My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14-36 

 

Yesterday we read that, after the controversies surrounding His preaching (see chapter 6),  Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no  one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  We recall that this section of John's Gospel (John 7:1-10:21) concerns events at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day festival commemorating the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  There is already a great deal of controversy surrounding Jesus:  the religious leaders seek Him, and the people debate about Him with many different opinions, but are afraid to speak openly for fear of the leadership. See yesterday's reading and commentary, linked above.  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life and ministry.

Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  My study Bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness, it says, comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.  It quotes St. John Chrysostom, who paraphrases Christ this way:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Of course Jesus is correct, there are those among the leadership who now seek to seize Him; in fact, a few verses down we're told that the religious leaders send officers of the temple to take Him.  Jesus refers to His healing of the paralytic on the Sabbath, which the religious leaders seized upon as a violation of the law of Moses (see this reading).  But here Christ also gives an example of a blameless violation on the Sabbath ("if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath"), as He does elsewhere (see Matthew 12:3-5, for example).   Jesus says, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment," which can be said to sum up so much of His preaching.  It also reinforces His earlier statement about seeking the glory of God in all things, rather than personal glory, such as the actions of the religious rulers exemplify in their question to maintain authority by silencing Jesus.

 

 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  My study Bible comments that the crowds are mistaken, in both an earthly sense, and also in a divine sense.  In terms of His human life, they think of Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee; but they are not aware that He was actually born in Bethlehem (verse 42; see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't comprehend that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven, eternally begotten before all ages, and therefore His divine "origin" also remains unknown to them.  

Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  Once more, Jesus returns to His relationship to the Father who sent Him.  It is this on which so much hinges, Christ's identity and His word.  My study Bible comments that His hour is the time of His suffering and death.  It says that Christ is the Lord over time, an authority which is possessed by God alone.  Christ comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see John 8:20; 10:39).  

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   My study Bible comments that Christ's statement refers to the His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. 

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles, the Greek-speakers, as Greek was the lingua franca of the ancient world.  My study Bible says that this unwitting prophecy points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

Jesus tells the people, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  It's important that we know He tells this to the people and not just to the religious leaders.  For what He is saying is that we are all capable of doing as He does.  Over and over again, what He emphasizes is His complete relationship, His unity with the Father.  But in today's reading, He teaches, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  Let us note, He says that this applies to anyone.  So He is inviting anyone, just one who wills to do the will of the One who sent Him, then that person will know concerning the doctrine:  whether it is from God or whether He speaks on His own authority.  Repeatedly in John's Gospel, Jesus has emphasized not only His own close tie or unity with the Father, but also the Father's pull of love upon us.  And now He says quite clearly that we also may understand concerning the doctrine He teaches, whether it is from God or whether He speaks on His own authority.  All it really takes is that deep internal willingness to separate ourselves from our own will, and to do as He does, to seek the will of the Father.  This is the key to truth and to knowing truth -- and it is the key to the capacity not to judge by appearance, but to judge with righteous judgment.  He makes clear the distinction between one who seeks only his own will, or one who seeks the will of the One who sent Him -- meaning the Father, and that this is the key to our own capacity for truth and the recognition of truth.  To use a modern coin of phrase, He is teaching us to divorce ourselves from our own egos so that we seek the will of God.  He makes a plea for the honesty of real humility, and teaches us how we are to practice discernment, the key to recognizing and knowing truth and living truth within ourselves.  He opens this door for all of us, for anyone.  This is not just for religious scholars, and not just for the enlightened elite, but requires of us the humility of true desire to do the will of God.  This is the response in us to the love of the Father that draws us; as He said in Tuesday's reading:  "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God'."  He has given us the key; let us endeavor to do our best to use it, to cultivate the humility and the desire to hear and respond to the love of God in truth.

 

 

 

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

Yesterday we read that at this time, Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the religious leaders sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.   

