What does John 7:41 mean?
Jesus' preaching is causing division and bickering among the people of Jerusalem. Some of the crowd have seen Jesus' miracles, heard His words, and concluded that He speaks the truth (John 7:31). Some think this makes Jesus the prophet predicted by Moses (John 7:40; Deuteronomy 18:15). Others say this means Jesus is "the Christ:" the Savior promised by God using the term "anointed One" (Daniel 9:25–26; Psalm 2:2).Others reject that Jesus is from God. Among these are His own brothers (John 7:5), as well as the religious leaders of Jerusalem (John 7:1, 48), and many present in Jerusalem. A key argument being raised against Jesus involves His family history. For His brothers, it's possible that they fell into the common expression "familiarity breeds contempt;" perhaps their daily contact with Jesus made it hard for them to see Him with objective eyes. For others, Jewish tradition suggested the Messiah would be totally anonymous (John 7:27). So, those who know Jesus, but not the Scriptures, think this disqualifies Him.
Others seem to better understand Scripture, but not Jesus' personal history. The people point out that Messiah is supposed to come from Bethlehem (John 7:42). In their minds, Jesus is "from" Nazareth. Of course, Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:15–17), making Him the fulfillment of that prophecy (Micah 5:2).