What does John chapter 7 mean?

Chapters 7 and 8 represent the beginning of the end of Jesus' public ministry. In these passages, He will openly challenge the spiritual errors of the Jewish leaders and declare His role in the salvation of mankind. In response, the religious officials will turn deeper towards a plot for murder. John chapter 7 begins after another leap in the gospel's timeline. The events of chapter 6 occurred around one year prior to Jesus' crucifixion. The events of chapter 7, centered on the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles, happen about six months later. This feast was among the most important in Jewish tradition; it was a hub of religious and cultural activity.

While reading this chapter, it is important to recognize the meaning of John's terminology. At this time, Jerusalem would have been filled with locals, foreign visitors, Jewish pilgrims, and many others. As such, there are three main groups involved in this narrative. "The Jews," as used most often in the gospel of John, is a reference to the religious leaders of Jerusalem, or those who support them. "The people" are the mixed crowd of those attending the festival. The third group are those Jewish people living in and around Jerusalem, most of whom would have sided with the opinion of the local religious leaders.

This passage begins with Jesus' family mocking Him, possibly with a reference to the events of chapter 6. They assume a man seeking publicity and fame ought to do His magic tricks at the most public festival of the year. By all reasonable interpretations, the "brothers" mentioned here are the literal half-brothers of Jesus. These are the biological sons of Mary. Jesus, however, is still sensitive to God's timetable, and chooses not to go to the feast with them. Instead, He will go later, and alone, to be more discreet. Jesus' family members are not the only ones anticipating His arrival in Jerusalem; the crowd discusses who He might be (John 7:1–13).

This discretion only lasts a few days. Jesus begins teaching and preaching in Jerusalem midway through the week-long feast. Early in this teaching, Jesus makes a remark which may seem backwards at first. He says those who are obedient to God will know whether Jesus' words are true. He does not say that those who determine truth can then be obedient. This reflects the fact that a person's intentions are always more powerful than evidence or reason. He then challenges His critics for their shallow insistence on Sabbath-keeping which doesn't follow the spirit of the law of Moses (John 7:14–24).

His open criticism, along with His established reputation for miracles, creates a crisis of confidence regarding Jerusalem's religious leaders. This includes the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. From the perspective of the people, there are only three possibilities: Either the leaders are too weak to stop a blasphemer, too confused to do anything, or they somehow accept His claims. This only adds fuel to the religious leaders' desire to silence Jesus permanently. Meanwhile, the people continue to debate whether Jesus meets the qualifications of the Christ (John 7:25–31).

While the people are reluctant, the Pharisees are not. They arrange for Jesus to be arrested. Yet they are confused by His comments about going and not being found. During a ceremony involving water, Jesus proclaims Himself the source of "living water," echoing His conversation with the woman at the well (John 4:10). This inspires a fresh round of debate and questions. The people know some of the prophecies about the Messiah. They think they know Jesus, but some of their facts are confused (John 7:32–43).

The men sent to arrest Jesus apparently think arrest is inappropriate. They may have expected to find a raging, rebellious man. Instead, they come back to the Pharisees noting that Jesus' teaching is unique. In response, the Pharisees throw a spiritual temper tantrum. They insult the officers and the crowd, claiming that if the Pharisees don't accept Jesus, His words cannot possibly be true (John 7:44–49).

Division over Jesus even extends to these religious leaders themselves. Nicodemus, the same man who spoke with Jesus in chapter 3, will make an appeal for due process. In response, his peers ridicule him and reject his suggestion. This makes chapter 7 a crucial passage for understanding the Pharisees. Their example is a warning about how arrogance, ignorance, and obsession with tradition can cause spiritual blindness (John 7:50–53).

The gospel of John was originally written without chapter or verse divisions. Those came later, so separations from one chapter to the next don't always mean the writer has a new topic. The last verse associated with chapter 7 begins the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman (John 7:53—8:11). Most scholars believe that passage is an authentic, inspired account of a real event. Some do not, but nearly all agree it was not originally found in this place in Scripture. Verse 12 of chapter 8 seems to flow very naturally from Jesus' teaching here: He continues declaring His role as Messiah using various metaphors.