1Potom Ježíš chodil po Galileji. Nechtěl se totiž zdržovat v Judsku, protože ho židovští představení chtěli zabít. 2Blížila se židovská Slavnost stánků, 3a tak mu jeho bratři řekli: „Odejdi odsud a vydej se do Judska, ať i tvoji učedníci vidí, jaké skutky děláš. 4Nikdo, kdo chce být známý, přece nedělá nic v skrytu. Když děláš takové věci, ukaž se světu!“ 5Ani jeho bratři v něj totiž nevěřili. 6Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Pro vás je vždycky vhodný čas, ale můj čas ještě nepřišel. 7Vás nemá svět proč nenávidět, ale mě nenávidí, protože o něm vydávám svědectví, že jeho skutky jsou zlé. 8Jděte na slavnost sami. Já tam nejdu; můj čas se ještě nenaplnil.“ 9To jim řekl a zůstal v Galileji. 10Později, když jeho bratři odešli, vydal se na slavnost i on, ale ne zjevně, spíše potají. 11Židovští představení už ho na slavnosti hledali. „Kde je?“ vyptávali se. 12V lidu se o něm vedlo mnoho řečí; někteří říkali: „Je dobrý!“ a jiní zas: „Není! Jen obluzuje lidi!“ 13Kvůli strachu z představených však o něm nikdo nemluvil otevřeně. 14Asi v polovině svátku Ježíš vešel do chrámu a začal učit. 15Židé jen žasli: „Jak to, že zná Písma, když se neučil?“ 16Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Mé učení není mé, ale Toho, který mě poslal. 17Bude-li někdo chtít konat jeho vůli, pozná, je-li to učení z Boha, nebo zda mluvím sám od sebe. 18Kdo mluví sám od sebe, hledá svou vlastní slávu. Kdo ale hledá slávu Toho, který ho poslal, ten je pravdomluvný a není na něm nic špatného. 19Mojžíš vám dal Zákon, že? Přitom nikdo z vás Zákon neplní. Proč mě chcete zabít?“ 20„Jsi posedlý!“ odpověděl mu zástup. „Kdo tě chce zabít?“ 21Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Udělal jsem jeden skutek a všichni se divíte. 22Mojžíš vám vydal obřízku (ačkoli nepochází od Mojžíše, ale od otců) a v sobotu obřezáváte člověka. 23Může-li člověk v sobotu přijímat obřízku a neporušovat tím Mojžíšův Zákon, proč se na mě hněváte, že jsem v sobotu uzdravil celého člověka? 24Nesuďte podle zdání, suďte spravedlivým soudem.“ 25Někteří z Jeruzalémských začali říkat: „Není to snad ten, kterého chtějí zabít? 26Podívejte se, mluví svobodně a nikdo nic nenamítá. Že by hodnostáři přece jen poznali, že je to Mesiáš? 27Jenže o tomto víme, odkud je, ale až přijde Mesiáš, nikdo nebude vědět, odkud je.“ 28Ježíš, který zatím vyučoval v chrámě, tehdy zvolal: „Znáte mě a také víte, odkud jsem. Nepřišel jsem ale sám od sebe. Ten, který mě poslal, je pravdomluvný. Vy ho neznáte, 29ale já ho znám, neboť jsem od něj a on mě poslal.“ 30Chtěli ho za to zatknout, ale nikdo na něj nevztáhl ruku, neboť ještě nepřišla jeho chvíle. 31Mnozí ze zástupu v něj ale uvěřili. „Až přijde Mesiáš,“ říkali, „udělá snad více zázraků než on?“ 32Jakmile farizeové uslyšeli, že zástup o něm vede takové řeči, společně s vrchními kněžími na něj poslali chrámovou stráž, aby ho zatkli. 33Ježíš jim řekl: „Ještě na kratičko jsem s vámi; potom odejdu k Tomu, který mě poslal. 34Budete mě hledat, ale nenajdete. Tam, kde jsem, se nedostanete.“ 35„Kam se chystá jít, že ho nenajdeme?“ ptali se Židé mezi sebou. „Půjde snad do řecké diaspory učit Řeky? 36Co tím myslel, když řekl: ‚Budete mě hledat, ale nenajdete. Tam, kde jsem, se nedostanete‘?“ 37V poslední den, když svátek vrcholil, Ježíš vstal a zvolal: „Kdo má žízeň, pojď ke mně a pij! 38Kdo věří ve mne, z jeho nitra potečou řeky živé vody, jak praví Písmo.“ 39(A to řekl o Duchu, kterého měli přijmout věřící v něho; neboť Duch ještě nebyl dán, protože Ježíš ještě nebyl oslaven.) 40Jakmile to uslyšeli, mnozí v zástupu říkali: „Je to opravdu ten Prorok.“ 41Někteří říkali: „Je to Mesiáš!“ A další: „Přijde snad Mesiáš z Galileje? 42Ne-říká Písmo, že Mesiáš přijde ze semene Davidova, z Betléma, městečka, kde bydlel David?“ 43Zástup se kvůli němu rozdělil na dva tábory. 44Někteří se ho chtěli chopit, ale nikdo na něj nevztáhl ruku. 45Strážní se tehdy vrátili k farizeům a vrchním kněžím. Ti se ptali: „Jak to, že jste ho nepřivedli?“ 46Strážní odpověděli: „Takhle nikdy nikdo nemluvil!“ 47„Snad jste se také nenechali obloudit?“ osopili se na ně farizeové. 48„Uvěřil v něj snad někdo z hodnostářů nebo z farizeů? 49Jenom ten proklatý dav, co nezná Zákon!“ 50Jeden z nich, Nikodém (který ho předtím navštívil), jim ale řekl: 51„Copak náš Zákon někoho soudí, aniž by byl nejdříve vyslechnut a zjistilo se, co udělal?“ 52„Snad nejsi také z Galileje?“ odpověděli mu. „Studuj a uvidíš, že z Galileje žádný prorok nepovstal!“ 53Každý se pak vrátil domů,
