The Gospel of John: Division in Jerusalem 7:1 – 52

 At the start of the last chapter, chapter six, Jesus was a superstar, surrounded by thousands. At the end many have left him. It wasn’t a happy ending. And it gets much worse in the next two chapters. The language becomes violent, Jesus is called illegitimate, He calls his opponents the children of Satan; the soldiers try to arrest Jesus, five times we read the people want to kill Jesus; and at the end the crowd try to stone him.

Apart from the opening conversation with his brothers in Galilee, all of the action in Chapter 7 is in Jerusalem. Here the Festival of Tabernacles is happening, a festival which remembered the time when the Israelites were in the wilderness, living in tents; and also it is a time when people gave thanks for the harvest. It is a festival where the people show they are dependent on God. And so two great gifts of God are celebrated: water and light. Some background about water and light in this festival is helpful.

For water, every day of the festival the priests would walk in procession down from the temple to the pool of Siloam. There they would fill a pitcher of water and walk back. Thousands would be watching. Then in the temple they would walk round the altar, and finally pour out the water. On the last day of the feast they went around the altar seven times. They are giving thanks for the water – and they are acting out what they hope they will see happening that a river will flow from the temple. This is prophesied in Ezekiel 47. This helps us understand the significance of what Jesus says on the last day of the feast.

For light, on the first day of the festival candlesticks were lit in the court of the women, and then at night – and every night – a huge bonfire was lit. So for that week there was always light coming from the temple. People loved this.

Right at the start of these chapters we are told that the Jews in Judea want to kill Jesus. That’s because of the healing of the lame man on the Sabbath and the trial that happened in Chapter Five. So Jesus was staying Galilee, in the north. This is safer. But there is pressure to journey south because the popular Festival of Tabernacles was near and every Jewish man had to attend.

 Jesus’ brothers are getting ready to go to the festival and they want Jesus to go because they think this will be a fantastic opportunity for people to see his miracles. That’s what happened when Jesus was at the Passover in Chapter Two, this made him famous in Galilee, that’s in Chapter Four, so the brothers want this to happen again. Even though they do not believe, they want their brother’s cause to be successful. So they say, ‘Show yourself to the world’. And that means, show yourself to be master of Jerusalem. They do not understand their brother. His work is much more than just showing himself to Jerusalem.

In Jesus’ reply there is much irony. Twice he tells his brothers that his time has not come. We know that his time, his hour, means when he suffers, when his cross is lifted up. As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, this is when everyone will see Him. So, Jesus will show himself to the world, but not at all in a way they expect.

Jesus has a time; the word here is ‘kairos’. It means a specific God time, when something should happen. His brothers do not have this sort of ‘Kairos’ time, because they do not belong to God as Jesus does, they belong to the world. So they can live normally. They are not hated by the world like Jesus is. They can go when they want. He though can only go when God wants him to. Jesus rejects their request and stays in Galilee. He will move when God tells him to, not when his brothers do. The life and movements of Jesus are very different from others; the same is true for His followers. Jesus probably used this time alone to pray, to find out whether He should go or not go to Jerusalem. He does go, and He never returns. He will be saying good-bye to his home in Galilee forever

The writer explains that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem incognito. If he had not, there was a real danger the crowd would have turned the pilgrimage to Jerusalem into a victory procession for their Galilean king. The writer also explains how much division Jesus is causing. Some say he is a good man, some say he is leading people astray, that he is a charlatan. Everyone is talking in whispers because the Jewish authorities are on the lookout for Jesus supporters.

 Jesus’ brothers wanted Him to come to the Feast to work miracles. Jesus does not do that. But He does teach – in the temple, right in the heart of things. The people were impressed, but they wanted to know how this son of a carpenter was able to teach so well without mentioning the names of other Rabbis. For that was the way the traditional teaching was. When a Rabbi spoke, he would cite the name of another Rabbi. But Jesus cites no other Rabbi, and so the people are questioning his authority. And Jesus answers that He is teaching on God’s authority, and He is not interested in their applause or acceptance. He is only interested in God’s glory. He then explains that if there is anyone listening who wants to obey God, you will know that this is true. He said exactly the same in Chapter 6, ‘Anyone who is taught be God, will be drawn to Christ’. (6:45)

 Jesus senses that these people are rejecting His authority because their hearts are not submissive towards God. So in v. 19 the temperature goes up. Jesus attacks his listeners by telling them that they do not keep the law of Moses. That is a terrible thing to say to a Jew who has come all the way to Jerusalem because they think they do keep the law of Moses. How are they not keeping Moses’ law? The answer for Jesus is simple: they want to kill him. Moses’ law says ‘Thou shalt not kill.’

The crowd do not like that and the language gets more and more aggressive They tell Jesus he has a demon. They will say the same again in 8:48. They ask Jesus who wants to kill him, and Jesus answers them. People want to kill him because he healed the lame man on the Sabbath – look at v. 22. They say He is a sabbath breaker. But he is not – and He proves it by saying that they circumcise on the Sabbath. If that is not breaking the Sabbath, how can healing a man be breaking the Sabbath.

There is one group in the crowd that definitely do not like Jesus. They are upset that He has not been arrested yet, and they suggest it is because the authorities think that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. This group is pleased with their knowledge. Look at v.27, ‘We know where He comes from’ That means He can’t be the Christ because when the Christ comes we will not know where he comes from.

In v. 28 Jesus mocks the idea that this group know where He comes from, for He has been sent by God. He comes from God. And then Jesus bluntly says – ‘You don’t know God’. That, again, is a terrible thing to say to Jews. They thought they were the only ones on the planet who did know God.

