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JOHN CHAPTER 7 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Jn 7,1-14 (43e) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformation process >> Conform to Christ’s ministry to the world – Listen to what Jesus said to His relatives and friends in response to their rejection of Him, “No prophet is welcome in his hometown” (Lk 4-24). This means every prophet goes through a transformation process as Jesus did. God transforms a prophet from a regular person to one who now carries the word of God, and those who have known Him throughout his life can no longer recognize him as the same person. Jesus was different prior to entering His ministry; all His traits were dormant before His baptism and subsequent anointing; then a complete transformation took place in his life. His Father woke Him and said that it was time to become the man for which He was born. His family and friends refused to see Him other than how they had known Him. They were unwilling to make the change in their hearts that He made in His life. Those who had known Him throughout His life could no longer recognize Him as the same person. (122k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness in adverse circumstances >> Go in places of adversity Jn 7,1-10 (62b) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Lie to them (62n) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> Jesus deceives the lost – Note that Jesus didn’t tell His brothers that He had intensions of going to the feast at a later time, because they would have brought the message to the Jews who were trying to arrest Him and kill Him before the time. Some people could take this as lying to his brothers, because in some respects He led them to believe that He would not go to the feast, when in fact He did intend to go. It wouldn’t be hard to make the case that Jesus deceived His brothers in that way, so why wasn’t it a sin? Bearing false witness according to Old Testament law has everything to do with evil motives, being the reason lying has a negative connotation, but Jesus deceived His brothers into believing that He would not go to the feast in order to protect the plan and purpose of God. His time had not yet come, suggesting that Jesus was under a strict schedule with His Father. What was Jesus supposed to say to them? Had He told them that He wasn’t going to the feast and then didn't go, the will of His Father was that He should go; but had He told them He would go later, the Pharisees would have learned about it and laid for Him. The best thing to do was to tell them one thing and do another, so the Pharisees wouldn’t expect Him. The Pharisees no doubt confronted the brothers about His whereabouts and they said what they knew, so when He came, it was a surprise to everyone. It wasn’t evil of Jesus to do this because His motives were not evil. Jn 7,1-5 (20a) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Spirit of familiarity Jn 7-1,2 (89f) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Deeds of wisdom Jn 7-1 (108a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Balance between truth and error >> Wisdom brings balance between truth and error (241h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of who He is -- This verse goes with verse 32 Jn 7,2-5 (173a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith >> Relationship between Jesus and His mother >> Jesus is our savior, not Mary Jn 7,3-8 (241b) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking for something that is not in His will KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-4 (143e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The public >> Jesus ministered publicly -- This verse goes with verse 14. Jesus’ brothers accused Him of seeking to be known publicly. The fact that He was becoming publicly known was not His cause, for He merely spoke to the people around Him and healed their diseases, and they publicized His name throughout all Israel, sometimes against His request. Jn 7-5 (70g) Authority >> Sin of familiarity >> Familiar with the truth-enemy of discernment >> Familiar with Jesus in the flesh -- This verse goes with verses 27&28. Not even His brothers believed in Him. Later that changed for many of them, though it is possible that some of His brothers never did believe in Him. We can criticize His brothers and say they were without excuse for not believing in Him, but the sin of familiarity is a very real thing, having the ability to affect us all. It was actually a disadvantage in some ways for His brothers to have known Jesus their whole lives, though it could have worked either way. A person could make a simple observation that Jesus was performing miracles and spoke the word of God in ways that no one has ever heard, which perfectly corresponded with their Old Testament manuscripts, and by that believed that Jesus was the Messiah. However, the villagers in His hometown did not believe in Him, because they were familiar with Him. They had already determined in their minds that Jesus could not be the Messiah. He could only be what they had seen and heard of Him in the past, which was a very quiet and unassuming boy having become a man. Jn 7-6 (214d) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> No one can interrupt God’s timing -- This verse goes with verse 30 Jn 7-7 (16g) Sin >> Man’s willingness to be evil >> Instinctively Acting against righteousness (153c) God Bears Witness Against The World (Key verse) (154g) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is rebellious against God >> Witness against sin – Outwardly, it appears their enemies were men, but when we look behind them, we see a spirit that drove their hatred. He carried the power of God into the world and the world hated Him for it. Jesus said the world did not hate His brothers; in fact, He said the world cannot hate them, and this word choice “cannot” suggests that He was speaking in a spiritual sense. It is likely that every person has been hated at one point or another, yet Jesus said the world cannot hate them. He was saying that the spiritual forces of wickedness controlling this world cannot hate them, because His brothers had not as yet testified against the world. This indicates that when Jesus testified against those who persecuted Him, there was actually a demonic spirit behind them that drove their hatred. If they could, they would rid the world of the Holy Spirit and the word of God, but the only thing they can do is incite people to hate those who carry the gospel, threatening to expose the satanic forces of this world and their