CHAPTER 7
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. John 7:1
Jesus had worked in the Galilee for probably half a year because it was dangerous for him to work in Judea, especially in Jerusalem. After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus and his disciples made a long ministry trip to the Gentile areas of Tyre and Sidon (Mk. 7:24-31). Then Jesus and his group ministered in the Gentile area of the Decapolis on the east side of the lake (Mk. 7:31 – 8:9).
In Jesus’ time the land of Israel had become divided by the Romans into three major areas. There was Judea, governed under the Roman prefects; then Galilee and Peraea governed by Herod Antipas and finally the areas of Traconitis, Lysanias and Abilene, ruled by Herod Philip. These last areas were east of the Jordan River. When things got too hot for Jesus in one area he could easily go to another and safer area.1 The Galilee was relatively safe. However, Judea was becoming life-threatening for the Master because of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. From this point, the conflict would build until the crucifixion, which was roughly about six months after the upcoming Festival of Tabernacles.2
“But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do’” (7:2-3). The Festival of Tabernacles was and continues to be one of the greatest festivals. It celebrates the bounty of Israel’s harvest with joy and rejoicing (Exo. 23:16; Lev. 23: 33-36; Dt. 16:13-14). The festival falls in the Hebrew month of Tishri, which corresponds to our September/October. During the festival, the Jewish people are commanded to live in booths or sukkot. These are flimsy temporary huts reminding them of their wilderness dwellings of long ago. These sukkot can be seen till this day during the festival. They decorate the porches on high-rise apartment buildings; they are built in backyards, and they show up along the sidewalks of Israel. Through the centuries Jews have come to Jerusalem from all over the country, plus from many foreign lands, to celebrate Tabernacles. Today there are even thousands of evangelical Christians who join Israel each year in this celebration.
Jesus’ brothers were insistent that he go up to the feast. His brothers were James, Joseph, Judas and Simon (Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3). It appears from scripture that they did not believe in Jesus or understand his ministry at this time (v. 5). With them we see the fulfillment of Psalm 69:8: “I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children…”
The brothers continued saying, “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world” (7:4). They were looking on Jesus’ ministry in a worldly fashion, that he had to get the word out about himself and that “it pays to advertise.” 3 They belonged to the world or the present evil age and it loved them, but it was impossible for that world to love Jesus. They felt that popularity was the key for Jesus, and that to stay in Galilee was to act “in secret.”
“For even his own brothers did not believe in him” (7:5). Undoubtedly, his brothers knew that Jesus was different and that he possessed special powers. However, they seemed to have a preconception of a certain kind of Messiah and Jesus was not living up to their preconception.4 Things would not change with the brothers until the resurrection of the Lord. At that time he appeared to James (1 Cor. 15:7), and apparently that convinced the other brothers to accept him and join in with the believers at Jerusalem (Acts 1:14). James went on to become the undisputed leader of the Jerusalem church. Both he and Judas or Jude later wrote general epistles to the church.
“Therefore Jesus told them, ‘My time is not yet here; for you any time will do’” (7:6). Jesus ran by a heavenly clock and calendar. The Greek word kairos is used here for “time,” and it has the meaning of right, proper or favorable time.5 Jesus must have lived by the words in Psalm 31:15, “My times are in your hands…” The brothers could go to Jerusalem at any time, but not the Lord.
“The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil” (7:7). The world loves its own, but it could not love Jesus. The brothers, “…had no idea that Jesus’ mission, in its very nature must be unpopular.” 6 As followers of the Lord we should not be amazed if the world also hates us (1 Jn. 3:13). By our lives, we should be a standing rebuke to the world and its evil ways. We should only remember that the world hated Jesus before it hates us (cf. 15:18).
“‘You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.’ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee” (7:8-9). There is a textual problem in this verse. A few translations like the NKJ version have it reading, “I am not yet going up to this feast.” Most other translations do not have the word “yet.” Utley feels that the word was a scribal attempt to remove the obvious contradiction between verses 7:8 and 7:10.7 The obvious sense of the verse is that Jesus intended to go up later when the right time had come.
