25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Where is Jesus from?
Those who do not believe in the virgin birth have Jesus coming from a man and a woman in northern Israel at some time around 4 B.C. This is when Jesus starts to exist. Often these people claim to be in pursuit of the historical Jesus. The claim is that the gospel writers all made up their own Jesus to communicate a message that was precious to them. Although the gospel writings are commendable as period pieces of fiction, they are near useless as historical records of Jesus.
The earliest manuscript, often called Q, is lost to us, but it forms the core of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This is why they contain much of the same material. The supposed earliest gospel, Mark, does not contain a birth narrative. However, Matthew and Luke attempt to add origin stories and so they compose conflicting genealogies and differing stories about Magi and shepherds. The gospel of John goes cosmic and has Jesus as the eternal Logos. This is obviously a Greek influence which equates Jesus with a philosophical concept that was put forth by Greek philosophers and Christianized by whomever wrote the fourth gospel.
To understand the historical Jesus, so the critique runs, we have to understand people had sex, made a baby and one of them was executed by Romans. His name was unremarkable, Yeshua ben Yosef (Joshua Josephson), and the myth that grew around him has power only in the same way as tales of Frodo Baggins, Thor, or Zeus.
Here we see that people in Jesus’ day also assumed that he must have had ordinary origins. We are not much more clever than the ancients in our opposition to the exceptional nature of Jesus. We need to see that Jesus came through the womb of a woman, but that somehow he was eternally begotten. It takes faith to say that Jesus was more than a man. However, the faith proves itself true by the Messiah’s own presence in our lives 2000 years later.
Prayer
Jesus, we follow you by faith even though you died for all to see 2000 years ago. We accept by faith that you existed before your birth in Bethlehem. We accept that you were ordinary by design. We wish to walk with you by faith in the days ahead.
Questions
- From where did people say Jesus came?
- Why did this lead to skepticism?
- How did Jesus answer the skeptics?
- What do people today believe about Jesus’ origins?
- From whence do you believe that Jesus came?
Plymothian 
1. The people knew that Jesus had come from Galilee.
2. The Messiah wasn’t supposed to come from Galilee!
3. Jesus asserts that He came from God.
4. Christians believe that Jesus is the eternal God the Son, but non-Christians, if they have an opinion about Jesus, often believe that He was the son of two earthly parents, and was a good teacher or prophet, but not from God in that sense.
5. Jesus came from God as God incarnate!
That was an interesting bit of information about another view. I had heard of Q and of course that some people don’t believe in the virgin birth but it’s helpful to have their thoughts laid out a little better for me. I don’t agree at all. I believe the biblical account, I think the similarities are because they were observing the same event and the differences are proved not contradictions once studied. I also think it makes perfect sense for the Son of God to have a miraculous birth. Jesus, as He said, came from God. The one and only God-man, the perfect Savior for humanity.
1) Some people believed that Jesus was an ordinary man who came from an ordinary man and woman.
2) They grew skeptical because of Jesus’ claim to be Christ.
3) Jesus answered the skeptics by explaining that God sent Him and that He knew Him.
4) There are countless beliefs about where Jesus originated. If people don’t believe in the truth, then they will come up with anything!
5) I believe that God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth as a man to be born to the virgin Mary.
The people saw Jesus coming from a man and woman. Skepticism arose because no one is supposed to known where the messiah comes from. Jesus answered by telling the people that they do not know the one who sent him. Some people today do not believe in the virgin birth. I believe in the virgin birth. I believe that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. I believe that Jesus was sent to earth to pay the sacrifice for our sins.
1. Nazareth, from Mary and Joseph’s family
2. It’s so ordinary. It doesn’t make human sense (at first glance)
3.I don’t think He really directly answers them or tries to prove Himself. He says, “But I have not come of my own accord.”
4. Honestly, people probably aren’t that acquainted with the geographical or cultural characteristics of where Jesus was from. It is sad, but it’s likely many Christians probably don’t doubt the doctrine of the virgin birth just because they don’t think about doctrine very much. Those that do may be tempted to doubt more.
5. I believe that Jesus as God the Son is eternal and came to earth as fully man and God by virgin conception. He birthplace and hometown were both humble – but God can go wherever He wants in His earth. It is still amazing that He was right in the middle of Rome were so much influence was being spread from – really, He was in the perfect place, at the perfect time!
1. From where did people say Jesus came?
From Galilee
2. Why did this lead to skepticism?
No one important came from rural Galilee. Plus, the Messiah was not supposed to have such normal earthly origins like Jesus appeared to have
3. How did Jesus answer the skeptics?
Jesus pointed back to who He was sent by, rather than where He came from. This established His authority—it really didn’t matter where His earthly origins were: He was sent from heaven!
4. What do people today believe about Jesus’ origins?
Usually people believe that He was born to a father and a mother normally and that He was just a gifted moral teacher.
5. From whence do you believe that Jesus came?
From heaven and eternity past. He was sent by God the Father
from Galilee. 2. Because they did not picture the Messiah to come from Galilee of all places. 3. Jesus told them He is from Heaven and how His Father God sent Him here to Earth. 4. People today believe He was just another person who was just a good person. 5. From Eternity with God the Father
From where did people say Jesus came?
Why did this lead to skepticism?
How did Jesus answer the skeptics?
What do people today believe about Jesus’ origins?
From whence do you believe that Jesus came?
