João 7
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 7
Robertson says the idea is that labor is an annoyance, bad, evil; Noun poneria derived from poneros) means evil including evil, malignant character, pernicious (see Webster 1828 definition below), that which is morally or socially worthless, wicked, base, bad, degenerate. Poneros denotes determined, aggressive, and fervent evil that actively opposes what is good. Poneros is not just bad in character (like kakos), but bad in effect (injurious)! Poneros describes evil in active opposition to good. It means not only evil in its nature but viciously evil in its influence and actively harmful. Poneros used to describe Satan (ho poneros = "Evil one"), the god of this age, who is corrupting man and dragging him to destruction. This denotes someone who is not content in being corrupt themselves. They seek to corrupt others and draw them into the same destruction! John's uses of poneros - Jn. 3:19; Jn. 7:7; Jn. 17:15 1 Jn. 2:13; 1 Jn. 2:14; 1 Jn. 3:12; 1 Jn. 5:18; 1 Jn. 5:19; 2 Jn. 1:11; 3 Jn. 1:10; Rev. 16:2 John 7:8 "Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come." BGT John 7:8 ὑμεῖς ἀνάβητε εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν· ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀναβαίνω εἰς τὴν ἑορτὴν ταύτην, ὅτι ὁ ἐμὸς καιρὸς οὔπω πεπλήρωται. KJV John 7:8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. NET John 7:8 You go up to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast because my time has not yet fully arrived." CSB John 7:8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I'm not going up to the festival yet, because My time has not yet fully come." ESV John 7:8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." NIV John 7:8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." NLT John 7:8 You go on. I'm not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come." NRS John 7:8 Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come." NJB John 7:8 Go up to the festival yourselves: I am not going to this festival, because for me the time is not ripe yet.' NAB John 7:8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled." YLT John 7:8 Ye -- go ye up to this feast; I do not yet go up to this feast, because my time hath not yet been fulfilled;' GWN John 7:8 Go to the festival. I'm not going to this festival right now. Now is not the right time for me to go." BBE John 7:8 Go you up to the feast: I am not going up now to the feast because my time has not fully come. RSV John 7:8 Go to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." NKJ John 7:8 "You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." ASV John 7:8 Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled. MIT John 7:8 You go ahead to the feast. I am not going up to this feast (right now), because the right time for me has not come full cycle. I go not: John 7:6,30 8:20,30 11:6,7 1Co 2:15,16 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JESUS EXPLAINS HIS TIME IS NOT "RIPE" Go up (aorist imperative) to the feast (heorte) yourselves - Go up (ascend) is alway the direction of Jerusalem which is elevated compared to surrounding land. They have commanded Him, but now He commands them to go ahead to Jerusalem. THOUGHT - Can we not see the incredible irony? Why would the brothers even go to the feast? They were "being religious" (obeying the OT law) in celebrating the feast, a feast which (like all the OT feasts, etc) foreshadowed their own half-brother! So off they go to be religious at a joy-filled feast that does not even have the "guest of honor" at the feast, the only One Who could impart true joy and rejoicing of which the Feast of Tabernacles spoke! Oh, the deceptiveness of religious activity without a relationship with the Redeemer Himself! How easy it is to observe religious rituals without any heart relationship. I do not go up to this feast (heorte) because (term of explanation) My time (kairos) has not yet fully come (pleroo) - I do not go up to this feast is taken by some as a lie because in fact He did go up to the feast, just not publicly but secretly (Jn 7:10). He simply did not go up the way they wanted him to go, which was in public. His time (kairos) refers to His arrest, trial and crucifixion, the time which was sovereignly determined by God. God's timetable was set in stone before the foundation of the world and could not be altered by human beings. This was the same answer Jesus gave His mother when she wanted him to provide wine for the wedding guests at Cana (John 2:4). J C
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Robertson - They marvelled at Christ's "ignorance" and boasted of their own knowledge of the law of Moses. And yet they violated that law by not practising it. A sudden and startling question (Why do you seek to kill Me?) as an illustration of their failure to do the law of Moses. Jesus had previously known (John 5:39, 45-47) that the Jews really rejected the teaching of Moses while professing to believe it. On that very occasion they had sought to kill him (John 5:18), the very language used here. Apparently he had not been to Jerusalem since then. He undoubtedly alludes to their conduct then and charges them with the same purpose now. John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?" BGT John 7:20 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ὄχλος· δαιμόνιον ἔχεις· τίς σε ζητεῖ ἀποκτεῖναι; KJV John 7:20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? NET John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You're possessed by a demon! Who is trying to kill you?" CSB John 7:20 "You have a demon!" the crowd responded. "Who wants to kill You?" ESV John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" NIV John 7:20 "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?" NLT John 7:20 The crowd replied, "You're demon possessed! Who's trying to kill you?" NRS John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?" NJB John 7:20 The