The Feast of Tabernacles

Let's start with a little background....

Leviticus 23:33-44 deals with the Feast of Tabernacles and gives us an idea of what Jesus was coming into in this passage in John. Read the passage and look for the following facts:

1. What was the date/time of year for this feast?

2. How long did it last?

3. What customs were followed and why?

Now, read John 7:1-31. If you notice, this chapter begins with "after these things," which represents to us that there was a gap of time between John 6 and John 7. Based on the history and timing, there is a gap of six months here. Now that we're in chapter seven, John 7 through 10 are going to deal with this broader event of Christ's time at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Before we look at this passage, let's talk about where Christ as been. During these six months after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus had begun a series of withdrawals from the public eye for a few reasons. One reason is the season. It was a hot time of year and he and the crowds didn't travel around as much. Another reason is the Pharisees were growing more and more antagonistic towards Christ and His message and it wasn't the right time for them to seize him. Yet another reason is while the Pharisees were hating him more and more, the common people were loving him more and more and desiring to make him king, and Christ knew it was right to remove himself from them as well. In addition, Herod was starting to grow suspicious about the activities of Christ. Christ also needed rest and time with his disciples to prepare them for their roles as he approached his death and resurrection.

Okay, enough background. Let's dig into the passage. We are 6 months out from Christ's death and it is September, time for the Feast of Tabernacles. The disciples come to Christ with a request. They want him to go to Jerusalem with them to celebrate. Some scholars say that they wanted this for selfish reasons. Basically, they wanted to show him off and have the attention of the large crowds present for the feast. This demonstrates a few things. First, that they still weren't really understanding Christ when he said he would die. Second, they were convinced that he was going to set up a kingdom based on their terms.

So, the disciples ask and Jesus tells them no. He's God and he's omniscient. He knows that the timing is not right for him to go up to Jerusalem in such a public way. He knows how the people would react, both in positive and negative ways. Christ also knew his disciples hearts. He knew that they weren't quite ready to separate themselves from this world. Ultimately, by telling them no, Christ wasn't avoiding His death, but was rather making sure it happened at the exact time it was planned.

 

Now, Christ telling his disciples no doesn't meant he wasn't going to go. In fact, in verses 10-13, we see that Christ does go, he just goes on his own timing, demonstrating that he was completely in control. While there, he spends some time in the temple teaching. If we look at verses 15-31, we see the various reactions of people to Christ. In verses 15-16, we see that they are amazed by this simple carpenter who speaks so wisely and eloquently. He then takes advantage of the situation and points out their contradictions and accuses the people of seeking to kill Him in verse 19, which causes the people to deny the idea. Christ then proceeds in verses 21-24 to point out the fact that they take issue with him healing ("work") on the Sabbath when they circumcise babies (also "work") on the Sabbath.

 

Well, after hearing his argument, the people start to wonder if he could be the Messiah, but then they doubt it because of the limits they have placed on him, namely that the Messiah surely couldn't be from Nazareth! And this is where Christ again drops a bombshell. He states "I am," which any devout Jew would recognize as him claiming to be God, and, therefore, blasphemy. And, if you look at verse 30, we see that they seek to arrest him, but God goes before him because his time had not yet come. Ultimately, through this scene, we see that many again believe in him because of the signs that he has done and the arguments that he has provided. Which tells me that it really does come down to the heart and who was there listening with open hearts and who was there trying to fit him into their own box. What do you think?