John 7:15

7:15 Then the Jewish leaders ¹  were astonished ²  and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” ³ 

John 7:20

7:20 The crowd ⁴  answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! ⁵  Who is trying to kill you?” ⁶ 

John 7:47-49

7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, ⁷  “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? ⁸  7:48 None of the rulers ⁹  or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? ¹⁰  7:49 But this rabble ¹¹  who do not know the law are accursed!”

¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

² tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.

³ tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).

⁴ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).

⁵ tn Grk “You have a demon!”

⁶ tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”

⁷ tn Grk “answered them.”

⁸ 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 “have you?”).

¹⁰ sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).

¹¹ 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 “have they?”).

¹³ tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.