John 7; Jesus is the Living Water.

John 7 shows that Jesus is the Messiah. he came to earth so we could be rescued. Many people believed what he said. They would openly state that he was the savior of Israel, while others accused him of telling lies.

However, I don’t think anybody understood why Jesus came until he died and rose again.

The facts were in front of the people, yet many chose not to believe, and the ones who did believe were stunned when Jesus died.

This is a problem that exists today with humanity. We will hear God speak something to our hearts. Usually, it’s a little nudge or even a small push. We miss these directional markers because we are busy with life, and the message gets lost in the chaos of life.

Also if we hear what God is saying we can take what he said and add our personal bias and desires to it. Naturally, this gives us a distorted view of what God is doing, and we think God has failed us.

Both of these options are bad for followers of Christ. We need to be connected to God to hear his voice and direction.

Take your time go back to what God said, and study his word, you can find the right path. Let’s look into John 7 now.

John 7; Jesus And His Family:

After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. ² But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, ³ and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! ⁴ You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” ⁵ For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶ Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. ⁷ The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. ⁸ You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” ⁹ After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

John 7:1-9

Family Can Propel You Forward, Or Hold You Back:

Jesus performed miracles and healed many people. Yet his brothers didn’t believe in who he claimed to be. They probably thought he was crazy.

I’ve been there myself, probably on both sides of this. Picture this, you’re trying your best, and you feel like you’re making headway, and then the people who should be the most supportive, push you down into the mud.

I’m sure Jesus felt a sting of pain as his brothers said this, and the bible already states that he knew men’s hearts. (John 2). However, Jesus didn’t fight back against them. Instead, he kept going about his father’s business.

I think we can learn a lot from this simple sentence. The first thing is to know what God has called you to do and do it. The second thing is to be in control of your tongue.

The feast Jesus was going to was a big deal. It was called the Feast Of Tabernacles (or booths). God commanded the people of Israel to celebrate it. It started in the time of Joshua and the celebration was revived when The Second Temple was rebuilt. (The first was destroyed 70 years prior)

From a worldly perspective, this would be a great time for Jesus to reveal himself to the world. However he knew it wasn’t his time, and doing that early would have serious implications to God’s plan, not to mention he’d probably be disobedient to God.

Jesus wasn’t going to sin, it’s not in his nature. After all, he is the son of God and the way for humanity to be saved. He trusted his father and the plan. It also shows us that we can trust God in all things.

We might experience pain and hardship, but God has a plan.

John 7: Jesus Teaching At The Temple:

¹⁰ But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. ¹¹ The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. ¹² There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴ Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. ¹⁵ The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

¹⁶ So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. ¹⁸ Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks the truth, not lies. ¹⁹ Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

John 7:10-19

John 7 makes a statement that continues today. The name of Jesus is divisive, but that’s because his name shines a bright light on evil deeds.

People don’t want Jesus to be real, or even God. If he is, then they’re on the hook for the evil they’ve committed. You can lie to yourself for only so long, but in our hearts, we know right from wrong.

John 7 Shows us what people are saying about Jesus, and how they argued if he was the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. He healed, delivered, and set people free.

Also, he showed love to everyone, so if he’s not the Messiah, he’s certainly playing the part. And because of that, the people loved him, and the Jewish leaders began to hate him. So they plotted to murder him.

John 7 Continued;

20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon-possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

John 7: 20-24

Jesus Tries To Stay Out Of View, but Instead, He Proclaims Who He Is:

I especially like this group of verses in John 7:10-24. Jesus went secretly, staying out of public view. Later, he gives up the secrecy and starts to speak out to everybody.

It’s like he’s proclaiming that we are all headed to a cliff, and he’s here to rescue us. Some laugh at him, and others choose to follow him.

This of course is proceeded by Jesus’ teaching, and everyone wonders how he received the knowledge he had. John 7 is Jesus pleading with people to follow him.

