a7:1-52
b7:37-39
c8:12
d7:2
eExod 23:14-17
fDeut 16:16
gJohn 6:4
h7:3-5
iMark 3:31
jJohn 7:5
k7:6-8
l7:10
m7:15
nActs 4:13
oActs 22:3
p7:17
q5:42-47
r7:19
sExod 20:13
t7:20
u8:48-52
v10:20-21
w7:22
xLev 12:3
y7:27
z7:29
aa7:27
ab40-44
ac7:30
ad10:30-33
ae7:30
af10:17-18
ag18:6-8
ah7:1–8:59
ai7:32-36
aj17:1-7
ak7:37-38
al4:10-14
amIsa 12:3
anZech 14:8
ao7:39
ap19:34
aq20:22
ar7:41-42
as7:25-27
atMic 5:2
au7:45-52
av7:25-27
aw31-32
ax7:32
ay7:49-51
az3:1-21
ba19:38-42
bb7:48
bc7:52
bdMatt 2:1
beLuke 2:1-7
bf7:53–8:11
bjLev 20:10
bkDeut 22:23-24
bo8:11
bp8:12-59
bq7:52
bs8:12
bt8:20
bu8:13
bvDeut 19:15
bwJohn 5:31-32
bx8:17
by8:14-15
bz8:16
ca8:19
cb8:20
ccMark 12:41
cdJohn 2:4
ce12:23
cf8:21
cg7:27
ch8:23
ci3:31
cj8:24
ck4:26
clExod 3:14
cmJohn 8:25
cn8:25
co8:59
cp8:28
cqMark 8:31
cr9:31
cs10:33-34
ctJohn 3:14
cu8:28
cv12:33-34
cw8:30
cx8:20
cy8:31-59
cz8:31-32
da3:36
db14:15
de15:10
df14:6
dg8:33
dhAmos 3:1-15
diJohn 8:34
dj8:32
dkRom 6:17
dm1 Jn 3:4
dp8:35
dq8:37-41
dr5:18
ds8:44
dt8:41
duMatt 1:18-25
dv8:44
dw8:42
dx1 Jn 5:1
dyJohn 8:47
dzGen 3:1-20
eaRom 5:12-14
eb8:48-49
ec7:20
ed8:52
ee10:20
ef8:44
egMark 3:22-29
eh8:53
ei8:58
ej8:56
ek8:57
el8:58
em1:1-2
enExod 3:14
eoJohn 4:26
epIsa 43:11-13
eq48:12
er8:59
es8:58
etLev 24:16
eu7:30
ewLuke 4:29-30
ex9:1-41
ey7–8
ez8:12
ffMark 7:32-35
fg8:22-25
fi4:34
fj5:23
fl7:28
fm8:26
fn12:44
fo14:24
fp9:11
fq9:17
fs9:38
ft5:11-15
fu9:13
fv1:24
fw5:16-18
fx9:17
fy9:11
ga9:18
gb9:20-22
gc9:24
gdJosh 7:19
ge9:28-29
gf9:24-25
gg30-33
gh9:34
gi9:30
gj9:32-33
gkPs 146:8
glIsa 35:5
gm42:7
gn9:34
go15:18-27
gp16:2
gq9:35-38
gr9:38
gs20:28
gt9:35
gu1:51
gv3:13
gx5:27
gy6:27
hb8:28
hc12:34
hdDan 7:13-14
he9:40-41

‏ John 7

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).
Summary for John 7:53-8:11: 7:53–8:11  bf This story, a later addition to the Gospel of John, does not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts. However, it is likely an authentic story from Jesus’ life.

‏ John 8

8:3  bg The teachers of religious law were Jewish scholars who specialized in knowing the Old Testament law and the oral traditions that interpreted the law.
8:4  bh The form of the Greek sentence emphasizes the legal claim against the woman. She had been caught while committing the sin of adultery. The law required two witnesses and carefully outlined what evidence was needed.
8:5  bi The requirement of the law ... to stone her indicates that the woman was engaged or married (Lev 20:10  bj; Deut 22:23-24  bk). The law also stated that her lover should be killed with her, but these religious leaders apparently ignored their obligation to that part of the statute.

