Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
The “disciple whom Jesus loved,” known as John, either John the brother of Zebedee, the Apostle, or John the Elder, was writing his recollections of his experiences with Jesus so that those who hear or read would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and would find eternal life in His name (cf. John 20:31). He began by speaking of the Word of God, the Creator, the life and light of men, who took on flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:1-18). He then described the calling of the first disciples, Jesus’ first sign at the wedding in Cana, the events which took place while Jesus was present at the Passover in Jerusalem, and Jesus’ return to Galilee via Samaria (John 1:19-4:54). John the Evangelist then set forth Jesus’ healing of a lame man at Bethesda and the storm of controversy it engendered, Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand, and His challenging description of Himself as the Bread of Life (John 5:1-6:71).
Jesus’ healing at Bethesda would stand behind all of the events and interactions John described in John 7:1-52. Jesus stayed in Galilee and not in Judea because the religious authorities sought to kill Him because of it (John 7:1).
The time had come for the Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths (Sukkot; John 7:2). The Feast of Tabernacles was established in Leviticus 23:33-44 and Deuteronomy 16:13-17 as a week-long celebration of the harvest in the middle of the seventh month, thus around October, six months from the Passover. Israelites were to erect tents in the fields and live in them for the week; the Feast of Booths was one of the three feasts at which every man was to appear before YHWH (cf. Deuteronomy 16:16). It was also one of the appointed feasts at which the Torah, or Law, was to be read before the people (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). Many of Jesus’ teachings and behaviors would directly relate to activities going on during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Jesus’ brothers challenged Him to go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles: if You are really the Messiah, go and prove it; John the Evangelist informed us His brothers did not believe in Him at this point (John 7:3-5). Jesus’ brothers were also mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and its parallel passages; they are identified as James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. The Greek term involved does suggest they are Jesus’ half-brothers, later children of Joseph and Mary; Matthew declared Joseph did not “know” Mary “until” she gave birth to Jesus (Matthew 1:25), and despite later hagiography, there would be no reason to expect a Second Temple Jewish couple to not have children, and there was no sin or transgression in it. This would be the one and only time John would mention Jesus’ brothers; Jesus would appear to James in His resurrection, His siblings would be gathered with the disciples in the upper room between His ascension and the day of Pentecost, and James and Jude (=Judas) would become of some reputation in the church and write letters preserved in the New Testament (cf. Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 2:9, James, Jude). We do not know exactly at which point His family would fully believe in Him, but it must be between these events and His resurrection.
Jesus told His brothers His time had not yet come; the world hated Jesus because He testified about the evil of its deeds, but it did not hate them (John 7:6-8). Jesus thus stayed behind in Galilee while His brothers went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths; later Jesus would Himself go, but secretly (John 7:9-10).
Even if Jesus were not publicly apparent, His presence was still felt in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders wanted to know where He was; the people spoke amongst themselves about Him, with some saying He was a good man, and others suggesting He was deceiving the people; but none dare speak publicly on account of the Jewish authorities (John 7:11-13).
During the middle of the feast, while the people celebrated the drawing of water to pour onto the altar in the Temple, Jesus went up and began to teach there (John 7:14). The Jewish leaders were astonished at His understanding since He was not formally rabbinically trained (John 7:15). Jesus identified the One who sent Him as the Source of His understanding; those who would want to do God’s will would perceive it in His teaching (John 7:16-18).
Jesus then asked if Moses gave them the Law, condemned them all as not actually keeping the Law, and then asked why they wanted to kill Jesus (John 7:19). The people did not understand what He was attempting to frame; they said He had a demon and asked who wanted to kill Him (John 7:20). Jesus then appealed to Leviticus 12:3: a male Jewish child was to be circumcised on the eighth day, even if that day were a Sabbath, and yet none of the people considered that a violation of the Sabbath; yet Jesus was being condemned for healing on a Sabbath (John 7:21-23). He then encouraged them to judge not by appearances but by proper judgment (John 7:24). Thus Jesus identified moments in which divine imperatives may come into conflict, and exhorted His followers to practice proper discernment to understand how to best glorify God in those situations.
