John 7:16 – Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  Jesus was explaining to His listeners what He was teaching was from the One who sent Him; He’s teaching what was taught to Him by the Father.  Those who attempt to know God God’s will and do it will know intuitively that Jesus was telling the truth about Himself.  Jesus’ statement indicates that He did not receive His teaching from the rabbis nor did He fabricate it, instead His teaching came directly from God.

John 7:17 – If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.  Obedience will help to determine true doctrine because the individual will adhere to the doctrine. As he or she submits to the Word of God they will have a new look on life and their surroundings.  The Bible is the written Word of God; when we search the Scriptures; God will begin to give a revelation of His Word.  Jesus taught of the Father, He didn’t teach of Himself. The Bible is the only book we can read and as the reader willingly submits to it; they will become sons of God whether they are male or female.  In the Spirit, there is neither male or female when it comes to being a child of God.  Because they have the inward witness within them what is true or what is not true.

John 7:18 – He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.  Whether it’s a minister or layperson when they are directing the people to themselves, they are seeking glory for themselves and not God’s glory.  All glory, honor, and praise belong to God and when we seek to give Him glory we don’t take the credit and the individual will let others know who the glory belongs to.  When God is giving the glory the individual speaks and teaches about the Father; the individual has forsaken themselves and has completely submitted themselves to God which causes them to be righteous in the eyes of God.  The test of a teacher or lay person is whether or not they deliver God’s message.

John 7:19 – Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?  Why go ye about to kill me?  Jesus reminds them of the law Moses gave them and they didn’t keep it (Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob – Deuteronomy 33:4). Jesus knew they didn’t keep the law and He knew they wanted to kill Him because they heard of God but they didn’t know God and because they didn’t know God they couldn’t understand or believe the doctrine Jesus was teaching.  The religious leaders were breaking Moses’ law by seeking to kill Jesus.  The Pharisees spent their days trying to achieve holiness by keeping the rules they had added to God’s laws.  Jesus’ accusation that they didn’t keep Moses’ law stung them deeply in spite of their pompous pride in themselves and their rules, they did even fulfill a legalistic religion because they were living far below what the Law of Moses required.

John 7:20 – The people answered and said Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?  Rather than believing Jesus was the Son of God and the power He used came from God they said He had a devil and lied about them seeking to find a way to kill Him.  Most of the people were probably not aware of the plot to kill Jesus.  There was a small group looking for the right opportunity to kill Him, but most were still trying to decide what they believed about Him.

John 7:21 – Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.  One work probably refers to the healing of the man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years and lying by the pool waiting for someone to assist him in the pool when the angel would come at certain times and stirred the water and the first one stepped in was healed.  When Jesus saw him, he asked him did he want to be made whole and when his reply was yes, Jesus healed him, and instructed him to rise, take up his bed and walk.  They knew how long the man had been unable to walk as well as about how long he had been waiting at the pool.   When they witness Jesus healing him they all marveled being an eye witness of the miracle.

John 7:22- Moses, therefore, gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.   Jesus reminded them they continue to keep the instructions of Moses for circumcision.  Circumcision was to be performed on the eighth days after the birth of male child.  If the eighth day after the birth was a Sabbath, the circumcision was still performed even though it was considered as work.  While the religious leaders allow certain exceptions to Sabbath laws they allowed none to Jesus; who was simply showing mercy to those who needed healing. They circumcised a man on the Sabbath keeping the law and was against Jesus healing a man because it was on the Sabbath.

John 7:23 – If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Jesus is asking them a question if a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath Day which didn’t apply to salvation but keeping a law that wasn’t effective, but you’re angry with me because I healed a man and made him whole both physically and spiritually.  Jesus asked why the leaders were angry with Him for making a man completely well on the Sabbath.

John 7:24 – Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.  Jesus explains to them don’t judge by what appears to be a sin by healing on the Sabbath, but judge what is right to do whether it be on a Sabbath or not.

John 7:25 – Then said some of Jerusalem, Is not he, whom they seek to kill?  Rather than accepting the instructions Jesus was giving them; they interrupt the listeners by asking if Jesus was the One they were seeking to kill.  Jesus just had spoken earlier about them seeking to kill Him and they denied it.  Maybe it was some in the crowd that didn’t  want to kill Him but accepted His teaching and His claim to be the Son of God.The religious leaders didn’t want anyone to know their plot, so they asked the question to detour what was being said.

John 7:26 –  But, lo, he speaketh boldly and they say nothing unto him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?  The people were wondering among themselves if the rulers knew that this was Jesus, the Son of God.  They had heard Him speak and He spoke the doctrine that He was teaching with boldness.  They saw the miracles He had performed, no other prophet or religious leader had performed.

John 7:27 – Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.  There was a popular tradition that the Messiah would simply appear, but those who believed this tradition were ignoring the Scriptures that clearly predicted the Messiah’s birthplace.  The Jewish people seem to have expected the Messiah to appear suddenly from nowhere.  They reasoned that since they knew where Jesus came from, He could not be the Messiah.  They were ignorant of the Scriptures because Micah had predicted the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting – Micah 5:2). Either the religious leader was ignoring the prophecy or they rejected it, either way, they weren’t accepting Jesus as the Messiah or accepting His teaching.

John 7:28 – Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.  “Cried out” signifies a loud strong emotion.  Jesus reminded the leaders that they knew His origin, their problem was that they did not know God, who sent Jesus.

John 7:29 – But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.  He explained to them they that He knew God, and was from God and was sent by God.

John 7:30 –  Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come.  Because of Jesus’ public claims of divine origin, the religious leaders sought to arrest Him. No one could lay hands on Him because His hour had not come for Him to be arrested or die.  God is sovereign and He alone sets the time. As with Jesus, so is it with us; no one can touch us without the Father’s consent.