Chapter XXIV (continued, part 3)
pears that our Lord did rwt attend the Passover mentioned ai
ch. C. i—bein>5 the third since His ministry began, if the
feast nienlioiied in cli. 5. 1 was a Passover, feast of tabernnclec at hand—Tliis was tlie last of the tliree annual
lestivals, celebrated on the 15th of the 7lh month (September). See Leviticus 2;!. 33, &c, ; Deuteronomy 16. 13, &e.; Nehemiah 8. 11-18. 3-5, HU brethren said—See on Matthew l i. 5-1-.36, Depart . . . Into Jiidca, Ac—In v. 5 this speecli is ascribed to their unbelief. But as they were In the " upper room" among the one hundred and twenty disciples who waited for the descent of the Spirit after the Lord's ascension (Acts I. H), tliey seem to have had tlieir prejudices removed, perhaps after His resurrection. Indeed here their language is more that of strong prejudice and suspicion (such as near relatives, even the best, too frequently show ill 4«c7i ca^es), than from unbelief. There was also, probably, a tincture of vanity in it, ' Thou hast manj' disciples in Judea; here in Galilee they are fast dropping off; it is not like one who advances the claims thou dost to linger so long here, away from the city of our solemnities, where surely " tlie kingdom of our father David" is to be set up; "seeking," as thou dost, "to be known openly," those miracles of thine ought not to be confined to tliis distant corner, but submitted at headquarters to the inspection of " the world." ' (.See Psalm
69.8, "I am become a stranger to my brethren, an alien unto my mother's children.'") G-10. My time uot yet come —i.e., for "showing Himself to tlie world." your time always ready, &c.—q. d.,
' It matters little when we go up,
for ye have no great plans in life, and nothing hangs upon your movements. With Me it is otherwise; on every movement of Mine there hangs wliatye know not: The world lias no quarrel with you; for ye bear no testimon.v against it, and so draw down upon yourselves none of its wratli; but I am here to lift up My voice against its hypocrisy, and denounce its abominations; therefore it cannot endure Me, uud one false step might precipitiite its fury on its Victim's liead before tlie time. Away, therefore, to the feast as soon as it suits you ; I follow at the fitting moment, but " My time is not yet full come."' theu went he . . . not openly—not "in the (caravan) company." [Meyer,] (.See on Luke 2.44.) ns
it were In secret—rather, 'in a manner secretly;' perhaps by some other route, and in a way not to attract no-
Z'Z, 29. Jesus cried—in a louder tone, and more solemn, witnessing style than usual. Ye both, etc. q. d., 'Yes, ye know both myself and my local parentage, "and (yet) I am not come of myself." ' he that sent me is true, &c. Probably the meaning is, 'Pie that sent me is tlie only
tice. 11-13. Jews (the rulers) sought him—for no good end. Where is he ?—He had not been at Jerusalem for probably a year and a half, much murmuring— ' l)uz-
zing,' among the people—'the multitudes;' 'the natu-
recti Sender of any one.' 30-38. sought to take . . . nouo laid hands thfiv intpotence being equal to their malignity. When Christ eometh, will he, itc. q. d., 'If this be not
ral expression of a Jewish writer, indicating without design the crowded slate of Jerusalem at this festival.' fWEBSTKK and Wilkinson.] a good man . . . Nay . . . decelveth, &c.—the two opposite views of His claims, that they were honest, and that tliey were an imposture, none spake oi»enly of him—£. e., in His favour, " for fear of tlie
tlic Christ, what can the Christ do, wlien He does come, which has uot been anticipated and eclipsed by this man? Tliis was evidently the language of friendly persons, overborne by their spiteful superiors, but unable to keep quite silent, lieard. that tliey murmured—that mutterings to this efTect were going about, and thought it high time to stop Him if He was not to be allowed to
(ruling) Jews." 11, 15, about tlie midst of the feast-the fourth or fifth duy of the eight, during wliich it lasted, went up into the temple and taught—Tlie word denotes formal and coiUin uuics tcachini/, a.s di>iliiitimshed from mere casual Siiyings. Tliis was pvobahly the Jiist time lhat He did so thus openly in Jerusalem. He had kept liack till the feast was half through, to let the stir about Him sul>
Ciirry away the people. 33, 34. Yet a little while, <S:c.
q. d., 'Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soou fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company—
for ever; for I gc^-hither ye cannot come, nor, even when ye at length .seek to Him wliom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him'— referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their tiu\e of desperation. 35, 30. whither will he go, &c.—They cannot comprehend him, but seem awed l).v the solemn grandeur of Hla warning. He takes no notice, however, of tbfir questions. 37-39. the last, tlie great dajof t!ie feast—the eightli (Leviticus 2.3. ;iy). It was a sablialh, tlie last least day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremo-
Bide, and entering the city unexpectedly, had begun His " teaching" at tlie temple, and civaled a certain awe, before tlie wrath of the rulers had time to break it. How knoweth . . . letters—learning. (Acts 2(i. 24.) having never learned—at any rabbinical school, as Paul under Ciumaliel. Tliesc rulers knew well enough lhat He liad tMl studied under an.v human teacher—an Important admission against ancient and modern attempts to irace our Lord s wisdom to human sourcejs, [MEVEit.] Probably His teaching on this occasion was expository, manifesting that unrlvalkxl faculty and depth which in tlie Sermon on the Mount had excited the astonishment of ail. 16-18. doctrine . . . not mine, &p.—t. c, from Myself unauthorized ; I am here liy commission. If any n. iui will do the M ill, Ac.—' is willing,' or ' wishes to do.' wUetiier ofOodor . . . of myself—from above or from bt iieutli
nies. 'The generally joyous character of tliis least broke out on this day into loud jubilation, jiarticularly at the solemn moment wlien the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, iu golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, wliicli (lowed uniler tlie temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it U)>on tlie altar. Then tlie words of Jsaiali 12. 3 were sung, ' With joi, thali
lu _>ivine or an imposture of mine. A principle of im-
Christ Teachei in the Temple. JOHN VIII. Divers Opinions Concerning Him.
