In considering John 7
● notice that Jesus again, as in chapter 6, deals with crowds and what they are saying and wanting rather individuals, as in chapters 3 and 4,
● understand that Jesus manages the pace of his revealing, as the language “my time has not yet come” (6, 7, with similar language in 30) suggests,
● register the proliferating questions about Jesus (1, 15, 20, 25, 26, 31, 35, 35, 36, 41, 42) and his place, purpose, and identity,
● notice that three times Jesus refers to “him who sent him/me” (18, 28, 33), distinguishing between what the people see and him lies behind what they see and suggesting that larger forces are at work,
● ponder the challenge: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (24), seeing how it remains today,
● connect the “living waters” (38) back to the woman at the well and Jesus’efforts to raise her sights,
● hear in the words “no one ever spoke like him” (46) an echo of the closing words of the Sermon on the Mount at the end of Matthew 7,
● meet Nicodemus again with his sympathetically prudent words and his connection both to Jesus and to the Pharisees, and
● consider a mnemonic device for this chapter: Chapter seven- Is this man from heaven?
Thank you,
Randy Tumlinson