John 7 - Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers

7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,^(A) since He did not want to travel in Judea^(B) because the Jews^(C) were trying to kill Him.^{(D) 2} The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles^[a][b](E) was near, ³ so His brothers^(F) said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works^(G) that You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ (For not even His brothers believed in Him.)

⁶ Jesus told them, “My time^(H) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. ⁷ The world cannot hate^(I) you, but it does hate Me because I testify about it—that its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to the festival yet,^[c] because My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After He had said these things, He stayed in Galilee.

Jesus at the Festival of Tabernacles

¹⁰ After His brothers had gone up to the festival, then He also went up, not openly but secretly. ¹¹ The Jews were looking for Him at the festival and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a lot of discussion about Him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good^(J) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He’s deceiving^(K) the people.” ¹³ Still, nobody was talking publicly about Him because they feared the Jews.

¹⁴ When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex^(L) and began to teach. ¹⁵ Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How does He know the Scriptures,^(M) since He hasn’t been trained?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One who sent Me.^{(N) 17} If anyone wants to do His will,^(O) he will understand whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own. ¹⁸ The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory.^(P) But He who seeks the glory^(Q) of the One who sent Him is true,^(R) and there is no unrighteousness in Him.^{(S) 19} Didn’t Moses^(T) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law!^(U) Why do you want to kill Me?”

²⁰ “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who wants to kill You?”

²¹ “I did one work,^(V) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. ²² “Consider this: Moses has given you circumcision^(W)—not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers^(X)—and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.^{(Y) 23} If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath^(Z) so that the law of Moses^(AA) won’t be broken, are you angry at Me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging^(AB) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

The Identity of the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people of Jerusalem^(AC) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? ²⁶ Yet, look! He’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to Him. Can it be true that the authorities^(AD) know He is the Messiah?^{(AE) 27} But we know where this man is from.^(AF) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where He is from.”

²⁸ As He was teaching in the temple complex,^(AG) Jesus cried out, “You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me^(AH) is true. You don’t know Him;^{(AI) 29} I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”^(AJ)

³⁰ Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour^[d] had not yet come. ³¹ However, many from the crowd believed in Him and said, “When the Messiah comes, He won’t perform more signs than this man has done,^(AK) will He?”

³² The Pharisees^(AL) heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, so the chief priests^(AM) and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest Him.

³³ Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.^(AN) Then I’m going to the One who sent Me.^{(AO) 34} You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^(AP)

³⁵ Then the Jews^(AQ) said to one another, “Where does He intend to go so we won’t find Him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Dispersion^[e](AR) among the Greeks^(AS) and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this remark He made: ‘You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’^(AT)?”

The Promise of the Spirit

³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival,^(AU) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me^[f](AV) and drink!^{(AW) 38} The one who believes in Me,^(AX) as the Scripture^(AY) has said,^[g] will have streams of living water^(AZ) flow^(BA) from deep within him.” ³⁹ He said this about the Spirit.^(BB) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,^(BC) for the Spirit^[h] had not yet been received^[i][j] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

⁴⁰ When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This really is the Prophet!”^{[k](BD) 41} Others said, “This is the Messiah!” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does He? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture^(BE) say that the Messiah comes from David’s^(BF) offspring^[l] and from the town of Bethlehem,^(BG) where David once lived?” ⁴³ So a division^(BH) occurred among the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to seize Him,^(BI) but no one laid hands on Him.

Debate over Jesus’ Claims

⁴⁵ Then the temple police^(BJ) came to the chief priests^(BK) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?”

⁴⁶ The police answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”^[m](BL)

⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees responded to them: “Are you fooled^(BM) too? ⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers^(BN) or Pharisees believed in Him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed!”

⁵⁰ Nicodemus^(BO)—the one who came to Him previously, being one of them—said to them, ⁵¹ “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”^(BP)

⁵² “You aren’t from Galilee^(BQ) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”^[n](BR)

[⁵³ So each one went to his house.

