John 7:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?

NIV: Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah?

NASB: And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?

CSB: Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities know he is the Messiah?

NLT: But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?

KJV: But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

NKJV: But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?

In prior incidents, Jesus has challenged the spirituality of Jerusalem's religious leaders (John 2:13–22; 5:39–47). He has proclaimed Himself in ways they interpret as blasphemous (John 5:18). Almost immediately, this earned Him a death sentence in the eyes of these authority figures (John 7:1). Despite their efforts, Jesus is still alive and still preaching. In fact, He amazes people with His wisdom, in the temple of Jerusalem, during one of the holiest festivals of the year (John 7:14)! This leads the people to wonder just how committed the religious leaders are to dealing with Jesus.

At this point, the public only sees two possible options: either the authorities are too inept to deal with a blasphemer, or they have come to accept the claims Jesus is making. Those same authorities are aware of this image problem, and it will add fuel to their fire when it comes to silencing Jesus.

As the next few verses will show, the people making these points don't necessarily believe in Jesus. They have their own doubts and misunderstandings. For now, they only know that Jesus is generating a significant level of controversy.

John 7:25–36 is a milestone in the plot to kill Jesus. Jesus continues to criticize the local religious leaders, who are unable to successfully arrest Him. This leads the people to wonder: are the scribes and Pharisees in agreement with Jesus or too weak to stop Him? That crisis of confidence will make the Jewish leaders more convinced that they need to silence Jesus at all costs. Even so, misinterpreting His comments in the passage presents a possible solution: if Jesus is going somewhere they cannot follow, perhaps the problem will resolve itself.

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.