crowd replied, 'You are mad! Who wants to kill you?' NAB John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You are possessed! Who is trying to kill you?" YLT John 7:20 The multitude answered and said, 'Thou hast a demon, who doth seek to kill thee?' GWN John 7:20 The crowd answered, "You're possessed by a demon! Who wants to kill you?" BBE John 7:20 The people said in answer, You have an evil spirit: who has any desire to put you to death? RSV John 7:20 The people answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" NKJ John 7:20 The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" ASV John 7:20 The multitude answered, Thou hast a demon: who seeketh to kill thee? MIT John 7:20 The crowd replied, "You are crazy. Who is trying to kill you?" You: John 8:48,52 Jn 10:20 Mt 10:25 Mt 11:18,19 Mt 12:24 Mk 3:21-22,30 Ac 26:24 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Mark 3:21-22 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” John 8:48 (MORE ACCUSATIONS OF JESUS BEING DEMON POSSESSED!) The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” John 8:52 (MORE ACCUSATIONS OF JESUS BEING DEMON POSSESSED!) The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ John 10:20 (MORE ACCUSATIONS OF JESUS BEING DEMON POSSESSED!) Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Matthew 11:18; 19 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” CROWD INSTANTLY REPUDIATES JESUS' CHARGE The crowd answered, "You have a demon (daimonion)! - They are addressing Jesus' statement that they are seeking to kill Him! Technically the crowd was committing blasphemy accusing Him of having a demon, but presumably they (the pilgrims who had come from out of town to the feast) were doing so out of ignorance. The crowd composed of pilgrims from all parts of Israel for the feast were ignorant of their leaders' plotting to kill Jesus. They express their disbelief that Jesus would utter such the charge in Jn 7:19, reasoning that surely an evil spirit had disturbed His mind (that He was beside Himself and/or mad) and given Him the false idea that He was being persecuted. Sadly even the common people would capitulate to the murderous desires of their leaders, Mark recording "the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead." (Mk 15:11+). And this is not the last time in John's gospel Jesus will be accused of having a demon (Jn 10:20)! A T Robertson on the crowd - Outside of Jerusalem (the Galilean crowd as in John 7:11-12) and so unfamiliar with the effort to kill Jesus recorded in John 5:18. It is important in this chapter to distinguish clearly the several groups like the Jewish leaders (John 7:13, 15, 25-26, 30, 32, etc.), the multitude from Galilee and elsewhere (John 7:10-13, 20, 31, 40, 49), the common people of Jerusalem (John 7:25), the Roman soldiers (John 7:45-46). John Heading - Elsewhere, He recalled that the people accused John the Baptist of having a demon (Luke 7:33) Through not wishing to recognise the divine power possessed by the Lord, on one occasion the Pharisees declared that it was by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons, that He cast out demons (Matt 12:24), leading to the parables in Matt 13 when the Lord sought to hide the truth from such evil men. These blasphemous accusations continued in John 8:48, 52; 10:20. (What the Bible Teaches - John) Who seeks (zeteo) to kill (apokteino) You? - To these pilgrims (who had not yet fallen to the level of the evil intentions of their Jewish leaders) it was unthinkable that anyone would seek to kill Him. Imagine the murderous Jewish leaders standing by silently with the eyes of the crowd searching their faces. Colin Kruse - The crowd appear ignorant of their leaders’ plans (Jn 5:18; 7:1). They took Jesus’ statement about people wanting to kill him as evidence of the paranoia of a demon-possessed person. (Borrow The Gospel According to John : An Introduction and Commentary) John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel. BGT John 7:21 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἓν ἔργον ἐποίησα καὶ πάντες θαυμάζετε. KJV John 7:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. NET John 7:21 Jesus replied, "I performed one miracle and you are all amazed. CSB John 7:21 "I did one work, and you are all amazed," Jesus answered. ESV John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. NIV John 7:21 Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. NLT John 7:21 Jesus replied, "I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. NRS John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. NJB John 7:21 Jesus answered, 'One work I did, and you are all amazed at it. NAB John 7:21 Jesus answered and said to them, "I performed one work and all of you are amazed YLT John 7:21 Jesus answered and said to them, 'One work I did, and ye all wonder, GWN John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I performed one miracle, and all of you are surprised by it. BBE John 7:21 This was the answer of Jesus: I have done one work and you are all surprised at it. RSV John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel at it. NKJ John 7:21 Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. ASV John 7:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I did one work, and ye all marvel because thereof. MIT John 7:21 Jesus answered them, "I did one work and everyone was astounded by it. I have: John 5:9-11 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: John 5:9-11+ Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” JESUS RECALLS THE HEALING AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA Jesus recalls this miracle of healing on the Sabbath as a pivotal one, because it stirred the hatred of the Jewish leaders against Him to the point that they then actively began to plot His murder. Note that Jesus does not even respond to the crowd's statement that He has a demon. In other words, He does not deny His accusation that the rulers were seeking to kill Him.
