CHAP. 7. CHRIST THE SOURCE OF TRUTH AND LIGHT Chap. 7 has three main divisions: 1. _The controversy with His brethren_ (1–9); 2. _His teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles_ (10–39); 3. _The opposite results_; division in the multitude and in the Sanhedrin (40–52).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ. see on John 3:22. The interval is again vague (Introduction to Chap. vi.): it covers five or six months, the interval between the Passover (John 6:4) and the Feast of Tabernacles. ΠΕΡΙΕΠΆΤΕΙ. see on John 6:66. The imperfects imply continued action. To this ministry in Galilee, which S.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CONTROVERSY WITH HIS BRETHREN... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἡ ἙΟΡ. Τ. ἸΟΥΔ. Ἡ ΣΚ. Tabernacles, or ‘the Feast of the 7th month, or ‘of ingathering,’ was the most joyous of the Jewish festivals. It had two aspects: (1) a commemoration of their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, (2) a harvest-home. It was therefore a thanksgiving (1) for a permanent abode, an... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓͂Ν. Because He had not attended the previous Passover. ΟἹ�. See on John 2:12. The bluntness of this suggestion, given almost as a command, shews that they presumed upon their near relationship. It would be more natural in the mouths of men _older_ than Christ, and therefore is in favour of their... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ΔΕῚΣ Γ. _For no man doeth anything in secret and himself seeketh to be in openness_: or, according to BD1, _and seeketh it_ (αὐτό) _to be in openness_. They imply that He works miracles to prove His Messiahship and hides them from those who would be convinced by them. To conceal His miracles is t... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΚΑΙΡῸΣ Ὁ ἘΜ. see on John 8:31. _My time_ for manifesting Myself to the world _is not yet_ PRESENT; with special reference to the Passion. It is inadequate to interpret it of the time for going up to the Feast. Moreover, what sense would there be in ‘Your time _for going up to the Feast_ is always... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΚΌΣΜΟΣ. Unbelievers; the common use in S. John: in John 7:4 it meant all mankind (see on John 1:10). He takes up their word and gives it a meaning far deeper than theirs. The world cannot hate them because they are part of itself (John 15:19). Hence it is that they can always manifest themselves;... [ Continue Reading ]
8. Omit ταύτην after first ἙΟΡΤΉΝ. Between οὔπω (BLT) and οὐκ (אDKM) before ἈΝΑΒΑΊΝΩ it is impossible to decide with certainty. 8. ὙΜΕΙ͂Σ. Emphatic; _you_, with all your fondness for publicity. ἘΓῺ ΟΥ̓Κ�. Οὔπω, certainly very ancient, is _possibly_ a correction. It may have been substituted for οὐ... [ Continue Reading ]
9. Once more we see (John 7:1; John 1:43; John 2:1; John 2:12; John 4:2; John 4:43; John 6:1; John 6:59) that S. John is quite aware that Galilee is the main scene of Christ’s ministry, as the Synoptists represent. The gaps in his narrative leave ample room for the Galilean ministry.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ΤῊΝ ἙΟΡΤΉΝ, ΤΌΤΕ ΚΑῚ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΣ� for τότε κ. αὐ. ἀν. εἰς τ. ἑορ. on overwhelming evidence. 10. ΕἸΣ ΤῊΝ ἙΟΡΤΉΝ. These words, transposed in T.R., belong to ἀνέβησαν, not ἀνέβη. We are not told that Christ went up to the Feast, i.e. to keep it; so that His words ‘I go not up to this Feast’ may be true... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DISCOURSES AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES Of this section John 7:10-13 are introductory.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΟΥ̓͂Ν Ἰ. The hostile party _therefore_; because they did not find Him in the caravan of pilgrims from Galilee. Note the imperfects, implying continued action. ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. That man of whom we have heard so much; John 9:12; John 9:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΟΓΓΥΣΜΌΣ. MUTTERING; see on John 6:41. Some are for and some are against Him. ἘΝ ΤΟΙ͂Σ ὌΧΛΟΙΣ. Perhaps, _in the bands of pilgrims_. Here only does S. John use ὄχλοι; ὄχλος is frequent, and is read here in אD. ΠΛΑΝΑ͂Ι. LEADETH ASTRAY.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ΔΕῚΣ ΜΈΝΤΟΙ. Quite literally; no man dared speak openly either for or against Him, they were so afraid of the hierarchy. Experience had taught them that it was dangerous to take any line which the rulers had not formally sanctioned; and though the rulers were known to be against Christ, yet they... [ Continue Reading ]