Barker and Kohlenberger think that his brothers may have wanted to make a show of his arrival in Jerusalem.8 Such an introduction could have turned out really bad. I remember a certain radio preacher telling how a pastor once introduced him. The pastor called him “the prince of the power of the air.” Of course that description was applied to the antichrist in Ephesians 2:2 (KJV, ASV).
JESUS GOES TO THE FEAST
However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. John 7:10
It is pretty obvious that Jesus intended to go to the feast but at the right time, and not with his unbelieving brothers. He chose to go incognito and in secret. It is possible that his disciples went up to the feast with his brothers, because they do not appear to be traveling with Jesus. Yet, they show up later in Jerusalem. 9
“Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, ‘Where is he?’ Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’ Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people’” (7:11-12). The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were certainly on the lookout for Jesus. They had plans to kill him if they only could. The crowd was anxious to see him because he had not been in Jerusalem for several months. There was much whispering and disagreement about Jesus. As it is said, “where there are two Jews there are three opinions.” The Lutheran professor and commentator Paul Kretzmann says, “The unbelievers of all times may be classified in much the same manner as in this passage. The one class believes Jesus to be a champion of virtue, the other holds the opinion that he is a deliberate liar and cheat.” 10
It was Napoleon who once said: “I know men, and Jesus Christ is more than a man.” 11 Sometimes, a total outsider can make better sense of a situation than all the dumbfounded insiders. Clearly, the people were whispering and murmuring much as their forefathers had done in the days of Moses (Exo. 17:3; Num. 11:1). By their attitudes they were making it impossible to believe and receive Jesus. It was Sybil Morial who said: “You can’t hoot with owls and soar with the eagles.” 12
“But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders” (7:13). The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem plainly “ran the show.” It was very sad that in those days the leadership was politically compromised with the Romans. Barclay says of them: “Pharisees …loved their own little system more than they loved God…Nearly all the priests were Sadducees. They collaborated with their Roman masters, and they had a very comfortable and even luxurious time…They hated Jesus because he interfered with the vested interests which were dearer to them than God.” 13 Obviously, the ruling parties could make it rough on any person who dissented from their view.
JESUS TEACHES AT THE FEAST
Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. John 7:14
There was wisdom in Jesus coming at mid-feast. His enemies would not have enough time during the remaining feast to plot a case against him.14 The temple was the central area where religious teachers gathered groups and taught. Jesus was probably under Solomon’s Portico, where his disciples would later teach in the Book of Acts. Once again, the Messenger of the Covenant had suddenly come to his temple (Mal. 3:1).15
“The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’” (7:15). The Jews mentioned here were probably the Sadducees, Pharisees and other leaders of the people. Jesus did not teach like they taught, “because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:29). He had not been through their rabbinical schools nor had he attached himself to a leading rabbi. He did not quote the leading rabbis as the leaders did. Still, they were all astonished at his teaching.16
Jesus then gives them the source of his teaching: “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me’” (7:16). Jesus did not quote the leading rabbis, but instead he quoted God.17 Jesus could say with Isaiah the prophet: “The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed” (Isa. 50:4). Bruce says, “…whereas the prophets said ‘Thus says the Lord’, Jesus, exercising the authority given to him by the Father, said ‘I say to you.’” 18
Jesus then gives them a simple pragmatic test so that they can know whether or not his teaching is from God: “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (7:17). Stedman tells of meeting up with a tough and self-sufficient retired Marine general in Washington, D.C. Since his retirement he had become a Christian, and everyone saw a change in him. They still deeply respected him but they saw a new element of compassion that was not there before. When asked to explain why the General grew so rapidly as a Christian, one of them said: “When General Silverthorn hears something from the scripture, he obeys it immediately.” That was the secret of his rapid growth.19
Jesus was giving them a sort of “taste test” for the Christian faith – do it and you will understand it. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan once said: “When men are wholly, completely consecrated to the will of God and want to do that above everything else, then they find out that Christ’s teaching is divine, that it is the teaching of God.” 20 This is quite opposite from the way most of us think in the West. We want to fully understand something before we commit to it or do it.
“Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him” (7:18). People often seek their own glory but that effort usually fails. The true representatives seek not their own glory but the glory of the one who sent them. Jesus did not seek his glory but rather the glory of God (cf. 5:44). In the process he himself received glory.
“Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” (7:19). Although they would have denied it, the Jewish authorities were still gravely upset over the Sabbath healing of chapter 5. It was at that point they decided to kill Jesus (5:18) and their plans had not changed.21 Jesus chided them for trying to uphold the law with one hand and trying to kill him with the other. The very law they sought to uphold commanded them not to kill (Exo. 20:13). The law was designed to stop premeditated murder, and that was exactly what the leaders were plotting.22
“‘You are demon-possessed,’ the crowd answered. ‘Who is trying to kill you?’” (7:20). We really do not know the makeup of this crowd. If they were pilgrims from abroad they would not know that the leaders planned to murder Jesus. If they were local Jewish people they would not dare come against their leaders or dispute them, although they likely knew of their secret plans. The leaders probably had come up with the “demon possessed” charge against Jesus. The local Jewish crowd may be echoing the charge. It is true that when we cannot defeat the logic of the argument we resort to attacking the person instead. We see them making this charge in several instances (cf. Matt. 10:25; 12:24ff.; Jn. 8:48; 10:20).
This was likely the most serious charge made against Jesus so far.23 This charge was one way to explain Jesus’ mighty works. As we have previously mentioned, Jesus was despised and rejected by his people (Isa. 53:3).
“Jesus said to them, ‘I did one miracle, and you are all amazed’” (7:21). It is rather remarkable that the people and their leaders were still stirred up over the miracle of healing that Jesus had performed at Bethesda some eighteen months previously.24 It had seriously offended them because the miracle had broken some of the myriad regulations which they had added to the Sabbath law. It did not matter at all to them that a very sick man was healed.
“Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath” (7:22). Circumcision was an old, old rite. It was begun in the days of Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14; 21:4; 34:22), but was included in the Law of Moses (Exo. 12:48; Lev. 12:3). The Jewish leaders had a flaw in their theology and in their logic as well. They overrode the Sabbath to provide ceremonial needs of one person while refusing to override it to provide greatly needed bodily healing for another person.25
“Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?” (7:23). Barclay sums up Jesus’ response saying, “How can you in reason blame me for making a man’s body whole when you allow yourselves to mutilate it on the Sabbath day?” 26 Morris says, “Moses quite understood that some things should be done even on the Sabbath.” 27
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly” (7:24). Clarke would say, “Judge not according to the appearance – Attend to the law, not merely in the letter, but in its spirit and design.” 28 In this matter, as well as in their tithing, they were neglecting the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy and faith (Matt. 23:23).
QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS
At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?” John 7:25
It seems that at this point the light was about to come on for some in the crowd. The Jerusalem Jews probably knew that their leaders were trying to kill Jesus. Bruce thinks this is the first occasion where the idea of Jesus being the Messiah is dealt with in Jerusalem.29 Some people felt that the Messiah would be a man of mystery who would arise out of total obscurity. Obviously, such attitudes were opposed to the prophetic scriptures (Mic. 5:2; Mt. 2:5).30 It never ceases to be amazing how God’s chosen people, who loved and read his holy word daily, could have so completely missed the coming of their promised Messiah. This challenges us to stay very close to the word of God today.
“Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?” (7:26). We do see a hint here that some of the people were wondering if their leaders knew that Jesus actually was the Messiah. Some passages, like Matthew 21:33:46; Mk. 12:1-12, do seem to indicate that the rulers did actually know who he was.
