Worthy.Bible » STRONG » John » Chapter 7 » Verse 32

John 7:32 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

32 The Pharisees G5330 heard G191 that the people G3793 murmured G1111 such things G5023 concerning G4012 him; G846 and G2532 the Pharisees G5330 and G2532 the chief priests G749 sent G649 officers G5257 to G2443 take G4084 him. G846

Cross Reference

Matthew 12:23-24 STRONG

And G2532 all G3956 the people G3793 were amazed, G1839 and G2532 said, G3004 Is G2076 not G3385 this G3778 the son G5207 of David? G1138 But G1161 when the Pharisees G5330 heard G191 it, they said, G2036 This G3778 fellow doth G1544 not G3756 cast out G1544 devils, G1140 but G1508 by G1722 Beelzebub G954 the prince G758 of the devils. G1140

Matthew 23:13 STRONG

But G1161 woe G3759 unto you, G5213 scribes G1122 and G2532 Pharisees, G5330 hypocrites! G5273 for G3754 ye shut up G2808 the kingdom G932 of heaven G3772 against G1715 men: G444 for G1063 ye G5210 neither G3761 go in G1525 yourselves, neither G3756 suffer ye G863 them that are entering G1525 to go in. G1525

Luke 22:52-53 STRONG

Then G1161 Jesus G2424 said G2036 unto G4314 the chief priests, G749 and G2532 captains G4755 of the temple, G2411 and G2532 the elders, G4245 which were come G3854 to G1909 him, G846 Be ye come out, G1831 as G5613 against G1909 a thief, G3027 with G3326 swords G3162 and G2532 staves? G3586 When G5607 I G3450 was G5607 daily G2250 G2596 with G3326 you G5216 in G1722 the temple, G2411 ye stretched forth G1614 no G3756 hands G5495 against G1909 me: G1691 but G235 this G3778 is G2076 your G5216 hour, G5610 and G2532 the power G1849 of darkness. G4655

John 7:45-53 STRONG

Then G3767 came G2064 the officers G5257 to G4314 the chief priests G749 and G2532 Pharisees; G5330 and G2532 they G1565 said G2036 unto them, G846 Why G1302 have ye G71 not G3756 brought G71 him? G846 The officers G5257 answered, G611 Never G3763 man G444 spake G3779 G2980 like G5613 this G3778 man. G444 Then G3767 answered G611 them G846 the Pharisees, G5330 Are G4105 ye G5210 also G2532 deceived? G4105 G3361 Have any G3387 of G1537 the rulers G758 or G2228 of G1537 the Pharisees G5330 believed G4100 on G1519 him? G846 But G235 this G3778 people G3793 who G3588 knoweth G1097 not G3361 the law G3551 are G1526 cursed. G1944 Nicodemus G3530 saith G3004 unto G4314 them, G846 (he that came G2064 to Jesus G846 by G4314 night, G3571 being G5607 one G1520 of G1537 them,) G846 Doth G2919 our G2257 law G3551 judge G2919 G3361 any man, G444 before G4386 G3362 it hear G191 G3844 him, G846 and G2532 know G1097 what G5101 he doeth? G4160 They answered G611 and G2532 said G2036 unto him, G846 Art G3361 G1488 thou G4771 also G2532 of G1537 Galilee? G1056 Search, G2045 and G2532 look: G2396 for G3754 out of G1537 Galilee G1056 ariseth G1453 no G3756 prophet. G4396 And G2532 every man G1538 went G4198 unto G1519 his own G846 house. G3624

John 11:47-48 STRONG

Then G3767 gathered G4863 the chief priests G749 and G2532 the Pharisees G5330 a council, G4892 and G2532 said, G3004 What G5101 do we? G4160 for G3754 this G3778 man G444 doeth G4160 many G4183 miracles. G4592 If G1437 we let G863 him G846 thus G3779 alone, G863 all G3956 men will believe G4100 on G1519 him: G846 and G2532 the Romans G4514 shall come G2064 and G2532 take away G142 both G2532 our G2257 place G5117 and G2532 nation. G1484

