John 7:33

And many of the people believed in Him. Our Lord; brought the poor and humble to be saved. The common people, who soon saw their own infirmities, received His medicine without hesitation.

Neither had these however a sound faith; but took up a low way of speaking, after the manner of the multitude: When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than this Man has done? Their saying, When Christ comes, shows that they were not steady in believing that He was the Christ: or rather, that they did not believe He was the Christ at all; for it is the same as if they said, that Christ, when He came, would be a superior person, and do more miracles. Minds of the grosser sort are influenced not by doctrine, but by miracles.

Or they mean, If there are not to be two Christs, this is He. The rulers however, possessed with madness, not only refused to acknowledge the physician, but even wished to kill Him: The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take Him.

He had discoursed often before, but they had never so treated Him. The praises of the multitude however now irritated them; though the transgression of the sabbath still continued to be the reason put forward. Nevertheless, they were afraid of taking this step themselves, and sent officers instead.

Not being able to take Him against His will, they sent men to hear Him teach. Teach what? Then said Jesus to them, Yet a little while I am with you.

He speaks with the greatest humility: as if to say, Why do you make such haste to kill Me? Only wait a little time.

That which you wish to do now, you shall do sometime, but not now: because it is not My will. For I wish to fulfill My mission in due course, and so to come to My passion.

In this way He astonished the bolder part of the multitude, and made the earnest among them more eager to hear Him; so little time being now left, during which they could have the benefit of His teaching. He does not say, I am here, simply; but, I am with you; meaning, Though you persecute Me, I will not cease fulfilling my part towards you, teaching you the way to salvation, anti admonishing you. What follows, And I go to Him that sent Me, was enough to excite some fear.

As if He were going to complain of them to the Father: for if they reviled Him who was sent, no doubt they did an injury to Him that sent.

I go to Him that sent Me: i.e. I return to My Father, at whose command I became incarnate. He is speaking of that departure, from which He has never returned.

That they wanted His presence, appears from His saying, You seek Me, and shall not find Me. But when did the Jews seek Him? Luke relates that the women lamented over Him: and it is probable that many others did the same. And especially, when the city was taken, would they call Christ and His miracles to remembrance, and desire His presence.

Here He foretells His resurrection: for the search for Him was to take place after His resurrection, when men were conscience stricken. They would not acknowledge Him, when present; afterward they sought Him, when they saw the multitude believing on Him; and many pricked in their hearts said, What shall we do? They perceived that Christ’s death was owing to their sin, and believed in Christ’s pardon to sinners; and so despaired of salvation, until they drank of that blood which they shed.

Then lest any should think that His death would take place in the common way, He adds, And where I am, thither you cannot come. If He continued in death, they would be able to go to Him: for we all are going thitherwards.

He does not say, Where I shall be, but Where I am. For Christ was always there in that place, whither He was about to return: He returned in such a way, as that He did not forsake us. Visibly and according to the flesh, He was upon earth; according to His invisible majesty, He was in heaven and earth. Nor again is it, you will not be able, but, you are not able to come: for they were not such at the time, as to be able. That this is not meant to drive men to despair, is shown by His saying the very same thing to His disciples; Whither I go, you cannot come; and by His explanation last of all to Peter, Whither I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterwards.

He wants them to think seriously how little time longer He should be with them, and what regret they will feel when He is gone, and they are not able to find Him. I go to Him that sent Me; this shows that no injury was done Him by their plots, and that His passion was voluntary. The words had some effect upon the Jews, who asked each other, where they were to go, which was like persons desiring to be quit of Him: Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will He go, that we shall not find Him? Will He go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? In the fullness of their self-satisfaction, they call them Gentiles, as a term of reproach; the Gentiles being dispersed every where; a reproach which they themselves underwent afterwards. Of old all the nation was united together: but now that the Jews were mixed with the Gentiles in every part of the world, our Lord would not have said, Whither I go, you cannot come, in the sense of going to the Gentiles.

Whither I go, i.e. to the bosom of the Father. This they did not at all understand: and yet even their mistake is an unwitting prophecy of our salvation; i.e. that our Lord would go to the Gentiles, not in His own person, but by His feet, i.e. His members. He sent to us those whom He had made His members, and so made us His members.

They did not mean, that our Lord was going to the Gentiles for their hurt, but to teach them. Their anger had subsided, and they believed what He had said. Else they would not have thought of asking each other, What manner of saying is this that He said, you shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and whither I am, you cannot come.

Again, whose doctrine does He announce, at which all were astonished? Was it His own or the Father’s? So, when they were in doubt among themselves whether He were the Christ (not as being the Father, of course but as the Son), He says to them “You are not ignorant whence I am; and I am not come of myself, but He that sent me is true, whom ye know not; but I know Him, because I am from Him.” He did not say, Because I myself am He; and, I have sent mine own self: but His words are, “He hath sent me.” When, likewise, the Pharisees sent men to apprehend Him, He says: “Yet a little while am I with you, and (then) I go unto Him that sent me.” When, however, He declares that He is not alone, and uses these words, “but I and the Father that sent me,” does He not show that there are Two, Two, and yet inseparable? Indeed, this was the sum and substance of what He was teaching them, that they were …

What then? was it not told to the people? you may say. It was indeed told to the people also, but not so plainly. For, “Destroy,” saith He, “this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up;”and, “This generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas;”and again, “Yet a little while am I with you, and ye shall seek me, and shall not find me.”

Ver. 33 . “Yet a little while am I with you.” Having power to bow and terrify His hearers, He uttereth words full of humility. As though He had said, “Why are ye eager to persecute and kill Me? Wait a little while, and even though you should be eager to keep Me back, I shall not endure it.” That no one should (as they did) suppose that the, “Yet a little while am I with you,” denoted a common death, that no one might suppose this, or that He wrought nothing after death, He added,

Ver. 33 . “And I go unto Him that sent Me.” This was enough to terrify and throw them into an agony. For that they should stand in need of Him, He declareth also.

Of what season doth He here speak? Of the whole present life, or of the time before the Crucifixion? I for my part think of both, for on account of His unspeakable lovingkindness, many even after the Crucifixion believed. And He speaketh these things to urge them on to the faith, as He also did before, saying, “Yet a little while I am with you.” ( c. vii. 33 .)

“For being not subject,” He saith, “to death, nor a debtor to it, I endure it through My love to the Father.” This He saith, that He may again rouse their souls, and that they may learn that not unwillingly but willingly He goeth to this thing, and that He doth it despising the devil. It was not enough for Him to have said, “Yet a little while I am with you” ( c. vii. 33 ), but He continually handleth this painful subject, (with good reason,) until He should make it acceptable to them, by weaving along with it pleasant things. …