John 7:26

John 7:26, in plain English

They notice that Jesus is speaking boldly and no one is stopping Him. Could it be that the rulers actually know He is the Christ? They are so close to seeing the truth.

Why it's here

This is one of those almost moments in the Gospels. The crowd is on the verge of a breakthrough, but they talk themselves out of it.

Who's speaking

The Jerusalemites continue wondering aloud about what the leaders' silence might mean.

Where it sits in the story

Have you ever been close to understanding something important and then talked yourself out of it? That is what happens here. They are inches away from recognizing Jesus, but they let their assumptions get in the way.

The scholarly reading

The Jerusalem residents observe that Jesus speaks with parrēsia (boldness/public openness) while the authorities say nothing to Him, leading them to wonder whether the archontes (rulers) have truly recognized (alēthōs egnōsan) Him as the Christ.

Language and setting

The adverb alēthōs (truly) and the verb ginōskō (to know/recognize) frame this as a genuine theological question, though the speakers immediately undermine their own insight in the next verse.

Voice

The Jerusalemites continue their speculation, hovering tantalizingly close to a correct conclusion before pulling back.

Significance

For a moment, the crowd almost gets it right. The authorities' silence in the face of Jesus' boldness is a tacit acknowledgment of something they cannot control. But the moment of insight is fleeting.

24Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

25Then some of the people of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

26Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?

27But we know where this man is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.”

28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him,

Read all of John 7 — Jesus appears at the Festival of Tabernacles and divides the crowd. Some say he's a prophet, some say he's the Messiah, and some want him arrested.