Engage The Scripture Podcast
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Engage The Scripture Podcast
Ep. 34 John 7:1-24 "The Shadow of Death & The Father’s Perfect Timing
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In John 7, the tension rises dramatically as the shadow of death falls over Jesus. His own brothers don’t believe in Him, the crowds are divided, and the religious leaders want Him dead. Jesus moves with perfect timing — not according to human pressure, but His Father’s eternal plan. This powerful episode explores why Jesus waited, how He responded to unbelief, and what it means for us to live on God’s time instead of our own.
Welcome back to James to Scripture. I'm tight to be with you today. We are reminded that God's word is a laugh to our feet and a lot to our path. Chapter 7 is a turning point in the Gospel. The tension surrounding Jesus reaches a whole new level, and today we'll walk through the first major movement of this chapter. So if you're ready, Rent verse 4.
SPEAKER_01Okay, here we go. After this, Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judah because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Oh man, wow. That's a pretty intense way to start a chapter.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it is. Up to this point, Jesus has been teaching, healing, feeding crowds, but now the shadow of death falls across the story. And we've already seen that shadow start to form back in chapter 5. John 5.16, where the Judean authorities begin persecuting Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath. That's the first rumble of trouble. Then in John 5 and 18, things escalate. They decided they wanted to kill Jesus because he was calling God his own father and making himself equal with God. So those two moments are the storm clouds gathering over the narrative. And now we see that Jesus is intentionally staying in Galilee because Judea has become deadly territory. And John wants us to feel that tension.
SPEAKER_01And that raises the obvious question: why would the Jews want to kill Jesus?
SPEAKER_02Brent, Dr. Ron Johnson gives a really clear breakdown. He says there were three big reasons. Number one, Jesus was challenging their religious power. He questioned how they taught the Bible and how they ran the temple. Number two, he was a political danger. Huge crowds were following him and seeing miracles, especially during big festivals. So the leaders were afraid this would get the Romans angry and crack down on everyone. Then number three, they thought he was committing blasphemy. Jesus kept calling God his own father in a way that made himself equal with God.
SPEAKER_01So saying that killing someone over religious or political disagreements was normal in Jesus' day?
SPEAKER_02That's right. Rome ruled by fear, not by letting people vote or choose. Judea was full of different groups, and each one thinking they were the ones saving Israel. And during big festivals like this one, the whole city became a power keg, ready to explode at any moment.
SPEAKER_01So a controversial rabbi like Jesus with massive crowds, that's dangerous.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's why the leaders in Jerusalem saw Jesus as a major threat. Not just because of what he taught, but because of the political danger. In that world, people really did get killed over things like this. So this would make sense why Jesus stays in Galilee. And that's exactly what he did. There's a clear six-month gap between the events of chapter six and chapter seven. He still had some support there, mostly from his family and the smaller groups of disciples who were with him after chapter six. But Judea is where the authorities were waiting for him.
SPEAKER_01I think we should make it clear that Jesus was not staying in Galilee because he was running scared, right?
SPEAKER_02That's right. He was not running scared. He was simply following his father's timeline. He wasn't avoiding Judah out of fear. His hour just hadn't come yet. But even so, as we keep reading, we should never forget every word he spoke is spoken in the shadow of his possible arrest or even death.
SPEAKER_01Right. This is the atmosphere we're stepping into as chapter seven begins.
SPEAKER_02Chapter seven is the beginning of the final stretch, the rising opposition, the rising tension for Jesus' ministry.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so let's keep reading verse two through five. Now the Jews' feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may also see the works that you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world, for not even his brothers believed in him.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Here is a glimpse into Jesus' family life. John tells us straight up, not even his brothers believed in him. Just think about that. The people who grew up with Jesus ate at the same table, watched him live a sinless life, they still didn't believe. Imagine your own family not even believing in you. Brent, Psalm 69 actually predicted this rejection. If you remember, John already quoted from this Psalm back in chapter 2, where he said, Zeal for your house has consumed me. That's Psalm 69 9. And then right before that verse, it says, I have become a stranger to my brothers. So John is showing us this wasn't random. The scriptures had already said it would happen.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so what exactly are his brothers wanting him to do here?
SPEAKER_02Funny enough, they're giving him PR advice. They say, Jesus, if you want to be known, you can't stay hidden up here in Galilee. Go to Jerusalem for the feast. Do your miracles in front of the big crowds and show yourself to the world.
SPEAKER_01Okay, they're thinking he needs better marketing, but it also says they don't believe in him.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes the people closest to you, the ones who should recognize God's hand on your life, are the very ones who don't see it. Jesus' brothers saw the miracles. They knew that he could do powerful things. So in their minds, they're thinking, go do this where people can see you, grow your audience, go get famous. But they completely missed the true meaning behind the miracles. They saw the power, but they missed his identity. They saw the works, but they didn't believe. And remember, in John's gospel, believe never means just agreeing that Jesus can do miracles. It always means trusting who he is, the Messiah, the Son of God, and giving him your allegiance.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, that's right. In John's gospel, believing isn't about being impressed by Jesus. It's about trusting him, surrendering to him, recognizing who he really is. And his own brothers weren't there yet.
SPEAKER_02That's right. They're not recognizing that their brother is the Messiah, and they're not surrendering their lives to him yet.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And and all this is happening during the Feast of Tabernacles, one of God's appointed times. I'm sure you have something to say about that. The feasts are always important markers.
SPEAKER_02Great observation, Brent. As we have said many times already, these feasts were not random. They were special appointed seasons when God had something he wanted to say to his people. This particular feast, Feast of Tabernacles, Booth, or Sukkot, was one of the biggest and most joyful festivals of the year. It is one of the three major pilgrimage feasts in the law of Moses. It remembered Israel's wilderness journeys, living in temporary shelters, depending on God every day for water, food, and protection. So once a year they built temporary shelters out of branches and lived in them for a week to remember three simple truths. God led us through the wilderness, He provided for us every step of the way, and though our lives are fragile, He is always faithful. So Jerusalem, it would have been packed during this time. Oh yes. Tens of thousands of pilgrims would have flooded the city during the feasts. Four giant festival menorahs, roughly 50 to 75 feet tall, were set up in the temple courts, lighting up the entire complex. And the joy of this feast was legendary. The rabbis used to say, whoever has not seen the rejoicing at the water drawing ceremony has never seen rejoicing in his life. That's how big this was. Music, dancing, lights, water, crowds. The whole city was alive. It was the perfect stage for a public Messiah to make his splash.
SPEAKER_01Ah, I see now, which is exactly what his brothers wanted.
SPEAKER_02Right. This is your moment. Go big, go public. But they completely misunderstood his mission, his timing, and his heart. They basically told him, You're doing it wrong. They thought he was wasting his potential. But here's the thing the moment Jesus stepped into Jerusalem publicly, the countdown to the cross would begin.
SPEAKER_01So their advice wasn't just misguided, it was dangerous.
SPEAKER_02And John wants us to feel the weight of that. Jesus is surrounded by unbelief, even from his own family, yet he remains steady and patient, completely on his father's schedule.
SPEAKER_01So this whole conversation is really about timing. Notice what Jesus says next. Verse 6 through 10. Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I'm not going up to the feast, for my time has not yet fully come. After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but in private.
SPEAKER_02Every move for Jesus is tied to the Father's timing and mission. His brothers could go up to the feast anytime because they were still operating inside the world system.
SPEAKER_01So he's basically saying, You can go whenever you want, but I can't.
SPEAKER_02Then notice he adds, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. That word evil in the scripture often points to idolatry, a whole system that sets itself against God. Jesus exposes that system, so the world hates him for it. His brothers don't face that hatred because they still fit right in with the world system. And remember how John uses the word world. It doesn't just mean bad people out there. In John's gospel, world means humanity organized in rebellion against God. The entire system of values, loyalties, and identities that refuse to receive Jesus.
SPEAKER_01That's strong. It really shows they're not believers yet. They're still aligned with the world instead of with him.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. This is the first time in John's gospel that Jesus puts his own brothers in the category of the world. And I want to draw from James Montgomery Boyce here. He has some insight that can help us go a little deeper. When Jesus says, My time has not yet come, he's talking about God's timing, the Father's sovereign plan that unfolds from eternity. We live inside time. We see life one moment at a time, but God stands outside of time. God isn't limited by time. He sees the whole story at once. His timing is never rushed, never reacted, and never late because he declares the end from the beginning. The whole plan is already set in motion before it even starts. And here is Jesus, God in the flesh, living inside time, yet every moment of his life, especially his death, is fixed by the Father's eternal purpose. That's why he could tell his brothers, I'm not going up to this feast, and then go later. He wasn't being deceptive. He was refusing to move on their timetable or for their reasons. His timing had already been set in motion by the Father. Think of it like this: they wanted a big public show. Jesus refused that. He went up quietly, not openly, but in secret, because he would only reveal himself when the father said the moment was right.
SPEAKER_01It's wild to think about. We make decisions one moment at a time, but God's plans were set in motion from the very beginning.
