Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
LazariLs Raised from the Dead, JOHN XI. after being Four Days Buried-.
be done by lium.an hand He orders to be done, reserving only to Himself what transcended the ability of all creatures. Martlia, sister of the dead—and as such the proper guardian of the precious remains; the relationship being 7ic?'e mentioned to account for her venturing gently to reinoiistrate against their exposui'e, in a state of decomposition, to eyes that had loved him so ti'iiderly in life. Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days—(See on i'. 17.) It is wrong to suppose from this [as Lampe and others do] that, like the bystanders, she had not thoiiglit of his restoration to lifei. But the glimmerings of hope which she cherlsh'-d from the first (v. 22), and which had been brightened by what Jesus said to tier (r. 23-27), had sufl'ered a momentary eclipse on the proposal to expose the now sightless corpse.
sister, thougrh her words were fewer. (Sec on i'. 21.) 33-
38. W'UcEi •Trsiis saw tier weeping, and the Jews weej)- liig, lie groaned In spirit—tlie tears of Mary jxiid her friends acting sympathetically upon .Tesua, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His real hnmnnily! Tlio word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sigiied" or "grieved," but rather 'powerfully cliecked liis emotion'— made a visible eft'ort to restrain those tears wliich were ready to gush from His eyes, and was troubled—rather, 'troubled h\mse\r (Mrirr/iH)\ referring probably to this visible difficulty of repressing His emotions. AVIiere lijive ye laid Uim I Lord, come and see—Perhaps it was to retain composure enough to aslc this question, and on receiving the answer to proceed with them to the spot, that He checked Himself. Jesiis wept—This Ijeautifully conveys
To such fluctuations all real faith is subject in dtirk /lours. (See, for example, the case of Job.) Jesus saitl» unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if tltou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God J—He li.ad not said those very words, but this was the scope of all that He had uttered to her about His life-giving power (u.
tlie sublime brevity of the two original words ; else 'shed tears' might h.ave better conveyed the diflereiice between the word here used and tiiat twice employed in v. 33, and there properly rendered "weeping," denoting the loud wail for the dead, while that of Jesus consisted of silent tears. Is it for nothing that the Evangelist, some sixty years after it occurred, holds up to all ages with sucli touching brevity the sulilime spectacle of Uie Son of God in
23, 25, 20\; a gentle yet emphatic and most instructive rebuke: 'Why doth the restoration of life, even to a decomposing corpse, seem hopeless in the presence of the Resurrection and the Life? Hast thou yet to learn that " if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believelh?"" (JIark 9.23.) Jesus lifted up his eyes—au expression marking His calm solemnity. (Cf. ch. 17. 1.) Father, I thank thee that tliou hast heard me—rather, 'heardest me,' referring to a specific prayer ofJVred by Him, prob.ably on intelligence of the case reaching Him tears f What a seal of His perfect oneness with us in the most redeeming feature of our stricken humanity! But was there notliiug in those tears beyond sorrow for liuman suffering and death? Could these effects move Him without suggesting the cause f Who can doubt that in His ear every feature of tlie scene proclaimed that stern law of the Kingdom, "The luages of sin is death," and that this element in his visible emotion itnderlay all the
for His living and loving onenesswith tlie lather was maintained and iiiaiiifesled in the flesli. not merely by tlie spontaneous and uninterrupted outgo! ng of Each to Each in spirit, but liy specific actings of faith and exercises of prayer about each successive case as It einergeiU He prayed [says Luthakdt, well] not for what He wanted, hnt for the manifestation of what He had ; and having the briglit consciousness of the answer in the felt liberty to ask It, and the assurance that it was at liand, He gives thanks for this with a grand simplicity before performing the act. And—rather ' Yef—I knew tliat tliou Itcarest »ne always, but because of the people that stand by I said it, tliat they might believe tltat thou bast sent me—Instead of praying now. He simply gives thanks for answer to prayer ofl'ered ere He left Perea, and adds that His doing even this, in tlie audience of the people, was not from any doubt of the prevalency of His prayers in any case, liut to show the people that rest ? then said the Jews, Behold how he loved hln» ! —We thank you, O ye visitors from Jerusalem, for this syontaneous testimony to the human softneas of tlie Son of God. And—rather 'But'—some said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of tlie blind, have caused tliat this man slionld not have died I—The former exclamation came from the better-feeling portion of the spectators; this betokens a measure of suspicion. It hardly goes the length of attesting the miracle on the blind man; but 'if (as everybody says) He did that, why could He not also have kept Lazarus alive?' As to the restoration of the dead man to life, they never so much as thought of it. But tliis dispus Uion to dictate to Divine power, and almost to peril our confidence in it upon its doinrj our bidding, is not confined to men of no faith. Jesus again groaning in Iilmself—i. e., as at v. 33, checked or repressed His rising feelings, in the former instance, of sorrow, here of righteous Indignation at their unreasonable un-
Ife did nothini; without His Father, but all by direct communication with Him. 43, 44. and when he Iiad thug spoken, lie cried with a loud voice—On one other occasion only did He this—on the cross. His last utterance was a " loud cry." (JIatthew 27. .50.) "He sliall not cry," said the prophet, nor, in His ministry, did He. %\'hat a sublime contrast is this " loud cry" to themagical "whisperings" and "mutterlngs" of whicli we read in Isaiah 8.
