What does John 7:27 mean?

It's often said that "familiarity breeds contempt." In other words, when we are accustomed to seeing someone, speaking with them, or working with them, we tend to take them for granted. In particular, we sometimes have a hard time picturing that person as anything "other" than what we assume them to be. In many cases, that extra contact leads to annoyance: we start feeling frustrated, not impressed, by what we see in them.

This general idea has a lot to do with the crowd's assumptions about Jesus and their concept of the Messiah. Jewish tradition of the time suggested that the Promised One would more or less appear out of nowhere—and Jesus has a family history which many people in Jerusalem know. Jesus' own family seems to have the same lack of appreciation. Rather than accepting His ministry, His brothers lack belief and tease Him instead (John 7:1–9).

As with other claims made by those who reject Jesus, this suggestion contradicts Scripture. Old Testament prophets did, in fact, predict where the Messiah would come from. In fact, other people at this same festival will make this point later (John 7:42), though they seem not to realize that Jesus fulfills this requirement.