pe drmv writer out of the welh of Salvation,'' and thns the
ing its expectation—had gushed forth upon a thlrsxy world. 40-43. Many . . . when they hear<t this . . . said, Of a trnth, &c.—The only wonder Is they did not all say it. "But their minds were blinded." Others, TlUs Is the Christ—See on ch. 1. 21. Shall Christ come ont of Galilee . . . Scripture snid ... of the see<I of David and out of Bethlehem, &c.—We accept this spontaneous testimony to our David-descended, Bethleliemborn Saviour. Had those who gave it made the inquiry which the case demanded, they would have found that Jesus "came out of Galilee" and "out of Bethlehem" both, alike in fulfilment of prophecy as in point of fact. (Matthew 2. 23 ; 4. 44-49. AvotUd have taken him, tout, <fcc.—See on i*. 30. Then came the officers—"sent to take him," v. 32. Why not brought him?—already thirsting for their Victim, and thinking it an easy matter to .seize and bring Him. BTever man spake like thU man—Noble testimony of unsophisticated men ! Doubtless they were strangers to the profound Intent of Christ's teaching, but there was that in it which by Its mysterious grandeur and transparent purity and grace, held them spell-bound. No doubt it was of God that they should so feel, that their arm might be paralyzed, as Christ's hour was not come ; but even in human teaching there has sometimes been felt such a Divine power, that men who came to kill them (e. g., Rowland Hill) have confessed to all that they were unmanned, ye also deceived?— In their own servants this seemed Intolerable, any of the rulers and Plkarlsees believed 1—" Manj' of them" did, including Nicodemus and Joseph, but not one of these had openly "confessed him" (ch. 12. 42), and this appeal must have stung such of them as heard it to the quick. But this people—ii7., 'multitude,' meaning the ignorant rabble. [Pity these important distinctions, so marked in the original of this gospel, should not be also in our version.] knoweth not the law—i. c, by school learning, which only subverted it by human traditions, are cursed—a cnrsed set (a kind of swearing at them, out of mingled lage and scorn). 50-53. Nicodemus—reap» pearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting. Doth our law, &c.—A very proper, but all too tame rejoinder, and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce positively in the case. ' The feebleness of his defence of Jesus has a strong contrast in the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees.' [Webster and Wilkinson.] Thou of Galilee t—
syiiitjolical reference of this act, intimated in v. 39, was expressed.' [OlshauSen.] So ecstatic was the joy with whicli this ceremonywas performed—accompanied with sound of tmmpets—that it used to be said, 'Whoever had Mot witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all.' [Light-
foot.] On this high occasion, then. He wlio had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching —"jEStrs stood," probably in some elevated position, "and cried," as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people, "If any man thirst, LET HIM COME UNTO Me AND DRINK!" What an Offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here,- as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "tfiirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them hy " drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms, Jolfn 4. 1.3, It. But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a. y^orliX-'Vj'xAe proclamation ; and whereas there, the
gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent Idea—in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well—here, the prominence
is given to Himself as the Well-spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the weary and heavyL.ADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find rest (Matthew 11. 28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (ch. 6.) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the Bread of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the " hunger,'' and quench the "thirst," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can l>e, nothing beyond tliat here. But what was on
all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the sti-eets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation noiv soundinff forth through human flesh, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money !"' (Isaiah 55. 1.) In tliis light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words,"//*' is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Tliojnas, "My Lord and my God!" »« the ScrtpInre huth said—These words belong to what follows, " Out of his belly, as the Scripture hatli said, shall flow%''
&e., referring not to any particular passage, but to such as Isaiah .5.S. 11 ; .loel 3. 18; Zechariah H. 8; Ezekiel -17. 1-12; In most of whicii the idea is that of waters issuing from beneatli the Temple, to which our Lonl compares Him-
in this taunt expressing their scorn of the party. Even a word of caution, or the gentlest proposal to inquire before condemning, was with them equivalent to an espousal of the hated One. Search . . . otit of Galilee . . . no prophet—Strange! For had not Jmiah (of Gathhepher) and even Elijah (of Thisbe) arisen out of Galilee? and it may be more, of whom we have no record. But rage
self and those who believe in Him. out of Ills Iwlly
I. e., his inner man, his soul, as in Proverbs 20. 27. rivers of living water—See on ch. 4. 13, It. It refers primarily to tlie copiousness, but indirectlj' also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others. Tlila spnkc l«e of tlie spirit—Who, by His direct personal agency, opens up tliis spring of living waters in the Inunan spirit (ch. 3.
is blind, and deep prejudicedistorts all facts. Yet It looks as if tliey were afraid of losing Nicodemus, when they take the trouble to reason the point at all. It was Just because he had "searched," as they advised him, that ho went the leng'h even that he did. every man went to his own Uome—finding their plot could not at that time be carried into
6), and by His indwelling in the renewed soul ensures their unfailing flom. tliey that believe, A-c—As the Holy Ghost is, in tlie redemption of man, entirely at tlie service
of Christ, as His Agent, so it is onh) in believing connection with Christ tliat any one " receives" the'Spirit. For the Holy Ghost wns not yet [given]—l)eyond all doubt tlie word "given," or some similar word, is the right supplement. In ch. 16. 7 the Holy CJhost is represented not only as the gift of Christ, but a gill the communication of which was dependent upon His own departure to the Father. Now as Clirist was not yet gone, so the Holy Gliost was not
effect. Is your rage thus impotent, ye c'uief priests?
Ver. l-U. The Woman Taken in Adultery. 1, 9. •Tesus went unto the Mount of Olives—This should have formed the last verse of the foregoing chapter. 'The return of the people to the inert qnietand security of their dwellings (ch. 7. M), at the close of the feast. Is designedly contrasted with our Ijord's homeless way, so to speak, of spending the sliort niglit, who is early In the morning on the s(uMie again. One cannot well see why what is recorded in Luke 21. .'17, 38 may not even thus early have taken place ; it might have been the Lord's ordinary custom from the beginning to leave the brilliant misery of the city every night, that so Ho miglit compose Ills sorrowful and interceding heart, and collect His energies for new labours of love; preferring for His rcstlng-plaoe
yet given. .Jesiis not yet glorlflecl—flie woriX " glorified"
is here used advisedly, to teacli tlie reader not only that the departure of Clirist to the Fatlier was indispensable to the giving of tlie Spirit, but that tliis Illustrious Gift, <lirecl from the liands of Iheascended .Saviour, was (jod's intima-
tion to tlie world tliat He whom it had cast out, crucllled, and slain, was "His Elect, in whom Ills soijl delighted," and tliat it was through the smiting of that Rock that the waters of the Spirit—for which tlie Cliurch was wait-
lug, and with pomp at the feast of tabernacles proclaim-
The Woman Taken in Adultery. JOHN VIII. Christ Ji^stijieth his Docti i'oe.
me and drink,"' so now amid.st the blaze and the joyousness of this illumination. He proclaims, " I am the Light OF THE WORLD"—plainly in the most a6*o;u/e sense. For though He gives bis disciples the same title, they are only " light in the Lord " (^hesians 5. 8) ; and tliough He calls the Baptist "the burning and shining light" (or 'lamp' of his day, ch. 5. 35), yet "he was not thai Light, but was sent to bear witness of thatLiglit: that was the true Light which, coming into the •wo\-\i\,lighteth evcri/ man"
Bethany, and the Mount of Olives, the scene thus conse-
crated by many preparatory prayers for His linal humil-
iation and exaltation. [Stier.] 3-6. Scribes and Pharliwcs—foiled in their s-^esterday's attempt, and hoping to BUPceed better in this, woman ... in adultery . . . Moses commanded . . . should be stoned—simply put
to dentil (Deuteronomy 22, 22), but in aggravated cases, at
least in later times, this was proliably by stoning (Ezekiel
Hi. 40). but what sayest thou—lioping, whatever He
irlglit answer, to put Him in the wrong: — if He said, gtone her, that would seem a stepping out of His province;
(ch. 1.8,9). Under this magnificent title Messiah was promised of old, Isaiah 42. 6; Malachi 4. 2, &c. lie tliat followeth me—as one does a light going before him, and as the Israelites did the pillar of Ijriglit cloud in tlie wilderness, but shall have tlie llgitt of life—the liglit, as of a new world, a newly-awakened spiritual and eternal
If He forbade it, that would hold Him up as a relaxer of the public morals. But these cunning hypocrites were overmatched, stooped down—It will be observed He was "xitling" when they came to Him. wrote with his Bnger on the ground—Tlie words of our translators lu
life. 13-19. bearest record of thyself ; tliy record is not true—How does He meet this specious cavil? Not by disputing the wholesome human maxim tliat 'self-praise is no praise,' but by affirming that He was an exception to the rule, or ratlier, tli;it it had no application to I/im. for I know whence I caine, and wliltlier I go, etc.—See on ch. 7. 2S, 29. Ye judge after the flesh—with no spiritual apprehension. 1 judge no man . . . yet if I judge, my Judgment is true, &c.—q. d., ' Ye not only /oi-m your carnal and warped judgments of Me, but are bent on carrying them into eflTect; I, tliough I form and utter my judgment of you, am not here to carry this into execution that is reserved to a future day; yet the judgment I now pronounce and the witness I now bear is not mine only as ye suppose, but His also that sent me. (See on ch. 5.
