John 7:1

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because ¹the Jews^[a] were seeking to kill him.

John 7:1 Meaning and Commentary

John 7:1

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee
That is, after he had fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, near Bethsaida; and had had that long discourse with the Jews at Capernaum, concerning himself, as the bread of life, and about eating his flesh, and drinking his blood; and had been up to the feast of the passover at Jerusalem, said to be nigh, when he went over the sea of Galilee, ( John 6:4 ) ; otherwise the above places were in Galilee: but the case seems to be this, that after he had been at Capernaum, he went to Jerusalem, to keep the passover; and finding that the Jews still sought to take away his life, he returned to Galilee, and "walked" there; he did not sit still, or lie at home, and live an inactive indolent life, but went about from place to place, preaching the Gospel, and healing diseases; he walked, and walked about; but not as the enemy of souls, seeking to do all mischief, but to do all good, to the bodies and souls of men:

for he would not walk in Jewry;
in the land of Judea, where he had been, and tarried, and made disciples; but being rejected and ill treated, he left them; which was a prelude of the Gospel being taken from them, and carried to another people; which afterwards took place, in the times of the apostles: his reason for it was,

because the Jews sought to kill him;
for healing a man on the sabbath day, and for asserting his equality with God: not that he was afraid to die, but his time was not come; and he had work to do for the glory of God, and the good of men; and therefore it was both just and prudent to withdraw and preserve his life; for like reasons he advised his disciples, when persecuted in one city, to flee to another: and very lawful and advisable it is for good men, when their lives are in danger, to make use of proper means to preserve them, for further usefulness in the cause of God, and for the benefit of men.

John 7:1 In-Context

1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.

3 So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.

4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."

5 For not even his brothers believed in him.

Cross References

• 1. John 5:18; John 8:37, 40; John 11:53

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Judeans