Lesson for July 13, 2025
The Book of John
Lesson 23
Chapter 7:40-52
Verses 40-52
“Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, ‘This truly is the Prophet.’ 41 Others were saying, ‘This is the Christ.’ But others were saying, ‘Surely the Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? 42 Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’ 43 So, a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 And some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.45 The officers (temple police) then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, ‘Why did you not bring Him?’ 46 The officers answered, ‘Never has a man spoken in this way!’ 47 The Pharisees then replied to them, ‘You have not been led astray too, have you? 48 Not one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!’ 50 Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, 51 ‘Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?’ 52 They answered and said to him, ‘You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.’”
This truly is the Prophet is a reference to Christ. In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come in the future. Jesus Christ was that prophet. A prophet was a person chosen by God to speak the divine message he had received. The Old Testament prophet’s job was to call the nation back to God and His Word. It often involved warning them of the consequences of their actions and a call for a change of mind toward God and His Word. At times, it was a message of God’s plan for the future of His Kingdom. Prophets were men through whom the message of God’s love for Israel was communicated and often a warning of the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
The test of the prophet was practical and simple: Jeremiah 28:9, “As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.” True prophecy has no contradictions. It must always agree with what is already known about God. (Matthew 7:15-23; Mark 13:21-23; Jeremiah 14:13-18, 28; 1 Kings 22:5-28).
Jesus prophesied about future events such as His death, burial, and resurrection. He prophesied the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter, the destruction of Jerusalem, the dispersing of the Jewish race, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the Church. God’s message to the world through Jesus was one of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus encouraged people to believe in Him for eternal life. He explained that He was God in the flesh, sent to deliver them from their sin. (John 3:16, 36, 14:9; Mark 8:31-33; Matthew 16:21; Luke 22:21-22; Matthew 24:1-2; Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-24; John 14:25, 16:5-7)
This is the Christ is a reference to Jesus Christ as the Anointed One (the meaning of the word, Christ). The word Christ comes from the Greek word “christos,” meaning anointed one or chosen one. Christ is a title given to Jesus as the Messiah.
Although the original meaning of anointed referred to the application of oil, it can also refer to consecration by God. (Hebrews 1:9)
There are hundreds of prophetic passages in the Old Testament that refer to a coming Messiah Who would deliver His people. (Isaiah 61:1; Daniel 9:26) Ancient Israel thought their Messiah would come with military might to deliver them from decades of captivity to earthly kings and pagan nations. But the New Testament reveals a much better deliverance provided by Jesus the Messiah, deliverance from the penalty of sin. (Luke 4:18; Romans 6:23)
Surely the Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? This “Galilee question” was used by Satan to influence those who rejected Jesus in an attempt to discredit Him as the Messiah. And they attempted to back it up with Scripture.
Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, the home of King David. So, for a thousand years, Bethlehem had been the hometown for David’s lineage. Jesus didn’t stay there very long because of danger to His life. As a baby, He lived in Egypt. At age 12, we know that He was living in Nazareth of Galilee. He was born in Bethlehem. Both of His earthly parents descended from David. (Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38)
Prior to the birth of Jesus, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census was to be taken, according to Luke 2:1-2. The virgin birth was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, about 700 BC. God prepared a nation (Israel) for the virgin birth of Christ, according to Genesis 12:1-3. This great nation of Israel would be the nation from which Jesus Christ would be born (all families will be blessed).
The virgin birth of Christ fulfilled the Davidic Covenant. This covenant was the unconditional promise from God that David would have a son who would reign forever. (II Samuel 7, Psalms 89, II Chronicles 21) The lineage of Mary can be traced to David. The lineage of Joseph, Christ’s legal guardian, can be traced to David, as well. Christ, therefore, has both a birthright and a legal right to the throne of David (a throne that will be set up during the Millennium upon which David’s descendant, Jesus Christ will sit and rule the world).
The historical record of the birth of Christ is well-documented both biblically and non-biblically. Most people are familiar with the story. However, many are not familiar with the doctrine of the birth of Christ, and its impact upon the world. It is safe to say that no other person in history has changed the world in the way that Jesus of Nazareth has changed it. (Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:14)
Jesus Christ is the unique Person of the universe. He is the only Person in history to be both fully God and fully man. The term for this unique union is Hypostatic Union and is derived from the Greek word “hupostatis,” meaning same essence. In the case of Christ, it is both divine and human essence in one Person. (Hebrews 1:3) Christ was born without a sin nature (no human father) and without Adam’s original sin. Even though His two natures are united in one Person, they retain their separate identities. The attributes of one do not belong to the other. Deity remains deity, humanity remains humanity.
So, a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. And some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Satan always causes controversy, when it comes to Jesus and the Gospel. The Sanhedrin had set up Temple police to handle potential threats to their religion. However, God’s divine protection was with Jesus and the crowd would not lay hands on Jesus. The reason for their restraint was the way He spoke and the content of His message. The officers answered, ‘Never has a man spoken in this way!’
The Pharisees then replied to them, ‘You have not been led astray too, have you? Not one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!’ Using a debater’s technique, the Pharisees were saying, “We’re your leaders, you don’t see us believing in this person, do you?”
The Pharisees, who should have embraced the Messiah, were blinded by their arrogance and power, having distorted the Mosaic Law into a system of legalism. They accused the crowd, who were following Jesus, of being accursed for listening to and believing the Gospel of grace that Jesus was preaching. There was at least one exception to the Pharisees statement that none of them had believed, Nicodemus! (John 3)
Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, ‘Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?’ Nicodemus had something to say about this accusation. In effect, he said, “You should never judge a person until you have all the facts.” The Law of Moses was perfect. It was the people administering it who were corrupting and distorting it. The Mosaic Law said that a person was not guilty until they had a trial and they had a result of guilty or not guilty. Nicodemus was saying to the Pharisees that they were condemning Jesus without a trial.
They answered and said to him, ‘You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.’ What followed was a sarcastic remark! They were now accusing Nicodemus of being someone other than who he was (from Galilee). Nicodemus was not from Galilee and was apparently the only Pharisee who was a believer. So, they finally all departed having been unsuccessful in discrediting Jesus!