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus is at the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot), an autumn festival commemorating the time the Israelites wandered toward the Promised Land following Moses, and dwelling in tents (or tabernacles).  My study bible comments on this passage that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.   It says that spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases Christ in this way:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."  Regarding healing on the Sabbath, Jesus refers to this event which occurred at the Feast of Weeks, or Old Testament Pentecost, which takes place fifty days after Passover.  

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."   My study bible comments that these crowds are mistaken, in both an earthly and a divine sense.  In terms of Christ's human identity, they think Jesus is from Nazareth of Galilee.  But they aren't aware that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem (verse 42; see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't comprehend that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven, eternally begotten before all ages, and therefore His divine "origin" is also unknown to them.

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  Christ's hour is His time of suffering and death, His Passion.  My study bible remarks that He is the Lord over time, an authority which is possessed by God only.  Christ comes to the Cross by His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see 8:20, 10:39). 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   Christ's statement is a reference to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks is to go among the Gentiles.  This is an unwitting prophecy, according to my study bible, and it points to the time after Christ's Ascension when Christ's name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

It's so interesting that John presents us with Jesus' teaching and the perplexed responses of the leaders and the people.  In today's reading John specifically gives us the dialogue of Jesus with the leaders and also the various people from Jerusalem and also the crowds.  The religious leaders at some point even send officers to seize Him, but as we shall see, and as we've been told, it's not quite His time for that yet.  Yesterday we read that the leaders were searching for him at the feast, but also there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews (meaning the religious leaders).  So the people are looking for clues.  People apparently are talking about Him in today's reading:  common people both from Galilee and now from Jerusalem.  The leaders marvel even at how Jesus knows all the things He's talking about.  Jesus asks, "Why do you seek to kill Me?" and the people respond, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"   Some from Jerusalem ask, "Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?"  But on the other hand, how can He be the Christ since "we know where this Man is from?"     And yet, despite this debate, there are also many who believe in Him because of the works He has done.  Everywhere there is discussion and debate.  There is also fear, and a myriad of opinions hidden under an umbrella of that fear of the leadership.   There is more than one opinion here, more than one party with their own perspective and point of view and interests for consideration, and Jesus is in the middle of all of it.  He is the central point of the controversy, with myriad rumors, opinions, ideas, and interests involved.  In short, we are in the middle of a crisis.  Even while the leaders issue orders to have Him arrested, how does Jesus respond to all of this?  What does He do?  Does He clarify everything for everyone?  Does He carefully explain all the things everybody wants to know?  Does He tell the people He was indeed born in Jerusalem?  No, instead Jesus talks the straight talk about His mystical origins and especially about the Father.  He says His doctrine is that of the One who sent Him, and that they must judge righteous judgment.  He tells them that they both know Him and where He's from, but they don't know the One who sent Him, whose will He always follows:  "I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."   Everything keeps going back to the Father.  Finally, as if the climax of a crisis has come, Jesus announces that He will only be with them a little while longer, that He will return to the One who has sent Him, and where He will go they cannot follow.  "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   Instead of resolving this crisis to everyone's satisfaction, Jesus tells the mystical truth of the reality of His ministry and mission.  They cannot understand, but we must consider that these words are not meant only for His immediate circumstances but also with the knowledge that they would also become meaningful to His disciples, and eventually be given to us.  Jesus never abandons the mission.  He doesn't seek to explain everything to everyone's satisfaction, but He does reveal the mystical reality of who He is.  He tells the truth about Himself, even though the people cannot understand.  He is leading them somewhere, and just as John's Gospel gives us this portrayal of the confusion and opinions that surround Him, so are we always in a similar place in the sense that we might hear, think, and entertain all kinds of notions about Christ.  But yet we still have only His words about who He is, and He is speaking to us all of these millennia later.  If we follow His lead, He continually points to the Father, that the Father and He are one, and that this is His mission, to be true to that identity as Son.  He knows His mission and what He is about, and yet into that mystery He reveals we are still drawn and invited in to enter.  Where is that place He is going?  Do we really know the Father, and follow the words and teachings we've been given?  How best do we follow Christ, and where is He taking us?  How do we reconcile our own social roles in the midst of a still-confusing life and time, and yet be true to Him, and even wait on His word?  All of these things are somehow with us still, and John does not spare us the confusion, the misunderstanding, the hostility, the manipulation, the desires, and the thousand and one other things that make up this slice of the life and time of the ministry of Christ.  For all of these things are still with us.  We walk through confusing times.  We don't fully understand the mystery of Christ.  But we know one thing, that He stands firm in His truth for us, and He goes to the Cross and returns to the Father for us.  We have our faith.  We have our will to do His will, and Christ's promise that this is enough.

