-THE LATER JUDEAN MINISTRY
-At this point, it has been about a year-and-a-half since Jesus last visited Jerusalem. At Jesus’
last visit (John 5), He healed the impotent man on the Sabbath Day. The Jewish leaders strongly
objected, claimed He had violated the Sabbath and (from that point on) sought to kill Him (John
5:18).
-Having completed the Galilean Ministry and the Ministry of Withdrawals, Jesus now returns to
Jerusalem. As we’ll see, opposition against Jesus remained strong there and the hearts of the
Jewish leaders had grown even more hardened against Him.
-During this Later Judean Ministry, Jesus would focus on Jerusalem and the surrounding region
of Judea.
-Jesus Arrives at Jerusalem During the Feast of Tabernacles
-John 7:11-52
-Jesus’ fame had continued to grow and spread. For this reason, the Jewish leadership was
anxious for Him to once again appear in Jerusalem.
-Jesus was the talk of the town. There was much “murmuring” [Greek word “goggusmos” -
“secret debate” (Thayers)] amongst the people regarding Him. Some thought that He was a
good man while others were so sorely mistaken that they thought He was deceiving the people.
-The people wouldn’t speak openly regarding Jesus because they feared the Jews. This
shows that their hatred toward Jesus was certainly no secret.
-“John here uses the word “Jews” as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of
Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitude who were in doubt about him…’
(McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 443).
-It seems to me that John’s use of the term “Jews” is even more limited in scope to the
Jewish leadership centered in Jerusalem.
-Jesus Speaks Openly at the Temple (verses 14-24)
-During the midst of the feast (days four &/or five in an eight day observance), Jesus went to the
temple and openly and boldly taught.
-The Jews were amazed at His knowledge due to the fact that they considered Him
uneducated having not been trained (in their school of thought) in accordance with their
viewpoints and traditions (see Paul’s comments in Acts 22:3).
-Jesus made it clear that His doctrine was not taught to Him by men but was sent from the Father
above. In contrast to these Jewish leaders, Jesus was not seeking His own glory but the glory of
God.
-Jesus then directly confronted those who opposed Him. He asked why they did not keep the
Law in accordance with the writings of Moses and why they sought to kill Him.
-Notice the irony here. These Jewish leaders, steeped in their own traditions, failed to keep
the Law. However, they sought to kill Jesus on the charge that He had violated the Law.
-The people were shocked at the severe accusation made by Jesus. They wondered if He
might not be in His right mind due to the effects of a demon.
-This helps to cement the distinction between the “Jews” and the “people” in John’s
writing. It seems evident that the people perceived the Jewish leaders’ opposition of
Jesus but some were unaware of their desires to kill Him. Verses 25 and 26 will also
support this because there were others amongst the people who were aware of the desire
of the “rulers” to kill Jesus.
-Jesus then made reference to His “one work.” The context bears out that this is a reference to
Jesus’ healing of the impotent man on the Sabbath Day (John 5).
-Jesus revealed their own inconsistencies in practicing circumcision when the eighth day fell
on the Sabbath but then rejecting His healing work done on the same day.
-Much of the error in today’s religious world can be accounted to mankind’s inconsistent
handling of God’s word.
-Jesus urged the people to judge righteously. “Jesus here charged his foes with having made
a false judgment, based solely on the fact that Jesus had apparently broken the sabbath; but
here he explained that the performance of an act of mercy and salvation took precedence
over sabbath law, a principle which they recognized in connection with a far lesser thing, the
rite of circumcision” (Coffman, 1974, pg 202).
-A Mixed Reaction Amongst the People (verses 25-36)
-Those who were aware of the Jewish leaders’ desire to kill Jesus took note of the fact that those
rulers were doing nothing at that time. As a result, those people wondered if the rulers’
viewpoint toward Jesus was changing. “…The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ,
do they?” (John 7:26, NASB).
-Notice, these people were denying the fact that Jesus was the Christ due to the fact that they
thought they knew where He came from (Nazareth in Galilee). Again, an earthly
perspective stood in the way of spiritual understanding.
- “The generality of the people knew very well that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem,
in the city, and of the family, of David; see John 7:42. But, from Isa 53:8, Who shall declare
his generation? they probably thought that there should be something so peculiarly
mysterious in his birth, or in the manner of his appearing, that no person could fully
understand. Had they considered his miraculous conception, they would have felt their
minds relieved on this point” (Clarke).
