In chapter 5 Jesus asserted his authority in the same way, and it led to speculation about destroying him (5:15–16) on the basis of his claims about himself (5:17–18). The same responses are evidenced here (7:25–36). Again an ironic misunderstanding (7:27) fuels the discourse. Popular Jewish belief held that the Messiah would be concealed until his surprise unveiling to Israel. But the crowds know Jesus’s home—he is from Galilee. But this is wrong at a deeper level. Jesus comes from God (7:28–29). John employs the crowd’s false perception of Jesus’s origin in order to explain Jesus’s true origin. In response, the listeners are divided (cf. 6:66–71). Some are hostile (7:30), but others step closer toward faith (7:31). The light either draws to itself or repels.

Once again the Jewish leade…