SPEAKER_02As a Torah observant Jewish man, Jesus was expected to attend this major feast, but he would not go in a way that rushed the Father's plan. He only moved when the Father said one. That's the big thing here. Jesus moves according to the Father's perfect timing, not pressure from family, crowds, or critics. And there's one more thing on this before we move on. Boyce gives us a really clear picture. The brothers lived on human time, reacting moment by moment, doing whatever seemed right in front of them with no eternal perspective. But Jesus lived on the Father's time, every moment filled with purpose, set in motion by God before the world began. And someone might wonder if God already has the whole plan, does how we live even matter? Boyce would say it matters a lot. The issue isn't where history ends, it's how you live inside God's storm. Living on human time eventually feels empty. Living on God's time fills your life with real meaning. God's big plan doesn't remove our choices, it actually makes them matter more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I belong to Jesus. My days aren't just random. I can trust him. The God who's outside of time has shaped every one of my days. Man, that's pretty neat.
SPEAKER_02That's exactly what Jesus' brothers hadn't realized yet. They were still living in the moment, reacting to whatever felt good right then. But Jesus was living every day on his Father's time. And this truth can be a huge step forward in your walk with God. God never makes decisions the way we do. We decide because we're suddenly faced with problems. But God is never surprised. He determines both the problem and the solution in advance. His plan is never reactive. It's eternal, unchanging, and perfectly wise. When we give our lives to Jesus, our time is hidden in Him. We may not see it moment by moment, but if we could speed it up, we'd see something beautiful. Like watching a flower bloom in fast motion. That's how God is quietly growing his life in you.
SPEAKER_01Man, that's pretty neat. It's powerful to see for sure. Okay, verse eleven through thirteen. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, Where is he? And there was much muttering about him among the people, while some said, He's a good man. Others said, No, he's leading the people astray. Yet for fear of the Jews, no one spoke openly of him.
SPEAKER_02Notice before Jesus ever says a word, the crowd is already divided. Some call him a good man, meaning a genuinely righteous, Torah faithful man, but even this is still too small. Calling Jesus a good man sounds respectful, but it still stops short believing him. Others accuse him of deceiving the people. That's deadly language straight out of Deuteronomy 13, the charge against a false prophet. So right away we see one of John's big themes. Jesus always divides people. You're either for him or against him. Stay neutral is impossible.
SPEAKER_01And nobody's willing to say it out loud. They're all whispering because they're divided and afraid to speak openly.
SPEAKER_02For fear of the Jews. That's why they're afraid. And John doesn't mean the Jewish people as a whole. He's talking about the hostile religious authorities in Jerusalem. They've created such a climate of fear that even private conversations feel dangerous. This shows us just how powerful the fear of man is. It can silence truth even when people know something good is happening.
SPEAKER_01These leaders control people's place in the synagogue and their place in society. If you spoke too positive about Jesus, you could lose your place in the community. So the leaders are really driving all this tension.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and their hostility will set the tone for everything we see in John 7 through 10. Politically, this was a dangerous time. Major festivals like this one were powder kegs. Rome had extra troops in the city, messianic hopes were high, and any popular teacher was seen as a potential threat. Also notice this Jesus came in secret, and the crowds are only talking about him in secret. It's a double layer of secrecy. The whole thing is happening in a whisper. And that double secrecy is intentional. Jesus isn't being deceptive, he's being strategic, protecting the Father's timing. So everything's happening in secret right now. Very much so. The tension is building, the authorities are looking for him, the crowds are split, and Jesus is moving right in the middle of it, all according to the Father's schedule.
SPEAKER_01Verse 14 through 16. About the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, How is it this man has learning when he has never studied? So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
SPEAKER_02Halfway through the feast, around day three or four, Jesus walks into the temple courts, right into the normal scene of rabbis teaching in small groups. The moment he opens his mouth, the leaders are stunned. How does this man know letters? He's never studied. They're hearing deep, powerful, authoritative teachings of the scripture, the kind that normally only comes from someone who trained for years under a famous rabbi. But Jesus had no formal credentials. He never went through their system. But if you remember, even as a 12-year-old boy, he was already amazing the teachers in the temple with his understanding. Reference Luke 2, 46 to 47. Jesus truly became human. He learned, he studied, he grew. Yet he handled the word with a depth and authority no one else had. Then Jesus gives this powerful answer. In order to understand this better, we need to understand the rabbi-disciple relationship in that culture. A disciple carried the full authority of the rabbi who sent him. So Jesus is saying, God is my rabbi. I am his disciple. My teaching carries his full authority. His authority doesn't come from rabbinic schools or human approval. It comes straight from the Father. If that's true, and John says it is, then rejecting Jesus' teaching means rejecting God Himself.
