Jn. 7:19. Did not Moses give you the law? And none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill Me?
Apparently, the present words of the Lord have no connection with what was said before; but when we look more closely, they are in close connection. He is accused of violating the Sabbath and transgressing the law. He counters this by saying that rather "they are the transgressors of the law." The law says: "thou shalt not kill" (Exod. 20:13), yet you seek to kill Me. Therefore, you are the transgressors of the law, not I. So then, you allow yourselves to commit injustice, yet you accuse Me of transgressing the law because I healed a man on the Sabbath.
The Lord said "none of you acts according to the law," because all those with whom He was speaking sought to kill Him.
Jn. 7:20. The crowd answered: "Do You have a demon? Who is seeking to kill You?"
Look how meekly He speaks with them, while they, on the contrary, say with insulting boldness: "You have a demon." They are so bold because they thought to strike Him and frighten Him. Although Christ Himself is the Lord of Moses and the author of the law, yet, yielding to the weakness and insensibility of the Jews, He says that the law was given by Moses. For they would not have been able to calmly hear that the law was given to them not by Moses, but by Him — the Master of Moses and Lord.
Jn. 7:21. Jesus answered and said to them: I did one work, and you all marvel.
That the Jews rise up against the Lord in vain, He proves by the following reasoning. I performed one deed on the Sabbath, healed the paralytic, and because of this all of you marvel, that is, you are troubled, you raise an alarm.
Jn. 7:22. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
Meanwhile Moses himself, this lawgiver, broke the Sabbath when he commanded that every soul (person) be circumcised on the eighth day (Lev. 12:3). Although circumcision was not from Moses, but from the fathers, nevertheless it, being not from Moses, violated the law concerning the Sabbath given by Moses. For it often happened that the eighth day, on which it was necessary to be circumcised, fell on a Sabbath.
Jn. 7:23. If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man whole on the sabbath?
Therefore for circumcision the sabbath was itself broken by Moses, and the sabbath day in no way prevents a man from being circumcised; even if the eighth day falls on a sabbath, the law of sabbath rest is set aside so that the law of circumcision may not be broken. If this is so, then why are you indignant and angry at Me for healing a whole man on the sabbath? On the sabbath, circumcision, which causes pain, is not forbidden; yet you reproach Me for freeing a man from disease and making him well.
Jn. 7:24. Do not judge by appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
"Do not judge by appearances," that is, judge righteously and impartially. Moses, who violates the Sabbath through circumcision, you free from blame; but Me, who violated the Sabbath through a good deed to a man, you condemn. To free Moses from blame, out of respect for his dignity, and to condemn Me, Who in appearance am without glory — this is obvious partiality.
Jn. 7:25. Then some of the Jerusalemites were saying: is this not the One Whom they seek to kill?
Not simply and not without reason was it added "some of the Jerusalemites," but in order to show that all those who, more than others, were deemed worthy of great miracles are more deserving of pity. For how are they not pitiable when they saw a great sign of His Divinity, and yet still allow injustice in their judgment of Him? If they had wanted, they would have seen a great sign also in the fact that He speaks boldly in the midst of His enemies, and yet suffers nothing from them; but they did not want to recognize in this sign His power.
Jn. 7:26. Behold, He speaks openly, and they say nothing to Him: have the rulers truly come to know that this is indeed the Christ?
Jn. 7:27. But we know Him, where He is from; but when Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.
They wonder, "have not the rulers come to know that He is truly the Christ?" And they do not stop at this thought, but draw the following conclusion: Where the Christ will come from, no one knows. But where this man is from — we know. Therefore, this is not the Christ.
But see how malice contradicts itself. Their chief priests, when Herod asked them, say that Christ is born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matt. 2:4–5); yet these people say that no one knows where Christ comes from. Do you see the contradiction?
And again in another place they say: "We know that God spoke with Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from" (John 9:29). Do you see how frenzied the speakers are? We know and we do not know. Is there anything comparable to such frenzy? But they had one thing in mind: not to believe. Therefore, when it was useful for them, they said "we know," and when it was disadvantageous, they claimed that "we do not know." Thus, the contradiction stems from their malice.
Another might ask: "On what basis do they say that no one will know where Christ is from?" For if they had not had some testimony in Scripture or a firm tradition, they would have spoken so openly against the scribes, who clearly told Herod that Christ is born in Bethlehem of Judea, and against those who elsewhere say that "Christ will come from the village of Bethlehem." (Jn. 7:42) What then shall we answer? Both groups spoke on the basis of the prophets. Those who said that Christ is born in Bethlehem and that He is from the village of David evidently, as Matthew also notes, had as their basis the testimony of the prophet Micah, who says: "And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel" (Mic. 5:2; Mt. 2:4–6). And those who said that no one knows where Christ will come from also based their thought on the testimony of the prophets. Micah himself (Mic. 5:2) says that "His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity," by which the unknowability of His origin or birth is clearly indicated. For the One who has goings forth from the beginning and from the days of eternity, no man can know. Men exist in time, but He is from the days of eternity and from the beginning. How then can that which is temporal comprehend the eternal? Isaiah also says: "Who shall declare His generation?" (Is. 53:8)
Based on this, they also said that no one knows where Christ is from. For they did not understand that the Lord Jesus is of two natures, and that where He is from according to His fleshly birth from the Virgin, namely from Bethlehem, this was known, while of His bodiless and ineffable birth from the Father before all ages it is said that His birth is beyond all explanation. So these Jerusalemites speak of the fleshly birth and say that they know where He is from; but of the pre-eternal Birth, according to which no one knows where Christ is from, they do not speak. Therefore, not knowing that He is of two natures, and according to one is known, while according to the Other is not, they say that He is not the Christ.
Jn. 7:28. Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and 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.
Since they were saying that they knew Him, where He was from, with no other purpose than to show that He was from the earth and the son of a carpenter, He therefore leads them up to heaven, saying: "You both know Me, and you know where I am from," that is, although out of your malice you conceal it, yet you know that I am from heaven. For if My Father is from there, it is evident that I Myself am also from there and that I was sent by the One Who is true. For the True One would not wish to send a deceiver and a liar. But you do not know the One Who sent Me, you do not acknowledge Him by your deeds. For even in knowledge there can be ignorance, as the Apostle Paul says: "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him." (Titus 1:16) And you, Jews, do not know My Father because of your evil deeds and your exceedingly evil intention.
Jn. 7:29. I know Him,