• These men could have dealt with the woman privately and kept her from public shame, but Jesus was their real target as they demanded, What do you say? Would he neglect the law since he had a reputation for mercy? Or would he ignore the woman’s tragedy?
8:6  bl It is impossible to know what Jesus ... wrote in the dust. It has been suggested that he wrote the sins of the accusers.
8:7  bm Jesus’ answer did not mean that an accuser had to be morally perfect to make legal accusations. His reference to the one who has never sinned points to the motives of the accusers.
8:9  bn The jury crumbled as they slipped away. One accuser departed, followed by another, and then a succession of bystanders.
8:11  bo Neither do I: Jesus’ words of assurance did not suggest that the woman was innocent. Jesus views sin and judgment seriously, yet he looks graciously and forgivingly on those caught in sin’s grip.
Summary for John 8:12-59: 8:12-59  bp The debate about whether or not Jesus is the Messiah continues from 7:52  bq. Jesus was still at the Festival of Shelters in Jerusalem. During the festival, the conflicts Jesus had endured in ch 7  br continued and intensified. 8:12  bs During the Festival of Shelters, sixteen gold bowls in the inner courts of the Temple were filled with oil and lighted. Jesus stood beneath these lights in the Temple (8:20  bt) and said that he was now the source of the light. Jesus’ light brings salvation not only to Israel but to the world, regardless of race or locale.
8:13  bu The Pharisees charged that Jesus’ claims were not valid because Jewish law (Deut 19:15  bv) requires more than one witness (cp. John 5:31-32  bw; see 8:17  bx).
Summary for John 8:14-15: 8:14-15  by Jesus answered the Pharisees’ charges, saying that he could make such claims about himself because he knew both his origin (heaven) and his destination (heaven). He then pointed to the most vital witness for his case, his Father who sent him (8:16  bz).
8:19  ca Throughout the festival, Jesus’ audience proved they were in the darkness as they misunderstood him. They wanted to meet Jesus’ father, who is God. Since they did not truly know God, they were unable to understand Jesus.
8:20  cb The Treasury was located in the section of the Temple called the Court of the Women. Jesus often taught there so that both men and women could hear him (Mark 12:41  cc).

• his time: See notes on John 2:4  cd; 12:23  ce.
8:21  cf In the earlier debate at the festival, Jesus’ origins were at issue (7:27  cg). Here, Jesus mentioned going away to the place he came from, meaning heaven. However, once again, his words were misunderstood.
8:23  ch Jesus’ listeners were from below; they could not comprehend Jesus’ meaning because he was from above (3:31  ci; see study note on 3:3).
8:24  cj unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be: Jesus used God’s divine name (see 4:26  ck; Exod 3:14  cl), but the listeners missed the nuance (John 8:25  cm).

• die in your sins: Jesus’ presence in the world, as the light penetrating the darkness, is the world’s only chance for salvation.
8:25  cn Who are you? Later they understood and tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy (8:59  co).
8:28  cp The synoptic Gospels describe Jesus as predicting his death three times (e.g., Mark 8:31  cq; 9:31  cr; 10:33-34  cs). John parallels this (John 3:14  ct; 8:28  cu; 12:33-34  cv), showing that the Father governs his Son’s fate.
8:30  cw Once again, the festival audience was divided. Earlier, the debate concluded with plans to arrest Jesus (8:20  cx). Now many ... believed in him, convinced that he was telling the truth. However, once Jesus’ full identity was disclosed their faith was sorely challenged (8:31-59  cy).
Summary for John 8:31-32: 8:31-32  cz Discipleship is more than knowing who Jesus is. It is also about obeying his teachings (3:36  da; 14:15  db, 21  dc, 23  dd; 15:10  de).

• Because Jesus is the truth (14:6  df), knowing him brings discernment of what is true and what is false.

