John 7.25-8:1

John 7:25-52 describes a period of escalating tension between Jesus and the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. The passage opens with some of the crowd questioning Jesus's identity and origins, with some believing He is the Christ while others are skeptical. This leads to a discussion on whether the Messiah will come from Galilee, which is not considered an area of prestigious lineage. *Note that Nathanael had said similarly in John 1:46 before he joined Jesus as one of His disciples, questioning "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (in Galilee). Jesus utilizes the opportunity to teach, highlighting the hypocrisy of those who seek to arrest Him but secretly believe in Him. He criticizes their lack of understanding of the Scriptures and accuses them of being motivated by worldly desires rather than a genuine seeking of truth. The discussion evolves into a heated debate, as Jesus asserts His divine authority and some wanted to sieze Him (v44) but none did. When the Pharisees sent the temple officers to apprehend Jesus, the conflict deepened between Jesus and the religious establishment. This passage is showing us the growing opposition towards Jesus and the hardening of hearts amongst His adversaries. Today similar hypocrisy surrounds us. The world declares a righteous indignation towards the "judgemental attitudes of the church." We are declared to be hateful, because in our desire to reflect the nature of God in Christ, we reject sin. Becasue the world is sinful, and we seek to honor a holy God, we are despised as hateful. The unrepentant man will prefer to remain wrong (dead in sin), than to be told how to become right (life in Christ).

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25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?
26 “And look, He is speaking openly, and they are saying nothing to Him. Do the rulers truly know that this is the Christ?
27 “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
29 “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 So they were seeking to seize Him; yet no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than this man did?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
33 Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.
34 “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? Is He intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
36 “What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Some of the crowd therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is the Prophet.”
41 Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “No, for is the Christ going to come from Galilee?
42 “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.
44 Some of them were wanting to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken like this!”
47 The Pharisees then answered them, “Have you also been led astray?
48 “Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?
49 “But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before), being one of them, said to them,
51 “Does our Law judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing?”
52 They answered him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
53 [Everyone went to his home.
8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.]
* Later mss add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53–8:11