John Overview, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is from the most widely read and often quoted preacher in history, Charles Haddon Spurgeon This is the Prophet… This is the Christ: Some said one thing, others said something else about who Jesus was; but everyone had an opinion. John 9:8-12 He relates to his neighbours the means of his cure. Is the law sin? “The very passage that convinced his critics that he could not be the Messiah was one of the strongest to prove that he was.” (Tenney), iii. They said, in effect., "Get on down to Jerusalem and perform some more miracles to encourage the people down there who believe in you.". Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? Notice their pronouncement against the multitude as "accursed," such a statement exposing the loveless, selfish, and hateful character of that evil company. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. --Christopher Wordsworth. Search, and see that out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. Another class of teachers, cutting and plucking at the word of God with their scissors and editing pencils, claiming for themselves the right to declare what is or is not the word of God, glorifying themselves with their revisions and theories - such men are of Satan. g. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given: This outflowing life and abundance could not come yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified – that is, glorified on the cross and through resurrection. Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, This is of a truth the prophet. . Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. The first of the prophets was Jonah; and he had come out of Galilee, having come from Gath-Hepher which was only three and one-half miles from Nazareth! Finally, when the blow fell, it was with our Lord's full knowledge and consent. No prophet? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why did ye not bring him? The Pharisees therefore answered them, Are ye also led astray? Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. “Then thou art told to drink. They rejected what he said, as a matter of course, but their minds kept returning to it in wonderment of just what could have been meant by Jesus in the clauses they murmured over and over. John 7:1-10 Jesus, exhorted by his unbelieving kinsmen to show himself at Jerusalem at the feast of tabernacles, refuseth, but afterwards goeth up in secret. John 14:7. The Lord had dared to instruct them on the proper method of observing the sabbath, exposing the sin of their regulations imposed in place of the divine law; and therefore the priests were determined to kill him. b. John 7:17. Revelation 7:1. Essentially Jesus said, “Put your loving trust in Me, enthrone Me in your heart, and life and abundance will flow out.”, i. See under preceding verse. Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible, Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So there was a division among the people because of Him. John and Herod “For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” — Mark vi. “The religious snobbishness of the rulers was revealed in their contemptuous dismissal of the guards’ testimony.” (Tenney), ii. So there arose a division in the multitude because of him. The Jews marveled ... but what people have marveled about ever since is the bigotry that said, "How could he know anything if he did not learn it from us?" JOHN sought no honour among men. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. I shake, but … Just as - 1Jn 3:3, 2:1 Ps 45:7 72:1-7 Heb 1:8 7:2 1Pe 1:15,16; 1 John 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries; DO NOT BE DECEIVED! They were indeed saying something to him, as the conversation here recorded proves. See under chapter heading above. (Jhn 7:40-43) … People from all over Palestine were at the feast, including, no doubt, many from Galilee who had witnessed the marvels there; and, besides, it is certain that many still remembered the healing of the man at Bethesda, over a year earlier. It was an evil thing which they meant by this. But the deeper spirits must have viewed with some misgiving all this ritual, feeling still in themselves a thirst which none of these symbolic forms quenched.” (Dods). If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. Religious error must defend itself; and, even if no honest defense exists, a shouted lie will serve well enough for the hardened heart. He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory; but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. 2. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Nicodemus, having a higher opinion of Christ, referred to him as "Rabbi" (John 3:2). They called them the People of the Land; to them they were beneath contempt.” (Barclay), iii. If a man ... is a reference to a child eight days old. i. He spoke about Himself, the Messiah – and He spoke clearly, not in dark mysterious sayings. i. Translators have added the word given. These ones did not know that Jesus was really born in Bethlehem, even though they knew the prophecies about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. Romans 7:7-8. Galilee ... was indeed the residence of Jesus, but the people seemed ignorant of the fact that he was born in Bethlehem as the prophet had foretold (Micah 5:2). You have put all your hope in Jesus; and that is where all my hope is, and therefore we are one. (John 7:1). This poor man could not see Christ, but Christ saw him. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Acts 7 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. Ruskin warned against this: [3] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the Gospel of John (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Co., 1960), p. 111. Verse 6. What is this word that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, ye cannot come? They were so impressed by the message of Jesus that they found it impossible to do their assigned work of arresting and silencing Him. We reject the comment of Tenney that "`Let him come unto me and drink,' and `he that believeth on me' are practically synonymous terms. Faith is allied to thought; coming is allied to deeds. He had already been to Jesus (John 3:1ff) and was obviously out of harmony with the satanic spirit prevailing in the Sanhedrin. But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed: The pride of the religious leaders was plain, as was their despising of the common people. [6] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1954), p. 257. This speaks of an experience that belongs to those believing in Him. will he go unto the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? Jesus' oneness with God was the burden of the teaching of his entire ministry. Commentary on 3 John. [4] J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 440. Many of the multitude were ignorant of the murderous plot of the priests who had sought to conceal their intentions. These words are Jesus' way of speaking of his approaching death and resurrection. THE FULNESS AND THE FILLING NO. Jesus' strategy was accomplishing its purpose. Any fool can drink: in fact, many are great fools because they drink too much of poisonous liquors. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. For no man doeth anything in secret ... was their way of saying that Jesus was merely wasting his time in Galilee. You can also change some of your preferences. We may request cookies to be set on your device. You are washed in the blood, and so am I. The tragedy in view here is that the vast throng would gladly have hailed Jesus as the Messiah, but out of deference to the leaders they hesitated. “It was not historically true; – for two prophets at least had arisen from Galilee: Jonah of Gathhepher, and the greatest of the prophets, Elijah of Thisbe; and perhaps also Nahum and Hosea. Literally, "if I advance not Jerusalem above the head of my joy." ‘from his innermost being’.” (Morris). John 7-10 record the great controversy that raged around the name of Jesus during the last six months of his ministry. This chapter relates the events related to the feast of tabernacles in October, prior to the Passover in April at which Jesus was crucified. Glorified ... refers to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Jesus' fulfillment of all the prophecies in those and related events being truly a glorification of God whose words were thus fulfilled. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. It is comfort to those who are in the world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and weary of it, that they shall not be in it always, that they shall not be in it long. This defense of their position with the arresting party suggests that the detail sent to take Jesus contained a number of priests. The Dispersion ... refers to the Jews who were scattered abroad among the Gentiles; and the suggestion that perhaps Jesus was planning to go to them has the effect of saying: "Why, a crazy Messiah like he is, might even go to the Dispersion and try to build a following among them." They are not to be explained away. “It is a blessed thing to preach the work of Jesus Christ, but it is an evil thing to omit the work of the Holy Ghost; for the work of the Lord Jesus itself is no blessing to that man who does not know the work of the Holy Spirit.” (Spurgeon). I go not up unto this feast ... was true in the sense that Jesus attended only half of it. Jesus did not only speak of something coming into a person, but something flowing out of them as well. Once more the messenger of the covenant came suddenly to his temple (Malachi 3:1); and such boldness frustrated and unnerved the Lord's enemies. Why seek ye to kill me ...? Yes, there is no real division among the true people of God because of Christ.” (Spurgeon), Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. Christ himself had spoken to the multitudes regarding the "sign of the prophet Jonah" (Matthew 12:38-41), making it absolutely certain that Jesus appealed to Jonah as a type of himself. Needless to say, the Pharisees were furious, nor did they like the answer they received regarding the failure to arrest him. Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while I am with you, and I go unto him that sent me. Also, added to the difficulty of the people was the slander of the Pharisees that no prophet had ever come out of Galilee; but they were wrong about that also, Jonah, the first of the prophets, having come from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25). The commentators who make such a big thing out of the great commission's not having been given when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus should take note of this. The division didn’t come because Jesus spoke foolishly, or because He spoke on a theologically controversial topic. John 9:13-33 He is brought to the Pharisees, who examine strictly into the fact, and are offended with his acknowledgment of the Divine mission of the author. But there was no compassion, no sympathy, not even any honesty in the devices which they employed against Jesus and anyone who might dare to believe in him. c. Are you also deceived? Commentaries for John Chapter 7 The Conflict Intensifies at the Feast of Tabernacles. If he wanted recognition, in their view, Jerusalem was the place to get it. Thus, their judgment that Jesus was worthy of death as a sabbath-breaker was an evil judgment, based solely on superficial and unsound premises. It was this quality of identifying his teachings as God's teachings that infuriated the leaders. (Such a person) should use what little knowledge he has got, and God will soon give him more.[4]SIZE>. Preparing to Receive Christ: Willing to Do the Will of God. For further discussion of "go up" in this verse, see under John 7:33. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? The feast of tabernacles was concluded on the final day, thus: In such a context, Jesus' cry for men to come unto him and drink was the equivalent of his promising the Holy Spirit to all who would follow him. “There’s no more water at the temple and in the rituals we love. It is of interest that in the preceding verse Jesus said, "Come unto me and drink"; while in this he said, "He that believeth on me ... from within him shall flow, etc." Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing: Nicodemus tried to reason with the religious leaders, warning them against judging Jesus hastily. They could not be confronted with Jesus and remain truly neutral. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. Spurgeon - A Christian man wishing for the cream of expository writers could not make a better purchase. Their strategy of meeting such an event was to attempt his arrest; but the power of God restrained them until his "hour" had come (John 7:30). “It is a point repeated in this Gospel that the Spirit could not come during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry. “The preposition rendered ‘out of’ refers to birth and origin, not to residence.” (Trench), ii. ii. It continues to be an amazement that religious literature gives so little space to the typical importance of Jonah. Despite all this, they shouted Nicodemus down with the lie that no prophet ariseth out of Galilee. An overruling providence prevented his arrest, despite the fact that they actually sent a company of men to take him. Jesus said publicly of them in a parable: "The husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come let us kill him, and take his inheritance!" Go ye unto the feast: I go not up unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled. i. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. “‘Never did any man talk in this fashion.’ In the Greek the word ‘man’ (anthropos) occurs in the emphatic position at the end of the sentence and implies by contrast that he must be more than an ordinary human being.” (Tenney), ii. Calvary is the necessary prelude to Pentecost, and the cross is seen as glory, not shame. Spurgeon. —He is now passing from the figure, which recurs again only in John 15:8; John 15:16.We should have expected here, “and I abide in you” (); but His abiding in them necessarily accompanies their abiding in Him.The abiding of His words in them is the means by which, and the proof that they do abide in Him. This implication was not lost on the Pharisees. Not all of the Sanhedrinists were evil men, Nicodemus being one of the notable exceptions. The Lord here contrasted an operation on one member of a person's body with an operation on the whole person, as well as a cutting off with a making whole. Scripture: John 7:14–18. b. Verse 1. There is a necessary inference here in these words that Jesus was more than a man. Some therefore of them of Jerusalem said, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? cit., p. 135. Hi, Sign out To these religious leaders from Judea, nothing good could come from Galilee. And took upon him the form of a servant,— A slave,— Philippians 2:7-8. Christ's name was upon all lips; his mighty deeds were the biggest news that ever happened in Jerusalem; the people loved him; the leaders hated him; and conversation buzzed all over the city; but if any of the Pharisees appeared, the conversation ceased. Certainly, the persons addressed in these two verses would seem to have been among them that were considered knowledgeable concerning the law. “The word rendered division implies a violent dissension – some taking up His cause, some wishing to lay hands on Him.” (Alford). I have the water you’re looking for.”, iii. Their contempt for Galilee made them lose sight of historical accuracy.” (Alford), ©2018 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission. This feast was the equivalent of a harvest festival, "tabernacles" referring to booths, or arbors made of tree branches, in which the people camped out in commemoration of the wilderness sojourn of Israel (Leviticus 23:34-36). Confounded and openly contradicted by Christ, the Pharisees were furious and eagerly wanted to take him; but the press of the people around him was so great, and there were so many who believed in him, that considerations of prudence restrained their evil purpose. For the Lord to have walked boldly into the trap laid for him in Jerusalem would have been folly. True, they did not know that Jesus was God in the flesh; and it was of that ignorance which Paul spoke when he declared, "Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). And … Every whit whole ... indicates that Jesus had cured the entire man, soul and body, thus making it all the more necessary and righteous that the Lord should not have delayed such a blessing another day in order to avoid doing it on the sabbath. Although out of tune with Jesus' will here, these brothers eventually became followers (Acts 1:14). John 9:3. No man ever spoke like this Man! Anything stronger would have brought their wrath upon him. Jesus repeated this idea in Matthew 10:34-36: Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. Nicodemus apparently knew that his question would be shouted down, and that probably accounts for the mild manner in which he stated it. But when the work was consummated the Spirit was given.” (Morris). YOU DO WHAT YOU ARE! The members were divided in their views and would continue to be divided, perhaps until the very end; because there is no evidence whatever that the final meeting of the Sanhedrin that condemned the Saviour had a full representation of its members or even a legal quorum. John 7:11-13 The Jews seek him, and differ in their sentiments of him. As it were in secret ... Friends of Jesus would have aided his quiet and unobtrusive entrance into the city; but it must not be thought that Jesus was, in any sense, hiding from the authorities. Having decided months earlier to kill Christ, they were here spurred to action by the growing sentiment of the people that would have hailed him as the Christ. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you doeth the law? John Part 1 10 lessons covering John 1-6 with Lesson Six a study on Being Born Again and Lesson Ten a Topical Study on Jesus' Disciples; John Part 2 8 lessons covering John 7-11. The Pharisees could not stand before Jesus in open debate and hold their ground; he won every argument, as in the case of the sabbath discussions; and the multitude came slowly to realize that the rulers did know that Jesus was actually the Christ. Many rabbis teach, but it has stood the test of nineteen centuries. ” ( Morris ), ye! Any time or opt in hell were not above falsifying a matter that... A considerable number of priests the scripture hath said, what, doth Christ out... ( Bruce ) stated it available through our website and to use some of them, he speaketh,... Refuseing them will have impact how john 7 commentary spurgeon site functions collect personal data like your IP we., even trying to deceive Pilate through their reference to Galilee the powers of were... 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