belief. (Cf. Mark 3. 5.) [Webster and Wilkinson.] But here, too, struggling emotion was deeper, now that His ej'e was about to rest on the spot where lay, In the still horrors of death. His friend, a cave—the cavity, natural or artificial, of a rock. This, with the number of condoling visitors from Jerusalem, and the costly ointment with which Mary afterwards anointed Jesus at Bethany, all go to show that tlie family were in good circumstances. 39—1:1. .Tesus said, Take ye away the stone—spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for It was a work of no little labour. [GnoTIUS.] According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a g.ave after the stone was placed upon it. Besides other dangers, they were apprehensive of legal impurity by contact v/itli tlie dead. Hence they avoiiled coining nearer a grave than four cubits. [Maimoxiuks in LAiMi'E.] But He who touched the leper, and the bier of the widow of Nain's son, rises here also above these Judaic memo-
11); 21). i [as Grotius remarks]! II Is .second only to the grandeur of that voice which sliall raise all Die lU-ad, ch.
5.28,21); 1 Thessalonlans i. 16. Jesus saitli unto them, Loose him and let him go—Jesus ViM 11 noiiii)re do this Himself than roll away the stone. The oniwas the necessary jM'cpam/iOJi for resnrrecli'in. the other the necessary sequel to it. THE I.IKE-GIVINQ Ai:T ALONE He ItESEKVE."! TO Himself. .So in tlie quickening of the dead to .spiritual life, human insfrumcntidity is employedfirst toprepare the u-ny, and then to turn it to account. 4.'», 4fi. Many . . . which had seen. . . Iielieved, but some went to the Pliaris« es .-uid told wliat Jesus had done—The two classes which continually reappear In the Gospel history; nor Is there ever any great work of God wliich does not produce both. 'It la remarkable that on eacli of the three occasions on which our Lord ral-sed the dead, a large numlier of persons wa;« assembled. In two Instances, the resurrection of th« widow's son and of Lajr.arus. these were all witnesses of the miracle; In the third (of Jairns' daughter; they were necessarily cognizant of it. Yet this Imixirtant circumstance is iu each case only iucidemally noticed by Iho rials of evils, every one of which he li.id come to roll away, observe here ivhat our Lord did Jlinisclf, a)id what He made otiicrs do. As Klijah himself repaired the altar on C'armel, arranged the wood, cut the victim, and placed the piece.s on the fuel, liut made the bystanders fill the Burrounding trench with water, that no suspicion might arise of fire having been secretly applied to the pile (i Kings 18. .30-.'i5); so our Lord would let the most skeptical see that, without laying a hand on the stone that covered Ulsfj iend, lie could recall him tc life. But what could 150
The A nohib.nrj by Mary at Bethany. JOHN xir. Chriat Excweih her Action, off by theft, though that he did ; but simply, had charge of Its contents, was treasurer to Jesus and the Twelve. How worthy of notice is this arrangement, hy which an avaricious and dishonest person was not only taken Into the number of the Twelve, but entrusted with the custody of their little property ! The purposes which this sei'ved are oljvious enough ; but it is further noticeable, that the remotest hint v/as never given to the eleven of Hia true character, nor did the disciples most favoured with the Intimacj' of Jesus ever suspect hiiji, till a few minutes before he voluntarily separated himself from their company—forever! Jesiis said. Let her alone, against the day of my burying hath she done this—not that she thought of His Inirial, much less reserved any other nard to anoint her dead Ijord. But as the time was so near at hand when that office would have to be performed, and nhe was not to have that privilege even after the spices ivere brovghl for the purpose (Mark IG. 1), He lovingly regard.t it as done now. the poor always with you—referring to Deuteronomy 1.5. 11. but me not always—a gentle hint of His approaching departure. He adds, Mark It. 8, "She hath done ivhat she could," a noble testimony, embodying a principle of immense importance. "Verily,! say unto you. Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.'' (Matthew 26. 13 Mark 14. 9.) 'In the act of love done to Him she had erected to herself an eternal monument, as lasting as the Gospel, the eternal word of God. From generation to generation this remarkable prophecy of the Ijord has been fulfilled ; and even we, in explaining tills saying of the Redeem.or, of necessity contriliute to its accomplishment.' [Ot,sn.-\usEN.] ' Who but Himself hail tlie power to ensure to any work of m.m, even if resounding in his own time through the whole earth, an imperishable remembrance in the stream of history? Behold once more here, the majesty of His royal judicial suiireniacy in the government of the world, in tliis "Verily I say unto you."' [Stier.] Beautiful are the lessons here. (\.) Love hislovlnns, not put forward or appealed to as a proof of their veracity. In regard to this miraele, wo observe a greater degree of preparation, botin in the provident arrsui Kement of events, and in oiir Lord's actions and words than in any other. The preceding miracle (cure of the man horn blind) is distinguished from all others by the open and formal investigation of its facts. And both these miracles, the most public and best attested of the whole, are related by St. ,Iohn, wiio wrote long after the other Evangelists.' [Webster and Wilkinson.] 47-54. WlinJ <lo wc? for tills manrtoetli mnny miracles, &c.