-John 7:42 shows that they were unaware of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem or simply denied it.
-Jesus knew they had some familiarity with His earthly history but were unaware of His pre-
existence with the Father. Since they were unable to correctly identify Him in accordance with
God’s scriptures, they did not know God, nor He whom God sent.
-“Confounded and openly contradicted by Christ, the Pharisees were furious and eagerly
wanted to take him; but the press of the people around him was so great, and there were so
many who believed in him, that considerations of prudence restrained their evil
purpose…An overruling providence prevented his arrest, despite the fact that they actually
sent a company of men to take him” (Coffman, 1974, pg 204).
-The Pharisees’ bitterness toward Jesus only increased as a result of His teaching and the fact
that many of the people believed on Him. The people reasoned amongst themselves: the
works of the expected Christ would not exceed the works of Jesus. Their conclusion: Jesus
is the Christ.
-Jesus then taught (in view of His upcoming death, burial, resurrection and ascension) that He
would not always be there with the people but would return to the One who sent Him. There,
they could not follow. They would seek Him but not find Him.
-“The words of Jesus were plain enough, but the assertion that he would return to God, and
that such a return would be denied to them was, in their ears, too preposterous to be
entertained. They therefore made light of it by construing it nonsensically. They asked if he
would go among the Jews who had never returned to Palestine, and if, when so doing, he
would teach the heathen among whom these dispersed were scattered, assuming that such
teaching would certainly frustrate and render absurd his claims to be a Jewish Messiah.
They little suspected that Jesus, through his apostles, would do this very thing and thereby
vindicate his claim as the true Messiah of God” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 448).
-The Last Day of the Feast (verses 37-44)
-On the last day of the Feast, Jesus once again cried out to the people.
-He extended an invitation for the spiritually thirsty to come to Him to drink.
-He instructed them to believe on Him. Those who would do so in the not very distant future
would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38 - “…and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost”).
-We see that the people continued in their mixed views regarding Jesus’ identity.
-“The loud cry and the nature of the words of Jesus led many of his hearers to identify him
with the prophet who should come (Deut 18:15; John 1:21; 6:14). Others were prepared to
think of him as the Messiah. This raised the problem of his origin. To meet the requirement
of Scripture, Messiah had to come from David's seed and from David's town, Bethlehem.
The people, in their ignorance, thought of Jesus as simply a Galilean. Those who looked on
him as a pretender and deceiver were in favor of laying hands on him, but were
providentially restrained (7:44)” (Wycliffe).
-Discussion Amongst the Sanhedrin (verses 45-52)
-The officers, sent by the Jewish leaders to take Jesus, returned empty handed. “The words
suggest that the Sanhedrin was assembled and waiting for the return of the officers. An
extraordinary proceeding for so great a day…” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pgs 449-450).
-When asked why they returned without Jesus, the officers said, “Never man spake like this
man.” Upon seeing and hearing Jesus, they were impressed.
-What was implied in their answer? Jesus was more than a man. “This implication was not
lost on the Pharisees. Having detected such a tender little bud of faith in the officers they
moved against it with all the savage ferocity of a wild boar” (Coffman, 1974, pg 209).
-The Jewish leaders then revealed their conceited attitude. They felt that if they didn’t believe in
Jesus then nobody else should either. Their question was clearly meant to be rhetorical. They
felt that the people who believed in Jesus were cursed through ignorance.
-However Nicodemus, unbeknownst to the other rulers, had within himself a degree of faith.
-The one who had first approached Jesus by night (John 3) now spoke out in defense of Him.
-In John 3 we find that Nicodemus considered the evidence provided by Jesus’ miraculous
works. He wanted his fellow Jewish leaders to at least hear Jesus and consider the evidence
available. After all, this is what the Law instructed - Deut 1:16.
-The Jewish leaders ignored the integrity of Nicodemus’ request and objected to Jesus with the
charge that He was from Galilee.
-They were either ignorant of the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (as Messianic
prophecy indicated in Micah 5:2) or they chose to ignore &/or deny it. These men were
certainly not above ignoring the facts, hiding the facts or even falsifying them (see
accusations made against Jesus in Luke 23).
-Also, their statement is false. Jonah, the prophet, was from the town of Gath-hepher (2
Kings 14:25). This town was originally a part of the inheritance of Zebulun and was later a
part of Galilee.