John 3:31-36

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Genre

(See Introduction)

John 4:1-30. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel.

Demarcation of the Text

The wide range of demarcations across the English translations surveyed demonstrate the difficulty with sectioning off this text. Only two of the English translations studied agree with one another. Only one English translation surveyed agrees with this study.

• CSB. The CSB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 4:1-26 entitled Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (CSB). The second section includes 4:27-38 entitled The Ripened Harvest (CSB).
• ESV, NLT. The ESV and NLT demarcate this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-38 entitled Jesus and the Woman of Samaria (ESV).
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two sections. The first section includes 4:1-6 entitled Jesus Goes to Galilee (NASB). The second section includes 4:7-38 entitled The Woman of Samaria (NASB).
• NRSV. The NRSV demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Woman of Samaria (NRSV).
• NIV. The NIV demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 4:1-26 entitled Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman (NIV). The second section includes 4:27-38 entitled The Disciples Rejoin Jesus (NIV).
• CEB. The CEB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 4:1-3 entitled Jesus Leaves Judea. The second section includes 4:4-42 entitled Jesus in Samaria.
• CEV. The CEV demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 3:31-4:2 entitled The One Who Comes from Heaven. The second section includes 4:3-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritan Woman.
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage cohesive section entitled The Woman at the Well.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritans. 
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritans.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled True Worshipers in Samaria.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating the beginning of this passage is clear. The author describes how Jesus changes location to prevent any conflict with the ministry of John the Baptist. The narrative that surrounds this teaching occurs as Jesus is traveling toward Galilee. John 4:1-3 are an introductory synopsis of Jesus’ upcoming travel. Starting in verse four, the author begins describing the specific narratives that 4:1-3 encompass. This is a familiar literary technique used in ancient writing. The textual marker that assists in demarcating the end of this passage and the beginning the next section. John 4:31 states, “In the meantime…” signaling a change in the narrative.

There is a wide range of choices made when demarcating this passage, but the focus of this narrative is Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman and this specific narrative ends with verse thirty.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the events surrounding Jesus’ encounter with a woman in Samaria at a well in the middle of the day. The author as narrator fills in many blanks throughout this passage. The narrative is mostly made up of dialogue between Jesus and the woman. At the end of the dialogue Jesus declares that he is the I AM. The narrative concludes with Jesus’ disciples returning to him and the woman leaving her water pot at the well to hurry home to tell her town that she has encountered the Messiah. There are three characters in this scene; Jesus, a Samaritan woman, and his disciples. Jesus and the Samaritan woman speak throughout the encounter. No dialogue is attributed to Jesus’ disciples.

The issues in this passage:

• Jesus leaves Judea. When Jesus learns that there is a potential for controversy between himself and John the Baptist, he leaves the area. This reveals the respect Jesus had for his forerunner. Jesus did not want to have a hint of conflict between himself and John. Even though Jesus is God he submits and makes way for John. Bruce states that Jesus’ “regard for John was such that he could not tolerate the very possibility or appearance of a cleavage, so he withdrew from Judea and returned to Galilee…” (p. 101). Michaels adds that “What seems to have troubled Jesus was not that he was having more success than John, but that the Pharisees had heard that this was the case” (p. 231). Keener concurs stating that “Jesus may have withdrawn from public baptisms at this point to avoid competing with John, and so weakening John’s position before the Pharisees” (p. 587).
• A woman of Samaria comes to draw water at noon. The Samaritan woman comes in the heat of the day to draw water from the well. There may be nothing out of the ordinary in this detail, but when the audience learns that the woman has had five husbands and is living with a sixth it makes sense that the woman is avoiding conflict with other women who would be using the well early in the morning before the heat of the day. Bruce states that “Women usually came to draw water in company, and at a cooler time of day” (p. 102). Keener states that “Jesus crosses at least three significant barriers in the story: the socioethnic barrier of centuries of Jewish-Samaritan prejudice; the gender barrier; and a moral barrier imposed by this woman’s assumed behavior” (p. 585). He continues stating that “Because women often came to draw water together, that this woman came alone warrants attention. The time of day may underline this point further” (p. 591).
• The Samaritan woman flirts with Jesus. In ancient Palestinian culture it would not have been out of line for a man to ask a woman for a drink from a well as John’s narrative describes. It would have been unthinkable for a Jew to talk with a Samaritan. Even more unthinkable than that would be for a woman to question a man after such a request. Keener states that “from her purely natural standpoint the woman can interpret Jesus’ social advances in the manner in which such cross-gender advances were normally understood – in a manner quite different from the manner in which he intended them, as the narrative quickly reveals” (p. 595). It would have been unusual for a man to continue the conversation as Jesus has done. This is why John makes mention of the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman when they arrive at the well. The conversation becomes extremely salacious when the Samaritan woman asks Jesus to give her some of the living water that he speaks of. Keener states that “Even today in traditional Middle Easter societies, “Social intercourse between unrelated men and woman is almost equivalent to sexual intercourse”” (p. 597). Keener continues “the woman might have supposed that Jesus, noting that she had to come to the well alone hence was probably morally disreputable to begin with, wanted something else. In the eyes of many potential first-century readers, the beginning of the narrative is fraught with sexual ambiguity that is clarified only as the narrative progresses” (p. 598). This prompts Jesus’ response for the woman to go and get her husband. Keener states that “That Jesus was tired signals his mortality, as does his thirst; such points hence underline the reality of Jesus’ incarnation… his request for water prefigures his thirst on the cross, the ultimate epitome of his mortality” (p. 591). Keener continues by stating that “When the woman responds that she has no husband, she is seeking to mislead him, but is probably implying more than that she is embarrassed to talk about a shameful past” (p. 605).
• Jesus offers the Samaritan woman living water – a well of water springing up in him for eternal life. Jesus offers this lady something that no one had produced for her in her life; living water in abundance. Bruce states that “Jesus is here offering something superior not only to the water in Jacob’s well but to the legal religion of Jews and Samaritans alike… The soul’s deepest thirst is for God himself, who has made us so that we can never be satisfied without him. ‘Christ satisfies a man not by banishing his thirst, which would be to stunt his soul’s growth, but by bestowing upon him by the gift of his Spirit an inward source of satisfaction which perennially and spontaneously supplies each recurrent need of refreshment’ (G. H. C. Macgregor)” (p. 105). Keener states that “Jesus’ kindness and nonerotic interest in her revealed a kind of love and relationship that differed in a positive way from her past intimate relationships with men” (p. 608).
• Jesus confronts the Samaritan woman about her reputation. As Jesus and the woman’s conversation continues, Jesus eventually confronts her about her past and current living situation. If her intent was immoral, Jesus’ comment stops her in her tracks. If her intent is honorable, Jesus’ comment allows for him to speak into her life to an even deeper level. And this is exactly what happens. Bruce states that “it is best to conclude that the woman is reminded of her many disappointments in personal relationships in order that she may appreciate the more the deep and lasting satisfaction that Jesus brings” (p. 107).
• Jesus declares salvation is from the Jews. 
• A time is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth since God is spirit. Bruce states that “God himself is pure Spirit, and the worship in which he takes delight is accordingly spiritual worship – the sacrifice of a humble, contrite, grateful and adoring spirit” (p. 111). Keener states that “What is most significant is that this woman becomes the first model of a worshiper in Spirit and truth that the Father sought for himself. The barriers of past moral character, gender, and ethnic religion were not the final determinants of the kind of person God would seek” (p. 619). Hays states that, “True worship is focused not on any geographical location or cultic site; rather, it is focused on the person of Jesus himself, who is both the way to the Father and the place where the presence of God is made known - indeed, the place where the presence of God dwells” (2016, p. 313).
• Jesus declares that he is the I AM, the Messiah. After the Samaritan woman talks about the Messiah to come and explain everything, Jesus declares that he is the I AM. This is the first time in John’s gospel that Jesus declares his divinity. Jesus utilizes the self-designation of divinity that was first used by YHWH when he was talking to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. Michaels states that “It is no accident that Jesus begins to speak of “the Father” at about the same time he begins to use the emphatic “I” (ego) to refer to himself” (p. 250). “For the first time in the Gospel he adopts the formula, “I am” (ego eimi) or “It is I,” to make known his identity” (p. 257). Keener states that “Jesus’ particular words, ego eimi, are naturally construed to mean, “I am (he),” as they normally would in such a dialogue; but given the more explicitly Christological use of ego eimi in John’s discourses elsewhere, we may suspect that we have here another double entendre pointing to a deeper identity…” (p. 620).
• Jesus’ disciples arrive and are astonished that Jesus is speaking with a woman but do not question him. John explains to his audience the reaction of Jesus’ disciples through the narrator’s voice. This aside explains the cultural expectations between a man and a woman and/or a Jew and a Samaritan. Bruce states that “Their surprise at finding their Master talking to a woman was no doubt all the greater because the woman was a Samaritan, but for a rabbi to engage in conversation even with a true-born Jewish woman was regarded by many as a waste of time that might have been more profitably spent… Hence the wise men say, “He who prolongs conversations with a woman brings evil upon himself, ceases from the words of the law, and at the last inherits Gehanna”” (p. 111). Michaels states that “Jewish custom frowned on a man of God carrying on an extended conversation with a woman, and it did not help that Jesus and this woman were alone” (p. 239). Michaels sees the disciples shock a bit differently when he states that “They are “surprised,” not that he is speaking with a Samaritan (they, after all, had just come from shopping in a Samaritan town), but that he is speaking to a woman” (p. 257). Interestingly, Michaels adds regarding the unspoken question from the disciples that “The Gospel writer could not have known such a thing without being an eyewitness, and even then, the disciples would have had to have voiced the questions, at least to one another” (p. 258).
• The Samaritan woman returns to her town to tell everyone that she has found the Messiah. Jesus’ encounter with this woman has changed her life. She has gone from a flirtatious indiscriminate woman to believe in Jesus. Just minutes before her encounter she was too embarrassed to join the rest of the town ladies at the well. After her encounter with Jesus she was moved to tell the whole town that she had met the Messiah. Bruce states that “she forgot the water of Jacob’s well in her excitement at receiving the living water of which Jesus had spoken. The wellspring of perennial refreshment was now bubbling up within her… If she had avoided the company of her fellow-citizens before, she was a changed woman now: she must seek them out and share her news with them” (p. 111). Michaels states that “Jesus has not called her or sent her on a mission. The initiative is hers… In a sense, her mission to the town is an extension of Jesus’ own mission, for just as he “left” Judea and “went” into Galilee, she now “left” her water jar and “went” into town” (p. 258-9).

This passage begins the gospels description of Jesus’ public ministry in earnest. Ironically it begins outside of Jewish circle. This allows for John to make explicit the importance of the Jewish origin and focus of Jesus ministry. This narrative contains an immense amount of theological material. The characters do not act as expected in this narrative. Despite cultural norms, Jesus has a long conversation with a woman. In addition, Jesus a Jew, has an interaction with a Samaritan. In this passage there are three characters: Jesus, a Samaritan woman, and Jesus’ disciples. This passage contains a lot of dialogue as Jesus and the Samaritan speak in this story. The author also adds a lot to the story through his explanations and parenthetical statements.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue with the author as the narrator filling in some blanks.

This passage is about Jesus’ first declaration of divinity. Among many other theological elements of this passage, Jesus declares that he is the I AM. Jesus also declares that he is living water and anyone who believes in him has access to that living water which springs up to eternal life.

The Co-text

Prior to this passage, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Some of John’s disciples, who had been searching for the long-awaited Jewish messiah, follow Jesus. These disciples become a major part of Jesus’ earthly ministry and most importantly the foundation upon which Jesus’ church is built after his resurrection and ascension. Jesus, with his disciples, attend the Passover in Jerusalem where Jesus clears the temple of money changers and those selling animals for sacrifice. The passage prior to this describes a (the) teacher of the Jews approaching Jesus under the cover of dark to learn more about him and his mission. Jesus declares that one must be born from above to receive eternal life. Jesus relocates his ministry for the time being to prevent any controversy between himself and John the Baptist. On his journey to relocate he passes through Samaria where he interacts with a woman at a well.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. The previous passage focuses on John the Baptist’s ministry as he declares that he must decrease so the Jesus can increase. In this passage, for the first time Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM.

Important Words/Motifs:

• Drink. Jesus’ dialogue with the Samaritan begins with a physical need. The text states that Jesus was tired from his journey and he had a physical need. Jesus does not start the conversation by declaring that he is the I AM. He begins with a physical need. This is important to remember as God’s people to meet people where they are in life.
• Living water. In verse ten, Jesus introduces the phrase ‘living water.’ It was not just physical water that Jesus is offering but something much more valuable than that. Jesus offers those who ask resources in abundance so that his people will never have want again. Keener states that “Given his propensity for double entendres, John probably also intends “living water” to signify the “water of life” (p. 604).
• Eternal life. This living water that Jesus offers eventually springs up into eternal life. As already mentioned in John’s gospel, those who accept what Jesus have to offer will experience eternal life.
• Husband. As the conversation continues, scandalously for the culture, Jesus brings that notion to an end by mentioning the Samaritans husband. Jesus’ purpose is not to shame her, but to speak into her life. Because of his words her life is changed. She forgets her water pot and reports to her town that she has met the Messiah.
• Worship. One of the main topics of conversation in this story is that of worship. The Samaritan woman asks Jesus about worship. This allows for Jesus to start talking about his coming, the coming of the Messiah.
• Truth. Key to the worship that Jesus speaks of is truth. The truth is God wants people to approach him in truth, honestly and open.
• Spirit. The Father is looking for those who are willing to completely accept him – His Son and His Spirit. Keener states that “the human spirit is hardly John’s usual sense of “Spirit”; apart from references to Jesus’ personal spirit, the only other probable exception.
• I AM. For the first time in John’s gospel, Jesus declares his divinity. The ‘I AM’ statement is the self-designation for God.
• Messiah. 

Without reading further, we do not see that Jesus will continue to use the I AM designation. Jesus does this using different metaphors; living water, bread of life, light, gate, shepherd, the resurrection, life, way, truth, true vine.

Context

Customs or moral assumptions that help make sense out of this passage:

• Men and women. It is important to understand the nature of the relationship between men and women in ancient culture. It was, and still is to some extent in that part of the world today, for men and women to socialize. It is seen as scandalous. This is one reason Jesus’ disciples were ‘amazed’ that he was talking with a woman.
• Jews and Samaritans. Almost as scandalous as men and women socializing, Jews socializing with Samaritans was unheard of. Jews saw Samaritans as unclean. Samaritans were descendants of the interracial union of Jews and the surrounding nations at the time of the Babylonian exile. When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, the Jewish outcast were left behind in a decimated land. Without many resources they survived by mixing with the nations around them. After the exile, pure Jews returned to Jerusalem and shunned their half breed relatives now called the Samaritans. Keener states that “Jewish tradition indicated that hostilities had begun immediately after some Jews returned from the Exile” (p. 599).

The knowledge of this setting helps the reader understand just how unique Jesus’ ministry was to the culture at that time. Jesus’ main, almost exclusive, ministry was to the Jews. But he did not resist opportunities to minister to others when it presented itself.

This passage appeals to the cultural concern of social roles of men and women in ancient culture. This can be seen in the reaction of Jesus’ disciples when they returned to the well.

The Interface of Contexts:

For the original audience this passage would have stood in tension with the world it addressed since the heroine of the story has such an immoral past. But Jesus is after the heart. This woman left everything she had and went shamelessly to her community to share with them the good news. The woman at the well becomes the ideal evangelist.

This story could be recounted in today’s current culture. As two-thousand years ago, Jesus is still searching for those who will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus has come to change the heart of all of those who will accept as he truly is – the only Son of God.

Intertext

OT passages explicitly cited in this text:

• Exodus 3:14. “14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” In this passage, God is speaking to Moses through the burning bush. God commissions Moses to gather the Israelites together. When Moses asks God who he should say sent him, God replies with the divine self-identification, “I AM.” In Greek this is evgw, eivmi. This is what Jesus uses to self-identify during his conversation with the Samaritan at the well.

