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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 7:45 - 7:52
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_7:45-52
45The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them. "Why did you not bring Him?" 46The officers answered, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks. 47The Pharisees then answered them, "You have not also been led astray, have you? 48No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed." 50Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, 51"Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?" 52They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee."
Joh_7:46 "The officers answered, 'Never did a man speak the way this man speaks'" John's irony again! This is a very startling testimony.
1. they did not mention their fear of the crowd which would have been a good excuse for them
2. these Temple Police were unanimous in their opinion about Jesus, while the crowd was divided
3. these men were accustomed to following orders, not giving their opinions.
Joh_7:48 "No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he" The Greek grammatical construction in both Joh_7:47-48 expects a "no" answer. The term "rulers" refers to the Sanhedrin. Here we have the Sadducees and Pharisees (the entire Sanhedrin), who normally were very hostile to one another, uniting in their oppositions against Jesus (cf. Joh_11:47; Joh_11:57; Joh_18:3).
Joh_7:49 "But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed" This refers to "the people of the land" ('am hâ'âres) who were looked down on by the religious leaders because they did not perform all the Oral Traditions (cf. Deu_27:26). John's irony continues to be seen in Joh_7:51, where Nicodemus points out to them that they are also breaking the Law by their treatment of Jesus.
Oh, the tragedy of religiosity. The very ones who curse (eparatos, found only here in the NT) the common people are cursed themselves! If light has become darkness, how great is the darkness! Be warned, modern, conservative, educated religionists!
Joh_7:51"Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it" The Greek grammatical construction expects a "no" answer (cf. Exo_23:1; Deu_1:16).
Joh_7:52 "You are not also from Galilee, are you" This shows the emotional opposition of the Sanhedrin against Jesus.
▣ "Search and see" Search had the connotation within Judaism of studying the Scriptures (cf. Joh_5:39). This again shows John's use of irony. What about Elijah (cf. 1Ki_17:1) and Jonah (cf. 2Ki_14:25), Hosea and Nahum? They must have meant "the" prophet of Deu_18:15; Deu_18:19; Gen_49:10; 2 Samuel 7.
Joh_7:53 to Joh_8:11 See note at beginning of chapter 8.
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