Answers for the Gospel of John Chapter 7

About These Answers 


DAY ONE
Questions and Answers


1. Why were the Jews in Judea waiting to take Jesus’ life?

The answer is found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 5, verse 18:

For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

2. What do we learn about the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles from the following Old Testament references?

  • Ex 23:16 -- Also called the Feast of Harvest; Celebrated with the first fruits of the crops sown in the fields.
  • Lev 23:34 -- Begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; It lasts for seven days.
  • Lev 23:35 -- The first day is a sacred assembly; No regular work is done.
  • Lev 23:36 -- For seven days offerings are made to the LORD by fire on the eighth day; a sacred assembly is held; an offering is presented to the LORD by fire; no regular work.
  • Lev 23:41 -- Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year; This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; Celebrate it in the seventh month.
  • Lev 23:42 -- Live in booths for seven days; All native-born Israelites are to live in booths.
  • Lev 23:43 -- Descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.
  • Deut 16:16 -- Three times a year all men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles; No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed


DAY TWO
Questions and Answers


1. From Matthew 13:55 and 56 how many brothers and sisters did Jesus have?

Four brothers and an unknown number of sisters but at least two

Matthew 13:55-56:
55 "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"

2. What are the three reasons or arguments Jesus’ brothers used to try to convince Jesus to leave Galilee and go to Judea?

  • So that your disciples may see the miracles you do - vs 3
  • No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret - vs 4
  • Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world - vs 4

3. What some possible reasons could have compelled Jesus’ brothers to urge him to go to Judea?

  • They thought he should become a public figure
  • They wanted his abilities to perform miracles to be widely known
  • They did not think he should miss the Feast of Tabernacles


DAY THREE
Questions and Answers


    1. Compare the attitudes of Jesus’ brothers towards him as shown in Mark 3:20-21 and Acts 1:12-14.

    What caused the change?

    In Mark 3:20-21 they thought he was a lunatic yet in Acts they are seen in prayer with their mother and the Apostles after the ascension

    Mark 3:20-21: (KJV)
    20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

    Acts 1:12-14:
    12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:12-14

    2. What were the things that the crowds or the Jewish leaders did not understand as provided in the following verses?

  • Verse 15 Misunderstanding - How Jesus came to become so knowledgeable. The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
  • Verse 20 Misunderstanding - That the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Jesus and that he was possessed. "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?"
  • Verse 27 Misunderstanding - That they knew where Jesus had come from therefore he was not the Christ; But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
  • Verse 35-36 Misunderstanding - That they will look for Jesus but not find him and that where Jesus was going they could not go The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks,and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?"
  • Verse 41 & 52 Misunderstanding – Jesus’ lineage Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

    • 3. Jesus stated there was a way the people could tell if his teachings came from God. What was it?

    Verse 17: If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.


DAY FOUR
Questions and Answers


1. List 5 verses where Jesus indicates or infers that God has sent him.

  1. Verse 16 - Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.
  2. Verse 18 - He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
  3. Verse 28 - Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him,"
  4. Verse 29 - but I know him because I am from him and he sent me."
  5. Verse 33 - Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.

2. Why did Jesus rebuke the crowd in verse 24?

Verse 24 - Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

They were judging him by a very strict definition of the Mosaic Law which heavily relied on appearances

3. Why did the crowd try to seize Jesus in verse 30 and why did the Chief Priests and Pharisees send the temple guards to arrest Jesus in verse 32?

  • Verse 30 – because he said he was sent by God
  • Verse 32 - because the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering that he might be the Christ


DAY FIVE
Questions and Answers


1. Provide the reasons in the following verses where some believed in Jesus to be the Christ.

  • Verse 31 – Because of the number of miraculous signs that Jesus provided
  • Verse 41 – On hearing Jesus speak the words in verse 37 & 38

2. What do we learn of the Pharisees from the following verses?

  • Verse 32 – They were jealous of Jesus and wanted him to stop teaching
  • Verses 47-49 – They placed more value on knowledge of the law than the Scriptures and they were very proud
  • Verse 52 – They did not think he was the Messiah because they did not understand that he was in fact from Bethlehem, they scorned their countrymen

3. In verse 38 Jesus promises living water to those that believe on him. To whom had he previously offered living water and what does it symbolize?

He had previously offered it to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:10) and it symbolizes Holy Spirit (verse 39).


DAY SIX
Questions and Answers


1. What Scripture is Jesus referring to in verse 38?

Some possible answers are:

  • Jer 17:13 - O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.
  • Isa 55:1 - "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
  • Prov 10:11 - The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
  • Prov 18:4 - The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
  • Isa 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
  • Isa 58:11 - The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

2. Do you think the Pharisees actually went and listened to Jesus? Why or why not?

I do not think so, maybe some did when he was teaching in the temple but probably not all of them and probably their pride prevented them. Notice:

In verse 26 the Jews said “Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?

In verse 32 the “Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

In verse 45 it is stated that “Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"

Nicodemus asked the Pharisees in verse 51 "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"

3. Why did the Pharisees ask Nicodemus if he was from Galilee also in verse 52?

  • Perhaps they believed only the Galileans were followers of Jesus
  • Because he was defending a Galilean (Jesus) 
  • They intended to insult him with the question