A Study of John 7:10-13

“But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.”

John 7:10–13 (ESV)

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After urging Him to make a boisterous, public appearance in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths, Jesus’ brothers went up to the feast without Him because He refused to go in such a manner. However, Jesus did go to the feast quietly and privately shortly after they had gone. He clearly went with minimal fanfare because during the first days of the feast the Jewish religious leaders could not find Him despite looking around and asking where He was. There was also a lot of hushed talk about Him among the people. Some said He was a good man, but others said He was leading the people astray. Whatever they said about Jesus though, they said it quietly because they were afraid of drawing the ire of the Jewish religious leaders who were looking for Jesus to kill Him (John 7:1). It seems everyone had an opinion one way or the other about Jesus, but they were terrified of being heard talking about Him.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In verses 1-9 of John chapter 7, we learned that Jesus spent the last few months ministering in Galilee, His home region in Israel, and also that He had been avoiding Judea because the Jewish religious leaders were seeking to kill Him because He said and did things that threatened their power and influence. They were not concerned with truly knowing and doing God’s will; they only wanted to maintain their status in society and worldly politics. The time to face them would come again, but it was not the proper time, determined by God the Father, yet.

Now, the Feast of Booths was about to begin, and this was one of, if not the most, important pilgrimage festivals on the Jewish calendar when people would build temporary shelters and live in them for a week as a way of remembering how Yahweh (God) had brought their ancestors out of slavery in Egypt and through the wilderness to the land they lived in now. During this time Jerusalem, and the broader region of Judea, would have been packed full of people who made the journey to celebrate the Feast, because this was the location of the temple and the seat of power and influence in Israel. For this reason, in the first few verses of this chapter Jesus’ brothers urged Him to go into Judea, and perform the miraculous works He had been performing in front of massive crowds to gain a large following.

But the advice of His brothers came from worldly wisdom. They saw His miracles but did not believe His words. In fact they would not become believers in Him until after His resurrection (Acts 1:14). They did not accept or understand that Jesus did not come to build an earthly kingdom. He came to provide eternal, spiritual rescue for a world under condemnation for sin. His brothers and the majority of people only wanted a Savior of their own making who would satisfy their physical appetites and overthrow the Romans. But Jesus came to do something infinitely greater. To accomplish His task He would need to go to Jerusalem again, but this was not the time for a public procession and confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders. For this reason Jesus refused to accompany His brothers to Judea in a loud, public procession, but instead He chose to go quietly, and in private.

And this is exactly what we read in verse 10 which says, “But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.” This means Jesus chose not to go to the Feast as a part of a crowd and with a train of disciples in tow as His brothers urged Him to do. This also was not a deceptive act by any means. He simply decided to go quietly in a way that avoided publicity because this was the will of God the Father. John the gospel writer has shown us numerous instances where Jesus made it clear His will is perfectly unified with God the Father, and everything He does is done exactly as the Father wanted Him to do it. So, God the Father did not want Jesus, God the Son, to make a loud public journey and entrance into Jerusalem at this time. He wanted Jesus to go quietly, so that is what Jesus did.

We know Jesus was successful in making a quiet, private journey into Judea and then further into the city of Jerusalem because verse 11 says “The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?”.” “The Jews” in this verse refers to the ruling, religious leaders of Israel. Even though the people of Israel were all Jewish, it is clear John is identifying the authorities in Judea with the term “Jews” because the common people of Israel are referred to in verse 12 simply as “the people.” This distinction exists throughout John’s eyewitness gospel account. It is also abundantly clear these authorities were looking for Jesus with hostile intent because John told us in verse 1 of this chapter that Jesus had been staying in Galilee and avoiding Judea because these authorities were looking for Him to kill Him. In Galilee, Jesus had been in a region under the authority of Herod Antipas, but now they hoped He would come to Judea, where they held power, and where they could seize and silence Him.

