John 7:25

Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) Then said some of them of Jerusalem.—These Jerusalemites are distinct from the multitude of John 7:20, and are acquainted with the intention which seemed so impossible to the latter.

Benson Commentary

John 7:25-27. Then — While our Lord was thus discoursing in the temple; some of them of Jerusalem — Some of the inhabitants of the city, who knew more of the designs of the sanhedrim than the others who had spoken before; said, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? — Seek an opportunity to put to death? But lo — He is not only come up hither to the feast, but speaks openly and freely in the very temple itself, and they are so far from seizing him, that they do not so much as say any thing to prohibit him. Do the rulers know indeed — Are they now fully convinced; that this is the very Christ — And that therefore they were mistaken in their former censures? Howbeit, we know this man, whence he is — And therefore have sufficient reason to conclude, that he cannot be the Messiah: for, when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is — This Jewish tradition was true in regard to his pre-existing and divine nature: in that respect, according to the obvious popular sense of Isaiah 53:8, None could declare his generation: but it was not true with regard to his human nature, for both his family, and the place of his birth, were plainly foretold. And “it is evident from Matthew 2:4-5, that the Jews apprehended the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem; and from a multitude of other places, that they knew he was to be a descendant of David.” Archbishop Tillotson supposes, that the words, no man knoweth whence he is, “refer to an expectation the Jews had, that he would be born of a virgin. As for the notion which Justin Martyr mentions, that the Messiah should, for a while, be hid, it seems more modern, and they must put a strange interpretation on Isaiah 53:8; Micah 5:2; and Psalm 110:4, to draw any such consequence from these passages, as Dr. Whitby and M. L’Enfant suppose they did.” — Doddridge.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:25-30 Christ proclaimed aloud, that they were in error in their thoughts about his origin. He was sent of God, who showed himself true to his promises. This declaration, that they knew not God, with his claim to peculiar knowledge, provoked the hearers; and they sought to take him, but God can tie men's hands, though he does not turn their hearts.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Judge not according to the appearance - Not as a thing first offers itself to you, without reflection or candor. In appearance, to circumcise a child on the Sabbath might be a violation of the law; yet you do it, and it is right. So, to appearance, it might be a violation of the Sabbath to heal a man, yet it is right to do works of necessity and mercy.

Judge righteous judgment - Candidly; looking at the law, and inquiring what its spirit really requires.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

25-27. some of them of Jerusalem—the citizens, who, knowing the long-formed purpose of the rulers to put Jesus to death, wondered that they were now letting Him teach openly.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Those who here speak are said to be of Jerusalem, (probably citizens), who knew more of the designs and counsels of the chief priests and elders, than those who said before, John 7:20, Thou hast a devil: who seeketh to kill thee?

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then said some of them of Jerusalem,.... Who were inhabitants of Jerusalem, and so are distinguished from the people, John 7:20, who came up out of the country to the feast; so Jose ben Jochanan is called , "a man of Jerusalem" (c); that is, an inhabitant of it: now these men living in the city, knew more of the temper and disposition, the designs and attempts, of the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, to take away the life of Christ; and therefore say,

is not this he whom they seek to kill? they knew that they had formed a design to kill him, ever since the passover before the last; when he wrought the miracle referred to in the text, and that they had been ever since plotting against his life, and were now at this feast seeking an opportunity to lay hold on him and kill him.

(c) Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 4, 5.

Geneva Study Bible

{10} Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

(10) Many marvel that the endeavours of the enemies of God have no success, but in the meanwhile they do not acknowledge the strength and power of God.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

John 7:25-27. Οὖν] in consequence of this bold vindication. These Ἱεροσολυμῖται, as distinct from the uninitiated ὄχλος of John 7:20, as inhabitants of the Holy City, have better knowledge of the mind of the hierarchical opposition; they wonder that the Sanhedrim should let Him speak so boldly and freely, and they ask, “After all, do they not know in very deed that this” etc.? This, however, is only a momentary thought which strikes them, and they at once answer it themselves.

πόθεν ἐστιν] does not denote the birth-place, which was known both in the case of Jesus (John 7:41) and of the Messiah (John 7:42), but the descent; not, indeed, the more remote, which in the case of the Messiah was undoubted as being Davidic, but (comp. John 6:42) the nearer—father, mother, family (Matthew 13:55). Comp. John 19:9; Homer, Od. p. 373: αὐτὸν δʼ οὐ σάφα οἶδα, πόθεν γένος εὔχεται εἶναι; Soph. Trach. 1006; Eur. Rhes. 702; Heliod. iv. 16, vii. 14.

ὁ δὲ Χρι.] is in antithesis with τοῦτον, and it therefore takes the lead. The popular belief that the immediate ancestry of the Messiah would be unknown when He came, cannot further be historically proved, but is credible, partly from the belief in His divine origin (Bertholdt, Christol. p. 86), and partly from the obscurity into which the Davidic family had sunk, and was supported, probably, by the import of many O. T. passages, such as Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 53:8, Micah 5:2, and perhaps also by the sudden appearance of the Son of man related in Daniel 7 (Tholuck), and is strongly confirmed by the description in the book of Enoch of the heavenly Messiah appearing from heaven (Ewald). The passages which Lücke and De Wette quote from Justin (c. Tryph. pp. 226, 268, 336, ed. Col.) are inapplicable, as they do not speak of an unknown descent of the Messiah, but intimate that, previous to His anointing by Elias, His Messiahship was unknown to Himself and others. The beginning of Marcion’s Gospel (see Thilo, p. 403), and the Rabbinical passages in Lightfoot and Wetstein, are equally inapplicable.

Expositor's Greek Testament

John 7:25-31. Opinion of inhabitants of Jerusalem regarding Jesus. Knowing the hostility of the authorities, they express surprise that Jesus should be allowed to teach openly; and wonder whether the authorities themselves can have changed their opinion about Him. This they find it difficult to believe, because on the point of origin Jesus does not satisfy Messianic requirements.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

25. Then said some] Or, Some therefore said (see on John 6:53, John 7:11; John 7:15), i.e. in consequence of Christ’s vindication of Himself. These inhabitants of the capital know better than the provincials, who speak in John 7:20, what the intentions of the hierarchy really are.

Bengel's Gnomen

John 7:25. Ἱεροσολυμιτῶν, of the people of Jerusalem) who knew what was going on in the city.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 25-29. -

(4) Special perplexity of some Jerusalemites, and Christ's reply. A second scene is here described, not necessarily on the day of his first appearance in the temple, though it took place in the temple (ver. 28). We see, however, a new wave of feeling. The multitude, or part of it, that gathered round him was maddened with his intimation of the murderous animosity of the authorities; but the dwellers in Jerusalem were better informed of the malignant spirit he had excited. Verse 25. - Therefore - by reason of his bold self-vindication - some of the Jerusalemites (this word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Mark 1:5) were saying, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? If the multitudes of the provincials were ignorant of the design of the hierarchy, the plot was not a complete secret. John 7:25

Vincent's Word Studies

Them of Jerusalem (Ἱεροσολυμιτῶν)

Literally, of the Jerusalemites, who knew better than the multitude the designs of the priesthood. The word occurs only here and Mark 1:5.