Footnotes

1. John 7:2 Or Booths
2. John 7:2 One of 3 great Jewish religious festivals, along with Passover and Pentecost; Ex 23:14; Dt 16:16
3. John 7:8 Other mss omit yet
4. John 7:30 The time of His sacrificial death and exaltation; Jn 2:4; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1
5. John 7:35 Jewish people scattered throughout Gentile lands who spoke Gk and were influenced by Gk culture
6. John 7:37 Other mss omit to Me
7. John 7:38 Jesus may have had several OT passages in mind; Is 58:11; Ezk 47:1-12; Zch 14:8
8. John 7:39 Other mss read Holy Spirit
9. John 7:39 Other mss read had not yet been given
10. John 7:39 Lit the Spirit was not yet; the word received is implied from the previous clause.
11. John 7:40 Probably the Prophet in Dt 18:15
12. John 7:42 Lit seed
13. John 7:46 Other mss read like this man
14. John 7:52 Jonah and probably other prophets did come from Galilee; 2Kg 14:25

Cross references

1. 7:1 : Mt 17:22
2. 7:1 : Lk 1:5
3. 7:1 : Jn 11:36
4. 7:1 : Jn 5:18
5. 7:2 : Ex 23:16
6. 7:3 : Mk 3:21, 31-35; 6:3; Lk 8:19
7. 7:3 : Mk 6:28; Jn 5:36; Heb 3:9; Rv 15:3
8. 7:6 : Ps 37:39; Lk 20:10; Jn 7:8
9. 7:7 : Lk 6:27; 19:14
10. 7:12 : Gn 1:31
11. 7:12 : Rv 20:10
12. 7:14 : Ac 21:26
13. 7:15 : Mt 26:54
14. 7:16 : Jn 5:19, 30
15. 7:17 : Rm 8:27; Eph 1:9
16. 7:18 : Php 3:19
17. 7:18 : Lk 9:32; Jn 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 1Pt 5:4; 2Pt 3:18
18. 7:18 : Jn 8:14; 1Jn 5:20
19. 7:18 : 1Jn 3:5
20. 7:19 : Ps 77:20; Mt 8:4; Heb 3:2
21. 7:19 : Rm 2:12-29; 3:9-10, 20-23, 27-28
22. 7:21 : Jn 5:36; Heb 3:9; Rv 15:3
23. 7:22 : Ac 15:1; Gl 6:15
24. 7:22 : Gn 17:9-14; Lv 12:3
25. 7:22 : Mk 2:23
26. 7:23 : Lk 13:10
27. 7:23 : Lk 2:22
28. 7:24 : Lk 6:37; Heb 9:27
29. 7:25 : Mt 23:37
30. 7:26 : Lk 8:41; 12:58
31. 7:26 : Mt 1:17; Eph 5:2
32. 7:27 : Mt 13:55; 21:11; Lk 4:22; Jn 6:42
33. 7:28 : Ac 21:26
34. 7:28 : Jn 5:19
35. 7:28 : Jn 1:26-33; 5:13; 8:14, 19, 55; 9:29-30; 12:35; 13:7; 14:5; 15:15, 21; 20:14; Gl 4:8; 1Th 4:5; 2Th 1:8; Ti 1:16
36. 7:29 : Mk 9:37; Lk 10:22; Jn 1:6; 9:16
37. 7:31 : Jn 15:24
38. 7:32 : Mk 7:3
39. 7:32 : Mt 2:4
40. 7:33 : Jn 12:35; 14:19; 16:5, 16
41. 7:33 : Jn 14:12; 16:5, 10, 17, 28
42. 7:34 : Jn 8:21; 13:33
43. 7:35 : Jn 11:36
44. 7:35 : Jms 1:1; 1Pt 1:1
45. 7:35 : Gl 2:3
46. 7:36 : Jn 8:21
47. 7:37 : Lv 23:34-36; Nm 29:35; Dt 16:13-14; Neh 8:18; Jn 5:1
48. 7:37 : Lk 14:26
49. 7:37 : Is 55:1; Rv 22:17
50. 7:38 : Jn 6:35
51. 7:38 : Mt 26:54
52. 7:38 : Jn 4:10-14
53. 7:38 : Ex 17:1-6; Ps 78:15-16; 105:40-41; Pr 18:4; Is 12:3; Ezk 47:1-11; Zch 14:8; Rv 22:1-2
54. 7:39 : Ps 51:11; Jn 1:33; Ac 2:4; 8:15; Rm 8:9; Gl 5:25; Ti 3:5; Rv 3:22
55. 7:39 : Ac 2:33
56. 7:40 : Jn 6:14
57. 7:42 : 2Pt 1:20
58. 7:42 : Lk 1:27
59. 7:42 : Gn 35:19
60. 7:43 : Jn 9:16; 1Co 1:10
61. 7:44 : Jn 10:39
62. 7:45 : Jn 18:18
63. 7:45 : Mt 2:4
64. 7:46 : Mt 7:28-29
65. 7:47 : Rv 20:10
66. 7:48 : Lk 8:41
67. 7:50 : Jn 3:1; 19:39
68. 7:51 : Dt 1:16; 17:6; 19:15
69. 7:52 : Mt 17:22
70. 7:52 : 2Kg 14:25