In verses 12-13 we find out what the people of Israel’s response to Jesus was. First of all, even though they had not yet seen Him make an appearance at the Feast, we are told there was much “muttering” among the massive crowds in Judea and Jerusalem about Him. These crowds contained Jewish people not only from other parts of Israel, but from other parts of the Roman empire. It seems these crowds could not contain their curiosity and spoke about Jesus in hushed tones to avoid the ire of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. Some people said, “He is a good man,” but  others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Whatever a given person’s opinion might have been, there does not appear to have been any neutrality. Some few at this point believed in Him, many others thought He was a good man, although they perhaps did not believe Him to be the Messiah, and others believed He was a dangerous, deceptive menace. This idea is supported by other documents from antiquity as well. For example, according to D.A. Carson’s commentary on this passage,  the “Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a),” which was written after the resurrection, states that Jesus was executed on the eve of Passover because He was “a deceiver who practiced sorcery and led Israel astray.”

The main thing we see from this is that Jesus divides people. The people who heard Him and heard of Him never responded with neutrality. Even a sort of feigned neutrality today is not really neutral. To respond to Jesus with indifference is really just a passive form of hatred. To hate someone actively is to wish them dead, but to hate someone passively is to treat them like they already are dead. While we might see different shades of responses there really are only two categories and that is what John describes for us here: they either said He was a good man or that He was a wicked deceiver.

This should come as no surprise if we take Jesus’ words seriously about coming to bring the good news of His kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, to people living in the kingdom of this world. In chapter three Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was intrigued by Him and wanted to know more, about how all people, no matter their race, gender or social class must be born again of the Spirit to enter into God’s kingdom and be delivered from the kingdom of this world that is under condemnation. This means with His message of salvation and the forgiveness of sin, Jesus brought the message of a King and His kingdom that is opposed to the kingdom of this world. For this reason we should not be surprised to find that His message is divisive. Some respond positively but others respond with a vehement call for His blood. 

This is something Jesus spoke to in Matthew 10:34-36 (ESV) when He said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” The message of the gospel is divisive. It tells us we are sinners deserving of judgment, and most people do not want to hear that (John 3:20). But this gospel then also invites us to trust in Jesus and receive forgiveness for our sin, promising that when we believe in Jesus we will be delivered from the kingdom of this world wherein we are enslaved to sin and death, and into the Kingdom of Heaven wherein there is fullness of joy forever. To accept this message requires us to accept the offensive truth that we have sinned against God and we deserve punishment, and also to believe Jesus took that punishment for us, died and rose again. It also requires us to forsake the kingdom of darkness we are born into, but no kingdom responds to such a threat without opposition, and the kingdom of this world is no different.

As we declare this message Jesus has told us to expect that it will bring opposition; even violent opposition at times. But He also tells us to take courage and follow Him through the suffering into glory in Matthew 10:37-39 (ESV) by saying, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus is not telling us not to love our family or others. He is telling us not to love them more than Him. He created us and gave us the family we have, but as close as our relationships with family might be, no relationship is closer than our relationship to our Creator who loves us and laid His own life down for us. In fact, it is only by loving Him more than anyone else, that we can truly begin to love others rightly, out of the overflow of the love we receive from Christ.

Importantly, Jesus knows what it is like to not be believed by family (John 7:5), or even to be  opposed by family (Mark 3:21). As tragic as that might be though He tells us we must make a choice. And when opposition comes against us, we must stand firm in our loyalty to King Jesus and His kingdom by the power of His Spirit in us. The message we who follow Jesus have believed will cause division, even though we endeavor to deliver this message with love, courtesy and respect. As we who follow Jesus fulfill the mission He gave us of proclaiming the good news of Him and His kingdom, we should not be surprised when we are also met with hostility or derision. But we also must look at how our Lord never reviled in kind. He always spoke the truth in love; never compromising on the truth but always speaking it with grace.

Lastly for this passage, as the people muttered to each other about Jesus, they did so quietly because verse 13 tells us, “Yet, for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.” Again, this refers to the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. The masses of the common people of Israel knew their leaders did not want people talking about Jesus, and they were careful not to speak openly of Him for fear of punishment. Here we can see the hatred of the leaders had now reached a point where even Jesus’ followers were afraid of hostility. And this pattern has continued to this day just as Jesus said it would in John 15:18 (ESV) “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”

Governments and various organizations around the world continue to try to silence the message of Jesus and His coming kingdom that anyone can be a part of when they trust in Him. However, no power on earth or in the spiritual realm can stop the advance of Christ and His church just as He also said in Matthew 16:18 (ESV) “…I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Countless genocidal campaigns have been launched against the followers of Jesus throughout the millennia and yet, the church still stands. People are still forsaking the kingdom of darkness and placing faith in Jesus, and the church of Jesus continues to advance and spread in the hearts of men, women and children around the globe.

