Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he cometh — the crowd objects to the Messianic interpretation: they know Jesus's origins (he is from Nazareth, presumably), but according to Jewish expectation, the Messiah's origins would be hidden or unclear. This reflects a tradition that Messiah's emergence would be sudden and unexpected (perhaps drawing on the hidden birth of the Messiah). The crowd uses theological argument to dismiss the Messianic claim. Yet they 'know' his origins only in a superficial sense—they do not know that he comes from God.

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