Gospel of John Chapter 7

In John chapter 7, we step into a moment of rising tension and growing revelation. Jesus travels to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, but He goes quietly at first—aware that the religious leaders are already plotting against Him. As He begins teaching in the temple, the crowds are divided. Some are amazed, some are confused, and others are openly hostile.

This chapter captures the heart of the conflict surrounding Jesus: Who is He really? A good man? A deceiver? The promised Messiah? Jesus answers with bold clarity, declaring that His teaching comes directly from the Father and that anyone who truly seeks God will recognize the truth in His words.

The religious leaders attempt to seize Him, yet no one lays a hand on Him—because His hour has not yet come. Even the temple guards return empty‑handed, confessing, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”

John 7 invites us to wrestle with the same question the crowds faced: How do we respond to Jesus when His words challenge our expectations, traditions, and assumptions?

In this episode, we explore the tension, the controversy, and the powerful invitation Jesus offers to all who thirst: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to Dale's podcast, Love Thy Neighbour Ministries. We are now in episode seven, which is chapter seven in the Gospel of John. I'd just like to thank um everyone that is tuning in and listening. Um thank you so, so much. Everyone around the world, especially in the UK. I honestly didn't think that it would um I'd have so many listeners. Uh I thought I'd have probably about four or five for the people that I'm doing this for. Obviously, the reason for this podcast is just to get the word out there in the most simplistic form I can, going through the gospels and hopefully teaching a little bit about the language and culture and just uh putting a perspective on it really. Uh, a little bit of my background, um, I'll just share a little bit before we get into this reading. We've got a lot to go through. Um, but yeah, when when I first started reading the Bible, you know, I'd I'd read a couple of pages and I'd have to go back and and reread what I've what I've read because I just had no understanding. As well uh I was reading the Bible when I was in the Royal Air Force, and I I remember on basic training they were giving out a uh dyslexic test, and I thought, well, I'll go and do that because I'll get a break from you know marching up and down the square, so to speak. So I went for this dyslexic test thinking, oh yeah, you know, I'm gonna have a an hour or so break. I I never thought I was dyslexic, no, nor did I ever get um diagnosed when I was at school or anything like that. So I remember going for the dyslexic test, and the the officer, this this mum, um I don't know her name, she she says yes, you're you're dyslexic. And I remember just like breaking down a little bit, you know. I think the pride took over. I thought, what? You know, I can't believe it. That's probably why I'm struggling reading and and writing. But by the grace of God, two years into my career, into my REF career, I did another dyslexic test. So I remember my warrant officer, uh, I I won't say her name, um, but yeah, my warrant officer, she she asked if I'd do another one to see if you know how how severe the dyslexia was. Um the great thing about being dyslexic is your mind works a little bit differently, you learn a little bit differently to how most people learn, and I still remembered that test, and you know, I went through it, I passed it with flying colours, but one of the things that had happened in that two years, I was reading the Bible, and yeah, I just I truly believe God worked his miracle through there. Um the guy says, you know, I I wasn't dyslexic, but the thing is as well with with tutoring, I I had a a really, really good uh spiritual, you know, uh spiritual mentor in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will say his name, I'm I'm sure he won't won't uh won't be nah I won't, I won't mention any names, but he he was really like a rock of mine for the first three years in my faith and I'd go around his house while he's flat. He knows who I'm talking, he knows exactly who I'm who he is. Uh but yeah, I'd I'd read the Bible and he'd say, Dale, you know, why don't you pause him for the commas or it he'd really absolutely um cane in to me about my reading, so I had to sort of perfect it. You know, do you read out loud, Dale, in your private time? Well no, mate, you know, I'll I'll read in my head. Well, you need to start reading out loud because that's atrocious what you read. He never said atrocious, but it felt like that way. But um why am I saying this? Well, the reason why I'm saying this is because I do feel like in the 16 years I've I counted, I think I said 14 years when I first started this podcast, but I've been in in our Lord and Saviour now 16 years, and if you put the work into it and you really seek the Lord with all your heart through his word, you will find him, and he will reward you here on earth. I mean, our rewards and treasures are stored up in heaven. Don't do not get me wrong, but the little things you know, you you search him with all your heart and all your mind, he will reward you, and it's an incredible journey, guys. What what you're on, my brothers and sisters. Thank you all for listening, and let us get into it. So, the Gospel of John, chapter seven, we're gonna read all the way through to verse 39, we're then gonna break it down, and then we'll read from 40 to 53. Um, and then yeah, we're gonna go into chapter eight afterwards, obviously that follows by seven. That's quick maths for you all. So let's get into it. Jesus teaches at the feast chapter seven. After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of Booze was near. Therefore his brothers said to him, Leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world, for not even his brothers were believing in him. So Jesus said to them, My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves, I do not go up to this feast because my time has not yet fully come. Having said these things to them, he stayed in Galilee, but when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he himself also went up, not publicly, but as if in secret. So the Jews were seeking him at the feast and were saying, Where is he? There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning him. Some were saying he is a good man, others were saying no, on the contrary, he leads the people astray. Yet no one was speaking