Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because ch. 5:18;8:37,40;11:53the Jews7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time were seeking to kill him. 2 Now ch. 5:1;6:4the Jews’ Feast of See Lev. 23:34Booths was at hand. 3 ver. 5, 10;See Matt. 12:46So his brothers7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, [ch. 14:22;18:20]show yourself to the world." 5 [Matt. 13:57;Mark 3:21] For not even ver. 3, 10his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, [ver. 8, 30]; See ch. 2:4"My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.7 The world cannot hate you, but ch. 15:18,24it hates me because I testify about it that ch. 3:19;[Col. 1:21;1 John 3:12]its works are evil.8 You go up to the feast. I am not7:8 Some manuscripts add yetgoing up to this feast, for See ch. 2:4my time has not yet fully come."9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after ver. 3, 5his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 ver. 1The Jews ch. 11:56were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?" 12 And there was much ver. 32muttering about him among the people. [ver. 40-43] While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, ver. 47he is leading the people astray." 13 Yet ch. 19:38;20:19;[ch. 9:22;12:42]for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up ver. 28into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore [ver. 46; Luke 2:47;4:22;Acts 4:13]marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning,7:15 Or this man knows his letters when he has never studied?" 16 So Jesus answered them, ch. 8:28;12:49;14:10,24;[ch. 3:34] "My teaching is not mine, but his See ch. 3:17who sent me.17 [ch. 8:31,32;14:21,23] If anyone’s will is to do God’s7:17 Greek hiswill, [ch. 8:43;Ps. 25:9;Dan. 12:10;Phil. 3:15] he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I See ch. 5:30am speaking on my own authority.18 The one who speaks on his own authority ch. 5:41;8:50seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.19 ver. 23;See ch. 1:17Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. ver. 1Why do you seek to kill me?"20 The crowd answered, ch. 8:48,52;10:20;[Matt. 11:18;Mark 3:22;Luke 7:33]"You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" 21 Jesus answered them, "I did ver. 23;ch. 5:2-9one work, and you all marvel at it.22 Lev. 12:3Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but Gen. 17:10from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, ch. 5:16;See Matt. 12:2are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?24 ch. 8:15;[Isa. 11:3;2 Cor. 10:7]; See Deut. 1:16,17Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom ver. 1they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, ch. 18:20speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that ver. 48the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But [ch. 6:42;8:14,19;9:29] we know ch. 19:9where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, [ver. 42]no one will know where he comes from." 28 So Jesus proclaimed, ver. 14as he taught in the temple, [See ver. 27above] "You know me, and you know where I come from. But ch. 8:42;[ch. 5:43] I have not come of my own accord. See ch. 8:26He who sent me is true, ch. 8:19;15:21;[ch. 4:22;8:55]and him you do not know.29 ch. 8:55;See Matt. 11:27I know him, for I come ch. 6:46;9:16,33;[ch. 1:14] from him, and See ch. 3:17he sent me."30 ver. 44;ch. 10:39;[Matt. 21:46] So they were seeking to arrest him, but ch. 8:20no one laid a hand on him, ver. 6because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet ch. 8:30;10:42;11:45;12:11;[ch. 2:23;12:42;Matt. 21:11] many of the people believed in him. They said, Matt. 12:23"When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd ver. 12muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent ver. 45, 46officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, ch. 12:35;13:33;14:19;16:16-19"I will be with you a little longer, and then ch. 16:5I am going to him who sent me.34 ch. 8:21;13:33You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come."35 The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? [ch. 8:22] Does he intend to go to James 1:1;1 Pet. 1:1;[Isa. 11:12;Zeph. 3:10] the Dispersion among ch. 12:20the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ver. 34‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?"
Rivers of Living Water
37 Lev. 23:36;Num. 29:35;Neh. 8:18On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, Isa. 55:1;See ch. 4:14"If anyone thirsts, let him See ch. 6:35come to me and drink.38 Whoever believes in me, [Isa. 12:3;Ezek. 47:1] as7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. Asthe Scripture has said, ch. 4:14;[Prov. 18:4] ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of See ch. 4:10living water.’"39 Now Isa. 44:3;[1 Cor. 12:13;Gal. 3:14] this he said about the Spirit, Joel 2:28;Acts 2:16-18;[ch. 1:33;20:22;Luke 24:49] whom those who believed in him were to receive, Acts 2:4,33for as yet the Spirit had not been ch. 3:34;Luke 11:13given, ch. 14:16,17;16:7because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, See ver. 31some of the people said, "This really is ch. 1:21;6:14;See Matt. 21:11the Prophet." 41 Others said, "This is ver. 26the Christ." But some said, [ver. 52; ch. 1:46]"Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes [Ps. 89:3,4]; See Matt. 1:1from the offspring of David, and comes Mic. 5:2;Matt. 2:1,5;Luke 2:4from Bethlehem, the village 1 Sam. 16:1where David was?" 43 So there was ch. 9:16;10:19;[ver. 12]a division among the people over him. 44 ver. 30Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 ver. 32The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" 46 The officers answered, See Matt. 7:29"No one ever spoke like this man!" 47 The Pharisees answered them, ver. 12"Have you also been deceived? 48 1 Cor. 1:20,26;2:8;[ch. 12:42]Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed." 50 ch. 3:1;19:39Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 Deut. 17:6;19:15;[Acts 23:3] "Does our law judge a man without first Deut. 1:16;Prov. 18:13giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" 52 They replied, ver. 41"Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that [2 Kgs. 14:25with Josh. 19:13]no prophet arises from Galilee."
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text
The Woman Caught in Adultery
[[53 They went each to his own house,