ἬΔΗ ΔῈ Τ. Ἐ. Μ. _But when it was already the midst of the feast_; i.e. about the fourth day. Whether He had been in Jerusalem for the first half is uncertain: see on John 7:10. Once more the Lord, whom they sought, suddenly visits His Temple, and perhaps for the first time teaches in public there: a... [ Continue Reading ]
14–39. We have (1) a discourse in the midst of the Feast in which three groups take part; ‘the Jews’ (14–24); some of the people of Jerusalem (25–31); the envoys of the Sanhedrin (32–36): (2) a discourse on the last day of the Feast (37–39). The report is no doubt greatly condensed, but the division... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὟΤΟΣ. Contemptuous, as in John 6:32. Their question is so eminently characteristic, that it is very unlikely that a Greek writer of the second century would have been able to invent it for them; he would probably have made them too cautious to commit themselves to any expression of astonishment abo... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἜΣΤΙΝ ἘΜΉ. Jewish teachers commonly quoted their authorities. These Jews thought that Jesus was self-taught, and marvelled at His literary proficiency. Jesus here gives the authority for His teaching and accounts for its power. ‘My teaching does not originate with Me; that is why I have no need... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΆΝ ΤΙΣ ΘΈΛΗΙ. _If any man_ WILLETH TO DO _His will_; see on John 1:44; John 6:67; John 8:44. The mere mechanical performance of God’s will is not enough; there must be an inclination towards Him, a wish to make our conduct agree with His will; and without this agreement Divine doctrine cannot be re... [ Continue Reading ]
18. Proof almost in the form of a syllogism that He does not speak of Himself. It applies to Christ alone. Human teachers who seek God’s glory are not thereby secured from erroneous teaching. These verses (16–18) remind us, and might remind some of His hearers, of an earlier discourse delivered in J... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ Μ. ἜΔ. Ὑ Τ. ΝΌΜΟΝ; Here the interrogation probably ends (comp. John 6:70); the next clause is a statement of fact. The words are possibly an allusion to the custom of reading the Law in public every day of the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Feast fell in a Sabbatical year (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΑΙΜ. ἜΧΕΙΣ. _Thou hast a_ DEMON (see on John 8:48). The multitude from the provinces know nothing of the designs of the hierarchy, although dwellers in Jerusalem (John 7:25) are better informed. These provincials think He must be possessed to have such an idea. Comp. John 10:20, and also Matthew 11... [ Continue Reading ]
ἛΝ ἜΡ. ἘΠ. _I_ DID _one work_; the healing at Bethesda, which (He reminds them) excited the astonishment and indignation of _all_, not of the rulers only, as being wrought on the Sabbath. Ἕν, a single work, in contrast to frequent circumcisions on the Sabbath, or possibly to the many works which exc... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙᾺ Τ. Μ. FOR THIS CAUSE M. HATH GIVEN YOU: the perfect indicates that the gift abides, the present result of a past act. ΟΥ̓Κ ὍΤΙ. _Not_ THAT; the sentence is a parenthesis, and ὅτι does not answer to διὰ τοῦτο. The meaning is not, ‘_For this cause_ M. hath given you circumcision, _because_ it orig... [ Continue Reading ]
ἽΝΑ ΜῊ Λ. Ὁ Ν. Μ. The law about circumcision on the eighth day (Leviticus 12:3), which was a re-enactment of the patriarchal law (Genesis 17:12). Some adopt the inferior rendering in the margin; ‘without breaking the law of Moses,’ or ‘without the law of Moses being broken;’ in which case ‘the law o... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΤ' ὌΨΙΝ. _According to appearance_ Christ’s act was a breach of the Sabbath. ὄψις may mean ‘face,’ as in John 11:44 (see note there); but there is no reference to Christ’s having ‘no form nor comeliness,’ as if He meant ‘Judge not by My mean appearance.’ ΤῊΝ ΔΙΚ. ΚΡ. THE _righteous judgment_: the... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΛ. ΟΥ̓͂Ν Τ. _Some_ THEREFORE _of them of Jerusalem said_; i.e. in consequence of Christ’s vindication of Himself. Living in the capital, they know better than the provincials (John 7:20) what the intentions of the hierarchy are. Ἱεροσολυμῖται occurs only here and Mark 1:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