OT passages alluded to in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Genesis 24:1-27. This passage is the story of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for his only son Isaac. The servant finds Isaac’s future wife at a well and asks her to give him a drink. Rebekah does so without hesitation and offers to water the servant’s camels as well. Regarding Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John’s narrative could be seen as an allusion to the Isaac/Rebekah narrative. Jesus is looking for his bride and finds her at the well.
• Genesis 29:1-12. This passage is the story of Jacob finding his wife Rachel at a well. Again, regarding Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John’s narrative could be seen as an allusion to the Jacob/Rachel narrative. Jesus is looking for his bride and finds her at the well.
• Genesis 48:22. “22 Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”” This passage describes what the Samaritan at the well is talking to Jesus about regarding the proper mountain to worship God from.
• Exodus 2:15-21. Just as Isaac and Jacob found their wives at a well, this passage describes how Moses after fleeing Egypt stops to rest at a well and eventually is led to finding his wife. Again, regarding Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John’s narrative could be seen as an allusion to the Moses/Zipporah narrative. Jesus is looking for his bride and finds her at the well.
• Judges 14:6. “6 the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him”. Michaels, regarding the well of water ‘springing’ up in him for eternal life, states, “Its closest parallels are in the LXX, where the same verb describes “the Spirit of the Lord” or the Spirit of God” in action, “rushing on Samson or on Samuel. “Rushing” also suggest abundance, a continuing, self-replenishing supply of good fresh water that never runs dry” (p. 244).
• Judges 15:14. “14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.” Michaels, regarding the well of water ‘springing’ up in him for eternal life, states, “Its closest parallels are in the LXX, where the same verb describes “the Spirit of the Lord” or the Spirit of God” in action, “rushing on Samson or on Samuel. “Rushing” also suggest abundance, a continuing, self-replenishing supply of good fresh water that never runs dry” (p. 244).
• 1 Samuel 10:10. “10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.” Michaels, regarding the well of water ‘springing’ up in him for eternal life, states, “Its closest parallels are in the LXX, where the same verb describes “the Spirit of the Lord” or the Spirit of God” in action, “rushing on Samson or on Samuel. “Rushing” also suggest abundance, a continuing, self-replenishing supply of good fresh water that never runs dry” (p. 244).
• 2 Kings 17:24-41. This passage describes the history of Samaria after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. Verse twenty-four states, “24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.” This is the backstory behind the Jewish-Samaritan animosity.

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Matthew 4:20. “20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” In this passage from his gospel, Matthew describes how Peter and Andrew were fishing when Jesus called them to follow him. Peter and Andrew left their nets and immediately followed Jesus. In the same way, John describes in his gospel how the Samaritan woman left her water pot at the well and immediately went back to town to tell her community that she found the Messiah.
• Matthew 4:22. “22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” In this passage from his gospel, Matthew describes how James and John were fishing when Jesus called them to follow him. James and John, just as Peter and Andrew, left their boat and father and immediately followed Jesus. In the same way, John describes in his gospel how the Samaritan woman left her water pot at the well and immediately went back to town to tell her community that she found the Messiah.
• Mark 1:18. “18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” In this passage from his gospel, Mark describes how Peter and Andrew were fishing when Jesus called them to follow him. Peter and Andrew left their nets and immediately followed Jesus. In the same way, John describes in his gospel how the Samaritan woman left her water pot at the well and immediately went back to town to tell her community that she found the Messiah.
• Mark 1:20. “20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.” In this passage from his gospel, Mark describes how James and John were fishing when Jesus called them to follow him. James and John, just as Peter and Andrew, left their boat and father and immediately followed Jesus. In the same way, John describes in his gospel how the Samaritan woman left her water pot at the well and immediately went back to town to tell her community that she found the Messiah.
• Acts 2:38. “38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” In this passage describing Peter’s speech on the Day of Pentecost, Peter explains that those who accept Jesus as God’s Son will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus was offering the Samaritan woman at the well.
• Acts 10:45. “45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles…” In this passage, Luke describes how not just the Jews, but the Gentiles also received the Holy Spirit when they accepted Jesus Christ as God’s Son.
• Acts 11:17. “17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”” In this passage, Luke describes Peter’s defense of the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit. Peter explains that God gave the gift of His Holy Spirit on non-Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah.
• Revelation 7:17. “17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” In this passage from his apocalyptic letter, John describes what he sees in a vision of God’s people when Jesus leads them to springs of the water of life.
• Revelation 21:6. “6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.” In this passage from his apocalyptic letter, John describes Jesus declaring that it is finished, and he is about to give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
• Revelation 22:1. “1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb…” In this passage from his apocalyptic letter, John describes the vision he sees when heaven comes down and God makes everything new. John sees the river of the water of life that comes from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage, Jesus interacts with one of the most inappropriate people of his culture – a woman, a Samaritan woman. Jesus does not allow this to prevent him from speaking the truth. Jesus eventually declares that he is the I AM. The result of Jesus’ interaction with her changes her life and the lives of her neighbors. This is the story of God and God’s people.

John 4:25-26 (CSB)

25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

Main Verbs

Am

Verbs

Am

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 4:39-42. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel. This passage is the second half of the narrative that ran through 4:1-30. This narrative was interrupted by an interlude that spanned v. 31-38.

Demarcation of the Passage

The wide range of demarcations across the English translations surveyed demonstrate the difficulty with sectioning off this text.

• CSB, NIV. The CSB and NIV demarcate this passage as belonging to cohesive section entitled The Savior of the World (CSB).
• ESV, NLT. The ESV and NLT demarcate this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-38 entitled Jesus and the Woman of Samaria (ESV).
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two sections. The first section includes 4:7-38 entitled The Woman of Samaria. The second section includes 4:39-45 entitled The Samaritans.
• NRSV. The NRSV demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Woman of Samaria.
• CEB. The CEB demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:4-42 entitled Jesus in Samaria.
• CEV. The CEV demarcates this passage as belonging to part of a larger section that includes 4:3-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritan Woman.
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:31-54 entitled It’s Harvest Time.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritans. 
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 4:1-42 entitled Jesus and the Samaritans.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as one coherent section entitled The Faith of the Samaritans.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating the beginning of this passage is the change in characters from Jesus and the disciples to Jesus and the Samaritans. The disciples again take a back seat going unnoticed but assumed to be witness to Jesus’ interaction with the crowd that came from the woman’s town.

There is a wide range of choices made when demarcating this passage, but the focus of this narrative is faith of the Samaritans after hearing of the woman’s encounter with Jesus at the well.

Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the events surrounding the Samaritans who come to see Jesus at the well after the woman had returned to town and told them that she found the Messiah. The townsfolk hurry to meet Jesus and ask him to stay with them to teach them more. There are three characters in this scene; the Samaritans from that town, Jesus, and the woman. Only the Samaritans from that town speak as they witness first-hand what the woman had testified to them about regarding Jesus.

Issues in this passage:

• The townsfolk believe in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. Even though the Samaritan woman was not comfortable even being around the other woman of the community her interaction with Jesus was so profound that everyone took notice and believed so profoundly in what had happened to this woman that they believed what she said and had to go out and see Jesus. Bruce states that “The living water which the woman received from Jesus had certainly become an overflowing fountain in her life, and others were coming to share the refreshment that she had begun to enjoy… the most unlikely soul may prove the most effective witness” (p. 115). Keener adds that “the Samaritans’ initial level of faith is based on another’s testimony, which is acceptable for initial faith. Once they “come” and “see”, however, they progress to a firsthand faith, which characterizes true disciples. Thus the Samaritans do not denigrate the woman’s testimony in 4:42; rather, they confirm it” (p. 626).
• The Samaritans ask for Jesus to stay so he stays with them for two days. Once the Samaritans met Jesus, they wanted to learn more from him and asked him to stay with them longer. Michaels reflects on John 2:24 stating that “In contrast to the Passover “believers,” to whom he “would not entrust himself”, Jesus does entrust himself (temporarily at least!) to these believing Samaritans” (p. 268).
• Many more people believed in Jesus because of what he said. Because Jesus was able to spend time with the people of the Samaritan town even more people came to believe in Him.
• They told Jesus that they now believe because of what Jesus said not because of what the woman said. The crowd went out to see what changed this lady’s life. After hearing Jesus and then spending two days with him their faith was now based on what Jesus said not just on what the woman said. Michaels states that “Jesus taught the Samaritans in person, and consequently that “many more believed because of his word”” (p. 269).

This passage resumes the story of Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritans. Not just the woman but now many from the town come to see what it was about this man that had such a profound impact on the woman. Jesus’ words to these people were so profound that many more from the town came to believe in him because of what Jesus said, not just because of what the woman said.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue with the author as the narrator filling in some blanks.

This passage gets its message across mostly through what John as the narrator and from a few lines of dialogue from the Samaritans.

This passage is about the impact that Jesus has on the hearts of those who seek him out. In a previous, Jesus interacts with the Samaritan woman. Her reaction was so profound that her neighbors had to come and see Jesus. Jesus’ interaction leads many more to believe. This is consistent with what John has reported throughout his gospel.

The Co-text

Prior to this passage, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Some of John’s disciples, who had been searching for the long-awaited Jewish messiah, follow Jesus. These disciples become a major part of Jesus’ earthly ministry and most importantly the foundation upon which Jesus’ church is built after his resurrection and ascension. Jesus, with his disciples, attend the Passover in Jerusalem where Jesus clears the temple of money changers and those selling animals for sacrifice. The passage prior to this describes a (the) teacher of the Jews approaching Jesus under the cover of dark to learn more about him and his mission. Jesus declares that one must be born from above to receive eternal life. Jesus relocates his ministry for the time being to prevent any controversy between himself and John the Baptist. On his journey to relocate he passes through Samaria where he interacts with a woman at a well. In this passage, John narrates the response of the town as they come to see the Messiah for themselves. They ask Jesus to stay with them and many more come to believe because of the words he speaks.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. In the prior passage with the woman at the well, Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM. Jesus changes this woman’s identity to such an extreme that now her neighbors come to see Jesus for themselves.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Believed. Throughout John’s gospel it is made clear that there are two types of people. There are people who believe in Jesus as the Son of God who will then be given eternal life. The other type of people are those who do not believe that Jesus is God’s Son and still have condemnation upon themselves.

Context

(See Introduction)

In that culture, a woman’s testimony was not valid. But there was such a change in the woman that many believed what she testified to.

The knowledge of this setting helps the reader understand how profound the change in the woman must have been.

Intertext

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and this how might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Acts 1:8. “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Just as Jesus ministered to the Samarians during his earthly ministry, after his resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he will commission his disciples to continue that work.
• Acts 8:5. “5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.” Just as Jesus ministered to the Samarians and then commissioned his people to do the same, this passage describes how Jesus’ disciple Philip did just that.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage, Jesus introduces a key concept in God’s heavenly kingdom. God’s mission entails different people using the gifts and talents that God has given them to reap the harvest of eternal life. God’s wants his people to work together relying on Him and on each other. God wants his people to trust in him that the work they have done in the field will not go to waste but that another worker will come along and reap the fruit of the harvest of eternal life to fulfill the mission that God has given the church. This is the story of God and God’s people.

John 4:37 (CSB)

41 Many more believed because of what he said. 

Main Verbs

Believed

Said

Verbs

Believed

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Said

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 5:1-15. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel.

Demarcation of the Text

There is widespread general agreement with the boundaries. One possible variant would be to place John 5:1 with the preceding section of scripture as a concluding statement. However, 5:1 fits nicely within this section of text also. The NICOT added verses 16-18 to this section. This variation is understandable, but not as preferred as completing the section at v. 15. This is primarily due to v. 16-18 being tied much more to the following section.

• CSB. The CSB demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 5:1-16 entitled The Third Sign: Healing the Sick (CSB).
• ESV, NASB. The ESV and NASB demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 5:1-17 entitled The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath (ESV).
• NRSV, CEB, CEV, MSG. The NRSV, CEB, CEV, and MSG demarcate this passage as part of a larger section that includes 5:1-18 entitled Jesus Heals on the Sabbath (NRSV).
• NIV, NLT. The NIV and NLT demarcate this passage as one cohesive section entitled The Healing at the Pool (NIV).
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 5:1-9a entitled Healing at the Pool of Bethesda. The first section includes 5:9b-29 entitled The Father and the Son.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 5:1-18 entitled Jesus and the Sick Man in Jerusalem.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 5:1-16 entitled Jesus Heals on the Sabbath.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating the beginning of this passage is the change in characters and location from the previous passage. John as the narrator informs us that after Jesus time in Galilee, he goes to Jerusalem to attend a festival where he heals a lame man. Michaels states that ““After these things” links the ensuing account only very loosely to what has preceded. The same phrase occurs again at the beginning of chapter 6 and chapter 7c each time signaling a change of scene or a turn in the narrative” (p. 286). Keener agrees stating that ““After these things” is a common chronological transition device” (p. 634).

There is a wide range of choices made when demarcating this passage, but the focus of this narrative is Jesus’ healing of a lame man and the aftermath that occurs because the healing occurred on the sabbath.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the events of Jesus healing a lame man on the sabbath. After the healing the religious leaders see the man carrying his mat on the sabbath they question him. There are three scenes in this narrative: the healing, the religious leaders questing the man after the healing, and Jesus confronting the man in the temple. that record Jesus second sign as the Son of God. After John introduces the wider story of Jesus’ Galilean visit, he moves into a narrative regarding a royal official’s sick son. John as the narrator summarizes Jesus’ interaction with the official when he informs his audience that this was Jesus’ second sign. There are three characters in this scene: the lame man, Jesus, and the Jews. Most of the passage is narrated by the author as he fills in many of the blanks in this passage. All three characters speak in this passage.

