John 7:49
“But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The Pharisees condemn the crowds as lawless and accursed, assuming their ignorance of Torah excludes them from God's favor.
Context
The Pharisees here are lashing out at the common people ('this people') who had listened to Jesus and been drawn by his words. In their view, only those trained in the detailed interpretations of the law could truly understand God's will.
What Does John 7:49 Mean?
There is a coldness in this statement. The Pharisees, trained exhaustively in the law, assume the crowds are beneath blessing. They cannot conceive of God loving those who have not memorized what they have memorized, who do not observe what they observe. Yet even as they speak these words, their own law prophesies against them. Deuteronomy 27:26 pronounces a curse on those who do not keep all the words of the law, and no human being can. Their confidence rests on a foundation of sand.
Jesus would later say that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Not the law of the scholars, but the law written on the human heart. Those crowds, ignorant of rabbinic detail as they might be, were capable of receiving that word. Grace never waits for us to get smart enough. It comes to us as we are.
In the Original Language
nomos (Greek), 'law' -- the Torah and its interpretations, the entire body of Jewish observance
Application
We too can fall into the Pharisees' error, assuming that some people are too ignorant, too broken, or too far gone to understand God's love. The Spirit does not discriminate by educational attainment or social standing. Our calling is to witness to Christ, not to judge beforehand who is worthy to hear.