This event takes place in the Autumn, six months before Christ would suffer the atonement, die and be resurrected. Christ leaves Galilee and ministers again in Judea.
At the Feast of Tabernacles
READ John 7:1-2, 10-13
What is the Feast of Tabernacles
(Sukkot)?
READ John 7:14-18
What will a true messenger always have?
How can you know if the message or
doctrine is true and from God?
What can be deduced from a situation
where a person is truly living what is purported to be the gospel but does not
enjoy the same “fruits” as the ancients did who wrote the scriptures?
READ John 7:19-24
Why were the Jews so angry about Christ healing
on the Sabbath?
How can one judge correctly?
READ John 7:27-36
Where did the Jews believe the Messiah
would come from?
Why did the Jews not recognize Christ as the
Messiah, regardless of where He had come from?
What does it mean that after Christ had
returned to God, the Jews would seek Him but not be able to find Him?
Last Day of the Feast: The Pouring Out
On the last day of the feast, after the
evening sacrifice, the Priests walked around the Altar of Sacrifice in the
Court of Israel seven times. There was a
vast crowd which filled the various courts of the temple and each person had a
palm frond to wave. The High Priest
(Caiaphas) went to the top of the altar, and everyone would hold their palm
branches still and vertical in the air.
The High Priest raised the pitcher of water, drawn from the Pool of
Siloam, and poured out the water onto the altar. The priests began to chant “hallelujah” or
“praise ye Jehovah”. The crowd answer
back “hallelujah” and wave their branches.
The Priest chants, “Praise, O ye servants of Jehovah. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this
time forth and for ever more!”
“Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” replies
the crowd. The Priest says, “Who is like
unto Jehovah who dwelleth on high?
Tremble thou earth, at the presence of the Lord. Hallelujah all ye nations. Praise him, all ye people!” “Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” shout
the people. “O work then now thy
salvation, Jehovah. Save us now, we
beseech thee, O Lord!” cries the Priest.
“Hosanna” (or “save now”) cry the people. The Priest finishes with: “Blessed is He who
cometh in the name of the Lord!”
“Hallelujah! Hosanna!” shout the
people. And then at this moment…
READ John 7:37-39
What did the pouring out of the water
onto the altar symbolize?
Where does that spirit or “water” come
from?
What must we/the people do to receive it?
So, what is Christ saying when He
proclaims “let him come unto me and drink”?
What does it mean “out of (your) belly
shall flow… living water”?
READ John 7:40-43
What was the reaction of the people when
Christ stood up and declared that HE had/was the living water?
Who would have been likely to have sown
doubt by reminding the people that Christ was to come from Bethlehem not
Galilee?
Why did people not know that Christ was
actually born in Bethlehem?
Last Day of the Feast: Lighting the
Great Menorahs
In the Court of the Women, there were
four massive “menorahs”, fifty feet tall, at each corner of the Court. They were taller than the surrounding walls
so that when lit, they would light the whole Temple complex. Each menorah had four large golden bowls that
were filled with olive oil and wicks.
After the Pouring Out ceremony, when the city was fully dark, priests
with silver trumpets blasted three notes to announce the lighting of the great
menorahs. Four Priests climbed the
ladders carrying torches lit from the fires of the Altar of Sacrifice and
simultaneously lit the four great menorahs.
The light was so bright in the dark night that you could pick out
details on the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley. The light symbolized that Jehovah had come to
the Temple – His presence and glory was there!
The people waved their palm branches and cried, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise be to the Lord. Praise ye Jehovah!” At that moment, Jesus again stands up and
says unto them…
READ John 8:12
In the context of the Lighting Ceremony,
what does it mean that Christ is the light of the world?
READ D&C 88:6-13
How did He attain to this light?
READ John 8:13-24
How does the Father bear record of the
Son?
Why can’t they hear the Father’s
testimony?
Where is Christ going?
READ John 8:25-29
Did Christ hide His identity from the Jews?
When will they KNOW that Christ is the
Son of God?
Why has the Father not left the Son?
READ John 8:30-36
How do we become Christ’s disciples?
What is knowledge?
How do we gain experience?
What is the testimony of another person
who says he knows something?
What is the Truth?
How do we KNOW the truth?
How will the Truth set us free?
READ John 8:37-59
What does it mean when Christ says “ye
have not known Him (God); but I know Him”?
How can you tell who your Father is?
How can Christ promise that if anyone
keeps His sayings, he shall never see death?
What does “before Abraham was, I am”
mean?
Why did they try to pick up stones to
kill Jesus?
Woman Taken in Adultery
READ John 8:2-11
What is the trap that the Pharisees are
laying for Christ with this woman?
The KJV is a poor translation of verse 7,
it should say “let him who is without THIS sin be the one to cast the first
stone” – why did these words condemn the Jewish leaders?
How did they catch this woman in the very
act of adultery?
