John 7: Jesus' Brothers Did Not Believe in Him
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” 9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.
After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee… (1a) The other Gospels are full of many works and sayings between the two feasts, but John includes Jesus’ powerful ministry in the region of Galilee between Passover and Tabernacle of the same year with the words “Jesus walked in Galilee.”
For He did not want to walk in Jewry (1b), "in Judea, the southern division of Palestine." (Barnes' Notes) The northern kingdom had already gone apostate and here was the remnant; yet probation was closing for them, as well. The keys of the kingdom were soon to be taken from them and given to the Gentiles. "This term Jewry is retained in this place alone from the oldest English translation. It signifies a place or quarter where Jews reside; and a section of London bears the name. Were a revised translation to be made, doubtless this word would be replaced by Judea."
(Whedon's Commentary)
"The Lord tarried in Galilee. How He must have sought souls there as He walked in Galilee! He would not ‘walk in Judea’ (not 'Jewry,' as in the Authorized Version) because ‘the Jews’, that is the leaders of the people, ‘sought to kill Him’…1(b) ” (Gaebelein), "referring back to John 5:18." (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) ”They had two things (as appeareth from thence) against Him: 1. His violation of the Sabbath (as they thought) by healing him that lay at the pool of Bethesda. 2. His making Himself equal with the Father." (Poole's Annotations)
Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers— “no doubt sons born to Mary after His own birth, urged Him to go to Judea” (Gaebelein)— therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” (2-4)
"The Jews’ Feast of tabernacles was at hand.—This began on 'the fifteenth day of the seventh month' (Leviticus 23:34), i.e., the 15th of Tishri, which answers to our September. The interval, then, from Passover to Tabernacles is one of about five months. The feast continued for seven days, during which [back in the day] all true Israelites dwelt in booths, in remembrance of their dwelling in tabernacles when they came out of the land of Egypt." (Ellicott's Commentary) As He promised for that generation in Egypt (Exodus 6:7), He would come again- to Jerusalem- and save from sin and death all who believe... and tabernacle among them. This “typifies the millennial blessings for Israel and the Gentiles, the great consummation." (Gaebelein) So, Jesus' brothers wanted Him to go to Jerusalem and manifest Himself there. It was as if His brothers were telling Him to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. Go up to the threshing floor to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Speaking of that Day, Yahweh had said: “You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. (Leviticus 26:1-13)
For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come,… (5-6a) They did not understand that God was not in the feast of the Jews any longer… and that at just the right minute and in just the right way, Jesus would go up to Jerusalem. Jesus went not publicly, but in secret to work this time. (10) He had to first die in the next Passover before He came in the spirit of Tabernacle that His brothers expected... and that some 2000-odd years afterwards
You do not believe “… but your time is always ready.” (6b) You, my brothers, may believe as you are willing. Though you will not come to me, yet my hand is outstretched still. So for now: "You go up to this feast." (8a) "Join the pilgrim bands. Take part in the ceremonial of sacrifice and lustration. Be there in good time for the booth building. You have no testimony to deliver against the corruption of the holiest service, the hollowness of the ritual thanksgiving." (Pulpit Commentary)
But one day, Jesus' brothers would come to Him in faith and subsequently receive comfort from this verse. "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." (7) This is the principal reason why people hate Jesus- He testifies that the works of the world-- even the feasts of the Jews-- are evil.