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Robertson - Jesus had said: "Seek and ye shall find" (Matthew 7:7), but this will be too late. Now they were seeking (Jn 7:30) to kill Jesus, then they will seek deliverance, but too late. William
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Robertson - They are punctilious about their (man-made) Sabbath rules and about (God ordained) circumcision on the eighth day. When they clash, they drop the (man-made) Sabbath rule and circumcise. Swindoll - Circumcision was to take place on the eighth day of life for every male born to Hebrew parents, regardless of the day. This meant that some part of the man-made Sabbath traditions would have to be broken. If the rite of circumcision could override the Sabbath rules, why wouldn’t the miraculous, God-orchestrated healing of a desperately infirmed man? (See Insights on John scroll up/down for more text) NET Note If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man's body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca. A.D. 100) states: "If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the 248 members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall the saving of the whole body suspend the Sabbath?" So absolutely binding did rabbinic Judaism regard the command of Lev 12:3 to circumcise on the eighth day, that in the Mishnah m. Shabbat 18.3; 19.1, 2; and m. Nedarim 3.11 all hold that the command to circumcise overrides the command to observe the Sabbath. Robert Mounce - At best, the law (circumcise on 8th day) is but a gracious indicator of how people should direct their lives in order to conform to the righteous character of their Creator. When Jesus healed the lame man at Bethesda, he was fulfilling a righteous obligation for which the law could only suggest a series of dos and don’ts. Acts of mercy take precedence over the functional nature of law. The latter serves the interests of the former. In Jesus’ words, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27). (See John - Google Books - scroll up/down for more text) David
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Robertson says that it is "Old word from cholē (bile, gall)...Only here in NT. So to be mad...Vivid picture of bitter spleen against Jesus for healing a man on the sabbath when they circumcise on the Sabbath." Literally it means "to be full of black bile!" (See English gall) Circumcision dealt with only the removal of the foreskin, but Jesus dealt with removal of infirmity from an entire or whole man. Jesus concludes His Argumentum a fortiori, the argument from the lesser (minor surgical procedure of circumcision they would carry out if the 8th day fell on a Sabbath) to the greater (making a man completely well), which left them with no defense or refutation. In other words, Jesus says if they tolerate the "work" of circumcising a male infant on the Sabbath, how could they object if Jesus healed a man's entire body on the Sabbath? So with flawless logic Jesus accomplished two things - (1) He exposed their legalistic hypocrisy and (2) He proved that in fact it was permissible to carry out good deeds on the Sabbath. One can imagine the Jewish leaders faces beginning to turn red and their blood pressure rising. They simply had no excuse. Their accusations against Jesus evaporated. Jesus' rhetorical question was meant to convict the Jewish leaders. Colin Kruse - Jewish scholars used a similar argument in defence of actions necessary to preserve the life of the whole person, which was more important than circumcision, which affects only one member. (‘If circumcision, which affects one of man’s two hundred and forty-eight members, supersedes the Sabbath, how much more must his whole body (if his life is in danger of death) supersede the Sabbath?’ -- Yoma 85b) Jesus applied their principle more widely—to healing people’s whole bodies even when they were not in immediate danger of death. (Borrow The Gospel According to John : An Introduction and Commentary) John
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Robertson - The people of the city in contrast to the multitude of pilgrims at the feast. They form a separate group. The Greek word (Hierosolumites) is made from Ierosoluma and occurs in Josephus and IV Maccabees. In NT only here and Mark 1:5. These Jerusalem people knew better than the pilgrims the designs of the rulers (Vincent) Robert Mounce suggests "The people of Jerusalem” (the word “Jerusalemites” is found only here and in Mark 1:5 in the whole New Testament) are apparently a third group (PILGRIMS, AUTHORITIES THE OTHER TWO), the Jerusalem mob. They were not the instigators of the plot to arrest Jesus, but they knew about it, as their words here show. (See The Gospel of John)
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Robertson - lt was sarcasm about the leaders, though an element of surprise on the part of “these shrewd townsmen” (Bernard) may have existed also. The rulers do not really know (ginosko) that this is the Christ (Christos - The Messiah), do they? - NRSV “Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?” In Jn 7:25 their question called for a "YES", but here the question demands a "NO". It is like they are saying "no they do not know," but the Jerusalemites will immediately dismiss this question in Jn 7:26. Know is ginosko which refers to knowledge gained by experience. The idea is "have they found out that this is the Christ (THE MESSIAH)?" The citizens were not affirming that Jesus was the Christ (MESSIAH), but were trying to account for this strange inactivity of their rulers given the fact that Jesus had in essence put Himself in their power by coming and standing in Temple courts and teaching openly. They are saying "What has happened? Can it be that they have found out that He is the Messiah?" But to reiterate this question calls for a negative reply. A T Robertson - Negative answer expected by mē pote and yet there is ridicule of the rulers in the form of the question. J C
