2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
September 3, 2025
John 7:32:8:11
Quick recap: We pick up where we left last week with Jesus in his final year of ministry approaching the final week leading to his crucifixion. By this point Jesus has infuriated the Jewish religious establishment. They are trying to trap him and put him on trial for something to get rid of him. He has been teaching in the temple all week and the crowds are beginning to put their faith in him. He teaches like no one that they have ever seen before. Despite what the religious establishment says about him, they can do nothing but marvel at his grasp of the scriptures and his ability to teach them. Jesus had taught them that he was the true living well that springs forth to give any who would drink eternal life. Jesus arrived in Judea at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23, Numbers 29). This was a feast that occurred during the first part of our month of October. During this seven-day feast, the Jews lived in booths made of tree branches to commemorate their forefather’s pilgrimage through the wilderness. On each of these seven days, the High Priest would go to the Pool of Siloam and draw out water in a golden vessel. This water would then be poured out on the altar where the parts of the sacrifice were arranged. Along with water, according to Jewish custom, wine was also poured out (Lev 23:37) as a drink offering. As the water and wine poured out, the people sang to the Lord and shouted for joy. It was a time of great celebration and worship for the people. This kind of celebration continued for 7 days. The eighth day was called the great day of the feast. On this day, sacrifices were again offered, but there was no singing and no shouting, this was known as a solemn day of repentance before the Lord. Another element was missing on this day as well; there was no water poured out on the eighth day.
Verses 32-39. Hearing the crowd’s discussion about Jesus being the Christ, the Jewish leaders send the temple Guard to arrest Jesus. Jesus begins to tell the crowd that his days are numbered. He is going to another place. He chooses His words very carefully, so that His meaning is not immediately apparent, but also so that His disciples will recall what He has said after His death and resurrection. The Jews have no idea what He means. The crowd begins to discuss with one another just what these words of Jesus mean. The more Jesus teaches, the more confused some people are. Then comes “the last day of the feast,” the time when the most people will likely gather at the temple, the climax and emotional high point of the week. Jesus stands up in the temple and cries out once again, “If anyone is thirsty, let himcome to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scriptures says, 'From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” On the day when no water is present in the ceremony, Jesus stands up and declares that he is the fountain of living water. He compares himself to the symbols that were given throughout the feast which spoke to the way that God supplied water to the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus stands as a greater fountain than that which was given in the wilderness. He stands as a fountain that produces life and life everlasting. Water that can quench the thirst of souls. This living water is the Holy Spirit. The crowd had no idea what he was talking about, but later his disciples would understand.
Verses 40-44. As Jesus taught, some in the crowd declared he was a prophet, others declared he was greater than a prophet. They saw him as the Christ. Others in the crowd doubted that he could be the Christ because he was from Galilee. Of course he lived in Galilee but was born in the city of David, Bethlehem. Some people just assumed that he was born in Galilee, but they did not know he was born in Bethlehem because he was born when the census was required and Mary and Joseph had to travel and as they traveled, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The people were divided and debating about Jesus. Some in the crowd were there to seize Jesus. They were the temple guards. They were supposed to arrest Jesus, but as they listened to Jesus they also began to believe, and they saw no reason to arrest Jesus.
Verses 45-49. The temple guards left the synagogue and returned to the chief priest and Pharisees. The religious leaders questioned the guards about returning without Jesus. They could only reply by stating that they had never heard anyone teach like Jesus. They couldn’t see any reason for arresting him. Jesus’ words might have been controversial and divisive, but they were not criminal. His words rang with wisdom and authority. The temple guards recognized that Jesus spoke as one who was greater than the very men that sent them to arrest him. The Pharisees rebuked the guards accusing them of being easily deceived. Their argument was that if none of the Pharisees believed then no one else should believe. Theses men were saying that if Jesus doesn’t have their endorsement then he is not legitimate. They accused the guards and the crowd at the temple as ignorant of the law and unable to discern the truth.
Verses 50-52. Just as the Pharisees were rebuking the soldiers, one of their own, Nicodemus, spoke up for Jesus. Nicodemus does not support Jesus, but asserts the notion that Jesus deserves to be treated fairly according to the law. The law required that an accused get a chance to hear the charges against him and respond with a valid explanation. A person could not be condemned without a trial. The Pharisees were trying to condemn Jesus without first hearing him defend himself. Nicodemus speaks for fairness, but his colleagues argue that he is on the side of Jesus. They tell Nicodemus that he must be from Galilee because it appears that he is not on their side but on the side of Jesus. They tell Nicodemus that no prophet ever came from Galilee. As a matter of fact, Jonah, Hosea, Natlum, possibly also Elijah, Elisha, and Amos were from Galilee, but they were assuming that no one could remember that little fact. The leaders did not want to think that someone greater than them could come from the sticks. Their ideas about the kingdom of God and how the Messiah would be were contradicted in Jesus. He stood for everything they did not.
Chapter 7:53-8:1-11. This section of scriptures is not found in all the ancient manuscripts. This section of scriptures is about a feeble attempt of the Pharisees to get Jesus to condemn someone caught breaking the law. If they can get Jesus to agree that she is guilty and condemn her to death, logically they could use the same method to condemn him. They assume that if they find someone who is plainly guilty, Jesus will have no choice but to condemn her to death which is what the law demanded.
Verses 53-8:1-3. For a moment Jesus goes one way, and the religious leaders go another way. They both meet back at the temple several days later. Jesus is teaching and the religious leaders bring to Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. They only bring the woman when they should have brought the man and the woman according to Deut. 22:24 & Lev. 20:10. Given the rules of the law on how such matters were to be handled, it seems that two witnesses would have had to observe this woman and her partner in such a way that there was no doubt about what was taking place. So, we have the woman. but no man and no witnesses. Jesus will deal with this and make the teachers of the law look like students.
Verses 4-6. The teachers of the law tell Jesus that this woman was caught in adultery, and the Law of Moses says we should stone her for such an act. They wanted to trap Jesus thinking he had only two ways to go. He would either have to condemn her or forgive her. They knew he loved sinners and thought he would forgive her thus placing himself in opposition to the law of Moses. If he said condemn her, they could challenge his entire ministry and use his willingness to condemn this woman against him. Jesus doesn’t say anything but rather bends down and writes something in the sand. John doesn’t say what he writes, nor does Jesus speak what he writes. He is silent on the matter.
Verses 7-8. Jesus straightens up for one moment and breaks his silence by asking the crowd who would throw the first stone. According to the law stated in Deuteronomy 17:6-7 “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.” Jesus wants to know who the witness against this woman will be. The witness needed to be one who was blameless with regard to this matter. Once again Jesus shows he knows the law better than the teachers. Notice Jesus doesn’t say that the woman is innocent. Since the teachers of the law want to follow the law so carefully, Jesus shows them that they should follow it in its entirety. The teachers of the law call her an adulteress. How do they know? Most likely they knew her all too well, and Jesus called them to the carpet on the matter saying that if she should be condemned, her partner should be condemned as well. If one guilty person is going to be stoned, then all the guilty should be stoned. After saying this, Jesus returns to writing in the dirt a second time.
The crowd of stoners slowly disperses leaving only Jesus and the woman. Jesus straightens up and tells her that she has no one to condemn her and that she should go away and leave her life of sin. She was guilty, but she stood before the one who was the only one who could condemn her, and he forgave her and gave her a second chance.
click here to select another lesson