Narrator: Jesus stays in Galilee;
Jewish authorities trying to kill him; Feast of Tabernacles is near (v.
1-2)
Brothers: "Go to Judea,
so your disciples may see your works; show yourself to the world" (vv. 3-4)
Narrator: His brothers [said
this because they] did not believe in him (v. 5)
Jesus: "My hour has
not yet come; your hour is always ready"
"The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I
testify: its works are evil"
"You go to the feast; I'm not going to this feast; my hour
has not yet been fulfilled" (vv. 6-8)
Narrator: Jesus stayed in
Galilee; but afterwards went up to the feast secretly (vv. 9-10)
Jews seek: "Where is he?"; Crowds dispute: "He is a good man" vs. "He misleads the
people" (vv. 11-12)
Narrator: No one spoke openly about
him, because they feared the Jewish authorities (v. 13)
PART II: The Middle of the Feast
(7:14-36)
A: Jesus Teaches in the Temple (vv. 14-24)
Narrator: In the middle of the festival
week, Jesus went to the temple and taught (v. 14)
Jews are amazed: "How
does he know scripture, without having studied?" (v. 15)
Jesus: "My teaching is not my
own, but from God, who sent me...;
whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory; whoever seeks God's glory is truthful...;
Moses gave you the law, but you don't keep it. Why are you trying to kill me?"
(vv. 16-19)
Crowd: "You are possessed!
Who is trying to kill you?" (v. 20)
Jesus: "I did one work
and you are amazed (cf. 5:1-18);
you perform circumcisions on the sabbath, without breaking Moses' Law;
so why are you angry that I made an entire
person well on the sabbath?
Stop judging superficially, but judge justly." (vv. 21-24)
Jerusalemites: "Isn't he the one
they're trying to kill? Do the authorities realized he's the MESSIAH?
We know where he is from; no one will know where the MESSIAH is from" (vv.
25-27)
B: Various Groups Argue about Jesus (vv. 25-36)
Narrator: Jesus cried out in the temple area as
he was teaching... (v. 28a)
Jesus: "You claim to know where
I am from! Yet I come fromthe one who sent me;
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me. (vv. 28b-29)
Narrator: They tried to arrest
him, but didn't; his hour had not yet come; but many believed in him
(vv. 30-31a)
Crowd believes: "When the
MESSIAH comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?"
(v. 31b)
Narrator: Pharisees heard the crowd
murmuring; Chief Priests sent guards to arrest him (v. 32)
Jesus: "I'll be with you only
a little longer; then I go to the one who sent me;
you'll look, but not find me; where I am, you cannot come" (vv. 33-34)
Jews: "Where is he going, that
we won't find him? Surely not to the diaspora Greeks?
What did he mean, 'You'll look but not find me; where I am, you can't come?"
(vv. 35-36)
PART III: The Last Day of the
Feast (7:37-52; continues in 8:12-59)
A: Jesus Preaches about Living Water, the Spirit (vv. 37-39)
Narrator: On the last/greatest day of the feast,
Jesus arose and proclaimed... (v.37)
Jesus: "Let anyone who thirsts come to me
and drink;
scripture says about believers, 'Rivers of living water will flow from within
them'" (v. 38)
Narrator: He said this about the Spirit that believers
would receive after Jesus is glorified (v.39)
Note: we might have expected the Johannine Jesus to say,
"I am the living water...", which he never explicitly says in this Gospel.
B: The Crowds Argue about the Messiah (vv. 40-44)
Narrator: When they heard this, some in the crowd
said... (v. 40a)
Crowd: "He's truly the PROPHET"; others
said, "He's the MESSIAH";
others dispute, "The MESSIAH won't come from Galilee,
but from David's family, from Bethlehem" (vv.40b-42)
Narrator: the crowd was divided; some wanted to
arrest him, but didn't (vv. 43-44).
C: The Authorities Argue about Jesus (vv. 45-52)
Chief Priests and Pharisees ask the guards: "Why
didn't you arrest him?" (v. 45; cf. v. 32)
Guards testify: "No one ever spoke
like he does!" (v. 46)
Pharisees reprimand them: "Have
you also been misled?
Have any authorities believed in him? The crowd does not know the Law!"
(vv. 47-49)
Nicodemus defends: "Does our law condemn
someone before hearing him and investigating?" (vv. 50-51)
Pharisees insult him: "Are you from
Galilee too? No prophet arises from Galilee!" (v.52)