John 7:25–44

Is He the Messiah?

²⁵Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the man the authorities are trying to kill? ²⁶Look! He is talking in public, and they say nothing against him! Can it be that they really know that he is the Messiah? ²⁷But when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. And we all know where this man comes from.”

²⁸As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said in a loud voice, “Do you really know me and know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority. He who sent me, however, is truthful. You do not know him, ²⁹but I know him, because I come from him and he sent me.”

³⁰Then they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹But many in the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”

Guards Are Sent to Arrest Jesus

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, so they and the chief priests sent some guards to arrest him. ³³Jesus said, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I shall go away to him who sent me. ³⁴You will look for me, but you will not find me, because you cannot go where I will be.”

³⁵The Jewish authorities said among themselves, “Where is he about to go so that we shall not find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶He says that we will look for him but will not find him, and that we cannot go where he will be. What does he mean?”

Streams of Life-Giving Water

^37*On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and ^38*whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.’ ”^{q 39}Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.

Division among the People

⁴⁰Some of the people in the crowd heard him say this and said, “This man is really the Prophet!”^r

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah!”

But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee! ^42*The scripture says that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David and will be born in Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” ⁴³So there was a division in the crowd because of Jesus. ⁴⁴Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.