John 2:13 TO JOHN 11:57. The Work We here enter on the second portion of the first main division of the Gospel, thus subdivided: The Work (1) among _Jews_, (2) among _Samaritans_, (3) among _Galileans_, (4) among _mixed multitudes_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the mount of Olives_ S. John nowhere mentions the Mount of Olives (comp. John 18:1), and when he mentions a new place he commonly adds an explanation: John 1:44; John 4:5; John 5:2; John 6:1; John 19:13; John 19:17. The phrase for -went unto" is not found in S. John. Both occur in all three Synopti... [ Continue Reading ]
_And early in the morning_, &c. Comp. Luke 21:37-38; -and in the day time He was teaching in the temple, and at night He went out and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple for to hear Him." The phrase for -all the peo... [ Continue Reading ]
_the scribes and Pharisees_ This phrase is used thrice by S. Luke, once each by S. Matthew and S. Mark. S. John nowhere mentions the scribes: he speaks of the hierarchy as -the chief priests" or -rulers" with or without -the Pharisees," or else simply as -the Jews." Here we are probably not to under... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moses in the law_ Of the two texts given in the margin of our Bible, Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22, probably neither is correct. It is often assumed that -put to death" in Jewish Law means stoning: such however is not Jewish tradition. The Rabbis taught that it meant strangulation; i.e. the... [ Continue Reading ]
_tempting him_ The Greek word for -tempting" is frequent in the Synoptists of trying to place Christ in a difficulty; never so used in S. John, who, however, uses it once of Christ -proving" Philip (John 6:6). _that they might have to accuse him_ This clause must be borne in mind in determining what... [ Continue Reading ]
_they continued asking_ They will not take the hint, whatever His gesture meant. _without sin_ The Greek word occurs nowhere else in N.T., but it is quite classical: it may mean either -free from the possibility of sin, _impeccable_;" or -free from actual sin, _sinless:_" if the latter, it may mean... [ Continue Reading ]
_again he stooped down_ He again declines to have the office of judge thrust upon Him. The Reader of men's hearts knew how His challenge must work: no one would respond to it. _and wrote on the ground_ A Venetian MS. ascribed to the tenth century has the remarkable reading -wrote on the ground the... [ Continue Reading ]
_being convicted by their own conscience_ These words are probably a gloss added by some copyist, like -as though He heard them not," added by our translators (John 8:6). _beginning at the eldest_ Literally, _beginning at the_ ELDERS: but it means the elders in years, not the Elders; so that our tr... [ Continue Reading ]
_none but the woman_ The word for -but" or -except" occurs nowhere in S. John's writings excepting Revelation 2:25; frequently in S. Luke, five times in S. Matthew, five times in S. Paul's Epistles, once in S. Mark, and nowhere else. _hath no man condemned thee?_ Literally, Did no man condemn _thee?... [ Continue Reading ]
_No man, Lord_ We must bear in mind that -Lord" may be too strong a translation of the Greek word, which need not mean more than -Sir" (see on John 6:34). But as we have no such ambiguous word in English, -Lord" is best. _Neither do I condemn thee_ He maintains in tenderness towards her the attitude... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then spake Jesus again unto them_ The paragraph John 7:53 to John 8:11 being omitted, these words must be connected with John 7:52. The officers have made their report to the Sanhedrin, leaving Jesus unmolested. After an interval He continues His discourse: _again_, THEREFORE, _Jesus spake unto the... [ Continue Reading ]
John 8:12 TO JOHN 9:41. Christ the Source of Truth and Light In John 8:12-46 the word -true" occurs six times, the word -truth" seven times.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou bearest record_ Our translators have again been somewhat capricious. The words which in John 8:13-14 they render -record" and -bear record," they render in John 8:17-18 -witness" and -bear witness." The latter rendering is to be preferred. The Pharisees attempt to cancel the effect of Christ's... [ Continue Reading ]
_Though I bear record_ Better, EVEN IF _I bear_ WITNESS. God can testify respecting Himself, and there are truths to which He alone can testify. Yet He condescends to conform to the standard of human testimony, and adds to His witness the words and works of His incarnate Son; who in like manner can... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye judge after the flesh_ According to His outward form, the form of a servant: comp. John 7:24. From the context -judge" here acquires an adverse sense, and virtually means -condemn:" comp. John 3:17-18; John 7:51. Judging Him to be a mere man they had condemned His testimony respecting Himself as... [ Continue Reading ]
