Day 296 (John 7-8) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

There are three major Jewish feasts that happen every year, and during those feasts, the people travel to Jerusalem from wherever they live and stay for at least a week in most scenarios. Depending on where they live, it could be a two-week trip, meaning they would spend 15 weeks per year traveling to and from Jerusalem and being there for feasts. That's nearly four months. I don't know where they work, but I want that kind of vacation package.

Jesus lives in Capernaum, so he's only about 100 miles away, which would take a few days on foot. When it comes time to pack up and head to Jerusalem, his brothers try to convince him that he should publicly demonstrate his powers in front of all the people who'll be in town for the holiday. But their words are almost certainly mocking him because verse 5 says they don't believe in him. In verse 7, Jesus confirms that they're part of the world, not the kingdom.

Here's how we know this. He says the world can't hate them. Those who don't believe in and submit to Christ belong to the world. And the world doesn't hate itself. Jesus addresses this idea of the world's love and hatred again in John 15. And it helps us understand this quote better. This must have been really hard for Jesus to have his own family rejecting him.

He tells them he's not going, and the Greek phrase used here often includes the word yet, meaning he's not going right now with them. He goes later, without his disciples in tow, probably because having an entourage would attract more attention. He's still trying to stay low profile in certain settings because the last time he was in town, when he healed the lame man at the pools of Bethesda on the Sabbath, the Pharisees wanted to kill him. He eventually goes to the week-long feast and starts teaching in the temple.

Typically, only the educated rabbis would do that, and they would probably frown on anyone who tries to teach without being educated. But no one can deny that, educated or not, Jesus is knowledgeable. He knows stuff. And they're amazed not only at what he knows, but at how he could possibly know it. It would be like if Ken Jennings from the Jeopardy Hall of Fame announced that he's a high school dropout. They're astonished.

Jesus basically says, "The reason I know all this stuff is because I speak with God's authority, which is why it's completely irrational that you're trying to kill me." And they're like, "Oh, okay, sure. Is now a good time to talk to you about the fact that you have a demon?" Jesus lets their insult slide and just throws out more logic. He says, "You guys circumcise babies on the eighth day, even if that happens to be the Sabbath, and everyone's fine with it. So then why the double standard? Why am I not allowed to heal someone if you're cutting someone? Be reasonable."

Some people are standing around watching it all go down and they're thinking, maybe he is the Messiah. But then again, I don't know, because don't the prophecies say we won't know where the Messiah comes from and we know where this guy comes from?

The rumor these people are quoting is not from Scripture. It is not a God-given prophecy. What they're quoting is a man-made tradition. Scripture, on the other hand, did prophesy about where the Messiah would be born. But they did not know God's word. Micah 5.2 says that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So these people were wrong, and obviously Micah and Scripture were right. So here's why I'm pointing all this out. Even though what these people said is a quote recorded in Scripture,

That doesn't mean we can clip it out of its context and act like it's true. In this instance, Scripture is actually recording them being wrong about the Messiah's birthplace. This is just another reason we want to read Scripture in context and to read the story chronologically, in the order it happened. It helps us catch things like this. Okay, back to Jesus.

As he's being attacked and doubted, the people try to capture him, but he escapes them. Verse 30 says it's because his hour has not yet come. God's working things out according to his perfect timing, and he's sovereign even over the enemy's efforts to stop him.

Finally, they send some people to arrest Jesus and he's like, Nice try, not yet. You'll get me soon enough, but even when you think you've caught me, it won't be for long. And when I leave, you can't go where I'm heading. Then Jesus keeps preaching as the days of the feast continue, prophesying about how the Holy Spirit will come and flow from people's hearts like living water. None of this makes any sense to anyone at the time though, because they don't understand what's going to happen with the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascends and goes back to heaven. That's still a ways off.

But he's setting them up to understand his words retrospectively. His prophecies resonate with some people but infuriate others. Nicodemus, the Pharisee we read about in John 3 who met him at night to ask him questions, he tries to talk the infuriated people out of condemning Jesus without a hearing, but it falls flat. The next day, Jesus comes back to the temple and the Pharisees bring out a woman caught in the act of adultery. They ask him if they should stone her like the law commands.