The Issues in this Passage:

• Jesus realizes the lame man had been by the pool for a long time. Considering all of the blanks that John as the narrator gives his audience in this scene there is no explanation for how Jesus knew the lame man had been there for a long time. Michaels makes the case that there is nothing supernatural about him coming to know that the man had been lame for 38 years.
• Jesus asks the lame man if he wants to get well. After John as the narrator sets the scene by filling in many blanks, Jesus confronts the man who had been lame for thirty-eight years and asks him if he wants to get well. Bruce states that “Jesus’ question went home to the heart of the trouble. Did the man really want to be cured? It may seem a strange question, but it was possible that, after so many years in that condition, the man preferred not to face the challenge of a normal healthy life” (p. 123). Michaels disagrees stating that “In contrast to his encounter with the royal official at Cana, Jesus now takes the initiative to heal. His question is straightforward. It carries no hidden rebuke or psychological analysis, as if to say, “Do you really want to get well, or have you become quite comfortable in your life of dependency all these years?” Instead, Jesus is asking, “What do you want? What can I do for you?”” (p. 292).
• The lame man states there is no one to help in the pool of healing. John informs his audience of the custom of the healing pool and the lame man replies to Jesus’ inquiry by stating there is no one to help him get into the pool.
• Jesus directs the lame man to get up and to pick up his mat and walk. Jesus heals the lame man. Michaels states that Jesus “ignoring the pool and its supposed healing powers, he tells the man, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk.”” (p. 293).
• The lame man instantly got well, picked up his mand and started to walk. Just as Jesus tells the man to get up and walk the lame man does so. Bruce states that “What made him better…? Nothing but the enabling command of Christ, to which his will responded obediently. Thus he received power to do what a moment earlier had been quite beyond his capacity” (p. 124).
• The Jews confront the healed man for carrying his mat on the sabbath. When the Jews see the man carrying his mat, they confront him. The healed man states that Jesus had told him to carry his mat. The Jews are more concerned with the man carrying his mat than the fact that he had just been healed after being lame for thirty-eight years. Keener points out that “From Jesus’ perspective he is not undermining the Sabbath, but challenging “the Jews” interpretation of it… from John’s perspective, their view of unlawfulness misses the heart of God’s word” (p. 636). Hays states that, “This implies that the laws fundamental aim promoting human wholeness and flourishing can in some instances override its ritual prohibitions. This is certainly not a negation of the law; rather, is an argument profoundly respectful of the law’s own inner logic, an argument that operates within well-established Jewish hermeneutical precedent. …John’s narrative defends Jesus’ practice of sabbath-healing as consonant with the law, not contrary to it” (2016, p. 298). Hays concludes that, “In sum, then, there is no suggestion anywhere in the Fourth Gospel that the law is in any respect wrong or deficient. The narrative implies a critique not of the law but of those leaders who abuse the law and failed to keep it” (2016, p. 300). 
• Jesus finds the healed man in the temple and tells him to sin no more so that something worse does not happen. This passage may raise more questions than in answers.
  • Did Jesus seek out the man or did he just happen to run into the healed man? Michaels states that “their meeting is not a chance encounter. Jesus “finds” the man quite intentionally, just as he “found” Philip when he enlisted him as a disciple, just as Andrew “found” Simon Peter and Philip “found” Nathanael” (p. 297).
  • Jesus warns him not to sin alluding that sin may be a direct personal cause of bad things to happening. Michaels states that this “implies that a connection between sickness and personal sin is at least a distinct possibility. The possibility is later raised explicitly by Jesus’ disciples on encountering the beggar who was blind from birth, and Jesus did not claim that such a connection was unthinkable, only that it did not apply in that instance… Jesus in this Gospel views sickness first of all as an opportunity for healing and salvation, not as a punishment for sin, and the same is true here” (p. 298).
• After his second interaction with Jesus, the healed man returns to the Jews to inform them that it was Jesus who healed him. With the ongoing theme of two types of people in John’s gospel – those who believe in Jesus and those who reject him – it would seem that the man who was just healed after 38 years of infirmity wanted to make sure that he was not held responsible for breaking the sabbath. Bruce states of the Jews that “Inciting others to break the law (as they understood it) was worse than breaking it oneself” (p. 126). Michaels states that “The immediate outlook is not good. The man said nothing in reply, no word of thanks, no expression of belief, no commitment to stop sinning. Instead, he “went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him well…” As soon as Jesus said to him, “Don’t sin any more,” he “went away” and did exactly that” (p. 299). Keener concurs, stating that “Like some members of the Johannine community touched by Jesus, he falls away, becoming a betrayer. Already aware that the leaders opposed Jesus, he informs on Jesus and so prefigures analogous acts of betrayal in the Gospel” (p. 644).

There are three main characters in the narrative: Jesus, the ill man, and the Jews. All three characters speak in the narrative. The narrator gives some background information for the scene and the characters reveal information through their dialogue.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue with the author as the narrator filling in some blanks.

This passage gets its message across mostly through what John as the narrator and from a few lines of dialogue from Jesus, the lame man, and the Jews.

Things “left out” in this passage:

• The text may allude to Jesus searching out the man to warn him not to sin more. Michaels states that “their meeting is not a chance encounter. Jesus “finds” the man quite intentionally, just as he “found” Philip when he enlisted him as a disciple, just as Andrew “found” Simon Peter and Philip “found” Nathanael” (p. 297).
• Does Jesus warning indicate that God causes bad things to happen to those who sin? Michaels states that this “implies that a connection between sickness and personal sin is at least a distinct possibility. The possibility is later raised explicitly by Jesus’ disciples on encountering the beggar who was blind from birth, and Jesus did not claim that such a connection was unthinkable, only that it did not apply in that instance… Jesus in this Gospel views sickness first of all as an opportunity for healing and salvation, not as a punishment for sin, and the same is true here” (p. 298).

The text is about Jesus immediately healing a sick man. When the man is confronted for breaking a Sabbath law, he puts the blame on Jesus. Jesus finds the man later and warns him to sin no more so that something worse does not happen to him. The man goes away and tells the Jews who told him to carry his mat. There is a stark difference in this healing episode compared to others. For instance, the man does not praise Jesus. When Jesus finds (active) the man later he warns the man to sin no more. The man went (active) and told the Jews.

The Co-text

In John 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well and tells her all that she has done. The people from the Samaritan village come to see Jesus, invite him to stay with them. After two days many people believed because of his words. Their belief went from the testimony of the woman to their own experience. After this, Jesus visits Galilee and the author reminds us that a prophet is not welcome in his own town. However, Jesus heals a royal official’s son.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. In a prior passage with the woman at the well, Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM. Jesus changes this woman’s identity to such an extreme that now her neighbors come to see Jesus for themselves. Jesus receives a warm welcome in Galilee and is approached by a royal official whose son he heals.

Openness to Interpretive Possibilities:

• Some teachers use this scripture to focus on Jesus asking the sick man, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man does not say “yes” but explains why he cannot get to the water. This is used to teach against people becoming identified or comfortable in their illnesses.

Without reading further we do not see that Jesus continues to have conflict in Jerusalem with the Jews. Since he turned over the tables the tension between Jesus and the Jews grows.

Context

(See Introduction)

There is a reflection upon purity when Jesus commands the sick man to do something that knowingly breaks a Sabbath law.

Distribution of power is represented through the Jews’ reaction to Jesus’ directive given to the sick man and the sick man’s reporting back to the Jews once he finds out Jesus’ identity. The sick man’s behavior goes against honor and shame and patronal ethics by the way he responds (or does not respond) to Jesus’ miracle.

The Interface of Contexts:

The loyalty of the man to the Jews instead of Jesus after the man was restored to health after 38 years is significant.

This same thing can be seen today. Jesus continually heals people from their long-time infirmities. Just like the lame man some people are more loyal to current culture than they are to Jesus and his kingdom.

Intertext

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Mark 2:12a. “12 Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone.” Just as in this passage in John, in his gospel, Mark indicates that the lame man immediately got up and walked away. This is almost word for word how John relates the scene in Jerusalem.
• Mark 10:51. “51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”” Unlike John’s passage, this passage from Mark’s gospel has the blind man when asked by Jesus answers that he wants to see.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage, Jesus brings new life to a man who has been lame for most of his life. Instead of giving his loyalty to Jesus he furthers his standing in the community by informing the Jews of Jesus’ miracle. This narrative shows that the world will not always accept Jesus for who he is and what he has done for them. But some will reject and persecute him. This is the story of God and God’s people.

John 5:8 (CSB)

8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Main Verbs

Get up

Told

Pick up

Walk

Got well

Picked up

Walk

Verbs

Get up

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Told

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Pick up

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Walk

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Got well

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Pick up

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Walk

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 6:1-15. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel. This passage is another ‘sign’ passage in which Jesus feeds a crowd over five thousand by multiplying a small meal that a boy had with him.

Demarcation of the Text

There is unanimous agreement across all of the English translations surveyed demarcating this passage as one cohesive section, excluding The Message. The CSB entitles this section as The Fourth Sign: Feeding of the Five Thousand.

• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 6:1-26 entitled Bread and Fish for All.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to part of a larger section that includes 6:1-21 entitled The Feeding of the Multitude. Bruce includes the narrative of Jesus’ withdrawal to a solitary place, the disciple’s journey in a boat across the lake, and Jesus’ coming to them walking on the water.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 5:1-21 entitled Across the Lake and Back.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as one cohesive section entitled Jesus Feeds a Multitude.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating this passage is the phrase, “After this…” signaling a change in the scene. After that textual marker, the narrator explains the change in location and characters of the narrative. This section ends with the narrator stating that the scene has come to an end as Jesus withdrew himself from the location.

Moving the boundaries of this narrative would disrupt the teaching the author is trying to present to his audience.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the events of Jesus’ fourth sign to the world that he is the Son of God. There are six characters in this scene: Jesus, the crowd, the disciples, Philip, a boy, and Andrew. Three of the characters speak in this passage: Jesus, Philip, and Andrew. The dialogue between Jesus, Philip, and Andrew set the scene with the narrator filling in any blanks.  Hays states that, “The reference to an impending Passover in John 6:4 may appear incidental to the logic of the plot until we recognize that it introduces the episode of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a crowd and walking on the sea, incidents that narratively mirror Israel’s crossing of the sea and reception of mana in the wilderness” (2016, p. 301). 

The issues in this passage:

• A huge crowd follows Jesus because of the signs he was performing. John has presented Jesus as the Messiah in his Gospel by recording the signs Jesus performed as the Son of God. Most of the response in the narrative so far has focused on the Jews objection to Jesus’ identity. In this story however, the author focuses on how the crowd was following Jesus because they noticed there was something special about him. Bruce states that “The crowd that followed Jesus, to judge by their attitude as the narrative develops, apparently belonged to the class described in a Jerusalem setting in John 2:23: they were impressed by the sings which they saw, but they yielded Jesus an adherence which was only superficial because they did not appreciate the inward import of the signs” (p. 142). Keener states that “The most critical element of the setting, however, is the behavior of the crowds in 6:2. That they “follow” him suggests the language of discipleship, though the narrative concludes by reinforcing a critical motif in Johannine soteriology; it is not those who initial faith is not fully adequate, for it is merely “signs-faith”, based on his healings of the since similar to the examples John provides in 4:46-53 and 5:1-9. The rest of the narrative indicates that these would-be disciples never move beyond signs-faith, never moving from seeking what Jesus could do for them to what they could do for him” (p. 665).
• Jesus tests Philip. Bruce states that since Philip came from the neighbouring town of Bethsaida, it was natural that he should be consulted about places where food might be bought” (p. 143).
• Andrew notices a small amount of food but does not see how this could feed such a large crowd. John informs his audience that it is Andrew who finds the small boy with a sack lunch. This, and the many other small details through his gospel, testify to the historicity of the Fourth Gospel.
• Jesus multiplies the bread and fish. After giving things, Jesus instructs his disciples to pass out the fish and bread. All are fed.
• When everyone is full, Jesus has the disciples collect the leftovers, so nothing is wasted. In God’s kingdom there is no waste. There is enough for everyone to be filled, but God does not want anything to go to waste. Just like Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, they had enough manna to eat for each day but were not to hoard it for the next day.
• When the crowd sees this sign from Jesus, they recognize him as the promised Prophet. The identity of Jesus is obvious to the crowd from this sign. Bruce states that “As their forefathers had been fed miraculously in the wilderness in the days of the first Moses, so the one who had now fed them miraculously in another wilderness must be the second Moses, the great prophet of the end-time whose advent so many in Israel were expecting” (p. 145-6). Keener states that “Jesus’ signs themselves are positive in the Gospel, among the works that testify of his identity; but they are not coercive” (p. 669).
• Jesus leaves because the crowd was about to make him king. Not only is it important to understand Jesus’ identity but it may be just as important to understand his mission. Many understood Jesus’ identity but he was still crucified because they did not understand his true mission. Even those closest to Jesus did not understand his mission until after he was crucified.

Jesus has compassion for the crowd knowing they need to be fed. Bruce states that according to the Synoptics, “the crowd had been listening to Jesus’ teaching all day, but this explains his concern about feeding them” (p. 143). Jesus plans to perform a sign indicating his true identity to fulfil this need. So, he tests Philip. Andrew tries to help by bring the boy’s lunch to Jesus. After Jesus performs the sign and the left-overs are collected, he needs to remove himself because the crowd wants to make him king while not understanding his true mission. Michaels states that “the crowd’s fascination with “signs” takes over. Jesus is seen as “the Prophet who is coming into the world,” and an attempt is made to seize him and make him king by force” (p. 339).

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue the author provides and the setting of the scene from the narrator.

This passage gets its message across through a mix of dialogue between Jesus, Philip, and Andrew and through the information John provides as the narrator.

The text is about Jesus performing another sign revealing his true identity as the Son of God. This time the sign is performed in front of a large crowd who reacts by wanting to make Jesus king. Jesus is forced to seclude himself because the crowd’s intentions are not in line with his mission from the Father. 

The Co-text

After ministering in Samaria and Galilee, Jesus had just healed a lame man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. Jesus’ popularity is growing as large crowds are following him starting to understand his true identity as the Son of God.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. In a prior passage with the woman at the well, Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM. Jesus changes this woman’s identity to such an extreme that now her neighbors come to see Jesus for themselves. Jesus receives a warm welcome in Galilee and is approached by a royal official whose son he heals. This sets the expectation that as Jesus continues his ministry he reveals more and more of his identity and mission. One-way Jesus reveals his identity is by performing signs. This causes conflict between him and the Jews that will eventually lead to Jesus fulfilling his mission through death on the cross and his resurrection to life.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Signs. Many interpreters see John’s Gospel as a two-part revelation: book of signs (John 1-12) and book of glory (John 13-21). There are several signs (miracles) that Jesus performs to reveal his identity as the Son of God. This passage is one of those sign passages as Jesus multiplies food in order to provide food (life) for a large crowd.
• Bread. Soon Jesus will declare that he is the bread of life. Jesus will declare that he is indeed the nourishment that people need for life – eternal life.

Without reading further we do not see that Jesus uses bread as a motif throughout the rest of the Gospel.

Context

(See Introduction)

This text is communicated in a time when the audience had access to other Gospel narratives either by verbal tradition or in the synoptic Gospels. It was communicated in a time when people of The Way were searching for truth, just like the characters in the narrative.

Distribution of power is represented through the crowd wanting to take Jesus and make him king by force.

Intertext

(See Introduction)

OT passages alluded to in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Deuteronomy 18:15-18. “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!’ 17 Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.” In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses informs the Israelites that God will raise up a prophet like himself from their own brothers. Jesus was seen by the crowd as the fulfillment of this promised prophet.
• Malachi 4:5-6. “5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” The Israelite nation during the time of Jesus was expecting a great prophet to rise up from their own brothers. The crowd recognized Jesus as the long-awaited prophet.

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Matthew 14. In Matthew’s version of Jesus’ feeding the five thousand there are a couple of added details that speak into John’s narrative.
  • In Matthew’s version, Jesus “had compassion on them, and healed their sick.”
  • Also, in Matthew’s version it is the disciples who suggest that Jesus send the crowds into the neighboring towns for food. But Jesus states, “They don’t need to go away, you give them something to eat.”
  • Finally, Matthew adds that there “were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
• Mark 6 (cf. Luke 9). In Mark’s version of Jesus’ feeding the five thousand there are a couple of added details that speak into John’s narrative.
  • In Mark’s version, Jesus “saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.”
  • Also, in Mark’s version it is the disciples who suggest that Jesus send the crowds into the neighboring towns for food. But Jesus instructs the disciples to feed them. The disciples respond by stating the amount of money it would cost to feed such a large crowd. Jesus then instructs the disciples to search for food among the crowd and bring it back to him.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage, Jesus sees a crowd following him in need. He is moved with compassion for them to meet this physical need. When he multiplies (creates) more than enough to meet their need his true identity as the Messiah is revealed. Bruce states that “Philip had tried to calculate how much would have to be spent for each person to have ‘a little bit’: but in the event they were able to eat as much as they desired. When the Lord gives, he gives with no niggardly hand. As in the other Gospels, the multiplication of the bread and fish is implied rather than asserted… When the Lord supplies his people’s needs, there is abundance but no waste” (p. 145). Keener states that “Jesus I not merely a new Moses providing a sample of new manna, but he is heaven’s supply for the greatest need of humanity” (p. 663). This is the story of God and God’s people.

John 5:8 (CSB)

14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Main Verbs

Saw

(had) Done

Is

Is to Come

Verbs

Saw

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

(had) Done

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Is

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Is to Come

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 6:22-59. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel. This passage is another long discourse of Jesus. The crowd who ate of the five loaves and two fish search Jesus out. This sets the stage for Jesus to explain to him the mission his Father gave him.

Demarcation of the Text

The majority of English translations surveyed agree on demarcating this passage as one cohesive section.

