35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
7:35
Then the Jews said among themselves,
The Jews were still confused about Jesus’ statements.
“Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?
The Jews did not understand what Jesus said.
Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
The “Dispersion” was settlements of Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire outside of Palestine. The reference here is not to the nation of Greece. “Greeks” mean non-Jews, Greek-speaking people. The Jews were scattered among the Gentile nations of the world.
7:36
What is this thing that He said,
The Jews felt that Jesus going to Gentiles was preposterous.
‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
The religious leaders still did not understand what Jesus meant, so they made a derisive statement about His claim. They would attempt to find Jesus but they would not find Him.
Isa 55: 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
PRINCIPLE:
Spiritual blindness keeps people from the truth.
APPLICATION:
When people reject Christ, they must come up with their own theories of what He was all about. Having done this, they develop contempt for Him. They carry an air of disdain for what He offers man. Often these theories develop into ideas that totally miss the point.
Unbelievers have their theories about what is important today. Consumerism is idolatry. It seeks to find satisfaction in the material, an aspect of creation, rather than in the Creator. All idolatries seek destructive pathologies that ruin personal lives. Trust in possessions as the ultimate solution to life is the polar opposite of the Christian way of life.
