Joh 7:46 | KingComments | STEP | The officers who had been sent to seize Him return to their masters unsuccessfully. They are amazed that they come back empty-handed. They ask why. The officers may be ignorant, but their feelings are not yet completely numbed. By the words of Christ they have experienced a power that far surpasses the power of any human being. A mortal cannot speak like that. Instead of bringing the Lord Jesus to the rulers they bring to them a testimony of His words, incidentally without accepting Him. In their blind hatred, the Pharisees accuse their officers of being led astray. Surely they can verify that they are dealing with a deceiver, because surely none of the rulers believes in Him, can’t they? How can they be so foolish as to believe in Him! It is in people’s blood to hide behind what religious leaders say. The religious leaders themselves use this argument to keep the masses stupid and dependent on them. For them, the crowd consists of stupid, ignorant people. This is how they talk about the laity, common people, who had not studied the law. Those who are the shepherds of the crowd curse the crowd for it. It shows what kind of shepherds they are. They are false shepherds who are out for their own benefit only ( ). Such shepherds curse the sheep and abandon them. The Lord Jesus later calls them hired hands ( ).

‏ John 7:46

Testimony of the Officers

The officers who had been sent to seize Him return to their masters unsuccessfully. They are amazed that they come back empty-handed. They ask why. The officers may be ignorant, but their feelings are not yet completely numbed. By the words of Christ they have experienced a power that far surpasses the power of any human being. A mortal cannot speak like that.

Instead of bringing the Lord Jesus to the rulers they bring to them a testimony of His words, incidentally without accepting Him. In their blind hatred, the Pharisees accuse their officers of being led astray. Surely they can verify that they are dealing with a deceiver, because surely none of the rulers believes in Him, can’t they? How can they be so foolish as to believe in Him!

It is in people’s blood to hide behind what religious leaders say. The religious leaders themselves use this argument to keep the masses stupid and dependent on them. For them, the crowd consists of stupid, ignorant people. This is how they talk about the laity, common people, who had not studied the law. Those who are the shepherds of the crowd curse the crowd for it. It shows what kind of shepherds they are. They are false shepherds who are out for their own benefit only (Eze 34:1-6). Such shepherds curse the sheep and abandon them. The Lord Jesus later calls them hired hands (Jn 10:12).