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Robertson - The rulers knew the birthplace to be Bethlehem (Jn 7:42; Mt. 2:5f.), but some even expected the Messiah to drop suddenly from the skies as Satan proposed to Jesus to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple. The Jews generally expected a sudden emergence of the Messiah from concealment with an anointing by Elijah (Apoc. of Bar. XXIX. 3; 2 Esdr. 7:28; 13:32; Justin Martyr, Tryph. 110). Albert Barnes on no one knows - The rabbins have the following proverb: Three things come unexpectedly: 1. A thing found by chance. 2. The sting of a scorpion: and, 3. The Messiah. It was probably in reference to the above that the people said, No man knoweth whence he is. (John 7 Commentary) Martin Luther - “The Jews are poor scholars. They have caught the sound of the prophet’s clock, (Micah. 5:2,) but they have not noted the stroke aright. He who does not hear well, imagines well. They heard that Christ was so to come, that none should know whence He came. But they understood not right, that coming from God He was to be born of a virgin, and come secretly into the world.” G Campbell
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Robertson adds that "There were millions of these scattered Jews." Marvin Vincent on the dispersion - The Jews who remained in foreign lands after the return from the Captivity were called by two names: 1. The Captivity, which was expressed in Greek by three words, viz., ἀποικία, a settlement far from home, which does not occur in the New Testament; μετοικεσία, change of abode, which is found in Matthew 1:11, 12, 17, and always of the carrying into Babylon; αἰχμαλωσία, a taking at the point of the spear; Ephesians 4:8; Revelation 13:10. 2. The Dispersion (διασπορά). See on 1 Peter 1:1 (of the dispersion; from διασπείρω, to scatter or spread abroad; σπείρω meaning, originally, to sow. The term was a familiar one for the whole body of Jews outside the Holy Land, scattered among the heathen.); see on James 1:1. The first name marks their relation to their own land; the second to the strange lands. F F Bruce quips that ironically "Little did the speakers know that, while Jesus was not to go in person among the Greeks, His followers would be numbered in the tens of thousands in the Greek lands in a few years’ time.” (Borrow The Gospel of John) The Jews speaking to HIm were focused on this present, passing world, while Jesus was alluding to the future, eternal world. They needed spiritual ears to understand His true meaning. There were thinking like unsaved men Paul described in 1Co 2:14+ writing "a natural (UNSAVED) man does not accept (dechomai = put out the welcome mat for) the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he (absolutely) cannot understand (suniemi = "put the pieces of the puzzle together" so to speak) them, because they are spiritually appraised." It is ironic that they focus on Jesus' teaching (as in Jn 7:14-17, 28) but they themselves refuse to receive His teaching! Andreas Kostenberger notes that "Jews had been living outside Palestine ever since the Babylonian exile. When they were allowed to return from exile, some went back, but many did not. In later years, many cities boasted a considerable Jewish population, including Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome. (See John - Page 239) Rodney Whitacre says "There is, of course, enormous irony in their thinking Jesus might go among the Greeks. It is the arrival of the Greeks, who ask to see Jesus (Jn 12:20), that signals the coming of His hour. Through the witness of His disciples He will indeed go and teach the Greeks (cf. Jn 10:16; Jn 17:20). These opponents say more than they realize, just as Caiaphas will later (Jn 11:49–50). In both cases what is said refers to Jesus’ death. These opponents are seeking to kill Jesus, but through His death the world will be saved." (Jesus Reveals Himself as the Messiah Who Has Come from God and Who Is Returning to God Jn 7:25-36) THOUGHT - Many people I speak with say they don't read the Bible because they cannot understand the Words. They are correct. The fact is that if they are not born again and indwelt by the Spirit, the "Interpreter" of the Word of God, then the words they read cannot be understood. Jesus made it very clear that spiritual truth can only be discerned with spiritual eyes and ears that have been opened (and see the role of obedience in Jn 7:17+). Luke writes "Then He opened their minds to understand (suniemi = "put the pieces of the puzzle together" so to speak) the Scriptures." (Lk 24:45+, cf Ps 119:18+, 2Co 4:6+) This same principle applies to believers, for if we try to read the Holy Word and have unconfessed sin, we in effect quench our "Interpreter." Dispersion (1290) diaspora noun form of diaspeiro from dia = through + speiro = sow, scatter seed) literally means "through a sowing". "Speiro" is the derivative from which sperma the Greek word for “seed” comes. All this to say that diaspora indicates a scattering abroad which is a technical term to identify Jews living outside Palestine. Used 3x - Jn. 7:35; Jas. