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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 7:10 - 7:13
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_7:10-13
10But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 11So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, "Where is He?" 12There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, "He is a good man"; others were saying, "No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray." 13Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
Joh_7:11 "the Jews" There are four separate groups in this chapter who interact with Jesus.
1. His brothers
2. "the Jews," which refers to the religious leaders
3. "the crowd," which refers to the pilgrims making their way to the Feast of Tabernacles
4. "the people of Jerusalem," who were local folks who knew the Sanhedrin and their plans to kill Jesus
Joh_7:12 "There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him" This is typical of what the gospel does in every crowd. It shows the differing spiritual abilities and levels of understanding present within mankind (cf. Joh_7:40-44).
▣ "He leads the people astray" The verb planaô is used of
1. false teachers (i.e., Mat_24:11; 2Ti_3:13; 1Jn_1:8; 1Jn_2:26; 1Jn_3:7)
2. false Messiahs (i.e., Mat_24:4-5; Mat_24:24; in John of what the Jews thought Jesus was (cf. Joh_7:12; Joh_7:47; Mat_27:63)
3. people deceiving themselves (cf. 1Co_3:18; 1Jn_1:8) or
4. being deceived (cf. 1Co_6:9; 1Co_15:33; Gal_6:7; Jas_1:16
The word was used of the planets that did not follow the regular orbits of the constellations. They were called "the wanderers."
Joh_7:13 "the Jews" This whole crowd was Jewish. This clearly shows John's specialized use of this term to refer to the religious leaders in Jerusalem. See note at Joh_7:1.