Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 7:27
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
27. when Christ cometh ] Better, when the Christ cometh: see on Joh 1:20.
no man knoweth whence he is ] Literally, no man comes to know (see on Joh 7:26 and Joh 8:55) whence He is. ‘Whence’ does not refer to the Messiah’s birthplace, which was known ( Joh 7:41-42); nor to His remote descent, for He was to be the Son of David ( ibid.); but to His parentage (Joh 6:42), immediate and actual. This text is the strongest, if not the only evidence that we have of the belief that the immediate parents of the Messiah would be unknown: but the precision and vivacity of this passage carries conviction with it, and shews how familiar the ideas current among the Jews at that time were to S. John. It never occurs to him to explain. The belief might easily grow out of Isa 53:8, ‘Who shall declare His generation?’ Justin Martyr tells us of a kindred belief, that the Messiahship of the Messiah would be unknown, even to Himself, until He was anointed by Elijah. ( Trypho, pp. 226, 336.)
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Howbeit – But. They proceeded to state a reason why they supposed that he could not be the Messiah, whatever the rulers might think.
We know this man whence he is – We know the place of his birth and residence.
No man knoweth whence he is – From Mat 2:5, it appears that the common expectation of the Jews was that the Messiah would be born at Bethlehem; but they had also feigned that after his birth he would be hidden or taken away in some mysterious manner, and appear again from some unexpected quarter. We find allusions to this expectation in the New Testament, where our Saviour corrects their common notions, Mat 24:23; Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. And again Joh 7:26, If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. The following extracts from Jewish writings show that this was the common expectation: The Redeemer shall manifest himself, and afterward be hid. So it was in the redemption from Egypt. Moses showed himself and then was hidden. So on the passage, Son 2:9 – My beloved is like a roe or a young hart – they say: A roe appears and then is hid; so the Redeemer shall first appear and then be concealed, and then again be concealed and then again appear. So the Redeemer shall first appear and then be hid, and then, at the end of 45 days, shall reappear, and cause manna to descend. See Lightfoot. Whatever may have been the source of this opinion, it explains this passage, and shows that the writer of this gospel was well acquainted with the opinions of the Jews, however improbable those opinions were.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. No man knoweth whence he is.] The generality of the people knew very well that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, in the city, and of the family, of David; see Joh 7:42. But, from Isaiah Isa 53:8, Who shall declare his generation? they probably thought that there should be something so peculiarly mysterious in his birth, or in the manner of his appearing, that no person could fully understand. Had they considered his miraculous conception, they would have felt their minds relieved on this point. The Jews thought that the Messiah, after his birth, would hide himself for some considerable time; and that when he began to preach no man should know where he had been hidden, and whence he had come. The rabbins have the following proverb: Three things come unexpectedly:
1. A thing found by chance.
2. The sting of a scorpion: and,
3. The Messiah.
It was probably in reference to the above that the people said, No man knoweth whence he is. However, they might have spoken this of his parents. We know that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, of the family of David; but no man can know his parents: therefore they rejected him: Joh 6:42, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We know this man whence he is; we know he is of Nazareth, and that Joseph is his reputed father. They also knew whence the Messias was to come, that he was to be of the family of David, of the tribe of Judah, of the town of Bethlehem: the chief priests and scribes answered Herod to that purpose, without the least hesitation, Mat 2:5,6, but they had no revelation to guide them to know of what particular family he should be: thus this verse is easily reconciled to Joh 7:42. Others think that they spake of the second manifestation of Christ. They had a tradition, which was bottomed on holy writ, That he was to come out of Bethlehem: but then they had another tradition, that he should be taken away from thence, and hidden for some years, and then again appear as a person unknown whence he came. Which opinion, say some, was bottomed on the revelations of the Old Testament concerning a double regeneration of Christ, Isa 53:8, Who shall declare his generation? and Mic 5:2; the one of which is to be understood of his eternal generation, which none can declare; the other, as to the generation of his human nature. But the Jews not understanding that the Messiah was to be God man, understood both of his human nature; which made them fancy, that though he was to be born at Bethlehem, according to Mic 5:2, yet he was to be carried away for some years some where; so as when he came to appear to the world, none should know whence he came, but he should appear as a man dropped down from heaven. Now Christ having been offered in the temple at his mothers purification, went back again with his parents, Luk 2:39, came to Nazareth, and ordinarily went up to Jerusalem; there he was found disputing with the doctors, Joh 7:46; and at last we find him resting with his parents at Nazareth, and being subject to them; after which we read no more of him, till he came to John to be baptized: so as the Jews had known and observed the whole course of Christs life.