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1 John 7:36 "What is this statement that He said, 'You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?" BGT John 7:36 τίς ἐστιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὃν εἶπεν· ζητήσετέ με καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσετέ [με], καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν; KJV John 7:36 What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come? NET John 7:36 What did he mean by saying, 'You will look for me but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come'?" CSB John 7:36 What is this remark He made: 'You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?" ESV John 7:36 What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'Where I am you cannot come'?" NIV John 7:36 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'?" NLT John 7:36 What does he mean when he says, 'You will search for me but not find me,' and 'You cannot go where I am going'?" NRS John 7:36 What does he mean by saying, 'You will search for me and you will not find me' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" NJB John 7:36 What does he mean when he says: "You will look for me and will not find me; where I am, you cannot come?" ' NAB John 7:36 What is the meaning of his saying, 'You will look for me and not find (me), and where I am you cannot come'?" YLT John 7:36 what is this word that he said, Ye will seek me, and ye shall not find? and, Where I am, ye are not able to come?' GWN John 7:36 What does he mean when he says, 'You will look for me, but you won't find me,' and 'You can't go where I'm going'?" BBE John 7:36 What is this saying of his, You will be looking for me and will not see me, and where I am you may not come? RSV John 7:36 What does he mean by saying, `You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, `Where I am you cannot come'?" NKJ John 7:36 "What is this thing that He said,`You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come '?" ASV John 7:36 What is this word that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, ye cannot come? MIT John 7:36 What does his statement mean?—You will search for me and not find me; and where I am, you cannot come." What is this statement: John 3:4,9 6:41,52,60 Jn 12:34 16:17,18 You will seek: John 7:34 1Co 2:14 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries LEADERS PUZZLE OVER JESUS' STATEMENT What is this statement (literally - "what is this word" - logos) that He said, 'You will seek (zeteo) Me, and will not find (heurisko) Me; and where I am, you (ou + dunamai - absolutely will not be able to) cannot come - Note that this is a prophecy (will seek...will not find). The Jews are bewildered by Jesus' statement and as alluded to earlier, they completely miss the critical spiritual implications. Jn 8:21+ Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” Leon
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Robertson - Indignant outburst of the Sanhedrin (both Sadducees and Pharisees) at the failure of the (tous, note article here referring to John 7:32) temple police to arrest Jesus. “Apparently they were sitting in expectation of immediately questioning him” (Dods). They were stunned at this outcome. NET Note on the chief priests and Pharisees - The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. John 7:46 The officers answered, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks." BGT John 7:46 ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ ὑπηρέται· οὐδέποτε ἐλάλησεν οὕτως ἄνθρωπος. KJV John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. NET John 7:46 The officers replied, "No one ever spoke like this man!" CSB John 7:46 The police answered, "No man ever spoke like this!" ESV John 7:46 The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!" NIV John 7:46 "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. NLT John 7:46 "We have never heard anyone speak like this!" the guards responded. NRS John 7:46 The police answered, "Never has anyone spoken like this!" NJB John 7:46 The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.' NAB John 7:46 The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this one." YLT John 7:46 The officers answered, 'Never so spake man -- as this man.' GWN John 7:46 The temple guards answered, "No human has ever spoken like this man." BBE John 7:46 The servants made answer, No man ever said things like this man. RSV John 7:46 The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" NKJ John 7:46 The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" ASV John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man so spake. MIT John 7:46 They replied, "Never has anyone spoken as does this man!" DBY John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spoke thus, as this man speaks. NIRV John 7:46 "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards replied. RWB John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spoke like this man. Never: John 7:26 Mt 7:29 Lu 4:22 John 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries OFFICER'S RATIONALE FOR NOT ARRESTING JESUS The officers answered, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks - Never is oudepote which means essentially "Never at any time!" Their reply is interesting. It was something about the way He spoke or what He spoke that prevented the officers from arresting Him. It took courage for the officers to make this admission! Steven
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Robertson - Police officers are not usually carried away by public speech. They had fallen under the power of Jesus “as the Galilean peasants had been impressed” (Bernard) in verses 28f. It was the words of Jesus that had so gripped these officers, not his works (15:24). It was most disconcerting to the Sanhedrin. Matthew
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Robertson - “Did any one of the rulers believe on him?” “What right have subordinates to have a mind of their own?” (Dods). These police were employed by the temple authorities (rulers). “Power was slipping through their fingers” (Dods) and that was the secret of their hostility to Jesus. NET Note on rulers - the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
João 7
Robertson - The Pharisees had a scorn for the am haaretz [ʿam-haʾareṣ; עַם־הָאָרֶץ] or “people of the earth” (cf. our “clod-hoppers”) as is seen in rabbinic literature. It was some of the ὀχλος [ochlos] (multitude at the feast especially from Galilee) who had shown sympathy with Jesus (7:12, 28f.).
