Joh 7:11-52 | ESV | STEP | The Jews were looking for him at the feast , and saying , Where is he ?

11 ^aThe Jews ^bwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much ^cmuttering about him among the people. ^dWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, ^ehe is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet ^ffor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up ^ginto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore ^hmarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, ^{▼▼Or this man knows his letters} when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, ^j“My teaching is not mine, but his ^kwho sent me. 17 ^lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s ^{▼▼Greek his} will, ⁿhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I ^oam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority ^pseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 ^qHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. ^rWhy do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, ^s“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did ^tone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 ^uMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ^vfrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, ^ware you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 ^xDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom ^ythey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, ^zspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that ^aathe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But ^abwe know ^acwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, ^adno one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, ^aeas he taught in the temple, ^af“You know me, and you know where I come from. But ^agI have not come of my own accord. ^ahHe who sent me is true, ^aiand him you do not know. 29 ^ajI know him, for I come ^akfrom him, and ^alhe sent me.” 30 ^amSo they were seeking to arrest him, but ^anno one laid a hand on him, ^aobecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet ^apmany of the people believed in him. They said, ^aq“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd ^armuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent ^asofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, ^at“I will be with you a little longer, and then ^auI am going to him who sent me. 34 ^avYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? ^awDoes he intend to go to ^axthe Dispersion among ^aythe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ^az‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

37 ^baOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ^bb“If anyone thirsts, let him ^bccome to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, ^bdas ^{▼▼Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As} the Scripture has said, ^bf‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of ^bgliving water.’” 39 Now ^bhthis he said about the Spirit, ^biwhom those who believed in him were to receive, ^bjfor as yet the Spirit had not been ^bkgiven, ^blbecause Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, ^bmsome of the people said, “This really is ^bnthe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is ^bothe Christ.” But some said, ^bp“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes ^bqfrom the offspring of David, and comes ^brfrom Bethlehem, the village ^bswhere David was?” 43 So there was ^bta division among the people over him. 44 ^buSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 ^bvThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, ^bw“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, ^bx“Have you also been deceived? 48 ^byHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 ^bzNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 ^ca“Does our law judge a man without first ^cbgiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, ^cc“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ^cdno prophet arises from Galilee.”