Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Originally Posted by The_Real_Hawkeye
Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
That's nonsense. Jesus said that not one dot of the law would disappear. He fulfilled it, completed it. They are completed Jews, God's chosen people who chose him back.
"Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?" John 7:11

"Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews." - John 7:13

So, the people feared Christ's disciples, too? According to you, Biblically speaking, they are equally Jews. John, however, seems to hold a different perspective on this point than you. Who shall I believe? You, or John?
"the Jews" as referred to in the NT like that are the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders. All the people were Jews but those were the legalistic and powerful ones. Even some of the Pharisees were believers, like Joseph of Arimethia. Just look at the context to see that all the people in Israel were Jewish but not all were leaders. The hundreds of disciples were all Jews as well and the many thousands of new converts.

But they were not referred to as part of "the Jews," and no, "the Jews" didn't refer to those in authority over the Jews. John referred to them many times by such terms as priests, rulers, and pharisees. He knew how to refer to them as distinct from the Jews in general.