This section of Scripture seems to begin with good news: “As he was
saying these things, many believed in him” (John 8:30).  However, we
quickly see that the “belief” that these people have is extremely
shallow.  They say that they are followers of Jesus, but when he says
that a right relationship with God may only be obtained by faith in
him, they are offended. These people help us to understand what
happened to so many people during Jesus’ time of ministry.  Many of
the Jews who first believed in Jesus had only a shallow belief, and
would eventually turn against him.  They hated Jesus because, in
reality, they hated the one who sent him.

Their hatred of God the Father and God the Son is revealed in three
exchanges.  First, Jesus challenges their superficial belief by saying
that only those who continue to abide in his words are able to
experience true freedom.  They object that they have no need to be set
free.  They were the physical descendants of Abraham, and as such they
were spiritually superior to all other nations.  Jesus responds that
they were enslaved by sin.

This leads to the second exchange, which involved their true lineage.
Jesus tells them that if they were the spiritual children of Abraham,
they would have joy over him as Abraham did.  However, they are
neither his children nor God’s children, since they hold their hands
over their ears whenever Jesus speaks.  They desire to kill him,
because they have been influenced by their true father, Satan.

The third exchange involves Jesus’ identity.  It begins with the Jew’s
insisting that Jesus is irreligious and possessed by a demon.  Jesus
responds by saying that he is not irreligious, he seeks only to honor
his father.  Those who hear his words and believe in him will have
eternal life.  This statement seems ridiculous to the Jews. After all,
Abraham died.  How can Jesus claim give eternal life, thereby making
himself to be greater than Abraham?

Jesus responds by saying that he does not glorify himself, but the
Father is the one who glorifies him. Jesus says that he saw Abraham
rejoice over the glory he had been given by the Father.  The Jews
regarded this as the most ridiculous statement of all!  How could a
mere man, less than fifty years old, claim to have seen Abraham?
Jesus responds by saying that he has not only seen Abraham, but
existed before Abraham existed.  He is God.  The Jews tried to stone
him, but were unable to do so, for his time had not yet come.

Jesus give us good news in this passage.  He tells us that he is the
light of the world, revealing light and life to men.

The Pharisees understand what Jesus is saying and then reject it based
on a legal technicality.  They say that he cannot bear witness
concerning himself, according to their interpretation of the law.
Their misunderstanding betrays the evil that exists in their hearts.

The Pharisees said that at least two witnesses were always needed in a
court to judge the affairs of humans.  Their standard worked well for
judging matters between finite men, but they were not appropriate for
this situation.  The things of God cannot be measured by human
standards.  Humans are utterly dependent on God for all revelation
concerning himself, and so they cannot dismiss his revelation simply
by saying it does not meet our expectations.  Light always reveals
other things, but it does not need other things to be revealed.

Jesus’ testimony concerning himself is valid, because he is God.  He
has come from heaven and will return to there. Also, his Father bears
witness to him.  No mere human is any position to dismiss his
testimony.  The reason for the Pharisees rejection is that they have
also rejected the one who sent Jesus.  The Father cannot be known
except through the Son, and to reject the Son is to reject the Father.

Jesus warns them again, saying that they will die in their sins if
they do not believe in him.  They ignore his warning, and ask him
again who he is.  He tells them bluntly that he is who he has been
saying he is, but they have not been listening.  Indeed, their failure
to listen would result in their lifting Jesus up on a cross; but even
then they would not understand the ultimate display of God’s love for
humans and the salvation he offers.

About six months have passed between the events of chapter six and the events of chapter seven.  The time for the Feast of Tabernacles is at hand.  In this chapter, Jesus travels to Jerusalem and finds hostility and misunderstanding there.

His brothers were convinced that he is a powerful person, and they believed that he should show the world this power.  They told him to go with them in the main crowd to the heart and center of the Jewish nation.   Then they told him he should perform jaw-dropping messianic signs so that everyone could see him and admit his greatness.  They said this because they were unbelievers.  Like so many others, they wanted the Messiah to act according to their own expectations and do the things they wanted him to do.  Jesus could not be manipulated by them.  He refused to go with them, for the time was not yet right.

Jesus waited to go to Jerusalem, and he avoided the crowds during his journey.  He knew that he was called to be a suffering Messiah, not a popular one.  It was becoming more and more dangerous to show his face in Judea, and he wanted to limit his exposure to the hostile Jewish leaders.  He did not want to end his ministry before the time was right.

There was a mixture of people at the Feast.  Some had seen him before, some had not.  When he spoke to them, some liked what he had to say, and some did not.  Most of them feared to say too much about him, since they knew the Jewish leaders were set against him.

The Feast was halfway over when Jesus finally made it to the temple.  The people who heard him questioned his qualifications as teacher, since he had no formal training, though they were nonetheless amazed at his teaching ability.  In turn, he questioned their qualifications to listen to him properly.  Jesus told them that if they knew anything about God or Moses, they would know that the words he spoke were true, because he is truth.  Furthermore, he said that they were wrong to condemn him as for breaking the fourth commandment when he healed a man on the day of rest.  Their hostility was due to an utter failure to understand him, which was in turn due to their failure to submit to God.