7:27a

See the General Comment on 7:27a-c for a way to reorder the clauses in this verse.

But we know where this man is from: This clause indicates that the people all knew that Jesus was from the town called Nazareth in Galilee. This was his home town, and he was often called “Jesus of Nazareth.” (See John 1:45, and also Mark 1:9, 24.) In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly where Jesus was from. For example:

But we know this man is from ⌊Nazareth⌋

But: This conjunction here indicates that the people were challenging the suggestion in 7:26c that Jesus might actually be the Messiah. They knew where Jesus came from, which would not be true if he was the Messiah.

we: This pronoun is inclusive here. The people of Jerusalem were talking to each other.

this man: This phrase refers to Jesus. The people referred to Jesus in a way that did not show respect.

7:27b

In Greek this clause begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “but.” It introduces a contrast between what they thought was true about Jesus and what they believed about the Messiah. They thought that they knew where Jesus was from, but they believed that they would not know where the Messiah was from. That made them doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. It may be helpful to make this clear. For example:

But how could that be? (Contemporary English Version)

When the Christ comes: This clause refers to a time that they thought was still in the future. They did not think that Jesus was the Messiah, so they thought that the Messiah had not yet come. In some languages it may be good to make this idea clearer. For example:

when the Messiah will come
-or-
when the real Christ comes (New Century Version)

7:27c

no one will know where He is from: This clause explains something many Jewish people at that time believed about the Messiah. They thought no one would know his origin. The Messiah would just come or appear and no one would know where he had come from. For example:

he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 7:27b–c

In some languages it may be natural to combine the information in 7:27b and 7:27c. For example:

No one knows where the Messiah will come from. (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 7:27a–c

The Greek text states first what is known (where Jesus is from) and then what is unknown (where the Messiah is from). The Berean Standard Bible follows the order of the Greek. However in some languages it is more natural to reverse the order of 7:27a and b-c. For example:

27b But when the Messiah comes, 27c no one will know where he is from. 27a And we all know where this man comes from. (Good News Translation)
-or-

27b–c No one knows where the Messiah will come from, 27a but we know where this man comes from. (Contemporary English Version)

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