• set you free: The truth brings freedom from darkness, falsehood, and sin.
8:33  dg Jesus challenged a widely held assumption about Israel’s status as God’s chosen people. Their heritage as descendants of Abraham had inspired feelings of privilege and immunity rather than obligation and responsibility (cp. Amos 3:1-15  dh).

• The people misunderstood what it meant to be set free. Jesus was not referring to freedom from human slavery; he meant release from spiritual bondage to sin (John 8:34  di). Truth, not their religious heritage, would free them (8:32  dj; Rom 6:17  dk; 8:2  dl; 1 Jn 3:4  dm, 8  dn, 9  do).
8:35  dp Jesus unfolded the logic of his argument: If Israel is a spiritual slave, it has the same insecurity as any slave in a household. Members of a family are secure, slaves are not. Only Jesus can change the status of those in spiritual slavery and make them free and secure.
Summary for John 8:37-41: 8:37-41  dq The leaders’ plot to kill Jesus (5:18  dr) unmasked their true identity. They belonged to a different household, and their father was not Jesus’ Father. They were relying on the fact that their ancestral father was Abraham, but Jesus challenged their spiritual pedigree. The climax of his challenge comes in 8:44  ds.
8:41  dt your real father: Jesus knew who controlled them.

• We aren’t illegitimate children! This was both a defense and an attack. In Greek, the pronoun we is emphatic: “We [in contrast to you] are not illegitimate,” implying that Jesus was illegitimate (see Matt 1:18-25  du).
8:44  dv Since the unbelieving people did not love Jesus (8:42  dw; 1 Jn 5:1  dx), they were not children of the Father in heaven who sent his beloved Son (John 8:47  dy). Their true spiritual ancestry was revealed in their desire to kill God’s Son. This was the work of the devil, who brought death to the world (see Gen 3:1-20  dz; Rom 5:12-14  ea).
Summary for John 8:48-49: 8:48-49  eb By calling Jesus a Samaritan devil, his opponents turned his charges back on him with a racial slur (see study note on 4:4-6). Their statement that Jesus was demon-possessed (also 7:20  ec; 8:52  ed; 10:20  ee) countered his claim that they were linked to Satan (8:44  ef). Jesus rightly replied that these words were a profound dishonor. In fact, it was a serious and unforgivable offense (Mark 3:22-29  eg).
8:53  eh Who do you think you are? This question was antagonistic and aggressive. However, if Jesus is immortal, ruling over life and death, then he is greater than Abraham, the prophets, or any of the greatest people in Israel’s history (8:58  ei).
8:56  ej Like his opponents, Jesus appealed to Abraham. Rabbis taught that God had given Abraham prophetic insight, teaching him about the coming age of the Messiah.
8:57  ek You aren’t even fifty years old: The Jewish leaders misunderstood Jesus: He was talking about his divine pre-existence, not his physical age.
8:58  el before Abraham was even born, I Am! Jesus’ life spans the past from before creation (1:1-2  em) and sweeps beyond the present into eternity.

• I Am: This title is reminiscent of God’s name given on Mount Sinai (Exod 3:14  en; cp. John 4:26  eo; Isa 43:11-13  ep; 48:12  eq).
8:59  er Jesus’ audience finally understood his claim to divinity (8:58  es), and they were furious. They believed they had heard blasphemy and picked up stones to throw at him, which was the proper legal response (Lev 24:16  et).

• Jesus was hidden from them because God had appointed a different time for his death (see study note on John 12:23; see also 7:30  eu, 44  ev; Luke 4:29-30  ew).

‏ John 9

Summary for John 9:1-41: 9:1-41  ex At the Festival of Shelters (chs 7–8  ey), Jesus claimed to be the light of the world (8:12  ez). Now John tells about Jesus giving light, both physically and spiritually, to a blind man who lived in darkness (see 9:5  fa). The story ends with a splendid reversal of roles: The blind man who was assumed to be in spiritual darkness could see God’s light, whereas the Pharisees, who could see physically and were thought to be enlightened, were shown to be spiritually blind.
9:2  fb The disciples assumed that someone’s sin—the man’s or his parents’—had caused him to be born blind. Jesus corrected this common belief (9:3  fc).
9:5  fd I am the light of the world: See study note on 8:12.
9:6  fe During the New Testament era, saliva was used for medical purposes (see Mark 7:32-35  ff; 8:22-25  fg).
9:7  fh Siloam, a pool at the south end of the city of Jerusalem, was the source of water for the ceremonies at the Festival of Shelters.

