John 7:34

34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

John 7:34 Meaning and Commentary

John 7:34

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 7:34 In-Context

32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

33 But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.

34 You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks!

36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”