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. Howbeit we know this man,&c.This seems to refer to some current opinion that Messiah’sorigin would be mysterious (not altogether wrong), from whichthey concluded that Jesus could not be He, since they knew all aboutHis family at Nazareth.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Howbeit, we know this man whence he is,…. They signify, that if the rulers had altered their minds, and had gone into the belief of Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah, they should not follow them in it, for this reason; because they knew from whence he came; meaning not so much the place of his birth, which they supposed was Galilee, and Nazareth in Galilee, in which they were mistaken, as the manner of his birth, which they could account for: they pretended to know his extract, that he was the son of Joseph and Mary, that he was begotten in wedlock, and was born as other persons are; there was no difficulty with them in accounting for his coming into the world, no more than any other ordinary person; his descent from Joseph and Mary was well known to them, and to be accounted for in a rational way, and therefore concluded he could not be the Messiah:
but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is; they knew the place from whence he was to come; so the chief priests and Scribes did, Mt 2:4; and so did these Jews, Joh 7:42. They knew he would come from Bethlehem, and they knew that he would come out of the seed of David; but then he was to be born of a virgin, according to Isa 7:14, and such a coming into the world was not to be known, reasoned upon, and accounted for: wherefore since Jesus, according to the notion of these men, came into the world in the common and ordinary way, they thought they had an invincible argument against his being the Messiah; and therefore, let their rulers do what they would, for their parts, they were determined to reject him: and because it could not be known from whence the Messiah should come; hence the ancient Jews used to call him the seed which comes from another place; not from the place from whence seed ordinarily comes, from the loins of men, but from some other place they knew not where: their words are very remarkable on that passage in Ge 4:25: “and she called his name Seth, for God hath appointed me another seed”, c. This observation is made by R. Tanchuma, in the name of R. Samuel d says he,
“she has respect to that seed, which is he that comes,
, “from another place”, and what is this? this is the King Messiah.”
And elsewhere e, the same Rabbi observes on those words in
Ge 19:32: “that we may preserve seed of our father”: it is not written, “that we may preserve a son of our father”, but “that we may preserve seed of our father”; that seed which is he that comes from “another place”; and what is this? this is the King Messiah. The modern Jews f endeavour to explain away the sense of this phrase, “another seed”, as if it regarded strange seed; and that the sense of the expression is only, that the Messiah should spring from the family of Moab, and from Ruth the Moabitess: nor is their sense what Aquinas g at tributes to the Jewish Rabbins,
“that the more noble part of that mass, of which Adam was made, remained untouched (by sin), and was afterwards transfused into Seth; and so through all descending from him, unto Joakim, or Eliakim, or Heli, the father of the virgin, out of which the body of the blessed Virgin was made:”
which is no other than a Popish device, fathered upon the Jews, and made for the sake of the, Virgin Mary, rather than for the sake of Christ. But their meaning is, that Christ should not be gotten of man, or come into the world in the ordinary way of generation, but should be born of a virgin; and so it could not be known, and accounted for from whence he was, or from whence that seed was of which he was made. The angel gives the best account of this in Lu 1:35: a body was prepared for Christ by the Lord; it was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost; his birth of a virgin was miraculous; it is beyond the comprehension of men, and cannot explained by any mortal; from whence he is it cannot be said; no man can be pointed to as his father; all that can be said is, he was made of a woman, a virgin.
d Bereshit Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 20. 4. Midrash Ruth, fol. 36. 1. e Bereshit Rabba, sect. 51. fol. 46. 1. Midrash Ruth, fol. 35. 4. f Mattanot Cehunah & Jade Moseh in ib. g In 3 sent distinct. 3. art. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Howbeit (). Clearly adversative here.
This man (). Possibly contemptuous use of as may be true in John 7:25; John 7:26.
Whence he is ( ). The Galilean Jews knew the family of Jesus (6:42), but they knew Jesus only as from Nazareth, not as born in Bethlehem (verse 42).
