John 7:25-27

Questions About Jesus’ Identity

7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem ¹  began to say, “Isn’t this the man ²  they are trying ³  to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ⁴  and they are saying nothing to him. ⁵  Do the rulers really know that this man ⁶  is the Christ? ⁷  7:27 But we know where this man ⁸  comes from. ⁹  Whenever the Christ ¹⁰  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ¹¹ 

John 7:40-43

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ¹²  began to say, “This really ¹³  is the Prophet!” ¹⁴  7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ¹⁵  But still others said, “No, ¹⁶  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ¹⁷  7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ¹⁸  of David ¹⁹  and comes from Bethlehem, ²⁰  the village where David lived?” ²¹  7:43 So there was a division in the crowd ²²  because of Jesus. ²³ 

[7:25]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:25]  ² tn Grk “Is it not this one.”

[7:25]  ³ tn Grk “seeking.”

[7:26]  ⁴ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ⁵ sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ⁷ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ⁹ sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  ¹¹ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.

[7:40]  ¹² tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:40]  ¹³ tn Or “truly.”

[7:40]  ¹⁴ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[7:41]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  ¹⁶ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ¹⁷ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).

[7:42]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ¹⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ²⁰ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  ²¹ tn Grk “the village where David was.”

[7:43]  ²² tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:43]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.