John 7 John 7:1–10 Jesus, exhorted by his unbelieving kinsmen to show himself at Jerusalem at the feast of tabernacles, refuseth, but afterwards goeth up in secret. John 7:11–13 The Jews seek him, and differ in their sentiments of him. John 7:14–29 He teacheth in the temple.

After the third passover, which happened after our Saviour had entered upon his public ministry, of which we read, John 5:1, and all those things which we read of, John 5—6, done by our Saviour, both at the feast at Jerusalem, John 5 and after he went into Galilee, John 6:1, and had made that…

The feast of tabernacles was a feast which God ordained the Jews to keep the fifteenth day of the seventh month, (which some make to answer our September, others our October), Lev. 23:34, Lev. 23:39, after they had gathered in the fruits of the land.

His brethren; his friends and kindred; See Poole on “Matt. 12:47”. See Poole on “Matt. 12:48”; either such as did believe in him, or such as did not believe; for, John 7:5, all of them did not believe in him; would have him leave Galilee, which was the far more obscure and ignoble part of the…

The things which thou doest, thou doest out of a desire by them to be made known, and to spread thy own fame and glory: for this, Galilee is not a proper place, because it is an obscure part in the country. The phrase which we translate to be known, is in the Greek εν παρρησια ειναι.

Not all his own friends and kindred; he came not only among his own countrymen, but among his own relations, and they received him not; or if they had some opinion of him, and some little hopes concerning him, yet they did not believe as they ought to have believed.

My time is not yet come; the time of my death, say some; of my manifestation to the world, say others: but questionless our Saviour intends no more than his time for going up to this feast, for we shall read that he did go up afterward; but, saith he, as yet I cannot go up.

By the world, our Saviour plainly understandeth the men of the world; men not regenerated, renewed, and sanctified. These men, saith he, cannot as yet hate you.

Go ye up unto this feast; let not my forbearance to go up hinder your going up according to the law. I go not up yet unto this feast; I have some particular reasons why as yet I will not go to be there at the beginning of it.

He let them take their journey to Jerusalem to the feast without him, and himself still abode in Galilee.

He went up to show his obedience to his Father’s commands, Ex. 23:17. The feast of tabernacles was the same with the feast of ingathering in the end of the year, when they had gathered their labours out of the field, mentioned Ex.

Our Saviour’s constant going up to the Jewish feasts, made the rulers of the Jews, who sought to slay him at the feast of the passover, John 5:18, (which was but six months before this), because he had violated the sabbath, (as they interpreted his healing the impotent man on that day, and bidding…

Our Saviour’s constant attendance at these public festivals, did not only create an expectation of his being there amongst his enemies, who therefore sought him there, that they might destroy him; but amongst the generality of the people, who had very different opinions about him.

Though many, both of the Galilaeans, among whom he had conversed, and of the common people of Judea, had a very good opinion of Christ, yet the rulers of the Jews were in such a rage against him, that his friends durst not freely discourse their thoughts concerning him.

About the third or fourth day of the feast (which continued seven days) our Lord, being (as was said before) come up privately and by stealth, as it were, to Jerusalem, first appears in the temple preaching.

Having never sat as a constant disciple at the feet of any of the Jewish doctors, nor been educated in their schools of the prophets, they wonder how he should come by such knowledge of the law of God, as he discovered in his discourses; wherein he made it appear, that he did not only know the…

My doctrine is not mine, considering me as the Son of man; not taught, or to be taught, me by men; not learned out of books, or by the precepts of men; not invented by me; but it is mine as it is the doctrine of the Father that sent me, and I and my Father both are one, and agree in one, 1 John…

Here our Saviour seemeth to obviate an objection which the Jews would make, viz. How they should know that the doctrine which he preached was the doctrine of God? He indeed said so, but how should they have any evidence of it? How could he make it appear to them to be of God? If any man (saith our…

Here our Saviour giveth them another note, by which they might know that his doctrine was of God, because he spake not of himself, nor sought his own glory in what he delivered.

Moses was God’s instrument in delivering his law to the people, Ex. 24:3, Deut. 33:4; a law which none of them exactly kept, but daily broke. Why do you (saith our Saviour) make it such a capital crime (suppose you were not in an error, but I had in this one point of the sabbath violated the law)…

The Jews had an opinion, that whosoever was beside himself, and talked distractedly, was influenced with an evil spirit; so as, Thou hast a devil, is no more than, Thou art mad; unless we will take the phrase as a mere term of reproach, such as we ordinarily hear at this day from some men in their…

By the one miracle it is plain, by what followeth, that he meaneth healing the man who lay at the pool of Bethesda; at this, he saith, they marvelled, by which is to be understood offended, for so it is expounded by χολατε, John 7:23; and to this sense is our Saviour’s subsequent discourse.

The particle therefore, or, for this, δια τουτο, maketh in this verse a great difficulty, what the meaning of it should be. The most probable account of it is, that it belongeth to the former verse, which should end thus, and ye all marvel for this.

The strength of this whole argument seemeth to be this: If a ritual law (such was that for observation of the sabbath, given in Mount Sinai, Ex. 20:1–17) may give place to another ritual law which is more ancient, (such was that of circumcision, given to Abraham long before), much more ought it to…

Do not judge persons, and condemn me for what I have done, merely out of your hatred, prejudice, and malice against me. Or, do not judge according to the first appearance of this fact.

Those who here speak are said to be of Jerusalem, (probably citizens), who knew more of the designs and counsels of the chief priests and elders, than those who said before, John 7:20, Thou hast a devil: who seeketh to kill thee?

