John 7:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

NIV: Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, 'When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?'

NASB: But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, 'When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has done, will He?'

CSB: However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, "When the Messiah comes, he won't perform more signs than this man has done, will he? "

NLT: Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. 'After all,' they said, 'would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?'

KJV: And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

NKJV: And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

This passage describes a wide variety of opinions about Jesus. Even before He made an appearance at this festival, the people were split over what Jesus' ministry meant (John 7:12).

The religious authorities intend to kill Jesus, given the opportunity (John 5:18). Even though they know more about the Scriptures than anyone else, they reject Christ because they are stubborn (John 5:39–40). Disobedience, not a lack of knowledge, is what prevents these well-educated men from seeing Jesus for who He really is (John 7:17).

Those who are less informed than the Pharisees are still confused. Some look to Jewish traditions which suggest Messiah will be an anonymous figure (John 7:27). Based on this, many think that a common man such as Jesus cannot be the Promised One. This, it seems, includes many members of Jesus' own family (John 7:5).

And then, as this verse shows, there are those who follow all the evidence exactly where it leads. The gospel of John uses the term "signs" in reference to the miracles Jesus performs in order to prove Himself (John 20:30–31). These are specifically mentioned by Christ as one of the reasons people ought to accept His words (John 5:36). As shown here, some of the people look at the miraculous works of Jesus in the same way Nicodemus did in chapter 3 (John 3:1–2); how could someone do more than this—isn't that enough to prove He is the Christ?

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.