It is not surprising they try and arrest him, to take him along to the authorities. But they cannot. We do not know how Jesus got away from them, but we do know that His hour had not come. When it came for Jesus to be arrested, this would be God’s decision, not men.

 There are some then who want to harm Jesus; but in v. 31 there are others who have concluded that Jesus is the Messiah. The talk of both groups reaches the leaders who have authority over the temple police. So now in v. 32, they are sent to arrest Jesus.

Watch the soldiers come for Jesus, and as they approach He says, ‘No, not now. I am going to be with you a little longer – then I will go to God who sent me.’ Jesus is saying that at that time you will arrest me and kill me, so I will go to God. And there you will not be able to find me, and there you cannot come.’ As so often happens in this Gospel, Jesus is misunderstood. They think that Jesus will leave not just Jerusalem, but all of Israel and go to the Jews in the Dispersion who were living in places like Alexandria among the Greeks.

And, as is usual in this Gospel, there is much irony, because though this is not what Jesus meant, and though this did not happen – His apostles, especially Paul, did go to the Jews in the Dispersion and they did teach the Greeks.

Now we come to the last day of the feast. This is a very dramatic scene. Jesus is standing somewhere near the temple – they have not been able to arrest him – and there are thousands of people watching the priests process down to the pool of Siloam and return with a pitcher of water. As they re-enter the temple there are trumpet blasts. Then, because this is the last day of the feast, they walked around the altar in the temple seven times, and the choir sang the Psalms, from 113 – 118.

Then the water is poured out and there was silence. It was probably at this point the crowd of thousands heard the voice of Jesus crying out.

 ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, as the Scripture as said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’

The Scriptures Jesus has in mind are probably those about the water that came from the rock in the desert (Exodus, and Numbers, and also Ezekiel 47, where living water comes from the temple.

What Jesus does is very brave. It is much more than his brothers were expecting. As said, they wanted Jesus to perform miracles. Here he is doing something much more. He is challenging the whole temple system. He is saying that there is no water flowing from this temple. The water will flow from Him, and the writer explains to us that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is connected to Jesus’ glory, the cross, v. 39.

 After this very dramatic proclamation by Jesus the division becomes even more intense. Some believed – yes, this is the Prophet, i.e. the Prophet Moses talked about; this is the Christ; but others questioned, the focus being where Jesus comes from. It’s the same issue that came up in v. 27.

This is their problem. The Messiah was meant to be a descendant of David and born in Bethlehem. They assume that Jesus was born in Galilee, and is not a descendant of David. They say they know - but in fact they do not know. They do not know that Jesus is a descendant of David and that he was born in Bethlehem.

 There is division, with some wanting to arrest Jesus. But they cannot. And the temple guards who could have arrested Jesus, they did not. Remember they were Levites They had some religious discernment. And when they heard Jesus speaking they were enthralled

They had never heard anything like it. So – they didn’t arrest him. This of course makes the Pharisees angry and we find out exactly what they think of Jesus. He is a deceiver. He is a charlatan. He is a fake. They think these Levite police should know better.

 They dismiss the opinions of the crowd, the ones who believe in Jesus, because they have not studied. And then they tell the soldiers that none of the leaders or the Pharisees have believed in him – and this means – here is the pride – that Jesus must be a fake. It is not about what is true or not; it is about what we think, that is what matters.

There was one religious leader there who wanted to help Jesus. This is Nicodemus. And he asks a very good question. Is it right to judge someone without first looking at the evidence? Nicodemus is answered harshly, the Pharisees showing they are deeply prejudiced against Galilee. And they are wrong. They say that Jesus must be a charlatan because He comes from Galilee, and no prophet comes from Galilee. So Nicodemus, keep quiet. You are wrong, we are right.

But they were very wrong. There were five prophets who came from Galilee: Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, perhaps these were minor prophets, but how about the next two - Elijah, and Elisha?

 This is a chapter full of antagonism and division. And irony.

There is irony about what it means to show yourself to the world. Jesus’ brothers think it is all about having people say ‘wow’. That doesn’t take much courage. What takes courage is to show yourself to the world so the world wants to kill you. That is what Jesus does on the last day of the feast.

There is irony about where Jesus comes from. The Jews say, ‘We know…he’s from Galilee, that means he’s nobody special’. They don’t know what they should know, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And they certainly don’t know where Jesus was originally from. They have not read the prologue of this Gospel.

And finally there is a lot of irony with the word, ‘man’. All through this chapter Jesus is referred to as a man. It’s there eight times: – he is a good man (v.12), how does this man have this learning (v.15), Is this not the man they want to kill (v. 25), we know this man (v.27), when Christ appears, will he do more than this man (v.31), where does this man intend to go (v. 35), no one spoke like this man (v. 46), does our law judge a man (v.51). But Jesus is not just a man. He is God. Every time we read this word ‘man’, the narrator’s eyebrows go up, asking us to remember the prologue. This is not just a man in this story. This is God – so of course He is good, of course He has learning, of course nobody speaks like Him. And of course God God causes division, even hostility.

What is our spiritual food in this chapter?

It must be verses 37 and 38. They are well worth memorizing. Life can get dusty, we can get tired, thirsty. Go to Jesus, go to His cross, and drink of the Holy Spirit that flows from his broken body.

And what lessons?

Avoid being like Jesus’ brothers, just wanting religious popularity. Jesus didn’t want to show himself to the world by doing miracles. But he did show himself to the world by suffering. We must follow Him.

And let’s be very careful of thinking that ‘We know’. Jesus’ enemies thought they knew, but they didn’t.

All the antagonism surges ever stronger in chapter 8, so much so that the Jews do try and kill Jesus.