John 7:25–44

THE IDENTITY OF THE MESSIAH

²⁵Some of the people of Jerusalem^r were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities^s know he is the Messiah?^{t 27}But we know where this man is from.^u When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”

²⁸As he was teaching in the temple,^v Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me^w is true. You don’t know him;^{x 29}I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”^y

³⁰Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. ³¹However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,^z will he?”

³²The Pharisees^aa heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests^ab and the Pharisees sent servants to arrest him.

³³Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.^ac Then I’m going to the one who sent me.^{ad 34}You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”^ae

³⁵Then the Jews^af said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed^Bag among the Greeks^ah and teach the Greeks, does he? ³⁶What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’^ai?”

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

³⁷On the last and most important day of the festival,^aj Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me^Cak and drink.^{al 38}The one who believes in me,^am as the Scripture^an has said, will have streams of living water^ao flow^ap from deep within him.” ³⁹He said this about the Spirit.^aq Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,^ar for the Spirit^D had not yet been given^E because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

THE PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED OVER JESUS

⁴⁰When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”^{as 41}Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁴²Doesn’t the Scripture^at say that the Messiah comes from David’s^au offspring^F and from the town of Bethlehem,^av where David lived?” ⁴³So the crowd was divided^aw because of him. ⁴⁴Some of them wanted to seize him,^ax but no one laid hands on him.