John 7:26

Joh 7:26. Παῤῥησίᾳ, freely) Psa 40:10, “I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.”—ἀληθῶς, truly) The people might have doubted, whether the rulers would affirm, that Jesus is the Christ; but withdrawing themselves from this doubt, the people begin to affirm concerning that [supposed] affirmation.—ἔγνωσαν, have they known) in mind, and by word of mouth. [The ἀληθῶς before ὁ Χριστός in the Rec. Text is omitted in [187][188][189][190][191][192][193] Vulg.]

[187] the Vatican MS., 1209: in Vat. Iibr., Rome: fourth cent.: O. and N. Test. def.

[188] Bezæ, or Cantabrig.: Univ. libr., Cambridge: fifth cent.: publ. by Kipling, 1793: Gospels, Acts, and some Epp. def.

[189] Cod. Reg., Paris, of the Gospels: the text akin to that of B: edited by Tisch.

[190] Borgiana: Veletri: part of John: fourth or fifth cent.: publ. by Georgi, 1789.

[191] Vercellensis of the old ‘Itala,’ or Latin Version before Jerome’s, probably made in Africa, in the second century: the Gospels.

[192] Veronensis, do.

[193] Colbertinus, do.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. That this is the very Christ?] In most of the common printed editions αληθως is found, the VERY Christ; but the word is wanting in BDKLTX, twenty-two others, several editions; all the Arabic, Wheelock's Persic, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, and all the Itala but one, Origen, Epiphanius, Cyril, Isidore, Pelusian, and Nonnus. Grotius, Mill, Bengel, and Griesbach, decide against it. Bishop Pearce says, I am of opinion that this second αληθως, in this verse, should be omitted, it seeming quite unnecessary, if not inaccurate, when the words αληθως εγνωσαν, had just preceded it.

Calmet observes that the multitude which heard our Lord at this time was composed of three different classes of persons:

1. The rulers, priests, and Pharisees, declared enemies of Christ.

2. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who knew the sentiments of their rulers concerning him.

3. The strangers, who from different quarters had come up to Jerusalem to the feast, and who heard Christ attentively, being ignorant of the designs of the rulers, &c., against him.

Our Lord addresses himself in this discourse principally to his enemies. The strange Jews were those who were astonished when Christ said, Joh 7:20, that they sought to kill him, having no such design themselves, and not knowing that others had. And the Jews of Jerusalem were those who, knowing the disposition of the rulers, and seeing Christ speak openly, no man attempting to seize him, addressed each other in the foregoing words, Do the rulers know indeed that this is the Christ? imagining that the chief priests, &c., had at last been convinced that Jesus was the MESSIAH.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) But they, too, have reason for wonder. They hear Him speaking openly, and those who sought His death listen to Him without reply. Are they, then, convinced of the truth of His claim?

Do the rulers know indeed . . .?—Read, Have the rulers come to know indeed that this Man is the Christ? The word “very” is omitted by the best MSS. The word “indeed” shows that the questioners think it impossible that the rulers can have recognised Him.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. boldly] Or, with frankness, or openness; the same word as in Joh_7:4, where (as in Joh_16:29) it has a preposition; here and Joh_7:13 it is the simple dative.

Do the rulers know] The word here translated ‘know’ is not the one translated ‘know’ in Joh_7:28-29. The latter is the most general word for ‘know:’ this means rather to ‘acquire knowledge.’ Have the rulers come to know (or recognised)? See on Joh_1:10. In the next verse we have both words. Comp. Joh_8:55.

that this is the very Christ] ‘Very’ is wanting in authority: that this man is the Christ is the right reading. This suggestion, however, is only a momentary thought. They at once raise a difficulty which for them demolishes the suggestion.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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, Mat 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 Gen 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 Gen 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 Luk 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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

Ver. 26. But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing to him] God restrained them, putting his bit in their jaws, his hook in their nostrils. In the year 1159, lived John, bishop of Salisbury, qui et praesens praesentem Pontificem redarguit, et Polycraticon conscripsit, in quo clerum libere flagellat, who reproved the pope to his face, and wrote his Polycraticon, wherein he freely scourgeth the clergy. (Jacob. Revius.) After this, Robert Grosthead, bishop of Lincoln, called the pope in a letter, Antichrist sitting in the chair of Pestilence, and next to Lucifer himself. As in battle they that stand it out do usually speed best; so here, many times.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do the rulers know indeed ... - It seems from this that they supposed that the rulers had been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but that from some cause they were not willing yet to make it known to the people. The reasons of this opinion were these:

They knew that they had attempted to kill him. They now saw him speaking boldly to the people without interruption from the rulers.

