What Does John 7:31 Mean?
And many from the crowd leaned their weight into him, and said, When the Anointed One comes, will he do more signs than these which this one has done?
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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?THE KEY
Their question makes Jesus the measure of the Anointed One: if the coming one can do no more than these signs, the one they await may already be standing before them.
THE MEANING
What you see can bring trust within reach, yet the identity of the one before you still takes shape through a question. Jesus’ works are weighed against the Anointed One you may still expect: what more could the one who is coming do?
WHAT THIS UNDOES
You must wait for a greater sign before trusting what is already in front of you.
THE ROOT
ἐπίστευσαν
episteusan
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust, rely on, or place confidence in another.
“leaned their weight into” in this verse is episteusan. This word carries reliance, not merely agreement with an idea. The people trust Jesus because of what they see, while their question tests how far those signs identify him as the awaited Anointed One.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, confidence
πίστις
It shares the word-family behind “believed” and keeps the response grounded in reliance on someone.
pistos: Firm, steady; trustworthy
πιστός
This related word shows trust resting on the reliability of the one trusted.
Χριστός
Christos
GROWS FROM
χρίω
chriō
Anoint; mark or appoint by anointing.
Christ names the Anointed One; it is a title, not a surname. The people weigh Jesus’ works against what this title promises, and the signs seem to bring the answer close.
ALSO GROWS
chriō: To anoint
χρίω
This verb is the source of the title and points to the one marked out as the Anointed One.
chrisma: Anointing; anointing substance
χρῖσμα
It shares the word-family and keeps the title connected to the act of anointing.
THE PATTERN
Signs can invite trust and clarify identity, but their presence alone does not compel belief.
And it shall come to pass, if they will not lean their weight on you, nor hear and respond to the voice of the first sign, that they will lean their weight on the voice of the latter sign.But these are written so that you might lean your full weight on this, that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God, and that by leaning your weight you might have life in his nature.But though he had done so many signs before them, they did not lean their weight on him.THE THREAD
But these are written so that you might lean your full weight on this, that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Son of God, and that by leaning your weight you might have life in his nature.John uses the same trust-word here: in 7:31, signs raise the question of the Anointed One; in 20:31, the written signs name Jesus as the Christ. The later verse makes explicit the recognition already taking shape in this question.
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