John 7:17
ESV
If anyone 's will is to do God 's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
NIV
Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
NASB
If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself.
CSB
If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.
NLT
Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.
KJV
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
NKJV
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
What does John 7:17 mean?
The phrasing used here by Jesus is unmistakable; the Greek word order corresponds to, "If anyone is willing the will His [God's] to do, he will know. Satan tempts man with limited knowledge based in disobedience (Genesis 3:5). But we are meant to obtain true knowledge through obedience. Jesus turns His era's assumed relationship between knowledge and morality backwards. Ancient philosophers frequently held that morality was something produced by knowledge. Under that assumption, the ability to do "good" was based on a person's understanding of moral and philosophical truths. Only those who could understand could obey, they thought. In other words, misunderstanding causes disobedience, per ancient philosophy.According to Christ, disobedience causes misunderstanding. Rather than knowledge of the truth leading to obedience, Jesus claims that whether a person is willing to obey God is what affects their ability to learn the truth!
This general idea is echoed elsewhere in Scripture, both by Jesus and others (John 18:37; Romans 1:18–20; Hebrews 11:6). In fact, Jesus laid the groundwork for this idea when preaching in Capernaum, after feeding the thousands (John 6:29). The fact that Jesus was noted to be sinless (Hebrews 4:15), even by many of His own critics (John 8:46), demonstrates how a person's spiritual life says a great deal about their knowledge (or ignorance) of God's Word.
John 7:14–24 is a strong spiritual challenge issued by Jesus against the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus makes the point that obedience is a necessary aspect of learning. The resistance of the scribes and Pharisees is ultimately a matter of rebellion, not knowledge. In the same way, Jesus criticizes their hypocritical attitude towards His miracles. This concludes with a powerful statement about the need to use ''right judgment,'' rather than shallow appearances.
Six months after the feeding of thousands, and the public debate which followed, Jesus plans to attend the Feast of Booths, also called the Festival of Tabernacles. Rather than going publicly, He chooses to arrive privately, and after His family. While teaching and preaching there, Jesus once again comes into conflict with local religious leaders. The crowds take note of His profound words, history of miracles, and the inability of the religious leaders to silence Him. This causes the people to openly question their spiritual leaders. This embarrassment is a milestone in the effort to permanently silence Jesus.