Italics ("as thougli he heard them not") have liardly improved the sense, for it is scarcely probable He could wish that to be thought. Rather He wislied to show tliem His aversion to enter on the subject. But as this did not suit them, they "continue asking him," pressing for an answer. At last, raising Himself Hesaid—He tliat is without sin—not meaning sinless altogether; nor yet, guilt-
less of a literal breach of the Seventh Commandment; but probably, he wliose conscience acquits him of atiy
xiiK-h sin. cast a gtone—
' Ihe stone,' meaning tlie first one (Deuteronomy 17. 7). again stooped down and wrote
Tlie design of this second stooping and writing on the ground was evidently to give her accusers an opportunity to slinI^ away unol)served by Him, and so avoid an exposure to His eye which they could ill have stood. Accordingly it i^added—tlicy . . . convict«d . . . went out one by one . . . Jesus left alone—t. e., without one of her accusers remaining; for it is added—tlie woman in tlie midst i. e., of the remaining audience. Wliile tlie trap
31, S2.) And these are the two witnesses to any fact which your law requires.' 20. Tliese woitls spake lie in the treasury—a division, so called, of the fore-court of the temple, part of the court of the women [Josephus, Antiquities, xix. 6. 2, etc.), which may confirm the genuineness of f,'. 2-U, as the place wliere the wom.an was brought, no man laid hands on him, &c.—See on ch. 7. 30. In the dialogue that follows, the conflict waxes sharper on both sides, till rising to its climax, they take up stones to stone him. fil-Z5, then said .Tcsus again unto tliem, I go my way, &e.—See on ch. 7. 34. then said the Jews, Will lie kill himself I—seeing something more in his«words than before (ch. 7. 35), but their question more malignant and scornful. Ye arc from beneath ... I from above—contrasting Himself, not as in ch.3. 31, simply witli earth-born messengers of God, but with mere sprung from and breathing an opposite element from His, whicli rendered it impossible that He and the,y should have any present fellowship, or dwell eternally together. See again on ch. 7.34: also v.
failed to catch Him for whom it was laid, it caught those who laid it. Stunned by the unexpected home-thrust, they Immediately made off—which makes the impudence
of those impure hypocrites in dragging sucti a case before the public eye the more disgusting. Woman, &c.—What luimitalde tenderness and grace! Conscious of her own
guilt, and till now in tlie hands of men who had talked
Df stoning her, wondering at tlie skill with wliich her accusers had been dispersed, .and the grace of the few words addressed to herself, she would be disposed to listen, with a reverence and teacliableness before unknown, to our Lord's admonition, "And Jesus said unto her. Neither do
I condemn thee, go and sin no more." He pronounces no pardon upon the woman (like "Thy sins are forgiven thee"—"Go In peace"), much less does He say that she had done nothing condemnable; He simply leaves the matter where it was. He meddles not with the magis-
44. . If yc believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins—They knew well enougli what He meant. (Mark 13.
6, Gr. ; cf. Matthew 24. 5.) But he would not, by sp>>aking
it out, give them the materials for a charge for which they were watching. At the same time, one is irresistibly reminded by such language, so far transcending what is becoming in men, of those ancient declarations of the God of Israel, "I AM He," (tc. (Deuteronomy 32. 39; Isaiali 43.
trate's office, nor acts the Judge in any sense (ch. 12. 47). But in saying "Go and sin no more," which had b(ien before said to one who undoubtedly believed (ch. 5. 14), more
Is probaldy implied than expressed. If brought suddenly
to c<»hviction of sin, admiration of her Deliverer, and a willingness to be admonished and guided by Him, tliis
10, 13; 46. 4; 48. 12.) See on ch. 6. 20. Who ni-t thou I— hoping thus to extort an explicit answer; but they are disappointed. 26, 27. 1 have many things to say and to Judge of you ; but He tliat sent me is true, &c. (j. d.,
call to begin a new life may have carried with it what would ensure and naturally bring about a permanent change. (This whole narrative is wanting in some of the earliest and most valuable MSS., and Ihotie which have it vary to some extents The internal evidence in its favour
' I could, and at tlie fitting time will say and judge many tilings of you (referring perhaps to tlie work of the Spirit which is iuT judgment as well as salvation, ch. 16. 8), but what I do say is just the message my Father hath given mo to deliver.' JJ8-30. Wiien yc have lifted up the Sou of man—Tlie plainest intiiiiation He had yet given in public of the nuinncr and the authors of His death, ye shall know that I am lie, itc —t. e., fln.d out, or have sufficient evidence, how true was ill He said, tliougli they would be far from owning it. tlic li^nther liath not left inc alone; for I do always those things tliat please Him, &c. q. d., 'To you, who gnash upon ine with your teeth, and frown down all open appearance for ine, I seem to stand uncountenaiiced and alone; but I have a sympathy and support transcending all human applause; I came hitlier to do my Father's will, and in tlie doing of*it have not ceased to please Uini ; therefore is He ever by Me with
Is almost overpowering. It is easy to account for Its ominxion, thougli genuine; but if not so, it is next to impossible to account for its inxertion.)
12-.)9. KUUTIIER DlSCOUKSES OF JESIT.S—ATTEMPT TO Stone Him. la. I am the liglit of tlie world—As the former references to water (ch. 4. and 7.) and to bread (ch.
8.) were occasioned by outward occurrences, so this one to
ligi.t. In "the Treasury" where it was spoken (see on v. stood two colossal golden lamp-stands, on which liung auiullitude of lamps, lighted after tlie evening sacritice (probably every evening during the feast of tabernacles), dlltuKlng their brilliancy. It is said, over all the city. Around these the people danced with great rejoicing. Now, as amidst the festivities of tlie water from Siloam Jesus cried, saying, "If any man tliii'st let him come unto
Clu isCs Angucer to the Jews, JOHN VIII. who had Boasted 0/ Abi-aham.
23. If ye were Abraliam's children, ye would do the works of Abraham—He had just said He "knew they were Abraham's children," i.e., according to ihe tleifh; but the children of His faith and holiness they were not, but the reverse, this did not Abraham—In so doing ye act in direct opposition to him. we l>e not bom of fornication . . . we have one father, God—meaning, as ia generally allowed, that they were not an illegitimate race in point of reliyion, pretending only to l)e God's people, but were descended from His own chosen Abraham.