They concluded, therefore, that some change had taken place in the sentiments of the rulers in regard to him, though they had not yet made it public.

The rulers - The members of the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation, who had charge of religious affairs.

Indeed - Truly; certainly. Have they certain evidence, as would appear from their suffering him to speak without interruption?

The very Christ - Is truly or really the Messiah.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Have the rulers, &c. the chief priests, elders, and all the members of the great sanhedrim. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The first search being over, it is probable that the rulers had not heard that Christ was come up to the feast; this made the people think that they had some knowledge that he was the Messias, otherwise they would have taken some course to have restrained his so free and open discoursing: but we shall in the latter part of this chapter find that they were mistaken; for as soon as they heard where he was, and what he was doing, they used all means they could to apprehend him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Do the rulers know indeed—Do they now cease to assail him because they have secretly discovered the truth of his Messiahship. So strong were these proofs that these Jerusalemites suspect that the rulers in their hearts believe him to be the Christ.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And behold he speaketh openly (see vers. 4 and 13), and they say nothing to him. They neither tackle him in argument nor refute his self-vindication, neither do they arrest him or carry out their known project. Have they altered their minds? Are they convinced of his claims? Has he successfully rebutted the charge of sabbath breaking? Does it all vanish on close approach? Then they go a step further, which, if it were the true explanation, would entirely account for their obvious indecision. They even say to one another, with sufficient frequency for the reporter to have heard it, Can it be that the rulersindeed know (mhpote egnwsan , did they at any time come to perceive? The particle expects a dubious though negative response, "we don"t think so; but is it probable? surely not!") that this (person) is the Christ? The rulers must decide this weighty matter, for us at least who dwell in Jerusalem. The question shows how widespread, how detailed, was the idea of the coming Christ. This supposition with reference to their rulers was momentary, and conflicted with another standing objection to the claims of Jesus.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. Omit ἀληθῶς after ἐστιν.

26. ἴδε παῤῥησίᾳ. See on Joh 1:29 and Joh 7:13.

μήποτε κ.τ.λ. Can it be that the rulers indeed have come to know that this man is the Christ? Surely they have not; and yet why do they allow such language? Comp. Joh 7:31, Joh 4:29; Joh 4:33, and see on Joh 1:48. The suggestion is only momentary: they at once raise a technical difficulty which suffices with them to cancel the moral impression produced by His words.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26.] The inhabitants of Jerusalem know better than the ὄχλος the mind of their rulers towards Jesus; and suspect some change in their purpose, on account of His being thus permitted to teach freely.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. καὶ ἴδε. For ἴδε, see on 1:29.

παρρησίᾳ. For this word see on v. 4, and for παρρησίᾳ λαλεῖ, the openness with which Jesus taught, see on 18:20. The citizens were surprised that He had been allowed to teach without interference from the rulers, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ λέγουσιν.

μή ποτε is not used elsewhere by Jn. Cf. its similar use in Luk 3:15, where the people are wondering about John the Baptist, μή ποτε αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ Χριστός. So here: “Can it be that the rulers in truth know that this is the Christ?” οἱ ἄρχοντες describes generally the members of the Sanhedrim (for the constitution of which, see below on v. 32). Cf. v. 48, 3:1, 12:42; and see Luk 23:13, Luk 23:35, Luk 23:24:20.

The rec. ins. ἀληθῷ before ὁ Χριστός, but om. אBDLNWΘ.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do the rulers know indeed? The interrogative particle mhpote may be rendered by the familiar expression they do not, do they? Rev., can it be that the rulers, etc. Indeed [αληθως] ; literally, truly.

The very [αληθως] . Omit.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.