impotence. (164i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world hates God – This is an example of Jesus' thinking in terms of on/off, black/white, true/false. He said, “The world cannot hate you.” “Cannot” was not an arbitrary word, but one that best describes the spiritual realm. A person might rub us the wrong way, but this is different from hating someone with spiritual motives. Hatred is a contrast between the Spirit of God and the spirit of Satan, being opposites. The world essentially has one spirit that is composed of many demons, and the Spirit of God is the exact opposite of these demonic forces that control the world. Therefore, anybody who walks by the Spirit of God will be persecuted, because he exudes a Spirit that is opposite the world. These two spirits are enemies of each other, so when people become Christians, they get thrown into spiritual warfare. The world has made a pact with the devil, promising to live however they choose under one exception, that they do not yield to the purpose and cause of Christ. If they break this agreement, it means war with the devil. They will have betrayed the satanic forces they once served. Jn 7-12 (158j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> Loving words that lack action – Jesus performed miracles that the world had never seen, healing thousands of people sometimes on a single day, yet some of the people had the audacity to say that He leads the people astray. How could Jesus with so much wisdom and power to perform miracles lead people astray? That would be like saying God is evil like His creation, His creation saying they know better than Him. It takes an unimaginable amount of nerve to have this kind of arrogance. Others claimed He was a good man, but the point was they were all speaking about Him secretly, so none of their opinions mattered. They didn’t believe what they said enough to publicly announce it. (175k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the meaning of God’s works (176k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Extremes >> Truth is never found in your thinking on either extreme of any subject Jn 7-14 (143e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The public >> Jesus ministered publicly -- This verse goes with verse 4 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-15,16 (110f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit speaks through you >> Spirit speaks through Jesus -- Jesus reiterated the fact that His words and His power that perform miracles were not His own but His Father's. Heb 1-3 said of Him that He was the exact representation of His Father, and for this reason He was the word of God. He always knew what His Father was thinking and revealed His thoughts to the people. Jn 7,16-18 (230h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >> Obey the mystery of godliness like Jesus did Jn 7,17-19 (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil – Talk to unbelievers about Jesus and it won’t take long to find someone who openly complains that Christianity is like a club where some people are included and others are excluded. This is actually true. Those who don't belong to God know they’re disconnected from Him, which would be fine if there were no way to reconnect, but there is a way and they have rejected it. Unbelievers are not passively indifferent toward God; they hate Him, even those who claim they never had a serious thought about Him. Most people hide well their contempt for God, but try converting them to the faith and suddenly their hatred springs to the surface. There is no neutral ground for man’s sinful nature. They have made up their minds that God is unknowable, because they refuse to do His will. (20k) Sin >> Disobedience >> Rejecting the word – During the first three centuries, persecution was in abundance, but Christians had the haven of the Church where they could go and be refreshed and nourished in the truth that each member offered one another. It is one thing for an individual to slip from the truth of the gospel, but it’s another thing for the Church as a whole to slide from the truth; where then do we go to be refreshed? This is why it is absolutely essential for the Church to maintain the truth, both in doctrine and in practice. Faltering leads to further slipping in the next generation, which is what happened to Israel. The Pharisees stood in front of Jesus and couldn't recognize Him as their Messiah. What Jesus said and did, Moses would have fallen at His feet and worshipped Him, having recognized His voice in the burning bush and on mount Sinai, but the Jews could not recognize His voice in their Scriptures, because they added layer upon layer of interpretation, until what they believed could not even be found in their manuscripts, and we are doing the same thing to the Bible. Over a hundred generations transpired before Jesus finally came, and by that time people had become victims of doctrinal slippage, until there was no semblance of the truth in anything they believed. Doctrine is important because it becomes the standard for behavior, and behavior solidifies the truth in our hearts and manifests it in the world, but the only thing the Pharisees could manifest was deception and murder. Jn 7-17,18 (156h) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Understanding wisdom is evidence of salvation Jn 7-17 (69b) Authority >> Discernment >> Discerning the Truth -- Jesus taught that we who do the will of God will develop the ability to differentiate between truth and error, so no one can lie to us about God. The person who reads the Bible doesn’t necessarily know the will of God, but the one who obeys Him does. One of the telltale signs of someone lying to us about God is that his message always draws attention to himself, rather than drawing attention to God. Jesus explained to the people in His hearing why they could not believe Him, saying, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you carries out the law?” and then in the same breath he asked them, “Why do you seek to kill me?” He just told them, because they were not following the law. They did not do the will of God, so they did not know the will of God, and for that reason they were seeking to kill Jesus. Disobedience dulls the senses, making it difficult if not impossible to discern the truth. (107j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Church is of the truth >> God’s people can discern the truth (114f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God through obedience – When Jesus said, “You will know of the teaching,” He wasn’t just talking about having the proper interpretation, but understanding the Scriptures by revelation. If the Holy Spirit doesn’t teach us the truth, then we don’t know it! When we understand God’s word by the Spirit, we possess the things He said. Jesus is saying we must obey Him before we can understand Him. That sounds like a catch-22. How can we do His will before we understand it? Obeying our conscience will tell us everything we need to know about the general will of God, so He can speak to us about His specific will. (187f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Dying to receive the glory of God >> Die to self to know the revelation of God – Here’s how most people subliminally interpret this verse, ‘If anybody is willing to read the Bible, He will know of the teaching.’ Just because we read the Bible doesn’t guarantee we know what it means, until we obey Him. If anyone is willing to obey God, then when he reads the Bible, he will understand it, otherwise we will seek an interpretation that coddles our sinful flesh. The Bible teaches that if we don’t obey Him, it proves our unbelief. A person who obeys his conscience without reading the Bible knows more about the will of God than the person who studies the Bible for years, yet is disobedient and rebellious toward God. Look at the example of the Pharisees. (230b) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> What we must do to partake of the kingdom >> Partaking that requires our participation – Calvinism is the teaching of predestination. It graphically speaks of it in verses like Jn 15-16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you,” and “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn 6-44). These passages speak clearly that who goes to heaven is ultimately God’s choice, yet Jesus said here that we can choose to know the truth simply by obeying the will of God. So what we have is an amalgamation of our will and God’s will in the process of salvation. Isaiah 1-18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together.” Salvation is God and man coming into agreement over a covenant they make together. The question is how man is supposed to come to God if he hates Him (v7)? Jesus said, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mat 19-26). See also: Predestination (Calvinism); Rom 9-16; 116k KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-18 (41c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus presented Himself to God without sin for us (59f) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Jesus / His people (107e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Truth of the trinity >> Jesus is truth (170b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> It’s the reason we don’t die to self – The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but the one who speaks truth seeks the glory of God. He who speaks from his sinful nature is seeking glory from that nature and contradicts the word of God that condemns man’s flesh. Man’s truth constantly changes, whereas God’s truth is constant. The unbeliever speaks words that this world understands, whereas the one who belongs to God possesses a divine nature, giving him a choice to speak from it or from his flesh. If he speaks from himself, he is seeking the glory of man, but if he speaks from the divine nature, he seeks the glory of God. We cannot seek the glory of man and the glory of God, for one cancels the other, because the sinful nature of man hates God, being at enmity with Him, for man is in rebellion against God. If we seek the glory of men, then we have lost the favor of God, but if we seek the glory of God, then we have lost the favor of man. We have a choice to make; do we want the favor of men or the favor of God? (209k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Father sent His son to the cross Jn 7,19-34 (6l) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Expose hypocrisy in the Church Jn 7,19-27 (241j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus because of what He said -- These verses go with verses 43-46. Religion is a scary thing, especially considering the historical fact that the cause of most wars were rooted in religion, and many people use that fact as an excuse not to become Christian. War even now, such as terrorism from the Middle East, is considered a holy war. It is not real Christians who are guilty of this hostility, yet we indirectly receive the flak for it just because we believe in Jesus. They wage war for the sake of their god, which by definition rules out true Christianity, since the God of Christ would never let His children war with anyone. Therefore, the fact that they were seeking to kill Jesus is symbolic of every religious war that has attempted to snuff-out Christianity. Regarding the third and fourth centuries when Catholicism went on their crusades and proudly held up their cross in battle and slew the infidels in the name of Christ, many say this was Christianity, but this was anything but Christianity. Catholicism to this day considers itself to be the only true church. Meanwhile, the true church, prior to the third century was brutally persecuted often to the death, forced to live in dire poverty, while others were chased from town to town without mercy and never once raised a sword to anyone. They lived according to the Scriptures, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mat 10-16). See also: History of religion; Jn 7-19,20; 186a / History of Catholicism; Jm 3,3-6; 173c Jn 7,19-23 (242e) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecuting God >> Persecuting the power of God – The Pharisees persecuted the power of God, discrediting the miracles that Jesus performed and accusing Him of being a magician of sorts. We read this in Scripture often enough to expect the same treatment when the power of God returns to the Church. They said about Jesus that the person healed of palsy, for example, wasn’t crippled in the first place, but there were cases when it was perfectly obvious that a well-documented miracle had occurred, such as the man born blind a couple chapters later, and the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11. When they couldn’t discredit the miracle that occurred, they persecuted Jesus Himself, and all their accusations were baseless. For this reason Jesus asked them, “Why do you seek to kill Me?” There was no way to justify trying to silence Jesus. Part of the reason Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection was that the world made it perfectly clear they didn’t want Him here, and attempts would have been made on His life again had He stayed. He already paid