“And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?”
My Notes
What Does John 7:31 Mean?
Many in the crowd believe in Jesus based on a logical argument: "When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?" The reasoning is simple: if the Messiah is expected to perform signs, and Jesus is performing more signs than any previous figure, then either Jesus is the Messiah or the Messiah will have to exceed what's already unprecedented. The logic points to Jesus.
The question is rhetorical—the implied answer is no. When the Messiah comes, He won't do more miracles than Jesus has already done. The evidence is sufficient. The signs point clearly. The crowd's reasoning, while informal, is theologically sound: the accumulation of miraculous evidence makes Jesus' messianic identity the most reasonable conclusion.
John records this crowd belief to show that some people did respond correctly to the evidence. Not everyone resisted. Not everyone rationalized away the signs. Some people looked at the evidence and drew the logical conclusion. The faith wasn't blind. It was reasoned—based on observation, comparison, and inference. Evidence-based faith is real faith.
Reflection Questions
- 1.If you looked at the evidence for Jesus as carefully as this crowd did, what conclusion would you draw?
- 2.Does your faith feel evidence-based or emotion-based? What would strengthen the evidence foundation?
- 3.The crowd asked a logical question and arrived at faith. What logical question would help you move from doubt to belief?
- 4.If Jesus isn't the Messiah, who could exceed what He's done? How does that question frame your own evaluation?
Devotional
The crowd does the math: when the Messiah comes, will he do more miracles than this man? The implied answer is obvious: no. The evidence is already more than sufficient. Jesus has done what the Messiah was supposed to do—and more. If this isn't the Christ, the real Christ will have to top the impossible. And that doesn't make sense.
This is evidence-based faith in action. The crowd isn't believing blindly. They're observing, comparing, reasoning. They know what the Messiah was prophesied to do. They see what Jesus is actually doing. They compare the two and reach a conclusion: this is Him. The faith is built on evidence, not emotion.
John includes this moment to show that reasonable people can look at the evidence for Jesus and believe. Not everyone resists. Not everyone rationalizes. Some people see the signs, process the information, and arrive at faith. The path to believing in Jesus doesn't require suspending your reason. It requires using it. Look at what He's done. Compare it to what was promised. Draw the conclusion.
If you've been told that faith means believing without evidence, this crowd contradicts that. They believed because of the evidence. Their faith was the logical conclusion of careful observation. You don't have to choose between your brain and your faith. Use your brain. Look at the evidence. Ask the question the crowd asked: if Jesus isn't the Messiah, who could possibly exceed what He's done?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The Pharisees heard that the people murmured,.... Or whispered, privately talked among themselves:
such things…
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Here is, I. Christ's public preaching in the temple (Joh 7:14): He went up into the temple, and taught, according to his…
And many of the people Our version is somewhat perverse; in Joh 7:7 -and" is arbitrarily turned into -but;" here -but"…
Cross References
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