(/. ff., 'While we trifle, " tills man,'' liy His " many miracles." will carryall before Him; the popular enthusiasm will bring on a revolution, which will precipitate the Romans upon us, and our all will go down in one common ruin.' What a testimony to the reality of our Lord's miracles, and their resistless et Tect, from His bitterest enemies! Calaplins . . . propliesled tliat Jesus sSiould die for tliat. nation, &c.—He meant nothing more than that the way to prevent the apprehended ruin of the nation was to make a sacrifice of the Disturber of their peace. r!ut in givitig utterance to this suggestion of polilif-al expediency, he was so guided as to give forth a Divine i)rediction of deep significance; and God so ordere<l it that it, should come from the lips of tlie high priest for that memorable year, tlie recognized head of God's visible people, whose ancient office, symbolized by the Urim and Thummim, was to decide in thelast resort, all vital questions as the oracle of the Divine will, and not for (Jiat nation only, &c.—These are the Evangelist's wonls, not C'aiaphas's. they toolt council tojn;etl»er to pnt hill) to d<"atl»—Caiaphas l)uf expressed wliat the party were secretly wishing, but afraid to propose. Jesus wnlked.no more openly among tl»e Jews—How could He, unless He had wished to die before His time? near the wiklerness—of Judea. a city called ICphraiin— lietween .Jerusalem and .lericho. 35-5t. Passover at linnd. . . mnnj'- went up liefore the Passover to purify themselves—from any legal uncleanness which would have disqualified them from keeping the feast. Tills Is mentioned to introduce the graphic statement whicli follows, souafht for Jesus, and spake among themselves us tl>ey stood in the temple—giving forth the various conjectures and speculations about the proiiability of His coming to the feast, that he will not coine 1—The form of this question implies the opinion that He rather iroidd come, chief priests and Pharisees liad given commandment that if any knew where he were, they should sliow It, that they miglit take him—This is mentioned to account for the conjeclures whether He wouUI come, in spite of this determination to seize Him.
to Christ transfigures the humblest services. All, indeed, who have themselves a heart value its least outgoings beyond the most costly mechanical performances; but how does it endear the Saviour to us to find Him endorsing the principle as His own standard in judging of character and deeds
" Wliiit ttioiiirh in poor ami liiimMe guise
Tlioii lipro dl(t!-t sojourn, cnttjige-born,
Ti't frnin Tliy glory in flip skies Onr ('artlily gokl Tlion didst not scorn. For liove di'liglits to bring tior lipsf. And whore Love is, that offering evermore is blest.
" Love on the Saviour's flying head
CHAPTER XII.
Her spikenard drops nnlilam'd may pour, May mount His cross, and wrap Him dt-ad
Ver. 1-11. The Anointino at Bethany. —See on Matthew 26. 6-13. 1-8. Six days before the Passover i. e., on (he 6th day before i t ; probablj' after sunset on Friday evening, or the commencement of the .Jewish uribbath preceding the Passover. Martha served—This, with what is afterwards said of Mary's way of honouring her Lord, is 80 true to thecharacter in whicli those two women appear In Luke 10. 3.S-1'2, as to constitute one of the strongest and most delightful confirmations of the truth of both narra-
In spices from the golden shore," etc. [Kehi.e.]
(2.) Works of utility should never be set in opposition to the promptings of self-sacrificing love, and the sincerity of those wlio do so is to be suspected. Under the mask of concern for the poor at home, liow many excuse themselves from all careof the perishing heathen aliroad.
