John Chapter 7

John, Chapter 7

1. List two other passages that mention Jesus and/or His disciples rebuking people for their sins. (Think: What reaction may we expect when we do this?). Not only did Jesus rebuke sin, but He also commanded His disciples to rebuke sin.  Luke 17:3 - "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  Matthew 5: 27-30 - “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.  We can expect people to be defensive, resistant, and upset.
2. In what way did Jesus go to the feast?  Jesus went to the feat alone and in secret.
3. What did the Jews at the feast wonder about Jesus (v11)? Among the crowds, people were whispering about Jesus and debating whether he was a good person, or the Messiah.
4. What different views about Jesus did the people at the feast express (v12)?  "He is a good man.” / “No, he deceives the people.” / "Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?” / "But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” / “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” / “Surely this man is the Prophet.” / “He is the Messiah.” / “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
5. What amazed the people about Jesus’ teaching, and why did this amaze them?  The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” While it is true that Christ learned volumes of information during the first thirty years of his life (cf. Luke 2:46-47,52), Jesus did not have formal training like the Jewish Leaders.   It also is a fact that his teaching was not his own; rather, he spoke the wisdom and will of his Heavenly Father. Note John’s record: “Jesus therefore answered them, and said, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me’” (v. 16).Even the celebrated Jewish scholar, Nicodemus, conceded that as a Teacher, Christ had no peer (John 3:2).
6. Whenever anyone uses the Bible to prove someone else is wrong spiritually, some people object saying Jesus said, “Judge not.” How should we respond? (Note 7:7.) Jesus' statement, “Judge not” is found in John 7:1-3, Luke 6:37, and Matthew 7:1.   Sometimes judge is used to mean "judge between things," to differentiate, or discern.  In this case we judge between right and wrong, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous.  The call to differentiate good from evil is to judge, to discern, correctly.  I think the “judge not” Jesus is referring to is the matter in which the Jewish leaders were passing judgement on Him; He exposed their hypocrisy in vs.21-24.  In vs. 24, Jesus also said, “stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.  In the passages of scripture, I believe Jesus was teaching the crowd to not condemn people or pass final judgment. 
7. What kind of judging is forbidden in v24, and what kind is commanded?How do they differ? Judging by mere appearances vs. discerning between right and wrong.  These differ because judging by appearance is based on what we see/what we think we see.  Discerning between is right and wrong is based on a moral standard, which is really God’s will, way, standard.   How we differentiate between what’s good and evil comes from God, not ourselves.