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 CHRIST AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. (John 7:1-53)
After these things--that is, all that is recorded after
John 5:18.
walked in Galilee--continuing His labors there, instead of going to Judea, as might have been expected.
sought to kill him--referring back to
John 5:18. Hence it appears that our Lord did not attend the Passover mentioned in
John 6:4 --being the third since His ministry began, if the feast mentioned in
John 5:1 was a Passover.
2 feast of tabernacles . . . at hand--This was the last of the three annual festivals, celebrated on the fifteenth of the seventh month (September). (See
Lev 23:33, &c.;
Deut 16:13, &c.;
Neh 8:14-
Neh 8:18).
3 His brethren said--(See on
Matt 13:54-
Matt 13:56).
Depart . . . into Judea, &c.--In
John 7:5 this speech is ascribed to their unbelief. But as they were in the "upper room" among the one hundred and twenty disciples who waited for the descent of the Spirit after the Lord's ascension (
Acts 1:14), they seem to have had their prejudices removed, perhaps after His resurrection. Indeed here their language is more that of strong prejudice and suspicion (such as near relatives, even the best, too frequently show in such cases), than from unbelief. There was also, probably, a tincture of vanity in it. "Thou hast many disciples in Judea; here in Galilee they are fast dropping off; it is not like one who advances the claims Thou dost to linger so long here, away from the city of our solemnities, where surely 'the kingdom of our father David' is to be set up: 'seeking,' as Thou dost, 'to be known openly,' those miracles of Thine ought not to be confined to this distant corner, but submitted at headquarters to the inspection of 'the world.'" (See
Ps 69:8, "I am become a stranger to my brethren, an alien unto my mother's children!")
6 My time is not yet come--that is, for showing Himself to the world.
your time is always ready--that is "It matters little when we go up, for ye have no great plans in life, and nothing hangs upon your movements. With Me it is otherwise; on every movement of Mine there hangs what ye know not. The world has no quarrel with you, for ye bear no testimony against it, and so draw down upon yourselves none of its wrath; but I am here to lift up My voice against its hypocrisy, and denounce its abominations; therefore it cannot endure Me, and one false step might precipitate its fury on its Victim's head before the time. Away, therefore, to the feast as soon as it suits you; I follow at the fitting moment, but 'My time is not yet full come.'"
10 then went he . . . not openly--not "in the (caravan) company" [MEYER]. See on
Luke 2:44.
as it were in secret--rather, "in a manner secretly"; perhaps by some other route, and in a way not to attract notice.
11 Jews--the rulers.
sought him--for no good end.
Where is He?--He had not been at Jerusalem for probably a year and a half.
12 much murmuring--buzzing.
among the people--the multitudes; the natural expression of a Jewish writer, indicating without design the crowded state of Jerusalem at this festival [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
a good man . . . Nay . . . deceiveth the people--the two opposite views of His claims, that they were honest, and that they were an imposture.
13 none spake openly of him--that is, in His favor, "for fear of the [ruling] Jews."