for the sins of the world, and so there was no point in staying here and continuing to suffer their abuse. Instead of listening to Jesus and becoming one of His followers and inheriting eternal life, they persecuted Him and lost their souls in the process. They destroyed themselves trying to destroy Jesus, sacrificing their eternal future trying to kill God in human flesh. They hated what He said and did, and they hated that He was popular with the people and they weren’t. They may have had positions of power and prestige in society, but that doesn’t mean the people actually liked them. Similar to the Catholic priests of our day, their prestige is wearing out because of their criminality, being modern-day Pharisees in every way. This is what happens to people who try to be leaders of a religion without a sincere bone in their body. Catholicism is the playground for the devil, who has his way with them and teaches them to kill the true faith and those who believe in Him. Modern-day Pharisees will do this very thing in the last days in obedience to Satan. They will attempt to destroy the True Church, as Jesus said, “They hated me without a cause” (Jn 15-25 taken from Psalm 35-19; Psalm 69-4; Psalm 109-3). Jn 7-19,20 (186a) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Unwilling to obey the revelation from heaven >> Unwilling to walk in God’s ability – Christianity was supposed to be persecuted and survive in the world all these centuries, but as it went, Christians got tired of being always on the run, martyred and persecuted, and they finally gave into the temptation that Constantine offered them, the Roman emperor of the third century, that Christianity should become the official religion of the state, which by that time had become irresistible. Christianity formed an alliance with the world at the cost of the truth and was transformed into the grotesque institution of Catholicism. Had the truth been at the forefront of their hearts, they would not have so readily sacrificed it, but the truth had become lost in translation prior to handing Christianity to the Romans for the sake of an easier life. They figured they might as well give-up, since they could no longer see the significance of the truth in relation to so much suffering. Paul would have said to those who followed Constantine into Catholicism, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” (Gal 3-1). See also: History of religion; Jn 7,19-27; 241j / Catholicism (Constantine); Jn 16,1-3; 175m Jn 7-19 (90g) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> Had they kept the law, they would not have persecuted the Church (155f) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our lifestyles Jn 7-23 (24g) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Envy >> Angry at God because of their poverty KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-24 (69c) Righteous Judgment (Key verse) (69f) Authority >> Righteous judgment >> Meditate on discernment >> Judging what is true -- We are not to judge according to appearance, but to judge with righteous judgment. In contrast Mat 7-1,2 says, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." The problem with judging people is that we inevitably judge the sin in others that we practice ourselves, but in this verse He is saying to righteously discriminate between truth and error. This is significantly different from judging people. Truth belongs to God, and He has commanded us to judge His truth in people, or else judge the lack of truth in them. Therefore, to judge with righteous judgment means to accurately discern the true children of God from impostors. Jesus was telling His fellow Jews to open their eyes and rightly judge that their Messiah was standing in front of them telling them the truth from God. (171k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Outward appearance is not important Jn 7,25-30 (17i) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Ignorance >> Speaking truth without knowing it – In verse 26 the Jews said, “The rulers don’t really know that this is the Christ do they?” indicating that they did understand Him to be the Christ, but in the very next verse they retracted their statement. In a sense they contradicted themselves, or this is how Jesus interpreted them. In verse 28 Jesus said, “You both know Me and know where I am from,” telling them they knew He was the Christ, admitting it, just like Pilate who confessed to believe in Jesus, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (Mat 27-11); Jesus answered him, “It is as you say.” He interpreted Pilate as though making a statement of faith, showing linguistically just how close he was to the Kingdom of God. Simply by transposing two words from “Are You…?” to ‘You are the king of the Jews,' Pilate could have had faith that led to salvation. In the same way, framing their statement that Jesus was the Christ even in question form, it proved they suspected Him to be the Christ, but they didn't believe in Him. That is, they knew the truth but refused to believe it. (19i) Sin >> Hardened heart will twist your mind -- These verses go with verse 32 (185f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> Having knowledge but not knowing God – Jesus provided more evidence of His divinity than they used to deny Him. These people were incapable of understanding the truth. Why? They were Jews and their Old Testament kept them from believing in Jesus, but these answers are utterly bogus. Their Old Testament prophesied the coming of Christ, so how could it keep anyone from believing in Jesus? It wasn’t the Old Testament but their interpretation of it that kept the Jews from believing in Jesus. Later in verse 46 it says that the officers in charge of capturing Jesus gave their reason for leaving Him alone, saying, “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.” Not only did Jesus say things that no one else said, He also spoke with a confidence that emanated from His anointing. When Satan comes as the antichrist and cons the world into believing in him, he will speak with a confidence that will be almost too attractive to resist, yet his confidence will not hold a candle to the confidence by which Jesus spoke. He was God incarnate, whereas the antichrist is merely possessed by a fallen angel, light-years from being like God. Combining the words that Jesus spoke with the confidence in his delivery, it boggles the mind to crucify such a man. (221d) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from the mind of man >> He hides behind man’s intellect – We claim to be the most intelligent creatures on the planet. We may