In stark contrast for believers: “Our blessed Master has truly learned by experience how to sympathize with all his people who stand alone. This is a thought ‘full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort.’ He knows the heart of every isolated believer, and can be touched with the feeling of his trials. He has drunk this bitter cup. He has passed through this fire. Let all who are fainting and cast down, because brothers and sisters despise their religion, turn to Christ for comfort, and pour out their hearts before Him. He ‘has suffered Himself being tempted’ in this way, and He can help as well as feel. (Hebrews 2:18.)“ (J. C. Ryle)
John 7: Jesus Defends His Authority in the Middle of Tabernacle
10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” 12 And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
Jesus didn't make a public show but rather a private one to seek the lost sheep of Israel. At the feast— at the temple after booth making, the Jews said, "Where is He [Jesus]?" It's ironic that at this feast which is prophetically looking forward to His tabernacle among them “while He is in secret, engaged in His sacred mission, the Jews of the capital are on the alert for His coming, ready, doubtless, to make an end of his life." (Whedon's Commentary) Yet worshippers spoke of Jesus in His absence- but silently in fear of the Jews. Some thought Jesus was a good man; others regarded Him as a deceiver, but He is, in fact, the good God- the Son of the living God, full of grace and truth. "In the light of this passage the differences and divergencies of religious beliefs today ought not to surprise us. As said the late Bishop Ryle, 'They are but the modern symptoms of an ancient disease.'" (A. W. Pink)
Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught…. How does this Man know letters, having never studied [in our schools]?" "What is here more particularly meant by letters, appears from the Greek word Γραμματα, whence is derived that which signifies a scribe. The learning of the scribes consisted in the explication of the sacred writings of the Old Testament; so that these words most probably refer to our Lord's great acquaintance with the Scriptures, and the judicious and masterly manner in which He taught the people out of them, with far greater majesty and nobler eloquence than the scribes could attain to by a learned education." (Coke Commentary)
16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
Jesus is uniquely God from heaven. He answered, "My doctrine is not mine, but His who sent Me." (16) My Teachings should not be "a stumblingblock, but a ladder to lift you up to see the Divine handiwork, and to make you say, as Ezekiel 3:12; ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place:’ “ (Trapp) His doctrine must become our own. So, we must learn it, embrace it and obey it. Paul said, "...the Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came by revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians1:11,12). A desire to obey God is the key to revelation.
Our Lord taught, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. " God always confirms- Spirit bearing witness with spirit. Yet many do not seek the truth thinking it is too hard to derive. "Whatever some may say about their inability to find out truth, you will rarely find one of them who does not know better than he practices. Then if he is sincere, let him begin here at once. Let him humbly use what little knowledge he has got, and God will soon give him more. 'If your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.' (Matthew 6:22).” (J. C. Ryle)
Jesus warned: “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory… (18a) This does not mean that he speaks "about or concerning himself, but he that speaks by his own authority, without being sent by God, as mere human teachers do. [The natural teacher] seeketh his own glory- His own praise, or seeks for reputation and applause. This is the case with mere human teachers, and as Jesus in His discourses manifestly sought to honor God, they ought to have supposed that he was sent by him. No unrighteousness [in such a teacher who seeks God's glory] ..." (Barnes)
Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? “But ye are unrighteous; for ye violate the very law which ye profess so much zeal for.” (Wesley)… for even this moment you seek to kill Me in violation of the Commandments of God! Why!?
20 The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
"You have a demon." You are deceived. “Who is seeking to kill you?" The leaders- the head- were actually seeking to kill Him and perhaps these people- the body- joined directly or by their disregard for His authority. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not kill’ [Commandments of God] and ‘whoever kills will be in danger of the judgment.’ [teachers of Israel] But I say to you [by my authority from on high] that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22) "The Jews at Jerusalem were ready to condemn our Lord as a sinner against the law of Moses, because He had done a miracle of healing on the Sabbath day. They forgot in their blind enmity that the fourth commandment was not meant to prevent works of necessity or works of mercy.” (J. C. Ryle)