SPEAKER_01That's a big claim. Then in verse 17 through 19, Jesus says, If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I'm speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks with his own authority seeks his own glory. But the one who speaks the glory of him who sent him is true. And in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keep the law. Why do you seek to kill me?
SPEAKER_02Jesus is making something really clear here. He's saying it's not just about thinking right, it's about wanting what God wants. And that fits perfectly with the rabbi disciple world. A true disciple doesn't just study information, he follows, obeys, and imitates his rabbi. Jesus is saying the same thing. If your heart is set on doing God's will, you'll recognize that my teachings come from him. So the real problem isn't that people can't understand Jesus, it's that they don't want to.
SPEAKER_01Right. And that leads straight into what Jesus says next.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory. The religious leaders were chasing honor and status. Jesus wasn't. He was only seeking the glory of the one who sent him. Then he drops the hammer in verse 19. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? These men were proud to call themselves disciples of Moses. But Jesus says, if you truly followed Moses, you would recognize me because Moses wrote about me. But instead, they're trying to kill the very one the law points to. At the root, the issue is the heart. Rejecting Jesus is rejecting both Moses and God.
SPEAKER_01Then verse 20, the crowd answered, You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you? Okay, so Jesus says, Why are you trying to kill me?
SPEAKER_02And the crowd immediately fires back, You have a demon. In their language, that basically meant you're crazy. You're paranoid. But it also carries a spiritual side, the idea that his words were being influenced by some hostile spiritual power.
SPEAKER_01So they're saying both.
SPEAKER_02Yes, but notice this is not the leader's. Say this. It's the crowd. This is the regular people. They're confused. Jesus came secretly, so many of them probably don't even realize this teacher is Jesus. And most of them don't even know about the plot to kill him. So from their perspective, he sounds completely delusional. But we, the readers, know the truth. The leaders have already been wanting him dead since chapter 5. The crowd is in the dark, but their reaction still reveals something important. Instead of listening, they insult him. They call truth madness and label the light as darkness. And this is the world's typical reaction to Jesus: misunderstanding, denial, and hostility when the light exposes the darkness.
SPEAKER_01Verse 21. Jesus answered them, I did one work, and you all marveled at it.
SPEAKER_02Jesus reaches back to the miracle that started all the trouble, the healing at the pool of Bethesda in chapter 5. He healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years on the Sabbath and told him to pick up his mat and walk. That single act caused an uproar. Jesus is not mainly talking to the confused crowd here. He's confronting the leaders who know exactly what he did and are still furious about it. He's exposing the real heart problems. They claim to defend the law, but they reject the lawgiver standing right in front of them. Their spiritual blindness is on full display.
SPEAKER_01Verse 22 and 23. Moses gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers. And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken. Are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?
SPEAKER_02Jesus then uses a brilliant argument. He says, You circumcise a baby boy on the eighth day, even if it falls on the Sabbath, because that's what the law requires. So if you're willing to work on one small part of a person on the Sabbath, why are you angry at me for making a whole man well on the Sabbath? Jesus is using a classic lesser to greater argument. He's clearly pointing back to the paralyzed man he healed in chapter 5. Jesus didn't just fix one part of him, he made the whole man well. But here's the deeper point. Circumcision was always meant to point to a change in the heart. Jesus is doing exactly what that sign pointed to, bringing real healing and wholeness. The leaders are furious because he broke the rules. But Jesus shows they've completely missed the heart of the law they claim to defend.
SPEAKER_01Final verse for today, verse 24. Do not judge by appearance, but judge with right judgment.
SPEAKER_02Here Jesus ends with this powerful command. They had been judging him by what they could see on the surface and completely missing who he really was. Jesus is calling them to stop judging by outward appearances and judge with right judgment, with eyes of faith and a heart that wants to do God's will.
SPEAKER_01Man, I love how Jesus is inviting us all to look deeper, not just with our eyes, but with our hearts. Jesus is inviting all of us to look deeper. So join us next week as we watch that conversation unfold. God bless everyone. Hello, friends. Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00You've been listening to Engage the Scripture Podcast, where context reveals the meaning, the spirit reveals the truth, and together they illuminate God's Word. If you have questions or want to dive deeper into today's topic, visit engagethescripture.com. Click on the link, podcast note. This podcast is for educational and emotional purposes only. The views expressed or those of the host and guests do not constitute professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to study scripture and seek guidance on trusted spiritual words.