be at the top of the food chain (if we have a loaded rifle in our possession while walking across the Serengeti at night), but whether we are the most intelligent is a matter of opinion. A dog's nose is smarter than us! The brain works like a Rube Goldberg contraption that can pass intelligence tests designed to measure a narrow band of mental abilities that we consider important, but there are other intelligences that are just as valuable. Perhaps we are the most intelligent creature on the planet in our own way, but more often than not our so-called intelligence leads us astray. How smart is that? Intelligence does not account for the kind of reasoning exemplified by the Jews in these verses, which was extremely muddled. Jn 7-25,26 (148e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage of the public eye KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-27,28 (70g) Authority >> Sin of familiarity >> Familiar with the truth-enemy of discernment >> Familiar with Jesus in the flesh -- These verses go with verse 5. The people were saying that they knew Jesus' family, his father and mother and his brothers and sisters, and for this reason He could not be the Christ, meaning they didn't believe He would come from a normal family, but expected Him to suddenly appear in the sky with myriads of angels in power and glory. That is how the Bible describes the second coming of Christ. Just because He didn't come exactly as they expected was not a reason to ignore what they were seeing and hearing. God will judge mankind for rejecting their five senses regarding His gospel. When their eyes saw the man of God performing signs, they rejected Hi m; when they heard His word announced by a heavy anointing, they resisted the message. Carnal people are secular by default, and they trust their five senses explicitly, until the prophet performs His works in their presence; then suddenly they reject what they see and hear. The very input devices they use to verify truth and reality in the world, they also use to reject the existence of God and deny His gospel. God speaks to their ears and reveals to their eyes a message to repent of their unbelief, and they turn off their eyes and ears and say they cannot be trusted. This proves that people don’t use their five senses to discern truth but to censor truth through a bias toward the world and against God. Jn 7-28,29 (53j) Paradox >> Opposites >> Contradicting your own standards >> Being accused by someone you believe in – The nation of Israel wanted their Messiah to come in great power and glory; instead He came in a far more intimate way, in our own flesh and blood. Jesus said, “You both know Me and know where I am from.” The Jews were familiar with Jesus and his family, but it goes further than that; they even knew He came from heaven, but they were unwilling to admit it. They didn't believe in Jesus because He was a regular person, and they thought their messiah should be miraculous. He was a miraculous person, so the real reason they rejected Him was they didn't like His gospel. They thought He was an amazing healer and miracle worker, but He didn’t speak their language, and so they rejected Him, all the while knowing He was their Messiah. The world does not receive us either, by reason of the Spirit of God who dwells in us and by our words (1Jn 3-1). The logical mind would think that if they understood Him to be their Messiah, they would find a way to accept His words. They waited for Him for centuries, longing for Him with spiritual aspiration and soul searching, so when He finally came, the rational mind would expect them to give up everything to embrace Him and make a place for His words in their hearts, but it turned out their religion was more important to them than the truth. They would have to order a dumpster to heave all their junk doctrines to make room for the words of Christ, but they were unwilling to part with their religion. (54f) Paradox >> Opposites >> Knowing Jesus but not the Father – The people argued among themselves as to the identity of Jesus, and to this day that argument continues among those who don’t know Him, but His children know Him, for He has revealed Himself to them through the Spirit. Jesus put a twist in His reasoning with the Jews, essentially saying, ‘You know Me but you don’t know Me,’ that is, ‘You know Me, but you don’t know My Father.’ Jesus taught His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen My Father” (Jn 14-9), but to the unbelieving crowd He spoke in mysteries to make the point that no one can know the Father except through the Son (Mat 11-27). The people knew His family, His father and mother and His brothers and sisters, as though that proved anything, but Him they did not know, meaning they knew Him in the flesh but not in the Spirit. Jn 7-30 (28l) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Father protects His Son – When we look at the methods Jesus used to avoid capture, He didn’t wave a magic wand and suddenly He was out of trouble; instead, God protected Him in ways He uses to protect us, by remaining innocent of all evil and shutting the mouths of His accusers, by wisdom and shrewdness to confound His enemies and by healing performances and miracles to confuse His enemies, and by using His popularity as a shield. (214d) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> No one can interrupt God’s timing -- This verse goes with verse 6. This is in reference to predestination, which some over-emphasize and others under-emphasize, going as far as to say that predestination doesn’t even exist, yet the Bible talks about it, so obviously it does exist. Foreknowledge determines what men will do, while predestination determines what God will do. God's foreknowledge is not a prediction, but having visited the future and seen the activities that occur then, He returns to the present in full confidence of what will happen. Predestination is more than just knowing what will happen; it is when God makes things happen. Predestination is like a foundation pillar driven into bedrock in the middle of a river in preparation for building a bridge. The water represents the works of men through time, which is very powerful but must find a way around the pillar. The river has much commotion and swirling water, picking up debris that turns the water muddy, but the pillar is a stationary object that plays its part in holding up the bridge to make a way for God's people to safely across the river into His eternal kingdom. Jesus was predestined before the foundation of the world to be the lamb of God and to die for the sins of the world. That is, He was a pillar driven into bedrock in the middle of a raging river. See also: Foreknowledge versus predestination; Jn 17-6; 220a KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7-31 (86e) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> God’s works act as evidence to support our beliefs (146i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the world may be saved -- The purpose of performing signs, wonders and miracles was to prove that Jesus was the Christ, though He never admitted it publicly. He didn’t want people to believe He was the Christ because He said so, but as a revelation of the Holy Spirit. Those who believed in Him were talking about His signs, wonders and miracles, asking how could the Messiah Himself top what this man has done? They were saying that there was no reason to wait to believe in someone greater than Jesus. Jn 7-32 (19i) Sin >> Hardened heart will twist your mind -- This verse goes with verses 25-39 (25a) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Hate the truth -- This verse goes with verses 43-52 (160da) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil to suppress the word of God >> Oppressing those who carry the gospel -- This verse goes with verses 43-52 (241h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of who He is -- This verse goes with verse 1 Jn 7,33-36 (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 40-43 (221c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from man’s ignorance >> God denies His kingdom to those who cannot find Him (222h) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not let dogs in His house Jn 7-33,34 (47i) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is the absence of God – Jesus spoke to those who did not believe in Him, saying that where He was going they cannot come, referring to heaven. He was returning to His Father, which is a place His enemies will never see. Instead, God has another place prepared for them, a place that is specially designed for their needs. Since they refuse to believe in Him, they will be sent to a place that requires no faith at all. In fact, faith cannot exist there, and so they ought to feel at home among all the other people and the demons who are just like them, who do not believe in God. Of course, when God judges their deeds, they won’t enjoy it, anymore than their unbelief made them happy. Hell is a place that emulates the heart of its residents. Their heart is darkened, so hell is dark; their heart is hardened, so their prison walls are hard; their heart is devoid of faith, so hell is devoid of faith; they hate God, so nothing about God exists there. The world wants everything about God, except God; ungodly people love a sunny day, good food, clean water, happiness and leisure, and the list continues indefinitely, and these are all gifts and blessings from God, but they don’t want God, so neither can they enjoy his blessings. We either accept Christ and His blessings, or we forfeit every blessing we ever knew and live in a world without them. (186j) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> God’s role in forming a reprobate >> Marked out for destruction (224h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The joyful kingdom >> Heaven is better than earth – Throughout the Old Testament, heaven and hell were sparsely mentioned, for the Old Testament was a covenant that mostly pertained to this life; so when Jesus came preaching about eternal life, it was a brand new concept. The emphasis of His teaching was on the life to come, and He taught that we should place this life on the altar and sacrifice it for the sake of eternal life. This was all brand-new teaching that Jesus introduced to Israel and to the world. The writers of the New Testament taught about this life in terms of using it as a means of demonstrating our faith toward God, who has given us this life so we can show Him our faith and love toward Him, for how we love one another and treat our fellow man is how we love and feel about God. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7,37-39 (35g) Gift of God >> God gives Himself to us >> Jesus sends the Holy Spirit (36c) Gift of God >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> Spiritual food – Jesus was speaking in reference to Pentecost. This assertion is with confidence, based on the single word “glorified.” Had John said that Jesus had not yet been “raised,” it would have been clear He was speaking about receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit. Hence, Jesus’ resurrection inaugurated the indwelling Holy Spirit, while His ascension instated Pentecost. Jesus, at the end of this gospel, breathed on his disciples and said, receive the Holy Spirit (Jn 20-22) in reference to the indwelling Spirit. Jesus' disciples were exceedingly ignorant about all things spiritual throughout His ministry; they did not understand Him because they had not yet received the Spirit. Even after Jesus breathed on them, they still didn't make the impact on the world they did after receiving the anointing of Pentecost. We can see Pentecost in two ways, both as an event that kicked off the Church and as a picture of the anointing. Since the anointing of Pentecost has worn off, we understand that individuals can still cultivate an anointing by obeying the indwelling Holy Spirit, and individuals collectively constitute an anointed church, but as far as seeing another Pentecostal movement, God promises one greater than the first at the end of the age. (77a) Thy kingdom come >> Hunger for the essence of God >> Hunger for His righteousness (103f) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Spirit like water >> Cleanses you from the desire to sin -- Jesus wants our spirit to become the headwaters of a great river that gushes from our inner most being and splashes on everyone around us. The water makes its way from our inner man to the outer world, undergoing a transformation to the anointing that effects others to believe in Jesus for eternal life. In chapter six Jesus spoke about His forthcoming sacrifice as it were spiritual. He shocked His disciples, saying they were to eat His flesh and drink His blood by believing in Him. This drew a straight and definitive line from the cross to the Holy Spirit, whom they would receive resulting from their faith in Jesus. It is not just a mental ascent that God desires in us; He wants to transformation our hearts. He invites His children to partake of the water like they partook of His sacrifice. The difference between the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit and outer manifestation of the