Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
This is.
John 7:31 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?
John 1:41,49 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ…
John 4:25,29,42 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things…
Shall.
John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?”
This question highlights the skepticism and misunderstanding about Jesus' origins. Galilee was a region in northern Israel, often looked down upon by Judeans for its mixed population and distance from the religious center of Jerusalem. The question reflects a common belief that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, as prophesied in Micah 5:2, which states that the ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem, the city of David. This skepticism is rooted in a lack of knowledge about Jesus' birth in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1) and His Davidic lineage (Luke 2:4). The question also underscores the theme of Jesus being a stumbling block to those who rely solely on human understanding and preconceived notions, as seen in 1 Corinthians 1:23.
John 7:41 a records: “Others declared, ‘This is the Christ.’”
• By this point in John’s Gospel, Jesus has fed the five thousand (John 6:1-14), healed the lame man (John 5:1-9), and taught with an authority that astonished the crowds (Matthew 7:28-29). These signs matched Old Testament expectations for the promised Messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6).
• Some listeners, seeing and hearing these things firsthand, drew the straightforward conclusion: Jesus is the long-awaited “Anointed One” foretold from Genesis 3:15 onward and promised explicitly in passages such as 2 Samuel 7:12-13 and Psalm 2:2.
• Their declaration aligns with earlier confessions: the Samaritan villagers who said, “We know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42), and Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
• Scripture openly invites this conclusion. John will later state his purpose: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31).
John 7:41 b continues: “But still others asked, ‘How can the Christ come from Galilee?’”
• The objection rests on an incomplete grasp of prophecy and of Jesus’ own background. Micah 5:2 foretells that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem of Judah. The crowd knows this (John 7:42) but mistakenly thinks Jesus originates in Galilee alone.
• In truth, Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7; Matthew 2:1-6) and is of David’s royal line (Luke 3:23-31; Romans 1:3). He later grew up in Nazareth of Galilee (Matthew 2:22-23), fulfilling Isaiah 9:1-2, which foretold light dawning on “Galilee of the nations.”
• Their question illustrates how assumptions can cloud recognition of God’s work. The same Scriptures that pointed to Bethlehem also predicted a ministry centered in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:13-16). Jesus meets both qualifications perfectly.
• Division over Jesus is a recurring theme: some respond in faith, others stumble over preconceived notions (John 1:46; 7:12; 10:19-21). Yet the evidence for His messiahship remains consistent and compelling.
John 7:41 captures a moment of sharp division. One group rightly identifies Jesus as the Christ based on His words and works; another hesitates because they think the Messiah cannot come from Galilee. The hesitation rests on incomplete information, for Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem and ministered in Galilee, fulfilling all prophetic requirements. Scripture consistently affirms that He is the promised Messiah, and the passage invites today’s reader to trust that testimony without reservation.
(41) Others said this is the Christ.--The Messiah is distinguished from the Prophet in the words of the multitude there, as in the question of the legates of the Sanhedrin, John 1:20-21.Shall Christ come out of Galilee?--The answer "No" is expected, and the tense is present--Surely the Messiah cometh not out of Galilee?
Verse 41. - Others said, This is the Christ. These must have pressed the argument further. The Lord must have seemed to them to combine the yet more explicit signs, not only of the Prophet that should come into the world, but of the anointed King and Priest - the Christ of their current expectation. But some said, Both the Christ come out of Galilee? Here criticism was at once at work upon obvious appearances, but misunderstood facts. Was he not called "Jesus of Nazareth"? His life had been spent there, his ministry in the main restricted to the northern province. These questions give a vivid scene and portray a great emotion. The people are resting on the letter of prophecy (Micah 5:2), where the Messiah, as understood by their own teachers (see Matthew 2:5), was to proceed from Bethlehem; but they overlook the remarkable prediction in Isaiah 9:1, where Galilee is spoken of as the scene of extraordinary illumination.