John 7:34

Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come. YE SHALL SEEK ME, AND SHALL NOT FIND ME: AND WHERE I AM, THERE YE CANNOT COME: - q.d., 'Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled: Yet a little while and we part company-forever; because I go where ye cannot come, nor, even though ye should at length seek to Him whom now ye despise, shall ye be able to find Him'-referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation....

34._You shall seek me. _They _sought _Christ, to put him to death. Here Christ alludes to the ambiguous signification of the word _seek, _for soon _they shall seek him _in another manner; as if he had said, “My presence, which is now irksome and intolerable to you, will last for a short time; but ere long _you shall seek me _in vain, for, far removed from you, not only by my body, but also by my power, I shall behold from heaven your destruction.” But here a question may be put, of what nature was this _seeking _of Christ? For it is plain enough that Christ speaks of the reprobate, whose obstinacy in rejecting Christ had reached the utmost point. Some refer it to doctrine, because the Jews, by foolishly pursuing the righteousness of works, _did not obtain what they desired_, (Romans 9:31.) Many understand it as referring to the person of the Messiah, beca

31-36 The discourses of Jesus convinced many that he was the Messiah; but they had not courage to own it. It is comfort to those who are in the world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and weary of it, that they shall not be in it always, that they shall not be in it long. Our days being evil, it is well they are few. The days of life and of grace do not last long; and sinners, when in misery, will be glad of the help they now despise. Men dispute about such sayings, but the event will explain them....

Verse 34. _YE SHALL SEEK ME, AND SHALL NOT FIND ME_] When the Roman armies come against you, you will vainly seek for a deliverer. But ye shall be cut off in your sins, because ye did not believe in me; and _where I am_-in the kingdom of glory, _ye_ _cannot come_; for nothing that is unholy shall enter into the new Jerusalem. In this, and the thirty-sixth verse, ειμ, _I am_, is read by several ειμι, _I came_, as in the twenty-ninth verse; and in these two last places the _AEthiopic, Arabic_, three copies of the _Itala, Nonnus_, and _Theophylact_, agree. John 7:29, John 7:29....

YE SHALL SEEK ME - This probably means simply, Ye shall seek the Messiah. Such will be your troubles, such the calamities that will come on the nation, that you will earnestly desire the coming of the Messiah. You will seek for a Deliverer, and will look for feign that he may bring deliverance. This does not mean that they would seek for Jesus and not be able to find him, but that they would desire the aid and comfort of the Messiah, and would be disappointed. Jesus speaks of himself as the Messiah, and his own name as synonymous with the Messiah. See the notes at Matthew 23:39. SHALL NOT FIND ME - Shall not find the Messiah. He will not come, according to your expectations, to aid you. See the notes at Matthew 24....

EXPOSITION Ch. 7-10. contain the record of the conflict between faith and unbelief in the metropolis. At first the narrative indicates a vast amount of critical inquiry, of unsettled opinion, of angry disappointment and a certain readiness to be convinced on the part of one section or another. The secrecy of the Galilean village is contrasted with the broad arena of the temple courts. "The Jews," or leaders of opinion and authority in Judaea and Jerusalem, who were hostile, are seen in contrast with "the Jews who believed on him" (John 8:31). There are multitudes and multitudes (John 10:12, John 10:30, John 10:31), priests and Pharisees ...

YE SHALL SEEK ME,.... That is, the Messiah, who he was; meaning, that after his departure they should be in great distress, and be very much on the inquiry after, and solicitous for the coming of the Messiah, to be a Redeemer and Deliverer of them out of their troubles: AND SHALL NOT FIND [ME]; no Messiah will appear, no Saviour will be sent, no Redeemer will come to relieve them; they shall inquire, and look for one in vain, as they did. AND WHERE I AM, [THITHER] YE CANNOT COME; intimating hereby, that not only their temporal estate and condition would be very distressed and miserable, but also their eternal estate; since they should not be able to come where he would be in his human nature, and where he now was as a divine person, namely, in heaven....

John 7:14. _Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught._ He was no coward, so he boldly showed himself in the midst of the throng in the temple. John 7:15. _And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?_ Or, «How knoweth he the Scriptures? How has he come to be an instructed man, having never learned of the Rabbis? He has never passed through our schools of learning, so what can he know?» John 7:16. _Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me._ «I am not the inventor of what I say; I am but a messenger, delivering the message of him that sent me.»...

CHAPTER 7 _ 1. My Time is not Yet Come. (John 7:1 .)_ 2. Departure from Galilee; Sought by the Jews. (John 7:10 .) 3. In the Temple Teaching. (John 7:14 .) 4. Opposition to Him. (John 7:30 .) 5. The Indwelling Spirit Promised. (John 7:37 .) 6. The Division Among the People Because of Him. (John 7:40 .) 7. The Returning Officers and the Defense of Nicodemus. (John 7:45 .)

RESULTS IN JERUSALEM. The surprise of the Jews at His accusation of murder shows that they were ignorant of the plans of their leaders. Some of the Jerusalemites are better informed, and cannot understand the inaction of their rulers. Have they been convinced? But He does not fulfil the expected conditions. Messiah is to appear suddenly. This view is found in Enoch and 4 Esdras (_cf._ also Justin, _Trypho,_ 49, 110). Jesus in reply contrasts their knowledge of Him and His origin with their ignorance of God who sent Him, in words which appear blasphemous. They seek to lay hands on Him. The crowd is on His side. Messiah Himself could not perform greater works. The Pharisees get anxious at their attitude. The Priests, always mentioned first when action is needed, send to arrest Him. Jesus knows His danger. He tells His friends that He will not be with them long. They will want Him, but will...