_And yet if I judge_ Or, BUT EVEN _if I judge_, like -even if I bear witness" (John 8:14). -I judge no man; not because I have no authority, but because judging is not what I came to do. Even if I do in exceptional cases judge, My judgment is a genuine and authoritative one (see on John 1:9), not th... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is also written in your law_ Literally, _But in the law also, your law, it is written_. -Your" is very emphatic; -the Law about which you profess to be so jealous." Comp. -Thou art called a Jew, and restest on the Law" (Romans 2:17). _the testimony of two men is true_ Better, _the_ WITNESS _of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am one that bear witness of myself_ Or, IT IS I WHO BEAR WITNESS OF MYSELF (in My words and works), AND THERE BEARETH WITNESS OF ME THE FATHER, WHO SENT ME (in Scripture and the voice from Heaven).... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said they They said_ THEREFORE. _Where is thy Father?_ They do not ask -who" but -where;" they know well enough by this time the meaning of Christ's frequent reference to -Him that sent me:" John 5:23-24; John 5:30; John 5:37-38; John 6:38-40; John 6:44; John 7:16; John 7:18; John 7:28;... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the treasury At the treasury_is an admissible and in one respect safer translation. It is not certain that there was a separate building called the treasury; and if there was, it is not probable that Christ would be able to address the multitude there. But the thirteen brazen chests, into which... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said Jesus again unto them_ The name -Jesus" should be omitted both here and in the preceding verse (see on John 6:14), and -then" should be THEREFORE (see on John 6:45; John 6:53; John 6:68; John 7:15; John 7:30; John 7:33; John 7:35; John 7:45). He said, therefor [ Continue Reading ]
_Will he kill himself?_ They see that He speaks of a voluntary departure, and perhaps they suspect that He alludes to His death. So with sarcasm still more bitter than the sneer in John 7:35 they exclaim -Surely He does not mean to commit suicide? We certainly shall not be able to follow Him if He t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye are from beneath_ At first sight it might seem as if this meant -ye are from hell." Christ uses strong language later on (John 8:44), and this interpretation would make good sense with what precedes. -Ye suggest that I am going to hell by self-destruction: it is ye who come from thence." But wha... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye shall die in your sins_ Here -die" is emphatic, not -sin" as in John 8:21. Moreover the plural is here correct; it is no longer the state of sin generally, but the separate sins of each that are spoken of. Before it was -in your _sin_shall ye die;" here it is -ye shall _die_in your sins." _for... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said they They said_ THEREFORE. _Who art thou?_ It is incredible that the Jews can have failed to understand. Christ had just declared that He was from above, and not of this world. Even if the words -I am" were ambiguous in themselves, in this context they are plain enough. As in John 8:19,... [ Continue Reading ]
Here again we have a series of simple sentences, the precise meaning of which and their connexion with one another cannot be determined with certainty. See on John 7:33. The following seems to be the drift of the verse: -I have very much to speak concerning you, very much to blame. But I keep to My... [ Continue Reading ]
_They understood not that he spake_ Better, they PERCEIVED not that He WAS SPEAKING. This statement of the Evangelist has seemed to some so unaccountable after John 8:18, that they have attempted to make his words mean something else. But the meaning of the words is quite unambiguous, and is not inc... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said Jesus unto them_ Better, as so often (see on John 8:21), THEREFORE _said Jesus_, i.e. in consequence of their gross want of perception. -Unto them" is of doubtful authority. _When ye have lifted up_ On the Cross: comp. John 3:14 and John 12:32. The Crucifixion was the act of the Jews, as... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Father hath not left me alone_ Here again we have an aorist, not a perfect; - HE LEFT _Me not alone_" (-the Father" being omitted in the best MSS.). It will depend on the interpretation whether the aorist or perfect is to be used in English. If it refers to God sending the Messiah into the worl... [ Continue Reading ]