His approving smile, llis oliopring words. His snpporling
ai m.' As he spnkc tlif^c words, >iii>.i«y believed on lilin — liistearl of wonderi ns; at tliis, tlie wonder wonld l>e if words of sneii nnenrtlil.v, surpas.siiis graii<i<>nr could he nitiTed witliont captivating .?0)ne that lieard tliem. And, just as "all tliat sat in tlie council *to tr.v Stephen "saw
hi.s/dre''—thonsj;)! expectinH notliin<; hut deatli "a.i ith<ul
hec-i) Ihe f<ice of an av<)cl" (Acts 6. l i), so may we suppose
tliat, lull of tlie sweet, snpportin"; sense of His Fatlier's
pieseiit e, amidst the ra<re atxi scorn of the rulers, a Divine Iienignity beamed from His countenance, irradiated the words tliat fell from Him, and won over the candid "man.v" of His audience. 31-33. nieii said Jesns to those who ht-liev«l. If" ye continue in my >vor«l, then ave ye my dLscipIes Indeed, &c.—The impression produced hy the last words of our Lord ma.v have become visible by some decisive movement, and here He takes
4::l, 43. If God were yonr futlier, ye wonld love me—
q. d., 'If .ye had anything of his moral image, as cliildren have their father's likeness, ye wonld love me, for I am immediately of him and directl.v from him. Bui "my speech" (meaning His peculiar style of expressing Himself on these subjects) is unintelligible to you Ix-cause ye cannot take in the troth which it conveys.' 44. Ye are of your father .the devll—'This is one of the most decisive testimonies to the objective (outward) personalily of the devil. It is qnite impossible to snppase an accommodation to Jewish views, or a inelaphorical form of speech, in so solemn an assertion as this.' [Ai.forb.] the lusts of yonr father—his impure, malignant, ungodly propensities, inclinations, desires, ye will do— 'are willing to do,' i. e., 'willingly do;' not of any blind necessity of nature, but of pitre natural inclination, l>e was a murderer from the beginning—The reference is not to Cain [as lyjCKB, De Wetts:, Alford, &c.], but to Adam [GroTius, Cai>vin, Meyer, Luthakdt, Ac.]. The death of the human race, in its widest sense, is ascribed to the murderous seducer of our race, and abode not In the truth—As, strictly .speaking, the word m^ns
fid vantage of it to press on them " canliniimire" in the
faith, since then only were they "his real disciples " (cf. ch. 15. :1-.S), and then should the,v experimentnJbt "know the truth." and "l)y the truth be made (spii-it»ri/l,i/) free." They nnswered him, We l>e Abraham's seed, and were net-er in bondage to nny man, itc.—AVho said this? Not surely the very class .just spoken of as won over b.v His Divine words, and exhorted to continue in them. 3Iost interpreters seem to think so; but it is hard to ascribe
sucli a petulant speech to the newl.v-gained disciples, even
311 the lowest sense, much less persons so gained as they were. It came, probably, from persons mixed np with them in the same part of the crowd, but of a very different spirit. The pj itle of the.Jewish nation, even now after centuries of hnnilliation, is the most striking feature of
' abideth,' it has been denied that the .fall of Sati».n from a former hol.y state is here expressed [Locke, Ac], and .some superior interpreters think it only implied. [Olsh.^usen, Ac] But though the form of the thought is present—not past— this is to express the important idea, that his whole clift' racter and activity are just a cmdinunl aberration from hit mvn oritfinal tntth or rectitude ; and thus his fall is not only
tlieir character. 'Talk of freedom to iis? Pray when or to whom were we ever in bondage?' This bluster sounds almost ludicrous from such anation. Had the.y forgotten
their long and bitter bondage in Eg.vpt? their dreary captivity in Babylon? their present bondage to the Roman yoke, and their restless eagerness to throw it off? But probal)ly they saw that our Lord pointed to something
else—freedom, perhaps, from the leaders of sects or parties—and were not willing to allow their sulyection even to these. Our Lord, therefore, though He knew what slaves they were in this sense, drives the ploughshare KOinowhat' deeper than this, to a bondage they little dreamt of. 34-, 35. \A'hosoo%er rommitteth sin i.e.,
t\ie implied basis ol the thought, but p<irt of the statement
itself, properly interpreted and brought out. no truth in him-void of all that holy, transparent rectitude w hich, as his creature, he originall.y pos.sessed. when lie s]>eaketh a lie, Ite spcaketh of his own—perliapis his own resources, treasures. Matthew 12. 35. [ALFOitD.] (The word
is plural.) It means that be has no temptation to it .from
livfth in the eommi.t.iioot of it—(Of. 1 John 3. S; Matthew 7. 2S)—is the sei-\'ant of sin i. c, the botrd-scrvnut, or slare of it; for the question is not al>out free service, but AVho are in bondone * (Cf. 2 Peter '2. 19; Revelation 6. Ifi.) The great truth here expressed was not unknown to heathen moralists; but it was applied only to rice, for the.y were
tt'ilhout ; it is purely self-beffollcn, springing from a nature wliich is nothing but obliquity, the father of it— i. e., of lying: all the falsehofxl in the world owes its exisleneo toliim. What a verse is this! It holds np the devil (J.) as the murderer of the human race; but as this is meant here in the more profound sense of spiritual death, it holds him np (2.) as the spiritual parent of this fallen human family, commnnicating to liis off'sprii>g his own evil passions and univei-si»l obliquity, and stimulating these into active exercise. But as there is "a stronger than he," who comes upon him and overcomes him (Luke 11. 21, 22), it is only such as "love the darkness," who are addressed as children of the devil (Matthew 13. ;B; 1 John ."). S-IO). 4.'>-47. And because I tell you the truth, ye will not believe-not although, but.just txvause He did so, for the reason given in the former vei-se. Had He been less true they would have hailed Him more readil.v. wliich of yon eonvincrth me of sin—'Con-
total strangers to what in revealed religion is called sin.
Tlie thought of slaves and /ree^nm in the house suggests to our IjOrd a wider idea. And the seiT."«nt abldetli not In the Iionse for ever, biitlheson abldeth ever q.iK, 'And
if your connection witli the family of God be thatof boni> SERVANTS, ye have no natural lie to the house ; .your tie is essentially vncerlnin nvrl preenriou.^. But the Son's relationship to the FAxriKit is n ri'ittiral and essential one; it
is an inilefeasible tie; Hisnbixle in It is perpetual and of
rif/tit : That is M.v relationship, M.y tie : If, then, .ye would have your connection with God's famil.y made real, ri<//>l-
/iil, permanent, ye must by the Son be manirmiticd and adopted as sons and daughters of the Lord Almight.v. In
victotli,' bringeth home a chaise of sin. Glorious dilemma! ' Convict me of sin, and reject me: If not, why stand ye out against my claims?' Of course, they could only be supposed to inipea(!h His life; but in On(^ who hacj «lrcad.y passed through unparalleled complications, find had continually to deal with friends and foes of ever.y Borland degree, such a challenge thrown wide ajiiongst His bitterest enemies, can amount to nothing short of a claim to alisnlute sinlessness. 48-,'51. Say we not well, Tlnat thou art a Samaritan, and hnst a devil !— Whaf. intense and virulent scorn! (.See Hebrews 1'2. S.) TV;« "say we not well" refers to ch. 7.20. "A Saniarilan" means more than ' no Israelite at all :' it means ..iie m'!;o pretended, but liad no vianncr of cltiim to the title— retort-
tills sublime stntenieiit there is no doubt a sid/i>rai.nate allusion to Genesis 21. 10, " Oast out this bondienman and. her
son, for the son of this bondn'oman shall not be heir with liny
.tm?, with Isaac." (Cf. Galatiaiis I. 22-'J0.) 37-4i. ye seek to kill me—He had said this to their face l>efore: He now repeats it, and thc.v do r,)t deny it; yet are the.v held back, as by somiTnar-<-inlons spell— it was the awe which His combined dignity, courage, and benignil.v struck into them, because my wor«l l«nti» no |>lncc in yoti—When did ever human irrrr/iliet so speak of His words? The.y tell us of " the word of the I^ord" coming to them. But here
Is One who holds up " Ills word" as that which ought to find entrance and abiding room for itself in the souls of
nil who hear It. n«y tUther . . . your father—See on v. 144
CfirH'e Answer to Ike Jew*, JOHN IX. One Born Blind Restored to Sight.
ing perhaps, this denial of their Irtte desopnt from Abra-
plainly uitclii-ainod him, since " llien took they up stones to cast at him," jual as they had before done when Ihi}/ miv that He made Hivi.irlf equal Willi God, ch. 5. 18. Iild himself— See on Luke i. 30.
