John 7:40
John 7:4040On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
JWs read as another crowd reaction to Jesus' teaching at the Festival of Booths. The Watchtower notes that some hearers recognise Jesus as "the Prophet" while others go further and say he is the Christ (v. 41); the division of opinion is treated as illustrative of Israel's mixed response, but the specific Deuteronomy 18 background is not typically the focus.
is the third gospel scene in which a crowd applies "the Prophet" — the title — to Jesus. The pattern is now unmistakable: the delegation asks John the Baptist about this prophet (1:21, denied); the crowd after the feeding applies the title to Jesus (6:14); the crowd at the festival does the same here (7:40). First-century Judaism had a recognised category called "the Prophet" rooted in Moses' prediction, and the gospels record successive recognitions of Jesus as that figure. Peter () and Stephen () close the loop apostolically. closes the prophetic age in the Son's speech. On the doorstep, the cumulative force of plus 6:14 plus 7:40 is hard to brush aside — these are not isolated phrases but a deliberate evangelist's pattern, and the pattern leaves no slot open for any later organisation to occupy the prophet's speaking role.