What does John 7:22 mean?
Circumcision was originally mandated under Abraham, but it was part of the law which Moses established for the people of Israel. Jesus' use of Moses has more to do with the religious leaders' pride than anything else. In their own eyes, they were the only ones knowledgeable enough about the Law, given by Moses, to make spiritual judgments. They felt this knowledge made them spiritually obedient. But in reality, they were rejecting God (John 5:39–47). One year prior, Jesus had healed a man during the Feast of Booths, on a Sabbath day. This earned Him condemnation from the Pharisees since this conflicted with their man-made traditions (John 5:1–18).Here, Jesus points out that to follow the Law—that given by the vaunted Moses—these same men would approve of a circumcision ritual on a Sabbath day (John 7:23). The question Jesus asks in the next verse is one the hypocritical religious leaders cannot answer: if it's acceptable to perform a minor "work" such as circumcision to not break the law of Moses, how can they criticize Jesus for healing a crippled man on the Sabbath?