Jesus bends down and writes in the sand. What is he doing? What is he writing? Does he not understand that this is important?

There are lots of theories on this, like some say he was writing out a list of their sins. Maybe. We don't know what he wrote. I do have a theory on his tactic, though. And I very well may be wrong, but here's my thought. If she was caught in the act of adultery, it's likely she's naked during this accusation. Public nudity is a way of shaming people who are being judged, so it's possible Jesus is bestowing dignity on her by looking away while they're casting judgment on her. Another theory is that Jesus was caught in the act of adultery.

Another thing worth noting is that both people committing adultery are supposed to be stoned, but they've only brought out the woman. This is another example of how even the Pharisees are lenient on certain laws, like when Jesus pointed out that they'd dishonor their parents in Mark 7. Jesus tells them, sure, let's stone her. The person who should lead the way in punishing sin is whoever is holiest. So which of you guys hasn't sinned? You go first.

But of course, according to this standard, Jesus is the only one qualified to stone her. He's the only one without sin. But he's the one who has mercy and compassion. Some say maybe she was falsely accused. Some say maybe she was repentant. We don't know. All we know is that Jesus uses his power here to bless, not to curse. And he tells her to leave her life of sin. Then he goes back to teaching in the temple, telling them he's the light of the world. This, of course, invites judgment from the Pharisees. They're

They're saying, you make some pretty strong claims about yourself. How's about you find someone else to back up what you're saying? And he says, done and done. My father testifies about me. That should suffice. They're like, where's this dad you speak of? And Jesus says, oh, you don't know him.

That is so much more shocking than they understand. They think he's talking about a human person, but he's saying, "You have no relationship with the God of the universe. He's a stranger to you, because the only way you can know him is if you know me, and you clearly don't know me." He even tells them that they'll die in their sins and that their father is the devil. Yikes. He points out again that God is not the father of all people he created. God is only the father of those he adopts into his family, who come to know him through Jesus.

And in verse 47, he says, you can't hear God's words because you don't belong to him. If you did belong to him, you'd hear him. Jesus goes on to talk about how he'll be lifted up soon, which is a subtle reference to the cross, and that then they'll know what he's talking about. They still might not submit to it, but at least they won't be able to deny it. He incites their attempts at murder one more time today when he tells them that he's been around longer than Abraham. By making this statement in this way, before Abraham was, I am.

He's saying that he's both preexistent and divine. He's using the language of Yahweh in Exodus 3.14, identifying himself as the great I am, the self-existent one. Jesus is making that claim. And if you were with us in the Old Testament, you know he's right. We saw Jesus everywhere in those pages. He didn't just show up in the manger. He's been there from day one in Genesis, creating the earth. So if you hear people say that the Bible doesn't claim Jesus is God, point them to John 8.58.

Which brings me to my God shot for today. It was when Jesus declared himself to be the light of the world in John 8, 12. I love that illustration. He's the very thing by which we can see. He's the light.

And here's something else I love about it, but to be fair, this is definitely just an opinion and I definitely could be wrong. Most people believe Genesis 3.15 is the first prophecy about Jesus in scripture. It talks about his victory over the enemy. But sometimes I wonder if maybe the first prophecy of the coming Messiah is actually in Genesis 1.3, where God looks out over the dark, chaotic world, knowing all the brokenness that's about to take place after he finishes creating it, all the sin and pain and wickedness, and

And he says, let there be light. I wonder if that's more than just a creation command. I wonder if it's also a promise. Like he's saying, things are about to get really dark, but light is coming. Light is coming. Hold on. Light is coming. If that is a prophecy, Jesus is certainly the fulfillment of it. And he's where the joy is.

Are you struggling in the reading plan? This might be a good time to hit the reset button by going back and listening to our six prep episodes, either again or for the first time. They're super helpful, even if you've been with us for months. You can listen to them all in about an hour. Swipe up for a link to prep episode one in today's show notes or search for it in your app. Hopefully that will be just the refresher you need to keep showing up every day. I believe God has some incredible things for you in those episodes. I hope you're having a great day.