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Circumcision- not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers. “Now Moses enjoined, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had done before, that every male must be circumcised on the eighth day [of life].” (Sutcliffe) So they circumcised oft on the Sabbath, obliging a man to keep the Commandments of God (Gal 5:3), but Jesus healed a man, physically and spiritually, making him a Commandment keeper.. and they sought to kill Him. Thus the rebuke- “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
John 7: Jesus Cries Out At Tabernacle
25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? 27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
"The Light was shining and it revealed the hidden things of darkness. First, the 'brethren' of Christ (verses 3-5) are exhibited as men of the world, unbelievers. Next, 'the Jews' (the Judean leaders) display their carnality (verse 15). Then, the miscellaneous crowd, 'the people' (verse 20) [gathered from the four corners of the earth] make manifest their hearts. Now the regular [Jewish] inhabitants of Jerusalem come before us. They, too, make bare their spiritual condition. In sheltering behind 'the rulers' they showed what little anxiety they had to discover for themselves whether or not Christ was preaching the truth of God. Verily, 'there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' The common people were no better than the rulers; the Lord's brethren no more believed on Him than did the Jews; the inhabitants of Jerusalem had no more heart for Christ than they of the provinces." (A.W. Pink)
Jesus here appears as a public spectacle in the temple and the rulers did not try to take Him for His time has not yet come. His time was not until Passover of the next year. Here we learn that the common Jews in Jerusalem knew of their intent to kill Him; yet, the rulers did not act on their desires. "Do the rulers know indeed?" "They concluded, therefore, that some change had taken place in the sentiments of the rulers in regard to Him, though they had not yet made it public." (Albert Barnes)
The common Jewish worshipers from Jerusalem supposed that they knew where Jesus was from, as the demons in Mark 1:24- "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
Then Jesus therefore cried- “He lifted up his voice in such a way as to cause wide astonishment. (The word is found in John 1:15 of John the Baptist, and John 1:37 and John 12:44; but frequently in the synoptists and Acts, and very frequently in the LXX.) The trumpet peal sounded through the courts of the temple, and the crowds rushed in the direction from which it proceeded. He cried in the temple. This clause is added, notwithstanding the statement of John 7:14, and it intimates a break in the discourse, a sudden and trenchant response to certain loudly uttered murmurs of the Jerusalem multitude." (The Pulpit Commentaries)
You both know Me, and you know where I am from... by the Scriptures… or at least you can know. These Jerusalemites ”defended their denial of our Lord’s Messiahship by two assertions, both of which were wrong... 1. They were wrong in saying that they knew whence He came. (27a)They meant that He came from Nazareth; but He was born at Bethlehem, and belonged to the tribe of Judah, and was of the lineage of David. The Jews, with their carefully-kept family histories, could have found this out. Their ignorance was, therefore, without excuse. 2. They were wrong in saying that 'no man was to know whence Christ came.' (27b) This was in fiat contradiction to Micah 5:2..., which they found it convenient not to remember (2 Peter 3:5). How common is this habit to-day! 'There are none so blind as those who will not see.'" (J. C. Ryle)
AND: "They overlooked the Scriptures declaring that He came from the bosom of the Father, and that His generation was unutterable. Proverbs 8:22. John 1:18. Truly, men perish for want of knowledge. — If we go to the rabbins, the veil of darkness and unbelief is unremoved." (Joseph Sutcliffe)
"As man," the prophets foretold “whence Christ would be; as God, He was hid from the profane, but revealed Himself to the godly. This notion they had taken from Isaiah, 'Who shall declare His generation?' (Isaiah 53:8)." (Augustine) "This means, 'Who will give his genesis? Who will reveal his genealogy? Who will give the source from whence he sprang?" (Bruce R. McCon)
Jesus once asked the Pharisees, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? [Ps 110:1] If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.-Matt 22:41–46.
"So He well says, 'You both know Me, and know whence I am': i.e. according to the flesh, and the likeness of man. [or at least you should] But in respect of His divinity, He says, I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true." (Augustine) And Him- the Father- you do not know!
