“Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?”
Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? — the authorities misunderstand Jesus's words, interpreting them physically: they wonder if he plans to go to the 'dispersed' (diaspora) Jews and teach Gentiles. The irony is thick: they construe his return to the Father as a mere geographical departure. Yet the comment is not entirely wrong—the Gospel will be taken to Gentiles and the diaspora, though not by Jesus in the flesh but through his apostles after the resurrection.
Church Fathers on John 7:35
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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