João 7
Robertson says these Pharisees " mean to imply that Nicodemus from local feeling or prejudice has lined himself up with this Galilean mob (ὀχλος [ochlos]) of sympathizers with Jesus and is like Jesus himself a Galilean. “These aristocrats of Jerusalem had a scornful contempt for the rural Galileans” (Bernard)." Search, (ereunao) and see that no prophet (prophetes) arises out of Galilee - The arrogant Pharisees issue two commands (both aorist imperative = "Do this now!") challenging Nicodemus who had been designated by Jesus Himself as "the teacher of Israel!" Once again these teachers of the Law prove themselves ignorant of the Law they claim to stand for. There is no evidence that they even gave Nicodemus an opportunity to address their challenge to search and see! If they had, Nicodemus may have rebutted them with names of several prophets from Galilee! But they were not remotely interesting in truth! They were callous, hard hearted hypocrites! So presumably Nicodemus did not respond. C H
João 7:37
Robertson adds that stood is "Past perfect active of histēmi used as imperfect and intransitive and first aorist active of krazō. Picture Jesus standing (linear) and suddenly crying out (punctiliar)." Jesus' standing and crying out surely must have arrested the attention of the crowd. Boice calls this "the most important and happy invitation you and I can ever receive, and the great promise that goes with it." Jesus...cried - "This invitation emphasizes that main issue in life is Jesus Christ. It is not politics, race relations, economics or health—but Jesus....Christ presents Himself symbolically as the water of life and indicates that all who come to Him for salvation will receive the Holy Spirit (cp. I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13). It is an invitation to all with a great promise. (Analytical Bible Expositor: John) Ray Pritchard - Note that Jesus stands and cries out with a loud voice. He pleads with people to come and drink the living water. You would think it would be the lost world that cries out for help, but it is the Lord himself who pleads with us. This is a strange thing. We are the ones who choose to die. It is God who pleads with us to live. He doesn’t say, “Clean yourself up and then I’ll give you living water.” Thank God, we can come begrimed with the dirt of our sin, and the living water itself will wash us clean. (When God Comes Near- “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”) Cried out (2896)(krazo) refers to a loud cry, one expressive of deep emotion and occasionally translated shouting (Mt 21:15, 27:23). Krazo is an onomatopoeic word for the very pronunciation imitates the hoarse cry (croak) of a raven ("caw, caw" - Listen). Thus figuratively, krazo described one crying out loudly even with an urgent tone! When Peter was sinking in Jn 14:30 "he cried out (krazo), 'Lord, save me!'" Imagine Jesus' loudly crying out with deep emotion - "Come and drink!" In the Septuagint (Greek version of the OT) we see this same verb describing the Seraphim cry out "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts." (Isa 6:3) Krazo is used in Jeremiah to warn the people of Judah and Jerusalem of impending judgment (Jer 4:5, 25:34). In Jer 11:11 (cp Mic 3:4) krazo describes the cry of the people to Jehovah when judgment comes, but He says "I will not listen to them." Jer 11:12 depicts the people crying out to their idols which "surely will not save them in the time of their disaster." But krazo is also used in one of the most mercy filled verses in the OT - "Call (krazo in the aorist imperative) to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3) Krazo was used 3 times by Jesus including the present passage - (1) A second use in this same chapter - "Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, "You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know." (Jn 7:28) and (2) In His last words on the Cross - "Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit." (Mt 27:50) So John's use of krazo gives us a sense of the dramatic effect as our Lord on the last day shouted out these great words. He wanted all present to hear and heed His cry! There must have been a great throng present and surely all present heard His gracious invitation to "Come!" Dear reader, are you thirsty? Are you thirsty? Let me rephrase that "Is your soul thirsty?" Does your innermost being feel a gnawing sense of imminent dehydration spiritually speaking? Have you come and drunk of Jesus? Does the Spirit flow out of you like a mighty life giving river to the dying world? THE ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL Jn 7:37b Ray Pritchard writes that "Jesus’ words must have shocked His hearers with their stunning simplicity: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (Jn 7:37). That short statement contains the essence of the Gospel message. It is centered in a person-Jesus Christ. It is offered to all without restriction-If anyone. It is predicated upon human need-If anyone is thirsty. It demands a personal response-Let Him come to me. It invites personal participation-and drink. If - Jesus introduces this invitation with a crucial condition. Without thirst for the things of God, we won't seek Him (Ro 3:11b). The mystery is that no one seeks for God, so that any thirst for the things of God that a sinner has reflects His working on our hearts to prompt that holy desire! A UNIVERSAL INVITATION Anyone - This promise is open to anyone! So no one is too bad to be lost, even as no one is too good to be saved. No one is too guilty, too miserable, too bad to come. It they sense their soul is dry (dead) and parched (spiritually), the sense a need and they are simply to come and drink. Ray Pritchard - Here is good news for the worst of sinners. Christ turns no one away. Here is good news for homosexuals trapped in their sin. Here is good news for murderers and adulterers