After this, Jesus walked through Galilee, for He did not want to walk through Judea, because the Jews were looking to kill Him. The Jewish holiday—the setting up of tabernacles—was approaching. Then His brothers said to Him: Get out of here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples also may see the works that You do. For no one does anything in secret and seeks to be known. If You do such things, then reveal Yourself to the world. For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
To this Jesus said to them: My time has not yet come, but for you there is always time. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify about it that its deeds are evil. You go to this holiday; but I will not yet go to this holiday, because My time has not yet been fulfilled. Having told them this, he remained in Galilee.
But when His brothers came, then He also came to the holiday not openly, but as if secretly. The Jews looked for Him at the festival and said: Where is He? And there was a lot of talk about Him among the people: some said that He was good; and others said: no, but he deceives the people. However, no one spoke about Him openly, fearing the Jews.
But halfway through the feast, Jesus entered the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How does he know the Scriptures without having studied?
Jesus, answering them, said: My teaching is not Mine, but that of Him who sent Me; whoever wants to do His will will know about this teaching, whether it is from God or I speak from Myself. The speaker seeks his own glory on his own behalf; but He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Didn't Moses give you the law? and none of you walks according to the law. Why are you seeking to kill Me?
The people answered, “Are you not a demon?” who seeks to kill you?
Jesus, continuing his speech, said to them: I have done one thing, and you all marvel. Moses gave you circumcision (though it is not from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a person receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I healed the whole person on the Sabbath? Do not judge by appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
Then some of the Jerusalemites said, “Isn’t this the one they are trying to kill?” Behold, He speaks openly, and they say nothing to Him: have not the rulers made sure that He is truly the Christ? But we know Him where He comes from; When Christ comes, no one will know where He comes from.
Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You know Me, and you know where I come from; and I did not come from 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.
And they sought to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come. Many of the people believed in Him and said: when Christ comes, will He really do more signs than He has done?
The Pharisees heard such talk about Him among the people, and the Pharisees and the high priests sent servants to arrest Him. Jesus said to them: I will not be with you for a long time, and then I will go to Him who sent Me; You will seek Me and will not find me; and where I am, there you cannot come.
At this the Jews said among themselves: Where does He want to go, so that we will not find Him? Doesn't He want to go into the Greek Diaspora and teach the Greeks? What do these words mean that He said: “You will seek Me and will not find me; and where I am, there you cannot come”?
On the last great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. This He said about the Spirit, which those who believed on Him were about to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given to them, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Many of the people, hearing these words, said: He is truly a prophet. Others said: this is Christ. And others said: Will Christ come from Galilee? Doesn't the Scripture say that Christ will come from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, from the place where David was? So there arose a dissension among the people concerning Him. Some of them wanted to seize Him; but no one laid hands on Him.
So the servants returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them: Why did you not bring Him?
The servants answered: Never has a man spoken like this Man.
The Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been deceived? Did any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believe in Him? But this people are ignorant of the law, they are cursed.
Nicodemus, who came to Him at night, being one of them, said to them: Does our law judge a man unless they first hear him and know what he is doing?
To this they said to him: “Are you not from Galilee?” look and you will see that no prophet comes from Galilee. And everyone went home.
GOSPEL OF JOHN chapter 7
Listen to THE GOSPEL OF JOHN chapter 7 online
1 After this Jesus walked through Galilee, for he did not want to walk through Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
2 The festival of the Jews—the setting up of tabernacles—was approaching.
3 Then His brothers said to Him, “Get out of here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the works that You do.”
4 For no one does anything in secret, but seeks to be known. If You do such things, then reveal Yourself to the world.
5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but for you there is always time.”
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify about it that its deeds are evil.
8 You go to this festival; but I will not yet go to this holiday, because My time has not yet been fulfilled.
9 Having said this to them, he remained in Galilee.
10 But when His brothers came, then He also came to the feast, not openly, but as if secretly.
11 And the Jews sought him at the festival, and said, Where is he?
12 And there were many rumors about Him among the people: some said that He was good; and others said: no, but he deceives the people.
