Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” 41 But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he? 42 Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” 47 So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, 51 “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”'
Jesus’ words and actions during the Feast of Tabernacles continue to create confusion and division among the crowd. His claim that he is the means of quenching spiritual thirst represents a significant departure from traditional Jewish expectations of the Messiah and the role of the law (Jn. 7:37-39). Some respond by calling Jesus a prophet while others are more skeptical, pointing out that the Messiah was supposed to come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. The crowd was unaware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Mt. 2:1) assuming that because he grew up in Nazareth it was his birthplace. That was popular belief as demonstrated by Nathaniel’s response when Jesus called him (Jn. 1:46). According to the messianic expectations, the Messiah was to come from the lineage of David (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-16, Is. 11:1) and the prophecy in Micah about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1). Some of the crowd grew more hostile and wanted to arrest Jesus but he was not arrested at that time because his mission was not yet fulfilled.
The profound effect of Jesus' teaching disarmed the guards sent to arrest him, and they returned empty-handed to the chief priests and Pharisees. The Pharisees accused the guards of being misled and told them that Jesus could not be the Messiah because none of the religious authorities approved of him. They regard the common people as ignorant of the Law and incapable of discerning spiritual truth. The religious leaders were blinded by their pride. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who previously visited Jesus by night (Jn. 3:1-21), defended Jesus by appealing to the fairness of the law which requires a fair trial before condemnation (cf. Deut. 1:16-17). The Pharisees dismiss Nicodemus' appeal with sarcasm, associating him with Galilee, which they view with contempt. They accused the crowd of being ignorant of the Law, but in doing so they revealed their bias and blindness to the truth because several prophets, such as Jonah (2 Kings 14:25), were associated with Galilee.
Heavenly Father, grant us the grace to see beyond our preconceptions and open our hearts to the truth of Jesus’ words. Protect us from the blindness of pride and doubt, and help us to seek fairness and wisdom as we strive to follow the light of Christ. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
- McKenzie, John. Dictionary of the Bible. Collier Books, 1965.
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