openly of him for fear of the Jews. But when it was now the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews then were astonished, saying, How has this man become learned, having never been educated? So Jesus answered them and said, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone is willing to do his will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who is seeking the glory of the one who sent him, he is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you carries out the law. Why do you seek to kill me? The crowd answered You have a demon who seeks to kill you. Jesus answered them I did one deed, and you all marvel. For this reason Moses has given you circumcision, not because it is fr from Moses, but from the fathers. And on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? Look, he is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? However, we know where this man is from. But whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where he is from. Then Jesus cried out in the temple teaching and saying, You both know me and know where I am from, and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know him because I am from him and he sent me. So they were saying to seize him, and no man laid his hand on him because his hour had not yet come. But many of the crowd believed in him, and they were saying, When the Christ comes he will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will he? The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize him. Therefore Jesus said, For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come. The Jews then said to one another, Where does this man intend to go? That we will not find him. He is not intending to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? What is the statement that he said You will seek me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. So let's dive straight into it. So in the first bit, after these things, so just to have a recap after these things is coming from the Gospel of John chapter six, those that you didn't know, those that you did, very clever. So after these things, Jesus was walking into Galilee, um, for he was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now, what I find very interesting the next verse is now the feast of the Jews, the feast of Booze was near, therefore his brothers said to him, Leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works, which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For not even his brothers were believing in him. Who were his brothers? So when we go into the Gospel of Mark, chapter six, verse three, it it reveals that Jesus had four brothers James, Joseph, um, Simon, and Judas. Well, who is Jude? And the amazing thing about this is they didn't stay unbelievers forever. So here it's like, you know, they they personally know Jesus, they're almost trying to tempt, and it reminds me in the book of Job as well, when you know Job had um three other three other friends, I think it were three, uh, just off memory, and they were trying to go Job. And you know, they were saying horrific things like Job, you must have said, and they were sort of giving them a hard time. Um anyway, I'm I'm sort of diversing a little bit. So therefore his brothers said to him, Leave here and go into Judea so that your disciples also may see your works, which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret which he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. It's almost testing Jesus a little bit. It's almost saying, if you, you know, if you think you uh if you are who you say you are, surely you'll make yourself known to the world. But as I said before, the amazing thing is that they don't stay believers forever. You see, again, spoiler alert, after Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed in their lives. Like James had a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus. You can find that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 7. He became a main leader of the early church in Jerusalem. Um, he wrote in the New Testament, you know, the Epistle of James. You know, Martin Luther even tried to remove um the book of James because it's it's very hard-hitting. I'd I do advise, I do challenge any one of you to pick up the book of James, read it and not feel convicted through the words of it. Jude, the book of Jude, you got, or you know, it's called Judas, but it is Jude. Um he converted and also became an author in the New Testament, the Epistle of Jude. Absolutely fantastic book as well. There's only one chapter in Jude, it's quite small, but it's very, very powerful. And in fact, the whole family is later seen in the upper room praying alongside the apostles just before Pentecost in the book of Acts, chapter one, verse 14. But see how Jesus said to them, My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. Jesus at the time, his time is not it the hour had not come for Jesus to um, you know, reveal himself to the world at that time, but our time, he puts it back to them, their time is always opportune, and that is our time is always opportune. We always have the time to worship the Lord our God. Scratch that. We always have the time to choose the Lord our God because God has not made us into robots where we can't um think for ourselves, he has given us the freedom to choose. We either choose the Lord our God or we do not, and if we do not choose the Lord our God, judgment is a positive. We read that in the the earlier chapters, you know. For those that have come to Christ, we are not judged, but those that do not know Christ has been judged already. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil. We are talking about the word that became flesh. Jesus is a man of ancient of times who had seen the world since the beginning. He seen the time of Noah. In fact, the days that we live in today are called that of the time of Noah. You know, but in the time of Noah everybody thought evil, evil thoughts and did evil deeds continually. Well, they did evil deeds, but their thoughts were evil continually, and I believe we're in a time now where love is growing cold. If you look into one Timothy chapter three, um I recommend you read that one as well. Um so yeah. Go up to the feast yourselves. I do not go up to the feast because my time has not yet fully come. Having said these things to them he stayed in Galilee, but when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he himself also went up, not publicly, but as if in secret. So the Jews were seeking him at the feast and were saying, Where is he? You see at this time the the Jews really wanted to kill Jesus. The miracles he performed, everything that he stood for, in their eyes was blasphemy. But yet these are the people that if they understood what Moses had said, they'd understand who exactly they were trying to kill. So at this point Jesus has gone up there as if in secret. So he's hearing what the crowds are saying. There was in verse twelve there were much grumbling among the crowds concerning him. Some were saying he is a good man, others were saying, No, on the contrary, he leads the people astray, yet no one was speaking openly of him for fear of the Jews. But when it was now the midst of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. The Jews then were astonished, saying, How has this man became learned having never been educated? Hmm, interesting that, isn't it? You see, if they knew that he is the word of God, they'd know that he brought everything into being. Nothing came into being but through the word. Let there be light. You know, or read Genesis. Everything, everything came into being through the word of God. He is the the beginning, and he is the end, the alpha, the omega. He knows everything. And it's just so I just find that so uh so ignorant to to speak of him like that. But Jesus said, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone is willing to do his will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself. And I'll tell you now, brothers and sisters, Jesus' teaching is the teaching of God, and and we're going to find more and more about that as as the series goes on. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeking the glory of the one who sent him, he is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. You see, he's almost answered what his brothers said. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. If Jesus were to show himself to the world as his brothers wanted him to, all that he had done may have been in vain because his brothers, learning of his miracles and everything else, may wanted fame and fortune and at this point Jesus is seeking that of which God has sent him. God has given Jesus a task at hand and that was to fulfil the scripture, fulfill the promise that God had given to his people that Jesus would die and raise again and all those that believed on him on his name would be saved. God had given Jesus the task to reconcile man with the living God. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you carries out the law? Why do you seek to kill me? The crowd answered, You have a demon who seeks to kill you. Jesus answered them, I did one deed, and you all marvel. For this reason Moses had given you circumcision, not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers. Circumcision was a covenant he had with Abraham to distinguish himself from the rest of the world. And on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. You know, is it good to do good or is it good to do evil? So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? Look, he is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? They however we know where this man is from, but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where he is from. Then Jesus cried out in the temple teaching and saying, You both know me and know where I am from, and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me. You know, they were seeking to seize him. Many of the crowd believed in him, and they were saying when the Christ comes, he will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will he? Many of the crowd believed that Jesus was the Christ, is the Christ. And there were those seeking to kill him. The reason being why he didn't get killed on that day is because his time wasn't yet there. His time was not yet at hand. Verse thirty-three. Therefore Jesus said, For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come. Can you imagine if the people just realize what Jesus was saying there? If they ask God to open up their hearts, circumcise their hearts and open their ears for a little while longer I'm with you. Can you imagine the living God reigning with us? Jesus, the word of God in the flesh, walking amongst us, telling us I'm only with you for a little while longer. How much would people cling to his every word to hear every single word coming out of his mouth? You imagine tomorrow, the government saying to you, all Bibles must be burnt. Not tomorrow. Let's say in a week's time the government put a law out saying all Bibles, all scripture must be burnt. It's not far off to be honest, in in the world we live in, but you imagine that. Penalty by death. Of course there'll be many Christians, including myself, I'd never burn my own Bible. And I'd rather I'd rather be put to death to have a martyr's death than ever to burn my own my my God's word. But put it into perspective, imagine that happening, and we're gonna live without the word of God in a week's time. Every single person would absolutely memorize your favourite scripture, try to memorise every single word, cling on to it. That's what we must do. Cleave on to the word of God, how precious it is, and how precious they didn't realise what they was what what Jesus was speaking of. The Jews then said to one another, Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? He is not intending to go to the dispersion amongst the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? What is this statement that he said? You will seek me and will not find me, and where I am you cannot come. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scriptures said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. From the scriptures, what was Jesus saying here? What what was he quoting? Of course, he was quoting fulfilling the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, chapter forty-four, verse three, but I'm going to read from verse two. Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you. Do not fear, O Jacob, my servant, and you, Jeson, whom I have chosen, for I will pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Amen. It's absolutely incredible. But this he spoke of the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive, for the spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus was not yet glorified, and we find out again another spoiler alert, he leaves the Spirit of God as a helper to each and every one of us. Father God, may your spirit dwell amongst all those that are listening right now, Lord, that they will spring up, they will not thirst, and you will fill them, Lord, with your righteousness and your wisdom, amen. Now let us read on verse forty. It's only a few more verses. Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, This certainly is the prophet. Others were saying, This is the Christ. Still others were saying surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is he? Has not the scriptures said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees and they said to them, Why did you not bring him in? The officers answered, Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks. The Pharisees then answered them, You have not also been led astray, have you? No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in him, has he? But the crowd which does not know the law is accursed. Nicodemus he who came to him before being one of them said to them Our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing does it? They answered him, You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee. Everyone went to his home. But these verses here are very, very, very interesting. When we um so from verse forty to fifty-three, it go into the book of Matthew, and everything that they're asking here, you know, the the lineage of David, um, you know, verse 42, has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was, you know, they they clearly don't know Jesus. They clearly do not know his lineage, and all his lineage at the time, this is why Jesus has to be Christ. Um in 70 AD the temple was destroyed, thus, the ri the records of the genealogies of of of the Jews of of all the people were actually destroyed, which is why in this day and age now we can never know, or we can never find the Messiah because you can't legally prove his genealogy. And when you go into the book of Matthew, this is this is what gripped me when I became a believer. Um, you know, I was I was in the Royal Air Force at the time, as as I spoke about earlier, and we got given a Gideon Bible, a camouflage Bible, and the and the Padre at the time uh was really good. He says if you put it in in your pocket, in your greens, you know, it stopped bullets in in World War One and World War II, which I found quite fascinating. And at the time, as an unbeliever, I always believed that Jesus was a real man. He was either the biggest con artist of the world known, or he is who he says he is. And one of the things that really captivated me was the Gospel of Matthew, chapter one. I'm sorry to skip through Gospels, but I think this is really important. The record and genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham, and it goes into it, and I'm going to read it quickly because it's amazing. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zera by Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amidabedab and Amidabedab the father of Nashan, and Nashan the father of Salmon, and Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth. And Obed was a father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba, who had been the wife of Uri. Solomon was the father of Rahabam, and Rehabam was a father of Abijah, and Abijah was a father of Asa. Asa was a father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat was a father of Joam. Joam was a father of Uziah. Uziah was a father of Jotham. Jotham was a father of Ahaz, Ahaz was a father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a father of Manasseh. Manasseh was a father of Amon, and Amon was a father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation of Bab to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon, Jechaniah became the father of Shalatile. Shalatile was a father of Jerobia Jerobal. Jerobabel was a father of Abakud. Abakud was a father of Elachim, and Elachim was the father of Azar. Azar was a father of Zaduk, Zaduk was a father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliod. Eliod was a father of Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the father of Maton. Jacob was a father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation of Babylon to the Messiah, 14 generations. Hallelujah. I got through there. Sorry for if I got the names wrong. They are very, very hard to pronounce. Why is that important? Because I'll tell you something. If someone told me, Dale, we need proof of your great-great-great-grandad, and we will give you a portion, we will give you an inheritance that is above all inheritance. Brothers and sisters, I couldn't tell you. I don't know who my great-great-great-grandad is. But right here in the genealogy, Jesus Christ can take his genealogy all the way back to Abraham, and right there, proving his lineage, his bloodline, with that with the miracles that he's made already, with the words that he is speaking, and the witnesses that he has that we spoke about previously, this man, who he says he is, it's very hard to deny. Very, very, very hard to deny. So verse 52, they answered him, You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee, and everyone went to his home. It's almost like Nicodemus here, um, that's that's who they're speaking to. So Nicodemus, he who came to him before being one of them, said to them, Our Lord does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it? Nicodemus, the the teacher of Jerusalem, almost putting his neck neck on the line there, is uh it's almost sticking up for Jesus. Um right there and then, you know, the answer, you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee, and everyone went back to his home. You know, credit to Nicodemus there, but unfortunately, he should have just dropped everything that he were doing and joined Jesus and just said, Lord, I'd you know, can I follow you? And I'm sure Jesus would have opened his arms to Nicodemus. But there we have the reading and a little bit of an interpretation on chapter 7. Like I said, I'm not going to go too hard-heavy. Um, you know, this is this is about a journey that you guys are going on, and I'm just so so happy to to be a part of that. Um, let us pray. Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you, Lord, for this day. We thank you, Lord, that you are with us always. Put your stretch your arms out to those that are still searching you, Lord. Fill them with your your grace, give them your mercy, share with them your love, and reveal yourself to them, Lord. Father God, may your spirit rest upon them and may they cry out to you, Lord. We thank you for your mercy and grace upon our lives, and we this day choose you. In your name, Jesus. Amen. Thank you, guys, thank you so much for your listening, thank you so much for your support. Um Yeah, yeah, God bless you all. Maranatha, may Jesus come quickly. Amen.