Throughout John 7:1-52, John the Evangelist presented much of the chatter among the people regarding Jesus. Some wondered how He could be publicly teaching; did the authorities recognize Him as the Christ? And yet they knew from where He came, and they imagined they would not know from where the Messiah would come (John 7:25-27). The people do seem to know of Micah 5:2, and so the question likely has little to do with geographical origins. Jesus cried out, affirming they knew from where He had come, but they did not know the One who sent Jesus, but Jesus indeed knew Him (John 7:28-29). This kind of shocking declaration – the people of God did not know God! – engendered opposition, and people tried to seize Jesus, yet proved unable to do so, because His time had not yet come (John 7:30). We would not be wrong to see some kind of supernatural protection over Jesus at this point.
Nevertheless, many in the crowd believed in Jesus: they wondered if Messiah could do more miracles than the things Jesus was doing (John 7:31). This was too much for the Jewish religious establishment: the chief priests and Pharisees, not exactly friends, sent officials to arrest Jesus (John 7:32).
Jesus informed everyone how He would not be with them for much longer; He would return to the One who sent Him; they would look for Him but not find Him (John 7:33-34). The hearer and reader understand what Jesus means, but those in the moment could, and did, not: they wondered if He meant He would go to the Jewish Diaspora, or perhaps even preach among the Greek speaking Gentiles (John 7:35-36).
On the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus cried out for all who were thirsty to come to Him and drink, evoking Isaiah 58:11 and similar passages which suggest rivers of living water would flow within the believer (John 7:37-38). His teaching was without a doubt associated with the celebration of the drawing of water; living water was generally understood as flowing water, as opposed to stagnant water. John the Evangelist did not want to leave the hearer or reader in doubt: he associated Jesus’ teaching with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which had not yet taken place since Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:39). Thus we do well to understand much of what Jesus taught regarding living water with the presence of the Spirit (e.g. John 4:1-42).
Some in the crowds confessed Jesus as the Prophet; perhaps the Mosaic prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15-18, but more likely the Elijah who would come before the Day of YHWH; others in the crowd confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel; but still others pointed out the Scripture in Micah 5:2 and how the Christ would come from Bethlehem, not Galilee; and so the crowd was divided (John 7:40-43). John the Evangelist never spoke of the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth; we have no reason to believe he would cast aspersions on Matthew’s or Luke’s narratives, but this moment would have provided a great opportunity to editorialize about Jesus’ origins. Perhaps the issue of origin was about more than mere birth: Jesus may have been born in Bethlehem, but no one would confuse Him for a Bethlehemite; He was raised a Galilean in Nazareth.
No one laid a hand on Jesus. Those officers sent to arrest Him returned to the chief priests and Pharisees empty-handed (John 7:44-45). When asked what happened, they declared how no one had ever spoken like Jesus (John 7:46). The Pharisees contemptuously asked if they had been deceived as well; after all, none among the religious authorities accepted Jesus’ claims; the only ones who did so were part of the rabble, the unenlightened, whom the religious authorities deemed accursed (John 7:47-49). When Nicodemus raised a slight objection, asking if it were right to judge a man under the Law without giving him a hearing, they derided him, asking if he also were a Galilean, and to search the Scriptures to see no prophet comes from Galilee (John 7:50-52).
Matthew considered Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1-2 (cf. Matthew 4:12-17), but the statement was really a dismissive proof-text. The religious authorities had little to gain and much to lose if Jesus were the Christ, and most would not condescend to hear or heed Him. This tends to become a difficulty in any religious institution, organization, or tradition: the learned can easily imagine themselves as the more enlightened and hold those with less understanding in contempt. Christians do well to consider whether they are acting more like the disciples of Jesus or more like the chief priests and Pharisees in terms of their perspective on fellow believers.
The Feast of Tabernacles was drawing to a close; Jesus had taught the people again, and controversy was yet again stoked. Thanks be to God for Jesus the Christ, and may we all come to Jesus and receive the living water of the Spirit from Him!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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