Church Fathers Commentary John 7:31-36

"But of the multitude many believed on him; and they said, When the Christ shall come, will he do more signs than those which this man hath done? The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to take him. Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while am I with you, and I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, ye cannot come. The Jews therefore said among themselves, Whither will this man go that we shall not find him? will he go unto the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What is this word that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, ye cannot come?" — John 7:31-36 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: And many of the people believed in Him. Our Lord brought the poor and humble to be saved. The common people, who quickly recognized their own weaknesses, received His remedy without hesitation.

St. John Chrysostom: However, these people did not have a sound faith, but spoke in a common way, like the multitude, asking, “When the Christ comes, will He do more miracles than this Man has done?”

Their question, “When the Christ comes…”, shows that they were not firm in believing that He was the Christ—or rather, that they did not believe He was the Christ at all. It is as if they were saying that the Christ, when He came, would be a superior person and perform even more miracles. Less refined minds are influenced not by doctrine, but by miracles.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or they meant that if there are not to be two Christs, then this must be 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 were murmuring such things about Him, and so the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to arrest Him.

St. John Chrysostom: He had spoken often before, but they had never treated Him this way. The praises of the multitude, however, now irritated them, even though the supposed transgression of the Sabbath was still the reason they put forward. Nevertheless, they were afraid to take this step themselves and sent officers instead.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Unable to seize Him against His will, they sent men to hear Him teach. And what did He teach? Jesus then said to them, “Yet a little while I am with you.”

St. John Chrysostom: He speaks with the greatest humility, as if to say, “Why are you in such a hurry to kill Me? Just wait a little while.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: What you wish to do now, you will do someday, but not now, because it is not My will. For I must first fulfill My mission in its proper time and so come to My passion.

St. John Chrysostom: In this way, He astonished the bolder members of the crowd and made the earnest ones among them more eager to hear Him, since so little time was left for them to benefit from His teaching.

He does not simply say, “I am here,” but, “I am with you.” This means, “Though you persecute Me, I will not stop fulfilling My part toward you, teaching you the way to salvation and admonishing you.” What follows, “And I go to Him that sent Me,” was enough to provoke some fear.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It was as if He were going to complain about them to the Father, for if they reviled the One who was sent, they undoubtedly injured the One who sent Him.

The Venerable Bede: “I go to Him that sent Me” means, “I return to My Father, at whose command I became incarnate.” He is speaking of that departure, from which He has never returned.

St. John Chrysostom: That they would later want His presence is clear from His saying, “You will seek Me, and will 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. Especially when the city was taken, they would have recalled Christ and His miracles and desired His presence.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Here He foretells His resurrection, for the search for Him would take place after His resurrection, when people were conscience-stricken. They would not acknowledge Him when He was present; afterward, they sought Him when they saw the multitude believing in Him.

Many, pricked in their hearts, said, “What shall we do?” They perceived that Christ’s death was caused by their sin and, believing in Christ’s pardon for sinners, they despaired of salvation until they drank of that blood which they had shed.

St. John Chrysostom: Then, so that no one would think His death would be an ordinary one, He adds, “And where I am, there you cannot come.” If He had remained in death, they would have been able to go to Him, for we are all heading there.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He does not say, “Where I will be,” but “Where I am.” For Christ was always in that place to which He was about to return; He returned in such a way that He did not forsake us. Visibly and according to the flesh, He was on earth; according to His invisible majesty, He was in heaven and on earth.

Nor again is it, “you will not be able,” but, “you cannot come,” for at that time, they were not in a state where they were able to come. That this is not meant to drive people to despair is shown by His saying the very same thing to His disciples: “Where I go, you cannot come.” He later explained this to Peter: “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

St. John Chrysostom: He wants them to think seriously about how little time He would be with them, and what regret they will feel when He is gone and they are unable to find Him. The phrase “I go to Him that sent Me” shows that their plots did Him no injury and that His passion was voluntary.

The words had some effect on the Jews, who asked each other where He would go, which sounded like people wanting to be rid of Him: “Then the Jews said among themselves, ‘Where will He go, that we shall not find Him? Will He go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?’”

In their self-satisfaction, they use “Gentiles” as a term of reproach, since the Gentiles were dispersed everywhere—a reproach they themselves later underwent. In the past, the whole nation was united, but now that the Jews were mixed with Gentiles in every part of the world, our Lord would not have said, “Where I go, you cannot come,” if He only meant He was going to the Gentiles.

St. Augustine of Hippo: “Where I go” means to the bosom of the Father. This they did not understand at all. And yet, even their mistake is an unwitting prophecy of our salvation: that our Lord would go to the Gentiles, not in His own person, but through His feet—that is, His members. He sent to us those whom He had made His members, and in this way, He made us His members.

St. John Chrysostom: They did not mean that our Lord was going to the Gentiles to harm them, but to teach them. Their anger had subsided, and they believed what He had said. Otherwise, they would not have thought to ask each other, “What kind of saying is this that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me,’ and, ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”