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+--- Thread: NT Doctrine -- John 7:1-31 (/thread-1000.html)
NT Doctrine -- John 7:1-31 - Ed Hurst - 02-12-2022
John skips over most of Jesus' northern ministry. It's covered in the first verse here. On the other hand, he covers the first reappearance in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. Luke notes in his chronology that Jesus knew He was approaching His final months of earthly ministry and mentions one of those numerous times when someone tried to join His crew (Luke 9:51-62). It was always the same answer He gave to others, that they had no idea what they would be getting into.
But what John does cover is often cryptic because it is so very Hebraic. Again, Matthew seeks to address Jewish converts, Mark echoes Peter's teachings while in Rome, and Luke is distinctly Gentile and academic in his approach. But John is very mystical, often leaving unstated some of the implications of things, and it's quite likely this is how Jesus talked on many occasions. Readers need to pay attention and read between the lines.
Bear in mind that just a few chapters prior to this, John recounts how Jesus healed the man by the Pool of Bethesda. There was quite a ruckus because Jesus told the man to carry away his bedroll on the Sabbath. So far as we know, this is pretty much the most recent miracle Jesus performed in Jerusalem. It's been at least a year, and perhaps two, but it remains a hot issue in the minds of the Jewish leadership connected to the Temple, and is the reason they have been seeking to arrest and execute Jesus.
Another thing of note is that the folks living in Jerusalem know this. However, the Diaspora Jews in town for the feast were generally quite unaware of this whole thing, except that the officials were looking for Him. They'd surely heard of Jesus, but weren't part of in-crowd in the city keeping track of all the political news and gossip. The Sanhedrin's death warrant for Jesus was generally hush-hush.
Back in Galilee, Jesus is at home with His family. His younger siblings harass Him about going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. They don't believe He is the Messiah, and seem rather cynical about His ministry. Wouldn't the Messiah want to be famous and rally His followers?
It probably makes more sense to view Him here as being patient and perhaps even a little amused at their efforts to provoke Him. It's clear they don't understand His teaching. He tells them it's not the right moment to provoke a conflict by declaring Himself the Messiah. There's no doubt it would be a conflict, since the current leadership detests Him. But His siblings were safe; nothing He said or did implicated them. On the other hand, they would likely get Him in trouble if He traveled with them. He appeared to stay behind when they left for the feast.
Then, once they were well down the road, He traveled privately, avoiding the crowds, likely traveling cross-country. John tells us the Jewish leadership were keeping an eye out for Him. The visitors in the city were arguing about whether He was even a good guy, while others insisted He was just a huckster. They didn't know the Sanhedrin had a death warrant for Him, but it was obvious that just mentioning Him too loudly would get you detained and questioned.
About half-way through the eight days of the feast, Jesus suddenly appeared in the Temple grounds teaching. The Jewish leadership first noted that He was eloquent and obviously very knowledgeable, yet they knew He had never attended any of the important rabbinical schools. He wasn't quoting any of the experts. At some point, Jesus turned to address them.
He asserted that what He taught was not just His own thesis. Unlike the rabbinical heavyweights, He wasn't trying to distinguish Himself by coming up with some brilliant new ideas. He was simply the messenger for God. It doesn't require exposure to all these intellectual notions to serve the Lord. Anyone who is truly committed to the Father's will could easily recognize whether Jesus' teaching comes from God or just another ambitious rabbi chasing fame. The Father doesn't sponsor conceited buffoons.
Funny thing: Moses gave them the Covenant. It's not that hard to understand and obey. Yet the leadership were talking all around the Law and finding every excuse in human imagination for not obeying it. How could they dare presume to issue a death warrant for Him, so obviously contrary to that Law?
At this the visitors from out of town reacted. Was Jesus crazy? Of course it would be illegal! Who would dare such a thing? Surely the Sanhedrin wouldn't stoop so low.
Jesus countered that the Sanhedrin were, indeed, that corrupt. On His last visit He healed a man on the Sabbath at the Pool of Bethesda. The crowd knew about that one and admired it. But they didn't consider the way the Law actually was supposed to work. If the Sanhedrin could rule that circumcision took priority over Sabbath observance, then there were other things that would also qualify for exemption. Indeed, the Sanhedrin had long ruled that midwifery on the Sabbath was also acceptable, since it was otherwise too likely fatal for the mother and child. And what of healing a man who had suffered many years crippled? Carrying his bed home was a reasonable accommodation for a man whose life was restored.
Thus, Jesus condemned the legalistic nitpicking of the rabbinical class. They were trying to protect the Law from the people, instead of serving the God of the people according to His declared priorities. The point of the Sabbath was not to make life difficult, but to bring about a day in each week where priorities were reset. It wasn't a sin to do charitable work; it was a sin to act like it was any other day of the week. Even the priests understood that their Sabbath labor was for the Lord, not for themselves.
At this point, some of the city folks wondered how it was Jesus had not yet been arrested already. He spoke boldly and shut up the Jewish officials present. The locals wondered if they had changed their mind about their death warrant, having decided that Jesus was the Messiah, after all. Nah! Couldn't be; Jesus was just an ordinary man. They had been taught that Messiah would not have a common childhood, but would just appear out of the blue.
It must have exasperated Jesus, as He started yelling. It was sarcasm. Oh, sure -- they knew His human background and all about Him. But they refused to recognize their own God. They were hopelessly incapable of discerning the hand of the God who called their nation and gave them His Laws. One thing was for sure; Jesus knew the Father. He couldn't do otherwise, because the Father had anointed and commissioned Him. They were so smug, but would not have recognized Jehovah if He were standing there.
They were filled with indignation, and really wanted to grab Him and shut Him up. Yet, it wasn't God's time for Jesus to suffer, so God didn't let them move against Him. They were clearly restrained by some external power. That alone caused even more people to embrace His teaching. Would the Messiah do anything more marvelous than that?