26. Omit ἀληθῶς after ἘΣΤΙΝ. 26. ἼΔΕ ΠΑΡ̓ῬΗΣΊΑΙ. See on John 1:29 and John 7:13. ΜΉΠΟΤΕ Κ.Τ.Λ. CAN IT BE THAT THE RULERS INDEED HAVE COME TO KNOW THAT THIS MAN IS THE CHRIST? Surely they have not; and yet why do they allow such language? Comp. John 7:31; John 4:29; John 4:33, and see on John 1:48.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ ΧΡ. ὍΤΑΝ ἜΡΧ. _But when_ the _Christ cometh_; see on John 1:20. ΟΥ̓ΔΕῚΣ ΓΙΝΏΣΚΕΙ. _No one_ COMETH TO KNOW (John 7:26) or PERCEIVETH. Note the change from οἴδαμεν to γινώσκει and comp. John 8:55; John 13:7; John 14:7; John 21:17. Πόθεν does not refer to the Messiah’s _birthplace_, which was know... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΚΡΑΞΕΝ ΟὟΝ. JESUS THEREFORE (moved by their gross misconceptions) CRIED ALOUD. The word expresses loud expression of strong emotion; comp. John 7:37; John 1:15; John 12:44. S. John well remembers that moving cry in the midst of Christ’s teaching in the Temple. The scene is still before him and he p... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΏ. Emphatic, in contrast to the preceding emphatic ὑμεῖς. ὍΤΙ ΠΑΡ' ΑΥ̓. ΕἸΜΙ. BECAUSE _I am from Him, and He_, and no other, _sent Me_. Jesus knows God (1) because of His Divine generation, (2) because of His Divine mission. Comp. the very remarkable passage, Matthew 11:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΖΉΤΟΥΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν. _They sought_ THEREFORE, in consequence of His claiming Divine origin and mission; for though He has not mentioned God, they understand His meaning. Imperfect of continued action (John 11:27), the nominative being οἱ ἄρχοντες or οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, not ὁ ὄχλος. Πιάζειν occurs Revelation 19:2... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚ Τ. ὈΧΛ. ΔῈ Π. BUT (on the other hand, i.e. in contrast to the rulers) OF THE MULTITUDE _many believed on Him_ (as the Messiah) _and_ KEPT SAYING (in answer to objectors), _When_ THE _Christ_ (see on John 7:27 and John 1:20) _cometh, will He do more_ SIGNS _than those which this man_ DID? They exp... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ� (S. John’s invariable order; John 7:45; John 11:47; John 11:57; John 18:3) for οἱ Φ. κ. οἱ�., on overwhelming evidence. 32. ΓΟΓΓΎΖΟΝΤΟΣ. Here, as in John 7:12, mere MUTTERING, as distinct from murmuring, seems to be meant: see on John 6:41. But they are restless at all this uncertainty. The Pha... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἾΠΕΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν Ὁ Ἰ. THEREFORE _said Jesus_, i.e. in consequence of their sending to arrest Him: probably He recognised the officers waiting for an opportunity to take Him. Christ’s words are addressed to the officers and those who sent them, and it is very difficult to decide on their precise meaning.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΖΗΤΉΣΕΤΈ ΜΕ. In spite of John 7:1; John 7:19-20; John 7:25; John 7:30; John 5:18; John 8:37; John 8:40; John 10:39; John 11:8, it seems clear from John 13:33 that these words are not to be [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΛΌΓΟΣ ΟΥ̓͂ΤΟΣ. Οὗτος is again contemptuous, like ‘this precious word.’ But they cannot shake the impression which it has made on them. Their own scornful suggestion does not satisfy them, for they know that it is not true.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ … ΜΕΓΆΛΗΙ. NOW ON _the last day_, the _great day_. This was probably not the seventh day, but the eighth day, which according to Leviticus 23:36; Leviticus 23:39; Numbers 29:35; Nehemiah 3:18, was reckoned along with the seven days of the feast proper. To speak of the seventh day as ‘the great da... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΠΙΣΤΕΎΩΝ. _Nominativus pendens;_ comp. John 6:39; John 15:2. ΚΑΘῺΣ ΕἾΠΕΝ Ἡ ΓΡ. _As the scripture_ SAID; as if some passage to this effect had recently been read. see on John 2:22. The phrase undoubtedly refers to the words that follow: but inasmuch as no such text is found in Scripture, some have... [ Continue Reading ]