• CSB, ESV, NRSV, NIV, NLT, CEV. The CSB, ESV, NRSV, NIV, NLT, and CEV demarcate this passage as one cohesive section entitled The Bread of Life (CSB).
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of four separate sections. The first section includes 6:15-25 entitled Jesus Walks on the Water. The second section includes 6:26-40 entitled Words to the People. The third section includes 6:41-58 entitled Words to the Jews. The fourth section includes 6:59-65 entitled Words to the Disciples.
• CEB. The CEB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 6:16-25 entitled Jesus Walks on Water. The second section includes 6:26-71 entitled Bread of Life.
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 6:1-59 entitled Bread and Fish for All.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to part of a larger section that includes 6:22-71 entitled The Bread of Life. Bruce includes the narrative of Jesus’ dialogue with his disciples and the Twelve along with his dialogue with ‘the crowd’ who later become ‘the Jews’.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage into two separate sections. The first section includes 6:22-40 entitled Jesus and the Crowd at Capernaum. The second section includes 6:41-59 entitled Jesus and the Jews at Capernaum.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as one cohesive section excluding verse fifty-nine entitled The Manna Discourse. Keener places verse fifty-nine in the next section as a transitional verse.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating this passage is the phrase, “The next day…” signaling a change in the scene. After that textual marker, the narrator explains the change in location and characters of the narrative. The next section involves Jesus shifting from speaking to the crowd, who becomes ‘the Jews’ in the midst of the narrative, to speaking with his disciples. Michaels states that ““the next day”, and with the new day comes a change of scene” (p. 360).

Moving the boundaries of this narrative would disrupt the teaching the author is trying to present to his audience.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the events of Jesus addressing the crowd that he fed the day before. There are two characters in this scene; Jesus and the crowd (who becomes ‘the Jews’) in the middle of the scene. John as the narrator also fills in a lot of information throughout this section. Both Jesus and the crowds speak.

One issue in this passage is the character analysis. There could be a quite a range of understanding as to who the characters and how many characters there are in this narrative.

• The Crowd. ‘The crowd’ is specifically mentioned in this passage. They are at least part of the crowd from the feeding of the five thousand but most likely not the entire crowd. It would seem unrealistic for there to be enough boats to transport five thousand men plus women and children across the lake to Capernaum. In John’s gospel, the crowd is a group of people who are seeking to know Jesus more. They tend to be portrayed as sheep without a shepherd. They tend to be favorable toward Jesus.
• The Jews. The Jews on the other hand are the culmination of Jesus’ antagonist in John’s gospel. Some see ‘the Jews’ in this passage as the religious leaders of the Capernaum synagogue. This is plausible, but it seems more likely that the identity of ‘the crowd’ is changed by Jesus to ‘the Jews’ as they become more hostile toward what he has to say. Bruce states that regarding to verse forty-one, “On this occasion ‘the Jews’ must be the synagogue congregation in Capernaum, or rather the leaders of the congregation” (p. 155). Michaels disagrees stating that, “it will come as no surprise later when they are abruptly called non longer “the crowd”, but “the Jews”. In a very real sense even though they started out as potential disciples, they turn out to be the same antagonists as before. “The Jews” are “the Jews,” whether in Jerusalem or Capernaum, and so the controversy resumes” (p. 260).

The issues in this passage:

• The crowd searches and finds Jesus. 
• Jesus confronts the crowd for wanting food instead of believing in him. Jesus sees through the motives of the crowd, knowing that they are searching to meet their physical needs while he is trying to meet not only their physical needs, but more importantly their spiritual/eternal needs. Bruce states that when the crowd finds him “Jesus gives them no direct answer to gratify their curiosity, but tells them that their motive in seeking him out is an unworthy one. They were attracted to him because he had fed them, and they imagined that they had found in him the leader for whom they were looking. But they had missed the real significance of the feeding” (p. 149-150). Keener states that, “Their questions show that they repeatedly understand Jesus on a merely natural level because their quest is for merely natural bread” (p. 676).
• The crowd asks Jesus what they need to do to perform the works of God and Jesus responds by telling him to believe in him. The crowd seems to want to do God’s will so Jesus tells them very clearly that the work they need to do is to believe in him. Bruce states that “The contrast here between perishable and spiritual food is similar to the contrast between material and spiritual water in Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well” (p. 150). Bruce continues stating that, “Jesus assures them that God’s basic requirement for those who would receive the food which imparts eternal life is faith – faith in the ‘messenger of the covenant’ whom God had sent in accordance with his ancient promise” (p. 151). Michaels states that “They want to k now what works Jesus has in mind that they must do to gain “eternal life”… They seem to be using “the works of God” to mean works that God requires of them for salvation, but to Jesus “the works of God” are works “wrought in God”, that is, God’s own work in their lives or through them, revealed only when a person “comes to the Light”… the only “work of God” that counts is God’s work in them so that they might “believe” in Jesus, whom God has sent” (p. 366-7)
• The crowd asks for a sign like Moses gave. Ironically, the crowd, who just the day before saw Jesus multiply not only bread but fish as well, ask for a sign that he is worthy to be believed in. Bruce states that, “It might have been thought that the sign they had seen was sufficient attestation of Jesus’ claim, but they want another” (p. 151). Michaels states that “Jesus’ Christological claims have finally begun to get through to them. Their demand for a “sign” confirms the first thing Jesus had said to them, that they were looking for him “not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied”. If They had truly “seen signs,” they would not now be asking for another sign” (p. 368). Keener states that, “the real giver of bread from heaven is God, and what they should seek is not a wilderness prophet like Moses but the gift of God which is greater than the earthly manna in the wilderness” (p. 680).
• Jesus reminds the crowd that it was God, not Moses, that gave true bread from Heaven. 
• After the crowd asks for true bread from heaven, Jesus utilizes the Divine Title stating that he is the bread from heaven. Bruce states that, “this is the first of the distinctive ‘I am’ sayings of this Gospel (where Jesus uses the ego eimi with a predicative)” (p. 153). Michaels states that Jesus “is “the Bread”, which he now calls “the Bread of life” because it – or rather he – “gives life to the world”” (p. 373). In agreement with this study, Keener states that “Numerous times in the Fourth Gospel Jesus declares “I am” with a predicate, three or four times here (6:35, 48, 51; cf. 6:41)… - in all, thirteen or more saying with seven predicative uses. On other occasions a predicate is lacking, in at least some cases invoking Jesus’ deity” (p. 683). With John’s use of double entendre, Jesus’ “I AM” sayings should be seen as a use of the divine formula unless there is clear reason to understand them in other ways.
• Jesus declares that those who accept the bread from heaven will never go hungry or thirsty. Similar to what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well he now tells the crowd that not only will they never thirst again, but they will never hunger again either.
• Jesus declares that everyone the Father gives him come to him and will never be cast out. For the first time in John’s Gospel, Jesus makes the statement that those the Father gives to him will be secure in God’s kingdom. Jesus will make this statement again. Bruce states that, “Men’s blindness cannot frustrate the saving work of God” (p. 153). 
• Jesus declares that he has come from heaven to do his Father’s will, which is that everyone who believes in Jesus will be raised up on the last day. Keener states that, “Jesus predicts his hearers’ unbelief before they reveal it reflects his knowledge of their hearts… they knew Jesus according to the flesh but missed his genuine identity, which could be understood only by the Spirit” (p. 684).
• In the narrative ‘the crowd’ now becomes ‘the Jews’ who start to grumble because Jesus declared that he came down from heaven. The crowd now becomes the Jews. Michaels states that “The situation is becoming confrontational. They are no longer just seekers asking how they might “work the works of God”, but antagonists like “the Jews,” issuing a challenge” (p. 368). Michaels continues, stating that, “They are “seekers” and we expect Jesus to be “seeker sensitive.” He is, up to a point, but he has now reached his limit. He is the same Jesus who “knew them all,” and “knew what was in the person”, and here we see him doing what he has done before and will do again – unmasking unbelief” (p. 376).
• Jesus tells the Jews to stop grumbling and that only those the Father calls can come to him. Jesus reiterates that only those the Father calls can come to him. Bruce states that, “The responsibility of men and women in the matter of coming to Christ is not overlooked (cf. John 5:40); but none at all would come unless divinely persuaded and enabled to do so” (p. 156).
• Jesus again declares that he is the bread of life that comes down from heaven and that those who eat that bread will have eternal life. Bruce states that, “here he makes it plain that everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life here and now, without waiting for the last day: he already anticipates the conditions of the coming resurrection age which will be ushered in by the last day of the present age” (p. 157). Michaels states that “His access to the Father was and is direct, and everyone else’s is indirect, for he is the sole mediator between God and humanity” (p. 388). Michaels concludes that “He will give “this bread” indeed, but “this bread” turns out to be his own body, given up to death” (p. 392). Keener states that, “Jesus probably refers not to a sacrament in the modern sense, but to embracing his death” (p. 688).
• ‘The Jews’ grumble again confused as to how anyone can eat Jesus’ flesh. Just as Jesus knew at the beginning of this narrative, John as the narrator confirms that they are looking for their physical needs to be met while Jesus is trying to meet their spiritual/eternal needs.
• Jesus responds by stating that not only does one need to eat his flesh, but also drink his blood. For the first time in John’s Gospel, Jesus puts his body and blood together as a requirement to be a member of God’s kingdom. Bruce states that “For believing in Christ and keeping his commandments are two things which cannot be separated; there is no true faith without obedience, no true obedience without faith” (p. 160). Keener states that, ““Flesh” and “blood” show the believer’s absolute dependence on Christ’s death; life was held to be in the blood, which had to be poured out before sacrifice” (p. 690).

In this narrative, the crowd that was miraculously fed the day before through a sign from Jesus searches him out. When they find him, Jesus confronts them for only wanting to be fed, not because they believe. Accordingly, the crowd asks Jesus for a sign to prove that he is from above in comparison to what Moses did with the mana. Jesus corrects them stating that it was God, not Moses, who delivered the manna. Jesus then declares that he is bread from heaven that when eaten will fill a person for eternity. Jesus also declares that everyone the Father gives him will not be lost. As the banter continues, eventually, Jesus calls the crowd “the Jews”. The crowd is looking for their physical needs to be met while Jesus is trying to show them a more complete filling they can receive if they believe that he is from heaven. Eventually, Jesus states that for eternal life one must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. This teaching is too difficult for many to understand and they desert Jesus.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue the author provides and the setting of the scene from the narrator.

This passage gets its message across through the dialogue between Jesus and the crowd with the author as narrator filling in many of the blanks along the way.

The text is about Jesus declaring that he is bread from heaven and that those who believe in him and eat of his flesh and drink of his blood will never go hungry again in eternal life. Jesus also declares that those who the Father brings to him will never be lost.

The Co-text

Situation of Text in Larger Presentation: 

After ministering in Samaria and Galilee, Jesus had just healed a lame man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. Jesus’ popularity is growing as large crowds are following him starting to understand his true identity as the Son of God. Jesus feeds over five-thousand people with a boy’s small lunch. At the end of the meal, the crowd comes toward Jesus to make him king by force. Jesus then retreats up the hill to get away from the crowd. This sets the scene for the disciples to get into a boat and cross the sea to Capernaum. At which time a storm comes up and Jesus walks upon the water to the boat. This sets the scene for the next day where the crowds search and find Jesus.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. In a prior passage with the woman at the well, Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM. Jesus changes this woman’s identity to such an extreme that now her neighbors come to see Jesus for themselves. Jesus receives a warm welcome in Galilee and is approached by a royal official whose son he heals. This sets the expectation that as Jesus continues his ministry he reveals more and more of his identity and mission. One-way Jesus reveals his identity is by performing signs, which he does specifically by feeding five-thousand men plus women and children with a small lunch and walks upon water. This causes conflict between him and the Jews that will eventually lead to Jesus fulfilling his mission through death on the cross and his resurrection to life.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Crowd. In the beginning of this passage, the people seeking out Jesus are labeled as ‘the crowd.’ In John’s gospel, the crowd is seen as a neutral character not necessarily seeking Jesus with all of their heart but not also seeking to kill Jesus.
• Bread. Throughout John’s gospel ‘bread’ is used as physical nourishment and as spiritual nourishment that fills the ‘stomach’ eternally.
• Signs. In John’s gospel he has Jesus reveal his true identity as the Son of God by performing several ‘signs’.
• Heaven. In this passage, ‘from heaven’ is a metaphor that is used frequently. The Father, the son, the manna, eternal life all come from heaven.
• Jews. As the passage continues and ‘the crowd’ starts to become antagonistic toward Jesus their identity transitions from ‘the crowd’ to ‘the Jews.’
• Eternal life. Jesus refers to eternal life throughout this passage just as he refers to the eternal realities of his people throughout John’s gospel.
• Blood. In John’s gospel, bread has been referred to before, but Jesus uses this opportunity with the crowd to introduce the need for blood to be a part of story. 
• Flesh. Just as bread has been used frequently in John’s gospel, Jesus’ flesh is used again to correspond to spiritual bread.

Openness to Interpretive Possibilities:

Some scholars see Jesus’ discussion of eating his flesh and drinking his blood as a foreshadow of his eucharist implementation at the Last Supper. However, Jesus discussion of eating his flesh and drinking his blood is a metaphor for joining him in sacrificial living and sacrificial death that leads to eternal life.

Without reading further, one does not get the full understanding of what Jesus is alluding to in this passage regarding bread and blood. At the Last Supper, in just a few chapters, Jesus will speak clearly about eating his flesh (bread) and drinking his blood (juice).

Context

(See Introduction)

Appeal to Particular Cultural Conventions/Cues:

Distribution of power is represented through the Jesus’ utilizing the Divine Name, “I AM” when he states that “I am the bread of life”.

The Interface of Contexts:

This passage stands in tension with the world it addresses by confronting the Jewish understanding of flesh and blood is. For Jews touching a dead body made one unclean. So, for Jesus to say that one needed to eat his flesh for eternal life would seem to be repulsive. Even more so, blood, in Jewish thought, also made one unclean. Again, for Jesus to say that one needed to drink his blood for eternal life would seem to be repulsive. Keener states that, “The ancient Mediterranean world shared nearly universally a disgust for cannibalism” (p. 687).

In today’s context, this passage stands in tension with the current culture by stating explicitly that for one to receive eternal life they must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This teaching is still difficult for many people to understand today. Many people are confused about eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. Even today with the Bible and its progressive revelation, many people find Jesus’ teaching too difficult to accept. This indicates that it is God who calls people to come to know Jesus and that people must approach Jesus with an open mind. In today’s pluralistic culture, this idea of absolute sovereignty stands in tension with the current culture. 

Intertext

OT passages explicitly cited in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Exodus 16:4. “4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you…” In this passage from Exodus, God informs Moses that he is going to feed the Israelites by giving them bread from heaven. This occurred as the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness prior to entering into the promised land. This is what ‘the crowd’ is referring to when they ask Jesus to give them a sign from heaven like Moses.
• Psalms 78:24. “24 He rained manna for them to eat; he gave them grain from heaven.” The crowd refers to this passage in Psalms to explain how Moses delivered a sign from God that he was a prophet from God.
• Isaiah 54:13. “Then all your children will be taught by the Lord…” Jesus utilizes this passage from the prophet Isaiah to explain that only those who are drawn to him by the Father will be taught by the Lord.

OT passages implicitly cited in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Exodus 3:14. “14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” In this passage from Exodus, God introduces himself to Moses as ‘I AM’. This became the divine formula for the name of God. Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus utilizes the divine formula to explain to his audience that he is God.
• Leviticus 17:10-16. In this passage from Leviticus, God explains to the Israelites that they are not to eat or touch blood. Blood is sacred to God as he explains that the life of humans and creatures is in the blood. In current culture, blood is seen more as a contaminant and that there is a safety reason for not eating or touching blood. This was not the case for the ancients. For God, blood is not a contaminant, it holds life.
• Nehemiah 9:15. “15 You provided bread from heaven for their hunger…” In this passage Nehemiah praises God for his provision through the bread he provided to the Israelites. 