(.3.) Amidst conflicting duties, that which onr "hand fp?-e«e)i^/2/)flndeth todo" is to be preferred, and even a less duty o?i/i/<o be done now to a greater t!iat can be done at any time. (4.) " H there lie first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not " (2 Corinthians 8. 12).—" She hath done what she could." (.').) As Jesus belield in spirit tlieuniversal diffusion of His Gospel, while His lowest depth of humiliation was only approaching, so He regards the facts of His earthly histonj as constituting the substance of this Oospel, and the relation of them as jnst the " preaching of this Gospel." Not that preachers are to confine them.selves to a bare narration of these facts, but that they are to make their whole preaching turn upon them as its grand centre, and derive from them its proper vitality; all that goes before this In the Bible being but the preparation for them, and all that follows but the scqwL tives. See also on ch. 11.211. T.iazams sat at the fj>l>le
' Betirei'n the raised Laznrii.i and the healed /pjjcj' (Si mon, Mark 14. 3), Vie Iord jtmbnhli/ sil-t as heliveen tn o trophie.i of Hix glorji.' [Stiku.) spikenard—or pure nard, a celebrated aromatic. (Cant. 1. 12.) anointed the feet of .Tesus—and "poureil it on His hea<l," Matthew 26. 7; Mark It..?. The only use of this was to refresh and exhilarate—a grateful compliment in the Kast, amidst the closeness of a heated atmospliere, with many guests at a feast. .Such was the form In which Mary's love to Christ, at so much cost to herself, poured itself out. Judas . . . who should hetray hlin—For the reason why this is here mentioned, 8ee on Matthew 20. 0. three hundred pence—between nine and ten pounds sterling, had the hag—the purse or ireasure-chest. bare what wag put there—not, bare it
Chrisls Discourse with the Greeks, JOHN XII. He Foretelleth His Death, law of the Kingdom of God In its most sublime form, so the very utterance of it on this occasion served to sustain His own Spirit in the double prospect to which He had
0-11. Crowds of the Jerusalem Jews hastened to Bethany, not so much lo see Jesus, whom tliey knew to be there, us to see dead Lazarus alive; and this, issuing in their accession to Christ, led to a plot against the life of Lazarus also, as the only means of arresting the triumphs of Jesus justalluded. If anyman serve me, let him follow me| and where I am, there shall also myservant l>e : If any man serve me, him will my Father \\ono\\r—Jesus here claims the same absolute subjection to Himself, as the law of men's exaltation to honour, as He yielded to the Father. 27, 28. Kow is my soul troubled—He means at the prospect of His death, just alluded to. Strange view of the Cross this, immediately after representing it as the hour of His glory! (v. 23.) But the two views naturally meet, and blend Into one. It was the Greeks, one might say, that troubled Him. 'Ah! they shall see Jesus, but to Him it shall be a costly sight.' and what shall I say J—He is In a strait betwixt two. The death of the cross was, and could not but be, appalling to His spirit. But to shrink from absolute subjection to the Father, was worse still. In asking Himself, "What shall I say'/" He seems as if thinking aloud, feeling His way between two dread alternatives, looking both of tliem sternly in the face, measuring, weigliing them, in order that the choice actually made might be seen, and even by himself the more vividly
(seet). 19)—to such a pitch had these chief priests come of diabolical determination to shutout tlielightfrom themlielves, and queiicli it from the earlli
12-19. CuRiST's Tkiumphal, Entiiy into Jerusalem.
on Matthew 2L1, &c. ; aud Lake 19. 20, &c. 12. On tlie next day—the Lord's day, or Sunday (see on v. 1); the tenth day of the Jewish month Nisan, on which the Paschal Lamb was set apart to be "kept up until the Hth day of the same month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel were to kill It in the evening." (Exodus 12. 3, 6.) Even so, from the day of this solemn entry into Jerusalem, "Christ our Passover" was virtually set apart to be "sacrificed for us." (1 Corinthians 5.
7.) 16. Wlten Jesus was $;lorifie(1, tlicn remembered tUey tliat tliese tilings were written of" lilm, &c.—The Spirit, descending on them from the glorified Saviour at Pentecost, opened their eyes suddenly to the true sense of tlie Old Testanrent, brought vividly to their recollection tliis and other Messianic predictions, and to their unspeakable astonisliment sliowed them tiiat tliey, aud felt, to be a profound, deliberate, spontaneous election. Father, save me from this hour—To take this as a question—' Shall I say. Father, save me,' &c.—as some eminent editors and interpreters do, is unnatural and jejune.
all tlie actors in tliese scenes, had been unconsciously fulfilling those predictions.