Uuiii. J«mis aiiswertd, I have not a devil—AV'liatcahn dignity is lieie! Verily, " wlieii reviled, lie reviled not again." (1 Peter 2. 21) Cf. Paul, Acts 2ii. 2.5, "I am not mad," Ac. He add.s not, 'Nor am I a Samaritan,' tliat He miglit not even .seeui to partake of tlitiir conlenipl for
ft race that had already welcomed Him as the Christ, and tx^an to he blessed i).v Iiini. I Iiouoiir my Kntju-r, nncl
Ver. \-n. The Oi'e.vixo ok the Eyes ok One Rorx Bl.INP. AND WHAT FoLi.owion ON IT. 1-5. As Jesus passed by, he saxv a man whUli was blind fiom bivjh —and who "sal ln'gaing," r. S. who did sin, tliU n>nn or his parents, tliat be wns l>o»-n bllnil, cV.c.—not in a former state of existence, in which, as respects t lie wicked,
jre d« dlahciiour iiic—tlie language of wouniled f<:eUii(/. But the in/eriiiiof His soul at such moments is only to tie seen in such prophetic utterances as these, "For thy sake
I have borne reproacli; shatne hath covered my face; I am l>econae &str<w{ji'r unto my lirethren.au alici) unto my mother's children. For the zeal of tliine house hatii oaten nie up, and IJie reproaches of them IhcU ieproached thee are falh n upon mc" (Psalm (iii. 7-9.) I se«-U not mti>« own gloiy: Oiei-e as one Hunt secltetlv— i.e., evidently, 'IIkU Kdclceih my glori/ requivin;; "all men to honour the Son even as thejhonour the Father;" judi-
tiie Jews did not believe; but, perhaps, expressing loosely that sin nometehere had surely been the cau.se of this calamity. Neither this man, &c.—7. rf., 'The cause was neither in hini.self nor his i)arents, bvit, in order to the manifestation of "tlie works of God,'' in his cure.' I must work {lie works of Kim that sent me, &c.— most Interesting statement from the nioulh of Christ; Intimaliuir, (1.) that, He liad a pi'ecise work to do upon earth, with every particular of it arranged and laid out to Him; (2.) tliat all He did upon earth was Just "the works of God"—particularly "going aljout doing good," though not exclusively by mirac^les; (3.) that each work had its precise lime and place in His programme of instructions, so to speak; hence, (4.) that as His period for work had definite termination, so by b iting any one service pass by its allotted time, the whole would be disarranged, marred, and driven be.vond its destined period for completion ; (5.) that He acted ever under the impulse of these c<msiderati(nis, as man—"the night conieth when no man (or no one) can work." What lessons are here for others, and what encouragement from sucVi Example! As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world, &c. —not as if He would cease, after that, to be so; but that He must make full proof of His fidelity while His earthly career lasted by displaying His glory. 'As before the raising of Laz;irus (ch. 11. '25), Hi' announces Himself as th^ licsiirrectidu and the Life, so now He sets Himself forth as the source of the archetypal spiritual liglit, of which the natural, now about to lie conferred, is only a derivation and symliol.' [Alford.] G, 7. he spat on the ground, and made elny . . . and anoiiiled the eyes of the blind man, &c.—These operations were not so incongruous in their nature as might appear, though it were absurd to imagine that they contributed in the least degree to the efl'eet which followed. (See on Mark
cially tretiHw/ him '.' who honoureth not the Son as honouring not the Father that hath sent Him" (eh. 5. 2"; and
cf. Matthew 17.5); l)ut trivina: to Him (eh. ().37) such as will yet east their crowns before His' throne, in whom He "shall se« of the travail of his soul, and be satisfie<l." ({saiah .53. 11.) 51. If a mail keep my snying, he slinll nev^T *e« dvalPi — I';irtl.v thus vindicating Ilis lofty claims as Lord of the kingdom of life everlasting, and, at the same time, l-.olding out even to His rcvilers the sceptre of grace. The word " keep"' is in harmony with u.
31, "If ye coii't/tiie iu my word," expressing the permanency, as a living and paramount principle, of that faith to which He referred : ".Vci'cr see deaih," though virtuall.y uttered before (ch. 5. 24 ; (>. W, 17, olj, is the strongest and most naUe^l statement of a very gioriou.s truth .vet given. (In ch. 11. 26 it is repeated in nearly identical terms.) 51, 33. tHen said the Jews unto him, Now we know Hint thoii hast a devil, &c.—'Thou art now self-convicted; only a (ienioniac could speak so; the most illustrious of our fathers are dead, and thou promisest cx.- emption from death toanyone who will keep Th;/ xdi/ing .'
prai, , who art Thou?' 54-56. IIT I honour myself, my liononr Is nothing, Ac.—See on ch. 5. 31, &e. I should l)e A liRr like unto you—now rising to the summit of holy, naked .«?verity, thereby to draw this long dialogue to a head. Abi-aham rejoiced f o see my day, &c.—' exulted,' or 'exceedingly rejoiced that lie should see,' he 'exulted to see'
It, i. e., by anticipalion. Na.y, he saw It and was gladhe aelxuilly beheld it, to his joy. If this mean no more
6. 18; and 7. X\ 34.) Go, wash In Slloam . . . wlilch
tjian tliat he had a prophetic foresight of the gospel-day —the second clause just repeating tVie first—how could the Jews understand our Lord to mean that He"liad seen Abraham'.''' And if it mean that Abraham was then beholding, in his disembodied spirit, the incarnate Messiah
Is, Sent, Ac-(See 2 Kings 5. 10, 14.) As the prescribed action was purely s.vmbolical in its design, so in connection with it the Evangelist notices the symbolical name of the pool as in this case hearing testimon.v to him who was sent to do what it only .inintboUzed. (See Isaiah 8. 6, where this same pool is used figuratively to denote " the streams that make glad the cit.y of God," and which, humble though they be, betoken a present God of Israel.) 8-15. Tlio neighbours therefore . , . said. Is not this he that sat and begged—Here are a number of details to Identify the newly-seeing with the long-known blind beggar, they brought to the Pharisees—sitting probalily in council, and chiefly of that sect (ch. 7. 47, 48). 16, 17. thla man is not of God, &c,—See on ch. o. 9, Ifi. Others said, &c.—as Nicodenius, and Joseph, the blind man said, He is a prophet^—rightly viewing the miracle as but a "sign" of his prophetic commission. 18-33. the Jews did not believe he had been bom blind . . . till they called the parents of him that had received his slghl^Foiled b.v the testimony of the young man him-
[STII5R, Alford, <Src.], the words seem very unsuitable to express it. It expresses something paU—"he sam my day, and xvds glad," t. e., surely while he lived. He seems to refer to the familiar Intercourse which Abraham had with Gvd, who is once and again in the history called "the Angel of the Lord," and whom Christ here identifies with Himself. On those occasions, Abraham "saw Me." "Ol-SHAusek, though he thinks the refei-enee is to some unrecorded scene.] If this be the meaning, all that follows
Is quite natural. 51-TiO. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet iflfly years old— ' No inference can be drawn from vhis as to the age of our Lord at tlie time as man. Fifty years was with the Jews the completion of manhood.' [Alford.] and hast thou seen Abraham T —He had said Abraham saw Him, as being his peculiar privilege. Thejgive the opposite turn to it—" Hast thou Been Abraham f" as an honour too great for Him to pretend to. Before Abraham was, I am—The words rendered •' was" and " am" arc quite diflferent. The one clause means, ' Aiiraham was brought into being ;' the other, '/
self, they hope to throw doubt on the fact by close questioning his parents, who, perceiving the snare laid for them, ingeniously escape it by testifying simply to the identity of their sou, and his birth-blindness, leaving it to himself, as a competent witness, to speak to the cure. They prevaricated, however, in saying they "knew not who liad opened his eyes," for "they feared the Jews," who had come to an understanding (probably after what
exist.' The statement therefore is not thai Chrint came into exiilence be/ore Abraham did (as .\rians affirm is the mean-
ing), but that He never came into being at all, but existed before .\braliam had a Ijeing; in other words, existed betore creaiiun, or eternally, as ch. 1. 1. In lltat sense tlie Jews
Is recorded, ch. 7. 50, A' . hut by this time pretty well
TJie Restored Man Confesseth. Jesus, JOHN X. Christ the Good Shepherd.