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Matthew 16:1. “1 The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” In this passage from his gospel, Matthew records a similar event in Jesus’ life where the religious leaders approached Jesus and asked him to show them a sign that he was indeed from heaven.
• Matthew 16:17. “17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.” Similar to John 6, Matthew in his gospel describes that it is the Father that draws people to Jesus as described in Jesus’ words to Peter.
• Mark 8:11-12. “11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” In this passage from his gospel, Mark records a similar event in Jesus’ life where the religious leaders approached Jesus and asked him to show them a sign that he was indeed from heaven.
• Luke 11:16. “16 And others, as a test, were demanding of him a sign from heaven.” In this passage from his gospel, Mark records a similar event in Jesus’ life where the Jews approached Jesus and asked him to show them a sign that he was indeed from heaven.
• Acts 15:20 (cf. v. 29, 21:25). “20 …but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.” Luke records that early in the history of church, leaders continued to abstain from blood. This indicates how repulsive the idea of consuming blood was to the ancients, not just for the Jews, but for much of the culture during the time of the early church.
• 1 John 2:17. “17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” In his first epistle to the church, John explains that those who do the will of the Father, believe in his Son Jesus, will receive eternal life. This is similar to what he is describing in John 6. 
• 1 John 2:24. “24 What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.” In his first epistle to the church, John explains that those who remain in the Son will also remain in the Father. This is similar to what he is describing in John 6.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage, Jesus declares that he is the bread of life, that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. Jesus states that everyone the Father gives to him will be his and will never be lost. Finally, Jesus states that one must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood to become one of God’s people. Keener states that, “The crowds want an earthly deliverer like Moses to supply food and bring political freedom. Jesus seeks to turn their attention from the physical food they seek to the spiritual food he is. Thus he is not merely, like Moses, the mediator of God’s gift; rather he himself is God’s gift” (p. 675). This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”.

John 5:8 (CSB)

54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Main Verbs

Eats

Drinks

Has

(will) Raise

Is

Verbs

Eats

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Drinks

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Has

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Passive

(will) Raise

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Is

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 7:1-9. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel.

Demarcation of the Text

There is little agreement across the English translations surveyed as to how to demarcate this passage.

• CSB, NRSV, NLT, CEV. The CSB, NRSV, NLT, and CEV demarcate this passage as one cohesive section entitled The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers (CSB).
• ESV. The ESV demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 7:1-24 entitled Jesus at the Feast of Booths.
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 7:1-39 entitled Jesus Teaches at the Feast.
• NIV, CEB. The NIV and CEB demarcates this passage as belonging to a larger section that includes 7:1-13 entitled Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles (NIV).
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 6:60-7:13 entitled Too Tough to Swallow.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as one cohesive section entitled Jesus and His Brothers.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as part of a larger section that includes 7:1-13 entitled To Jerusalem, or Not?.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as one cohesive section entitled Jesus and His Brothers.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating this passage is the comment from the narrator, “After this” indicating a change in time from the previous section. In addition to that textual marker, the characters and the theme of this passage is different than the scene prior and following.

Moving the boundaries of this passage undermines the teaching of this and the surrounding passages.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the conversation of Jesus and his brothers just prior to the Festival of Shelters in Jerusalem. There are two characters in this scene; Jesus and his brothers. Most of this passage is dialogue between Jesus and his brothers with John as the narrator providing additional information.

The issues in this passage:

• Jesus stayed in Galilee to avoid Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. John as the narrator has informed his audience several times already throughout the gospel that the Jews were intending to kill Jesus. Once again, this comes into focus in this passage. 
• Jesus’ brothers urge him to go public. While a motive is not given, Jesus’ brothers urge him to go to Jerusalem and perform signs for his disciple of whom they do not identify. Their reasoning is that people who claim to be the Messiah do not keep that a secret. Keener sees Jesus’ brothers serving an additional function, stating that, “They serve a literary function in the narrative, challenging disciples to have deeper faith and to endure rejection by their families, a common early Christian situation” (p. 705).
• Jesus’ brothers do not consider themselves his disciple. It is obvious by their comments, “so that your disciples can see…” that Jesus’ brothers do not consider themselves to be his disciples.
• Jesus’ brothers do not believe in him as the Son of God. John as the narrator provides the parenthetical phrase revealing that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him. Bruce states that, “his brothers did not believe in him because he failed so utterly to live up to their preconception of the kind of person the Messiah would be and the kind of things he would do” (p. 172).
• Jesus declares that his time had not come yet. As he has done earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus states that his time had not come yet. Jesus will make this statement even more times and will eventually talk about how his time is near. This makes evident the fact that Jesus was following the Father’s will very closely right down to God’s perfect timing. Bruce states that, “As to his mother in Cana of Galilee Jesus had said, ‘My hour has not yet come’, so now he makes a similar reply to his brothers” (p. 172). Michaels states that, “What it does imply is that all Jesus’ movements, all his comings and goings, are in the hands of the Father, because the Father has sent him into the world. This is not rue of his brothers, because they are not similarly “sent”… The timing of his brothers’ actions does not matter; their “right time” is any time because they have no mission from God but still belong to the “the world”” (p. 427). Keener states that, “Jesus was committed to the Father’s timing… Jesus cannot guide his life according to political expediency; he must follow his Father’s leading” (p. 706-707).
• Jesus declares that the world hates him because he testifies that their works are evil. With the metaphor of light and darkness representing good and evil in view, Jesus again declares that the reason the world hates him is because he is the source that sheds light upon the world’s evil deeds. This truth will extend to the Twelve, his disciples, and eventually the Church as they adhere to the will of God. Bruce states that, “he whose will was regulated by the Father’s will would not move until that will was shown” (p. 172).

Jesus’ brothers seem to be acting in honest concern for Jesus’ ministry as they urge him to go public. But Jesus, and the audience because of the narrator, know what is in a man. Jesus’ brother’s motive is not honest as they do not even believe in him as the Son of God. Jesus, in this passage, stays true to the mission given to him by his Father by waiting for the perfect timing.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue the author provides and the setting of the scene from the narrator. Many of Jesus’ disciples who were supportive when he was performing miracles turn away because of the difficulty of Jesus’ teaching showing that were “fair-weather” disciples. Finally, Peter in a moment of clarity makes a declaration that will become his identity once Jesus is glorified and the Holy Spirit is poured out.

This passage gets its message across through the dialogue between Jesus and his brothers with the author as narrator filling in some of the blanks along the way.

This text is about Jesus’ brothers testing his perseverance to the will of the Father by urging him to go to the Festival of Shelters.  Jesus, in his perfect obedience, states that his time has not come yet. Bruce states that, “the whole incident marks his steadfast resolution not to run before the Father’s guidance nor yet to lag behind it” (p. 173). Michaels concurs, stating that, “he states clearly his reason for not going: “because my time is not yet fulfilled” … his “times” are in the Father’s hands… He will “go up to Jerusalem” only if, and only when, the Father dictates” (p. 429). Jesus also states that the world hates him because he is the source that sheds light upon the evil deeds of the world.

The Co-text

Situation of Text in Larger Presentation: 

After ministering in Samaria and Galilee, Jesus heals a lame man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. Jesus’ popularity is growing as large crowds are following him starting to understand his true identity as the Son of God. Jesus feeds over five-thousand people with a boy’s small lunch. At the end of the meal, the crowd comes toward Jesus to make him king by force. Jesus then retreats up the hill to get away from the crowd. The next day the crowds search and find Jesus. After the crowds and the larger group of disciples reject Jesus because his teaching is too difficult, Peter, speaking for the Twelve, declares that Jesus is the Son of God.

In prior passages, the identity of Jesus has been confirmed by John the Baptist. As the story continues, Jesus reveals part of his nature by changing the identity of his followers and through a supernatural creative act. Jesus declares that there are two types of people – those who believe in him and will be given eternal life, and those who do not believe and already stand condemned because of their unbelief. In a prior passage with the woman at the well, Jesus publicly declares that he is the I AM. Jesus changes this woman’s identity to such an extreme that now her neighbors come to see Jesus for themselves. Jesus receives a warm welcome in Galilee and is approached by a royal official whose son he heals. This sets the expectation that as Jesus continues his ministry he reveals more and more of his identity and mission. One-way Jesus reveals his identity is by performing signs, which he does specifically by feeding five-thousand men plus women and children with a small lunch and walks upon water. This causes conflict between him and the Jews that will eventually lead to Jesus fulfilling his mission through death on the cross and his resurrection to life.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Timing. In the prior passages, Jesus has made it clear that he only does what he sees the Father doing. Jesus states that he has come to fulfill the Father’s will. Previously, at the wedding in Cana, Jesus states that his time has not yet come. In John’s gospel, Jesus is very specific not only about adhering to the Father’s will but also about the timing of obeying the Father’s will.

Without reading further into John’s gospel, we do not see that indeed Jesus does eventually go to Jerusalem for the Festival of Shelters.

Context

(See Introduction)

Intertext

Passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Matthew 10:21-22 “21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” In his gospel, Matthew records Jesus as warning his disciples of the rejection that will come from their own family. This is exactly what Jesus is experiencing in John 7 along with John’s purpose to encourage all Christians to persevere through hardships.
• Mark 3:20-21. “20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”” In his gospel, Mark records an incident in which Jesus’ family came to seize him and take him away because they though he was out of his mind. This is similar to what Jesus is experiencing in John 7. John may also be encouraging all Christians to persevere through hardships even when their own family does not understand God’s call on their life.
• Acts 1:14. “14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” In this passage from Acts, Luke records Jesus’ mother and brothers being in the very center of the early Christian movement just after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Even though his family did not believe in him while he was alive, after his resurrection they became believers.
• This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage Jesus shows the importance of not just obeying the details of God’s will, but also obeying God’s timing of the given mission. This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”.

John 7:7 (CSB)

7 The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. 

Main Verbs

Hate

Testify

Are

Verbs

Hate

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Testify

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Are

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 7:37-44. This passage is a narrative in a Gospel in which Jesus interacts with the Jews in Jerusalem surrounding the Festival of Booths. In this passage, Jesus delivers a theological polemic.

Demarcation of the Passage

There is little agreement across the English translations surveyed as to how to demarcate this passage.

• CSB, NRSV, CEV. The CSB, NRSV, and CEV demarcate this passage as belonging to two separate sections. The first section includes 7:37-39 entitled The Promise of the Spirit (CSB). The second section includes 7:40-44 entitled The People are Divided over Jesus (CSB).
• ESV, NLT. The ESV and NLT demarcate this passage as belonging parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 7:37-39 entitled Rivers of Living Water (ESV). The second section includes 7:40-51 entitled Division Among the People (ESV).
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 7:1-39 entitled Jesus Teaches at the Feast. The second section includes 7:40-53 entitled People’s Division over Jesus.
• NIV. The NIV demarcates this passage as one belonging to the larger section that includes 7:25-44 entitled Division Over Who Jesus Is.
• CEB. The CEB demarcates this passage as one belonging to two separate sections. The first section includes 7:1-13 Jesus Goes to Jerusalem. The second section includes 7:14-52 entitled Jesus Teaches at the Temple.
• NLT. The NLT demarcates this passage as one belonging to two separate sections. The first section includes 7:10-24 entitled Jesus at the Festival of Booths. The second section includes 7:25-36 entitled Is this the Christ?
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as belonging to the larger section that includes 7:14-53 entitled Could It Be the Messiah?
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as cohesive section entitled The Living Water: Further Messianic Debate. 
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to the larger section that includes 7:37-8:29 entitled The Last Day of the Festival: Jesus and the Pharisees.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 7:37-39 entitled Source of Rivers of Life. The second section includes 7:40-44 entitled The Multitude Divided.

The textual marker that assists in demarcating this passage is the comment from the narrator stating that, “On this last day…” indicating a change in time from the previous section. Michaels states that, “The phrase, “Now on the last day, the great day of the festival” (v. 37), serves as a marker, setting off what follows from what had transpired “already at the middle of the festival”” (p. 461). The section that follows this one changes locations and characters as it focuses on the temple guards that were sent to arrest Jesus.

Moving the boundaries of this passage undermines the teaching of this and the surrounding passages.

The Argument of the Text

John uses a narrative to record the actions and conversations of Jesus at the Festival of Shelters in Jerusalem. There are four characters in this scene: Jesus, the crowd who believes that Jesus is The Prophet, the crowd who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, and the crowd who believes that Jesus cannot be the Messiah. All four characters in this passage speak. Jesus declares that those who believe in him will have rivers flowing from deep within them. The narrator then describes the reaction of the crowd.

The issues in this passage:

• Jesus welcomes those who are thirsty to come and to him and drink. Jesus cried out to the crowd. This was not a secretive declaration made by Jesus. He said this so that those who were interested in coming to him would hear his invitation. Just like the woman at the well, Jesus was inviting the crowds in Jerusalem to come to him for eternal provision.
• Jesus declares that those who believe in him will have streams of living water flowing from deep within them. Jesus makes it clear that belief in him will change a person from the inside out. All throughout his ministry so far, Jesus has called people to a heart change and not just a behavioral change. This change occurs from deep within the believer; from the inner most being. Michaels states that, “the believers well will never run dry” (p. 465)
• The author explains that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit who had not been given yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified. In a parenthetical statement, the author clarifies what Jesus was speaking of when he described “streams of living water.” At this point in Jesus’ ministry there was unclarity even among those closest to Jesus. But once the Spirit was poured upon God’s people, the Holy Spirit revealed and explained truth that was previously hidden. Michaels states that, ““living water” is nothing other than “eternal life”, and… “the Spirit” is the source of eternal life” (p. 467).
• Some of the crowd believed that Jesus was The Prophet. Keener states that, “Because Jesus’ gift of living water could remind hearers of Moses’ gift of water, the claim that Jesus is “the prophet” probably refers to the eschatological Mosai prophet expected on the basis of Deut 18:18” (p. 730). Hays states that, “So those who fail to accept Jesus as the Messiah are ignorant of both his human Davidic lineage and his heavenly origin. This double level dramatic irony comes in to play, however, only when 7:40-44 is read and its canonical inter-textual contexts” (2016, p. 294).
• Some of the crowd believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Keener states that, “Others suspect that he is the Christ; both titles are true, though the popular Jewish conceptions represented in each prove short of Johannine Christology” (p. 730).
• Some of the crowd believed that Jesus could not be the Messiah because Scripture states that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. Some of the people in the crowd that day remembered scripture that describes the Messiah being born in Bethlehem. Thinking that Jesus was born in Galilee, this did not add up with Old Testament prophecy. In reality, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Keener states that, “others were put off by his Galilean origin, as some had by his apparent origin in Nazareth” (p. 730).
• The author informs his audience that some of the crowd wanted to seize Jesus, but no one laid a hand on him. Some of the people in the crowd could not see past their natural preconceived beliefs of what the Messiah would say and do. This blindness to the truth prevented them from hearing God’s call to become a disciple of Jesus. Instead, they attempted to seize Jesus for blasphemy. Since Jesus’ time of fulfillment had not yet arrived not one laid a hand on him.

There are several different reactions by the characters in this story. Some of the crowd believe in Jesus’ teaching as the Messiah. Others in the crowd believe that Jesus is deceiving people and has a demon. While the Jews are astonished at his teaching because they know he has not been formerly taught their only true concern is with the status quo and maintaining the control they currently have. Jesus continues to confront his audience revealing spiritual truth to them.

The indicators for how to make decisions about how to react to the various characters come mostly from the dialogue and information provided by the author.

This passage gets its message across through Jesus’ teaching and the response of different groups of people in the crowd as to the identity of Jesus.

This passage is about the response to Jesus’ teaching from different groups of people. As Jesus teaches, he welcomes people to come to him and drink. Some believe he is The Prophet, others believe he is the Messiah, others believe he cannot be the Messiah because he is from Galilee.