John 12:19 STRONG

The Pharisees G5330 therefore G3767 said G2036 among G4314 themselves, G1438 Perceive ye G2334 how G3754 ye prevail G5623 nothing? G3756 G3762 behold, G2396 the world G2889 is gone G565 after G3694 him. G846

John 18:3 STRONG

Judas G2455 then, G3767 having received G2983 a band G4686 of men and G2532 officers G5257 from G1537 the chief priests G749 and G2532 Pharisees, G5330 cometh G2064 thither G1563 with G3326 lanterns G5322 and G2532 torches G2985 and G2532 weapons. G3696

Acts 5:26 STRONG

Then G5119 went G565 the captain G4755 with G4862 the officers, G5257 and brought G71 them G846 without G3756 G3326 violence: G970 for G1063 they feared G5399 the people, G2992 lest G3363 they should have been stoned. G3034

Commentary on John 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 7

Joh 7:1-53. Christ at the Feast of Tabernacles.

1, 2. After these things—that is, all that is recorded after Joh 5:18.

walked in Galilee—continuing His labors there, instead of going to Judea, as might have been expected.

sought to kill him—referring back to Joh 5:18. Hence it appears that our Lord did not attend the Passover mentioned in Joh 6:4—being the third since His ministry began, if the feast mentioned in Joh 5:1 was a Passover.

2. feast of tabernacles … at hand—This was the last of the three annual festivals, celebrated on the fifteenth of the seventh month (September). (See Le 23:33, &c.; De 16:13, &c.; Ne 8:14-18).

3-5. His brethren said—(See on Mt 13:54-56).

Depart … into Judea, &c.—In Joh 7:5 this speech is ascribed to their unbelief. But as they were in the "upper room" among the one hundred and twenty disciples who waited for the descent of the Spirit after the Lord's ascension (Ac 1:14), they seem to have had their prejudices removed, perhaps after His resurrection. Indeed here their language is more that of strong prejudice and suspicion (such as near relatives, even the best, too frequently show in such cases), than from unbelief. There was also, probably, a tincture of vanity in it. "Thou hast many disciples in Judea; here in Galilee they are fast dropping off; it is not like one who advances the claims Thou dost to linger so long here, away from the city of our solemnities, where surely 'the kingdom of our father David' is to be set up: 'seeking,' as Thou dost, 'to be known openly,' those miracles of Thine ought not to be confined to this distant corner, but submitted at headquarters to the inspection of 'the world.'" (See Ps 69:8, "I am become a stranger to my brethren, an alien unto my mother's children!")

6-10. My time is not yet come—that is, for showing Himself to the world.

your time is always ready—that is "It matters little when we go up, for ye have no great plans in life, and nothing hangs upon your movements. With Me it is otherwise; on every movement of Mine there hangs what ye know not. The world has no quarrel with you, for ye bear no testimony against it, and so draw down upon yourselves none of its wrath; but I am here to lift up My voice against its hypocrisy, and denounce its abominations; therefore it cannot endure Me, and one false step might precipitate its fury on its Victim's head before the time. Away, therefore, to the feast as soon as it suits you; I follow at the fitting moment, but 'My time is not yet full come.'"

10. then went he … not openly—not "in the (caravan) company" [Meyer]. See on Lu 2:44.

as it were in secret—rather, "in a manner secretly"; perhaps by some other route, and in a way not to attract notice.

11-13. Jews—the rulers.

sought him—for no good end.

Where is He?—He had not been at Jerusalem for probably a year and a half.

12. much murmuring—buzzing.

among the people—the multitudes; the natural expression of a Jewish writer, indicating without design the crowded state of Jerusalem at this festival [Webster and Wilkinson].

a good man … Nay … deceiveth the people—the two opposite views of His claims, that they were honest, and that they were an imposture.

13. none spake openly of him—that is, in His favor, "for fear of the [ruling] Jews."

14, 15. about the midst of the feast—the fourth or fifth day of the eight, during which it lasted.

went up into the temple and taught—The word denotes formal and continuous teaching, as distinguished from mere casual sayings. This was probably the first time that He did so thus openly in Jerusalem. He had kept back till the feast was half through, to let the stir about Him subside, and entering the city unexpectedly, had begun His "teaching" at the temple, and created a certain awe, before the wrath of the rulers had time to break it.