When the Christ cometh ( ). Prolepsis of and indefinite temporal clause with and the present middle subjunctive rather than the more usual second aorist active as in verse 31, a trifle more picturesque. This is a piece of popular theology. “Three things come wholly unexpected–Messiah, a godsend, and a scorpion” (Sanhedrin 97a). The rulers knew the birthplace to be Bethlehem (John 7:42; Matt 2:5), but some even expected the Messiah to drop suddenly from the skies as Satan proposed to Jesus to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple. The Jews generally expected a sudden emergence of the Messiah from concealment with an anointing by Elijah (Apoc. of Bar. XXIX. 3; 2Esdr. 7:28; 13:32; Justin Martyr, Tryph. 110).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Howbeit [] . But, it cannot be that the rulers have made such a discovery, for we know whence this man is.
We know [] . The knowing of the rulers is expressed by egnwsan; have they ascertained by searching and watching. The people’s knowledge, oidamen, is that of settled conviction.
Whence [] . Referring to His parentage and family.
No one knoweth whence He is. Opinions differ as to the precise reference of these words. Some explain by a popular idea that the Messiah would not be known until anointed by Elias, when he would suddenly appear. Others refer to Isa 53:8; or to Dan 7:13. Meyer says that while the popular belief that the immediate ancestry of the Messiah would be unknown when He came cannot further be historically proved, it is credible, partly from the belief in His divine origin, and partly from the obscurity into which the Davidic family had sunk.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Howbeit we know this man whence he is: (alla touton oidamen pothen estin) “But this one we know whence he is:” They still call Him “this man,” not willing to call His name, lest they be accused of agreeing to the idea that He was the Christ, and lose their membership to and social and religious privileges in the synagogue, Joh 9:22; Joh 12:42-43; Joh 16:2. They knew the earthly but not the heavenly genealogy of Jesus, Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14; Joh 3:16; Mat 13:55.
2) “But when Christ cometh,” (ho de Christos hotan erchetai) “Yet when the Christ comes of his own accord,” the promised Messiah; We know His genealogy, While “this one” is reputed to be out of Galilee, the Christ is to come of David, out of Judea, Joh 7:41-42; Mic 5:2. And this is how He had come, but they did not believe, Joh 1:11-13.
3) “No man knoweth whence he is.” (oudeis ginoskei pothen estin) “No one knows where he is.” These Jews of Jerusalem had accepted the view that when the Messiah came it would be a sudden, bedazzling appearance, announced by Elias, a vague philosophical concept, evidently then taught by the rulers. They gave the impression that He would appear out of nowhere for such an announcement of His kingship and bring them sudden glory and a solution to all their problems under the Roman Caesars. This shows how little they really knew about the Scriptures, Joh 5:39-40.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27. But we know whence this man is. Here we see not only how great is the blindness of men, when they ought to judge about the things of God, but this vice is almost natural to them, to be ingenious in contriving what may hinder them from arriving at the knowledge of the truth. It is frequently, indeed, from the craft of Satan that offenses arise, which cause many to turn away from Christ; but though the road were plain and smooth, every man would contrive an offense for himself. So long as the rulers were opposed to Christ, their unbelief would of itself have kept back this multitude; but when that obstacle has been removed, they contrive a new reason for themselves, that they may not come to the faith. And even though it were proper that they should be influenced by the example of their rulers, they are so far from following what is right, that they willingly stumble at the first step. Thus it frequently happens, that men who had begun well fall away quickly, unless the Lord conduct them to the very end of their career.
But when Christ shall come. The argument by which they obstruct their own progress is this: “The Prophets have testified that the origin of Christ will be unknown. Now we know whence this man is, and therefore we cannot reckon him to be the Christ. ” Hence we are reminded how pernicious it is to mangle the Scriptures, and even Christ himself, so as not to admit more than the half of him. God promised that the Redeemer would be of the seed of David; but he frequently claims this office as peculiar to himself; therefore, he must have been God manifested in the flesh, that he might be the Redeemer of his Church. Thus Micah points out the place where Christ would be born. Out of thee, Bethlehem, he says, a Prince shall come, to govern my people But, immediately afterwards, he speaks of another going forth which is far loftier, and then he says that it is hidden and secret, (Mic 5:2.) Yet those wretched men, when they perceived in Christ nothing but what is liable to contempt, draw the absurd conclusion, that he is not the person who had been promised. On the mean condition of Christ in the flesh let us therefore learn to look in such a manner, that this state of humiliation, which is despised by wicked men, may raise us to his heavenly glory. Thus Bethlehem, where the man was to be born, will be to us a door by which we may enter into the presence of the eternal God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) Howbeit we know this man.They at once supply a corrective answer to their own question. They know this Man whence He is. He is the carpenters son, and His mother, and brethren, and sisters, are well known (Mat. 13:55-56). His brothers, indeed, are part of that multitude (Joh. 7:10). They know that the Messiah will be of the seed and town of David (Joh. 7:42); but they have no knowledge of an earthly home and earthly relations, and all their ideas are of a Being who will not be subject to the ordinary conditions of life, and whose immediate origin no man can know. Gods Anointed living among them as a man, with mother, and brothers, and sisters! This cannot be. What meant the coming in the clouds of heaven of Daniels vision (Dan. 7:13), or the coming suddenly to the Temple of Malachis prophecy? (Mal. 3:1.) Why did Isaiah tell of His being Wonderful, Counsellor, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace? (Isa. 9:6.) In such thoughts they fulfilled another prophecy of the same Isaiah, which their own Rabbis interpreted of the Messiah, He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him (Isa. 53:2).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Howbeit Notwithstanding this appearance in his favour.
