“And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?”
And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ comes, will he do greater miracles than these which this man hath done? — despite the authorities' hostility, many believe in Jesus (episteuan eis auton) based on his works. They ask rhetorically whether the Messiah could do greater miracles than Jesus has done, implying that his works prove his Messianic claim. This represents a form of faith, though it may be faith based primarily on signs rather than the deeper revelation Jesus seeks. The division of 7:12 deepens: some believe, others do not.
Church Fathers on John 7:31
And many of the people believed in Him. Our Lord; brought the poor and humble to be saved. The common people, who soon saw their own infirmities, received His medicine without hesitation.
Neither had these however a sound faith; but took up a low way of speaking, after the manner of the multitude: When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than this Man has done? Their saying, When Christ comes, shows that they were not steady in believing that He was the Christ: or rather, that they did not believe He was the Christ at all; for it is the same as if they said, that Christ, when He came, would be a superior person, and do more miracles. Minds of the grosser…
for if they reviled Him who was sent, no doubt they did an injury to Him that sent.
Read all 17 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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