- 1After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
- 2Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.
- 3His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judæa, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
- 4For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
- 5For neither did his brethren believe in him.
- 6Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
- 7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
- 8Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.
- 9When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.
- 10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
- 11Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?
- 12And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
- 13Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.
- 14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.
- 15And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
- 16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
- 17If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
- 18He 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.
- 19Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
- 20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
- 21Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.
- 22Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
- 23If 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?
- 24Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
- 25Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?
- 26But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
- 27Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
- 28Then 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.
- 29But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
- 30Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
- 31And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?
- 32 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.
- 33Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
- 34Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
- 35Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?
- 36What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
- 37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
- 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
- 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
- 40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
- 41Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
- 42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
- 43So there was a division among the people because of him.
- 44And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
- 45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
- 46The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
- 47Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
- 48Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
- 49But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
- 50Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
- 51Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
- 52They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
- 53And every man went unto his own house.
KING JAMES VERSION
JOHN 7
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
John 7 — Rivers of Living Water gathers the chapter’s central movement as Jesus’s identity, authority, mercy, and saving mission are revealed.
About this illustration
The illustration centers jesus teaches amid divided crowds in the decorated temple courts while officers hesitate nearby. Other events and teachings remain in the chapter text rather than being crowded into one scene.
Scripture basis: John 7:1–53King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Tenth century AD
Codex Monacensis (GA 033)
Codex Monacensis (GA 033) is a distinct physical witness to the material transmission and reception of Scripture, identified by its own shelfmark, date, contents, and custodial history.
Luke 7:18–35 · John 7:1–13
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Tenth century AD
Uncial 0105: John 6–7 with Reading Marks and Musical Signs
Uncial 0105: John 6–7 with Reading Marks and Musical Signs is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0105, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
John 6:71 · John 7:1–46
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Eighth century AD
Uncial 0238: A Greek–Coptic Fragment of John 7
Uncial 0238: A Greek–Coptic Fragment of John 7 is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0238, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
John 7:10–12
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
First half of the eighth century AD
Codex Rehdigeranus (VL 11): Corrected Old Latin Gospels
Codex Rehdigeranus is an eighth-century northern Italian Gospel book whose Italian Old Latin base, Vulgate-adjacent portions, chapter apparatus, and extensive corrections preserve transmission as an active process.
John 7:53 · John 8:1–11 · Matthew 28:1–20
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
fifth century AD
Fragmentum Aberdonense (VL 23): John 7 on an Egyptian Papyrus
A separately cataloged Latin Gospel witness, VL 23, preserves John 7:27–28 and 7:30–31 with Eusebian section apparatus and gives material evidence for the many-text history through which Scripture circulated in the Latin-speaking church.
John 7:27–31
Prophecy Events
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
28
Psalms 69:8Rejected by His Own Brothers
Psalm 69 portrays the righteous sufferer as estranged from his brothers and treated as a stranger by his own family.
Conflictrejectionbrothers of Jesusunbeliefpublic ministry
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
28
Exodus 17:1–6The Spiritual Rock Was Christ
At Horeb God commands Moses to strike the rock, bringing water for Israel in the wilderness.
Restorationrockliving waterMoseswilderness
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Micah 5:2–5The Ruler Born in Bethlehem
Micah names little Bethlehem as the place from which Israel’s ruler would come. Watchman 33 connects the passage with Matthew and Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ birth; the pre-Christian 4Q81 manuscript preserves the Bethlehem text, but archaeology does not identify Jesus’ birthplace.
Prophetic signJesus ChristBethlehemMessianic prophecybirth
Sermons
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View sermon Are You an Editor?
In “Are You an Editor?” Pastor Dean Odle challenges Christians and ministers who selectively accept Scripture while dismissing teachings that conflict with denominational systems, popular science, or comfortable church culture. Acts 20 supplies his model: Paul declared the whole counsel of God, warned the flock, and refused to withhold difficult truth. Odle applies that principle to biblical cosmology, the continuing gifts of the Holy Spirit, repentance, prophecy, Israel, and the end times.
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View sermon Knowing the Servants of God
Dean Odle asks how believers can recognize genuine servants of God amid false prophets and teachers. Using Matthew 7, the pastoral epistles, and other New Testament passages, he argues that a true minister must be evaluated by doctrine, character, manner of life, faithfulness to Christ, and the fruit produced over time—not by charisma, predictions, crowds, or spiritual vocabulary.
Doctrine and DiscernmentApostasy and DeceptionChurch and MinistryScripture AloneChrist Alone
View sermon Showing 1–3 of 6 sermons