The first search being over, it is probable that the rulers had not heard that Christ was come up to the feast; this made the people think that they had some knowledge that he was the Messias, otherwise they would have taken some course to have restrained his so free and open discoursing: but we…

We know this man whence he is; we know he is of Nazareth, and that Joseph is his reputed father. They also knew whence the Messias was to come, that he was to be of the family of David, of the tribe of Judah, of the town of Bethlehem: the chief priests and scribes answered Herod to that purpose,…

Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am; you might have known me by the doctrine which I have taught, and the miracles which I have wrought among you; and you had known me, if you had not shut your eyes against the light, which shone in your face: or, you say and think that you know me.

I know him, so as no man else knoweth him, Matt. 11:27; I know his essence, his will, his counsels, his laws; for I am from him by an eternal generation, his only begotten Son; and I am sent by him, as the Mediator and Saviour of the world, to declare and to execute his will and pleasure, as to…

By this time the news was come to the sanhedrim, the great court of the Jews, to whom belonged the cognizance of church affairs, false prophets, blasphemy, violation of the sabbath, &c.: they took counsel, and used endeavours to apprehend him; or it may be, some of the ruder sort of people that…

And many of the people believed on him; not as the true Messias; for the next words let us know, they did not believe him to be the Christ, but looked for him to come; but they gave credit to him as a great prophet sent from God; and doubted whether the miracles which he wrought were not as many…

Murmured here is taken in a different sense from what it was before, and signifieth as much as whispered, or talked privately among themselves. The chief priests, who were afraid that their honour would abate amongst the people; and the Pharisees, who were afraid the credit of their traditions…

Whether Christ spake these words to the officers sent to apprehend him, or to the people in the temple, is not much material to be known: he by them plainly declareth, that all their endeavours against him were vain and foolish; for he should yet live with them six months, (this was in September or…

Some think the meaning is, Ye shall seek me to execute your malice upon me, but to no purpose, for you shall not find me. Or, You shall seek me to destroy me in my church, and to root out my name; but to no purpose.

The Jews, not at all believing the Divine nature of Christ, notwithstanding all that Christ had said, and all the miracles he had wrought, are at a mighty loss to conclude what our Saviour spake of, and whither he would go; they thought he could go no where in the land of Jewry, but they should…

This saying stuck in their stomachs, and they knew not what sense to put upon it; owning nothing of the Divine nature of Christ.

Our Saviour thinketh not fit to take any notice of their guess, whither he would go, nor replies any thing to it. The feast of tabernacles was to hold seven days, Lev. 23:34, in which they were to offer up burnt offerings, Lev. 23:36.

We have had frequent occasion to open the term of believing on Christ. It may be doubted, whether those words, as the Scripture hath said, be to be referred to the first or latter part of the text.

For the evangelist tells us, that this referred to the Spirit, which believers were to receive after that Christ should be ascended into heaven. Those scriptures, Isa. 49:10, Isa. 58:11, Zech. 14:8, seem, among others, to be referred to in this promise of our Saviour.

The Prophet mentioned Deut. 18:15. Some think that the Jews expected an eminent prophet, besides Elias, to come before the Messiah; and John 1:21 would incline us to think so. But others say, it cannot be proved from their writers, that they had any expectations of any but Elias and the Messiah.

The people were divided in their opinions about Christ. Some of them were very well inclined to believe that he was the promised Messiah; but they stumbled at the country where alone they took notice of him.

The Scriptures of the Old Testament had both described the family from whence the Messiah was to arise, viz. the family of David, Ps. 132:11, and the town, which was Bethlehem, Mic. 5:2; which was David’s father’s town, where he lived also, till God called him out to the kingdom, 1 Sam.

A division as to their opinions about him, as was before expressed.

There were some that had an ill opinion of Christ, and put on the officers that came for the purpose to apprehend him; but there was none so hardy as to do it.

Probably the officers, Christ being amongst a multitude of the people that had a high opinion of him, durst not adventure to apprehend him. Some of them, as appeareth from what follows, were astonished at his doctrine; all of them agreed to return to their masters without him; at which they are…

With so much authority, evidence of truth, &c. Yet they did not cordially believe in Christ; being under the power of carnal and worldly affection, which only supernatural special grace could subdue. These were some of those, in whom the prophecy of Christ, Isa.

You, who have us not only for your masters, whose commands you ought not to dispute, but to execute; but for your teachers also, from whom you might have learned better doctrine; are you seduced? For so wicked men count all who embrace not their notions, and follow not their ways.

You ought to be ruled by us, and guided by us, who are your rulers, and your teachers: so early did the doctrine of implicit faith and obedience creep into the world; which is indeed to suppose an infallibility in teachers and rulers; to whom indeed we owe all imaginable reverence, but we must live…

Out of the great pride of their hearts they vilify the people, as not learned in the law, and so were cursed, contemptible, and not to be regarded, as to their judgment and sentiments.

Of Nicodemus we read, and of his coming by night to Jesus, John 3:1–2. He now, being one of this great court, stands up to speak for Christ, yet faintly, or at least very prudently and warily. He saith no more for him than he ought to have spoken for the greatest malefactor, viz.

That no law of God or nature condemneth any man before they had heard him speak, or had what he did deposed by witnesses before them, that they might know what he did.

Art thou also of Galilee; not that they thought Nicodemus was a Galilean; they knew him well enough; but they take up this as a term of reproach against him, for that he would offer to speak one word (though never so just) on the behalf of one against whom they had such a perfect hatred.

As little as Nicodemus said for Christ, it put a stop to their further proceedings against Christ at present. Some think that the party of the Sadducees in the council, who valued not the Pharisees’ rites and traditions, took part with Nicodemus; so as by the overruling hand of God Christ at this…