John 7
Christian Standard Bible
The Unbelief of Jesus’s Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,(A) since he did not want to travel in Judea(B) because the Jews(C) were trying to kill him.(D) 2 The Jewish Festival of Shelters[a](E) was near. 3 So his brothers(F) said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works(G) that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
6 Jesus told them, “My time(H) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate(I) you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival,[b] because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.
Jesus at the Festival of Shelters
10 After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good(J) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving(K) the people.” 13 Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple(L) and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned,(M) since he hasn’t been trained?”
16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.(N) 17 If anyone wants to do his will,(O) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 18 The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory;(P) but he who seeks the glory(Q) of the one who sent him is true,(R) and there is no unrighteousness in him.(S) 19 Didn’t Moses(T) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.(U) Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 “I performed one work,(V) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. 22 “This is why Moses has given you circumcision(W) —not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers(X) —and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.(Y) 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath(Z) so that the law of Moses(AA) won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging(AB) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”
The Identity of the Messiah
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem(AC) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities(AD) know he is the Messiah?(AE) 27 But we know where this man is from.(AF) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”
28 As he was teaching in the temple,(AG) Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me(AH) is true. You don’t know him;(AI) 29 I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”(AJ)
30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,(AK) will he?” 32 The Pharisees(AL) heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests(AM) and the Pharisees sent servants[c] to arrest him.
33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.(AN) Then I’m going to the one who sent me.(AO) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(AP)
35 Then the Jews(AQ) said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed[d](AR) among the Greeks(AS) and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’(AT)?”
The Promise of the Spirit
37 On the last and most important day of the festival,(AU) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me[e](AV) and drink.(AW) 38 The one who believes in me,(AX) as the Scripture(AY) has said, will have streams of living water(AZ) flow(BA) from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit.(BB) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,(BC) for the Spirit[f] had not yet been given[g] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The People Are Divided over Jesus
40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”(BD) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture(BE) say that the Messiah comes from David’s(BF) offspring[h] and from the town of Bethlehem,(BG) where David lived?” 43 So the crowd was divided(BH) because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize him,(BI) but no one laid hands on him.
Debate over Jesus’s Claims
45 Then the servants(BJ) came to the chief priests(BK) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
46 The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” [i](BL)
47 Then the Pharisees responded to them, “Are you fooled(BM) too? 48 Have any of the rulers(BN) or Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus(BO)—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?” (BP)
52 “You aren’t from Galilee(BQ) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”(BR)
[The earliest mss do not include 7:53–8:11.]
[53 Then each one went to his house.[j]
Footnotes
- 7:2 Or Tabernacles, or Booths
- 7:8 Other mss add yet
- 7:32 Or temple police, or officers, also in vv. 45,46
- 7:35 Gk diaspora; Jewish people scattered throughout Gentile lands
- 7:37 Other mss omit to me
- 7:39 Other mss read Holy Spirit
- 7:39 Lit the Spirit was not yet
- 7:42 Lit seed
- 7:46 Other mss read like this man
- 7:53–8:11 Other mss include all or some of the passage after Jn 7:36,44,52; 21:25; or Lk 21:38.
John 7
The Voice
7 After these events, it was time for Jesus to move on. He began a long walk through the Galilean countryside. He was purposefully avoiding Judea because of the violent threats made against Him by the Jews there who wanted to kill Him. 2 It was fall, the time of year when the Jews celebrated the Festival of Booths.
On this holiday, everyone camps in temporary quarters, called booths, to remember that God was with their ancestors when they wandered for 40 years without a home.
Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): 3 Let’s get out of here and go south to Judea so You can show Your disciples there what You are capable of doing. 4 No one who seeks the public eye is content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus.
5 Jesus’ own brothers were speaking contemptuously; they did not yet believe in Him, just as the people in His hometown did not see Him as anything more than Joseph’s son.
Jesus: 6 My time has not yet arrived; but for you My brothers, by all means, it is always the right time. 7 You have nothing to worry about because the world doesn’t hate you, but it despises Me because I am always exposing the dark evil in its works. 8 Go on to the feast without Me; I am not going right now because My time is not yet at hand.
9 This conversation came to an abrupt end, and Jesus stayed in Galilee 10 until His brothers were gone. Then He, too, went up to Jerusalem. But He traveled in secret to avoid drawing any public attention. 11 Some Jewish leaders were searching for Him at the feast and asking the crowds where they could find Him. 12 The crowds would talk in groups: some favored Jesus and thought He was a good man; others disliked Him and thought He was leading people astray. 13 All of these conversations took place in whispers. No one was willing to speak openly about Jesus for fear of the religious leaders.
