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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?
John 7:31 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But of the multitude, many believed in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, he won’t do more signs than those which this man has done, will he?”
  • BSB Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”
  • NKJV And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
  • NASB But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has done, will He?”
  • NLT Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Many in the crowd believed in Jesus, reasoning that the Christ could not do more signs than He had done. His miracles drew genuine, if imperfect, faith.

Overview

Jesus' signs led many to conclude He was the Messiah, since they expected the Christ to perform such works. Their faith, though based largely on the miracles, was a real response to the evidence God provided. John presents Jesus' signs as pointers to His identity, inviting deeper belief in Him as the Son of God who gives life.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • John 12:42Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
  • Matt 12:23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
  • John 10:41–42And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
  • Acts 8:13Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
  • John 9:16Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
  • Jas 2:26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
  • John 8:30–32As he spake these words, many believed on him.
  • John 11:45Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
  • Matt 11:3–6And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
  • John 2:23–24Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
  • John 6:2And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
  • Luke 8:13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
  • John 3:2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
  • John 2:11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
  • John 12:11Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
  • John 6:14–15Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
  • John 4:39And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 7:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 7:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.