Read: John 7:1-24
Chapter
seven begins with Jesus spending time in Galilee in order to avoid the people
who wanted to kill Him (v. 1). It is
here that Jesus brothers urge Him to go to the Feast of Tabernacles so that
people could see His miracles and so that Jesus could become a public figure
(v. 3-5). They still did not understand
that this was not God’s plan for Jesus.
Jesus corrects them by telling them that it wasn’t the right time (v.
6-8). The brothers went to the feast
without Jesus but later Jesus joined them, although secretly (v. 10). Eventually, Jesus goes to the temple to teach. The Jews were amazed at His teaching and
asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied (v. 15-17)?”
Jesus replies that His teaching was not His own, but from God. Jesus then asks them why they are trying to
kill Him (v. 17-19). This again brings
up a discussion on the Sabbath. Jesus firmly shows them that they are judging
by appearances instead of making right judgments (21-24).
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. In this passage we see that the disciples where
not on the same page as Jesus. They
wanted Jesus to become famous and to show Himself off to the world. Jesus knew better. Ask the Lord to show you a situation in your
life where your desires are not on the same page as Jesus. Then, ask Him to show you what His desires
are in that situation and pray that you will align to His desires and learn to
let go of your own.
2. The people
were surprised when they heard Jesus teach because He had not been trained as a
rabbi. Instead, Jesus taught God’s
message, God’s will and obeyed it fully.
He did this even though the people struggled understanding what and why,
such as healing on the Sabbath. Take a
moment and look beneath the surface of your own life. Ask the Lord to give you 2-3 examples of how
you live to please people and satisfy the churches expectation of what a good
Christian is instead of actively seeking God’s message and God’s will for your
life and then fully obeying it. Spend
some time confessing this as sin, then pray that God would guide and help you
live fully for Him.