14 In the middle of the festival, Jesus marched directly into the temple and started to teach. 15 Some of the Jews who heard Him were amazed at Jesus’ ability, and people questioned repeatedly:
Jews: How can this man be so wise about the Hebrew Scriptures? He has never had a formal education.
Jesus: 16 I do not claim ownership of My words; they are a gift from the One who sent Me. 17 If anyone is willing to act according to His purposes and is open to hearing truth, he will know the source of My teaching. Does it come from God or from Me? 18 If a man speaks his own words, constantly quoting himself, he is after adulation. But I chase only after glory for the One who sent Me. My intention is authentic and true. You’ll find no wrong motives in Me.
19 Moses gave you the law, didn’t he? Then how can you blatantly ignore the law and look for an opportunity to murder Me?
Notice how Jesus changes in tone and subject. This shift seems abrupt because the Pharisees’ plotting is yet to be exposed.
Crowd: 20 You must be possessed with a demon! Who is trying to kill You?
Jesus: 21 Listen, all it took was for Me to do one thing, heal a crippled man, and you all were astonished. 22 Don’t you remember how Moses passed down circumcision as a tradition of our ancestors? When you pick up a knife to circumcise on the Sabbath, isn’t that work? 23 If a male is circumcised on the Sabbath to keep the law of Moses intact, how can making one man whole on the Sabbath be a cause for your violent rage? 24 You should not judge by outward appearance. When you judge, search for what is right and just.
Some People of Jerusalem: 25 There is the man they are seeking to kill; surely He must be the one. 26 But here He is, speaking out in the open to the crowd, while they have not spoken a word to stop or challenge Him. Do these leaders now believe He is the Anointed One? 27 But He can’t be; we know where this man comes from, but the true origin of the Anointed will be a mystery to all of us.
Jesus (speaking aloud as He teaches on the temple’s porch): 28 You think you know Me and where I have come from, but I have not come here on My own. I have been sent by the One who embodies truth. You do not know Him. 29 I know Him because I came from Him. He has sent Me.
30 Some were trying to seize Him because of His words, but no one laid as much as a finger on Him—His time had not yet arrived. 31 In the crowd, there were many in whom faith was taking hold.
Believers in the Crowd: When the Anointed arrives, will He perform any more signs than this man has done?
32 Some Pharisees were hanging back in the crowd, overhearing the gossip about Him. The temple authorities and the Pharisees took action and sent officers to arrest Jesus.
Jesus: 33 I am going to be with you for a little while longer; then I will return to the One who sent Me. 34 You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me. Where I am, you are unable to come.
Some Jews in the Crowd (to each other): 35 Where could He possibly go that we could not find Him? You don’t think He’s about to go into the Dispersion[a] and teach our people scattered among the Greeks, do you? 36 What do you think He means, “You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me,” and, “Where I am, you are unable to come”?
37 On the last day, the biggest day of the festival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud.
Jesus: If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink. 38 If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you.[b]
39 Jesus was referring to the realities of life in the Spirit made available to everyone who believes in Him. But the Spirit had not yet arrived because Jesus had not been glorified.
The Holy Spirit connects believers to the Father and His Son. So any fear about being disconnected from God may be abandoned; the Creator of the Universe dwells within His people, sustains them, and will accomplish the impossible through them.
Some of the Crowd: 40 This man is definitely the Prophet.
Others: 41 This is God’s Anointed, the Liberating King!
Still Others: Is it possible for the Anointed to come from Galilee? 42 Don’t the Hebrew Scriptures say that He will come from Bethlehem,[c] King David’s village, and be a descendant of King David?
43 Rumors and opinions about the true identity of Jesus divided the crowd. 44 Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one dared to touch Him.
45 The officers who had been sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take Jesus into custody returned empty-handed, and they faced some hard questions.
Chief Priest and Pharisees: Where is Jesus? Why didn’t you capture Him?
Officers: 46 We listened to Him. Never has a man spoken like this man.
Pharisees: 47 So you have also been led astray? 48 Can you find one leader or educated Pharisee who believes this man? Of course not. 49 This crowd is plagued by ignorance about the teachings of the law; that is why they will listen to Him. That is also why they are under God’s curse.
50 Nicodemus, the Pharisee who approached Jesus under the cloak of darkness, was present when the officers returned empty-handed. He addressed the leaders.
Nicodemus: 51 Does our law condemn someone without first giving him a fair hearing and learning something about him?
Pharisees (ignoring Nicodemus’s legal point): 52 Are you from Galilee too? Look it up for yourself; no real prophet is supposed to come from Galilee.
[53 The time came for everyone to go home.
Footnotes
- 7:35 Literally, the Diaspora (Greek for “scattering”). The Diaspora refers to those Jews who were exiled or settled outside the traditional lands of Israel.
- 7:38 Isaiah 44:3; 55:1; 58:11
- 7:42 Micah 5:1–2
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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.