and liars and thieves and cheaters. Here is good news for angry men and woman. Here is good news for defeated, despairing, discontented souls who feel like giving up. Here is good news for those ruined by drugs and alcohol. Here is good news for prisoners—and for all who are trapped in the prison of sin. Here is good news for the worst of sinners. If you are thirsty, come and drink the Living Water. (When God Comes Near- “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”) Douglas Cecil applies this truth of Jesus' universal offer to personal evangelism, noting that "the flow of living water is available to “whoever believes.” Notice that Jesus’ offer is all-inclusive. It is open to everyone—“whoever believes.” In other words, becoming a source of living water to a lost world is not just for those who are more gifted in evangelism. It is not just for those who have the “bent” for evangelism; it is for everyone who believes. In our Christian culture we tend to believe that evangelism is only for the gifted. I often hear phrases like, “I just do not have the ability to be able to be involved in evangelism.” However, that mind-set contradicts what the passage says. The passage tells me that anyone who believes has the ability to reproduce in Christ." (Ibid) THE AGE OLD QUESTION... ARE YOU THIRSTY? Thirsty - This metaphor speaks not of physical thirst but spiritual thirst. In the OT we see the related phrase "my soul thirsts" for God. Spiritual thirst is a picture of one of our greatest physical needs, our need for water. A man can live many days without food, but cannot survive long without water (cp Amos 8:13). By analogy our greatest spiritual need is for Jesus and the new birth His Spirit brings about when we place our faith in Him. Remember the Sprite commercial which had the tagline Obey your Thirst? Jesus is saying "Obey your spiritual thirst. Come and by faith drink of Me." No matter how much we drink from the wells of worldly wealth, fame and pleasure, we will only become more thirsty. The only real thirst quencher of our parched soul is Jesus The Giver of living water. So the devout sons of Korah cry "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Ps 42:2). And David cries "O God, You are my God (Rich Mullins uses this phrase in his song "Sometimes by Step"); I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Ps 63:1)
João 7:37
Robertson notes - Future tense of dipsaō, the two strong human appetites will be gone, a clear refutation of a gross materialistic or sensual conception of the future life. Revelation 21:6-note Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. (The NT equivalent of the invitation in Isaiah 55:1). Revelation 22:17-note The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (The NT equivalent of the invitation in Isaiah 55:1). Dipsao - 29v in the Septuagint (Lxx) - Ex 17:3; Jdg 4:19; 15:18; Ru 2:9; Job 18:9; 22:7; 29:23; Ps 42:2; Ps 63:1; Ps 107:5; Pr 25:21, 25; 28:15; Isa 21:14; 25:4-5; 29:8; 32:2, 6; 35:1, 6-7; 41:18; 48:21; 49:10; 53:2; Isa 55:1; 65:13; Jer 31:25. Notice the first use in Ex 17:3 speaks of literal physical thirst, which prompted the Israelites to come to Moses and grumble! Here are some interesting OT uses of dipsao... Ruth 2:9 (Boaz to Ruth) "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." Comment: Many commentators see Boaz as an OT symbol or picture of Christ and here we see him offering water without cost to a poor Moabite woman! John
João 7:37-39
Robertson adds that stood is "Past perfect active of histēmi used as imperfect and intransitive and first aorist active of krazō. Picture Jesus standing (linear) and suddenly crying out (punctiliar)." Jesus' standing and crying out surely must have arrested the attention of the crowd. Boice calls this "the most important and happy invitation you and I can ever receive, and the great promise that goes with it." Jesus… cried - "This invitation emphasizes that main issue in life is Jesus Christ. It is not politics, race relations, economics or health—but Jesus… Christ presents Himself symbolically as the water of life and indicates that all who come to Him for salvation will receive the Holy Spirit (cp. I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13). It is an invitation to all with a great promise. (Analytical Bible Expositor: John) Ray Pritchard - Note that Jesus stands and cries out with a loud voice. He pleads with people to come and drink the living water. You would think it would be the lost world that cries out for help, but it is the Lord himself who pleads with us. This is a strange thing. We are the ones who choose to die. It is God who pleads with us to live. He doesn’t say, “Clean yourself up and then I’ll give you living water.” Thank God, we can come begrimed with the dirt of our sin, and the living water itself will wash us clean. (When God Comes Near- “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”) Cried out (2896)(krazo) refers to a loud cry, one expressive of deep emotion and occasionally translated shouting (Mt 21:15, 27:23). Krazo is an onomatopoeic word for the very pronunciation imitates the hoarse cry (croak) of a raven ("caw, caw" - Listen). Thus figuratively, krazo described one crying out loudly even with an urgent tone! When Peter was sinking in Jn 14:30 "he cried out (krazo), 'Lord, save me!'" Imagine Jesus' loudly crying out with deep emotion - "Come and drink!" In the Septuagint (Greek version of the OT) we see this same verb describing the Seraphim cry out "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts." (Isa 6:3) Krazo is used in Jeremiah to warn the people of Judah and Jerusalem of impending judgment (Jer 4:5, 25:34). In Jer 11:11 (cp Mic 3:4) krazo describes the cry of the people to Jehovah when judgment comes, but He says "I will not listen to them." Jer 11:12 depicts the people crying out to their idols which "surely will not save them in the