20-3(). Some Gkeeks Desire to See Jesus—The Discourse AND Scene thereupon. 20-33. Greeks—Not Grecian Jews, but Greek proselytes to the Jewish faith, who were wont to attend the annual festivals, particularly til is primary one, the Passover, tlic saiae came tlicrcfore to Plillip of Betlisaida—jiossibly as being from the same quarter, saying, We would see Jesus—certainly in a far lietter sense tlian Zaccheus. (Luke 19. 3.) Perhaps He was tlien in that part of the temple court to whicli Gentile proselytes had no access. 'These men from the ivest represent, at tlie end of Christ's life, what the %vise men from the <?nr.s< represented at its beginning; but those come to the cross of tlie King, even as these to His. manger.' [Stier.] PJillip telletJi Andrew-As follow-t«wnsmen of 15ethsaida (cli. 1. 4-1), these two seem to have drawn to each other. Andrew and Pliilip tell Jesus—The minuteness of these details, while they add to the graphic force of the narrative, serve to prepare us for something important to come out of this introduction. 23-26. Jesus answered tliem, Tlie Iioitr is come that
It is a real petition, like that in Gethsemane, "Let this cup pass from me;" only whereas, there He prefaces the prayer with an "If it be possible," here He follows it up with wliat is tantamount to that—" Nevertheless for this cause came I unto this hour." The sentiment conveyed, then, by the "prayer, in both cases, is twofold: (1.) that only one thing could reconcile Him to the death of the cross—its being His Father's will He should endure it— and (2.) that in this view of it He yielded Himself freely to it. What He recoils front is not siibjcclion to His Father's will ; but to slwiv liow tremendous a self-sacrifice that obedience involved. He first asks the Father to save Him from it, and tlien signifies how perfectly He knows that He Is there for the very purpose of enduring it. Only by letting these mysterious words speak their full meaning do they become intelligible and consistent. As for those who see no bitter elements in the death of Christ— nothing beyond mere dying — what can they make of such a scene? and when they place it over against the feelings with which tliousands of His adoring followers have welcomed death for His sake, how can they hold Him tlie Son of man sliould be glorilied q. d., 'They would see .lesus, would tliey? Yet a little moment, and they shall see Him so as now they dream not of. The middle wall of partition that keeps them out from the commonwealth of Israel is on the eve of breaking down, "and I, tip to the admiration of men ? Father, glorify thy name by a present testimony. I have hoth glorlfled it—referring specially to the voice from heaven at His baptism, and again at His transfiguration, and will glorify It again— i. p., in the j'et future scenes of his still deeper neif I bo lifted up from the earth, shall draw all men unto Me:" I see tliem " flying as a cloud, and as doves lo their cots"—a glorious event that will be lor the .Son of man, by which this is to lie brought about.' It is His death He thus sublimely and delicately alluded to. Lost in the scenes of triumph which this desire of the Greeks to see Him called up before His view. He gives no direct answer to their petition for an interview, but sees the cross whicli was to bring them gilded with glory. Except a corn of wheat fall lntx> tlic ground and die, It abidetit alone; but if it die, It bringeth forth much fruit—The necessity of His deatli is here brightly expressed, and its proper operation and fruit life springint/ forth out of death —Imaged forth by a beautiful and deeply significant law cessity; although this promise was a present and sublime testimony, which would irradiate theclouded sjiirit of the Son of man. 29-33. the people therefore that stood by, said, It thundered J others, an angel spake to him some hearing only a sound, others on arllculate, but to thepi unintelligible voice. Jesus said. This voice came not because of ine, but for your sakes—i. e., probably, to correct the unfavourable impressions which His momentary agitation and mysterious prayer for deliverance may have produced on the bystanders. Now U tlie Judgment of this world—the world that " crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2. 8). considered as a vast and complicated kingdom of Satan, breathing Ills spirit, doing his work, and involved In his doom, which Christ's death by its hands irrevocably sealed. Now Hhall the prince of this world be cast out—How differently Is that fast-approachiug "hour" regarded in the kingdoms of darkness and of light! 'The hour of relief; from the dread Troubler of our peace—how near It Is! Yet a little moment, and the day Is ours!" So It was calculated and felt in the one region. "Now shall the prince of this worUl be cast out," Is a somewhat differ*
the vegetalile kingdom. For a double reason, no doubt, tills was uttered—to expl.ain what he had .said of His death, as the hour of His own glorification, and to sustain His own Spirit under the agitation which was mysteriously coming over It in the view of that death. He that lovetli Ills life shall lose It; and he that hateth his life In this world shall keep it unto life eternal—Sec on Luke 9. 21. l)i(iour Lord mean to exclude Himself from the operation of the great principle here expres.sed— "enunciation tlic law of sclf-preservat.inn ; and Its converse, eiit view of the same event. We know who was right. Though yet under a veil. He sees the triumphs of tho Cross In unclouded and transporting light And I, If I gelf-preservati'in the law of sr!f-destr>iptiot) f On t he contrary, as He ticca me Man to exemplify this fundamental lo'2
Clirist Forelelleth the ifanner of His Death. JOHN XIII. Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet.
be lifted up from the enrtli, tvlll draw all men nnto me—The "I'' here is emphatic— I, taking the place of the world's ejected prince. "If lilted up," means not only a/ler that I have been lifted up, but, t)irour/h the virmore than the praise of God—'a severe remark, considering that several at least of ttiese persons afterwards boldly confessed Christ. It indicates the displeasure with which God regarded their conduct at this time, and v/ith whicli He continues to regard similar conduct.' [Webster and Wilkinson.] 44-50. .Tesus cried—in a loud tone, and with peculiar soleiniiily. (Cf. cli. 7. 37.) anil said. He that believeth, &c.—This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for whicli there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort summary and winding up oi His whole testimony.