“But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from” (7:27). It is amazing how so many false ideas could find lodging in the midst of God’s very own people! The scripture goes to great lengths to relate where the Messiah would be from. He would be of the house and lineage of David (2 Sam. 7:11-13; cf. Lk. 2:4). He would be born in the little town of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). He would be called a Nazarene (Matt. 2:23) because of his connection with Nazareth as we discussed in John 6:42 (cf. Isa. 11:1). He would be a great light in the Galilee, around the lake and the Jordan River (Isa. 9:1-2). The scriptures had also made plain that Jesus would be of a heavenly origin. He would be the divine Son of God and the eternal government would be on his shoulders. Isaiah says of him: “…And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
“Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, ‘Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me” (7:28-29). Coffman feels that Jesus is using sarcastic irony in this statement.31 They really did not know him, nor did they know where he was from. As good Jewish people, they thought they knew the Father. However, the scripture plainly says that no one could know the Father except through the Son (Matt. 11:27; cf. Lk. 10:22). The simple truth was that in all their knowing, they really did not know the Father or the Son. It took some nerve for Jesus to tell these devout Jewish people that they did not know their God.
“At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come” (7:30). Bruce feels that this incident may be more fully described in verses 32 and 45 below.32 Someone has said that a man is indestructible until God’s purpose has been fulfilled in him. We may remember how the early American leader, George Washington had several bullet holes in his jacket, and bullet fragments in his hair. He also had two horses shot out from under him, but he remained unharmed. He was God’s man of the hour and he surely enjoyed divine protection.
Simply, Jesus’ hour had not come. Until it would come, people would not be able to apprehend him. We see this idiom recurring through much of this gospel (cf. 2:4; 7:6, 30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1).33 It was likely the temple guard that was dispatched to apprehend Jesus. However, for some unknown reason they were not able to accomplish their task.
“Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?’” (7:31). The simple truth is that many Jews put their trust in Jesus. In times to come, some of these would no doubt help make up the strong Jerusalem church. Some of these people were greatly moved by Jesus’ miracles. There was a Jewish belief based upon Isaiah 35:5-6, that the Messiah when he came would do all kinds of miracles.34 Jesus had certainly done that.
THE PHARISEES INTERVENE
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. John 7:32
This verse could refer back to the botched arrest attempt in verse 30, or it could have been an entirely new effort to capture Jesus. We will soon learn (v. 45) that this attempt would also be unsuccessful. Jesus’ hour had still not come. Despite the efforts of the Pharisees and other leaders, we learn in Mark 12:37, that many of the common people heard Jesus gladly. It was the leaders who were poisoned against him from the outset, and their opinion never changed.
“Jesus said, ‘I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’” (7:33-34). It is clear here that Jesus’ mind was already on his coming passion.35 His earthly mission would soon be over and he would return to his Father. Coffman says, “… It was October, and Christ was appointed to die at the Passover in April. During that intervening six months, all the powers of hell were not sufficient to have harmed the little finger of Jesus. Finally, when the blow fell, it was with our Lord’s full knowledge and consent.” 36
Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, “where I am, you cannot come.” Wiersbe notes the great contrast with the Lord’s words in this verse and with those in 14:3. In this verse he assures the leaders that they could not come with him, but in 14:3 he tells the ones who believe in him, “where I am you may be also.” 37
“The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?” (7:35). The Jewish leaders were once again thinking in the natural. They wondered if Jesus might go out to the dispersed of Israel in foreign lands (Diaspora) and teach them. The historian Paul Johnson mentions one estimate that during the Herodian period there were about eight million Jews in the world, but probably less than 2,250,000 to 2, 500,000 of these lived in the land of Israel.38 Later, when Saul was converted he would go out to these dispersed of Israel and gather them into the kingdom of God in great numbers.