_many believed on him_ Nothing exasperated His opponents so much as His success; and therefore in leading us on to the final catastrophe, the Evangelist carefully notes the instances in which He won, though often only for a time, adherents and believers. See on John 6:15. Among these -many" were som... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him_ Better, _Jesus said_, THEREFORE, _to the Jews who_ HAD BELIEVED HIM. There is a change in the expression respecting their belief. In John 8:30 S. John uses the strong phrase -believed _on_Him;" here he uses the much weaker -believed Him" (see on... [ Continue Reading ]
_the truth_ Both Divine doctrine (John 17:17) and Christ Himself (John 14:6) -whose service is perfect freedom." See on John 18:37. _shall make you free_ Free from the moral slavery of sin. Comp. the Stoics" dictum -The wise man alone is free.... [ Continue Reading ]
_They answered him_ Or, UNTO HIM, according to the best MSS. -They" must mean -the Jews who had believed Him" (John 8:31): it is quite arbitrary to suppose any one else. The severe words which follow (John 8:44) are addressed to them, for turning back, after their momentary belief, as well as to tho... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin_ Better, EVERYONE WHO CONTINUES TO COMMIT SIN IS THE BOND-SERVANT _of sin_. -Committeth sin" is too weak for the Greek: Christ does not say that a single act of sin enslaves. -To _commit_(_poiein_) sin" is the opposite of -to _do_the Truth" (John 3:21)... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the servant_, &c. The transition is somewhat abrupt, the mention of -bond-servant" suggesting a fresh thought. NOW THE BOND-SERVANT (not the bond-servant _of sin_, but any slave) _abideth not in the house for ever:_ THE SON (not the Son of God, but any son) _abideth_ FOR _ever_. "The thought is... [ Continue Reading ]
_If the Son therefore_, &c. As before, any son is meant. -If the son emancipates you, your freedom is secured; for he is always on the spot to see that his emancipation is carried out." The statement is general, but of course with special reference to the Son of God. If they will abide in His word ... [ Continue Reading ]
Christ's words seem gradually to take a wider range. They are no longer addressed merely to those who for a moment had believed on Him, but to His opponents generally, whose ranks these short-lived believers had joined. _Abraham's seed_ He admits their claim in their own narrow sense. They are the... [ Continue Reading ]
_I speak_, &c. The text here is a little uncertain, but the following seems to have most authority; _I speak_ THE THINGS WHICH _I have seen with_(_My) Father: ye_ ALSO, THEREFORE, DO THE THINGS WHICH YE HEARD FROM (_your) father_. -I speak those truths of which I have had direct knowledge from all e... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abraham is our father_ They see that He means some other father than Abraham; possibly they suspect His full meaning, soon to be expressed (John 8:44). _If ye were Abraham's children_ The true reading seems to be, _if ye_ ARE _Abraham's children_, which has been altered to -if ye _were_," so as to... [ Continue Reading ]
-On the contrary, ye seek to commit murder, and a murder of the most heinous kind. Ye would kill One who hath spoken unto you the truth, truth which He learnt from God." _a man that hath told you_ This pointed insertion of -man" possibly looks forward to John 8:44, where they are called the childre... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye do the deeds of your father_ Better, _Ye_ ARE DOING _the_ WORKS _of your father_. The word here rendered -deeds" is the same as that rendered -works" in John 8:39. -Ye" is emphatic, in contrast to Abraham. This shews them plainly that spiritual parentage is what He means. In John 8:39 they still... [ Continue Reading ]
Moral proof that God is not their father; if they were God's children they would love His Son. Comp. John 15:23, and -every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him" (1 John 5:1). For the construction comp. John 8:19; John 5:46; John 9:41; John 15:19; John 13:36: in all... [ Continue Reading ]
_my speech … my word_ -Speech" is the outward _expression_, the _language_used; -thy speech bewrayeth thee" (Matthew 26:73; comp. Mark 14:70). Besides these two passages the word for -speech" is used only John 4:42, where it is rendered -saying," and here. -Word" is the _meaning_of the expression, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye are of your father the devil_ At last Christ says plainly, what He has implied in John 8:38_; John 8:41_. -Ye" is emphatic; -ye, who boast that ye have Abraham and God as your Father, ye are morally the Devil's children." Comp. 1Jn 3:8; 1 John 3:10, which is perhaps an echo of Christ's words. T... [ Continue Reading ]