tue of thai uplifting. And truly, tlie death of llie Cross,
In all Its signitlcauce, revealed in the light, and borne In upon tlie heart, by the power of the Holy Gliost, possesses an attraction over the wide world— to civilized and savai;y, learned and illiterate, alike—which Ijreaks down all opposition, assimilates all to itself, and forms out of the most heterogeneous and discordant materials a kingdom of surpassing glorj', whose uniting principle is adoring subjection "to Him that loved them." "Will draw all men 'unto Me,'" says He. What lips could venture to utter such a word but His, which "dropt as an honeycomb," whose manner of speaking was evermore in the same spirit of conscious equality witli tlie Father? This he said, signifying what death he should die—i. e., "by being lifted up from tlie earth" on "the accursed tree" (ch. 3. H; 8. 28). 31-. We have heard out of the law—the scriptures of tlie Old Testament, referring to such places as Psalm 89. 28, 29; 110.4; Daniei2.44;
CHAPTER Xin.
Ver. 1-20. At the Last Supper Jesus V,'ashes thk Disciples' Fkkt—the Discourse arising thereupon. —1. 'When Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this worhl unto the Father—On these beautiful euphemisms see on Luke !J. 31, 51. having loed his own which were In ti»e worlld, he loved them unto the end—The meaning is, that on the very edge of His last sull'erings, wlien it might have been supposed that He would be absorbed in Plis own awful prospects. He was so far from forgetting " His own," who were to be left struggling "in the world" alter He had "departed out of it to the Father" (ch. 17. 11), tliat in His care for them He seemed scarce to think of Himself save in connection witli them : "Herein is love," not only "enduring to the end," but most affectingly manifested when, judging by a human standard, least to be expected. 3. supper being ended—rather, ' being prepared,' 'being served,' or 'going on;' for tliat it was not "ended" is plain from v. 2G. the devil having now—or,
7.13,14. that Chrlstthe Christ "endureth for ever." and how sayest thon, The Son of 3Ian must he lifted up, &c.—How can that consist witli tliis "uplifting?" They saw very well both that He was holding Himself up as the Clirisl and o Christ to die a violent death ; and as that ran counter to all their ideas of the Messianic prophecies, they were glad to get tliis seeming advantage to justify their unyielding attitude. 35, 36. Yet a little while U the light with you, walk while ye have the light, &c.—Instead of answering their cjuest ion, He warns tliem, with mingled majesty and tenderness, against trifling with tlieir last brief opportunity, and entreats tiiem to let in the Light while they ha it in the midst of them, that themselves might be " light in the Lord." In this
' already'—put Into the heart of Judas to betray him referring to the agreement he had already made with the chief priests (Luke 22. 3-6). 3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his liajjds, &c.—This verse is very sublime, and as a preface to what follows, were we not familiar with it, would fill us with inexpressible surprise. An unclouded perception of His relation to the Fatlier, the coraraission He held from Him, and His approaching return to Him, possessed His soul. 4, 5. he riseth from supper, and laid aside his (outer) garments —which would have impeded tile operation of washing —and took a towel and girded liiiuself—assuming a servant's dress, began to wash— ' proceeded to wash.' Beyond all dovbl the feet of Judas were uashcd, as of all the csuse, all the clouds which hung around His Person and Mission would speedily be dispelled, while if tliey continued to hale the light, bootless were all His answers to their merely speculative or captious questions. (See on Luke 13. 23.) These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them—He who spake as never rnan spake, and immediately after words fraught with unspeakable dignity and love, had to "hide Himeelf" from His auditors! What then must thei/ have been? He retired, probably to Bethany. (The parallels are, Matthew 21.17; Luke 21. 37.) 37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own leflections on the scenes he describes; but here, liaving arrived at wliat was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an afl'ccting glance over the fiuitlessnoss of His whole ministry on the bulk of tlie now doomed people, though he had done so many miracles—The word used suggests their Jif//i(re as well as number, that the saying of Knaias might be fulfllled—7. d., 'This unbelief did not at all set aside the purposes of God, but, on the contrary, fulfilled them.' therefore thy could not l>elle\'e, because Kttalns said again. He hath blinded their eyes, that they should not see, &c.—That this expresses a posirest. 6-H. Peter saith, Lord, dost thou wash my feetT —Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "thou" and the " 7ny," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not English to say,
' Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?' But every word of this ciuestion is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and beautiful astonishment at a condescension to him quite incomprehensible. Accordingly, though there can be no doubt that already Peter's heart rebelled against it as a thing not to be tolerated, Jesus ministers no rebuke as yet, but only Ijlds him wait a little, and lie should understand it all. .Jesus answered and said, What I do thou knowest not now—7. (Z., Such condescension does need explanation ; it is fitted to astonish, but thou shalt know hereafter — 'afterwards,' meaning presently; though viewed as a general maxim, applicable to all darlc sayings in God's word, and dark doings in (Jod's providence, these words are full of consolation. Peter salth unto him, Thou shalt never wash—more emphatically, tive Divine art, by which tho.se who wilfully close tfleir eyes and harden their hearts against the truth are judicially shut up in tlieir unbelief and Impenitence, is admitted by all candid critics fasOLSHAUSBN], though many of them think it necessary to contend that this is no way Inconsistent with the liberty of the human will, which of course It Is not. These things said Esalas, when he saw his gloi-}-, and spake of him—a key of Immense importance to the opening of Isaiah's vision (Isaiah C), and all similar Old Testament representations. ' The Son is " the King Jehovah" who rules in the Old Testament and appears to the elect, as In the New Testament the Spirit, the invisible Minister of the Son, Is the Director of the Church and the Uevealer In the sanctuary of the heart.' [Olshausen.] 4c1, 43. among the chief rulers also— rather, ' even of the rulerg ;' such as Nicodemus and Joseph, because of the Pharisees— i. e., the leaders of the sects;
' Never shalt thou wash' my feet : q. d.,
' That is an incongruity to which I can never submit.' How like tlie man! If I wash thee not, thon hast no part with me—What Peter could not subnrl„ to was, that the Master should serve His servant. Xut the whole savino work of Christ wa» one continued series of mich services, endi.n<j with and consum' mated by the most self-sacrificing and transcendent of all services: The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, bul TO minister, and to give His like a ransom for MANY." (See on Mark 10. 4.'>.) If Peter men could .101 for they were of It themselves, put out of the synaKOgue—See on ch. 9. 22, 34. they loved the praise of men
The Disciplc.i Exhorlcd to IlumUlly. JOHN XIII. The Traitor Indicaled by a Sign.
higher sense. Iljit that the Scripture might be iTitlfUlefl —i. c., one has been added to your number, by no accident or mistake, who is none of Mine, but just that he might
Bubmit to let his Master go clown so low fis to wash his feet, hoiv should he suffer himself to l>c served by Him nt all f This is couclied under the one pregnant word " wash," which thoufili applioaljle to tlie lower operation which Peter resisted, is the familiar scriptural symbol of that higher c\ean^\n%, which Peter little thouglit he was at the same time virtually putting from him. It is not himiilily fulfil his predicted destiny. He that eateth bread with me—"<iid eat of my bread" (Psalm 41. 9), as one of my family; admitted to the nearest familiarity of disclpleship and of social life, hath lifted up his heel against me—turned upon me, adding insult to injury. (Cf. Hebrews 10. 29.) In the Psalm the immediate reference is to Ah ithophel's treachery again.st David (2 Samuel 17.), one of those scenes in which tlie parallel of his story with that of His great Antitype is exceedingly striking. 'The eating bread derives a fearful meaning from the participation in the sacramental supper, a meaning which must be applied for ever to all unworthy communicants, as well as to all betrayers of Christ who eat the bread of His Church.' [Stier, with whom, and others, we agree in thinking that Judas partook of the Lord's Supper.] I tell you before, that when It comes to pass, ye may believe —and it came to pass when they deeply needed such contirmation. 80. He that recelveth whomsoever I send, recelveth me, &c.—See on Matthew 10.40. The connection here seems to be that despite the dishonour done to Him by Judas, and similar treatment awaiting themselves, they were to be cheered by the assurance that their to refuse xrhat the Lord deigns to do for lis, mto deny tvhat He ftos done, but it is self-willed presumption not rare, however, in those inner circles of lofty relif/ious profession and traditional spirituality, which are found wherever Cliristian truth has enjoyed long and nndistiirbed possession. The truest humility is to receive reverentially, and thankfully to own, the gifts of grace. Lorsl, not my feet only, but also iny hnntls and my lienci—7. rf., 'To be severed from Thee, Lord, is death to me: Jf that be tlie meaning of my speech, I tread iipon it; and if to be washed of Thee have such significance, then not my feet only, but hands, head, and all, he washed !' This artless expression of clinging, life-and-death attachment to Jesus, and felt dependence upon Him for his whole, spiritual wellbeing, compared with the similar saying in ch. 6.68, 69 (on which see notes), furnishes such evidence of historic verity as no thoroughly honest mind can resist. He that is waslietl— in tliis thorough sense, to express which the word is carefully changed to one meaning to wash as in a bath, jieedoth not— to be so washed any more, save to wash Ills feet—needeth to do no more than wash his feet Catid here the former word is resumed, meaning to wash the hands or feet), but Is clean every whit'— or, 'as a whole.' Tliis sentence is singularly instructive. Of the two cleanmngs, the one points to that whicli takes place at the commencement of the Christian life, embracing complete absolution from sin as a guilty state, and entire deliverance from it as a polluted life (Revelation 1. 5; 1 Corinthians 6. 11)—or, in tlie language of theology. Justification and Itegenei-alion. Tliis cleansing is effected once for all, and is never repeated. The other cleansing, described as that of "the feet," is .wch as one walking from a bath quite cleansed still needs, in consequence of >iis contact with the earth. (Cf. Kxodns 30. IS, 19.) It is the daily cleansing which we are taught to seek, when in the spirit of adoption we say, "Our Father which art in heaven—/orgive us our debts :" and, when burdened with the sense of manifold short-comings—as what tender spiritof a Christian is not?— is it not a relief to be permitted thus to wash our feet after a day's contact witli the earth ? This is not to call in question tlie completeness of our past justificaoffice, even as His own, was Divine.