John 7: Is Jesus The Messiah?

²⁵ Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

²⁸ While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. ²⁹ But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” ³⁰ Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

John 7:25-30

John 7 Continued:

²¹ Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

³² When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. ³³ But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

³⁵ The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! 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?”

John 7: 21-36

Does anybody else ever get confused by the way Jesus talks sometimes? I wonder if it’s the same in Greek. Maybe I’m missing cultural context.

It’s also possible that Jesus is testing his disciples by making them realize what gaps are in their knowledge. After all, Jesus knew men’s hearts already, so maybe he was trying to get the disciples up to speed here.

Either way, I need to do more digging.

John 7: Jesus Confuses The Jewish Leaders:

What Jesus says to them is puzzling. However, if you’re spiritually hungry…or thirsty, his words make sense. Come to him and you’ll find peace, hope, and healing.

Jesus was trying to confound the leaders of the day because they were pompous. They all studied at the greatest schools under the greatest leaders, and there was a carpenter’s son. And he was telling them the great mysteries of the bible.

I wonder sometimes if I’d fall in that camp. Would I notice Jesus if he was teaching in front of me? Or would I walk right by thinking he was a heretic? It’s a scary thought.

That’s why we need to know God and understand his voice. We can save ourselves a lot of grief in this life, if we open up our hearts to him, and listen to what he has to say.

In the final part of this section in John 7, Jesus alludes to his death on the cross. and says that he will be going away, and you cannot follow.

It’s cryptic, but hindsight is 20/20, and now we know what he’s given us, Eternal Life.

John 7: Jesus Promises To Give Living Water To Anyone Who Comes To Him:

³⁷ On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! ³⁸ Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”³⁹ (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

John 7:37-39

What Is The Living Water Of John 7?

Jesus refers to living water numerous times in the bible and says he’s the one to bring it. Many times people mistake this for physical water and ask where it is. It reminds me of the samaritan women in John 4, but I think most people would react similarly.

However, we fail to realize, that the physical world is a shadow of the real one. The spiritual world gave birth to the physical realm and God and resides there. Technically speaking the kingdom of God on earth, is a spiritual foothold in the physical realm.

We cut our ties with the spiritual world when we sinned against God, but God didn’t give up on us. Instead, he sent his son Jesus to die for us, he wanted to reestablish that link with us.

It’s true love and what we search for our entire lives.

John 7: Division And Unbelief Are Rampant In The Crowd

⁴⁰ When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still, others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” ⁴³ So the crowd was divided about him. ⁴⁴ Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵ When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

John 7: 40-46

John 7 Continued:

⁴⁷ “Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. ⁴⁸ “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? ⁴⁹ This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

⁵⁰ Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. ⁵¹ “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.

⁵² They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”

John 7:47-52

The truth will always cause division. I hate using the world always there, but for people to realize the truth, the lies must be exposed. Many people are too comfortable believing in the lie, whatever it may be.

This causes friction between people who see the truth and people who choose not to see it.

What’s scary here is they will invalidate their laws and procedures to remove the man who caused the disturbance, but they won’t examine their own heart.

It’s a problem of humanity, we don’t like to think the issue lies with us. Instead, we look at our neighbor and find the fault there.

Jesus was sharing the truth, and the people were divided.

John 7 My Final Thoughts

I want to be like Jesus, and I know there is a time when I’ll need to proclaim what God has called me to do, and it won’t sit well with others. (Christians and others alike). John 7 reminds me to be like Jesus and proclaim my love for him wherever I go.

People have their perceptions and their thoughts on how the world works. Focus on Jesus, he is the way. and if you pray, read the bible, and have some epic friends by your side. God will lead you into some stuff. It might not be fun, but he’ll be there with you.

I’d rather be in a battle with Jesus at my side, than at the greatest beach on the planet without him by my side. That’s how much I need him, and I hope you realize that too

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