Concerning the obstinate: "But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:14–16)
Some sought in vain to kill Jesus, but others believed in Him, turning to Him for salvation. Though disbelief was universal, some hearts of the common people were fertile. “When Christ cometh, will He, etc.—that is, If this be not the Christ, what can the Christ do, when He does come, which has not been anticipated and eclipsed by this Man? This was evidently the language of friendly persons, overborne by their spiteful superiors, but unable to keep quite silent.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
John 7: Jesus Tells Jews at Tabernacle of His Soon Return to the Father
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”
35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
“Having decided months earlier to kill Christ, they were here spurred to action by the growing sentiment of the people that would have hailed him as the Christ.” (Burton Coffman) So as jealousy set in, things began to move more swiftly. “An interval of but six months divides between the time contemplated in our lesson and the actual crucifixion of Christ. The shadows commence to fall more thickly and darkly across His path. The opposition of His enemies is more definite and relentless. The religious leaders were incensed: their intelligence had been called into question (verse 26), and they were losing their hold over many of the people (verse 31). When these tidings reached the ears of the Pharisees and chief priests, they sent out officers to arrest the Savior.” (A. W. Pink)
"Then Jesus said to them, 'I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.'" (33) “The word αυτοις, ‘to them’, in the beginning of this verse, is wanting in BDEGHLMS, more than eighty others, both the Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Gothic, Slavonic, Saxon, most copies of the Vulgate and the Itala. It is omitted also by Euthymius, Theophylact, Augustin, and Bede. Our Lord did not speak these words to the officers who came to apprehend him, as αυτοις here implies, but to the common people…” (Adam Clarke)- perhaps only for the benefit of those who had believed in Him.
This is the Feast of Tabernacle, but it is becoming apparent that the religious leaders and most of the common people do not desire Jesus' presence. So, He tells the beloved, "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.” (34) Once Jesus died for our sins, He— with His new resurrection body— returned to the Father Who sent Him. “That they wanted His presence, appears from His saying, ‘You seek Me, and shall not find Me.’ But when did the [believing] Jews seek Him? Luke relates that the women lamented over Him: and it is probable that many others did the same. And especially, when the city was taken, would they call Christ and His miracles to remembrance, and desire His presence.” (Chrysostom)
“Then the Jews said among themselves, ‘Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come?’” (35-36)
Then the Jews said – Now these words are assigned to the unbelieving Jews— commoners and, perhaps, leaders. "Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?”, “which the Jews could not endure to think on… The rustics of Nazareth understood our Saviour of preaching to the Gentiles, which put them into an anger, and Him into a danger.
He would not tell the [unbelieving] Jews what he meant by this dark saying. His disciples he told afterwards, in John 13:1-38; John 14:1-31. ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him,’ Psalms 25:14— when the wicked shall be neither of his court nor council.” (John Trapp)
Yes, He would go to the Genitles again, but Heaven is meant. “And mark it, these were not illiterate men who thus mused, but men of education and religious training. But no amount of culture or religious instruction can impart spiritual understanding to the intellect. A man must be Divinely illumined before he can perceive the meaning and value of the things of God. The truth is that the most illiterate babe in Christ has a capacity to understand spiritual things which an unregenerate university graduate does not possess. The plainest and simplest word from God is far above the reach of the natural faculties." (A. W. Pink)
Morning Repost: John 7: Last Day of Tabernacle
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
"The occasion and date of this great saying are carefully given by the Evangelist, because they throw much light on its significance and importance. It was ‘on the last day, that great day of the Feast,’ that ‘Jesus stood and cried.’ The Feast was that of Tabernacles, which was instituted in order to keep in mind the incidents of the desert wandering. On the anniversary of this day the Jews still do as they used to, and in many a foul ghetto and frowsy back street of European cities, you will find them sitting beneath the booths of green branches, commemorating the Exodus and its wonders." (MacLaren's Expositions)
"great" day of the feast-- "The superlative is implied in the attribute thus given to this day above the other feast days. Wherein consisted the special distinction attaching to this day? It was simply the great closing day of the feast, appointed for the solemn return from the booths into the temple (Ewald, Alterth. p. 481), and, according to Leviticus 23:35-36, was kept holy as a [high day] Sabbath..." (Meyer's NT Commentary)
