YE KNOW NOT HE THAT SENT ME

John 7:25-29 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this He, Whom they seek to kill? But, lo, He speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Howbeit we know this Man whence He is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is. Then cried Jesus in the temple as He taught, saying, Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, Whom ye know not. But I know Him: for I am from Him, and He hath sent Me.

During the feast of tabernacles Jesus boldly spoke to the multitudes that had gathered in, and on, the temple grounds about the doctrine God had given Him to preach to the Jewish nation. He told all present that it was not His doctrine nor did He seek the glory for presenting it. The message He preached came from His Heavenly Father and to Him He gave the glory. Who would receive and obey it? Jesus concluded that only those that were obedient to God's will that was currently in effect, that is the Law of Moses, would be able to receive His New Covenant law. This would eliminate the Jewish leaders because they had made the Old Covenant law of God void by adopting the traditions of the elders, that is, the commandments of men, to guide both their earthly and spiritual lives.

From the earliest ages of the Israelite nation, ignoring, defying, and turning away from God's law had been the normal practice and not the exception. Moses delivered, to the Jews, God's law, which was divinely given to him from the top of Mount Sinai. Yet they rebelled against the infallible wisdom of God found in His doctrine, and replaced it with the traditions and commandments that came from the fallible wisdom of men. Now, beginning with verse 19, preceding the lesson text, Jesus condemned these Jews for their irreligious actions, reminding them that they, themselves, were guilty of breaking the Law of Moses. Yet now they were accusing Him of breaking the same law. In John 5:1-16, we find that the Jewish leaders condemned Jesus because He healed an impotent man on the Sabbath, a man who had been lame for 38 years. And for what they considered to be a violation of the Sabbath, according to their traditions of elders, they sought to kill Jesus. Therefore Jesus asked the multitudes, Why go ye about to kill me?

Here, Jesus was speaking to "the people," the common Jewish masses, and not to "the Jews," the Jewish leaders - the ones that had accused Jesus of violating the Law of the Sabbath. Evidently "the people" did not know that their Jewish leaders were seeking the death of Jesus, and even accused Jesus of not being in His right mind for even suggesting such a thing (Vs. 20). This one work, healing the impotent man on the Sabbath, seemed to be an extremely compassionate miracle about which ye all marvel (Vs. 21), but this deed was also the main reason "the Jews" sought to slay Jesus. He then reminded them that the Law of Moses requires all men to be circumcised on the eighth day of their birth, and if this particular day fell on the Sabbath, that circumcision still must be performed (See Gen. 17:10-14). Jesus then asks this rhetorical question: if circumcision on the Sabbath Day does not violate the Law of Moses, then why should the healing of a man on this Holy Day be disallowed? The obvious answer is that such healing of a sick or infirmed person is justified in the sight of God even on the Sabbath Day. Jesus then admonishes them to Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (Vs. 24). Never has God said that acts of mercy were a violation of His will, either during the Patriarchal, Jewish, or Christian ages.

Although many Jews that had come from other provinces of Palestine did not understand, those that resided locally, that were of Jerusalem, knew that their religious leaders desired to kill Jesus. Therefore these few began to ask among the people, Is not this He, Whom they seek to kill? They seemed not to understand that, here in the temple, Jesus was speaking boldly, and they (the Jewish leaders) say nothing unto Him, that is, they did not interfere with His preaching, nor did they apprehend Him on any grounds that violated the Jewish law. They even questioned the volition of these leaders, who were evidently also present on that day, by asking among themselves: Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? The Jewish people that were aware of their leaders seeking to slay Jesus thought it strange that they did not seize Him at this very opportune moment.

Because of the inaction of the Jewish leadership, it seems that these common Jewish people of Jerusalem began to question whether Jesus was the Messiah. As is indicated by the prophet Daniel (7:13), maybe they thought that when Christ cometh, His appearing would be more mysterious and in some unexpected manner. Considering this, why would they think Jesus could be the promised Messiah? They knew of His poor background, His common heritage, and the fact that He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, but was reared in Nazareth of Galilee. They justified their thoughts on this matter by saying that when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is.

As soon as this doubt arose about His divinity, Jesus raised His voice in the temple as He taught, saying, Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am, that is, they knew Him by His physical, earthly background. They knew the Jewish human being called Jesus of Nazareth but they did not know His spiritual being as Christ the Savior sent from heaven. Jesus attempted to tell them that, although they think they know Jesus, they are mistaken. I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, Whom ye know not. Jesus did not come to earth of His own free will. Rather He was sent to earth as a human being by the one spiritual being whom they profess to know, but know not. Their spiritual leaders, the scribes, Pharisees, and members of the Sanhedrin, have corrupted the will of God by their "human wisdom" until they cannot, and will not, recognize that the Messiah has now come to save them. The question of why is answered by the fact that they know not God. Jesus assures the multitude, to whom He was speaking, that He knows God personally. Unlike Him and His disciples, the religious leaders of the Jews that taught human wisdom, as well as their numerous followers, did not know God, and therefore did not know Him as God's Son, and the promised Savior of the world. Jesus tells all present on this occasion that I know Him: for I am from Him, and He hath sent Me. Oh, that the world would recognize and accept Jesus as the Son of God and their personal Savior today!