2 "Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Tabernacles, was at hand. 3 His brethren therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also may behold Thy 4 works which Thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou 5 doest these things, manifest Thyself to the world. For even 6 His brethren did not believe on Him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is alway 7 ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because 8 I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast; I go not up yet unto this feast; because My time is not yet 9 fulfilled. And having said these things unto them He abode still in Galilee.
10 "But when His brethren were gone up unto the feast, then 11 went He also up, not publicly, but as it were in secret. The 12 Jews therefore sought Him at the feast, and said, Where is He? And there was much murmuring among the multitudes 13 concerning Him; some said, He is a good Man; others said, Not so, but He leadeth the multitude astray. Howbeit no man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews."
51 "And it came to pass, when the days were wellnigh come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to 52 go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to 53 make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because 54 His face was as tho He were going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt 55 Thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them? But He turned, and rebuked them. And they 56 went to another village."
14 "But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up 15 into the temple, and taught. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned? 16 Jesus therefore answered them, and said, My teaching is not 17 Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or 18 whether I speak from Myself. He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory; but He that seeketh the glory of Him that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in 19 Him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you doeth the law? Why seek ye to kill Me? The multitude answered, 20 Thou hast a devil; who seeketh to kill Thee? Jesus answered 21 and said unto them, I did one work, and ye all marvel. For this cause hath Moses given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and on the Sabbath ye circumcise 22 a man. If a man receiveth circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are ye wroth with Me, because I made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath? 23 Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
24 "Some therefore of them of Jerusalem said, Is not this He 25 whom they seek to kill? And lo, He speaketh openly, and 26 they say nothing unto Him. Can it be that the rulers indeed 27 know that this is the Christ? Howbeit we know this Man whence He is; but when the Christ cometh, no one knoweth 28 whence He is. Jesus therefore cried in the temple, teaching and saying, Ye both know Me, and know whence I am: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, whom ye 29 know not. I know Him; because I am from Him, and He 30 sent Me. They sought therefore to take Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour was not yet come. 31 But of the multitude many believed on Him; and they said, When the Christ shall come, will He do more signs than those 32 which this Man hath done? The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning Him; and the chief 33 priests and the Pharisees sent officers to take Him. Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while am I with you, and I go unto 34 Him that sent Me. Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; 35 and where I am, ye can not come. The Jews therefore said among themselves, Whither will this Man go that we shall not find Him? will He go unto the Dispersion among the Greeks, 36 and teach the Greeks? What is this word that He said, Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me; and where I am, ye can not come?
37 "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto 38 Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given; because 40 Jesus was not yet glorified. Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words said, This is of a truth the 41 prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, 42 What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and 43 from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So there 44 arose a division in the multitude because of Him. And some
of them would have taken Him; but no man laid hands on Him.
45 "The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why did ye not bring Him? 46 The officers answered, Never man so spake. The Pharisees 47 therefore answered them, Are ye also led astray? Hath any 48 of the rulers believed on Him, or of the Pharisees? But this 49 multitude which knoweth not the law are accursed. Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to Him before, being one 50 of them), Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from 51 himself and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and see that out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
52 "[And they went every man unto his own house; but Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.]"
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. During His temporary rest in Capernaum, who came to see Jesus? What did they urge Him to do? John 7:2-5. Note 1. (Ps. 69:8.)
2. What reply did Jesus make to their entreaty? Verses 6-9.
3. When and how did He leave Capernaum? Verse 10. Note 2.
4. As soon as the feast opened what general inquiry was instituted? With what result? Verses 11-13.
5. When Jesus determined to go to the feast, what did He do? Where did they go? Luke 9:51, 52. (Acts 20:24.)
6. What success did the messengers meet? Verse 53. (John 4:9.)
7. In what suggestion did the spirit of resentment in James and John manifest itself? Verse 54. (2 Kings 1:10-12.)
8. What did Jesus say to the misguided disciples? Vs. 55, 56.
9. At what time did Jesus appear at the feast? In what way? John 7:14.
10. What answer did the Saviour make to the expressed wonder of the Jews at His profound knowledge? Verses 15-19. Note 3. (John 5:41-44.)
11. What charge was then made against Jesus? Verse 20. Note 4. (Matt. 12:23, 24.)
12. How did the Lord reveal their inconsistency of doctrine? Verses 21-24. (Lev. 12:3; Gen. 17:10.)
13. What questions did these bold words of Christ arouse among the common people? Verses 25-27.
14. State the points of discourse then given by Jesus at the feast, and their result. Verses 28-44. (Rom. 3:4.)
15. Give the conversation that took place between the temple officers sent to arrest Jesus, and the Pharisees, when the former returned without having secured their prisoner. Verses 32, 45-52. (Matt. 7:29; 1 Cor. 1:26; Deut. 1:17; Isa. 9:1, 2.)
16. As the people then retired, where did Jesus go? Verse 53; 8:1.
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," chapters 49, 50. "Spirit of Prophecy," vol. 2, chapter 29.
NOTES.
1. These "brethren" were probably the relatives from Nazareth, who had called at Capernaum on their way to the feast at Jerusalem, hoping to have Jesus there join their caravan.
2. It would not do to journey to the feast amid a crowd, as such a course might precipitate a popular movement against Him, and prematurely destroy His life. He would wait for a quiet discussion concerning Him to settle personal convictions with each, before showing Himself openly.
3. The closing expression of verse 19 makes it evident that the question of the Jews in verse 15 was one intended to excite doubt and suspicion in the popular mind against Christ and His teaching. It is also evident from the further answer of Christ that they had even charged Him with being a violator of the law, by referring to His healing a man on the Sabbath day at the Passover a few months earlier. See chap. 5:1-9. The Feast of Tabernacles was at the end of September or early in October, while the Passover came the last of March, or the first of April.
4. It is a remarkable fact that the Jews have never attempted to deny the reality of the miracles which Jesus wrought. All they can say is that He did the work by the power of Beelzebub.