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from:  but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus aid to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?" 

- John 7:14-36

Yesterday we read that at this time in Jesus' ministry, He remained in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the religious leaders sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  My study bible comments on this passage that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  It says that spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.  It quotes St. John Chrysostom's paraphrase of Christ's words:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."   See this reading for the incident to which Jesus refers, in which He healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, at the Feast of Weeks (Old Testament Pentecost) in Jerusalem.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from:  but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."    My study bible remarks that these crowds are doubly mistaken.  In terms of Christ's human identity as Jesus, they think of Him as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem (verse 42; see also Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they cannot understand that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven (who has sent Him) eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore His divine "origin" is also unknown to them. 

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   Christ's hour is the time of His suffering and death.  My study bible writes that Christ is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone.  He comes to His Cross of His own free will and in a time set by the Father, not according to the plots of human beings (see 8:20; 10:39).

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus aid to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles; that is the "Greek-speakers," as at that time Greek was the lingua franca or common international language used for trade, commerce, literature, etc.   The Dispersion would refer to the diaspora of the Jews (the Greek word translated as "dispersion" is diaspora/διασπορά); that is, Jews who live outside of Israel proper, including proselytes and converts to Judaism.  My study bible comments that this is, in fact, an unwitting prophecy, which points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  Indeed, our New Testament Scripture was originally written in Greek, and the gospel was carried into the world using the Greek language.

It's noteworthy and interesting that Jesus' first response to the accusations He encounters is to teach, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Nicodemus will say something similar to the Pharisees:  "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" (7:50-51).  In a similar vein, in Acts of the Apostles, Gamaliel offers counsel for good judgment, when he prescribed leniency for the apostles who were preaching the gospel of Christ:  "And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God" (Acts 5:34-42).  Jesus, Nicodemus, and Gamaliel offer an insight already present in the Law:  a teaching for righteous judgment.  All too often, we fall into similar patterns of ignoring what we know are prescriptions for good judgment, and our passions and fears get in the way of practicing good judgment.  What Jesus seems to suggest is that even if they do not understand Him, even if they cannot for the moment accept His doctrine or find anything familiar in it, even if His actions seem nominally aberrant, the responsibility to judge with righteous judgment remains.  Jesus, by His suggestion, seems to assign this responsibility across the board, to all of us, no matter where we are in our religious understanding.  John's Gospel provides us with the perspective that we are all on a road, and all may be in different places regarding our depth of understanding or embrace of the faith of Jesus.  But nevertheless, such differences should not play a part in our capacity for righteous judgment, and our responsibility for refraining from judgment based on appearances.  Christ calls us to our capacity for insight and compassion.  Hardness of heart is condemned across the board in the Gospels.  Our capacities as human beings capable of discernment always remain with us, and give us a responsibility for failure to engage in humane and just behavior.  Let us consider His words and teachings, and what they imply for all of us, regardless of our understanding, or where we are on the journey of faith.  He calls us to embrace a level of dispassion that befits those created to be capable of good judgment, and of faithfulness to Creator.  Let us pay attention!  The crowds who view Christ are in the middle of all kinds of forces that seek to persuade them one way and another.  There are forces of hatred and of fear, of enmity and envy, of desire and need, and in the midst the people question and don't know which way to turn.  But good judgment, Christ suggests, remains possible, even in the midst of uncertainty and manipulation.  So we are here in this world, subject to the same forces, and assigned by Christ with the same responsibility for righteous judgment.