7:48 {18} Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
(18) False pastors are so stupid and foolish that they consider the Church of God to be of value according to the number of people in it, and from the outward show of it.
7:48 Have any of the rulers... believed on him? By rulers are meant the Sanhedrin. In the matter of deciding on the claims of the Messiah they hold that the judgment of the rulers must be decisive. They were not probably aware that Nicodemus was really a secret believer, and that another senator, Joseph, would reveal himself at the proper time.
7:48 Hath any of the rulers - Men of rank or eminence, or of the Pharisees - Men of learning or religion, believed on him?
7:40-53 The malice of Christ's enemies is always against reason, and sometimes the staying of it cannot be accounted for. Never any man spake with that wisdom, and power, and grace, that convincing clearness, and that sweetness, wherewith Christ spake. Alas, that many, who are for a time restrained, and who speak highly of the word of Jesus, speedily lose their convictions, and go on in their sins! People are foolishly swayed by outward motives in matters of eternal moment, are willing even to be damned for fashion's sake. As the wisdom of God often chooses things which men despise, so the folly of men commonly despises those whom God has chosen. The Lord brings forward his weak and timid disciples, and sometimes uses them to defeat the designs of his enemies.
