Joh 7:2 | KingComments | STEP | In John 5 we see the Lord Jesus as the Son of God Who gives life with unlimited authority to whom He wants. Because He is the Son of Man, He judges all. The emphasis is on what He is, not on the position He holds. In John 6 we talk about the same Son, but there He is presented as the One Who came down out of heaven. In His humiliation He is the object of faith and then the Son of Man Who dies and then ascends to where He was before. In John 7, Christ is presented as not yet revealed to the world. Once He takes His glorious position in heaven, the Holy Spirit will come down to earth in His place to dwell in the believer. After the healing of the lame in Judea in John 5, the Lord went to Galilee and there performed the wonder of the feeding (John 6). He walks there in love seeking people to prove that love to them. He doesn’t want to walk around in Judea because that is not the will of His Father. He never let Himself be led by how people treated Him. His will and that of the Father are equal. Therefore, we read that He did not want to walk in Judea. Yet the reason given is not the will of the Father, but that the Jews wanted to kill Him. We see here that the evil attitude of the Jews is incorporated in the will of the Father. The will of the Father does not undo man’s wickedness, but the will of the Father is above it and He uses that wickedness to carry out His plans. Jews are the Judeans and especially the spiritual leaders. Wherever man’s wickedness prevents the Son from proving His mercy, grace finds new areas for it. He will be in that area for a certain time, because He will only go to Judea again when the time determined by the Father has come. The time of the events of John 7 is the time of the Feast of Booths. John 6 has the Passover as its starting point ( ) and His death as subject. Here the Feast of Booths is central, a picture of the feast of joy in response to all God’s blessings in the fruits of the land in the realm of peace. This is connected to the coming of the Holy Spirit ( ). Because of the sins of the people, the time of the fulfillment of this feast for the people has not yet come. Therefore, just like the Passover, the feast is called a “feast of the Jews”.

‏ John 7:2

The Upcoming Feast of Booths

In John 5 we see the Lord Jesus as the Son of God Who gives life with unlimited authority to whom He wants. Because He is the Son of Man, He judges all. The emphasis is on what He is, not on the position He holds. In John 6 we talk about the same Son, but there He is presented as the One Who came down out of heaven. In His humiliation He is the object of faith and then the Son of Man Who dies and then ascends to where He was before. In John 7, Christ is presented as not yet revealed to the world. Once He takes His glorious position in heaven, the Holy Spirit will come down to earth in His place to dwell in the believer.

After the healing of the lame in Judea in John 5, the Lord went to Galilee and there performed the wonder of the feeding (John 6). He walks there in love seeking people to prove that love to them. He doesn’t want to walk around in Judea because that is not the will of His Father. He never let Himself be led by how people treated Him. His will and that of the Father are equal. Therefore, we read that He did not want to walk in Judea. Yet the reason given is not the will of the Father, but that the Jews wanted to kill Him.

We see here that the evil attitude of the Jews is incorporated in the will of the Father. The will of the Father does not undo man’s wickedness, but the will of the Father is above it and He uses that wickedness to carry out His plans. Jews are the Judeans and especially the spiritual leaders. Wherever man’s wickedness prevents the Son from proving His mercy, grace finds new areas for it. He will be in that area for a certain time, because He will only go to Judea again when the time determined by the Father has come.

The time of the events of John 7 is the time of the Feast of Booths. John 6 has the Passover as its starting point (Jn 6:4) and His death as subject. Here the Feast of Booths is central, a picture of the feast of joy in response to all God’s blessings in the fruits of the land in the realm of peace. This is connected to the coming of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37-39).

Because of the sins of the people, the time of the fulfillment of this feast for the people has not yet come. Therefore, just like the Passover, the feast is called a “feast of the Jews”.