John 7 Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles

John 7 Jesus At the Feast of Tabernacles

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Jesus and his brothers unbelief  7:1-14

Jesus remains in Galilee away from Jerusalem because of the open animosity of the Jewish leaders. The time between the Passover in chapter 5 and the Feast of Tabernacles in chapter 6 is a little more than 6 months.

Jesus brothers are named in Mark 6:3 and in Matthew 13:55. What are their names?

James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.

What did Jesus brothers want Him to do?

Go to the feast and declare Himself as the Christ.

Why did Jesus refuse?

It was not His time nor was it right for Him act according to His brother’s doubts.

What was the reaction of the Jewish leaders at the feast?  What was the reaction of the common people?

The leaders looked for Him probably to arrest Him.  The people debated and talked about Him but only secretly.

Jesus teaches  in the Temple  7:14-39

Jesus waited until the middle of the feast around the 3rd of 4th day and then showed Himself and began to teach in the Temple, the center of the Festival.

The Feast of Tabernacles aka Booths and Harvest.

It was commemorated fifty days after the feast of firstfruits, from the fifteenth of Tishri, and lasted seven days. The people lived in booths (huts) made out of branches from trees. This commemorated their temporary homes during their travels through the desert. – Ency. Of Bible Facts

 Leviticus 23:33-44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon his day: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.  Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

It was the third of the three major feasts or festivals of the Jews: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. In Hebrew it is called Sukkat, probably after Succoth, the place where the Hebrews first stopped after leaving Egypt and dwelt in booths made from branches. It was also a festival of ingathering or harvest especially the harvest of late summer like grapes, olives, and fruit.

When the Jewish leaders hear Jesus preach what is their reaction?

They are amazed since He was untrained in their schools.

Jesus accuses the leaders of trying to kill Him. What miracle had He done that brought such hatred from the Jewish leaders?

He had healed a man on the Sabbath day.

What did Jesus use to point out their hypocrisy and double-standard.

The rite of circumcision, which was always done on the eighth day even if it was a Sabbath day.

What does Jesus mean by “judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”?

Don’t judge superficially, or at first glance but think, contemplate and then decide what is truly right.

How would you judge righteous judgment?

By using God’s word as your guide and through that Word the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Twice in this passage Jesus stands up or cries out.  What does He say both times?

You know me… He that sent me is true, whom you don’t know.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

Part of the feast of Tabernacles was the pouring out upon the altar a pitcher of water from the Pool of Siloam which represented the coming of the Messiah and end of the age. Jesus may have been using this ceremony as a picture of the deeper truth of Himself as Messiah and Savior.

What does verse 39 tell us about the Spirit in the OT and the NT?

The Spirit indwelled believers permanently in the NT after Pentecost but only empowered or led them in the OT.  See John 14:17.

What was the main prophecy which the leaders and the others could not agree on when it came to Christ?

Christ, the Messiah, must come out of Bethlehem and Jesus lived in Galilee.  They did not know nor did they care to ask where he was born.

Vs. 45. Several times during the feast the temple guards tried to arrest Jesus but did not, (vs. 30, 44) what was the reason they gave?

No man had ever spoken like this.

What was the question the leaders asked to convince their own guards that Jesus was wrong?

They asked if any of the Pharisees or leaders had believed on Jesus.

Though he did not give a full testimony of faith who spoke up to answer this question?

Nicodemus, his question showed that he didn’t agree with the others in condemning Jesus.

Read vs. 49 again.  What does this verse tell you about the belief of the Pharisees and others concerning the means of salvation?

They believed the knowledge and keeping of the law would result in salvation.

What is the relationship of the law and salvation?

The law condemns us as sinners and brings us to Jesus who then can then save us.  See Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:24

Conclusion

Jesus refused to meet the expectations of his family on several occasions. He was not acting for them but for Himself and doing His Father’s will.
Sometimes we have expectations of Jesus that are met in the same way, with our own disappointment, but this is not Jesus letting us down as much as it is us not knowing what God’s will is and how we are to submit to it instead of Jesus submitting to us.

Time to realize that what Jesus is doing is a lot more important that what I’m wanting Him to do.