Joh 7:1-52 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for John 7:1-52: 7:1-52 This chapter is another account of Jesus during a Jewish festival, the Festival of Shelters. Jesus used elements of the festival to reveal his true identity to his Jewish compatriots and to show that he had fulfilled the festival’s essential meaning (see 7:37-39 ; 8:12 ).

Summary for John 7:1-52: 7:1-52 ^a This chapter is another account of Jesus during a Jewish festival, the Festival of Shelters. Jesus used elements of the festival to reveal his true identity to his Jewish compatriots and to show that he had fulfilled the festival’s essential meaning (see 7:37-39 ^b; 8:12 ^c).
7:2 ^d Jewish men were required to come to the Temple for the Festival of Shelters (Exod 23:14-17 ^e; Deut 16:16 ^f), an annual seven-day autumn harvest festival in Jerusalem six months after Passover (John 6:4 ^g). People lived in temporary shelters for the seven days as a reminder of the tents Israel used for forty years in the wilderness.
Summary for John 7:3-5: 7:3-5 ^h Jesus’ brothers (see also Mark 3:31 ⁱ) reminded him of his religious obligation to celebrate the festival. Their words were cynical because at this time they didn’t believe in him (John 7:5 ^j).
Summary for John 7:6-8: 7:6-8 ^k Jesus said that it was not the right time for him to go publicly to Jerusalem, although he later went secretly (7:10 ^l; cp. study note on 12:23).
7:15 ^m The leaders wanted Jesus to show his credentials. Jesus had not been trained under a rabbi but was taught by his heavenly Father (cp. Peter and John, Acts 4:13 ⁿ; contrast Paul, Acts 22:3 ^o).
7:17 ^p Those who truly want to do the will of God receive and accept Jesus and his teaching (see also 5:42-47 ^q). Those who focus on the world, by contrast, are not receptive to Christ.
7:19 ^r Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! The Jewish leaders were proud of the law of Moses, but ironically, in trying to kill Jesus, they were breaking the law (Exod 20:13 ^s).
7:20 ^t You’re demon possessed! See 8:48-52 ^u; 10:20-21 ^v.
7:22 ^w The law required circumcision on the eighth day (Lev 12:3 ^x) and permitted a boy to be circumcised even if that day fell on the Sabbath. Jesus argued as a rabbi would, from “the lesser to the greater,” using circumcision as a precedent for healing, both of which are religious works.
7:27 ^y Some of the crowd thought that since they could trace Jesus’ earthly origins, he could not be the Messiah. They believed that the Messiah would simply appear.
7:29 ^z I come from him: Jesus sidestepped the speculation (7:27 ^aa, 40-44 ^ab) about his earthly origins and focused on his heavenly origins. His astounding claim provoked the religious leaders to try to arrest him for blasphemy (7:30 ^ac; cp. 10:30-33 ^ad).
7:30 ^ae Jesus’ opponents failed to arrest him because in God’s sovereign plan, his time, when he would be glorified on the cross, had not yet come (see study note on 12:23; see also 10:17-18 ^af; 18:6-8 ^ag). All four arrest scenes in 7:1–8:59 ^ah stress that Jesus was in control, not the Jewish leaders.
Summary for John 7:32-36: 7:32-36 ^ai Jesus announced his return to the one who sent him, the Father in heaven (17:1-7 ^aj). However, the Pharisees misunderstood, thinking he was leaving Judea to go among Gentiles (whom Pharisees would never visit).

• The leaders would not find Jesus after his ascension.

• you cannot go where I am going: These Pharisees, still in darkness, could not enter heaven, so Jesus would be beyond their reach there.
Summary for John 7:37-38: 7:37-38 ^ak living water: See 4:10-14 ^al. A water ceremony was held each day during the Festival of Shelters, with prayer for God to send rain in the late autumn. The final day, called “the great day,” was the climax of the festival, when the ceremony was repeated seven times. Water was poured over the altar as Levites sang Isa 12:3 ^am (see Zech 14:8 ^an; see also Mishnah Sukkah ch 4).

• Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Jesus fulfilled an essential element in the Festival of Shelters. He himself is the source of living water, available to anyone who believes.
7:39 ^ao In Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, his life and the Spirit were poured out (see 19:34 ^ap; 20:22 ^aq).
Summary for John 7:41-42: 7:41-42 ^ar These Jews, different from the crowd (7:25-27 ^as) who thought the Messiah would appear mysteriously, believed the prophecy that the Messiah would be from Bethlehem of Judea (see Mic 5:2 ^at). However, they stumbled over the fact that Jesus seemed to be from Galilee, where he grew up.
Summary for John 7:45-52: 7:45-52 ^au The story concludes with the Jewish leaders frustrated and the world divided over Jesus (cp. 7:25-27 ^av, 31-32 ^aw).

• guards returned: See 7:32 ^ax.
Summary for John 7:49-51: 7:49-51 ^ay Nicodemus was probably in the process of coming to faith (see 3:1-21 ^az; 19:38-42 ^ba). Contrary to the implication of 7:48 ^bb, some of the Pharisees—not just the ignorant crowd—believed in Jesus.
7:52 ^bc no prophet ever comes from Galilee! The Jewish leaders were apparently unaware that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, not in Galilee (see Matt 2:1 ^bd; Luke 2:1-7 ^be).