John 7:31-36
 
John 7:31 (KJB)
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?
 
While Jesus was at the Feast of Tabernacles, many had started to believe on Him simply because the evidence was starting to take hold on some people and they had deduced that Jesus had done many miracles and if Christ comes, will he do more miracles than Jesus did? People were starting to realize that Jesus was not ordinary and that His miracles had portrayed a divine origin. They started to understand that if another came along, what miracle can he do that was not already done by Jesus or was capable of doing. From the time of John and the fulfillment of the Scriptures, many had started to believe and the followers of Jesus were increasing much to the chagrin of the leaders.
 
John 7:32 (KJB)
The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.
 
The leaders were very worried and angry since Jesus was now being considered the long awaited Messiah by the people. No longer could the leaders contain the speech of the people because the miracles and actions of Jesus were all done publicly . So the only things the leaders could do is to quash the ministry of Jesus by arresting Him. Jealousy and envy was nearing its crescendo as now the leaders were beginning to take action and they would not give up until Jesus was finally crucified. This is what religion does, it will do anything to squash and prevent the spread of truth.
 
John 7:33 (KJB)
Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
 
At this point the “little while” corresponds to six months when Jesus will be crucified, raised, and then ascend back to the Father. So He is basically telling the people that they need to take advantage of this time because this is their divine time of visitation. (Isa 10:3 KJV) And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Isaiah had prophesied to Judah concerning the divine visitation. There are four questions which are asked:
 
And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
How will the people handle the day of visitation? What will they do or think when they will be divinely visited? Will they accept the fact that Messiah will come to them or will they reject Him? We are seeing from John 7, that Jesus is on the way to rejection by the leaders and acceptance by some.
 
and in the desolation which shall come from far?
37 years after the crucifixion and ascension of Christ, General Titus will raze Jerusalem and it will be a desolate place and no longer will it be the center of Judaism.
 
to whom will ye flee for help?
Since the people rejected the Messiah, when these times come upon the nation, who will they turn to for help, seeing they have rejected the Son and therefore rejected the Father.
 
and where will ye leave your glory?
The Glory of Jerusalem was the Temple and the fact that they had the words of God given to them but once the desolation comes, what glory will you have left and where will you leave it or plant it or will be totally gone?
 
John 7:34 (KJB)
Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
 
Two interesting word phrases in the Greek. “Shall seek” and “shall find” are both in the future tense. This means that the total rejection of Jesus as the Messiah will cause the Jews to continue to search for a Messiah and because of their blindness, they do not realize that He is standing right in front of them. Their search will not lead to Jesus as the Messiah and that is why if the Jews seek for Messiah and it continues to point to Jesus they will still continue rejection. So they will continue their Messiah search in all future generations as they continue to reject Jesus. Where He will be is in Heaven and as long as they stay in their unbelief, they can never get to Heaven. Rejection of Christ is the rejection of the only way to Heaven.
 
John 7:35 (KJB)
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?
 
Here the Jews thought they were deriding Jesus as they were keeping their minds on an earthly level. For a while Jesus had preached that He came from the Father and that He would be returning to the Father and this is why the unbelieving Jews would be unable to find Him. Instead they thought He would go to the dispersed Jews who were still in outlying regions from the diaspora of the Babylonian captivity. Then they thought that He might go to the Hellenistic Jews who were the Greek speaking Jews who lived among the Gentiles. Then they thought that He might start preaching to the Gentiles. What they failed to realize is that this is exactly how the Gospel would eventually go forth into the entire world. (Acts 1:8 KJV) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
 
John 7:36 (KJB)
What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
 
Here we have the essence of spiritual blindness. They had no idea what the Lord was speaking about and instead of looking at it from a spiritual vantage point by searching the Scriptures, they kept looking at it from an earthly standpoint in human wisdom. This is why they never came to truth concerning Christ because it was all about the flesh and not about the spiritual. The real meaning of the spiritual is always hidden from the unregenerate. This is why unbelievers who pastor churches never get beyond good works and repeating the Lord’s prayer as their spiritual commitment.
 
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