It was the end of the liturgical calendar, denoting the end of the feasts collectively- the eighth day. We progress from types to the substance thereof. "The seven days typified their wilderness journey; the eighth day the entrance into the land. For seven days they drew the water and poured it out, commemorating the water the Lord had supplied to Israel during the wilderness journey. On the eighth day they enjoyed the springs of the land itself an emblem of the living waters which the Lord had promised to His people. Israel has these promises. 'And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.' (Zechariah 14:8.) The same promise we find elsewhere. (See Ezekiel 47:1-23; Isaiah 12:1-6.)" (Arno Gaebelein)
"And the people during this act chanted the words of 'the Hallel,' Psalms 113-118. If we accept the eighth day as that referred to in this verse, then this ceremony was not repeated; but its very absence may have suggested the fuller declaration of the reality of which it was the representation. The current Rabbinical interpretation of the symbolism connected it with the gift of the latter rain, which was at this season; and also with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Talmud says expressly, 'Therefore is its name called the house of drawing, because from thence is drawn the Holy Spirit,' as it is said, 'with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Jer. Succa, v. 1)." (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)
"Picture the scene to yourselves- the white-robed priests toiling up the pathway, the crowd in the court... . And then [this last day], as the priests stood with their empty vases, there was a little stir in the crowd, and a Man who had been standing watching, lifted up a loud voice and cried, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.’ Strange words to say, anywhere and anywhen, daring words to say there in the Temple court! For there and then they could mean nothing less than Christ’s laying His hand on that old miracle, which was pointed to by the rite, when the rock yielded the water, and asserting that all which it did and typified was repeated, fulfilled, and transcended in Himself, and that not for a handful of nomads in the wilderness, but for all the world, in all its generations." (McLaren's Expositions)
Here is the promise- “He” or she, anyone in any generation with any or no other education, ”who believes in Me as the Scripture has said” - “He [or she] who receives Me as the Messiah, according to what the Scripture has said concerning Me; My person, birth, conduct, preaching, and miracles, being compared with what is written there as ascertaining the true Messiah. “Out of his [or her] belly” - from his [or her] heart and soul; for in his [or her] soul shall this Spirit dwell.” (Clarke)… and flow out to others.
John 7: Survey of the Common People
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
At the end of the Feast of Tabernacle, Jesus had claimed to be that Living Water which, if consumed, imparts eternal life. Yet there was a schism. (43) Christ came to divide. These read the Scriptures- they were at the cistern. And they heard the remedy- lower your buckets... draw and drink! They even had Him in their mouths, but they would not swallow Him.
Many said, "Of a truth, this is the Prophet" (40) - "the great prophet, or teacher, spoken of by Moses, Deuteronomy 18:15, which they improperly distinguished from the Messiah." (Adam Clarke) Others said : "This is the Christ." (41a) “We are not told that they received Him as such. Words are cheap, and worth little unless followed by action.” (A. W. Pink)
But some questioned, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” (41b-42) “This was blessed testimony even out of the mouth of Christ’s enemies.” (C. H. Spurgeon) "All this was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; but from the neglect of careful inquiry, they remained ignorant of the fact." (Justin Edwards) It is said that the town of Bethlehem— of our Savior’s birth— is "where David was" (42b)- from - "that is, where he [David] was born, 1 Samuel 16:1, 4, and where he was before he became king in Israel." (Adam Clarke)
Some of these wished to seize him. (44) “By these words the Evangelist means, that they not only despised Christ, but that their wicked rejection of Him was accompanied by cruelty and eagerness to do Him injury;" (John Calvin)- to kill Him. It is always is the case with that ancient emnity of the seed of the serpent against Messiah and His anointed.
Sometimes we are only hated for His name sake.
All of these verses show us "how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. 'Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?' And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him.
A certain degree of religious knowledge, beyond doubt, is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the mother of true devotion, and helps nobody toward heaven. An 'unknown God' can never be the object of a reasonable worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to have done, when our Lord was on earth!
But while we value religious knowledge, we must take care that we do not overvalue it. We must not think it enough to know the facts and doctrines of our faith, unless our hearts and lives are thoroughly influenced by what we know. The very devils know the creed intellectually, and 'believe and tremble,' but remain devils still. (James 2:19.) It is quite possible to be familiar with the letter of Scripture, and to be able to quote texts appropriately, and reason about the theory of Christianity, and yet to remain dead in trespasses and sins. Like many of the generation to which our Lord preached, we may know the Bible well, and yet remain faithless and unconverted.