1. They think Jesus came from Nazareth with Joseph and Mary. They do not know he really came from God.
2. Because Jesus is claiming to come from somewhere they do not know. BUT they know where he was raised so they are confused.
3. He tells them that he was sent by someone they do not know.
4. Most non-Christians just think that Jesus was a good teacher who came from man, just like any other human.
5. I believe that Jesus came from- and indeed is- God on High!
1. They think Jesus came from man and woman.
2. They didn’t believe that he was actually God.
3. He tells them that he knows where he came from and who sent him.
4. People don’t believe that a child could be born of a virgin or conceived by the Holy Spirit. They think he was a good person, a teacher, or a prophet—anything but the Son of God.
5. I believe Jesus is God, sent from the Father!
People said Jesus came from Galilee, the son of a carpenter. This led to skepticism because who would follow a son of a carpenter who came from the town down the road? Nothing seemed special about Jesus if He was to be the Messiah. Jesus answered the skeptics by telling them that they did know where he came from, but he was sent from someone else and somewhere else. People today believe that Jesus was a middle eastern wise man and a good teacher. I believe that Jesus came from Heaven, where he was with God His father.
Some people thought that Jesus was a nobody. They were skeptic of his claims because they thought they could be certain that he was of ordinary birth. Jesus blew them away with his extraordinary power and wisdom. However, most people did not understand and accused him of blasphemy or brushed him aside. Today, many people have the same response. They fail to understand Jesus’ deity and brush him aside as another “man of wisdom.”
How did Jesus answer the skeptics?
“Jesus replied by claiming that because He was sent by God, He KNOWS God. He is in triune relationship with Him. So Jesus makes it clear that in order for the people to fully understand why Jesus was sent, they must know Him first, for then through Jesus they can know God. Then, they can grasp knowledge of self through knowing God, and also be able to comprehend God’s redemptive plan for humanity.”
1. People said that Jesus came from his hometown of Nazareth.
2. They believes that the Messiah would have mystical, unknown origins.
3. He told them that his true origins were from God.
4. Many people today believe no different– that Jesus was no different from any other Hebrew child of his time.
5. Of course they are right in that Jesus was born into a Jewish village, but he was sent from heaven with God into the womb of a virgin for the purpose of worldwide salvation. Therefore, his origins were the farthest thing from ordinary.
They think he is just a man from Nazareth, which they despise, so they think it could not be possible that the king they are expecting is He. Jesus challenges their so-called knowledge of where he actually came from, the Father, and says they don’t know neither Him nor the Father. Today people pretty much believe the same thing (or not, according to the story posted above, which makes Jesus out to be fiction). I believe Jesus to be exactly who he said he was, God the Son incarnate, who was crucified and risen so that I might be also in Him (Rom. 6:3-6; 1 Cor. 15:1-11).
1. Nazareth
2. It seemed knowing Jesus’ earthly origins contradicted scripture. However, those who criticized him actually proved they did not know God and thus, from where Jesus descended.
3. Jesus answered the skeptics by telling the Jews they did not know the father. He affirmed this by showing that they did not really obey God but instead, their own rules. Without knowing God, they could not know where Jesus came from.
4. Most non-Christians today believe Jesus was just a good man. If you ask an atheist though, they will often assert his being was entirely fabricated.
5. I believe Jesus came from God, in eternity past; before time, space, matter or energy.
It is so interesting to see the phrase “his hour had not yet come” through the book of John. So many times I am sure the religious rulers are about to get him, but they don’t because his hour had not yet come. Jesus had such oneness with the Father that he knew his plans and the hour God had for him. This is what aided Jesus to execute his ministry perfectly and precisely here on earth to ultimately lead to his death and resurrection, fulfilling prophecy.
While these verses do not say explicitly, the people who were fussing against Jesus’ authority and claims to divinity knew that He had connections with Galilee. This lead them to doubt His claims to being the Messiah, because the Messiah was prophesied to come from an unknown place, and they thought they knew His origins.
Jesus’ response to the nay-sayers shows an unwillingness to bend His message to fit the expectations or desires of those around Him. In the face of doubt and opposition, He continues to proclaim God as His Father, and Himself as the One who has been sent.
Many people today believe that Jesus was a historical figure, a good man who lived in ancient times who told people to treat others as they would like to be treated and who let children sit on His lap. They certainly do not ascribe to the virgin birth, and nor do they give much credence to Jesus’ relationship with God.
I believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who has existed since the beginning of time, and whose incarnation into the world occurred at exactly the moment that the sovereign God intended it to do so. I believe that Jesus took on a human nature, while retaining His divine nature, and lived as a man on the earth for more than thirty years, after which time He was crucified, buried, and then rose again, now reigning with God the Father in heaven.
(^ that was fun to answer, like writing a catechism)
It’s funny because the image of Jesus that I have in my head is so different than that picture added below the text. I’m not sure what most non-Christians believe about God’s origins, but I do know that they would not affirm that he is from God. That is so important to our faith that we recognize that Jesus did in fact come from God; fully God and fully man.
1. Galilee
2. Because he claimed to be God
3. He assures them all that he is the Christ and he came from God the Father
4. I would say there are probably to many various beliefs to state but the majority say he was just a man, or a prophet. Others say that he was the son of Mary and Joseph and as for Christian’s Jesus is from Heaven…and is the son of God.
5. He is the Son of God