In chapters 7 and 8 Jesus speaks confrontationally to several groups of mainly hostile people in a rapid series of controversies. A good name for these chapters could be “Jesus’ Confrontation Debates and Sermons.” In each encounter we learn afresh the world’s religion – i.e., what the world considers most important and credible. We learn the way the world thinks about divinity and what the how the world thinks a Messiah should look. We also see what the world thinks about a man who claims to be divine. In these two chapters, we learn a great deal about Christ, our world’s understanding of religion and ourselves who live in the world while we are seeking to live in Christ.
Definitions:
The
Feast of Tabernacles’ or Booths: There were three great obligatory festivals for all
Jewish males: the spring Passover Festival (of Unleavened Bread), the summer
Pentecost Festival (also called Weeks), the autumn Festival of Booths (or
Tabernacles). These are all listed in Deuteronomy chapter 16. Passover celebrated the Exodus at the Red Sea. Pentecost celebrated the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. Booths celebrated the giving of provision in the wilderness. In view of the pervasive murmuring against Jesus within chapter seven it is interesting to note that for the Jews this time in the wilderness was a time of great murmuring against God and discontent. Yet, surprisingly over time the Festival of Booths turned into Israel’s favorite and most joyous ceremony. We have something similar to this in America today. We celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. For Christians Easter should be by far our greatest celebration. It is the time to celebration the Resurrection of Jesus. It is time to celebrate the power of life over death. But in our practice we make a much bigger deal of Christmas than Easter.
The Festival of Booths was called “booths” because Israel was asked to pitch tents on her roofs, yards, or nearest free space, and then for seven days to eat and sleep there in grateful remembrance of God’s provision during the wilderness years of living in booths. The great miraculous provisions over the forty years in the wilderness, we recall, were the manna from heaven, the water from the rock, , and the fiery cloud of guidance. Jesus himself now fulfills all the highlights of the festival and all the needs of his people in her wandering through the wilderness of the world, and not just in the wilderness for forty years but forever. This is the claim of the whole gospel of John. –F.D. Bruner, John 467-68.
Introduction Questions:
-Suppose the whole world got together
and decided to make one person king of everything. After this person was
decided upon he would call all of the shots. Tell us about how you would choose
this person? What qualities would he have? What are the things that you would
want him to do? What laws should he make? Come up with the perfect king!-Do you feel like your parents and siblings trust you? How would it feel to have a sibling or close friend not trust you?
Text Questions:
Read verses 1-13
-Look at verses 3-5. Why do you think
the brothers want Jesus to go public with his miracles?-Look at verses 6-11. What does Jesus response mean? And then why does he decide to go anyway?
-Reflect on verse 7. Some say that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Do you think that is a good description of what happens when people meet Jesus?
-Why does Jesus choose to go in secret in verse 10?
Read verses 25-52
-Why do you think Jesus waited until the last day of the festival to address the crowd (v37)? Why not earlier?
-What bold invitation and promise does Jesus offer to people in verses 37-38? Notice how everyone respond to this offer (v40-55). How do you respond if you are in the crowd that day?
John is careful to tell us that Jesus is making this invitation on the last day of the festival of the Tabernacles, which had among its celebratory rituals a moment when the priests would pour out water and wine on the altar. Among the prayers that were regularly prayed at the festival were prayers for rain and for the resurrection of the dead; so the theme not only of water but also of new life were spot on for the subjects that would be in people’s minds. (N.T. Wright).
Closing
Reflection:
Some first-century Jews believed the Messiah would appear mysteriously,
with nobody knowing where he came from (v27). Jesus reply is not what we
expect. Instead of saying, “Ah, but you don’t know where I really came from” (meaning from God), he agrees that they know
where his hometown is. He then turns the question around. While insisting they are indeed ignorant of something, their
real ignorance is not so much about him, Jesus, but about God. So naturally
they cannot associate the Jesus they are seeing with the true God.
The same challenge comes to today’s world. Often people look at Jesus
and draw conclusions about him based on faulty ideas of God and the world. But
the Christian message insists that people must learn afresh who God is, what
the world is, and who we are by looking at Jesus.
-N.T. Wright