The message of Jesus is divisive because it rails against the fallen corrupt kingdom of this world and offers life, joy, and peace for eternity to all who believe in Jesus. No kingdom is overthrown without resistance, and the kingdom of darkness is no different. But the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ continues to and will advance until the day of His triumphant return when all things will be made new (Revelation 21).

If you want to be a part of this eternal kingdom where there is no crying, suffering or death anymore, and instead where joy, love and peace flourish into eternity, now is the time to make a choice. Today is the day of salvation; tomorrow is never guaranteed. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, forsake the fallen kingdom of darkness, and you will be saved.

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us to think about how the gospel of Jesus will be received in this world. The message of Jesus is a divisive one because it tells us the truth about our fallen, sinful state. But it is also a message of hope that proclaims the coming of a new kingdom; the Kingdom of Heaven. Like Jesus, many times we will be rejected or even hated for proclaiming the gospel, but it is not us who are being rejected or hated; it is our Lord. We who follow Him are His representatives on earth, and we are called to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to those lost in darkness (for such were we before receiving salvation). We are not alone in this task though. Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us, and He is always present with us in the Person of the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the people we have been sent to lovingly speak the truth to.

With this knowledge in mind, and the example of our Lord who came down here to this hostile kingdom to save us, despite the hatred and violence He knew He would face, we can now take action to show the truth and love of King Jesus and His kingdom in both word and deed. Sometimes it will be time to speak the truth in love, and other times it will be appropriate to take action in love. Whatever the case, we must also pray for the Holy Spirit to work through us and our imperfections to draw people to Himself. It is His work and He accomplishes it by His power, not ours. We are called to be faithful stewards of the gospel message: the message of a King and His coming Kingdom. This message will divide, but it will divide people out of and away from the kingdom of this world which is passing away, and bring them into the Kingdom of our Lord which will never fade.

Self Reflection:

1. How have I responded to opposition to the gospel message in the past?

2. How did Jesus respond to opposition to His gospel? (Matthew 5:43-48)

3. I have put my faith in Jesus and I belong to Him and His kingdom now. Does my life reflect that allegiance?

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Brothers: “ἀδελφοὶ”, “adelphoi”; noun, nominative, plural, masculine | subject – a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.

-Feast: “ἑορτήν”, “heortēn”; noun, accusative, singular, feminine | prepositional object – a feast day, festival.

-Publicly: “φανερῶς”, “phanerōs”; adverb | adverb of manner – openly, publicly, clearly, plainly.

-Private: “κρυπτῷ”, “kryptō”; adjective, dative, singular, neuter | substantival adjective – in secret, privately, hidden.

-[The] Jews: ““Ἰουδαῖοι”, “Ioudaioi”; adjective, nominative, plural, masculine | substantival adjective – Jewish as respects to birth, origin, religion; those who (not only at Jerusalem, but also in Galilee, cf. John 6:41, 52) opposed [John’s] divine Master and his Master’s cause — especially the rulers, priests, members of the Sanhedrin, Pharisees — [John] does not hesitate to style οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι (The Jews), since the hatred of these leaders exhibits the hatred of the whole nation toward Jesus.

-Muttering: “γογγυσμὸς”, “gongysmos”; noun, nominative, singular, masculine | subject – grumbling, muttering, a secret debate.

-[The] People: “ὄχλοις”, “ochlois”; noun, dative, plural, masculine | prepositional object – a crowd, a group of people who have gathered in some place; also: the common people (John 7:12b “ochlon”).

-A Good Man: “Ἀγαθός”, “Agathos”; adjective, nominative, singular, masculine | predicate adjective – upright, honorable, free from guile, particularly from a desire to corrupt the people.

-He Is Leading [the people] Astray: “πλανᾷ”, “plana”; verb, present, active, indicative, third person, singular | finite verb – metaphorically, to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive.

-Openly: “παρρησίᾳ”, “parrēsia”; noun, dative, singular, feminine | dative of manner – freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech.
-Fear: “φόβον”, “phobon”; noun, accusative, singular, masculine | prepositional object – fear, dread, terror.