3._And the scribes and Pharisees bring to him. _It is plain enough that this passage was unknown anciently to the Greek Churches; and some conjecture that it has been brought from some other place and inserted here. But as it has always been received by the Latin Churches, and is found in many old G... [ Continue Reading ]
6._And Jesus stooping down. _By this attitude he intended to show that he despised them. Those who conjecture that _he wrote _this or the other thing, in my opinion, do not understand his meaning. Nor do I approve of the ingenuity of Augustine, who thinks that in this manner the distinction between... [ Continue Reading ]
7._He who is without sin among you. _He said this according to the custom of the Law; for God commanded that the witnesses should, with their own hands, put malefactors to death, according to the sentence which had been pronounced on them; that greater caution might be used in bearing testimony, (De... [ Continue Reading ]
9._And being reproved by their conscience. _Here we perceive how great is the power of an evil conscience. Though those wicked hypocrites intended to entrap Christ by their cavils, yet as soon as he pierces their consciences by a single word, shame puts them to flight. This is the hammer with which... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Neither do I condemn thee. _We are not told that Christ absolutely acquitted the woman, but that he allowed her to go at liberty. Nor is this wonderful, for he did not wish to undertake any thing that did not belong to his office. He bad been sent by the Father to gather _the lost sheep_, (Matth... [ Continue Reading ]
12._I am the light of the world. _Those who leave out the former narrative, which relates to the adulteress, (213) connect this discourse of Christ with the sermon which he delivered on the last day of the assembly. It is a beautiful commendation of Christ, when he is called _the light of the world;... [ Continue Reading ]
13._The Pharisees therefore said. _They adduce as an objection what is commonly said, that no man ought to be trusted, when speaking in his own cause. For a _true testimony _is put for “what is lawful and worthy of credit.” In short, they mean that it is of no use for him to speak, unless he bring p... [ Continue Reading ]
14._Though I testify concerning myself. _Christ replies, that his testimony possesses sufficient credit and authority, because he is not a private person belonging to the great body of men, but holds a very different station. For when he says, that _he knoweth whence he came, and whither he goeth, _... [ Continue Reading ]
15._You judge according to the flesh. _This may be explained in two ways; either that they_judge according to _the wicked views of _the flesh_, or that they _judge according _to the appearance of the person. For _the flesh _sometimes denotes the outward appearance of a man; and both meanings agree w... [ Continue Reading ]
16._And if I judge, _He adds this correction, that he may not appear entirely to surrender his right._If I judge, _says he,_my judgment is true, _that is, it is entitled to authority. Now the authority arises from this consideration, that he does nothing but according to the commandment of the Fathe... [ Continue Reading ]
17._Even in your law it is written. _The argument might, at first sight, appear to be weak, because no man is received as a witness in his own cause. But we ought to remember what I have already said, that the Son of God (217) ought to be excluded from the ordinary number of other men, (218) because... [ Continue Reading ]
19._Where is thy father _? There can be no doubt whatever, that it was in mockery that they inquired about _his Father _For not only do they, with their wonted pride, treat contemptuously what he had said about _the Father_, but they likewise ridicule him for talking loftily about _his Father_, as i... [ Continue Reading ]
20._These words spoke Jesus in the treasury. The treasury _was a part of the temple where the sacred offerings were laid up. It was a much frequented place, and hence we infer that this sermon was delivered by Christ amidst a large assembly of men, so that the people had less excuse. The Evangelist... [ Continue Reading ]
21._I go. _Perceiving that he is doing no good among these obstinate men, he threatens their destruction; and this is the end of all those who reject the Gospel. For it is not thrown uselessly into the air, but must breathe _the odour either of life or of death_, (2 Corinthians 2:16.) The meaning of... [ Continue Reading ]
22._Will he kill himself? _The scribes persevere not only in fearless scorn, but likewise in effrontery; for they ridicule what he had said, that _they cannot follow whither he shall go_; as if they had said, “If he _kill himself_, we acknowledge that we cannot accompany him, because we do not choos... [ Continue Reading ]
23._You are from beneath, I am from above. _As they did not deserve that he should teach them, he wished only to strike them with reproofs conveyed in few words, as in this passage he declares that they do not receive his doctrine, because they have an utter dislike of the kingdom of God. Under the... [ Continue Reading ]