15. How knoweth … letters—learning (Ac 26:24).

having never learned—at any rabbinical school, as Paul under Gamaliel. These rulers knew well enough that He had not studied under any human teacher—an important admission against ancient and modern attempts to trace our Lord's wisdom to human sources [Meyer]. Probably His teaching on this occasion was expository, manifesting that unrivalled faculty and depth which in the Sermon on the Mount had excited the astonishment of all.

16-18. doctrine … not mine, &c.—that is, from Myself unauthorized; I am here by commission.

17. If any man will do his will, &c.—"is willing," or "wishes to do."

whether … of God, or … of myself—from above or from beneath; is divine or an imposture of Mine. A principle of immense importance, showing, on the one hand, that singleness of desire to please God is the grand inlet to light on all questions vitally affecting one's eternal interests, and on the other, that the want of his, whether perceived or not, is the chief cause of infidelity amidst the light of revealed religion.

18. seeketh his own glory—(See on Joh 5:41-44).

19, 20. Did not Moses, &c.—that is, In opposing Me ye pretend zeal for Moses, but to the spirit and end of that law which he gave ye are total strangers, and in "going about to kill Me" ye are its greatest enemies.

20. The people answered, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?—This was said by the multitude, who as yet had no bad feeling to Jesus, and were not in the secret of the plot hatching, as our Lord knew, against Him.

21-24. I have done one work, &c.—Taking no notice of the popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (Joh 5:9, 16, 18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt "to kill Him" brought up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if indeed they had ever forgotten it; and by this fearless reference to it, exposing their hypocrisy and dark designs, He gave His position great moral strength.

22. Moses … gave unto you circumcision, &c.—Though servile work was forbidden on the sabbath, the circumcision of males on that day (which certainly was a servile work) was counted no infringement of the Law. How much less ought fault to be found with One who had made a man "every whit whole"—or rather, "a man's entire body whole"—on the sabbath-day? What a testimony to the reality of the miracle, none daring to meet the bold appeal.

24. Judge not, &c.—that is, Rise above the letter into the spirit of the law.

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.

26. Do the rulers know, &c.—Have they got some new light in favor of His claims?

27. Howbeit we know this man, &c.—This seems to refer to some current opinion that Messiah's origin would be mysterious (not altogether wrong), from which they concluded that Jesus could not be He, since they knew all about His family at Nazareth.

28, 29. cried Jesus—in a louder tone, and more solemn, witnessing style than usual.

Ye both, &c.—that is, "Yes, ye know both Myself and My local parentage, and (yet) I am not come of Myself."

but he that sent me is true, &c.—Probably the meaning is, "He that sent Me is the only real Sender of any one."

30-32. sought to take … none laid hands—their impotence being equal to their malignity.

31. When Christ cometh, will he, &c.—that is, If this be not the Christ, what can the Christ do, when He does come, which has not been anticipated and eclipsed by this man? This was evidently the language of friendly persons, overborne by their spiteful superiors, but unable to keep quite silent.

32. heard that the people murmured—that mutterings to this effect were going about, and thought it high time to stop Him if He was not to be allowed to carry away the people.

33, 34. Yet a little while, &c.—that is, "Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company—for ever; for I go whither ye cannot come: nor, even when ye at length seek Him whom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him"—referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation.

35, 36. Whither will he go, &c.—They cannot comprehend Him, but seem awed by the solemn grandeur of His warning. He takes no notice, however, of their questions.

37-39. the last day, that great day of the feast—the eighth (Le 23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. "The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of Isa 12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in Joh 7:39, was expressed" [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed—accompanied with sound of trumpets—that it used to be said, "Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all" [Lightfoot].

Jesus stood—On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching—"Jesus stood," probably in some elevated position.

and cried—as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink!—What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "thirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them by "drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh 4:13, 14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea—in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well—here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mt 11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh 6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the Bread of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the "HUNGER," and quench the "THIRST," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no Money!" &c. (Isa 55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, "He is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, " My Lord AND MY God!"

38. as the scripture hath said—These words belong to what follows, "Out of his belly, as the scripture hath said, shall flow," &c. referring not to any particular passage, but to such as Isa 58:11; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1-12; in most of which the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, to which our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him.

out of his belly—that is, his inner man, his soul, as in Pr 20:27.

rivers of living water—(See on Joh 4:13). It refers primarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.