14 about the midst of the feast--the fourth or fifth day of the eight, during which it lasted.
went up into the temple and taught--The word denotes formal and continuous teaching, as distinguished from mere casual sayings. This was probably the first time that He did so thus openly in Jerusalem. He had kept back till the feast was half through, to let the stir about Him subside, and entering the city unexpectedly, had begun His "teaching" at the temple, and created a certain awe, before the wrath of the rulers had time to break it.
15 How knoweth . . . letters--learning (
Acts 26:24).
having never learned--at any rabbinical school, as Paul under Gamaliel. These rulers knew well enough that He had not studied under any human teacher--an important admission against ancient and modern attempts to trace our Lord's wisdom to human sources [MEYER]. Probably His teaching on this occasion was expository, manifesting that unrivalled faculty and depth which in the Sermon on the Mount had excited the astonishment of all.
16 doctrine . . . not mine, &c.--that is, from Myself unauthorized; I am here by commission.
17 If any man will do his will, &c.--"is willing," or "wishes to do."
whether . . . of God, or . . . of myself--from above or from beneath; is divine or an imposture of Mine. A principle of immense importance, showing, on the one hand, that singleness of desire to please God is the grand inlet to light on all questions vitally affecting one's eternal interests, and on the other, that the want of his, whether perceived or not, is the chief cause of infidelity amidst the light of revealed religion.
18 seeketh his own glory--(See on
John 5:41-
John 5:44).
19 Did not Moses, &c.--that is, In opposing Me ye pretend zeal for Moses, but to the spirit and end of that law which he gave ye are total strangers, and in "going about to kill Me" ye are its greatest enemies.
20 The people answered, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?--This was said by the multitude, who as yet had no bad feeling to Jesus, and were not in the secret of the plot hatching, as our Lord knew, against Him.
21 I have done one work, &c.--Taking no notice of the popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (
John 5:9,
John 5:16,
John 5:18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt "to kill Him" brought up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if indeed they had ever forgotten it; and by this fearless reference to it, exposing their hypocrisy and dark designs, He gave His position great moral strength.
22 Moses . . . gave unto you circumcision, &c.--Though servile work was forbidden on the sabbath, the circumcision of males on that day (which certainly was a servile work) was counted no infringement of the Law. How much less ought fault to be found with One who had made a man "every whit whole"--or rather, "a man's entire body whole"--on the sabbath-day? What a testimony to the reality of the miracle, none daring to meet the bold appeal.
24 Judge not, &c.--that is, Rise above the letter into the spirit of the law.
25 some of them of Jerusalem--the citizens, who, knowing the long-formed purpose of the rulers to put Jesus to death, wondered that they were now letting Him teach openly.
26 Do the rulers know, &c.--Have they got some new light in favor of His claims?
27 Howbeit we know this man, &c.--This seems to refer to some current opinion that Messiah's origin would be mysterious (not altogether wrong), from which they concluded that Jesus could not be He, since they knew all about His family at Nazareth.
28 cried Jesus--in a louder tone, and more solemn, witnessing style than usual.
Ye both, &c.--that is, "Yes, ye know both Myself and My local parentage, and (yet) I am not come of Myself."
but he that sent me is true, &c.--Probably the meaning is, "He that sent Me is the only real Sender of any one."
30 sought to take . . . none laid hands--their impotence being equal to their malignity.
31 When Christ cometh, will he, &c.--that is, If this be not the Christ, what can the Christ do, when He does come, which has not been anticipated and eclipsed by this man? This was evidently the language of friendly persons, overborne by their spiteful superiors, but unable to keep quite silent.
32 heard that the people murmured--that mutterings to this effect were going about, and thought it high time to stop Him if He was not to be allowed to carry away the people.
33 Yet a little while, &c.--that is, "Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company--for ever; for I go whither ye cannot come: nor, even when ye at length seek Him whom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him"--referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation.
35 Whither will he go, &c.--They cannot comprehend Him, but seem awed by the solemn grandeur of His warning. He takes no notice, however, of their questions.
37 the last day, that great day of the feast--the eighth (
Lev 23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. "The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of
Isa 12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in
John 7:39, was expressed" [OLSHAUSEN]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed--accompanied with sound of trumpets--that it used to be said, "Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all" [LIGHTFOOT].
Jesus stood--On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching--"JESUS stood," probably in some elevated position.
and cried--as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink!--What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "thirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them by "drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (
John 4:13-
John 4:14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea--in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well--here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (
Matt 11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (
John 6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the BREAD of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the "HUNGER," and quench the "THIRST," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, "HO, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, COME YE TO THE WATERS, AND HE THAT HATH NO MONEY!" &c. (
Isa 55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, "He is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, " MY LORD AND MY GOD!"