24._You shall die in your sins. _Having formerly employed the singular number, _in your sin_, he now resorts to the plural number,_in your sins; _but the meaning is the same, except that in the former passage he intended to point out that unbelief is the source and cause of all evils. Not that there... [ Continue Reading ]
25._From the beginning. _They who translate the words τὴν ἀρχὴν, as if they had been in the nominative case, _I am the beginning_, (227) and as if Christ were here asserting his eternal Divinity, are greatly mistaken. There is no ambiguity of this sort in the Greek, but still the Greek commentators... [ Continue Reading ]
26._I have many things to say and judge of you. _Perceiving that he is in the position of one who sings to the deaf, he pursues his discourse no farther, but only declares that God will defend that doctrine, which they despise, because he is the Author of it. “If I wished to accuse you,” says he, “y... [ Continue Reading ]
27._They did not know that he spoke to them about the Father. _Hence we see how stupid those men are whose understandings are possessed by Satan. Nothing could be more plain than that they were summoned to the judgment-seat of God. But what then? They are altogether blind. This happens daily to othe... [ Continue Reading ]
28._When you shall have exalted the Son of man. _Offended at that stupidity which the Evangelist has described, Christ again declares that they do not deserve that he should open his mouth to speak to them any more. (230) “You now,” says he, “have all your senses — as it were — fascinated, and, ther... [ Continue Reading ]
29._And he who hath sent me is with me. _He again boasts that God, under whose guidance and authority he does every thing, will assist him, so that he shall not labor in vain and to no purpose, as if he had said, that the power of the Spirit of God accompanies his ministry. All faithful teachers oug... [ Continue Reading ]
30._While he spoke these things. _Though the Jews, at that time, almost resembled a dry and barren soil, yet God did not permit the seed of his word to be entirely lost. Thus, contrary to all hopes, and amidst so many obstructions, some fruit appears. But the Evangelist inaccurately gives the name o... [ Continue Reading ]
31._If you continue in my word. _Here Christ warns them, in the first place, that it is not enough for any one to have begun well, if their progress to the end do not correspond to it; and for this reason he exhorts to perseverance in the faith those who have tasted of his doctrine. When he says tha... [ Continue Reading ]
32._And you shall know the truth. _He says, that they who have arrived at some knowledge of it _shall know the truth _True, those whom Christ addresses were as yet uneducated, and scarcely knew the first elements, and therefore we need not wonder if he promises them a more full understanding of his... [ Continue Reading ]
33._We are Abraham’s seed. _It is uncertain if the Evangelist here introduces the same persons who formerly spoke, (235) or others. My opinion is, that they replied to Christ in a confused manner, as usually happens in a promiscuous crowd; and that this reply was made rather by despisers than by tho... [ Continue Reading ]
34._Every man who committeth sin is the slave of sin. _This is an argument drawn from contrary things. They boasted that they were free. He proves that they are the _slaves of sin, _because, being enslaved by the desires of the flesh, they continually sin. It is astonishing that men are not convince... [ Continue Reading ]
35._Now the slave remaineth not in the house always. _He adds a comparison, taken from the laws and from political law, to the effect that _a slave_, though he may have power for a time, yet is not the heir of the house; from which he infers that there is no perfect and durable_freedom_, but what is... [ Continue Reading ]
36._If then the Son shall make you free. _By these words he means that the right of _freedom _belongs to himself alone, and that all others, being born _slaves_, cannot be delivered but by his grace. For what he possesses as his own by nature he imparts to us by adoption, when we are ingrafted by fa... [ Continue Reading ]
37._I know that you are Abraham’s seed. _I explain this as said by way of concession. Yet at the same time he ridicules their folly in glorying in so absurd a title, as if he had said: “Granting that on which you flatter yourselves so much, still what avails it that those men are called _the childre... [ Continue Reading ]
38._I speak what I have seen with my Father. _He had already made frequent mention of _his Father_; and now, by an argument drawn from contrary things, he infers that they are enemies to God, and are _the children of the devil_, because they oppose his doctrine. “For my part,” says he, “I bring noth... [ Continue Reading ]
39._Abraham is our father. _This altercation shows plainly enough how haughtily and fiercely they despised all Christ’s reproofs. What they continually claim and vaunt of is, that they are _Abraham’s children; _by which they do not simply mean that they are the lineal descendants of _Abraham, _but t... [ Continue Reading ]