21-30. The Traitor Indicated—He Leaves tite SupPEH-Roost. 21, When .Tesus l»ad thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testltied, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you. One of you shall betray me— The announcement of i'. 18 seems not to have been plain enough to be quite apprehended, save by the traitor himself. He will therefore speak it out in terms not to be misunderstood. But tuiw much it cost Him to do this, appears from the "trouble" that came over His "spirit" —visible emotion, no doubt—liefore He got it uttered. What wounded susceptibility does this disclose, and what exquisite delicacy in His social intercourse with the Twelve, to whom He cannot, without an effort, break the subject ! 32. the disciples looked one on nnotlter, doubting of whom he spake— Further intensely interesting p.articulars are given in the other Gospels: (1.) "They were exceeding sorrowful." (Matthew
26. 22.) (2.) "They began to Inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing." (Luke
22, 2.?.) (3.) "The.v began to say unto Him one by one, Is it I, and anotlier. Is it I?" Generous, simple hearts! They abhorred the thought, but. Instead of putting it on others, each was only anxious to purge himself, and know tion. Our Lord, while graciously insisting on wasliing Peter's feet, refuses to extend tlie cleansing farther, that the symbolical instruction intended to be conveyed might not be marred, nnrt ye are clean—in the first and whole sense, but not all—important, as showing that Judas, instead of lieing as true-liearted a disciple as the rest at if he could be the wretch. Their putting it at once to Jesus Himself, as knowing doubtless who was to do it, was the best, as it certainly was the most spontaneous and artless evidence of their Innocence. (4.) Jesus, apparently while tills questioning was going on, added, "The Son of man goeth as it is written of Him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed ! It had been good for tliat man if lie had not been born." (Matthew 26. 24.) (5.) "Judas," last of all, "answered and said. Lord, Is it If" evidentl,v feeli?ig that when ail were saj'ing this, if he held his peace, tliat of itself would draw suspicion upon lilin. To prevent this the question is wrung out of him, but perhaps, amidst the stir and excitement at the talile, in a half-suppressed tone—as we are inclined to lliiuk the answer also wa.s—"Thou hast said" (Matthew 26. 25), or possibly by little more than ft first, and merely frdliiig a u'ay afterwards—as many represent it never experienced that cleansing at all which made the others what they ivere. 13-1.3. Kno%v ye what I have donel i.e., its intent. The question, however, was put merely to summon their attention to His own answer. Ye call me Master (Teaclier)—and Lord learning of Him in the one capacity, o&c.'/'".''/ Him in the other, and ye gay well, for .so 1 am—Tlie conscious dignit.v with which this claim is made is remarkable, following immediately on His laying aside the towel of service. Yet what is this whole history liut a succession of sucli astonishing contrasts from first to last? If I then — the Lord—have -washed your feet— the servants'— ye — but fellow-servants — oufjht to wasl» one another's feet—not in the narrow sense of a literal washing, profanely caricatured by popes and emperors, but by the very humblest real services one to anotlier. 10, 17. The servant Is not greater than his I.iord, &o.—an oft-repeated saying. (Matthew 10. 21, Ac.) If ye know these thli>gs, happy are ye If ye do them—a hint that even among real Christians the doing of sucli things would come lamentably short of the knoujing. IS, 19. I speak not of you all — tlie "happy are ye," of v. 17, being on no supposition applic-.sign ; for from v. 2S it is evident tliat till the moment when he went out he was not openly discovered. 23-'^ri. tikere was leaning on .Tesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom .Tesus loved—Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table. P.fter beckoned to him to ask who It gliould be of whom he spake-reclining pioliubly at tlie corresponding place on the other side of Jesus. He then lying—rather 'leaning over' on Jesus' bosom—saHh — »i a whisper, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered—<i/40 inaudibly, the answer being communicated to Peter perhaps from behind—He to whom I shall give a sop wlien I have dipped it—a piece of the bread soaked iu the wiue or the allle to Jud.as. I know whom I have chosen—in the 154