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Selected Verse: John 7:27 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Joh 7:27 |
King James |
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| 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. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
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, Sol 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. |
| Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
Howbeit (ἀλλὰ)
But, it cannot be that the rulers have made such a discovery, for we know whence this man is.
We know (οἴδαμεν)
The knowing of the rulers is expressed by ἔγνωσαν; have they ascertained by searching and watching. The people's knowledge, οἴδαμεν, is that of settled conviction.
Whence (πόθεν)
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. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| When Christ cometh, none knoweth whence he is - This Jewish tradition was true, with regard to his Divine nature: in that respect none could declare his generation. But it was not true with regard to his human nature, for both his family and the place of his birth were plainly foretold. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
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 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? |
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?