_And because I tell you_, &c. Better, BUT _because I_ SPEAK _the truth, ye do not believe me_. -Ye will listen to the devil (John 8:38); ye will believe a lie: but the Messiah speaking the truth ye will not believe." The tragic tone once more: comp. John 1:5; John 1:10-11; John 2:24; John 3:10; John... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which of you convinceth me of sin?_ Or, CONVICTETH _Me of sin_(see on John 3:20). Many rebuked Christ and laid sin to His charge: none brought sin home to His conscience. There is the majesty of Divinity in the challenge. What mortal man would dare to make it? See on John 8:29, and comp. John 14:30... [ Continue Reading ]
Christ answers His own question and at the same time gives a final disproof of their claim to call God their father (John 8:41). _heareth God's words_ Christ here assumes, what He elsewhere maintains explicitly, that He speaks the words of God (John 8:26; John 3:34; John 7:16; John 17:8). _ye there... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then answered the Jews_ The best MSS. omit the particle, which if it were genuine should be rendered -therefore," not -then:" THE JEWS ANSWERED. This denial of their national prerogative of being sons of God seems to them malicious frenzy. He must be an enemy of the peculiar people and be possessed... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have not a devil_ He does not notice the charge of being a Samaritan. For Him it contained nothing offensive, for He knew that Samaritans might equal or excel Jews (John 4:39-42; Luke 10:33; Luke 17:16) in faith, benevolence, and gratitude. There is an emphasis on -I," but the meaning of the emph... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I seek not mine own glory_ Better, BUT _I seek not My glory_. -It is not because I seek glory for Myself that I speak of your dishonouring Me: My Father seeks that for Me and pronounces judgment on you." Comp. John 8:54 and John 5:41.... [ Continue Reading ]
_If a man keep my saying_ Better, _if a man keep My_ WORD. This is important, to shew the connexion with John 8:31; John 8:43 and also with John 5:24. In all these the same Greek word is used, _logos_. The phrase -keep My word" is one of frequent occurrence in this Gospel: John 8:52; John 8:55; John... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now we know that thou hast a devil_ -It was somewhat of a conjecture before, but now we recognise clear evidence of it." _Abraham is dead Abraham_ DIED. Again they shew a gross want of perception and -do not understand His speech" (John 8:43). They cannot discern a spiritual truth, but understand... [ Continue Reading ]
_Art thou greater_ Exactly parallel to John 4:12. -Thou" is emphatic: -Surely _Thou_art not greater than our father Abraham, who DIED? And the prophets DIED." An anacoluthon, like their exaggeration, very natural. Strictly the sentence should run, -and than the prophets, who died?... [ Continue Reading ]
_If I honour myself_ Better, _If I_ SHALL HAVE GLORIFIED _Myself, My_ GLORY _is nothing_. It is not the same word as is rendered -honour" in John 8:49, therefore another English word is desirable. THERE _is My Father who_ GLORIFIETH _Me_in miracles and the Messianic work generally. Comp. John 8:50.... [ Continue Reading ]
Christ first answers the insinuation that He is vain-glorious, implied in the question -whom makest Thou Thyself?" Then He shews that He really is greater than Abraham.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet ye have not known him; but I know him_ Once more we have two different Greek words for -know" in close proximity, and the difference is obliterated in our version (comp. John 7:15; John 7:17; John 7:26-27; John 13:7; John 14:7, and see on John 7:26). Here the meaning is, AND _ye have not_ RECOG... [ Continue Reading ]
_rejoiced to see my day_ Literally, EXULTED _that he might see My day_, the object of his joy being represented as the goal to which his heart is directed. This is a remarkable instance of S. John's preference for the construction expressing a purpose, where other constructions would seem more natur... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said the Jews_ Better. THEREFORE _said the Jews_. _Thou art not yet fifty years old_ The reading, -forty years," which Chrysostom and a few authorities give, is no doubt incorrect. It has arisen from a wish to make the number less wide of the mark; for our Lord was probably not yet thirty-five... [ Continue Reading ]
_Before Abraham was, I am_ Here our translators have lamentably gone back from earlier translations. Cranmer has, -Ere Abraham _was born_, I am;" and the Rhemish, -Before that Abraham _was made_, I am," following the Vulgate, _Antequam Abraham fieret, Ego sum_. See notes on -was" in John 1:1; John 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then took they up stones_ Or, THEREFORE _took they up stones_, i.e. in consequence of His last words. They see clearly what He means. He has taken to Himself the Divine Name and they prepare to stone Him for blasphemy. Material lying there for completing and repairing the Temple would supply them w... [ Continue Reading ]