John 7:25–52. Locating Jesus.
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Why does it matter where Jesus is from and where he is now?
At first glance, it sounds like trivia. A Christmas question. A geography question. Where is Jesus from? Bethlehem? Nazareth? And where is he now? Heaven somewhere? Up there? Out there? For most people, those questions don’t seem heaps urgent.
But in John 7, those questions are massively important. They’re explosive. People argue over them. They divide over them. Some even try to arrest Jesus because of them. Entire crowds are confused because they think they know where he’s from. And they’re completely wrong. This mistake doesn’t just lead to misunderstanding. It leads to them rejecting him.
This matters for you as well. What you believe about where Jesus is from and where he is now determines whether he is just an inspiring figure from history, or the living Lord who has authority over your life. If he’s just some guy from Nazareth, you can admire him or ignore him. If he is sent from the Father, you have to listen to him. If he’s just a teacher who died, his words are pretty much optional. But if he is risen, reigning, and has poured out his Spirit, then he’s not distant or irrelevant.
John wants us to see something crucial: if you get Jesus’ origin wrong, you’ll get his identity wrong. If you get his destination wrong, you’ll misunderstand his mission. And if you miss what he sends, you’ll miss the life he offers. So before the crowd shuts him down and before the leaders dismiss him, John slows the moment down and invites us to look carefully. Because where Jesus is from, where he is going, and where he is now changes everything.
1. Where He’s From—the Father (7:25–29)
Some people in Jerusalem think they’ve cracked the case on Jesus. They know his hometown. They know his family. And because of that, they assume he can’t really be the Messiah.
They say:
“But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” (7:27)
Jesus responds by exposing how shallow that thinking is:
“You know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” (7:28–29)
They think “where Jesus is from” means Nazareth. Jesus tells us where he’s from: he’s from the Father himself.
They know his postcode, but they don’t know his origin. Jesus hasn’t just arrived on the scene by accident. He has been sent by the Father. To misunderstand where Jesus is from is to misunderstand who he is entirely.
It’s easy to think we know Jesus because we know facts about him. But knowing information about Jesus is not the same as knowing who he truly is. Jesus isn’t just a historical figure or a moral teacher. He is the one sent from God. Judging Jesus rightly means listening to how he explains himself, not relying on assumptions or surface-level knowledge.
2. Where He’s Going—the cross and the Father (7:30–36)
As the tension rises, people try to arrest Jesus, but they can’t. Not because they don’t want to, but because it isn’t time yet. John explains:
“They tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” (7:30)
In John’s Gospel, “the hour” points to a very specific time–destination. Jesus is moving toward the cross, through the resurrection, and back to the Father. Until that moment arrives, no one can take him. His life is not controlled by human pressure but by God’s plan.
That’s why Jesus can say:
“I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me.” (7:33)
Jesus isn’t talking about travelling to another country. He is talking about returning to the Father through his death and resurrection. Later in the Gospel, Jesus makes this explicit:
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (12:23)
And on the night before the cross, he prays:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (17:1)
So where is Jesus going? He is going to the cross, where he will be lifted up and glorified, and then back to the Father, having completed his saving work. That’s why he adds:
“You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” (7:34)
Jesus isn’t saying that no one can ever be with him in heaven. He’s saying that the people rejecting him right now cannot follow him to the Father the way he is going, because that way is opened only through trusting him. Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus makes clear that those who do trust him will follow him there, just not yet (14:3; 13:36).
So, you can’t follow Jesus to the Father unless you belong to him. Only those who trust him will share in what lies beyond the cross.
The crowd misunderstands completely, thinking he’s talking about leaving the country. But John wants us to see clearly: Jesus knows exactly where he’s going. And that destination explains everything he will soon do. And give!
So, where Jesus is now matters because it tells us he is not just a teacher from the past. He is the risen Lord who reigns with the Father, having come to his “time” and “hour” at the cross, where he defeated sin.
3. What He’ll Send—the Spirit (7:37–39)
At the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel remembered how God had given water in the wilderness and prayed for the day when God would again pour out life and salvation (Exodus 17:1–7; Isaiah 12:3). Each year, the festival trained God’s people to long for renewal that only God could bring. It’s in that moment, with water, thirst, and hope in everyone’s mind that Jesus stands up and speaks.
Now, at the climax of the festival, Jesus stands up and makes a staggering promise:
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (7:37–38)
Earlier in John 4, Jesus has already told us that he will provide living water. John now explains exactly what Jesus means by living water:
“By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (7:39)
Throughout the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel remembered how God gave water in the wilderness and prayed for the day when God would again pour out life and blessing. Water had always symbolised life where there should be none, help that only God could give. When Jesus speaks of “living water,” he is saying that the rescue Israel has been longing for is finally arriving.
