John 7

John 7 is a chapter in the middle section of the Gospel of John. After the account of the Galilean ministry continues in chapter 6, the setting shifts in this chapter to Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Outline

• Verses 1-9 Jesus' brothers urge him to go to Judea and show himself openly, but he remains in Galilee, saying that "my time" has not yet come.
• Verses 10-13 Jesus goes up to the feast in secret, and the crowds murmur about him.
• Verses 14-24 In the middle of the feast he teaches in the temple, declaring that his doctrine comes from the one who sent him, and he defends his healing on the Sabbath by appealing to the practice of circumcision on the Sabbath.
• Verses 25-36 Controversy arises over whether he is the Christ, and the chief priests and Pharisees send officers to take him.
• Verses 37-44 On the last day of the feast he speaks of rivers of living water, and the crowd is divided, some calling him "the Prophet" and others "the Christ."
• Verses 45-53 The officers return empty-handed, and Nicodemus objects to condemning a man without first giving him a hearing.

Key Verses

• John 7:37-38 "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" — a declaration that epitomizes the living-water theme of John's Gospel.
• John 7:39 The text explains that the living water refers to the Holy Spirit, whom believers would receive.

People and Places

• Jesus' brothers: The text notes that at this time they did not yet believe in him (v. 5).
• Pharisees and chief priests: They send men to arrest Jesus.
• Temple in Jerusalem, Galilee, Bethlehem: These figure in the dispute over the Messiah's place of origin.

Points for Reflection

• The "one work" in verses 21-23 is commonly interpreted as referring to the healing at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5.
• In verse 38, interpreters differ, depending in part on punctuation, over whether the "belly" from which living water flows is that of the believer or that of Christ.
• The practice of drawing water from Siloam and pouring it out during the Feast of Tabernacles is reported in later Jewish literature; the text itself does not mention the ceremony.
• The passage beginning in verse 53 (the account of the woman taken in adultery, 7:53-8:11) is absent from early manuscripts, and Korean-language Bibles print it in brackets.
• The crowd knew Jesus only as a Galilean. Matthew and Luke, by contrast, record his birth in Bethlehem, so some readers take John's account as intentional irony.

In the Korean Church

Verses 37-39 are frequently used as a sermon text for Pentecost or for sermons on the Holy Spirit.