38 as the scripture hath said--These words belong to what follows, "Out of his belly, as the scripture hath said, shall flow," &c. referring not to any particular passage, but to such as
Isa 58:11;
Joel 3:18;
Zech 14:8;
Ezek 47:1-
Ezek 47:12; in most of which the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, to which our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him.
out of his belly--that is, his inner man, his soul, as in
Pro 20:27.
rivers of living water--(See on
John 4:13). It refers primarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.
39 this spake he of the Spirit--who, by His direct personal agency, opens up this spring of living waters in the human spirit (
John 3:6), and by His indwelling in the renewed soul ensures their unfailing flow.
they that believe, &c.--As the Holy Ghost is, in the redemption of man, entirely at the service of Christ, as His Agent, so it is only in believing connection with Christ that any one "receives" the Spirit.
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given--Beyond all doubt the word "given," or some similar word, is the right supplement. In
John 16:7 the Holy Ghost is represented not only as the gift of Christ, but a gift the communication of which was dependent upon His own departure to the Father. Now as Christ was not yet gone, so the Holy Ghost was not yet given.
Jesus not yet glorified--The word "glorified" is here used advisedly, to teach the reader not only that the departure of Christ to the Father was indispensable to the giving of the Spirit, but that this illustrious Gift, direct from the hands of the ascended Saviour, was God's intimation to the world that He whom it had cast out, crucified, and slain, was "His Elect, in whom His soul delighted," and that it was through the smiting of that Rock that the waters of the Spirit--for which the Church was waiting, and with pomp at the feast of tabernacles proclaiming its expectation--had gushed forth upon a thirsty world.
40 Many . . . when they heard this . . . said, Of a truth, &c.--The only wonder is they did not all say it. "But their minds were blinded."
41 Others said, This is the Christ--(See on
John 1:21).
Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
42 scripture said . . . of the seed of David, and out of . . . Bethlehem, &c.--We accept this spontaneous testimony to our David-descended, Bethlehem-born Saviour. Had those who gave it made the inquiry which the case demanded, they would have found that Jesus "came out of Galilee" (
John 7:41) and "out of Bethlehem" both, alike in fulfilment of prophecy as in point of fact. (
Matt 2:23;
Matt 4:13-
Matt 4:16).
44 would have taken him; but, &c.--(See on
John 7:30).
45 Then came the officers--"sent to take him" (
John 7:32).
Why . . . not brought him?--already thirsting for their Victim, and thinking it an easy matter to seize and bring Him.
46 Never man spake like this man--Noble testimony of unsophisticated men! Doubtless they were strangers to the profound intent of Christ's teaching, but there was that in it which by its mysterious grandeur and transparent purity and grace, held them spellbound. No doubt it was of God that they should so feel, that their arm might be paralyzed, as Christ's hour was not yet come; but even in human teaching there has sometimes been felt such a divine power, that men who came to kill them (for example, ROWLAND HISS) have confessed to all that they were unmanned.
47 ye also deceived--In their own servants this seemed intolerable.
48 any of the rulers or . . . Pharisees believed--"Many of them" did, including Nicodemus and Joseph, but not one of these had openly "confessed Him" (
John 12:42), and this appeal must have stung such of them as heard it to the quick.
49 But this people--literally, "multitude," meaning the ignorant rabble. (Pity these important distinctions, so marked in the original of this Gospel, should not be also in our version.)
knoweth not the law--that is, by school learning, which only subverted it by human traditions.
are cursed--a cursed set (a kind of swearing at them, out of mingled rage and scorn).
50 Nicodemus--reappearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.
51 Doth our law, &c.--a very proper, but all too tame rejoinder, and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce positively in the case. "The feebleness of his defense of Jesus has a strong contrast in the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
52 thou of Galilee--in this taunt expressing their scorn of the party. Even a word of caution, or the gentlest proposal to inquire before condemning, was with them equivalent to an espousal of the hated One.
Search . . . out of Galilee . . . no prophet--Strange! For had not Jonah (of Gath-hepher) and even Elijah (of Thisbe) arisen out of Galilee? And there it may be more, of whom we have no record. But rage is blind, and deep prejudice distorts all facts. Yet it looks as if they were afraid of losing Nicodemus, when they take the trouble to reason the point at all. It was just because he had "searched," as they advised him, that he went the length even that he did.
53 every man went unto his own home--finding their plot could not at that time be carried into effect. Is your rage thus impotent, ye chief priests?