promising faith as soon as Jesus shall say who He l-s.' [Stiek.] Jesus said unto him, TIiou hast both seen Him—the new .sense of sight having at that moment its highest exercise, in gazing upon " the Light of the world." He said, Lord, I believe i and he worshipped Him—
known), vhat whoever owned him as the Christ should be pat out of the synagogue— /. e., not simply excluded, but excommunicated. 24-34. Give God tlie praise, we Unow that tills is a sinner—not wisliing iiim to own, even to the praise of God, tliat a miracle had been wrought
faith and a ivomhip, beyond doubt, meant to express far
>ipon him, but to show more regard to the honour of God than asoiibe any such act to one who was a sinner. He Answered and said, "VVIietlier a sinner or no, &c.—Not that the man meant to insiimate any doubt in his own wind on the point of his being "a sinner," but as his opinion on such a point would be of no consequence to others, he Avould speak only to what he knew a>i/acC in his own case, then said tliey again, Wliat ditl lie to tliee, &c.—hoping by repeated questions to ensnare him, but the youth is more than a match for them. I liave told you already . . . ivlH yc also be Ills disciples!—In a vein of keen irony he treats their questions as those of anxious Inquirers, almost ready for discipleship! Slung by this, they retort upon /imi as the disciple (and here they plainly were not wrong); for themselves, they fall back upon Moses; about him there could be no doubt; but who knew about this upstart? Tlie man answered. Herein
more than he would think proper toany hnman "prophet" {v. 17)—the unstudied, resistless expression, probably of SUPREME faith and adoration, though without the full understanding of what that implied. 39-41. Jesus said —perhaps at the same time, but after a crowd, including some of the skeptical and scornful rulers, had, on seeing Jesus talking with the healed youth, hastened to the spot, that they which see not might see, &c.—Rising to that ^ght of which the natural vision communicated to the youth was but the symbol. (See on r. and cf. Luke i. 18.) that they wliich see might be made blind—judicially incapable of apprehending and receiving the truth, to which they have wilfully shut their eyes, are we blind also?—We, the constituted, recognized guides of the people in spiritual things? pride and rage prompting the question. If ye were blind—wanted light to discern My claims, and only waited to receive it—ye should have no sin—none of the guilt of shutting out the light, ye say. We see ; tlierefore your sin remainetli—Your clairti to possess light, while rejecting Me, is that wliich seals you up in the guilt of unbelief.
is a marvellojis tiling, that ye know not from whence he Is, and yet h« hath opened mine eyes, &c.—He had no need to say another word ; but waxing bolder in defence of his Benefactor, and his views brightening by the very courage which it demanded, he puts it to them how they could pretend inability to tell whether one who opened the eyes of a man born blind was "of God" or "a sinner" from above or from beneath—and proceeds to argue the case with remarkable power. So irresistible was his argument that their rage hurst forth in a speech of intense Pharisaism, 'Thou wast altogetlier born in sins, and dost thou teach ns'7—thou, a base-born, uneducated, impudent youth, teach us, tlie trained, constituted, recognized guides of the people in the things of God ! Out upon tliee !' they cast him out—judicially, nodoubt, as well as in fact. The allusion to his being " born in sins" seems a tacit admission of his being blind from birth—the very thing they had been so unwilling to own. But rage and enmity to trutli are seldom consistent in their outbreaks. The friends of this excommunicated youth, crowding around him witli their sympathy, would probably express surprise that One who could work such a cure should be unal)le to protect his patient from the persecution it had raised against him, or should possess the power without using it. Nor would it be wonderful if such thouglits should arise in the youth's own mind. But if they did, it is certain, frojn what follows, that they tnade no lodgment there, conscious as ho was that " whereas he was blind, now he saw," and satis-
Ver. 1-21. The Good Shephekd. This discourse seems plainly to be a continuation of the closing verses of ch. 9. The figure was familiar to the Jewish ear, from Jeremiah
23.; EzekielSl. ; Zeehariah 11., &c. ' This simple creature (the sheep) has this special note among all animals, that
it quickly hears the voice of the shepherd, follows no one
else, depends entirely on him, and seeks help from him alone—cannot help itself, but is shut up to another's aid.' [Luther in Stier.] 1, 3. he that entereth not in by the door—the legitimate way (without saying v.'hat that was, as yet), into the sheep-fold—the sacred enclosure of God's true people, cllmbeth up some other wny-,-not referring to the assumption of ecclesiastical office without an external call, for those Jewish rulers, specially aimed
at, had this (Matthew 23.2), but to the want of a true spiritual commission, the seal of heaven going along with the outward authoi-ity ; it is the assumption of the spiritual guidance of the people without this that is meant, he that enteretli in by the door is the shepherd of tlife sheep-a true, divinely-recognized shepherd. 3. to him the porter openetli i.e., right of free access is given, by order of Him to whom the sheep belong; for it is better not to give the allusion a more specific interpretation. [Cai^VIN, Meyer, Luthardt.] and tlie sheep hear his voice—This and all that follows, though it admits of Important application to every faithful shepherd of God's
tied that if his Benefactor "were not of God he could do nothing" (v. 33). There was a word for him too, which, if whispered in his ear from tlx; oracles of God, would seem expressly designed to describe his case, and prepare him
for the coming interview Avith his gracious Friend. " Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word.
Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's
flock, is in its direct anci highest sense true only of " the great Shepherd of the sheep," who in the first five verses seems plainly, under the simple character of a true shepherd, to l)e drawing His own portrait. [I>a.mpe, Stier, Ac] 7-14. I am tlie door of the shee]>— i. e., the tray in to the fold, with all blessed privileges, both for shepherds and sheep (cf. ch.14.6; Ephesians 2.18). AH tliat ever came before me—the false prophets; not as claiming the prerogatives of Messiah, but as perverters of the people from the way of life, all pointing to Him. [Oi-shausen.] the sheep did not Iiear them—the instinct of their divinely-taught hearts preserving them from seducers, and n'.laching them to the heaven-sent prophets, of whom it is said that " the Spirit of Christ was In them"
sake, said. Let the Lord be glorified ; liUT He shai^l appeak TO YOUR JOY, and they shall be ashamed" (Isaiah 06. 5). But how was He engaged to whom sucli noble testimony had been given, and for whom such persecution had been borne? Uttering, perhaps, in secret, " with strong crying and tears," the words of the pr<)i>lietic psalm, "Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord (iod of liosts, be ashamed for my sake; let none that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel ; because for thy sake I have borne reproach . . . and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me" (Psalm fli). (i, 7, 9). .Tesns heard— 1. e., by intelligence brought Jlini—that they had cast ont tlie youth; and when He liad found liim—by accident? Not very likely. Sympathy i)i that breast could not long keep aloof from its ol)ject. He said unto him, Do«t tliou hellcve in tlie Son of Go<l !—A question Stretching purposely beyond his present attainments, in order the more quickly to lead hiniin his present teachable frame—into the highest truth. He answered and
(i Peter 1. 11). by me If any man enter in—whethershepherd or sheep, slinll be savedtlie great object of the pastoral otilce, iis of all llie Divine arrangements towards mankind, and sliall go in and out anil find pasture-
in, as to a place of safrty and rcpnsc , out, as to "green pastures and still waters" (Psalm 2;t. 2) for nourishment and
suid, AVIio is He, Lord, tliat If may believe on Him I—
refri sliing, and all this only transferred to anollier clime, and enjoyed in another niauuor, at the close of this
'Hir. re|)l.v is allifmatl ve, aud believing by anticipation,
14G
Chrid the Good SJtepherd. JOHN X. Discourse at the Feast of Dedieation.
