John 7:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”

NIV: But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.'

NASB: However, we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.'

CSB: But we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from."

NLT: But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.'

KJV: Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

NKJV: However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

It's often said that "familiarity breeds contempt." In other words, when we are accustomed to seeing someone, speaking with them, or working with them, we tend to take them for granted. In particular, we sometimes have a hard time picturing that person as anything "other" than what we assume them to be. In many cases, that extra contact leads to annoyance: we start feeling frustrated, not impressed, by what we see in them.

This general idea has a lot to do with the crowd's assumptions about Jesus and their concept of the Messiah. Jewish tradition of the time suggested that the Promised One would more or less appear out of nowhere—and Jesus has a family history which many people in Jerusalem know. Jesus' own family seems to have the same lack of appreciation. Rather than accepting His ministry, His brothers lack belief and tease Him instead (John 7:1–9).

As with other claims made by those who reject Jesus, this suggestion contradicts Scripture. Old Testament prophets did, in fact, predict where the Messiah would come from. In fact, other people at this same festival will make this point later (John 7:42), though they seem not to realize that Jesus fulfills this requirement.

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 (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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.