Four Feasts, Part 2: Tabernacles
At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus offers living water and declares Himself the Light of the World. The division over who He is leaves only two choices, believe or reject.
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The vision of Ozark Christian College is to glorify God by evangelizing the lost and edifying Christians worldwide. The mission of Ozark Christian College is to train men and women for Christian service as a degree-granting institution of biblical higher education.
Classroom Instructions
Lesson
The Living Water (John 7:1-52)
Feast of Tabernacles (This feast will be the context for 7:1-10:21) ● Celebrated harvest and God’s provision. ● Commemorated the wilderness wanderings and God’s provision. – Tents/booths – Parade of lights – Parade of water
Living Water ● Multiple layers of OT imagery and promise (cf. Jer 2:13; Ez 47:1-10; cf. 1 Cor 10:4). ● Water flows in John’s writings from beginning to end (Rev 21-22).
Question: John’s emphasis on trial language is leading us to a place to ask: What is our verdict? Do we believe in Jesus or not?
The Trial of The Adulterous Woman (John 7:53-8:11)
Question: Is this story original in John’s account? ● Earliest manuscripts do not include it (earliest is in the 5th c.) and when they do include it, they mark it with an asterisk. ● When later manuscripts include this story, they place it in differing locations: − After John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38, or Luke 24:53. ● The language differs from what we typically find in Johannine literature. ● The context surrounding the story appears seamless when this story is removed.
How should we understand and treat this story? ● Option #1: Treat it as unreliable and inauthentic. ● Option #2: Treat it as a reliable and authoritative tradition. ● Option #3: Clarify the nature of the evidence and treat it as an early tradition (but tenuous in its reliability, as do most translations). It does not add or remove anything that is pivotal for our faith.
Question: Who is on trial in this story? [This thematically connects it to John’s gospel]
What did Jesus write in the dirt on the ground?
● Some manuscripts add that Jesus wrote the sins of each of them (Bruce, 416). ● Some suggest he was acting as judge and writing down the sentence before rendering it (T.W. Manson in Bruce, 515). ● Conclusion: We don’t know.
The Light of the World (John 8:12-59)
I am the Light of the World (8:12) ● In the women’s court, where the celebration of lights took place during the feast! ● Not far from the official meeting place of the Sanhedrin ● During the Feast of Tabernacles, the menorah would start here and be paraded around as a symbolic reminder of God’s leadership through the wilderness.
Accusations about Patronage ● Abraham is not your Father ● You don’t know or follow the Father ● You are still slaves (in your sin)
Before Abraham was, I am (8:59), and they picked up stones to stone him (8:59)
The Division leaves two choices:
- Believe
- Reject
Reflection Questions:
- What is the “Egypt” holding you back today? Will you remain there, or follow God through the wilderness toward the life He has promised?
Four Feasts, Part 2: Tabernacles Instructions
Lesson
The Living Water (John 7:1-52)
Feast of Tabernacles (This feast will be the context for 7:1-10:21) ● Celebrated harvest and God’s provision. ● Commemorated the wilderness wanderings and God’s provision. – Tents/booths – Parade of lights – Parade of water
Living Water ● Multiple layers of OT imagery and promise (cf. Jer 2:13; Ez 47:1-10; cf. 1 Cor 10:4). ● Water flows in John’s writings from beginning to end (Rev 21-22).
Question: John’s emphasis on trial language is leading us to a place to ask: What is our verdict? Do we believe in Jesus or not?
The Trial of The Adulterous Woman (John 7:53-8:11)
Question: Is this story original in John’s account? ● Earliest manuscripts do not include it (earliest is in the 5th c.) and when they do include it, they mark it with an asterisk. ● When later manuscripts include this story, they place it in differing locations: − After John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38, or Luke 24:53. ● The language differs from what we typically find in Johannine literature. ● The context surrounding the story appears seamless when this story is removed.
How should we understand and treat this story? ● Option #1: Treat it as unreliable and inauthentic. ● Option #2: Treat it as a reliable and authoritative tradition. ● Option #3: Clarify the nature of the evidence and treat it as an early tradition (but tenuous in its reliability, as do most translations). It does not add or remove anything that is pivotal for our faith.
Question: Who is on trial in this story? [This thematically connects it to John’s gospel]
What did Jesus write in the dirt on the ground?
● Some manuscripts add that Jesus wrote the sins of each of them (Bruce, 416). ● Some suggest he was acting as judge and writing down the sentence before rendering it (T.W. Manson in Bruce, 515). ● Conclusion: We don’t know.
The Light of the World (John 8:12-59)
I am the Light of the World (8:12) ● In the women’s court, where the celebration of lights took place during the feast! ● Not far from the official meeting place of the Sanhedrin ● During the Feast of Tabernacles, the menorah would start here and be paraded around as a symbolic reminder of God’s leadership through the wilderness.
Accusations about Patronage ● Abraham is not your Father ● You don’t know or follow the Father ● You are still slaves (in your sin)
Before Abraham was, I am (8:59), and they picked up stones to stone him (8:59)
The Division leaves two choices:
- Believe
- Reject
Reflection Questions:
- What is the “Egypt” holding you back today? Will you remain there, or follow God through the wilderness toward the life He has promised?