earthly scene. (Revelation 7. 17.) I am come that they might have lift, and more ahundantly—not merely to preserve but imparl life, and communicate it in rich and unfailing exuberance. Wliataclaim! Yet it is only an echo of uU His teaching; ami He who uttered these and like words must be either a blasphemer, all wortliy of the death He died, or " God witli us"—there can be no middle course. I am the good Shepherd—emphatically, and, in the sense intended, exclusively so. (Isaiah 40. 11 ; Ezekiel
It again—It is Impossible for language more plainly and emphatically to express the absolute voluntariness of Christ's death, such a voluntariness as it would be manifest presumption in any mere creature to affirm of his own death. It is beyond all doubt the language of One who was conscious tliat His life iras HLi own (whicii uo creature's is), and therefore His to surrender or retain at will. Here lay the glory of His sacrifice, that it wan purely voluntarily. The claini of " power to take it again" is uo lesa important, as showing that His resurrec tion, though ascribed to the Father, in the sense we shall presently see, was iieverthele.ss His own assertion of His own right to life as soon as the purposes of His voluntary death were accomplished. Tikis commandikkcnt—to "lay down His life, that He might take it again.'' have I received of my Father—So tliat Christ died at once by " command" of His Father, and by such a voluutary obedience to that command as has made Him (so to speakj infinitely dear to the Father. The necessity of Christ's death, in the light of these profound sayings, must be maniJest to all but the superflciiil student. 19-^1. tiki-re was a division agatu aiikong the Jews for these suyiikgs—tlie ligliC and the darkness revealing them.solvi-s with increasing clearness in the separation of the teachable from the obstinately prejudiced. The one saw in Him only "a devil and a madman;'' the other revolted at the tliought that such words could come from one possessed, and siglit be given to the blind by a demoniac ; showing clearly that a deeper impression had been made upon lliem than their words expressed.
84.23 ; 37.21; Zechariah 13.7.) the good shepherd giveth Uls life for the sheep—Though this may be said of literal shepherds, who, even for their brute flock, have, like David, encountered " the lion and the bear" at the risk of their own lives, and still more of faithful pastors who, like the earlj' bishops of Rome, have been the foremost to brave the fury of their enemies against the flock committed to their care; yet here, beyond doubt, it points to the struggle which was to issue in the willing surrender of the Redeemer's own life, to save His sheep from destruction, an hireling . . . whose own the sheep are not —who ha-s no property in them. By this He points to His own peculiar relation to the sheep, the same as His
Father'.s, the great Proprietor and Lord of the flock, •who styles Him "My Shepherd, the Man that is my Fellow" (Zechariah 13. 7), and though faithful undershepherds are so in their Master's interest, that they
feel a measure of His own concern for tlieir charge, the language is strictly applicable only to " the Son over His own house." (Hebrews 3. 6.) seeth the wolf combig—not the devil distincti velj'-, as some take it [Stieii, Alkokd, &c.], but generally whoever comes upon the flock with hostile intent, in whatever form: though t!ie wicked one, no doubt, is at the bottom of such movements. [LuTHAKDT.] lam tlie good Shepherd, and know my
22-12. IJtSCOURSE AT THE FEAST Of DEDICATION—FROM THE FUKY OF Hl.-j IJNEMIES jE.iUS ESCAI'Ea BEYOND JORDAN, WHt;ttE MANY BIOlilliVK ON Hl.M. 'i'l, ~3. It WOS
. . . the fenst of dedication — Celebrated ratlier more than two vionllis, after the feast of tabernacles, during which intermediate period our Lord seems to have reniiilned in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. It was instituted by Julias Maccabeus, to comniemurate the purification of the temple from the proianations to which it had been subjected by Antiochus Epijihanes (B. c. 165), and kept for eight days, from tlie 25lh Chisleu (December), the day on which Judas began the first joyous celebration of it. (1 JIaccabees i. 52, 5(), 59; and Jo.-jErHUS, Antiquities,
slieei>— in thepeculiarsenseof 2Timothy 2. 19. am known of mine—the soul's response to the voice that has inwardly and eflicaciously called it; for of tliis mutual loving acquaintance ours is the effect of His. 'The Redeemer's knowledgeof us is theac^i'veelement, penetrating us with His power and life; that of believers is the passtie principle, the reception of His life and light. In this reception, however, an assimilation of the soul to the sublime Object of its knowledge and love takes place; and thus an activity, though a derived one, is unfolded, which shows itself in ol)edience to His commands.' [Oi-shausex.] From this mutual knowledge Jesus rises to another and loftier reciprocity of knowledge. 15-lS. As my Father knowcth me, even so know I the Father—What claim
xii. 7. 7.) it was wiikter—implying .some inclemency, Tlierefore .Tesws walked in Solumoik's porch—for shelter. This portico was on the east side of tlie temple, and Josepluis says it was part of the original structure of Solomon. [Antiquities, xx. 9. 7.] 'H. then came tike Jews the rulers, (See on ch. 1. 19.) how loikg dost thoti make us to doubt —"hold us in suspense" (marg.). If thou l»e the Christ, tell us plalkkly—l!ut when the plainest evidence of it was resisted, what weight could a mere assertion of it have?
•to absolute equality with the Father could exceed this? (See on Mattliew 11. 27.) and I lay dowtt my life for the sheep—How sublime tills, immediately following the lofty claim of the preceding clause! 'Tis the riches and the poverty of " the AVord niaile flesh"—one glorious Person reaching at once up to the Throne and down even to the dust of death, " that we might live through Him." A can-
2.5, 'ZC>, Jesus answered them, I told you i.e., in s'ubslance, what I am (e. g. ch. 7. ;^7, 3S; 8. 12, ;30, 58.) ye Isclieve not, because ye are not of «ny sheep, as I said— relerring to the whole strain of the Parable of the .Sheep,
did interpretation of the words, "Jojthe sheep" ought to RO far to establish the special relation of the vicarious death of Christ to the Church, other slieep I have, not of this fold: them also I mnst hring—He means the perishing Gentiles, already His " sliecp" in the love of His heart and the purpose of His grace to " brinr/ them" in due time, they sliall hear my voice This i.i not the lant/uage
V. 1, &C. 27-30. My slkeep hear krky voice, ttc-(See on v.
8.) Iglve unto them eternal life—not "will give them;" for it is a present gift. (See on ch. 3, oli ; 5. 21.) It is a very grand utterance, couched in the language of majestic authority. My Father, which gave them me—(See on ch.
C. 37-.'i9.) is greater than all—with wlioiu no adverse power can contend. It is a general expression of an admitted truth, and what follows shows for what purpose it was uttered, "and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." The impossibility of true believers being
of mere foresiijht thai they would believe, but the expression of a purpose U> draw them to Himself by an inii.ard and ejfflcaCious call, which would infallibly issue in their spontaneous accession to Him. and there shall he one fold—rather 'one flock' (for the word for 'fold,' as in tlie foregoing verses, is quite difl'crent). Therefore dotik my Father love me, because I lay down my life, itc.—.Vs the highest act of the Son's love to the Father was the laying down of His life for the sheep at His " comniandment," so the Father's love to Him as His incarnate Son reaches its consummation, and finds its highest justification, in tliat fubllmest and most afl'ecting of all acts, that I might take it again—His resurrection-life being indispensable to the acromplishment of the frr.it of Ills death. IVo man taketli my life from me, l>iit I lay it <iown myself: I have power to lay It down, and I liuvc power to take
lost, in the midst of all the tem|>tatioiis wliicli they may epcounter, does not consist in their fidelity and decision, but is founded uiion the power of Ood. lU;xe the doctrine
()f predestination is presented in its sublime and sacred aspect; there is a predestination of the holy, which la taught from one end of the Scriptures to the other; not, indeed, of such a nature that an "irresistible grace" com-
jiels the opposing will of man (of course not), but so that that will of man which receives and loves the commands of God is produced only by God's grace. [Olsiiausen—a testimony all the more valualile, being given in spite of Lutheran prej utlice.] I and my Father arc one—Our Ian*
Jcbus Proves Tlimstlf to be the Son of God. JOHN XI. Lazaitui Rdisedfrom lite Dead.