Heart-knowledge, we must always remember, is the one thing needful. It is something which schools and universities cannot confer. It is the gift of God. To find out the plague of our own hearts and hate sin--to become familiar with the throne of grace and the fountain of Christ's blood--to sit daily at the feet of Jesus, and humbly learn of Him--this is the highest degree of knowledge to which mortal man can attain. Let any one thank God who knows anything of these things. He may be ignorant of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and mathematics, but he shall be saved." (J. C. Ryle)
John 7: Some of the Rulers Defended Jesus
45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
The officers came with the purpose of trapping "the Lord from Heaven." "Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees (45a) - “They had followed Him for several days, seeking for a proper opportunity to seize on Him, when they might fix some charge of sedition, etc., upon Him; but the more they listened, the more they were convinced of His innocence, purity, and consummate wisdom." (Adam Clarke)
“Why have you not brought Him?” (45b) “They sent their officers to arrest Christ: they might as well have ordered them to stop the sun from shining. Not all the hosts of earth and hell could have arrested Him one moment before God's predestined hour had arrived. Ah, dear reader, the God of the Bible is no mere figurehead. He is Supreme in fact as well as in name. When He gets ready to act none can hinder; and until He is ready, none can speed Him. This is a hateful thought for His enemies, but one full of comfort to His people. If you, my reader, are fighting against Him, be it known that the great God laughs at your consummate folly, and will one day ere long deal with you in His fury. On the other hand, if you are, by sovereign grace, one of His children, then He is for you, and if God be for you, who can be against you? Who, indeed!" (A. W. Pink)
The officers answered the rulers, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?" (46) The officers sent to arrest Him were being converted and convinced of His Divine Person. "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?" (48) They implied that they hadn't but some had, as evidenced by a certain one in their midst who was "a teacher of the Jews" and had indeed been born again by faith in the Person of Jesus and His ability to save.
The rulers added- "But this crowd" - of the common people- "that does not know the law" - "to whom the Pharisees imputed criminal ignorance of the Scriptures" - is accursed [of God]." (49) "Tyrannical teachers and rulers fear the elevation and influence of the common people. They wish to keep them in ignorance, and are often opposed even to their reading the Bible, and judging of its meaning. They would themselves do the reading and judging, as well as the governing. [Here, they will determine doctrine.] If others undertake to exercise their inalienable rights, they are filled with wrath, and ready to pronounce them accursed. But such curses will rebound on their authors. Psalms 109:17." (Justin Edwards)
50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” 52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
53 And everyone went to his own house.
“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” (51) "The law required justice to be done, and gave every man the right to claim a fair and impartial trial, Leviticus 19:15-16; Exodus 23:1-2; Deuteronomy 19:15, 18. Their condemnation of Jesus was a violation of every rule of right. He was not arraigned; he was not heard in self-defense, and not a single witness was adduced. Nicodemus demanded that justice should be done, and that he should, not be condemned until he had had a fair trial. Every man should be presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty. This is a maxim of law, and a most just and proper precept in our judgments in private life." (Barnes' Notes)
"Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” (52) "Ridicule is not argument, and there is no demonstration in a gibe; but, unhappily, this is the only weapon which the proud and haughty often use in opposing religion." (Barnes' Notes)
They meant to say that all of the true prophets were from Judea and Jerusalem. "But their assertion was too strong. There were one or two exceptions to the rule which they state so arbitrarily. The Prophet Jonah came from Galilee. And there was a prophecy stating that the light of the Messiah would shine upon that northern country in a most marvelous manner, Isa_9:1-2." (Kretzmann's Popular Commentary)
And every man went unto his own house (53) - It is possible that there were more believers in their midst… and “that some of the Sadducees might have joined Nicodemus in opposing the Pharisees, and thus increased the disorder." (Barnes' Notes) There is no universal judgment but rather individual here - by household. "The guiding hand of God is plainly seen in all the circumstances of this incident." (Kretzmann)