• Siloam means “sent”: This phrase contained a double meaning: Jesus, who has been sent by God (4:34  fi; 5:23  fj, 37  fk; 7:28  fl; 8:26  fm; 12:44  fn; 14:24  fo), told the blind man to wash in the pool called “sent.”
9:11  fp The blind man identified Jesus and testified strongly about him. The man was healed of his physical infirmity, gained increasing spiritual insight (9:17  fq, 33  fr), and became Jesus’ disciple (9:38  fs; cp. 5:11-15  ft).
9:13  fu The Pharisees (see 1:24  fv) were arbiters of legal interpretation, so the community looked to them to explain this miracle. Rather than celebrate the healing, these religious leaders interrogated the man because Jesus had performed the miracle on the Sabbath (see 5:16-18  fw).
9:17  fx The man had already identified his healer (9:11  fy, 16  fz). Now he made his own spiritual judgment, calling Jesus a prophet.
9:18  ga The Pharisees wanted to discount the miracle and hoped the man’s parents would deny the healing.
Summary for John 9:20-22: 9:20-22  gb His parents confirmed that their son had been born blind, but they hesitated to judge how he could see because they were afraid of the social consequences.
9:24  gc God should get the glory for this: Greek reads Give glory to God. Cp. Josh 7:19  gd.
Summary for John 9:28-29: 9:28-29  ge The Pharisees could not defeat the logic of the miraculous sign (9:24-25  gf, 30-33  gg), so they turned from reason and cursed him (see 9:34  gh).

• The harsh division between Jesus and the religious leaders was clear. They considered those who followed Jesus to have rejected Moses and Judaism.
9:30  gi The Jewish leaders did not know where Jesus came from. The man’s astonishment was understandable—a healing like this was unprecedented. Jesus’ works confirmed his origin as from God. Once his true identity was known, belief and discipleship should have followed, but the Jewish leaders were willfully blind.
Summary for John 9:32-33: 9:32-33  gj Only God could do something such as open the eyes of someone born blind. By healing the man, Jesus offered the Jewish leaders an unquestionable sign that he was from God and was the Messiah (cp. Ps 146:8  gk; Isa 35:5  gl; 42:7  gm).
9:34  gn Discipline such as being thrown out of the synagogue was not uncommon. It brought social isolation that might require the man’s departure from the village. Such serious persecution was precisely what Jesus predicted for his followers (15:18-27  go; 16:2  gp).
Summary for John 9:35-38: 9:35-38  gq Jesus pressed the man who had been blind to understand the miracle and the identity of his healer. Immediately, the man expressed faith and gave Jesus reverence due only to God (9:38  gr; cp. 20:28  gs). 9:35  gt Son of Man: See 1:51  gu; 3:13  gv, 14  gw; 5:27  gx; 6:27  gy, 53  gz, 62  ha; 8:28  hb. The Greek translates a Hebrew and Aramaic phrase meaning “human being.” People were not completely sure what Jesus meant by it (see 12:34  hc). However, it signifies Jesus’ identity both as human and as the Messiah (cp. Dan 7:13-14  hd).
Summary for John 9:40-41: 9:40-41  he Are you saying we’re blind? Jesus answered that those who claim to hold all religious truth will discover that they are blind, while those who recognize their spiritual poverty will find true sight. In the story, the blind man and his family frequently confessed that they did not know, while the Pharisees repeatedly stated their confidence and remained guilty because of their religious pride. If they had confessed their ignorance and admitted their spiritual blindness, they would be guiltless. Instead, their conscious and willful rejection of Jesus established their guilt.
Copyright information for TNotes