No man knoweth whence Contrary to the theory of these Jerusalemites, prophecy had foretold the descent of the Messiah, namely, from David; and the place of his birth, Bethlehem. Yet there are passages, such as Isa 53:8, Mic 5:2. which maintain the mystery of his origin, which Jesus rightly explains in the next verse by applying to his divine nature.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“However it is, we know from where this man comes. But when the Messiah comes, no one will know from where he comes.”
This, however, raised a further problem for them. There were differing views about the origin of the Messiah. Some said his origin would be unknown, others that he would be born in Bethlehem. These, being inhabitants of Jerusalem, were clearly of the former view (compare Joh 7:42 for the other view). This view is mentioned in the Mishnah. In Sanhedrin 97a Rabbi Zera taught, “Three come unawares – Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” To these people the Messiah would suddenly appear as from nowhere, having previously been unknown, and possibly not even knowing himself that he was the Messiah until God revealed it to him. He would be a mysterious figure ‘coming from nowhere’.
But in their eyes Jesus was the very opposite of that. They were fullycognisant of where Jesus came from. He came from Galilee. Thus to them He could not be the Messiah. He was not mysterious enough. Here were more people who had a body of tradition and were thus blinded by it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
Ver. 27. No man knoweth whence he is ] This error might arise out of some texts of Scripture misunderstood, as Isa 53:8 ; Psa 110:4 . We should, whenever we open the Bible, pray, “Lord, open mine eyes, that I may see the wondrous things of thy law,” Psa 119:18 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27. ] Perhaps they refer to the idea (see Justin Mart., Dial. c. Tryph. 8, 110, pp. 110, 203) that the Messiah would not be known ( ) until anointed by Elias, when He would suddenly come forth from obscurity.
They may allude to Isa 53:8 .
The place of the Messiah’s birth was known, Joh 7:42 .
At all events we see here, that the Jews regarded their Messiah not as a mere man, but one to be supernaturally sent into the world.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Howbeit = But, or And yet.
this man = this one.
when = whenever.
cometh = may come.
whence He is: i.e. how He may come. The Rabbis taught that He would come from Bethlehem and then be hid, but none knew where. See Lightfoot, vol. xii, pages 303-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] Perhaps they refer to the idea (see Justin Mart., Dial. c. Tryph. 8, 110, pp. 110, 203) that the Messiah would not be known ( ) until anointed by Elias, when He would suddenly come forth from obscurity.
They may allude to Isa 53:8.
The place of the Messiahs birth was known, Joh 7:42.
At all events we see here, that the Jews regarded their Messiah not as a mere man, but one to be supernaturally sent into the world.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 7:27. , [howbeit], but) They believed in human authority, in rejecting Christ: they notwithstanding do not believe in human authority, in acknowledging Christ. Here may be observed the Jewish prejudices. The reasoning of the Jews was to this effect; the Christ has an unknown parentage; Jesus has not an unknown parentage: therefore Jesus is not the Christ. The Lord answers at Joh 7:28, Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am; and I am not come of Myself, etc.- , we know this man) ch. Joh 6:42, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know.-, no man) That really happened in the case of this, the true Messiah. Foll, v., He that sent Me is true, whom ye know not. Ch. Joh 9:29, We know that God spake unto Moses, but as for this fellow, we know not from whence He is. For not even now did they know His country. Joh 7:42, Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem? when in fact Jesus was born at Bethlehem.[194] [Some one may fancy, that it is an idle question, whether the circumstances of the birth of Christ be known or unknown; but a false opinion on a very slight point was in fact sufficient to prove the greatest obstacle to faith. One may observe the same result in the case of various unsound maxims, by which the world suffers itself to be held in bondage.-V. g.]
