(REFLECTIONS ON John 7:1-24)

We read in today’s Scripture that the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus (v.1). This is in reference to what occurred in John 5 when Jesus healed the sick man on the Sabbath, saying to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” (John 5:8)

The Jews, refers to the Jewish leaders that were focused on making sure that they were seen as holy and making sure they remained in control of the Jewish religion. Why would Jesus’ work on the Sabbath lead to the Jewish leaders to hating him to the point of wanting to kill Him? It is as Jesus said in verse 7, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”

The hate, the strong emotional response that led the Jewish leaders to want Jesus killed, came from Jesus exposing them and their hypocrisy. Imagine trying to have a reputation of holiness, to be in control of the Jewish nation, and then have Jesus expose their true nature to the world?

What did Jesus expose? Jesus exposed the Jewish leaders as living and trying to look holy on the outside through superficial rule-based living, rather than truly living out the heart of God. God’s Law was the basis for a relationship with Him and for the people of God to have a relationship with one another, but outside of relationship, it turned into what Jesus exposed through His healing.

That is rules without compassion, judgment without mercy, the letter of the law, rather than healing, growth, and restoration.

Would this embarrassment, exposing of the truth, lead to a hatred of Jesus? Yes, this is exactly what it did, and the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to disappear, because He was questioning their authority and embarrassing them in front of their own people.

Brothers and sisters, do we sometimes wish Jesus would disappear as well? Do we want to kill Him off from our lives so that we can continue to pretend to be what we are not? Do we want to give off the impression of being a faithful follower of Christ, and when God’s Word exposes us, would we also turn on Jesus and seek to kill Him as well?

Is our faith a religion, or is it a relationship? Do we judge based on the outside, or the inside? Do we seek Jesus as a way to God, or do we seek Jesus as a way to be God? Jesus said, it (the world) hates me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.

Rather than hating Jesus, may we thank Him for exposing our superficial nature, and turn back to relationship rather than just trying to live and compare ourselves with others based on a set of rules, standards, and traditions.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: John 7