Canonical Reading Plan for Nov 7, Jhn 7-8

Today's readings are Jhn 7-8.

Jhn 7 depicts Jesus becoming increasingly more vocal about who He is and what He's come to do. He and His disciples have made the turning point at Caesarea-Philippi and are headed back toward Jerusalem. They are now in what will turn out to be the last six months of His ministry leading up to the cross.

In Jhn 7:10-22 Jesus shows up at the Feast of Booths, a feast that looks back at the temporary home that the Jews had in the wilderness. The irony of His presence escapes most of the people. Jesus, the eternal home for those who believe in Him, appears at the festival that reminds God's people that their home on earth is temporary and a permanent home awaits them.

He begins teaching with amazing power and authority, giving glory to God and openly revealing that there are those who want to kill Him. Some are unaware of who He is and the tension that has risen up between Jesus and the Pharisees. They wonder what's going on.

Those who are aware wonder why the Sanhedrin doesn't stop Him (Jhn 7:25-31).  They speculate that there is a conspiracy to hide the truth that He is indeed the Messiah. Apparently, conspiracy theories are not unique to modern times. In reality, there is no conspiracy. Most people simply don't believe Jesus is who He says He is. So, when He teaches with this kind of authority and when He does the things He does, they explain it away, choosing to disregard the truth because it does not conform to their expectations or traditions.

After foiling an attempt to arrest Him by merely speaking the truth so powerfully it overwhelms the guards sent to apprehend Him, Jesus addresses the crowd (Jhn 37-39). His timing is perfect. It is the last day of the feast, a day when the priests carry water from the Spring of Gihon (Hezekiah's Tunnel) up to the Temple to cleanse the altar. Jesus "cries out," emphatically states that He is the cleansing, living water. One thing that beings to become clear as Jesus stands in the middle of this huge celebration is that the festivals and the rituals the Jews have been observing for nearly two thousand years are about Christ. They are not merely remembrances. They are precursors and shadows of Him and His arrival.

Even among the Pharisees, divisions begin to arise over who Jesus is (Jhn 7:40-52). Another thing becomes clear. Jesus came to unite His church in Him but will be a point of division and separation from the world (Mat 10:34).

Jhn 7:53 - 8:11 does not appear in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. To read more about this, you can take a look at "What About Those Double Brackets."

Jhn 8:12-30 comes at another climactic moment in the feast,

the moment when they light the massive torches inside the temple walls symbolizing the light and glory of God. Jesus claims that He is that light and prophesies His crucifixion.

He also teaches that the truth of who He is will set people free if they believe it. He warns the people that the Pharisees teach lies that lead to judgment and doom (Jhn 8:31-47).

A bold and significant step is taken in Jesus' ministry when he proclaims "...before Abraham was, I am" in Jhn 8:58. It is nothing less than the revelation of His eternal nature. He was, is and will be all at the same time. He has the evidence of the signs and wonders, the power of His teaching and the symbolism of the feast to support His claims.