one nature with Him, yet mysteriously o/i7im. The parenthesis (v. :>5), "and the Scripture cannot be broken," referring to the terms used of magistrates in the 82d P.salm,
guage admits not, of tlie prt'clsion of the original in this grent saying. "Are'' is in the masculine gender—" we (two persons) iire;" while "o-ne" Is neuter—"one thing." Perhaps "one interest" expresses, as nearly as may be, the purport of tlie saying. There seemed to be some contradiction between His saying they had l)een given by His Father into His own hands, out of which they couUl not he plucked, and then saying that none could pluck them out of His Father's hands, as if they had not been given nut of them. ' Neither ttiey have,' says He ;
lias an important Ijearing on the authorUy of the living oracles. 'The Scripture, as the expressed will of the unchangeable Ood, is itself unchangeable and indissoluble.' [Olshauskn.1 'C'f. Matthew 5. 17.) 37-39. Though ye believe not me, believe the works—There was in Christ's words, independently of any miracles, a self-evidencing truth, majesty and grace, which those who had any spiritual susceptibility were unable to resist. (Ch. 7. 4tj; 8. 3<\) But, for those who wanted this, " the works" were a mighty help. When these failed, the case was desperate indeed, that ye may know and l>elleve that tlie Father Is in n»e, ami I In Him—thus reiterating His claim to essen-
' though He has given them to me, they are as much in His own almighty hands as ever—they cannot lie, and when given to me they are not, given away from Himself; for He and I have ALL IN COMMON.' Thus it wlU he seen, that, though oneness of essence is not the precise thing here affirmed, that truth is the basis of ivhat is affirmed, without which
tial oneness with the Father, which He had only seemed to soften down, that He might calm their rage and get their ear again for a moment, therefore they songht again to take Him—true to their original understanding of His words, for they saw perfectly well that He meant to " make Himself God" throughout all this dialogue, he escaped out of tlicir hand—(.See on Luke 4. 30; ch. 8. 59.) 40-1-4. went away again beyond Jordan . . . the place where John at first baptlced—.See on ch. I. 28. many resortetl* to lilm—on whom the ministry of the Baptist had left permanent impressions. John did no miracle, Imt all things Jolin spake of this man were true—what they now heard .and saw in .Jesus only confirming in their minds the divinity of His forerunner's mission, though unaccompanied by any of His Master's miracles. And thus, "many believed on him there."
It would not be true. And Augustin was right in saying the "We are" condemns the Sabe.llians (who denied the
distinction of Persons in the Godhead), while tlie " one" (as explained) condemns the Arians (who denied the unity of tlieir essence). 31-33. tlkeiii tli« Jews took up stones ngalii to stone Iltin—and for precisely the same t liiug as before i,ch. 8. 5S, 5t)>. Many f^ood works liave I slkowjd j-on i. e., works of pure benevolence (as Acts 10. 3S, " Who went about doing good," &o. ; see Mark 7.37). from my Patlier—not so much by His power, but as directly commissioned by Him to do them. Tliis He says to meet the Imputation of unwarrantable assumption of the Divine prerogatives. [Luthardt.] for wliicli of tJiese works do ye stoite me!—"are ye stoning (i. e., going to stone) me?" for l>2asp3»emy—whose legal punishment was stoning (Leviticus '2i. 11-16). thou, being a man i.e., a man only, ijiakest tliyself God— Twice before they understood Him to atlvance the same claim, and both times they prepared themselves to avenge what they took to be the insulted -honour of God, as here, in the way directed by their law (ch. 5. 18; 8. .51)). 34-30. It i* written lu your law— in Psalm 82. 6, respecting judges or magistrates,
Ver. 1-IG. Lazarus Raised fhom the Dkad—Thb Consequences of this, l, 3. Of Bethany—at the east side of Mount Olivet, the town of Mary and her sister Martha—thus distinguishing it from tlie other Bethany, " beyond Jordan." (See on ch. 1.28; 10.40.) it was that Blary wlio anointed the Lord with ointment, Ac—This, though not recorded by our Evangelist till ch. 12. 3, &o., was so well Icnown in the teaching of all the cliurches, according to our Lord's prediction (Matthew 20. 13), that it
j-e are gods—being the official representatives and commissioned agents of God. If lie" called tJiem gods to Avhoin
tlie word of God came, say ye of llim wliom tlie Futlier
Iiatlt sanctltied and sent into tlie world, Tiiou blaspliemest !—The whole force of this reasoning, which has been but in pari seized by the commentators, lies in what
is here alluded to by anticipation, as the most natural way of identifying her; and she is first name<l, though the younger, as the more distinguished of the two. She "anointed the Loud," says the Evangelist—led doubtless to the use of this term here, as he was about to exhibit Him illustriously as the Lord of Life. 3-5. His sister sent niito Iiiin, saying. Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick —a most womanly appeal, yet how reverential, to the known afTection of her Lord for the patient. (.See i\ 5, 11.) 'Those whom Christ loves are no more exempt than others from their share of earthly trouble and anguish: rather are they bound over to it more surely.' [Trench.] When Jesus heard,that, he said, Tliis sickness is not iintodeath—to result in dea til—but for tlie glory ofGod, that the Son of God may be glorlAed therel»y— e., by this glory of God. (See Gr.) Remarkable language this, which from creature lips would have been intolerable. It means that the glory of God manifested in the resurrection of dead Lazarus would be shown to be the glory, personally and immediately, of the Son. Jesxts loved Martha and her sister and Laxarus—what a picture!—one that in every age has attracted the admiration of the whole Christian Church. No wontlor that those miserable skeptics who have carped at the ethical system of the Gospel, as not embracing private friendships in tlie list of its virtues, have been referred to the Saviour's peculiar regard for this family as a triumphant refutation, if such were needed, when he heard he was sick, he abode two days still where he was—at least twenty-five miles
Is said of the two parties compared. The conipa)-i40« of Himself with mere men, divinely commissioned, is intended to show [!is Neandek well expresses itjthat the idea of a communiciition of the Divine Majesty to human nature w;is by no means foreign to the revelations of the Old Testament; l)ut there is also a contrast between Himself and all merely human repre.senlali ves of God—the one "sanctified bjj the Father and sent into the world ;" the
otlier, "to uhnm the word of God (inevely) came," which is expressly designed to prevent His being massed up with them as only one of many human ollicials of God. It is never said of Christ that " the word of the l^ord came to Him;" whereas tills is the well-known formula by which the Divine commission, even to the higliest of mere men,
Is expressed, as .Jolm the Baptist U^uke 3. 2). The reason
Is that given by the Baptist himself (see on ch. 3.31). The contrast is betweim those "to whom the word of God came"—men of the earth, earthy, who were merely privileged to get a Divine message to utter (if prophets), or a Di-
vine office lo discharge (if judges)—and " Him whom (not being of the earth at the Father sanctifled {or set apart), and sent into the world," an expression never used of ant/ merely human messenginof Ood, and used only of Himself, because,! said, I am the Son ofGod—It Is worthy of spe-
cial notice that our Lord liad not .laid. In so many words, that He was the Son of God, on this occasion. I>ut He had said what beyond doubt amounted to it—namely, that He gave his sheep eternal life, and none could i)luck them out of His hand; tliat He had got them from His Fatlier, In whose hands, though given toHim, they still renniined, and out of whose hand none could pluc^k them; and that they were the indefeasible property of both, inasmuch as "He and His Father were one." Our Lord considers all