“What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” (7:36). The Jews were mystified by these earlier statements of Jesus. Long before, the prophet Jeremiah had answered their question: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Isaiah had also said, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7). Jesus himself had earlier said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).
It was a very sad fact, but because of their stubbornness and hardness of heart, the time of great opportunity was passing them by. Jesus said of them: “They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Lk. 19:44).
JESUS AS THE WATER OF LIFE
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” John 7:37
There are two great symbols that were used in the Festival of Tabernacles. The first was water and the second was light. Jesus will base teaching on both of these symbols.
In Jesus time at Tabernacles there was what is known as The Water-libation or Bet ha-She’ubah. For seven days the priest would go down to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher and fill it with water. The water would be carried to the temple and poured out at the altar. All this took place amid much rejoicing and with sounding of flutes and trumpets. In the Mishnah it is said, “He that never has seen the joy of the Beth ha-She’ubah has never in his life seen joy” (Mishnah, Sukkah 5.1).
The Water-libation was an earnest prayer for rain, which was necessary for the life of Israel. We need to remember that in Israel there is no rain from May to October. So for five or six months out of the year the whole country is dry. Usually the very first light shower comes during Tabernacles. When we first went to live in Israel, I learned quickly to never stand under a tree for the first rain. All the dust, debris and bird droppings for six months suddenly washes down upon one’s head.
The Water-libation is not just a prayer for rain but in essence it is a prayer for eschatological blessing.39 This prayer reflects many scriptures such as Psalms 42:1-2; 105:41; Isaiah. 12:3: 32:2; 33:21; 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Ezekiel 47:1,12; Joel 3:18; and Zechariah 14:8, 16-19.
Remembered in all this was the good grace of the Lord who provided water for Israel during their wilderness wanderings (Exo. 17:1-7). We remember how Moses smote the rock and water came out for the thirsty people. Some years ago I had occasion to visit the Wilderness of Zin and noticed a large sheer rock face on a hillside. It was interesting that on that occasion water was seeping out of the face of the large rock just as in days of old.
“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (7:38). With the image of water all around Jesus made his great pronouncement. It may be impossible for us to locate the exact passage Jesus refers to but it is likely a general reference to scriptures like Isaiah 58:11, Ezekiel 47:1, or Zechariah 14:8. 40 While there is some discussion about whether the water flows from the Lord or from the individual who believes, most all popular translations agree with the NIV rendering here.41 We see the idea of living water flowing from the believing individual in Isaiah 44:3-4 and Joel 3:18. This is also a very similar picture that Jesus painted for the thirsty Samaritan woman of chapter 4.
“By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (7:39). Keener says here: “Most of Judaism did not believe that the Spirit was prophetically active in their own time but expected the full outpouring of the Spirit in the messianic age or the world to come. Water usually symbolized Torah (law) or wisdom in Jewish texts, but John follows Old Testament precedent in using it for the Spirit (Is. 44:3; Ezek. 36:24-27; Joel 2:28).” 42
Obviously at this point the Holy Spirit had not been poured out, since this could only happen after Jesus was glorified (crucified, resurrected and ascended). When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost then the spiritual water was poured out: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isa. 44:3).
“On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’ Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee?’” (7:40-41). Obviously, Jesus had gathered some true followers around him, although many were false. It is amazing that Israel’s numerous theologians had completely missed the fact that the Messiah would have Galilee connections. We have already mentioned the Nazareth connection with the Hebrew concept of “Branch” (Netzer). The great passage in Isaiah 9 was also totally overlooked by Israel’s wise men. It says: “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isa. 9:1-2).
