John 7:1-5 1And after these things, Jesus walked about in Galilee. For he would not go in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2Now the Feast of Booths of the Jews was at hand.
Verse 1 gives a sweeping introduction of Jesus’ continued travel. John gives no time indicator because his purpose and method is not to write a historical narrative but to show Jesus’ power and person so that the readers might accept him as the genuine Son of God. John only records certain high points or “signs” that show Jesus’ divinity. Jesus would not let the disbelief of some stop him from his ministry. Many did come to believe. The message about the hope of eternal life needed to be proclaimed widely. However, the conflict in the plot of the gospel story continues to grow after chapter 6 with the note that the Jews of Judea were seeking to kill him (see 5:18). Jesus received two different responses in his earthly ministry, and these responses are still present today: believe for eternal life, or reject or ignore in disbelief with the destiny of judgment.
John connects many of Jesus’ activities in this Gospel to Jewish feasts. The next reference is to the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. This feast went far back into Israel’s history and was one of the practices God established on Sinai to remind the people of his love and grace towards them (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:33–36, 39–43; Deuteronomy 16:13–15). The feast took place in the month of Tishri, around September or October, which would have been about six months after the feeding of the five thousand. The Jews would build temporary booths of leaves and branches to remind themselves of the sojourn of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery. Two practices of this feast become symbolic in the next two chapters: the drawing of water and the lighting of a lamp. Many people went to Jerusalem for the feast. As the story unfolds, the theme of believing in Jesus becomes central once again. Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament feasts, yet many of the Jews missed the connection, even Jesus’ own family.
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