The Co-text

After ministering in Samaria and Galilee, Jesus heals a lame man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. Jesus’ popularity is growing as large crowds are following him starting to understand his true identity as the Son of God. Jesus feeds over five-thousand people with a boy’s small lunch. At the end of the meal, the crowd comes toward Jesus to make him king by force. Jesus then retreats up the hill to get away from the crowd. The next day the crowds search and find Jesus. After the crowds and the larger group of disciples reject Jesus because his teaching is too difficult, Peter, speaking for the Twelve, declares that Jesus is the Son of God. This sets the stage for Jesus to go to Jerusalem once again for the Festival at Booths. In the preceding passage, Jesus makes his presence known at the middle of the festival and teaches the crowds.

In prior passages, the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders builds. The religious leaders take notice of Jesus during his first visit to Jerusalem and then as his popularity among the people grows throughout Palestine. Eventually, the Jewish religious leaders are threatened to such a degree that they begin to look for ways to arrest and eventually execute Jesus. This conflict will eventually lead to Jesus fulfilling his mission through death on the cross and his resurrection to life.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Thirsty (drink). Earlier in Jesus’ ministry he ministered to the woman at the well. Jesus declared that he has living water and that anyone who comes to him will never thirst again. Similarly, at the Festival of Booths, Jesus makes this same declaration in public before the large crowds who were in Jerusalem for the festival.
• Spirit. This living water that would “flow from deep within” the believer is described as the Holy Spirit. John as the narrator informs his audience that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit whom “had not yet been given” since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
• Glorified. Many times, in modern-day Christianity, the glorification of Jesus focuses mainly on Jesus sacrifice on the cross and his shed blood. Unfortunately, this is only a portion of how Jesus’ glory was/is revealed. Jesus being glorified consists of nothing less than his confinement to a human body, his willing death on the cross, his victory over death through resurrected life, his ascension to his rightful place alongside the Father, and finally his eternal rule over creation.

Openness to Interpretive Possibilities:

Jesus escapes this visit to Jerusalem without being harmed. Some of the crowd thought that Jesus was The Prophet, others thought he was the Messiah, others thought he was a blasphemer. Because the crowd was divided, they attempted to seize Jesus. But no one laid a hand upon him. The next time Jesus goes to Jerusalem, his time is at hand. It is inevitable that the worldly powers are only going to allow so much disruption before responding with force.

Context

(See Introduction)

Customs or moral assumptions that help make sense out of this passage: It is important to understand the political and community customs of the time to make sense out of this passage. The Jews were allowed general autonomy as long as there was peace. This was beneficial to the religious leaders. If they kept the crowds in check, they would maintain control over the current temple system. Jesus was a threat to this system. The authorities are only going to allow so much disruption before they strike back.

The knowledge of this setting helps influence the reading of this text by explaining the source of the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders.

Appeal to Particular Cultural Conventions/Cues:

This passage appeals to the cultural concern of distribution of power and social roles. The Jewish leaders had an agreement with Rome – maintain the peace. Jesus was a threat to that peace. As Creator and King of the world, Jesus came to draw people away from false worldly religion and into true relationship with God.

The Interface of Contexts:

As Jesus attracted a following it caused conflict with the status quo. Jesus was calling people to true relationship with God, not a system of manageable structure. 

The same issue is true in today’s current culture. Jesus is calling his people to a heart changing relationship with him. The the status quo of the system and manageable structure of the religious powers of today is challenged. It is tempting for leaders in the church to try to create a manageable system to minister to people. 

Intertext

(See Introduction)

OT passages are alluded to in this passage and their significance in this new context: The Old Testament scriptures are full of allusions to God providing living water to those who come to him. This living water is a free gift. All anyone needs to do to receive this living water is to come to God. Along with this living water, God promises throughout the Old Testament to pour out his Holy Spirit upon his people. The Holy Spirit’s ministry to God’s people is to transform them into God’s holy people. The concept of living water and God’s Spirit would have been clear to the crowds in Jerusalem when Jesus cried out at the Festival of Booths. Jesus’ declaration was a clear that day. There was no mistaking who he was claiming to be.

• Deuteronomy 18:15-19. “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!’ 17 Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.” In this passage from the Torah, God prescribes to Moses the manner in which his people should act. Within this prescription, God declares that he will raise up a prophet. This is who some of the crowd thought Jesus was in John 7:40. Jesus is The Prophet, but he is so much more than just The Prophet.
• Psalms 78:16. “16 He brought streams out of the stone and made water flow down like rivers.” In this passage from the Psalms, the psalter reminisces of how God brought living water from a rock for the Israelites in the wilderness. If God can provide living water from a rock, how much more will he provide everlasting water from the innermost being of his people through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• Proverbs 1:23. “23 If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.” In this proverb, Wisdom personified declares that he will pour out his spirit to teach his people wisdom. This is exactly what Jesus accomplishes when he pours out his Holy Spirit on his disciples.
• Isaiah 44:3. “3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants and my blessing on your offspring.” In this passage from his prophecy, Isaiah records God declaring to him that he will pour out his spirit upon Jacob’s descendants. This is exactly what Jesus accomplishes when he pours out his Holy Spirit on his disciples.
• Isaiah 55:1. “1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost!” In this passage from his prophecy, Isaiah records God declaring to him that he will give freely to those who come to him. This is exactly what Jesus declares in John 7:37.
• Ezekiel 36:25-27. “25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” In this passage from his prophecy, Ezekiel records God declaring that he will cleans his people by sprinkling water upon them and will give them a new heart through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus accomplishes when he pours out his Holy Spirit on his disciples.
• Joel 2:28. “28 After this I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.” In this passage from his prophecy, Joel records God declaring that he will pour out his Holy Spirit upon all people. This is exactly what Jesus accomplishes when he pours out his Holy Spirit on his disciples.

Sensitivity to Other Inter-Canonical Echoes:

• Acts 2:17-18. “17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.” In this passage from his history of the first-century church, Luke records Peter’s speech to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. On that day, the Holy Spirit was poured out in an extraordinary way. Peter stood up and explained to the crowd what was happening. This was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in Joel 2:28 and the fulfillment of Jesus’ declaration of his people receiving living water and God’s Spirit.
• Acts 2:33. “33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.” In this passage from his history of the first-century church, Luke records Peter’s speech to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. On that day, the Holy Spirit was poured out in an extraordinary way. Peter stood up and explained to the crowd what was happening. This was the fulfillment of Jesus’ declaration of his people receiving living water and God’s Spirit.
• Acts 10:44-46. “44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and declaring the greatness of God.” In this passage from his history of the first-century church, Luke records Peter’s interaction with Cornelius, a Gentile. Cornelius was a God-fearer and while Peter was preaching to Cornelius’ household the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them in a miraculous way. This event marks the outpouring of His Spirit by God not just for Israelites, but for all people. This was the fulfillment of Jesus’ declaration of his people who come to him receiving living water and God’s Spirit.
• Romans 5:5. “5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul describes how God’s love has been poured out upon the hearts of his followers as evidenced by the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was the fulfillment of Jesus’ declaration of his people who come to him receiving living water and God’s Spirit.
• Titus 3:4-7. “4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.” In the letter to protégé Titus, Paul describes the gift of God’s ministry to the hearts of his people through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This was the fulfillment of Jesus’ declaration of his people who come to him receiving living water and God’s Spirit.

This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”. In this passage Jesus declares that he provides for anyone who comes to him. In this passage, that provision is the Holy Spirit who lives deep within God’s people. This passage is the “story of God and God’s people”.

John 7:37b-38 (CSB)

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”

Main Verbs

Is

Come

Drink

Believes

Have

Verbs

Is

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Conditional
• Voice – Passive

Come

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Drink

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Believes

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Conditional
• Voice – Active

Have

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 8:1-11. This passage is part of a narrative in a Gospel. This passage is certainly an addition to the original gospel that John wrote. The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain this section. Other manuscripts place this section in different locations of John’s gospel. Nevertheless, this teaching is good for moral instruction and worthy of study.

Demarcation of the Text

This passage is simple to demarcate as it is widely held to be a later addition to John’s gospel. All of the English translations and commentaries surveyed agree, demarcating this passage as one cohesive section.

• F. F. Bruce. Bruce, rightfully, demarcates this passage as one cohesive text placing it as an Appendix in his commentary.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. While Michaels leaves this passage midstream in the Festival of Shelters narrative, he treats it as an excursus in his commentary.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener, while placing it midstream in the Festival of Shelters narrative, states that, “This passage bears all the marks of an interpolation; thus, despite a few valiant attempts to rescue it for the Fourth Gospel, the vast majority of scholars view it as inauthentic here” (p. 735).

This passage begins with, “Then each one went to his own home…” In addition to that textual marker the characters and the location in this passage are different than the surrounding passages. While this passage is a cohesive text it most definitely does not belong at this stage in John’s gospel. In addition, it is most likely not original nor authored by John. This passage interrupts the flow of the Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem during the Festival of Shelters. This passage fits much better in the passion week of the synoptic gospels. It also fits better in the synoptics based on textual evidence. John, nowhere else, uses the term ‘scribes’ while that is a familiar term in the synoptics. Bruce states that, “The expression ‘scribes and Pharisees’ common in the Synoptic Gospels, but it is not Johannine; indeed, the very word ‘scribe’ is absent from John’s Gospel” (p. 414). The most plausible explanation for this passage is that it was part of the ‘Oral Gospel’ tradition and later scribes wanted this passage to be so much a part of Jesus’ story that they included it here. Either way, this passage seems very much to be a part of the story of Jesus and is valuable for his disciples to know. However, Bruce may treat it best by placing it as an appendix to John’s gospel instead midstream. He concludes that, “Whatever textual problems are raised by this passage, ‘the account has all the earmarks of historical veracity’. We may safely recognize the incident as taking place in the temple precincts during Holy Week” (p. 415). Keener states that, “The story may reflect an authentic tradition about Jesus, as many, perhaps most, scholars think; although a few have attributed the passage to an origin in Luke (which it would fit better theologically but where the textural evidence is even weaker than in John), most scholars are probably right that it stems from oral tradition” (p. 736).

Moving the boundaries of this passage to include other verses as being a part of the basic unit of this passage distracts from the specific teaching of this section complicating it with the teachings of other sections.

The Argument of the Text

This passage is a narrative with four characters: Jesus, the people, the scribes and the Pharisees, and the woman caught in adultery. Three of the characters speak: Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees, and the woman caught in adultery. This narrative gets its message across almost entirely by the dialogue with the author as narrator setting the scene and filling in a minimal amount of information.

There are several issues in this short passage.

• The scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery and make her stand in the center. Bruce points out that, “There is something highly suspicious about the accusation. Adultery is not the kind of offence that can be committed by one person in solitude; if she was caught red-handed, how was her guilty partner allowed to escape… The impression we get is that the woman’s accusers were not so much concerned with seeing that justice was done as with putting Jesus in an embarrassing situation” (p. 414)
• The scribes and the Pharisees test Jesus by reminding him that Moses commanded that such a person be stoned. The scribes and the Pharisees are setting Jesus up as the narrator states. They were not interested in upholding the law, similar to their accusations regarding the sabbath, they were interested in finding something to condemn Jesus for. Bruce states that perhaps the authorities “hoped that by setting himself against Moses he would forfeit public esteem and perhaps render himself liable to prosecution before the Sanhedrin” (p. 415). Michaels points out that even before this point in Jesus’ ministry the Pharisees were not looking for a reason to arrest Jesus. Michaels states that, “that they did this “so that they might have [reason] to accuse him” seems to forget that they already had ample reason to accuse him, and that they were in fact already seeking his life” (p. 495).
• Jesus writes in the ground with his finger. Everyone wonders what Jesus wrote in the ground. The best guess is that he probably wrote specific sins of each of the accusers. Bruce states that, “what he wrote must remain a matter of conjecture” (p. 415). Michaels affirms this, stating that, “Much has been written about what words Jesus may or may not have written, but it is all speculative” (p. 497).
• After persistence from them, Jesus tells them that the one without sin can cast the first stone. The scribes and the Pharisees are not so easily persuaded. They continue to press Jesus. So, Jesus tells them that the one who is without sin can cast the first stone.
• All of the accusers leave, oldest to youngest. As Jesus continues to write in the ground his message gets through first to the more mature and then to the younger.
• Since no one condemned her, Jesus doesn’t but tells her to sin no more. All of the accusers leave and only the woman and Jesus are left alone. Jesus tells her to go and sin no more. Bruce states that, “Evidently he accepts her accusers’ charge against her as true; his refusal to condemn her does not mean that she was not guilty of adultery, but he ‘came not to judge the world, but to save the world’” (p. 415)

In this passage, the scribes and Pharisees act in a way that is consistent with the picture the author has been painting all throughout his gospel. They are antagonistic toward Jesus trying to find a way to condemn him. In this passage they use a woman that they caught in adultery. Jesus acts with compassion toward the woman telling her to sin no more.

The indicators of how to react to the various characters comes from the dialogue each as it reveals the nature of their hearts toward the truth of Jesus and God’s kingdom amongst them.

This passage gets its message across through statements of the characters in this passage and a small amount of information from the narrator.

In this passage the author does not reveal what Jesus wrote in the ground.

This passage is about the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees who are trying to catch Jesus in a trap. To do so they use a woman that has been caught in adultery. Jesus, as the incarnate God, knows the motives of their hearts and turns the tables on them. No one harms the woman and Jesus sends her on her way.

The Co-text

Situation of Text in Larger Presentation:

The author informs his audience at the beginning prior sections that this takes place on the “last day of the festival, the great day…” The festival that the author is speaking of is the Festival of Booths. Jesus’ brothers had challenged him in Galilee to attend the festival, mocking him that anyone who was someone revealed himself in Jerusalem. The co-text reveals that everyone was searching for Jesus. The religious leaders sent the authorities to arrest him. But they do not because they are amazed at his teaching. In this passage, the scribes and Pharisees set a trap for Jesus.

The tension is high. The Pharisee’s are actively looking for an opportunity to have Jesus arrested. They have tried before, but the time was not right in Jesus’ ministry. When the servants return to the Jewish leaders without arresting him, they become condescending toward anyone who defends Jesus.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Condemnation. In this passage the motif of condemnation is key. The scribes and Pharisees condemn a woman caught in adultery to death according to the law of Moses in order to condemn Jesus, potentially to death.

Openness to Interpretive Possibilities:

Without reading further we do not see that both the Jewish leaders will continue on the trajectory that the author has already put them on. The Jewish leaders will have Jesus crucified without a legal defense.

Context

Appeal to Particular Cultural Conventions/Cues:

This passage appeals to the cultural concern of distribution of power and social roles. In Jesus’ time the religious leaders of Jerusalem garnered a tight rein upon the Jews. This allowed them to hold on to the status quo and their authority. The religious leaders’ hearts were so hardened that they did not see the truth that Jesus brought and the freedom that was available to them and the rest of their Jewish brothers and sisters.

The Interface of Contexts:

Jesus was the ultimate threat to the authorities of the day. Jesus brought the truth of the freedom of God’s kingdom. This freedom can only be realized through submission. That stood in tension with the Jewish leaders. They were not willing to submit to Jesus’ truth.

This concept is true in today’s current culture. Non-believers are unwilling to lay aside their own desires to submit to the freedom that slavery to God’s kingdom brings. This is not only true of non-believers but can be just as true for church leaders of today. It is important that the leaders Jesus has called to serve his church continue to allow God to soften their hearts to the responsibility of serving his bride. It can be a slippery slope from leading with a servant’s heart to leading with a tight grip.

Intertext

OT passages alluded to in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Leviticus 20:10. “10 “If a man commits adultery with a married woman—if he commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” In this passage from the Torah, the law requires that both the man and the woman were to be put to death. In John 8, the man is absent signaling that the motive of the ‘scribes and Pharisees’ was not true justice.
• Deuteronomy 17:6-7. “6 The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.  7 The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.” In this passage from the Torah, the law requires that the death penalty requires at least two witnesses and the witnesses are to throw the first stone. In John 8, none of the accusers are willing to stand up as a witness. 
• Deuteronomy 22:22. “22 “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.” In this passage from the Torah, the law requires that both the man and the woman were to be put to death. In John 8, the man is absent signaling that the motive of the ‘scribes and Pharisees’ was not true justice.