time of their disaster." But krazo is also used in one of the most mercy filled verses in the OT - "Call (krazo in the aorist imperative) to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3) Krazo was used 3 times by Jesus including the present passage - (1) A second use in this same chapter - "Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, "You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know." (Jn 7:28) and (2) In His last words on the Cross - "Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit." (Mt 27:50) So John's use of krazo gives us a sense of the dramatic effect as our Lord on the last day shouted out these great words. He wanted all present to hear and heed His cry! There must have been a great throng present and surely all present heard His gracious invitation to "Come!" Dear reader, are you thirsty? Are you thirsty? Let me rephrase that "Is your soul thirsty?" Does your innermost being feel a gnawing sense of imminent dehydration spiritually speaking? Have you come and drunk of Jesus? Does the Spirit flow out of you like a mighty life giving river to the dying world? THE ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL Jn 7:37b Ray Pritchard writes that "Jesus’ words must have shocked His hearers with their stunning simplicity: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (Jn 7:37). That short statement contains the essence of the Gospel message. It is centered in a person-Jesus Christ. It is offered to all without restriction-If anyone. It is predicated upon human need-If anyone is thirsty. It demands a personal response-Let Him come to me. It invites personal participation-and drink. If - Jesus introduces this invitation with a crucial condition. Without thirst for the things of God, we won't seek Him (Ro 3:11b). The mystery is that no one seeks for God, so that any thirst for the things of God that a sinner has reflects His working on our hearts to prompt that holy desire! A UNIVERSAL INVITATION Anyone - This promise is open to anyone! So no one is too bad to be lost, even as no one is too good to be saved. No one is too guilty, too miserable, too bad to come. It they sense their soul is dry (dead) and parched (spiritually), the sense a need and they are simply to come and drink. Ray Pritchard - Here is good news for the worst of sinners. Christ turns no one away. Here is good news for homosexuals trapped in their sin. Here is good news for murderers and adulterers and liars and thieves and cheaters. Here is good news for angry men and woman. Here is good news for defeated, despairing, discontented souls who feel like giving up. Here is good news for those ruined by drugs and alcohol. Here is good news for prisoners—and for all who are trapped in the prison of sin. Here is good news for the worst of sinners. If you are thirsty, come and drink the Living Water. (When God Comes Near- “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”) Douglas Cecil applies this truth of Jesus' universal offer to personal evangelism, noting that "the flow of living water is available to “whoever believes.” Notice that Jesus’ offer is all-inclusive. It is open to everyone—“whoever believes.” In other words, becoming a source of living water to a lost world is not just for those who are more gifted in evangelism. It is not just for those who have the “bent” for evangelism; it is for everyone who believes. In our Christian culture we tend to believe that evangelism is only for the gifted. I often hear phrases like, “I just do not have the ability to be able to be involved in evangelism.” However, that mind-set contradicts what the passage says. The passage tells me that anyone who believes has the ability to reproduce in Christ." (Ibid) THE AGE OLD QUESTION… ARE YOU THIRSTY? Thirsty - This metaphor speaks not of physical thirst but spiritual thirst. In the OT we see the related phrase "my soul thirsts" for God. Spiritual thirst is a picture of one of our greatest physical needs, our need for water. A man can live many days without food, but cannot survive long without water (cp Amos 8:13). By analogy our greatest spiritual need is for Jesus and the new birth His Spirit brings about when we place our faith in Him. Remember the Sprite commercial which had the tagline Obey your Thirst? Jesus is saying "Obey your spiritual thirst. Come and by faith drink of Me." No matter how much we drink from the wells of worldly wealth, fame and pleasure, we will only become more thirsty. The only real thirst quencher of our parched soul is Jesus The Giver of living water. So the devout sons of Korah cry "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Ps 42:2). And David cries "O God, You are my God (Rich Mullins uses this phrase in his song "Sometimes by Step"); I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Ps 63:1)
João 7:37-39
Robertson notes - Future tense of dipsaō, the two strong human appetites will be gone, a clear refutation of a gross materialistic or sensual conception of the future life. Revelation 21:6-note Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. (The NT equivalent of the invitation in Isaiah 55:1). Revelation 22:17-note The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (The NT equivalent of the invitation in Isaiah 55:1). Dipsao - 29v in the Septuagint (Lxx) - Ex 17:3; Jdg 4:19; 15:18; Ru 2:9; Job 18:9; 22:7; 29:23; Ps 42:2; Ps 63:1; Ps 107:5; Pr 25:21, 25; 28:15; Isa 21:14; 25:4-5; 29:8; 32:2, 6; 35:1, 6-7; 41:18; 48:21; 49:10; 53:2; Isa 55:1; 65:13; Jer 31:25. Notice the first use in Ex 17:3 speaks of literal physical thirst, which prompted the Israelites to come to Moses and grumble! Here are some interesting OT uses of dipsao… Ruth 2:9 (Boaz to Ruth) "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." Comment: Many commentators see Boaz as an OT symbol or picture of Christ and here we see him offering water without cost to a poor Moabite woman! John