John 7:26

26 And here he is out in the open, saying whatever he pleases, and no one is stopping him. Could it be that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah?

John 7:26 Meaning and Commentary

John 7:26

But lo, he speaketh boldly
And with great freedom, and openly and publicly in the temple, as if he had a licence from the chief priests for so doing:

and they say nothing to him;
do not contradict him, or forbid him speaking; he goes on without control; though he takes great liberty in charging the Jews with an intention to kill him, in arguing from their practices in vindication of himself, and in suggesting that they judged in favour of men, and not according to the truth of things.

Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
have they changed their minds concerning him, and so their conduct towards him? are they convinced, and do they know by plain demonstrations, and full proof, that he is really the Messiah that has been promised of old, and long expected?

John 7:26 In-Context

24 Don't be nitpickers; use your head - and heart! - to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."

25 That's when some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Isn't this the one they were out to kill?

26 And here he is out in the open, saying whatever he pleases, and no one is stopping him. Could it be that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah?

27 And yet we know where this man came from. The Messiah is going to come out of nowhere. Nobody is going to know where he comes from."

28 That provoked Jesus, who was teaching in the Temple, to cry out, "Yes, you think you know me and where I'm from, but that's not where I'm from. I didn't set myself up in business. My true origin is in the One who sent me, and you don't know him at all.