anointing is the difference between water giving us life and water cleansing our bodies of all unrighteousness. This cleansing power of water upon our outer form represents the anointing. (111d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Water and the word (132j) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Filled with the Spirit >> Drink in the Spirit (207k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The generosity of God’s salvation >> Salvation is eternal life (224l) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The holy of holies >> The throne room of heaven (229c) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Growing In Numbers Corresponds With Spiritual Growth >> Kingdom grows in size (254h) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Holy Spirit is life >> Spirit of God is the life of Christ Jn 7-37,38 (225n) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >> Parables about water – Jesus compared His anointing with a flowing river. The Holy Spirit runs through Jesus as the river of life runs throughout His heavenly kingdom, originating from the throne of God. We are to imbibe the Holy Spirit with the promise that we too will become a source. Jesus alluded to this in Jn 4-13,14, talking to the woman at the well saying that we will become a well of water springing up to eternal life. When we imbibe the Holy Spirit, we don’t just possess the volume we drank, but become a source to others like an artesian well that flowed to us from the one who preached the word of life. Tracing its influence throughout the generations to find the headwaters emanating from Christ, it makes its way to the ocean, the great repository from which it came, refills the aquifers and waters all God’s creatures. Jn 7,40-43 (20f) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Seeking a sign – Note that some said, “This is the prophet,” and others said, “This is the Christ,” signifying two separate individuals. The prophet who came before Christ was John the Baptist. When we think of Israel back then, they hadn’t had a prophet in 400 years, and so they experienced a very long quiet period, and then suddenly it became very eventful, starting with John the Baptist. So the Jews had no excuse not to recognize Jesus as their Messiah or the prophet who came before Him, for it wasn’t like they had to sort through a dozen prophets to discern the right one. Moreover, they weren't thinking about a prophet like John the Baptist before he came, but one more like Elijah, not Elijah but one like him, who is still to come in the last days as one of the two witnesses. The second of the Two Witnesses will not be Moses but a prophet like him. (65d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Jesus brings division >> He divides a society along it’s natural fault lines (80e) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to learn the ways of God >> Leading to Jesus – These people did not have their facts straight. Jesus lived in Galilee but He wasn’t born there. Just because circumstances seem a certain way doesn’t mean we should interpret them as such. The beginning of Christ's life was shrouded in secrecy, because there were strong and wicked forces searching for Him to destroy Him even as an infant. They could have done some research; in fact, they only needed to ask Jesus Himself where He was born, and He probably would have told them. He was born in Bethlehem and was raised in Nazareth, and then moved to Galilee later in His life. In the same way, there are many irresponsible teachings in eschatology (endtime prophecy). The Church has its doctrines so misconstrued that many circles and whole denominations in Christendom refuse to even look at endtime prophecy. What does the book of Revelation say? Here is one of its first statements, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev 1-3). People are missing a blessing by not studying endtime prophecy. See also: Endtime prophecy; 83l (83l) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Be ready – This sounds just like people arguing over endtime prophecy, like two people lost in the woods with a topographical map that shows land features instead of road signs. They look at a hill, then back at the map and say, ‘This landmark represents that hill.’ The other guy says, ‘No, it represents that farther set of hills.’ Having a map but not knowing how to use it to pinpoint their location is like having a Bible but not knowing how to interpret endtime prophecy. Enter some of these Christian circles that like to debate about endtimes, and we would find that they can hardly agree on anything, so it renders their opinions useless. What is the solution? Should we not have an opinion; should we not study endtime prophecy? When endtime prophecy begins to unfold, we better have come to the right conclusions about the most important issues, or we could be adding trouble to some already troubled times. Israel proved what happens to people who are ill-prepared for a move of God. If we continue to argue and debate, we may suddenly find ourselves in the same woods with Israel, lost without a compass, who did not recognize the time of their visitation. See also: Endtime prophecy; 80e / Interpreting endtime prophecy; 1Cor 4-1; 108i (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 33-36 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7,43-52 (19j) Sin >> Self righteousness will twist your mind (25a) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Hate the truth -- These verses go with verse 32 (160da) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil to suppress the word of God >> Oppressing those who carry the gospel -- These verses go with verse 32. The religious establishment didn’t want Jesus to be the Christ, because He was contrary to their business of religion. To believe that He was the Christ would have meant they had to give up their place in society as the religious and spiritual leaders of Israel, and they loved the fame and fortune that went with it. This had the effect of hardening their hearts. It was impossible not to believe Jesus was the Christ after all the signs presented to them over a course of 3½ years. Jn 7,43-46 (241j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of what He said -- These verses go with verses 19-27 Jn 7,44-52 (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil (153i) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in hypocrisy – The Pharisees were absolutely frenzied over the Lord. They went to make sure no prophet arose from Galilee; it was too late for that. They were trying to cover every possible