So He sends the brothers to the feast, showing that He does not compel them to remain with Him if they do not wish to.
Look, then. Against the twofold accusation brought against Him, of cowardice and love of glory, He also makes a twofold defense. Against the accusation of cowardice, He says that I reprove the works of the world, that is, of those who care about worldly things. And I would not reprove if I were cowardly, as you think. Against the accusation of love of glory, He does not compel them to remain with Him. And if He were guilty of love of glory, He would not have sent them away. For the glory-loving and the proud strive, on the contrary, to have many followers. Two faults were attributed to Him; naturally He set against them two defenses as well, showing that their opinion was weak.
Jn. 7:9. Having said this to them, He remained in Galilee.
Jn. 7:10. But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
Why did He say to His brothers that He would not go to the feast, and then went? He did not simply say "I will not go," but "I am not yet going," that is, with you. At first He refused to go because the Jews were burning with rage, and then He went toward the end of the feast, when, naturally, their rage had also subsided.
And in another way. He did not act contrary to His words. For He went up not to celebrate, but to teach, and not with pomp, as panegyrists usually do, but secretly. He hides Himself in order to confirm His Humanity. For if He had appeared, they would have become enraged at Him with the intention of killing Him. But He would not have allowed them to do this, since the time of suffering had not yet come, but, being in their midst, He would have escaped suffering and would have appeared to have been incarnate only in appearance. Therefore as a Man He avoids and withdraws, arranging His own affairs.
Jn. 7:11. The Jews then sought Him at the feast and said: Where is He?
Jews, out of intense hatred, did not mention His name. They did not say "where is Jesus?" but "where is He?" So much did they hate even His name alone.
Note, if you will, their inclination toward murder. They do not respect the time of the feast, but wish to seize Him during it. For this reason they are seeking Him. Such was their reverence and respect for the feasts! Such was the righteousness of their deeds!
Jn. 7:12. And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him: some said, He is a good man; others said, No, but He deceives the people.
Jn. 7:13. However, no one spoke openly about Him, for fear of the Jews.
There was a dispute among the people about Him, because opinions about Him differed. The rulers said that He deceives the people, while the people said that He is good. Those who called Him good were from among the people. The correctness of this is evident from the word of the evangelist: "no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews." Obviously, those who did not dare to speak of Him were from the people and kept silent, fearing the rulers of the Jews. The words "He deceives the people" show that those slandering Him are from among the rulers. For if they were from the people, they would have said that He deceives us. But those who say that He deceives the people show that they are not from the people, but from the rulers. Take note, if you will. The authorities are everywhere disingenuous, while the subordinates remain straightforward, but, lacking firm resolve and being still imperfect, they are timid.
Jn. 7:14. But in the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
Why did He come in the middle of the feast? In order to soften their anger and so that they would listen to His words with greater diligence and attention, when the feast was not blocking their hearing. For at the beginning of the feast it was natural for them to be distracted by the festive surroundings. When He appeared suddenly, everyone in general listened to Him, both those who called Him good and those who called Him a deceiver; the former, in order to receive some benefit and to marvel; the latter, in order to seize upon Him and arrest Him as an impostor.
Jn. 7:15. And the Jews marveled, saying: How does He know the Scriptures, not having studied?
What He taught, the evangelist did not say, but that He was imparting something wondrous, with which He also occupied them, the evangelist showed by the words, that "they marveled, saying, How does this man know letters, having never learned?"
However, although they marveled, their malicious intention did not change. For they did not marvel at the teaching, nor did they accept the words, but "they marveled at how He knows the Scriptures," that is, they were perplexed, astonished, as is usual with the envious. For example, someone has a poor neighbor. Then it happens that he repeatedly passes by in expensive clothing. The envious neighbor, seeing him, says: "How is it that he, being so poor, has dressed so richly? Where did he get such clothing?" He says this not because he is amazed at the matter, but because envy gnaws at him. And he uses such words to defame his neighbor: "Without a doubt," he says, "he stole that clothing." So also the Jews. "How," they say, "does He know the Scriptures?" — without a doubt, by the power of Beelzebul.
Jn. 7:16. Jesus, answering them, said: My teaching is not Mine, but of Him Who sent Me;
Although it would have been better for them to conclude from this that there was nothing merely human in Him, since they did not wish to acknowledge this, He Himself answers them and teaches that His teaching is from the Father and God. "Nothing is Mine," He says. "Of Myself, contrary to God, I say nothing, but what belongs to the Father, that is what I speak."
Jn. 7:17. Whoever desires to do His will shall know concerning this teaching, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from Myself.
Having said that My teaching is not Mine, that is, not contrary to God, but the teaching of My Father, He says that whoever does the will of God, that is, whoever makes himself at home with virtue and is not a slave to envy and is not darkened by groundless hatred against Me, that person will know the power of My words — whether I speak from the Father, or something foreign and contrary to Him.
He who does the will of God is the one who delves into the Scriptures and the prophets. Such a person can learn concerning the Lord's teaching that it is from God. For the prophets portray the Lord not as an opponent of God who speaks of Himself, but as One who speaks and does all such things as are pleasing to God.
Jn. 7:18. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but He that seeketh the glory of Him that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
Then He adds another argument as well, namely: he who speaks of himself, that is, wishes to introduce his own teaching, does this for no other reason than to acquire glory for himself through it. But I do not desire to acquire glory for Myself, but seek the glory of Him who sent Me. Why then would I teach that which is foreign to Him? Therefore, I am true, and there is no unrighteousness in Me, that is, I do not appropriate to Myself the glory belonging to another, which would be unjust. Thus My teaching possesses both truth and righteousness. It does not proceed from ambition, so as to be false and unjust. For the ambitious man both lies, saying of himself things that exceed his worth, and commits unrighteousness, appropriating to himself glory that is another's and in no way belongs to him. But the Lord seeks glory for the Father and ascribes nothing to Himself. Clearly, He is true and righteous.
We have said many times already, and will say now, that when the Lord says something humble about Himself, one should not think that He speaks this way because He is supposedly lower than the Father by His Nature, but He speaks this way so that He would not be considered an opponent of God, out of condescension to the weakness of His listeners, because He was clothed in flesh, and in order to teach us humility, so that we would not say anything great about ourselves. But when the Lord speaks lofty things and about His own glory, then we must believe that He speaks so exaltedly about Himself because of the greatness of His Nature, for He is equal to the Father in Essence.