Read the Passage: John 7:25–52

Listen to the Redeemed Mind Podcast: John 7:25-52

Jesus’ Presence (7:25–36)

After arriving at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem without fanfare, John reports that Jesus began to speak publicly in the Temple. In His teaching, Christ claimed that His doctrine was from God, and He confronted the leaders about their willful distortion of the Sabbath (cf. John 7:14–24). In John 7:25–31, John records the uncertainty of the crowd. A point of confusion was that while the people understood that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, they knew where He was from (cf. John 7:28; 8:19), for He had grown up in Nazareth. Due to a misinterpretation of Mal. 3:1, the people had been taught that when the Messiah came, His appearance would be sudden and from an unknown place. By way of response, Jesus taught that their knowledge of Him was incomplete. In spite of this confusion, John surprisingly notes, “Many of the people believed in Him” (John 7:31).

Another point of confusion among the people was the leaders’ seeming toleration of Jesus’ public teaching in the Temple (cf. John 7:25–26). John records that while the rulers desired to kill Christ (cf. John 7:19–20), and even sent some of their officers to arrest Him (cf. John 5:16; 7:30, 32, 45), they were divinely prevented from taking Jesus by force “because His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30). While Christ initially taught clearly enough about Himself that many people believed in Him, at John 7:33–34 Jesus taught in a veiled way about His impending death, burial, and resurrection. The idea that Christ would soon depart to a place where the people could not follow further confused some in the crowd. Indeed, somewhat ironically, the people reasoned that perhaps Jesus planned to depart in order to teach the dispersed Jews and Gentiles outside of Israel.

Jesus’ Teaching (7:37–39)

The Feast of Tabernacles lasted for seven days. Jesus’ teaching in the Temple recorded in John 7:14–36 occurred “about the middle feast” (John 7:14), which would have been on the fourth day. In John 7:37, John records that Christ spoke again “on the last day, the great day of the feast” (John 7:37). As He had done earlier in Samaria (cf. John 4:13–14), at John 7:37–39 Jesus taught about living water. Christ’s illustration of water is likely tied to traditions that had developed in conjunction with the Feast. As Jesus spoke to the people, His offer was simply, “Come to Me and drink” (John 7:37), which is an allusion to God’s earlier invitation recorded at Isa. 55:1–3. Furthermore, John explains that Jesus’ appeal to living water is actually a picture of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 7:39). Note this same idea is present among the Old Testament prophets (cf. Ezek. 47:1–9; Zech. 13:1).

Jesus’ Authority (7:40–52)

As was noted earlier, on account of both Jesus’ teaching in the Temple and the miracles that He had performed, “Many of the people believed in Him” (John 7:31). Yet, many of those in the crowd were still perplexed about Christ’s identity. John reports that some people believed Jesus was “the Prophet” (John 7:40), while others identified Him as “the Christ” (John 7:41). The idea that Jesus was the Prophet is a reference to Moses’ promise of a future Prophet at Deut. 18:15–22. Of course, the idea that Jesus was the Christ is a reference to Him being the promised Messiah. Next, at John 7:41–42 the geographical challenge cited earlier (cf. John 7:27) appears again—albeit in a slightly different form. Here the people rightly recognized the birthplace of the Messiah as being Bethlehem (cf. Mic. 5:2), yet they were confused because they knew that Jesus was from Galilee.

In John 7:45–52 it is evident that not only was the crowd confused about Jesus’ identity, but also the Sanhedrin was perplexed. This passage begins with the chief priests and other leaders being upset that their officers had failed to arrest Christ. The response of the officers shows Jesus’ authority, for they said, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (John 7:46). Next, these leaders stated their own rejection of Christ, while condescendingly labeling those in the crowd who believed as being “accursed” (John 7:49). Nicodemus, then, pushed back on the Sanhedrin for their judgment of Jesus without properly vetting Him (cf. Deut. 1:16–18). As could be expected, Nicodemus’ reasonable call for a fair hearing was met with scorn from the leaders. In their arrogance, these men erroneously claimed that no prophet had come from Galilee, which was not true, for both Jonah and Nahum were from Galilee.

Application Questions:

1. Were Jesus’ teachings and miracles mostly done in private or in public? How can we explain Christ’s ministry methodology?
2. How can we explain the phenomena that Jesus’ teachings provoked faith in some, and rejection by others?
3. In what ways is water an appropriate illustration of the Holy Spirit? What other pictures of the Spirit are used in the Bible?
4. How can we check our own interpretations of Scripture to be sure that errors are not affecting our theology?
5. Given the religious leaders rejection of Jesus, how can we explain Nicodemus’ growing interest in Christ?