angle to protect themselves from anyone who would hinder their business of religion. They wanted to continue being the only leaders in Israel, whose teachings revolved around looking for the Expected One. This was the irony of it all: they taught Israel to look for a man just like Jesus, and when they found Him, they sought to destroy Him. Jn 7,45-52 (240i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the kingdom Jn 7,45-49 (168k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> You cannot hear God while you listen to the devil – The Pharisees were so uninspired they could not discern the words of Jesus coming from their Messiah. It was like the bell at the end of the movie "Polar Express", after the boy received the first gift of Christmas, he promptly lost it, and Santa Clause found it on the floor of his sleigh, put it in a box with a ribbon and set it under the boy’s Christmas tree, where he discovered it on Christmas morning as the last present to be opened that year. He opened the box and rang his treasured bell, and could hear its sweet chime, and His little sister could hear it, but his parents could not, because the spirit of Christmas had fallen silent for them. The same was true with the chief priests and Pharisees; Jesus Christ fell silent on their ears. They could feel the vibrations of His voice, but the words themselves did not have the ring of truth for them. Jn 7-45,46 (30f) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Favor with God through His word – The Father protected His Son by the word of God that proceeded from His mouth. The officers were given orders to seize Him, and when they came to arrest Him, they were listening to His sermon and it affected them so deeply they could not arrest Him. We could get a copy of every word Jesus said, and read it aloud to an assembly, and frankly it would not be nearly as powerful as when Jesus spoke that day, because it would be lacking the Spirit by which He spoke. Moreover, we have exact transcripts of sermons preached by some of the greatest evangelist of times past, who were largely responsible for great awakenings. We can read exactly what they said to their congregations that made the people drop to the knees and cry for repentance, confess their sins and get saved on the spot, yet when we read their sermons, they are mostly ineffective. In their day the effect was the result of many hours of prayer gracing their words, but in our day it is from the lack of it. We have a copy of the most intimate statements Jesus made to his disciples in the gospel of John, chapters 14-17; people read them every day and are not transformed, because the Holy Spirit must be present before the word of God can have an impact. The officers could not arrest Jesus after hearing the words that proceeded from Him, graced with anointing. God instilled His truth in the officers, and they developed a conviction about Jesus that His words came from God. See also: Spirit and the Word (Both must be present); Jn 17,11-19; 191f KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 7,47-49 (53e) Paradox >> Opposites >> Freedom and bondage >> It takes one to know one (173m) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s Religion >> Resisting the Kingdom of God (174g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Believing you don’t have a sinful nature (176f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Fire without faithfulness – These Pharisees were the embodiment of self-righteousness. They prided themselves in their knowledge of the Law, not in doing it. The Law was not given just to learn but also to observe. It has been estimated that the meticulous Law of Moses consisted of 613 commandments, though it was reduced to only ten, and then further reduced to just two (Mat 22,35-39, based on: Deuteronomy 6-5 & Leviticus 19-18), which Paul reduced to just one word, “love” (Rom 13-10). This is all Israel needed to know, and so the amount of knowledge a person needs to fulfill the Law is minimal; we don’t have to be scholars. The Pharisees and others considered themselves scholars and their knowledge crucial to the future of the nation and to the well being of the people, and therefore they considered their position in society to be invaluable. Had they followed the Law, they probably would have been right, because then God would have revealed to them more than just the Law; He would have revealed to them the intent of the Law, which became the new covenant. God gave us Jesus Christ as our Savior and sent the Holy Spirit in His place to help us live and walk in His commandments, but the Pharisees were too busy learning about the Law to obey any of its statutes, and there are Pharisees in the world today who consider their knowledge more valuable than their obedience. The Bible teaches that we don’t know any more about God's truth than we practice. God is willing to enlighten us about His word as we implement it, and no more than that, and for that reason the following statement is true: it is more important to know God than it is to know about Him. The one who does His will can tell when a man speaks from himself and when he speaks from God (v17). Like James said, “Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (Jm 2-18); we know the truth when we hear it, because we obey it. See also: Spirit and the Word (God reveals Himself to the degree that we obey Him); 2Cor 4-13; 85f Jn 7,48-52 (167k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> The world’s unbelief (181d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Lawlessness >> Lawlessness is no excuse for sin >> Sinning under the law is still lawlessness – The Pharisees only cared about the Law. This was something Israel determined centuries earlier, that the Law of Moses was the apex of their religion, also that the purpose of the Law was to follow its precepts. However, when we think about the law today in America and in all nations that are ruled by law, good people use it as confirmation in everything they know and believe about what is good and right, whereas godless people do not obey the law. Pharisees were the greatest lawbreakers of all, making them hypocrites. A godless nation under law cannot follow the law, and a godly nation doesn’t need the law, and so the law is useless in both cases. The problem with the law, it is impossible to legislate human behavior, whereas the new covenant has the promise of the Spirit, who teaches us about God and leads into godliness. Jn 7-51 (52a) Judgment >> Judging Church with world >> Law judges sin >> Those who transgress against it Jn 7-53 -- No Entries See next page