John clarifies that this living water is the Spirit of God himself. Just as God once gave water from the rock to keep his people alive, Jesus will give the Spirit to bring real, lasting life to his people. But this gift depends on where Jesus is going. The Spirit is given only after Jesus is “glorified”, that is, after his death, resurrection, and return to the Father.
Only God can give life like this. And Jesus promises to do exactly that. The living water is not a feeling, a religious experience, or a moment of hype. It is God’s own Spirit dwelling within his people, life that flows from Jesus because he has completed his saving work.
So what does this mean for us?
It means the Christian life is not powered by willpower but by the Spirit. If you want real life, you need the Holy Spirit. You need this living water. Without the Spirit, you will go thirsty, and you won’t survive. Receive the Spirit.
4. Look Into It (7:40–52)
Then, at the end of the passage, the religious leaders dismiss Jesus without really examining him. The guards are curious, and the religious leaders think that Jesus has deceived them. Of course, they are the ones who have been deceived.
Nicodemus gets up and speaks. Remember that Nicodemus is the same Pharisee who came to Jesus quietly at night earlier in John’s Gospel. Back in John 3, Jesus told him that no one can see or enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of the Spirit (John 3:5–8). Nicodemus struggled to understand it, but he’s already learned something crucial: real life with God doesn’t come from family background, effort, or being good at keeping the law. It comes from what God gives by his Spirit.
Now, in John 7, Nicodemus speaks again:
“Does the law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (7:51)
In other words, before we dismiss Jesus, shouldn’t we at least listen to him and find out what he’s actually doing? And they reply:
“Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (7:52)
The irony is sharp. They tell Nicodemus to “look into it”. But they haven’t. Ironically, Jonah was from Gath Hepher (2 Kings 14:25), which is in the region of Galilee. So their sweeping claim that “no prophet comes from Galilee” isn’t strictly true. Isaiah 9:1–7 prophesies that someone greater than a prophet—a divine king—will greatly honour Galilee. Jesus grows up in Galilee. Furthermore, Micah 5:2 prophesies that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem. Jesus also comes from Bethlehem.
If they had looked properly at the Old Testament, they would have seen God’s promises pointing forward to Jesus. They dismiss him not because the evidence isn’t there, but because they’re not very good at looking at the evidence.
We need to be careful that we don’t dismiss Jesus without looking into him. Especially not without listening to the Bible. God hasn’t left us guessing about who Jesus is. The Old Testament sets the stage, and Jesus rocks up on said stage. Judging Jesus rightly means doing the hard work of listening, reading, and letting Scripture shape our conclusions. We do this even when it challenges what we assumed.
Final Word
Where Jesus is from tells us who he is. He’s not just from Nazareth or Galilee or Bethlehem. He’s from the Father.
Where Jesus is going tells us what he has done. He went to the cross, was glorified through his death and resurrection, and now reigns with the Father.
And what Jesus sends tells us what that means for us. He pours out his Spirit so that we can share in the life he has secured.
So the question isn’t whether you know the facts. The question is whether you have accepted Jesus for who he truly is, the one sent from God, crucified, risen, and reigning. Have you received what he offers? Have you come to him thirsty? Have you trusted him enough to receive his Spirit and the life that flows from him?
You can admire Jesus and still miss him. You can debate Jesus and still reject him. Or you can come to him, believe in him, and receive the life only he can give.
Where Jesus is from, and where he is now, changes everything. The question that remains: what will you do with him?
John 7:25–52. Youth Questions.
Pray and Get Going
1. If you asked the average person in your grade at school where Jesus is from, what do you think they’d say? What if you asked where he is now?
Look at John 7:25-52
2. Why are people confused about where Jesus is from? How does Jesus correct them?
3. Where is Jesus going? Why is this so important?
4. What’s the deal with Living Water? Where else does this theme come up in the Bible?
5. How do the various characters respond to Jesus in this passage? How should/shouldn’t this shape our response?
6. In verse 52, we’re told that if we “look into it”, we’ll find out who Jesus is and isn’t. How does looking into the Old Testament help us think through who Jesus is?
7. Have you accepted Jesus for who he is, the one who is from God, went to the cross, and now reigns in heaven? Have you accepted his gift of the Holy Spirit?
Pray and Give Thanks
Please, Father, help us to listen to Jesus and not judge him by rumours or assumptions. Help us to look into your word and trust what you show us about who Jesus is. Amen.
Thank you, Father, that Jesus comes from you, goes back to you, and gives us life by your Spirit. Thank you for showing us the truth about him. Help us to keep trusting Jesus. Amen.
