What does John 7:21 mean?
Here, Jesus refers to the prior year's Feast, where He healed a man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–9). The reaction of local religious leaders to that sign was extremely hostile (John 5:10–18). Most of that hostility was focused on the fact that Jesus had healed someone on a Sabbath day, contradicting the Pharisees' traditions. This controversy led Jesus to claim that the Pharisees had all the required knowledge of God but refused to come to Jesus in the way God intended (John 5:37–40; 6:29). This was also a reason Jesus stayed away from Jerusalem—and the direct influence of her religious leaders—for quite some time (John 6:1; 7:1).In the next verses, Jesus will point out that even Pharisees believe in performing certain spiritually based works on a Sabbath, such as circumcision. Jesus will develop this example to show how their criticisms are ultimately invalid.
John 7:14–24 is a strong spiritual challenge issued by Jesus against the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus makes the point that obedience is a necessary aspect of learning. The resistance of the scribes and Pharisees is ultimately a matter of rebellion, not knowledge. In the same way, Jesus criticizes their hypocritical attitude towards His miracles. This concludes with a powerful statement about the need to use ''right judgment,'' rather than shallow appearances.
Six months after the feeding of thousands, and the public debate which followed, Jesus plans to attend the Feast of Booths, also called the Festival of Tabernacles. Rather than going publicly, He chooses to arrive privately, and after His family. While teaching and preaching there, Jesus once again comes into conflict with local religious leaders. The crowds take note of His profound words, history of miracles, and the inability of the religious leaders to silence Him. This causes the people to openly question their spiritual leaders. This embarrassment is a milestone in the effort to permanently silence Jesus.