This passage is the wider story of God and God’s people. In this passage the truth of the condition of the heart become apparent. The hearts of the Jewish leaders are hard. They see themselves as the only ones who are righteous. They are willing to use others as a pawn to get what they want. They want to condemn Jesus; none of them are innocent but they will not stop until they put to death the innocent. This passage is the wider story of God and God’s people.

John 8:11b (NRSV)

“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.

Main Verbs

Condemn

Go

(do not) Sin

Verb

Condemn

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Go

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

(do not) Sin

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Imperative
• Voice – Active

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 8:21-59. This passage is narrative of a Gospel made up almost entirely of Jesus’ teaching with a few questions from the crowd and the narrator filling in some information.

Demarcation of the Text

As evident in the English translations surveyed there is no consensus as to how this passage should be demarcated. Generally, the translations separate this passage into smaller sections to highlight two or three teachings within this long monologue of Jesus. The three teachings are Jesus is the light, You are children of the devil, and before Abraham, Jesus was. These divisions are understandable, but this is one long narrative with the scene and characters staying the same.

• CSB. The CSB demarcates this passage by separating it into three shorter sections. The first section includes 8:21-29 entitled Jesus Predicts His Departure. The second section includes 8:30-47 entitled Truth and Freedom. The third section includes 8:48-59 entitled Jesus and Abraham.
• ESV. The ESV demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of four separate sections. The first section includes 8:12-30 entitled I Am the Light of the World. The second section includes 8:31-38 entitled The Truth Will Set You Free. The third section includes 8:39-47 entitled You Are of Your Father the Devil. The third section includes 8:48-59 entitled Before Abraham Was, I Am.
• NASB. The NASB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 8:12-30 entitled Jesus is the Light of the World. The second section includes 8:31-59 entitled The Truth Will Set You Free.
• NRSV. The NRSV demarcates this passage by separating it into three shorter sections. The first section includes 8:21-30 entitled Jesus Foretells His Death. The second section includes 8:31-38 entitled True Disciples. The third section includes 8:39-59 entitled Jesus and Abraham.
• NIV. The NIV demarcates this passage by separating it into three shorter sections. The first section includes 8:21-30 entitled Dispute Over Who Jesus Is. The second section includes 8:31-47 entitled Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are. The third section includes 8:48-59 entitled Jesus’ Claims About Himself.
• CEB. The CEB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of three separate sections. The first section includes 8:12-30 entitled Jesus continues to teach in the temple. The second section includes 8:31-51 entitled Children of Abraham. The third section includes 8:52-59 entitled Abraham and Jesus.
• NLT. The NLT demarcates this passage by separating it into two shorter sections. The first section includes 8:21-30 entitled The Unbelieving People Warned. The second section includes 8:31-58 entitled Jesus and Abraham.
• CEV. The CEV demarcates this passage by separating it into four shorter sections. The first section includes 8:21-30 entitled You Cannot Go Where I Am Going. The second section includes 8:31-38 entitled The Truth Will Set You Free. The third section includes 8:39-47 entitled Your Father Is the Devil. The third section includes 8:47-59 entitled Jesus and Abraham.
• MSG. The MSG demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of three separate sections. The first section includes 8:12-30 entitled You’re Missing God in All This. The second section includes 8:31-47 entitled If the Son Sets You Free. The third section includes 8:48-59 entitled I Am Who I Am.
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to two separate sections. The first section includes 8:21-30 entitled I am He. The second section includes 8:31-59 entitled Abraham’s Children.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two larger sections. The first section includes 7:37-8:29 entitled The Last Day of the Festival: Jesus and the Pharisees. In separating 7:37-52 from 8:12-29, Michaels states that, “In contrast to the notice locating the synagogue discourse at Capernaum, the notice locating this part of the temple discourse in the treasury does not end the discourse, nor does it signal a change of audience” (p. 486). The second section includes 8:30-59 entitled The Last Day of the Festival: Jesus and the Jews who Believed. When defending his demarcation at 8:30, Michaels states that, “it was difficult to find an excuse to begin a new section. I have begun one here only because of ta partial but significant change of audience… “The Jews who had believed him” signals quite clearly to the readers of the Gospels that Jesus is now addressing believers, not unbelievers, and more specifically Jewish believers in Christ. While many interpreters have tried to avoid this conclusion because of the harsh words Jesus later speaks to this audience, the Gospel writer’s words are open to no other interpretation” (p. 502-3).
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as belonging to the longer section that includes 8:12-59 entitled “Children of the Devil versus God’s Son”.

The textual marker that demarcates this passage is an aside, “He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come” (9:20) given by the narrator that interrupts Jesus’ teaching. From there, the narrator states, “Then he said to them again…” Presumably, the scene and characters remain the same. While there are changes in the nuance of Jesus’ teaching the overarching theme of ‘Jesus From the Father Versus the Jews From the World’ runs through this section.

Moving the boundaries of this passage to include other verses as being a part of the basic unit of this passage distracts from the specific teaching of this section complicating it with the teachings of other sections.

• In John 8:37-44, Jesus is teaching to the crowds in the temple.
• That narrative ends as the next section, John 8:45-52, changes location with the servants returning to the Pharisees without having arrested Jesus.
• The scene, John 8:12-20, again changes back to Jesus teaching to the crowds supposedly in the temple.
• It is a difficult choice to separate John 8:12-20 from John 8:21-59. It is best to separate these two sections so that the two teachings, ‘Jesus as the Light’ and ‘Jesus From the Father Versus the Jews From the World’ can receive their due study.

The Argument of the Text

This passage is a narrative with three characters: Jesus, the Jews, and the Jews who believed. Halfway through the passage it is difficult to discern the difference between the Jews and Jews who believed.  This narrative gets its message across by words that Jesus speaks and the questions the Jews ask.

The issues in this passage:

There are several issues in this passage.

• Jesus declares that he is going away and where he is going the Jews cannot come. Again, Jesus alludes to his ascension into heaven and states that the Jews cannot follow him there. Bruce states that “The incarnate Word is to be on earth in a visible form for a limited period only… if they let the opportunity slip, it will not recur. The time of his visible presence with them will have passed, and they will seek him after that in vain” (p. 191).
• Jesus states that the Jews will die in their sins because they do not believe in Jesus. Michaels states that, “It is a matter of life or death, not just slavery or freedom” (p. 508). Keener states that, “Ironically, Jesus was dying to deliver them from sin and death, but they would die in sin anyway because they rejected his testimony” (p. 743). Keener adds that, “Some think Jesus’ use of the “I am [he]” in 8:24 means “I am the Messiah.” More than likely, however, it reflects a theophanic formula from Isa 43:10, as 8:58 confirms” (p. 744). Keener concludes that, “This is a typical Johannine double entendre: by putting Jesus on the cross, they will inadvertently exalt him to glory, fulfilling the Father’s earthly mission for the son” (p. 745).
• Jesus says he is from above, not of this world, while the Jews are from below, of this world. 
• Jesus states that when they lift him up, they will know he is from the Father. It will be revealed to the world that Jesus is who he says he is once his Father glorifies at his resurrection and ascension. Bruce states that, “his being ‘lifted up’ on the cross is not only pictured as the first stage of his journey back to the Father: it is in itself his exaltation, the occasion of his being glorified” (p. 191). Michaels states that, “Each time the “lifting up” of Jesus on the cross is mentioned in this Gospel, something good comes of it, whether the prospect “that everyone who believes might have eternal life in him” or that, as Jesus says, “I will draw them all to myself”” (p. 491-2).  Brown points out the double entendre of being ‘lifted up’, stating that, “John's repeated use of the language of Jesus being "lifted up" (Greek hypsoo), a term that can indicate spatial elevation: Jesus will be lifted up on a cross to die. But the term can also mean to be exalted to a place of honor. John plays on both senses of the word to show how Jesus' death will ironically be his exaltation" (p. 12).  Michaels states that, “If God were truly their Father, they would love God’s messenger and welcome him into their world, but they have not done so” (p. 516).
• As Jesus was speaking many people believed in him. Bruce states that, “many of his hearers were convinced by his words without waiting for the final evidence of his ‘lifting up’” (p. 196). Keener states that, “Frequently John mentions that many “believed” in Jesus, but at least in many of these cases this faith proves inadequate to persevere for salvation. …their faith collapsed when it was challenged” (p. 746).
• Jesus said to those who believed that if they remain in his word, they will be set free. By remaining in Jesus, one is set free. Jesus is speaking of freedom from sin. This statement confuses the crowd as they think he is speaking of worldly enslavement.
• Jesus states that everyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin. Bruce states that, “there is another kind of slavery than social or economic slavery. Sin is a slave-master, and it is possible even for people who think of themselves as free to be enslaved to sin” (p. 197).
• Jesus states that if the Son sets you free you will be free. Just as Jesus has been given the authority to give life and to judge, he has also been given authority from the Father to set captives free. Keener states that, “Jesus’ promise of spiritual freedom was altogether appropriate on a festival commemorating Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness after being freed from slavery… Many who listened to him believed but would not persevere to the end of the discourse; this is not the saving faith of which the Fourth Gospel speaks” (p. 747).
• Jesus speaks from his Father; they speak from their father. Jesus begins to explain that the crowd is of a sinful nature while he is of righteous nature. Jesus acts in a way that reflects the Father, humanity acts in a fleshly way that reflects their father. Bruce states that, “children are those who reproduce the father’s qualities… now he denies their claim to be the children of God because nothing of the heavenly Father’s character is to be seen in them” (p. 200). Keener states that, “Jesus beholds and imitates his Father’s activity, as well as hearing him. By contrast, Jesus’ opponents act the way they do because they hear and imitate their father. Because the act to which Jesus refers is their desire to kill him, Jesus will claim that their father cannot be Abraham, who did not seek to kill anyone, but rather the devil, the author of murder and murderers” (p. 754). Keener continues, stating that, “There was no way to belong to God and do his works without sharing his nature, and this was possible only for those born from him; it could not come from ethnicity” (p. 757). 
• Jesus states God is his Father while the devil is their father. In this statement, Jesus makes it clear that he is from God the Father while the crowd is of their father the devil.
• Jesus says when the devil speaks, he speaks lies because that is his nature. The devil’s nature is selfish and fleshly, of a lying nature.
• Jesus says they do not listen to him because they are not from God. As the tension begins to build in this interaction, Jesus declares that they do not listen to him because they are not from God. Michaels states that, “As the devil’s children, they are predisposed to believe the devil’s lie and not the truth of God” (p. 521). Keener states that, “Jesus has been speaking of paternity on a spiritual level, his interlocutors are probably hearing him on a literal level, as his interlocutors in this Gospel often do; without the Spirit, they cannot hear him any more than they could have seen the kingdom” (p. 760).
• The Jews accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon. At this point in the dialogue, the Jews are totally misunderstanding Jesus. Michaels states that, “They are claiming not merely that he is wildly mistaken or insane, but that he is genuinely demon-possessed. …this may have been a rather common opinion about Jesus among some…” (p. 522). Michaels also points out that, “Jesus in this Gospel comes as “a Jew” to the Samaritans and as “a Samaritan” to the Jews – a stranger to everyone, yet offering life and salvation to all” (p. 523).
• Jesus says that if anyone keeps his word, they will not see death. Jesus reiterates that those who abide in him will not see death. Bruce states that, “It is his Father’s glory that Jesus seeks to promote by obediently delivering his message; he is not concerned for his own reputation. He can trust his Father to take care of that, and in fact he, above all others, receives ‘the glory that comes from the only God’ (John 5:44)” (p. 203). Michaels states that “The translation “never ever” is deliberately redundant, for the expression “not see death” is already emphatic, as if to say “By no means!” or “Never!” and the added phrase (“forever”) simply adds to it the prospect of eternal duration” (p. 526).
• Jesus says that before Abraham, I AM. In this verse, Jesus clearly utilizes the divine title, ego eimi. Bruce states that, “The words, ego eimi, which NEB renders ‘I am what I am’, are capable of a wide range of meaning in this Gospel. On the most pedestrian level, they mean ‘It is I’, as when Jesus identifies himself to the disciples on the lake (John 6:20). But when Jesus uses these words in this Gospel one wonders whether the Evangelist’s thought is moving on two planes simultaneously” (p. 193). Michaels points out that this is “the third time in the temple discourse that Jesus has used the “I am” formula without a predicate” (p. 533). Michaels concludes that, “it is clear that the formula in the Greek Bible as in the Hebrew is interchangeable with “I am the Lord,” or “I am God” (p. 534). Keener states that when Jesus declares that he existed eternally before Abraham, the Jews would have seen that statement as, “a blatant assertion of deity which could not easily be misinterpreted” (p. 766). Keener concludes that, “When “I am” lacks even an implied predicate, however, it becomes unintelligible except as an allusion to God’s name in the Hebrew Bible or LXX” (p. 769-70).
• The Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus, but he was hidden from them and went out of the temple. Finally, Jesus has gone too far. He has clearly declared that he is God. The Jews can stand it no longer and it is time to execute what they see as a blasphemer. Miraculously, Jesus is hidden and escapes the temple as his hour has not yet come. Michaels states that, “Jesus’ answer is unequivocal, and to his hearers deeply offensive… To the reader it sounds unfinished, but Jesus has no need to finish it. His hearers can finish it for themselves: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob,” with the implication that “I am not the God of the dead but of the living”” (p. 535). Keener states that, “the reaction of Jesus’ interlocutors suggest that they finally understand his claim to deity – but do not believe it” (p. 772).

The characters, Jesus and the Jews, are mostly hostile toward each other. Initially, Jesus speaks in vague terms that could be difficult to understand as the Jews have rigid preconceptions of the expected Messiah’s identity. However, as the passage concludes, Jesus speaks clearly by utilizing the divine name, I AM. While the Jews do not believe what he says, they now understand who he is claiming to be. As non-believers they have no choice but to execute Jesus for claiming to be God.

Jesus continues to speak boldly. The Jews continue to be divided about whether Jesus is the Messiah or if filled with a demon. The author continues to give the audience information about what each character is thinking and what each character believes.

This passage gets its message across through statements that Jesus makes and questions that the Jews ask in response to his statements.

This text is about Jesus declaring that he is from God the Father and that those who adhere to his words will not die. Jesus ends his teaching by using the divine name, ego eimi, to declare that he is God.

The Co-text

Situation of Text in Larger Presentation:

• In chapter seven, Jesus attends the festival of Booths. At the beginning of chapter seven the author informs his audience that the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill Jesus. The tension at the festival is high. There are some who speak well of Jesus and some who say he is deceptive. Finally, in the middle of the festival, Jesus begins to teach.
• On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus begins to teach again in the temple.
• The scene then shifts from the temple to the Pharisees and their servants. The Pharisees attempt to have Jesus arrested, but the Temple guards are astounded by the authority he speaks with.
• The scene then shifts back to Jesus teaching again in the temple treasury. The author concludes this passage by stating that the Jews did not seize Jesus because his hour had not come.
• In this passage, the scene seems to shift again as the author states that, “Then he said to them again…” Again at the end of this dialogue between Jesus and the Jews, the author describes in detail that the Jews picked up stones to execute Jesus but he slipped away from them leaving the temple.

