John 7 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - John) Free Bible Online

John 7

1 - After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn't walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.

2 - Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.

3 - His brothers therefore said to him, "Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.

4 - For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world."

5 - For even his brothers didn't believe in him.

6 - Jesus therefore said to them,"My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

7 - The world can't hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil.

8 - You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled."

9 - Having said these things to them, he stayed in Galilee.

10 - But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.

11 - The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, "Where is he?"

12 - There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others said, "Not so, but he leads the multitude astray."

13 - Yet no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.

14 - But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

15 - The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters, having never been educated?"

16 - Jesus therefore answered them,"My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

17 - If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.

18 - He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

19 - Didn't Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?"

20 - The multitude answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?"

21 - Jesus answered them,"I did one work, and you all marvel because of it.

22 - Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.

23 - If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?

24 - Don't judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

25 - Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, "Isn't this he whom they seek to kill?

26 - Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ?

27 - However we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from."

28 - Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying,"You both know me, and know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don't know.

29 - I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me."

30 - They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

31 - But of the multitude, many believed in him. They said, "When the Christ comes, he won't do more signs than those which this man has done, will he?"

32 - The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

33 - Then Jesus said,"I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me.

34 - You will seek me, and won't find me; and where I am, you can't come."

35 - The Jews therefore said among themselves, "Where will this man go that we won't find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

The Jews therefore said among themselves, "Where will this man go that we won't find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

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36 - What is this word that he said,'You will seek me, and won't find me; and where I am, you can't come'?"

37 - Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out,"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!

38 - He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water."

39 - But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn't yet glorified.

40 - Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, "This is truly the prophet."

41 - Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "What, does the Christ come out of Galilee?

42 - Hasn't the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem,2 Samuel 7:12 the village where David was?"Micah 5:2

43 - So there arose a division in the multitude because of him.

44 - Some of them would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 - The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why didn't you bring him?"

46 - The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!"

47 - The Pharisees therefore answered them, "You aren't also led astray, are you?

48 - Have any of the rulers believed in him, or of the Pharisees?

49 - But this multitude that doesn't know the law is accursed."

50 - Nicodemus (he who came to him by night, being one of them) said to them,

51 - "Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?"

52 - They answered him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."See Isaiah 9:1 and Matthew 4:13-16.

53 - Everyone went to his own house,

The Book of John

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 20:31 - But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620

Introduction to The Gospel of John

The Word Gospel. The fourth book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John. John is the fourth of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of John

Brief Summary. Jesus was Jehovah God, the eternal Word made flesh. He came to His home, Israel, and He was rejected. He came to this world, and the world rejected Him, but anyone who  would believe and receive Him would have life through His name, and be given authority to call themselves a "son of god."

Purpose. John makes one thing clear in John 20:30, 31 - "these ( things) are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye may have life in his name." John sought to lead men to eternal life by first convincing them of His deity, the miracles were actually recorded as "signs" to confirm His deity, that He was Jehovah God, the incarnate Word made flesh. John called Jesus the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way the truth and the life, the true vine, all clearly pointing to the deity of Jesus. In fact John points to everything in His life and teachings as a sign that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Eternal Word of God who "became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14).

John Compared to the Other Gospel Accounts. The "Synoptic Gospels" - Matthew, Mark and Luke all have their unique perspective of the life of Jesus Christ, as well as John's approach. John is always emphasizing the deity of Jesus as well as His divine miracles. John also gives us a bit more information about Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem, where Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on His Galilean ministry. There is also a difference regarding the chronology of the last week (Passion Week) of Christ's life. It is important to note that the Gospel accounts do not necessarily place their focus on chronology and orderly biography of the ministry of Jesus with names, places, and dates, but rather a full perspective of their unique portrayal of Jesus Christ.

Authorship. The author of the Gospel of John is identified in John 21:20 as "The disciple whom Jesus loved" who leaned on Jesus' breast. It is clear that John was that disciple and he did not wish to use his own name directly as the author, possibly for reasons of humility. Early church historical writings from early second century AD recognize the Gospel of John as a sacred book. Theophilus of Antioch (170 AD) was the first to write the name John as the author. Shortly after this Irenaeus identified John as the disciple who had leaned on Jesus' breast. This is especially important because Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who had known the man John personally. Clement of Alexandria mentions John as having composed a "spiritual gospel."

Critics of John as the Author. There is a statement that was made by Papias that there were actually two men named John in Ephesus at the same time, and John the Apostle was referred to as "John the Elder". Many opponents of the apostle John's authorship give credit to the other John as the writer of the fourth Gospel. Although the answer cannot be positively determined by history, tradition and internal evidence definitely point to John the apostle as the author.

Date. It is worthy to consider the words of the most famous archaeologist of all time that according to archaeological evidence there is "no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80." Most scholars conclude that the book of John was written around 85 or 90 AD probably before the exile to Patmos. It is also important to consider John 5:2 when it mentions "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches." This verse would indicate that this existed at the current time that the Gospel of John was written. This would place the written work before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is also no evidence as to whether John wrote the Gospel before or after his return to Ephesus from the Island of Patmos.

The Man John. John's book attributes the work to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This say a lot about the man John, and the fact that Jesus left his mother Mary in John's care, having spoken the words from the cross, is very significant. Another indicator of John's character is found in the book of 1 John, he continually talks about love, loving one another, and that God is love, etc. It is also safe to say that John was a Jew, this can be clearly seen by his accuracy about Jewish customs, Jewish way of thinking, and by his quotations from the Hebrew Old Testament. He knew the topography of the land of Israel from a Jewish perspective quite well. It is easy to see in his writings that he was a close disciple of Jesus, an eyewitness of the events surrounding Jesus' ministry. One can determine by process of elimination, that the author is not just any John but John the apostle, the son of Zebedee, who is prominently mentioned in the Gospel accounts.

John and Church History.  Church tradition records that John came to Ephesus after Paul's work was finished there. Later, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, he was banished to the Island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Shortly thereafter he was released and returned to the city of Ephesus.

Archaeology. The Rylands Papyrus Fragment was discovered in 1920 in Egypt containing a few verses from John 18 dating back to about 120-135 AD.

Outline of the Book of John

The Word of God - Chapter 1:1-51
His Public Ministry - Chapters 2:1-12:50
His Private Ministry - Chapters 13:1-17:26
His Death and Resurrection - Chapters 18:1-20:31
John's Conclusion - Chapter 21:1-25

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

John Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire