1 After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn’t walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.

10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.

25 Therefore some of citizens of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill? 26 Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ? 27 However we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

28 Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know me, and know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don’t know. 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

30 They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 - World English Bible

In John 7, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for Sukkot, one of the three great feasts at the Temple (Passover and the Festival of Weeks were the other two pilgrimage celebrations). Originally, Sukkot honored the fall harvest, but evolved into a remembrance of the Exodus. For seven days, the faithful would erect and occupy temporary shelters ('booths") around Jerusalem, to remind themselves of the hardships their ancestors endured to follow YHWH in the desert. According to Zechariah 14:14-16, the Messiah would appear during the celebration in the Temple.

Even though Jesus arrived in secret, he soon made his presence known in Jerusalem. The inhabitants of the capital speculated that the rulers sought his death, but he defied their intentions. Did the rulers know he was the Christ? That was unlikely, simply because the city knew he came from Galilee. The Messiah, they believed, would suddenly appear from no where to save the people. Certainly, they thought, that couldn't be this Jesus?

Jesus turned this speculation from a question of origin (where was he born) to a question of source (where did he get his power). He might have been born and raised in Nazareth, but he came from the Father (based upon his preaching and the signs he performed). This shift was the root cause of the leaders' anger. He defied social expectations when he rose above his humble roots, but he also defied religious expectations by claiming a special status with God. He acted as the Father's representative and, so, claimed a unique relationship with God. Implicitly, he was the mediator between God and humanity.

As Christians, we assume Jesus is our mediator; that is an axiom of faith. But do we focus upon the Lord as the revelation of the Father? That thought is worth a lifetime of contemplation.

Look upon Jesus for a moment. Do you see the Father through him?