Written ~ 04-12-2024
Read John Chapter Seven
John 7
Chapter seven opens us up in the Festival of Shelters time of the year, which is celebrated in the Fall, a few days after Yom Kippur. The brothers of Jesus are encouraging Him to go and “show off” the miraculous things He could do so He could become famous. His brothers did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. (vs.7:5, “For even His brothers didn’t believe in Him.”) Jesus was hesitant about going to Judea because the religious leaders were plotting His death. Even though Jesus told His brothers He wasn’t going, He did go, in secret so He could stay out of the public eye. There was a lot of confusion surrounding who Jesus was, and nobody was brave enough to speak up because of the fear of getting into trouble with the religious leaders.
Verses 7:14-15…
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people were surprised when they heard Him. “How does He know so much when He hasn’t been trained?” they asked.
They did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, so their minds were boggled by the knowledge this uneducated man had. Jesus could tell them over and over again that God had sent Him, but their minds were closed to the truth. So how does Jesus respond to their surprise and doubt?
Verses 7:16-17…
16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not My own; it comes from God who sent Me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own.”
When we are questioning whether or not something is from God, doing the will of God is the only way we can ensure that what we are seeing or hearing is from the Lord. And what is doing the will of God? Reading and studying the Word of God and doing what He says to do. If we were to look at Scripture in bits and pieces only, we would not have a full picture of who God is, who Jesus is. We can’t take a few verses here and there that suit our interests and ignore the rest. That’s what was happening when Jesus would get up to speak. The people listening to His words would know the law of Moses, they would know the prophecies from the rest of Scripture, but they completely missed the entire theme and that theme was that the whole of Scripture pointed to Jesus, the Messiah.
Let’s pick up at verses 7:25-27…
25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 But here He is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to Him. Could our leaders possibly believe that He is the Messiah? 27 But how could He be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, He will simply appear; no one will know where He comes from.”
The people of Jerusalem were asking a lot of questions, one of them I find quite compelling… “Could our leaders possibly believe that He is the Messiah?” They didn’t understand why the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus, their anger towards Him was quite obvious to everyone watching and listening. But the leaders did nothing to follow through with their threats to arrest Jesus. So maybe those standing around believed that the religious leaders were hiding something, maybe hiding the fact that Jesus really was the Messiah and that’s why they couldn’t bring themselves to harm Jesus as He spoke in the Temple.
But then do you see how their questioning flips? Verse 7:27… “But how could He be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, He will simply appear; no one will know where He comes from.”
Yes, He is… No, He isn’t… Yes, He is… No, He isn’t… Ahhh so close! They want to believe, but the questions the people had are jumbled and confused, they didn’t know what to believe. Their response, “…no one will know where He comes from…” shows their knowledge of Scripture was lacking, for instance, Micah 5:2 says, “But you, O Bethlehem, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”
The Scriptures don’t say the Messiah will “simply appear.” The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 7:14, “All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
The people were questioning how Jesus could be the Messiah when they knew where He came from (vs.7:27). They knew His mother, they knew His brothers, they knew Jesus was from Nazareth, so the notion of Him being the Messiah just didn’t add up.
Here is the response Jesus gave…
Verses 7:28-29…
28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He called out, “Yes, you know Me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on My own. The One who sent Me is true, and you don’t know Him. 29 But I know Him because I come from Him, and He sent Me to you.”
As convincing as those words were, the “leaders tried to arrest Him…”
But…many believed.
On the last day of the festival Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds…
Verses 7:37-38…
37 “…Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! 38 Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.’”
“Rivers of Living Water!”
Didn’t we just read in John chapter four that Jesus was the source of Living Water? John 4:10, “…If only you knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.” He first said that during a one on one conversation, now He was shouting it for all to hear. We need to hear this message too!
Verse 7:39a…
39a “When He said, “living water,” He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him.”
As believers, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, that means the living water that flows through the heart of the Savior, flows through us as well. Life giving water. Jesus is life.
You may question who Jesus is, where He came from, just like those people standing in that Temple two thousand years ago… but the most important thing… will you believe that Yes, Jesus is the Messiah, that Yes, He is the Savior and that you can have the living water flow through your heart. Verse 7:43, “…the crowd was divided about Him…” Can you be brave enough to settle this within your own heart that you will believe who Jesus is and make a decision to follow Him?
Look at verses 7:45-46…
45 When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?” 46 “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
These temple guards were in such awe of what they heard Jesus say that they couldn’t arrest Him like the Pharisees demanded. Their eyes and ears had been opened to the power behind the words Jesus spoke. Maybe they felt the life giving water flow over them as they stood there listening. Whatever was going on within their hearts, they could no longer arrest Jesus, instead, they believed. Are you in awe of what you hear Jesus say? Does your heart respond to His authority and power? The Temple guards would have been strong, opposing men, they carried out the whims of the Pharisees and leading priests, but in this case, their hearts had been softened and they believed.
As we continue to dive into the Scriptures, gaining knowledge of the Word of God is what will help us get to know this Savior of ours!
Thank you Father for sending Your Son, Jesus, to walk among us and teach us about You. Help us to learn more about You through Your Son.
~AMEN~
- When the decision is made in your mind to give your heart to Jesus, to believe He is the Son of God and to acknowledge that He died and rose again to save you from sin and death… it’s time to put action to that decision… Say this prayer of Salvation and step directly into the gift of becoming a child of God…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, all the things I have done and said. Please forgive me for my unbelief. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse this heart of mine, white as snow. Help me not to doubt any longer and breathe life into me, fill me with Your light. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
- If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you!
- It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.