25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?"
"Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?"
You may be thinking to yourself... "Ok, so the crowd was playing dumb. They knew about the plot to have Jesus killed."
I'll admit, it becomes hard to follow along with each group represented, but note the very beginning of verse 25, "Some of the people of Jerusalem". So, there is a very keen difference in attitude/knowledge between the people of Galilee and Judea.
26 "And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?"
There is a manner in which Jesus speaks that conveys authority. There is a willingness to say what needs to be said, even if it is wildly unpopular to his hearers.
Has someone ever said something to you, something that upsets you to hear, but you can't push back because you know the person is right? Apparently, even the religious authorities were struck by his boldness and the content of his message.
27 "But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”
So, this is an interesting idea that arose amongst the people of Israel: The Messiah would appear suddenly, abruptly, and undeniably.
Furthermore, it seems that many people take issue with Jesus' hometown of Nazareth. Think back to John 1, when Jesus calls Nathanael. Philip makes this claim, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And how does Nathanael respond, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nazareth is a podunk town; certainly not the hometown for a great king. Everyone expected the Messiah to come from Bethlehem "the city of David", which is actually where Jesus was born.
Most Jewish scholars believe that the very concept of a Messiah did not arrive until the time of the Prophets. They maintain that there is no explicit promise of a Messiah in the Torah.
The idea of a "Messiah" is an anointed king, like King David. David was a great warrior, and his kingdom became even greater under his son, Solomon.
Jesus is a new David. A greater David. Whereas, David was anointed by the prophet Samuel, Jesus is anointed by the prophet John (a new Elijah). Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at His baptism (a new kind of oil). And now, Jesus is waging a very different battle. His kingdom is both of Israel, as He was incarnate as an Israelite, of the line of David. Yet, His origin is from heaven. And His kingdom is for all people. The war he wages is against sin, death, and the devil; forces far greater than any political power.
Take a second and read Isaiah 11:1-4:
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump ofJesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of theLord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
In the last study, we see Jesus telling his audience, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” We see Jesus striking the earth with the rod of his mouth. His words have real power and authority. We see a man uniquely interested in helping the meek, the social outcasts, the lame, the poor.
Continuing on...
28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple,“You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”
It feels like there's a note of sarcasm to what Jesus is saying.
They knew Jesus' earthly family, they knew his earthly home, but they could not understand his true origin, or the one who sent him into the world.
Jesus is, as he often does, establishing a unique relationship between him and the Father. He comes from the Father, and only He truly knows the Father.
Imagine for a second that you are an Israelite, in Jerusalem, at the Feast of Booths... and all of a sudden, this man from the country tells you that you don't truly know God. Not only that, but that He comes directly from God. How are you going to react to his statements?
30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
In about 5 chapters, Jesus' time will come. Then, and only then, will he GIVE himself over to be arrested. He lays down his life and he takes it back up. (John 10:18)
I think many people that have had the privilege of reading the Gospel have experienced a similar sensation, as the people express in verse 31. It is the sense that the authority, the words, the love, and power of Jesus are undeniable, even 2000 years later.
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said,“I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
They truly cannot understand what Jesus is saying to them, and we struggle with the same problem. But, God has sent us the Helper (John 14:26), so that we may know, believe, and remember the things which he has said to us.
Jesus is not talking about earthly geography; he is talking about his return to the Father.
Note on the Dispersion - This is referring to all those of Israel who were living outside the Holy Land, as a result of Assyrian and Babylonian conquests and exile. The Greeks are any non-Jewish people (Gentiles).
Funny enough, it is believed that Andrew and Philip -- amongst many other Christians -- were sent to preach to Greek communities. So, Christ did go to the Dispersion, among the Greeks, and taught the Greeks.
Before we got into verses 37-39, I want to take a moment to present an aspect of the Feast of Booths.
The celebration makes its first appearance in Leviticus 23, which consists of the LORD telling Moses about all the feasts, which the people of Israel shall observe.
33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.
Here is one aspect of the proceedings that I'd like to highlight: Simchat Beit HaShoevah, one of the three rituals that were performed during the Feast of Booths.
"Water was drawn from Siloam spring in Jerusalem every day of Sukkot (Feast of Booths) with great ceremony, then brought to the Temple. Here the priest made libation of water and wine during the Nisuch ha-Mayim (the pouring of water)."
Keep in mind the significance of the water -- being poured out at the altar in the Temple -- for this ritual as we proceeded.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
So, now that we know what we know about the importance of water to the Feast of Booths, we can better understand the contextual significance of Jesus declaring that he is living water.
He is saying this on the last day, the great day, likely as the water is being poured out. This is a startling claim to make, especially in front of people that wanted to kill him!
This idea of "living/life-producing water" is often associated in the Old Testament with YHWH. (See Ezekiel 47:1-12, Jeremiah 2:13, , Jeremiah 17:13, Zechariah 14:8, Song of Solomon 4:15).
Jesus, earlier in John's Gospel, tells the Samaritan woman, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
Finally, from Revelation 22, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,".
Jesus is making a pretty explicit claim.
Note the nature of this water: It satisfies our deepest thirsts, but it also flows out of those who receive it for the sake of others, so that they make drink of it.
39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
We cannot receive this water, without the Spirit. We do not have the strength to come to Jesus and drink, without the help of the Holy Spirit.
So, the Spirit was in waiting for the consummation of Christ's work, then it would be given at Pentecost. What did it do in the meantime? John Piper has an interesting analogy for understanding the shift in the Spirit's work.
Christ's glorification is his passion, his death, and his resurrection. He is received into the glorious presence of the Father at his ascension; it is the glory they shared "before the world began." (John 17:5)
40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.”
Who is the Prophet? The people are referring to a promise made by YHWH through Moses in the Torah. Deuteronomy 18:18, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him."
In many ways, John the Baptist could fill that role, as he did prepare the way for Jesus. But...
From John 5:46, "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"
John 6:14 -- after the feeding of the 5,000 -- "When the people saw the sing that he had done they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
And later on from John 12:49, "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment -- what to say and what to speak."
41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
The preposition for "to come", in Greek, is "ἐκ", which I believe can mark either origin or where a person resides. The preposition for "comes from Bethlehem" is "ἀπὸ", which I believe deals primarily with origin.
Jesus is both of the Davidic line and was born in Bethlehem. Obviously, the crowd is not aware of this information.
43 So there was a division among the people over him.
The Greek word for "division" is "Σχίσμα", which is where we get the word "schism".
I suppose this could be taken metaphorically or literally.
44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
The Pharisees are accusing anyone that believes in Jesus of not knowing their stuff, specifically the Law. This is religious elitism at its worst.
They then chastise Nicodemus (it seems Jesus broke through to Nicodemus in some capacity) for speaking up in defense of Jesus. They ask him, "Are you from Galilee too?" Basically, they are saying, "Are you an idiot?"
They are claiming that he, too, must not know what he is talking about... since "no prophet arises from Galilee".
From 2 Kings 14:25, "...Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."
Look at that! Gath-Hepher... right next to Nazareth! Which is in Galilee!
There are arguments made that even Elijah came from Galilee, amongst others.
The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John do not include 7:53-8:11. I plan on including them.
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