39. this spake he of the Spirit—who, by His direct personal agency, opens up this spring of living waters in the human spirit (Joh 3:6), and by His indwelling in the renewed soul ensures their unfailing flow.

they that believe, &c.—As the Holy Ghost is, in the redemption of man, entirely at the service of Christ, as His Agent, so it is only in believing connection with Christ that any one "receives" the Spirit.

for the Holy Ghost was not yet given—Beyond all doubt the word "given," or some similar word, is the right supplement. In Joh 16:7 the Holy Ghost is represented not only as the gift of Christ, but a gift the communication of which was dependent upon His own departure to the Father. Now as Christ was not yet gone, so the Holy Ghost was not yet given.

Jesus not yet glorified—The word "glorified" is here used advisedly, to teach the reader not only that the departure of Christ to the Father was indispensable to the giving of the Spirit, but that this illustrious Gift, direct from the hands of the ascended Saviour, was God's intimation to the world that He whom it had cast out, crucified, and slain, was "His Elect, in whom His soul delighted," and that it was through the smiting of that Rock that the waters of the Spirit—for which the Church was waiting, and with pomp at the feast of tabernacles proclaiming its expectation—had gushed forth upon a thirsty world.

40-43. Many … when they heard this … said, Of a truth, &c.—The only wonder is they did not all say it. "But their minds were blinded."

41. Others said, This is the Christ—(See on Joh 1:21).

Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

42. scripture said … of the seed of David, and out of … Bethlehem, &c.—We accept this spontaneous testimony to our David-descended, Bethlehem-born Saviour. Had those who gave it made the inquiry which the case demanded, they would have found that Jesus "came out of Galilee" (Joh 7:41) and "out of Bethlehem" both, alike in fulfilment of prophecy as in point of fact. (Mt 2:23; 4:13-16).

44-49. would have taken him; but, &c.—(See on Joh 7:30).

45. Then came the officers—"sent to take him" (Joh 7:32).

Why … not brought him?—already thirsting for their Victim, and thinking it an easy matter to seize and bring Him.

46. Never man spake like this man—Noble testimony of unsophisticated men! Doubtless they were strangers to the profound intent of Christ's teaching, but there was that in it which by its mysterious grandeur and transparent purity and grace, held them spellbound. No doubt it was of God that they should so feel, that their arm might be paralyzed, as Christ's hour was not yet come; but even in human teaching there has sometimes been felt such a divine power, that men who came to kill them (for example, Rowland Hiss) have confessed to all that they were unmanned.

47. ye also deceived—In their own servants this seemed intolerable.

48. any of the rulers or … Pharisees believed—"Many of them" did, including Nicodemus and Joseph, but not one of these had openly "confessed Him" (Joh 12:42), and this appeal must have stung such of them as heard it to the quick.

49. But this people—literally, "multitude," meaning the ignorant rabble. (Pity these important distinctions, so marked in the original of this Gospel, should not be also in our version.)

knoweth not the law—that is, by school learning, which only subverted it by human traditions.

are cursed—a cursed set (a kind of swearing at them, out of mingled rage and scorn).

50-53. Nicodemus—reappearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.

51. Doth our law, &c.—a very proper, but all too tame rejoinder, and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce positively in the case. "The feebleness of his defense of Jesus has a strong contrast in the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees" [Webster and Wilkinson].

52. thou of Galilee—in this taunt expressing their scorn of the party. Even a word of caution, or the gentlest proposal to inquire before condemning, was with them equivalent to an espousal of the hated One.

Search … out of Galilee … no prophet—Strange! For had not Jonah (of Gath-hepher) and even Elijah (of Thisbe) arisen out of Galilee? And there it may be more, of whom we have no record. But rage is blind, and deep prejudice distorts all facts. Yet it looks as if they were afraid of losing Nicodemus, when they take the trouble to reason the point at all. It was just because he had "searched," as they advised him, that he went the length even that he did.

53. every man went unto his own home—finding their plot could not at that time be carried into effect. Is your rage thus impotent, ye chief priests?