The Meaning of John 7:23 Explained

John 7:23

KJV: If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

YLT: if a man doth receive circumcision on a sabbath that the law of Moses may not be broken, are ye wroth with me that I made a man all whole on a sabbath?

Darby: If a man receives circumcision on sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be violated, are ye angry with me because I have made a man entirely sound on sabbath?

ASV: If a man receiveth circumcision on the sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are ye wroth with me, because I made a man every whit whole on the sabbath?

Discover John 7:23

CONTEXT: What is the Context of John 7:23?

MEANING: What does John 7:23 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in John 7:23 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in John 7:23?

What is the context of John 7:23?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

What does John 7:23 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus" critics permitted an act on the Sabbath that resulted in the health of part of a person, and an infant at that, on the Sabbath. They should not, therefore, object to His healing a whole adult then. Moreover they performed circumcisions regularly on the Sabbath, but Jesus had only healed one man on one Sabbath. Circumcision was an operation designed to insure good health. The circumcised child was not even ill. Jesus on the other hand had healed a man who had suffered with a serious handicap for38 years. Moreover circumcision was only a purification rite, but healing a paralytic involved deliverance from enslavement. Therefore it was unfair for Jesus" critics to be angry with Him for what He had done.

The Jews had established a hierarchy of activities by which they judged the legitimacy of performing any work on the Sabbath (cf. Matthew 12:9-10). They based this hierarchy on necessary need, urgency. Jesus also operated from a hierarchical viewpoint, but He based His hierarchy on what was best for people ( Mark 2:27).

"Had his opponents understood the implications of the Mosaic provision for circumcision on the Sabbath they would have seen that deeds of mercy such as he has just done were not merely permissible but obligatory. Moses quite understood that some things should be done even on the Sabbath. The Jews had his words but not his meaning." ^[1]

Context Summary

John 7:14-24 - How To Know The Truth Of Jesus' Word

Jesus now went up to the feast, not because he was prompted by the worldly policy suggested by His brethren, but because He was led by His Father's will. We must be on our guard against unspiritual advisers, and must wait till the hour and the minute-hands of the clock have reached the precise moment of the Father's appointment.

Here is an easy method of ascertaining whether our Lord's words about God, Himself, and the future are merely the words of a human teacher, or are really God's. Be willing to do as He says! Stand prepared to fulfill whatever is revealed to your mind and witnessed to by the inner voice! Live with your face toward the dawn, for though it tarry long it will certainly break. See John 3:21. Faith in the gospel does not come by logic, but as the result of obeying the highest truth that you know. Follow on and your path will lead you out to where Jesus stands, the revealed Son of God and the Savior of men. The old quarrel as to the miracle wrought at Bethesda on the Sabbath was still alive, John 7:22-23. His critics did not hold that the Mosaic law was violated if a child's submission to the Jewish initiatory rite was performed on the Sabbath. How foolish, then, to blame Jesus for an act of mercy and healing! [source]

Chapter Summary: John 7

¹ Jesus reproves the ambition and boldness of his kinsmen;
¹⁰ goes up from Galilee to the feast of tabernacles;
¹⁴ teaches in the temple
⁴⁰ Various opinions of him among the people
⁴⁵ The Pharisees are angry that their officers took him not,
⁵⁰ and chide with Nicodemus for taking his side

Greek Commentary for John 7:23

That the law of Moses may not be broken [ινα μη λυτηι ο νομος Μωυσεως]
Purpose clause with negative μη mē and first aorist passive subjunctive of λυω luō They are punctilious about their Sabbath rules and about circumcision on the eighth day. When they clash, they drop the Sabbath rule and circumcise. Are ye wroth with me? Old word from χολη cholē (bile, gall), possibly from χλοη chloē or χλωρος chlōros (yellowish green). Only here in N.T. So to be mad. With dative. Vivid picture of bitter spleen against Jesus for healing a man on the sabbath when they circumcise on the Sabbath. A man every whit whole Literally, “a whole (ολον holon) man (all the man) sound (υγιη hugiē well),” not just one member of the body mended. [source]

Are ye angry [χολᾶτε]
Only here in the New Testament. From χολή , gall. Strictly, the verb means to be full of bile, hence to be melancholy mad. [source]

Every whit whole [ὅλον ὑγιῆ]
Strictly, I made a whole man sound, in contrast with the rite of circumcision which affects only a single member, but which, nevertheless, they practice on the Sabbath. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 7:23

John 10:35 Broken [λυθῆναι]
Literally, loosened. Wyc., undone. The word is characteristic of John. He uses it of the destruction of the temple (John 2:19); the breaking of the Sabbath (John 5:18); the violation of the law (John 7:23); the destruction of Satan's works (1 John 3:8), besides elsewhere in the physical sense. [source]

What do the individual words in John 7:23 mean?

If circumcision receives a a man on Sabbath so that not might be broken the law of Moses with Me are you angry because entirely a man sound I made the Sabbath

εἰ περιτομὴν λαμβάνει (ὁ) ἄνθρωπος ἐν σαββάτῳ ἵνα μὴ λυθῇ ὁ νόμος Μωϋσέως ἐμοὶ χολᾶτε ὅτι ὅλον ἄνθρωπον ὑγιῆ ἐποίησα σαββάτῳ

περιτομὴν	circumcision
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular Root: περιτομή Sense: circumcised.
λαμβάνει	receives
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: λαμβάνω Sense: to take.
ἄνθρωπος	a man
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἄνθρωπος Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
σαββάτῳ	Sabbath
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular Root: σάββατον Sense: the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work.
ἵνα	so that
Parse: Conjunction Root: ἵνα Sense: that, in order that, so that.
λυθῇ	might be broken
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 3rd Person Singular Root: λύω Sense: to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened.
νόμος	law
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: νόμος Sense: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command.
Μωϋσέως	of Moses
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: Μωσεύς Sense: the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion.
ἐμοὶ	with Me
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular Root: ἐγώ Sense: I, me, my.
χολᾶτε	are you angry
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural Root: χολάω Sense: to be atrabilious.
ὅτι	because
Parse: Conjunction Root: ὅτι Sense: that, because, since.
ὅλον	entirely
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ὅλος Sense: all, whole, completely.
ἄνθρωπον	a man
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ἄνθρωπος Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
ὑγιῆ	sound
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ὑγιής Sense: sound.
ἐποίησα	I made
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: ποιέω Sense: to make.
σαββάτῳ	the Sabbath
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular Root: σάββατον Sense: the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work.

What are the major concepts related to John 7:23?

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Similar Scriptures for John 7:23

		Matthew 12:5 [3]
		John 5:14-16 [3]
		John 5:8-9 [2]
		Matthew 12:2 [2]