28 As He was teaching in the temple complex,(A) Jesus cried out, “You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me(B) is true. You don’t know Him;(C) 29 I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”(D)

30 Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour[a] had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in Him and said, “When the Messiah comes, He won’t perform more signs than this man has done,(E) will He?”

32 The Pharisees(F) heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, so the chief priests(G) and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest Him.

33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.(H) Then I’m going to the One who sent Me.(I) 34 You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(J)

35 Then the Jews(K) said to one another, “Where does He intend to go so we won’t find Him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Dispersion[b](L) among the Greeks(M) and teach the Greeks, does He? 36 What is this remark He made: ‘You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’(N)?”

The Promise of the Spirit

37 On the last and most important day of the festival,(O) Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me[c](P) and drink!(Q) 38 The one who believes in Me,(R) as the Scripture(S) has said,[d] will have streams of living water(T) flow(U) from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit.(V) Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,(W) for the Spirit[e] had not yet been received[f][g] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The People Are Divided over Jesus

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This really is the Prophet!”[h](X) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah!” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does He? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture(Y) say that the Messiah comes from David’s(Z) offspring[i] and from the town of Bethlehem,(AA) where David once lived?” 43 So a division(AB) occurred among the crowd because of Him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize Him,(AC) but no one laid hands on Him.

Debate over Jesus’ Claims

45 Then the temple police(AD) came to the chief priests(AE) and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?”

46 The police answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”[j](AF)

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them: “Are you fooled(AG) too? 48 Have any of the rulers(AH) or Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed!”

50 Nicodemus(AI)—the one who came to Him previously, being one of them—said to them, 51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”(AJ)

52 “You aren’t from Galilee(AK) too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”[k](AL)

[53 So each one went to his house.

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Footnotes

  1. John 7:30 The time of His sacrificial death and exaltation; Jn 2:4; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1
  2. John 7:35 Jewish people scattered throughout Gentile lands who spoke Gk and were influenced by Gk culture
  3. John 7:37 Other mss omit to Me
  4. John 7:38 Jesus may have had several OT passages in mind; Is 58:11; Ezk 47:1-12; Zch 14:8
  5. John 7:39 Other mss read Holy Spirit
  6. John 7:39 Other mss read had not yet been given
  7. John 7:39 Lit the Spirit was not yet; the word received is implied from the previous clause.
  8. John 7:40 Probably the Prophet in Dt 18:15
  9. John 7:42 Lit seed
  10. John 7:46 Other mss read like this man
  11. John 7:52 Jonah and probably other prophets did come from Galilee; 2Kg 14:25

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