39. After ΠΝΕΥ͂ΜΑ omit ἄγιον (assimilation to John 20:22), with אT. D adds ἐπ' αὐτοῖς and B adds δεδομένον after ἅγιον. ΟΥ̓́ΠΩ for οὐδέπω. 39. ΠΕΡῚ Τ. ΠΝ. S. John’s interpretation is to be accepted, whatever may be our theory of inspiration, (1) because no better interpreter of Christ’s words ever... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPOSITE RESULTS OF THE DISCOURSES... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚ Τ. ὌΧΛ. ΟΥ̓͂Ν. OF THE MULTITUDE, THEREFORE, SOME, WHEN THEY HEARD THESE WORDS, KEPT SAYING, or, BEGAN TO SAY. For ἐκ τῶν as a nominative comp. John 1:24; John 16:17, and as an accusative 2 John 1:4; Revelation 2:10. The λόγοι probably mean the discourses from John 7:14 onwards. Ὁ ΠΡΟΦΉΤΗΣ. The Pr... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜῊ ΓᾺΡ … Ὁ ΧΡ. ἘΡ. We have here an instance how little attention our translators paid to the Greek article; in the same verse they translate the article in one place and ignore it in another. In the next verse they ignore it again. In all three places it should be ‘_the_ Christ’ (see on John 1:20).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚ Τ. ΣΠ. Δ. Psalms 132:11; Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 11:10. see on John 2:22. ἈΠῸ ΒΗΘΛΕΈΜ. Micah 5:2; 1 Samuel 16:1; comp. Matthew 2:6. Like Oedipus they are tragically ignorant that the very test which they so confidently apply tells against them.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΧΊΣΜΑ. Whence our word ‘schism.’ It means a serious and possibly violent division: John 9:16; John 10:19; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Corinthians 12:25; comp. Acts 14:4; Acts 23:7. In N.T. it is never used in the modern sense of a separation _from_ the Church, but of parties _in_ the Church. In the Synop... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΝΈΣ. Not the officers, but some zealots who would have arrested Him on their own responsibility. see on John 11:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΛΘ. ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΟἹ ὙΠ. THEREFORE _came the officers_, i.e. because neither they nor any of the multitude had ventured to arrest Him. Under the control of God’s providence (John 7:30), they had been unable to find any good opportunity for taking Him, and had been overawed by the majesty of His words (John... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΛΆΛΗΣΕΝ ΟὝΤΩΣ for οὕτως ἐλ. Omit ὡς οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος after ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ, with BLT: other MSS. exhibit great variation.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΦΑΡ. That part of the Sanhedrin which was most jealous of orthodoxy, regarded both by themselves and others as models of correct belief, THEREFORE _answered them; Surely ye also have not been_ LED ASTRAY (John 7:12), ye, the officers of the Sanhedrin! ὑμεῖς is very emphatic. Comp. John 7:26; John... [ Continue Reading ]
48. What right have you to judge for yourselves, contrary to the declared opinion of the Sanhedrin and of the orthodox party? What right have you to wear our livery and dispute our resolutions? Note the singular; _Hath any_ ONE? ‘_Have_ any’ weakens it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ὌΧ. ΟὟΤΟΣ. Very contemptuous; _this_ MULTITUDE _of yours, iste_ (35, 36), whose ignorant fancies you prefer to our deliberate decisions. Ὁ ΜῊ ΓΙΝ. The μή implies censure; knoweth not when it ought to know. They ought to know that a sabbath-breaker cannot be the Messiah. Ὁ οὐ γιν. would express a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡὈΣ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ΠΡΌΤΕΡΟΝ for νυκτὸς πρὸς αὐτόν. Here also there is much variation in the readings. 50. Ὁ ἘΛΘῺΝ ΠΡΌΤΕΡΟΝ. see on John 3:1-2. His being ‘one of them’ answers the challenge in John 7:48, ‘Hath any one of the rulers believed on Him?’ But he does not yet declare himself His disciple. Comp. t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜῊ Ὁ ΝΌΜΟΣ. Ὁ νόμος is emphatic. ‘You condemn the multitude for not knowing the law; but are we not forgetting the law in condemning a man unheard?’ These learned theologians and lawyers were forgetting such plain and simple texts as Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 17:8; Deuteronomy 19:15, involvin... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΕΊΡΕΤΑΙ for ἐγήγερται. “Chapter 7, like chapter 6, is very important for the estimate of the fourth Gospel. In it the scene of the Messianic crisis shifts from Galilee to Jerusalem; and, as we should naturally expect, the crisis itself becomes hotter. The divisions, the doubts, the hopes, the jeal... [ Continue Reading ]
53. That this verse, as well as John 8:1-2, is omitted in most MSS. shews that prudential reasons could not explain the omission of the paragraph in more than a _very_ limited number of cases. It is a minority of MSS. which omit only John 8:3-11. ΚΑῚ ἘΠΟΡ. ἝΚΑΣΤΟΣ. see on John 8:1. _And_ THEY WENT... [ Continue Reading ]