“Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?”
My Notes
What Does John 7:35 Mean?
"Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?" Jesus says he's leaving (v. 33-34) and the Jewish leaders speculate: where's he going? Their best guess: to the dispersed Jews among the Gentiles. Maybe he'll teach the Gentiles. The speculation is dismissive — "teach the Gentiles?" carries contempt. As if going to the Gentiles would be the lowest possible destination for a Jewish teacher.
The dramatic irony is enormous: their dismissive speculation is prophetically accurate. Jesus WILL go to the Gentiles — through the church, through Paul's mission, through two thousand years of gospel proclamation. The thing they meant as a joke becomes the actual mission plan. The mockery is the prophecy.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you dismissing as beneath God's attention that might actually be his primary mission field?
- 2.How does the leaders' mockery accidentally becoming prophecy demonstrate God's sovereignty over hostile speech?
- 3.Where has something you ridiculed turned out to be exactly what God was planning?
- 4.What 'Gentiles' (people you consider outside God's interest) might God be planning to reach through you?
Devotional
Will he go teach the Gentiles? They say it as a joke. And the joke is the answer. Jesus' departure will produce exactly what they're mocking: the gospel going to the nations.
The Jews dismiss the possibility: will he go to the dispersed among the Gentiles? The question drips with contempt. A Jewish rabbi teaching Gentiles? That would be the ultimate waste. The lowest possible destination for the highest possible teacher. If he can't make it here, maybe he'll go there.
The dramatic irony is one of the richest in John's Gospel. They're right. Jesus IS going to the Gentiles. Not personally — through the church he's about to establish. Through Peter's vision on the rooftop. Through Paul's journeys across the Mediterranean. Through two millennia of missionaries carrying the gospel to every tongue, tribe, and nation. The mockery is the mission statement.
Teach the Gentiles? The contempt in the question reveals the assumption: the Gentiles aren't worth teaching. They're not the audience. They're not the target market. The gospel is for Israel. Going to the Gentiles would be admitting defeat — the last resort of a teacher who can't hold a Jewish audience.
But God's plan has always included the Gentiles. Abraham was told: in thee shall ALL families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah prophesied: a light to the Gentiles (42:6). And now the Jewish leaders, dismissing the very plan they should have recognized, accidentally prophesy its fulfillment. Will he go teach the Gentiles? Yes. He will. Through the very people in this room who are too hostile to see it coming.
God uses the mockers' words as his mission brief. The thing the establishment ridicules becomes the thing God accomplishes. The destination they dismiss as beneath them becomes the destination that changes the world.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
What manner of saying is this that he said,.... It is not easy to be understood; and if that is not meant, which is…
The dispersed among the Gentiles - To the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, or living in distant parts of the earth. It…
The dispersed among the Gentiles - Or Greeks. By the dispersed, are meant here the Jews who were scattered through…
Here is, I. Christ's public preaching in the temple (Joh 7:14): He went up into the temple, and taught, according to his…
Then said the Jews The Jews therefore said, i.e. in consequence of what Christ had said, shewing that it is to the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture