Notes on John 7: 14 – 36

Once again our initial read through showed up some interesting translation differences as we struggled to recognise the verses in the different versions. The Message Bible was the easiest to understand and did give a feeling of narrative, which seemed more illusive in the other versions. Initially the passage seemed long and disjointed and this feeling, although partially dismissed by the end, still lingered with some of us. We wondered what had been the lectionary compilers thinking when they picked such long passages, and how they thought preachers might link the Old Testament, New Testament and Epistle together in their sermons. It would be interesting to know why certain readings were put together.

However long and disjointed this passage may be, one still needs to read the proceeding and following verses to really appreciate what John is saying. As we discussed it we found that we were dipping in and out of the rest of the chapter and into some of chapter 8. In one bible chapter 7 was titled “The great controversy”, in others the passage was split into three sections with a different title for each.

There is an interesting distinction made in this passage between different elements of the crowd. Would John’s original readers have known and understood the differentiation between these groups simply by the titles John gives them? Is John asking the reader to make distinctions between the elements in the crowd and choose whom to support. Followers of Jesus will identify with Jesus’ answers to the questions posed by the various elements in the crowd, while those readers who are still not sure may identify with the questions asked. Readers who come with an attitude of opposition to Jesus will react like the Temple authorities and the Pharisees. Through interaction with the questions and answers readers are given an opportunity to come to a decision on where their allegiances lie. Parts of the crowd are asking important questions and one can identify with their confusion (verses 25 – 31). “The Jews”, an element of the crowd, but differentiated from it by this title, seem to be stirring up trouble with the rest of the crowd by asking the wrong questions (verse 15) and making statements about Jesus to cause trouble (verse 12).

The Jews from Jerusalem were distinguishable from other ethnic Jews. John usually uses the title “Jews” for those in authority, but in Chapter 8 verse 31 some of this group have believed Jesus’ words, and Jesus tells them that if they continue to do so they will become true disciples. In John’s gospel Jesus does have disciples in Jerusalem; He does not in the Synoptic Gospels where they are all from Galilee.

At the beginning of chapter 7 Jesus’ brothers are mentioned. In one Bible this relationship is designated as close relative i.e. cousin. Roman Catholics believe that Jesus was Mary’s only child, so where brother is mentioned in the New Testament it means close relative. From the beginning of chapter 7 John keeps repeating that the “time is not right!” This led us to a discussion of when the time is right for all who are called. Some of us had taken a long time to become Local Preachers, and one often hears another preacher say they wish they had begun earlier but perhaps the time was not right for them. Perhaps they were not ready to begin earlier?

How are preachers without qualifications viewed by the church today (verse 15)? Local Preachers are put through a rigorous course of study, both practical and theoretical before they are accredited. How would the Church react if a congregant felt he or she were called to preach without the benefit of the Faith and Worship course, because they believed God would give them what to say? In some churches people may preach without joining a formal course of study.

In our discussion we did not believe that Jesus was not learned: His use of scripture to back up everything He says implies that He was very learned. By reading further, to the end of the chapter (verse 52) one realises that it is Jesus ethnicity, not His learning, that is really the problem. People from Galilee were the butt of stupid jokes in much the same way that people from certain areas are today. Jesus answer was that he spoke for God. In the Old Testament this is how the Israelites would recognise a false prophet. A prophet who spoke God’s word would find that what he said would come true, but a false prophet’s words would not. All preachers’ words must honour God not themselves (verse 18). We are given authority by our congregations to preach and they would soon let us know if we started preaching our own message and not God’s.

We remembered the “He is Worthy” acclamation from our Sunday afternoon’s ordination service. It is God who gives the ultimate authority to all we say and do. One of us likened it to speaking or writing a report on behalf of a Company. It is the Company which gives authority to the person who writes or speaks on behalf of them. What they say or write therefore must be in line with Company policy, and not their own ideals or theories. This is true for those who speak for God: preachers are obliged to put forward God’s policies, not their own. Where a preacher has a strong view on something they must always give the disclaimer “my understanding is”, so that congregants are able to distinguish what is the preacher’s own view and what is not.

Verses 19 – 24 talk about the Law. Jesus says that the crowd itself are hypocrites, because they break one law (the Sabbath) to keep another law (circumcision after 8 days), yet complain when he does a similar thing. All societies have rules and, to some people, keeping them really matters, while others are more pragmatic about it. Jesus says it is not the appearance of rule-keeping that matters (verse 24): we need to keep in perspective what is more important. Sometimes workers work to rule and, when that happens, the job rarely gets done properly.

Verses 25 – 31 deal with the vital question “is this the Messiah?” The Great Controversy of the title. The vital verse is 31 where the crowd wonder about the signs Jesus has given to them. Signs are very important in John’s gospel and lead always to Jesus and who He is. In these verses the crowd ask some crucial questions for their own understanding of who Jesus is. The reader can identify with the crowd’s confusion and can ask the same questions. Jesus escapes arrest because the time is not right. The arrest of Jesus was a political manoeuvre and so not yet possible. We can remember times when someone has been arrested then released without charge. In particular he authorities need to be sure that they have everything they need to make a death penalty charge stick. They will only have one opportunity to get it right.

Although this section could be taken out of context to preach on, it does benefit from being taken alongside the rest of the passage, as the answers to the crowd’s questions are often found in the previous and following verses. The crowd sees Jesus’ signs and comes to its own conclusions. The authorities are frightened that their position is in jeopardy, and will go to any lengths to preserve the status quo.

One of us thought we might leave out verse 32 – 36 but others felt that these verses were important, as they reinforced the different attitudes towards Jesus. Once again John uses words which can have a double meaning - “the Greeks” could mean Gentiles or Jews of the Diaspora. The mention of “the Greeks” at verse 35 opens up Jesus’ message to all people. These verses 32 – 36 lead into the following farewell discourses and are important for later conclusions. Once again some people try to arrest Jesus, this time the Pharisees, who send out the Temple Guard. But they do not arrest Him. Verses 45 – 53 are important here. These verses tell us that the Temple Guard were so impressed by what Jesus was saying that they could not arrest Him, much to the discomfort of the authorities. Unable to prevent Jesus from speaking or teaching, the authorities “go home” (verse 53).