This passage is incredible for its accuracy. Isaiah mentions the two Galilee tribal areas of Zebulun and Naphtali where Jesus would spend most of his time. He lived as a child in Nazareth (the land of Zebulun) and established his ministry headquarters at Capernaum (the land of Naphtali). Galilee had many Gentile people living in it just as it does today. Most of the eastern and southern areas of the lakeshore were part of the Decapolis, a wholly Gentile area. The ancient highway called The Way of the Sea likely passed through Capernaum. Also, Jesus spent much of his time near the Jordan and on several occasions ministered across the Jordan River. We have to credit the prophet Isaiah with 100 percent accuracy for locating Jesus in the Galilee.
“Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” (7:42). Clarke says, “Had they examined the matter a little farther, they would have found that he had his birth exactly as the prophets had foretold.” 43 There had to be written proof available in the royal records that the Messiah was born over thirty years previously. Barker and Kohlenberger in speaking of Micah 5:2 say: “…The very passage that convinced his critics that he could not be the Messiah was one of the strongest to prove that he was.” 44
“Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him” (7:43-44). Jesus said that he would come to divide (Matt.10:35-36) and that proved to be the case. We note that his message always tended to cause division with its hearers (7:48-52; 9:16; 10:19; Lk. 12:51-53).45
THE JEWISH LEADERS AND THEIR UNBELIEF
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in? “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.” John 7:45-46
Though it was a high holy day, it appears that the Sanhedrin was in session and awaiting the report of the guards.46 This was a breach of their own laws and we will see the same thing happening with the legal treatment of Jesus during the Passover holiday.
Keener says, “Powerful and wise speech was highly regarded in antiquity; in that era, listening to public speakers was a form of entertainment as well as of learning…” 47 Obviously, the speech of Jesus mesmerized the guards. They had never in their lives heard anyone speak with such authority as Jesus. They were almost implying that Jesus was more than an ordinary human.48
“‘You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted” (7:47). “The arrogant sophistry of the Pharisees had entrenched itself in this position: ‘Nobody should dare to believe in Jesus as long as we Pharisees have not done so; we are the people; we decide what is true or false.’” 49 It is not difficult to detect the aloofness with which the Pharisees were afflicted. Even a generation before Christ the great Rabbi Hillel had said, “No member of the common people is pious.” 50 Wiersbe says, “We should not be surprised when ‘the intelligentsia’ refuses to trust Jesus Christ, or when religious leaders reject him, God has hidden his truth from ‘the wise and prudent’ and revealed it to ‘spiritual babes,’ the humble people who will yield to him (Matt. 11:25-27).” 51
“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law— there is a curse on them” (7:48-49). “…Trained rabbis often looked down on the amme ha’aretz, ‘the people of the land’ common people who did not even try to follow rabbinic interpretations of the law.” 52 Burge says, “…The irony in John’s gospel is that these are the very people who seem to have the only hunch about Jesus’ true identity.” 53 How tragic that, with all their combined learning, the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and Priests had no idea about Jesus’ prophetic fulfillment. The all-important Day of Visitation thus passed them by.
The rulers were clearly mistaken in thinking that none of their number had believed in Jesus. Both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus certainly had strong leanings toward Jesus. There were perhaps others who had leanings but were afraid to speak or act.
“Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’” (7:50-51). We have to be appreciative of Nicodemus. He was risking his position in the Sanhedrin for asking such a question. We can guess that he received many icy stares from the other leaders. Perhaps Nicodemus was thinking of passages in the Old Testament like Deuteronomy 17:8 and 19:15. It is possible that Nicodemus became a strong believer and later reported this whole incident to the early church.54
“They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee’” (7:52). They were sadly and eternally mistaken about the Messiah and his relationship to the Galilee, as we have pointed out. They were also mistaken about other prophets not being from Galilee. Elijah came from Gilead. This was really the Galilee beyond the Jordan River.55 The prophet Jonah had also come from the Galilee (2 Ki. 14:25; cf. Josh. 19:13). Interestingly, it was admitted by later Jewish rabbis that prophets arose from every Galilee tribe.56
“Then they all went home,” (7:53). The meeting thus ended with the group probably in considerable distress concerning the remark of Nicodemus.