John 7:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man 's whole body well?

NIV: Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?

NASB: If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath?

CSB: If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath?

NLT: For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?

KJV: If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

NKJV: 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?

Abraham was the first Jewish patriarch to practice circumcision. This symbolic ritual was meant to be a visible, permanent, external sign of the relationship between God and His people: the nation of Israel. Accordingly, a male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth (Genesis 17:12). This command was repeated in the laws given under Moses (Leviticus 12:3). Of course, this meant that some baby boys had to be circumcised on a Sabbath day. Here, Jesus points out that the Pharisees see this as necessary to properly fulfill the law of Moses.

In context, Jesus is referring to the controversy caused when He healed a man on a Sabbath day (John 5:1–9). His point here is that of hypocrisy. If "breaking" the Sabbath to perform a minor ritual was acceptable, why did the Pharisees reject Jesus' healing of a man who'd been crippled for years? As stated in the next verse, the problem is that these religious leaders are being shallow and careless in their judgment.

John 7:14–24 is a strong spiritual challenge issued by Jesus against the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus makes the point that obedience is a necessary aspect of learning. The resistance of the scribes and Pharisees is ultimately a matter of rebellion, not knowledge. In the same way, Jesus criticizes their hypocritical attitude towards His miracles. This concludes with a powerful statement about the need to use ''right judgment,'' rather than shallow appearances.

Six months after the feeding of thousands, and the public debate which followed, Jesus plans to attend the Feast of Booths, also called the Festival of Tabernacles. Rather than going publicly, He chooses to arrive privately, and after His family. While teaching and preaching there, Jesus once again comes into conflict with local religious leaders. The crowds take note of His profound words, history of miracles, and the inability of the religious leaders to silence Him. This causes the people to openly question their spiritual leaders. This embarrassment is a milestone in the effort to permanently silence Jesus.

John chapter 7 is the beginning of the end of Jesus' public ministry. The feeding of thousands in chapter 6 was the pinnacle of His earthly popularity. That enthusiasm was dampened when Jesus explained the true meaning of His ministry. Here, in chapters 7 and 8, Jesus will confront His critics at a major Jewish festival, using metaphors drawn from ritual celebrations to highlight themes from His preaching. The following chapters include additional miracles and teachings from Jesus, as His eventual crucifixion draws nearer.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.