What does "we know where this man is from" reveal about the crowd's beliefs? The Setting at the Feast “Then some of the people of Jerusalem began to say, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that He is the Christ? Yet we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.’ ” What the Crowd Thought They Knew • They identified Jesus with Nazareth and Galilee, a carpenter’s son they had seen grow up (Matthew 13:55-56; John 6:42). • Their statement assumes complete, reliable knowledge of His earthly background—parents, town, trade. • Because Jesus’ origins seemed ordinary and traceable, they concluded He could not be the promised Messiah. The Tradition Behind Their Expectation • Jewish teachers had circulated the idea that Messiah would appear “suddenly” and mysteriously (Malachi 3:1). • Micah 5:2 foretold Bethlehem as Messiah’s birthplace, but many focused on the “from of old, from everlasting” clause and expected an almost hidden origin. • Rabbinic sayings summarized this as: “Three things come unawares—Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” • Thus, “no one will know where He is from” became popular shorthand for Messiah’s sudden, divine disclosure. Where Their Reasoning Fell Short • They were unaware Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of Micah 5:2 (Luke 2:4-7). • They ignored Jesus’ repeated testimony that His true origin is heavenly: – “I have come down from heaven” (John 6:38). – “I know where I came from and where I am going” (John 8:14). • Their confidence rested on incomplete facts and cultural tradition rather than the full counsel of Scripture. Spiritual Blindness Exposed • Familiarity bred contempt; they saw “Joseph’s son,” not the Word made flesh (John 1:14). • Preconceived ideas overrode prophetic evidence, illustrating Isaiah 6:9-10—seeing yet not perceiving. • Their remark highlights a fatal assumption: that human observation is sufficient to evaluate divine identity. Takeaways for Today • Right doctrines must rise from Scripture, not popular expectations or selective facts. • Knowing Jesus superficially (hometown, background) is different from recognizing His divine origin and lordship. • God often fulfills His Word in ways that confound human assumptions, calling us to humble, text-anchored faith. |
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