The tension is high. The Pharisee’s are actively looking for an opportunity to have Jesus arrested. They have tried before, but the time was not right in Jesus’ ministry. Any interaction between Jesus and the Pharisee’s is likely to result in a conflict. This passage ends with the Jews actively attempting to execute Jesus.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Die in sin. Jesus warns the Jews that they will die in sin. Over his various teaching in Jerusalem, he has presented the Jews with the truth of his identity. At this moment, everyone is well aware of who he is claiming to be. While this is not particularly a warning, Jesus lets people know of their fate for rejecting him.
• Going away. Jesus has mentioned ‘going away’ previously. The Jews do not completely understand him, but Jesus assures them that there will come a day that this will be made clear.
• From above. In this teaching, Jesus focuses on the additional concept of the difference between the heavenly kingdom – being from above and the earthly kingdom – being from below. 
• From below. Jesus states clearly that the Jews are from below. He also teaches about the devil as the father of lies and the Jews being children of the devil.
• Truth. Jesus teaches about truth and juxtaposes that against lies that the devil speaks. 
• Freedom. Jesus presents the concept of freedom and slavery. Jesus declares that those who accept him as God’s Son are set free. 
• Slave. The Jews are confused about Jesus’ rhetoric regarding freedom from sin and being a slave. The Jews respond by stating that they have never been slaves.  Jesus then teaches about slavery to sin.
• I AM. Jesus ends his teaching by stating very clearly that he is God. Jesus uses the divine name – ego eimi to end his teaching. The Jews are furious that Jesus claims to be God and attempt to execute him for blasphemy.

Openness to Interpretive Possibilities:

Without reading further we do not see that indeed the Jews will ‘lift’ Jesus to be glorified. Jesus will be ‘lifted up’ on a cross to be crucified. This will start the process of him being ‘lifted up’ in glory. From there, Jesus will resurrect from the dead defeating death and will ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of his Father.

Context

(See Introduction)

Socio-Historical Setting:

Keener informs us “Mediterranean antiquity as a whole was suspicious of self-praise except under very restricted circumstances. Such self-praise constituted a challenge to the status quo of public honor, inviting the censure of others” (p. 740). Indeed the Pharisees do speak up. But as Keener explains their burden of proof is skewed. It is the Pharisee’s that should be looking for the witnesses required of the Law as they are looking for a way to execute him. From Jesus’ perspective, he is only highlighting witness to his identity. Not only does he provide a witness, but this witness is beyond human, is divine, and is indeed YWWH. The Pharisee’s judge themselves when they do not recognize this by testifying themselves that they do not know who Jesus is, which means they do know who his Father is.

The knowledge of this setting influences the reading of this text by explaining what is going on in the passage as it could be confusing if misunderstood.

Appeal to Particular Cultural Conventions/Cues:

The Jews were monotheists. They believed in one God and only one God. To claim anything in addition to that would be blasphemy which was punishable by death. In this passage, Jesus clearly claims that he is God. The Jews had no concept of the trinity, a concept that is difficult to understand for any human to wrap their understanding around even after two thousand years of scholarship.

This passage appeals to the cultural concern and convention of distribution of power. Jesus is claiming to be God. If this is true than he deserves complete surrender. If this is false than he is guilty of blasphemy and is deserving of execution per Jewish law.

The Interface of Contexts:

This passage stands in tension with the world it is addressing as the Jewish religion is monotheist. The Jews had no concept of the trinity and no understanding for accepting Jesus as Son of the Father – God.

Even today after two thousand years of scholarship, the concept of the trinity is difficult to grasp. In addition to this, many people find it difficult to accept Jesus as who he claimed to be. Many people in Jesus’ time and today also find it laughable that the savior of the world would be humiliated by dying on a cross.

Intertext

(See Introduction)

OT passages alluded to in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Exodus 3:14. “14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” In this passage from Exodus, Moses asks God who he should tell the Israelites sent him. God responds by stating, ‘Tell them I AM sent you.’ This became known to the Israelites as the divine formula for God. Throughout John’s gospels, Jesus uses the divine formula either implicitly (double entendre) or explicitly. In John 8:58, Jesus uses the divine formula explicitly which is why the Jews are incited to immediately execute Jesus by stoning him.
• Leviticus 24:16. “16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native.” In this passage from Leviticus, God directs the Israelites to execute anyone who “blasphemes the Name.” In 8:58, Jesus uses the divine formula “I AM” to declare that he is indeed God. This is why the Israelites attempted to execute him in 8:59.
• Deuteronomy 32:39. “39 See now that I alone am he; there is no God but me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal.” In this passage, God declares to the Israelites that he alone is God. This is the struggle that the Jews listening to Jesus were dealing with. While they were expecting the Messiah to come, they were not ready to accept Jesus of Nazareth as that Messiah.
• Isaiah 41:4. “4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I am the Lord, the first and with the last—I am he.” In this passage from the prophet Isaiah, God utilizes the divine formula to explain his identity. Throughout John’s gospels, Jesus uses the divine formula either implicitly (double entendre) or explicitly. In John 8:58, Jesus uses the divine formula explicitly which is why the Jews are incited to immediately execute Jesus by stoning him.
• Isaiah 48:12. “12 “Listen to me, Jacob, and Israel, the one called by me: I am he; I am the first, I am also the last.” In this passage from the prophet Isaiah, God utilizes the divine formula to explain his identity. Throughout John’s gospels, Jesus uses the divine formula either implicitly (double entendre) or explicitly. In John 8:58, Jesus uses the divine formula explicitly which is why the Jews are incited to immediately execute Jesus by stoning him.

Other passages brought to mind by a reading of this one, and how this might inform a canonical reading of this text:

• Romans 6:12-23. “16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, 18 and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. 21 So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. 22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life! 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In this passage from his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul explains what Jesus was alluding to when he told the Jews that they were slaves and they would die in their sin.

This passage is the wider story of God and God’s people. In this passage Jesus states that those who believe in him will be set free from sin. Richard B. Hays affirm that this passage echoes Abraham, stating that, “When he received the word of God, Abraham believed it and left the security of his own people to follow God‘s call. Likewise, this echo would suggest, those who hear the word of God in Jesus should believe it and abandon the security of their own social position, risking rejection by their own people” (2016, p. 290). Jesus states that soon he will be lifted up. Jesus ends his teaching by stating clearly that he is God. This passage is the wider story of God and God’s people.

John 8:31a-32 (CSB)

“If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Main Verbs

Continue

Are

(will) Know

(will) Set

Verb  

Continue

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Conditional
• Voice – Active

Are

• Tense – Present 
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

(will) Know

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

(will) Set

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Genre

(See Introduction)

John 9:13-34. This passage is a narrative within a gospel in which the Jewish leaders question the man Jesus healed and his parents.

Demarcation

While there is a spectrum of demarcations across the English translations surveyed, there is a common agreement to demarcate this passage as one cohesive section.

• CSB, NASB, NRSV, NIV. The CSB, NASB, NRSV, and NIV demarcate this passage as one cohesive section entitled The Healed Man’s Testimony (CSB).
• ESV, MSG. The ESV demarcates this passage as belonging to a longer section that includes 9:1-41 entitled Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind. 
• CEB. The CSB demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two longer sections. The first section includes 9:8-17 entitled Disagreement about the Healing. The second section includes 9:18-38 entitled Conflict Over the Healing.
• NLT. The NLT demarcates this passage as belonging a longer section that includes 9:1-34 entitled Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind.
• CEV. The CEV demarcate this passage as belonging to the larger section that includes 9:13-41 entitled The Pharisees Try to Find out what Happened (CEV).
• F. F. Bruce. Bruce demarcates this passage as belonging to three separate sections. The first section includes 9:13-17 entitled Interrogation by the Pharisees. The second section includes 9:18-23 entitled Interrogation of the Parents. The third section includes 9:17-34 entitled Second Interrogation of the Man.
• J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels demarcates this passage as belonging to the larger section that includes 9:1-38 entitled Jesus and the Man Born Blind.
• Craig S. Keener. Keener demarcates this passage as belonging to parts of two separate sections. The first section includes 9:8-23 entitled Initial Responses to the Sign. The second section includes 9:24-34 entitled Debating Jesus’ Identity.

This passage is closely tied to the passage before and after. In the previous passage Jesus heals a man born blind, the man washes in the pool of Siloam, and his neighbors question him. In this passage, the location, the characters, and most significantly the theme of the passage changes. The passage begins with the textual marker, “They brought the man…” Throughout this passage the focus surrounds the identity of Jesus.

Moving the boundaries of this passage to include other verses as being a part of the basic unit of this passage distracts from the specific teaching of this section complicating it with the teachings of other sections.

The Argument of the Text

The author utilizes a historical narrative to communicate his point to his audience. This narrative gets its message across by the information the narrator provides for his audience and the words that are spoken by its characters.

There are four characters in the narrative: the neighbors, the healed man, the Pharisees, and the healed man’s parents. Three of the characters speak, the Pharisees, the healed man and his parents. The Pharisees question the healed man and his parents to determine what took place and who was responsible.

In this passage the indicators of how to react to the various characters comes from the dialogue and the information given by the narrator. The Jewish leaders are confrontational and demeaning. The healed man’s parents dodge the conflict to protect their social standing. The healed man is confident in his experience with Jesus and gives glory to God for being healed.

The issues in this passage:

• The Pharisees question the healed man. This sign that Jesus performed does not go unnoticed by the most influential people in the community. This healing was big news. The leaders of the community needed to determine the details. Bruce states that the neighbors “felt that a religious issue was involved, and they respected the Pharisees as authorities on the law and its interpretation” (p. 211).
• The healing took place on the Sabbath. One of the biggest issues was that this healing took place on the Sabbath. This was a big deal, but there is more to the story than this. Doing good on the Sabbath was acceptable in some circumstances. The conflict was more about Jesus and who he claimed to be. Bruce points out that, “one of the categories of work specifically forbidden on the sabbath in the traditional interpretation of the law was kneading, and the making of mud or clay with such simple ingredients as earth and saliva was construed as a form of kneading” (p. 212). Keener states that “most Pharisees probably would have opposed making a clay poultice on the Sabbath for someone not in danger of dying. The procedure, more than the healing act itself, would have violated Jesus’ contemporaries’ views. What functioned initially as a typical miracle story now becomes a setting for theological conflict” (p. 786).
• The Jews question the healed man’s parents because they did not believe he was born blind. The Jews were not satisfied with the answers they got from the healed man, so they question his parents. Bruce states that, “limited to matters of known fact as the parents’ testimony was, it made unpalatable hearing for the interrogators: they confirmed that their son had been born blind, and since he had plainly recovered his sight, it was difficult to avoid the conclusion that a miracle had been performed” (p. 215). Michaels states that “The “fear of the Jews” that intimidated the crowds even then seems to have grown, and the same fear silences the parents of the man born blind” (p. 554).
• The healed man’s parents protect their standing in the synagogue. When the Jews question the healed man’s parents, they dodge the questions. They are more concerned with their standing in the community than they are of testifying to the truth of what happened. Bruce states that, “the man’s parents were sufficiently intimidated to keep their mouths shut and say nothing about Jesus, either good or bad” (p. 216). Keener states that, “the parents had allowed their son to subsist by begging may imply that their parents themselves were poor; to be put outside the synagogue community might have reduced whatever other income the father was able to procure” (p. 787). Keener concludes that the parents “resemble others who fear to contradict the authorities, especially lest they be dismissed from the synagogues, because they cared more for human honor” (p. 788).
• The Pharisees and the man discuss if Jesus is a sinner. Throughout this passage, Jesus being a sinner is a topic of this passage. The Jews claimed that Jesus was a sinner because this took place on the Sabbath. The healed man claims that Jesus could not be a sinner because God does not listen to sinners. In the end, the Jews declare that the healed man is a sinner. Keener states that, “either Jesus is a sinner, or Jesus is from God, and it is ultimately only the latter claim that matches the data” (p. 789).
• The Pharisees stand behind being disciples of Moses. Throughout the preceding passages, the Jews have used Moses to defend their stance. They continue to stand behind Moses in this passage even after Jesus told them that if they truly were Moses’ disciples they would believe in Jesus.
• After the man ridicules the Pharisees, they throw him out of the synagogue. The healed man seems to put the Jews in their place by refuting the Jews claims with reason. This incites the Jews to throw the man out of the synagogue.

The author is addressing an audience interested in hearing about the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The author is communicating this story from a different perspective than has been utilized in the past. J. Ramsey Michaels in his The Gospel of John (NICNT) as he compares the Fourth Gospel to the Synoptics states, “For centuries the conventional wisdom was that he did know the other three, and consciously wrote to supplement them” p. (28). He continues, “While there are exceptions, most interpreters today view the Gospel of John as independent of the other written Gospels (even Mark), yet familiar with many of the unwritten traditions behind them” (p. 29). The author’s audience is aware of some forms of this story. The author has chosen to use a different method to communicate to his audience.

The author is asking his audience to decide the significance of the life of Jesus Christ to their own life. This is a story that the audience has been presented with before, so the author has chosen to use a different method of communication that supplements what has been presented before. (see F.F. Bruce, p. 13).

It seems the audience may need more information or information presented in a different way so they can make a decision about the significance of the life of Jesus Christ to their own life. The author wants his audience to come to know the truth about Jesus Christ and to know that it is being communicated from an eyewitness.

The narrative gets its message across through dialogue and the information provided by the narrator.

This passage is about if and how a man born blind could now see.

The Co-text

Just prior to this passage, Jesus healed a man born blind. The healing took place only after the man went to the pool of Siloam to rinse as Jesus instructed. After rinsing the man was healed of his blindness. When he returned home, his neighbors questioned him about what had happened. All this sets the scene for the neighbors to take the man before the religious leaders to be questioned.

There is a lot of tension building in the narrative as Jesus has had several confrontations with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Jesus has just left a scene in which the Jews had picked up stones to put him to death. However, Jesus “hid himself”. The tension continues to build as Jesus heals a man born blind on the Sabbath.

Development of Important Words/Motifs:

• Sinner. Throughout this passage, the Pharisees debate with the healed man if Jesus is a sinner or not. The Pharisees base their claim upon Jesus healing on the Sabbath. The healed man argues that Jesus could not be a sinner since God does not listen to sinner. 
• Miracles. This passage originates from Jesus performing a miracle. But this miracle is not just a miracle, but a sign. A sign that Jesus was God. This claim is what is threatening the religious leaders.

By reading further it is revealed that Jesus searches out the healed man since he was thrown out of the synagogue.

Context

(See Introduction)

One important custom that helps to make sense out of this passage is the role of the synagogue. The temple was the center of social life during the first century. Not only did the temple function as the center of the Jewish religion and sacrificial system, but it was also the center of the community, the education center, and the central banking system. The temple was the center of life for Jews during Jesus’ time. The threat of losing access to the temple would have been life changing.

The knowledge of this cultural truth helps to make sense of the fear the healed man and his parents had of being disciplined by the religious leaders.

Appeal to Particular Cultural Conventions/Cues:

This passage appeals to the cultural concern of distribution of power. The Jewish leaders welded a lot of power with the threat of banning Jewish people from the synagogue. Being banned from the synagogue would have had a tremendous impact on a person’s life.

The Interface of Contexts:

In this passage, a man who had been born blind was healed. In ancient thought, being born impaired was seen as a sign of a curse for sin. Therefore, the healed man was seen as being born sinful. However, this healed man had such a profound life change by Jesus that his confidence allowed him to confront the Jewish elite.

Intertext

OT passages are alluded to in this text and their significance in this new context:

• Isaiah 35:5. “5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” In this passage from the prophet Isaiah, the healing of the blind and deaf is attributed to God. This was the stance of the man who was healed. God opens the eyes of the blind; therefore, Jesus must be from God.

This passage is the embodiment of the wider “Story of God and God’s People”. 

In this passage, the healed man had experienced a life-changing interaction with Jesus. This gave him the confidence and assurance needed to stand up to the Jewish elite and stand firm in his experience with Jesus. This passage is the embodiment of the wider “Story of God and God’s People”.

John 9:30 (CSB)

30 “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.

Main Verbs

Is

Told

Know

Is

Opened

Verbs

Is

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Told

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active

Know

• Tense – Future
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Is

• Tense – Present
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Passive

Opened

• Tense – Past
• Mood – Indicative
• Voice – Active