13 However, no one spoke about Him openly, for fear of the Jews.
14 But when the feast was halfway through, Jesus entered the temple and taught.
15 And the Jews marveled, saying, How does he know the Scriptures without having studied?
16 Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but that of Him who sent Me;
17 whoever wants to do His will will know about this teaching, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from Myself.
18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
19 Did not Moses give you the law? and none of you walks according to the law. Why are you seeking to kill Me?
20 The people answered, “Have you not a devil?” who seeks to kill you?
21 Jesus continued speaking and said to them, “I have done one thing, and you all marvel.”
22 Moses gave you circumcision [though it is not from Moses, but from the fathers], and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
23 If a man is circumcised on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I healed the whole man on the Sabbath?
24 Do not judge by appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
25 Then some of the Jerusalemites said, “Isn’t this the one whom they are seeking to kill?”
26 Behold, He speaks openly, and they say nothing to Him: have not the rulers been convinced that He is truly the Christ?
27 But we know Him where He is from; When Christ comes, no one will know where He comes from.
28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You know Me, and you know where I come from; and I did not come from Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
29 I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.
30 And they sought to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
31 But many of the people believed in Him and said: When Christ comes, will He really do more signs than He has done?
32 The Pharisees heard such talk about Him among the people, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent servants to arrest Him.
33 Jesus said to them, “I will not be with you for a long time, but I will go to Him who sent Me;
34 You will seek Me and will not find me; and where I am, there you cannot come.
35 And the Jews said among themselves, Where does he want to go, so that we will not find him? Doesn't He want to go into the Greek Diaspora and teach the Greeks?
36 What do these words mean, which He said: You will seek Me and will not find me; and where I will be, there you cannot come?
37 On the last great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
39 These things He said concerning the Spirit, which those who believed on Him were about to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given to them, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Many of the people, when they heard these words, said, “He is certainly a prophet.”
41 Others said, This is Christ. And others said: Will Christ come from Galilee?
42 Does not the Scripture say that Christ will come from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, from the place where David was?
43 So there arose a dissension among the people concerning Him.
44 Some of them wanted to seize Him; but no one laid hands on Him.
45 So the servants returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
46 The servants answered, Never has a man spoken like this Man.
47 The Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been deceived?
48 Did any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believe in Him?
49 But this people are ignorant of the law; they are cursed.
50 Nicodemus, who came to Him at night, being one of them, said to them:
51 Does our law judge a man unless they first hear him and know what he does?
52 They said to him, “Are you not from Galilee?” look and you will see that no prophet comes from Galilee.
53 And everyone went home.
Bible toolbox
According to the historian Josephus, the Feast of Tabernacles was considered the largest and most sacred of the Jewish holidays. According to the law of Moses, it was celebrated on the first day of the seventh month, that is, in September-October. This was the time when the rain-watered land bore fruit. The holiday lasted eight days and was accompanied by great fun.
The holiday itself is described in Lev. 23:23-44. To commemorate how Israel lived in temporary dwellings during the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, people lived in huts made of branches during this holiday. Chapters 9-14 of Zechariah tie together the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of the Lord (especially 14:16-21). Zechariah conveys the promise that on the day of the Lord “living waters” will flow from Jerusalem (14:8), and for the line of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem “a fountain will open for the washing away of sin and uncleanness” (13:1). So the Feast of Tabernacles was essentially a feast of thanksgiving, imbued with end-time anticipation. This is what the prophecy in Zechariah about the king riding on a donkey refers to (9:9).
Jesus' brothers did not believe Him, but they gave good advice. It is the Feast of Tabernacles, filled with anticipation of the end times, that is the very place where the movement that has arisen around Him can be expanded. Jesus not only remained indifferent to great advice on how to spread His movement, He waited for the right God-given moment and refused to act until He received divine direction. Perhaps here His words again contain the double meaning typical of the Gospel of John - Jesus “did not ascend to the feast,” that is, did not “ascend into heavenly glory.” However, He set out on the journey, not openly, in the center of a crowd of pilgrims, but secretly and unnoticed.
Coming to the holiday, Jesus behaves like a person endowed with special powers. The listeners understand that He is not a representative of any known doctrine, but He teaches His own special doctrine. Jesus encourages doubters to follow God's will to see if His teaching is truly His own. And immediately the theme raised earlier (in chapter 5) arises, and Jesus Himself brings it up: Jesus cannot be a messenger of God, since He violates the letter of the law (namely, healing on the Sabbath).
Jesus draws attention to the Jews' own practices. According to the law, circumcision of male infants was required on the eighth day of birth (Lev. 12:3). If the day fell on the Sabbath, the two commandments came into conflict with each other. Which one is more important? The Jews resolved this issue by concluding that performing circumcision on the Sabbath was not a violation of the Sabbath.
They said: “Circumcision is greater, it is more important than the strict law of the Sabbath.” If circumcision was allowed, why not allow the healing of the whole person? Here Jesus explains the essence of the Sabbath commandment in the same way as the authors of the Synoptic Gospels: God did not create people for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for people.
During the time of Jesus, there were many beliefs and speculations circulating among the Jews regarding the Messiah. One such belief found in Jewish literature outside the Old Testament was that the Messiah would remain hidden until His hour came. This did not coincide with Jesus, because His origins were well known.
Here John quotes the words of the people in his usual veiled style - in reality, the Jews had absolutely no idea who Jesus was or where He came from. Or, more correctly, in reality they knew some things correctly, thought they knew some things, and were completely ignorant of everything else. Of course, they knew that He was an ordinary person, they thought that He was born in Nazareth, and they were completely unaware of His heavenly origin. But they did not know the heavenly origin of Jesus, since they did not know His Father.
Jesus' words again make people want to kill Him. Jesus prophesies about His death and return to the Father. As often happens in the Gospel of John, Jesus' interlocutors have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. But their words reflect not so much ridicule or irony as they do a complete blindness to God's truth.
The culmination of the Feast of Tabernacles was its last day. There is no doubt that it was then that reflections on the last times reached their climax. We remember Zechariah's words about streams of living water (Zech. 14:8). During the water ceremony of this holiday, people apparently sang the words of Isaiah: “In joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). It is against this backdrop that Jesus speaks publicly: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Jesus speaks of Himself as the source of living water. This verse can also be interpreted differently: according to it, the waters of living water flow not from the soul of a believer, but from Jesus. Here John explains that living water means the Holy Spirit.
The clearest example of John's presentation is the Jewish conversation about Jesus in the light of the end times. Is Jesus “that prophet” (Deut. 18:18)? Or the Messiah? Or a deceiver? John does not say, like Luke and Matthew, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. For this reason, it is often said that John was not familiar with this tradition at all. And now he allows Jesus' opponents to reject Him based on the "knowledge" that Jesus was not born in Bethlehem. What could better indicate that the Gospel of John, as stunning and clear as it reveals itself to the reader, is also a book for a narrow circle? It is obvious that John presupposes in the reader the knowledge that the Jews are deeply mistaken on this issue.
An interesting and important conversation occurs at the end of the passage. Nicodemus decides to openly express his disagreement in the form of a question. But even more important is the answer that others give him: There is no prophecy that a prophet will come from despised Galilee, that is, Jesus - the false Messiah. Apparently, this refers to the great prophecy spoken of in Deut. 18:19. This is the phrase Jesus will address in His first speech in verse 12 of the eighth chapter. The Scriptures may be silent about a prophet coming from Galilee, but Galilee and the light are still connected with each other (Isaiah 9:1-6).
