudice of their heart.” -Augustine, Tractate 33, 2.

2. They claim, “a prophet does not come out of Galilee,” despite the fact that Jonah was a historical prophet that was indeed from Galilee.  Their bias prevents them from seeing obvious truths in front of them.

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