[194] And not in Galilee as they supposed.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 7:27
Joh 7:27
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when the Christ cometh, no one knoweth whence he is.-The difficulty came up that when Christ came none would know whence he came, and they thought they knew whence Jesus had come.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
we know: Joh 7:15, Joh 6:42, Mat 13:54-57, Mar 6:3, Luk 4:22
no man: Joh 7:41, Joh 7:42, Isa 11:1, Isa 53:8, Jer 23:5, Jer 30:21, Mic 5:2, Mat 2:5, Mat 2:6, Act 8:33
Reciprocal: 2Ch 7:8 – kept Joh 8:14 – but Joh 9:29 – we know not Act 3:17 – through
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
There is a vein in the human mind that discounts a “home product” as being of little special value. That is why Jesus said what he did in chapter 4:44 and similar passages. It was true these people were acquainted with the earthly surroundings of Jesus as a man, and there is no information that anything of a supernatural or even unusual nature occurred in his home life. That was because his divine personality was not to be manifested until the proper time, which would be after his baptism and he was ready to enter upon his public ministry. Another thing, these people had an idea that is not explained in any work of reference that I have, that. the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament was to make his entrance into this world in some mysterious manner (which was true, but not in the way they meant), and that he would come from some unknown territory.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
[When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.] How doth this agree with Joh 7:42, and with Mat 2:5-6? They doubted not, indeed, but he should give the first manifestation of himself from Bethlehem; but then they supposed he would be hid again; and after some space of time make a new appearance, from what place no one could tell.
Jewish authors tell you, that Christ, before their times, had indeed been born in Bethlehem, but immediately snatched away they knew not whither, and so hid that he could not be found. We related the whole story before in our notes at Mat 2:1.
Their conceptions in this thing we have explained to us in Midras Schir; “‘My beloved is like a roe or a young hart,’ Canticles 2:9. A roe appears and is hid, appears and is hid again. So our first redeemer [Moses] appeared and was hid, and at length appeared again. So our latter Redeemer [Messiah] shall be revealed to them, and shall be hid again from them; and how long shall he be hid from them?” etc. A little after; “In the end of forty-five days he shall be revealed again, and cause manna to descend amongst them.”
They conceive a twofold manifestation of the Messiah; the first, in Bethlehem; but will straightway disappear and lie hid. At length he will shew himself; but from what place and at what time that will be, no one knew. In his first appearance in Bethlehem, he should do nothing that was memorable; in his second was the hope and expectation of the nation. The Jews therefore who tell our Saviour here, that “when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is,” whether they knew him to have been born at Bethlehem or no, yet by his wonderful works they conceive this to have been the second manifestation of himself: and therefore only doubt whether he should be the Messiah or no, because they knew the place [Nazareth] from whence he came; having been taught by tradition, that Messiah should come the second time from a place perfectly unknown to all men.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 7:27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is; but when the Christ cometh, no one perceiveth whence he is. In Joh 7:42 we read of the expectation that the Christ would come from Bethlehem (see also Mat 2:5). But there is no inconsistency between this verse and that, for it seems to have been the belief of the Jews that the Redeemer would indeed first appear in Bethlehem; but would then be snatched away and hidden, and finally would afterwards suddenly manifest Himself,from what place and at what time no one could tell. So Jesus warns His disciples that the cry will be heard, Lo, here is the Christ; or, Lo, he is there (Mar 13:21).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 27
Whence he is; his parentage and origin.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
7:27 {11} Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
(11) Men are very wise to have checks and balances for their own thoughts.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The people of Jerusalem felt inclined to disbelieve that Jesus was the Messiah because they believed that their human Messiah’s origins would be unknown. This belief was a tradition. [Note: Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 8:7.] It was certainly not scriptural since the Old Testament clearly predicted that Messiah’s birthplace would be Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). The common understanding of Jesus’ origin was that He grew up and had evidently been born in Nazareth. Not only did they fail to perceive His heavenly origin, but they were also wrong about His earthly origin. Indeed they did not know Him very well at all.