33 Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.

34 "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."

1. (verse 34) What did Jesus mean that the people would seek him and not find him? Why do you think Jesus told them this?

Much of what Jesus was telling his disciples was to prepare them for his death. When he was crucified, they would all go into hiding, but when he re-appeared to them, then they understood what he meant by these strange sayings.

Barnes writes, "The meaning is, Where I shall be, you will not be able to come. That is, he, the Messiah, would be in heaven...."

35 Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

36 "What is this thing that He said, `You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

2. (verses 35) What do they mean about the dispersed who are scattered among the Greeks? Why would they think that Christ would go there? Did he go there?

In each enclave of the Roman Empire there were communities of Jews. Many had been there for centuries because of the exile. In fact, Saddam Hussein in his rise to power in Irag, gained prominence by killing members of the Jewish community who had lived in Baghdad probably since the exile in 700 B.C. It would be understandable if a great Jewish teacher might want to visit these enclaves. There have been many legends of Jesus appearing in different parts of the world, probably because of this scripture. But they are all flights of fancy. The Bible clearly teaches that after Christ ministered to his disciples, he then returned to heaven to be with his Father.

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

3. (verses 37-38) How does Christ cause living water to flow out of our heart? In order to receive this living water, according to verse 37 what 3 things do we need to do?

Remember, Christ also promised the Samaritan woman living water. As we commit our lives to Jesus, we find that his love, his joy, and his peace seem to overflow us and pour out to others. Notice in verse 37 Christ gives three requirements for us to receive the living water. 1. We must thirst. We must have a longing deep inside of us for God’s presence. 2. We must come to Christ. He is the path toward spiritual rebirth. 3. We must drink. God has provided us the way of salvation, but we must accept it.

39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

4. (verse 39) Did the disciples have the Holy Spirit or not? What is this verse talking about? How has the Holy Spirit satisfied the thirsting in your heart?

I believe these words "the Holy Spirit was not yet given" refer to the infilling of the Holy Spirit as it occurred on the day of Pentecost. It was then that the disciples were filled to overflowing by God’s spirit, and they became emboldened to preach the gospel message. John 20:22 does tell us, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’." Because of this some think that the disciples weren’t really saved until the end of Christ’s ministry. But on another occasion in Matthew 16:17, Christ told Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." So how could God speak to Peter if he weren’t already saved?

40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."

5. (verse 40) What prophet is the crowd talking about? Can you find a scripture reference that they might be referring to?

There are two verses that predict a future Prophet. Deuteronomy 18:15 says, ""The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear," and Deuteronomy 18:18, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him." These could be the verses they were thinking of. On the other hand they might be thinking of the coming Elijah promised in Malachi 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."

41 Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?

42 "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"

43 So there was a division among the people because of Him.

6. (verses 41-43) Why were the people confused about Christ’s birth? Were they correct in their beliefs? What can cause divisions among believers today?

It is amazing to me how God caused circumstances to occur that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus so the scripture could be fulfilled in Micah 5:2 which said, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

Once again God caused circumstances that were an apparent mystery which would require the people to accept on faith that this was indeed the Christ. Many Christians try to understand everything in the Bible with their own understanding. This is why there are so many different denominations and doctrines. Some things simply have to be accepted on faith. It was that way in Christ’s day, and it is the same today.

44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"

46 The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"

7. (verses 45-46) Why didn’t the officers arrest Jesus? What is it about Christ that you think impressed them the most? Do you anticipate that some of them became believers?

Notice the officers came to arrest Christ, but they were fascinated by his words and his teaching. They sensed there was something different about this man. Perhaps it was the love they felt from him, or the depth of his spiritual understanding that they sensed. Maybe they just felt his concern for their eternal souls. Whatever it was, they could not bring themselves to harm Jesus, and they left with their assignment not completed. I can’t help but think some of these officers later accepted Christ as their Savior. They had already had an encounter with the Master. It would just take Peter or John or Paul to explain to them the way of salvation to make a full surrender to the one who moved them to disobey their orders.

47 Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?

48 "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?

49 "But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."

8. (verses 47-49) Can religious leaders sometimes be deceived? What was wrong with the Pharisees’ attitude about the people who believed in Christ?

I have learned over the years to not accept the expert’s opinions because many times the experts are wrong. I am constantly amazed at some things that can pass for Biblical scholarship by men who are supposed to be knowledgeable and highly intellectual. In some ways I can be very skeptical. But when it comes to God, I know I must be very open to his instruction. Just because someone is a high religious leader or has a Ph.D. after his name does not mean they cannot be deceived. The Pharisees were deceived. We can also be deceived if we don’t diligently study God’s word and listen to his instruction. Many times those that have a high opinion of themselves look down on others. This is what the Pharisees did. They considered the crowd around Jesus as ignorant sinners – not righteous as they were. Do we sometimes get a superior attitude toward others? We need to be careful. We are all Christians learning from the Master. We are all ignorant. The more I know, the more I realize I don’t know.

50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them,

51 "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"

9. (verses 50-51) Based on our earlier discussion of Nicodemus in chapter 3, what does this tell you about why Nicodemus came to Jesus? What does this tell you about Nicodemus’ heart toward Christ? Do you think Nicodemus was a believer yet?

Nicodemus defends Jesus to the council. Notice that he asks, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" Perhaps this was one of the reasons he visited Christ as recorded in chapter 3. He wanted to find out for himself what Jesus was up to. From this passage, it seems Nicodemus is very sympathetic toward Christ. Perhaps God was already preparing his heart to accept Christ as his Savior. Perhaps Nicodemus was already a believer. We don’t know. We only know that when it came time to declare himself and help Joseph of Arimethea to bury the body of Christ, that his actions confirmed his faith. When he believed in Christ is difficult to know.

52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

53 And everyone went to his own house.

10. (verse 53) What do you think verse 53 means? What caused the leaders to cease their discussion?

Verse 53 is a phrase used in the Bible often. It indicates more than that the meeting was adjourned. It indicates a finality. Nicodemus, by raising his objections, thwarted the intentions of the others. He must have been highly respected. He spoke up for Christ in the midst of opposition. Are we willing to do the same?

Footnotes:

This study on John 7:32-53 © 1998 by David Humpal. All Rights Reserved
All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Barnes” Notes on the New Testament pg. 302, Kregel Publications