40._But now you seek to kill me. _He proves from the effect, that they are not the children of God, as they boasted, because they oppose God. And, indeed, is there any thing in Abraham that is more highly commended than the obedience of faith? (237) This then is the mark of distinction, whenever we... [ Continue Reading ]
41._We were not born of fornication. _They claim no more for themselves than they did formerly, for it was the same thing with them to be Abraham’s children and to be God’s children. But they erred grievously in this respect, that they imagined that God was bound to the whole seed of Abraham. For th... [ Continue Reading ]
42._If God were your Father, you would love me. _Christ’s argument is this: “Whoever is a child of God will acknowledge his first-born Son; but you hate me, and therefore you have no reason to boast, that you are God’s children.” We ought carefully to observe this passage, that there is no piety and... [ Continue Reading ]
43._Why do you not understand my language? _In this passage, he reproaches the Jews with their obstinacy, which was so great, that _they could not even endure to hear him speak _Hence he infers, that they are actuated and hurried away by diabolical rage. Some make a distinction here between _languag... [ Continue Reading ]
44._You are of your father the devil. _What he had twice said more obscurely, he now expresses more fully, that they are _the devil _’_s children _But we must supply the contrast, that they could not cherish such intense hatred to the Son of God, were it not that they had for _their father _the perp... [ Continue Reading ]
45._But because I speak the truth. _He confirms the preceding statement; for, since they have no other reason for opposing, but because truth is hateful and intolerable to them, they show plainly that they are the children of Satan.... [ Continue Reading ]
46._Which of you? _This question proceeds from perfect confidence; for, knowing that they could not justly bring any reproach against him, he glories over his enemies, as having obtained a victory. And yet he does not say that he is free from their slanders; for, though they had no reason for reproa... [ Continue Reading ]
47._He who is of God. _As he has a full right to take this for granted, that he is the ambassador of the heavenly Father, and that he discharges faithfully the office which has been committed to him, he kindles into greater indignation against them; for their impiety was no longer concealed, since t... [ Continue Reading ]
48._Do we not say well? _They show more and more how greatly they are stupified by Satan; for, though they are fully convicted, still they are enraged, and are not ashamed to show that they are utterly desperate. (243) Besides, though they bring a double reproach against Christ, still they wish to d... [ Continue Reading ]
49._I have not a devil. _He passes by the first charge, and clears himself only of the second. Some think that he did so, because he disregarded the insult offered to his person, and undertook only the defense of the doctrine. But they are mistaken, in my opinion; for it is not probable that the Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
51._Verily, verily, I say to you. _Christ unquestionably knew that some persons in that multitude were curable, and that others of them were not opposed to his doctrine. For this reason, he intended to terrify the wicked whose malice was desperate, but to do so in such a manner as to leave ground of... [ Continue Reading ]
52._Now we know. _The reprobate persist in their stupidity, and are not moved by promises any more than by threatenings; so that they can neither be led nor drawn to Christ. Some think that they slanderously torture his words, by using the expression,_taste of death_, which Christ had not used; but... [ Continue Reading ]
53._Art thou greater than our father Abraham? _This is another offense, that they endeavor to obscure the glory of Christ by the splendor of _Abraham _and of the saints. But as all the stars are thrown into the shade by the brightness of the sun, so all the glory that is to be found in all the saint... [ Continue Reading ]
54._If I glorify myself. _Before replying to that unjust comparison, he begins by saying that _he does not seek his own glory_, and thus meets their slander. If it be objected, that Christ also glorified himself, the answer is easy, that he did so, not as man, but by the direction and authority of G... [ Continue Reading ]
56._Your father Abraham. _He grants to them, in words only, what he formerly took from them, that _Abraham is their father _But he shows how idle is the objection drawn from the name of _Abraham _“He had no other object,” says he, “during his whole life, than to see my kingdom flourish. He longed fo... [ Continue Reading ]
57._Thou art not yet fifty years old. _They endeavor to refute Christ’s saying, by showing that he had asserted what was impossible, when he _who was not yet fifty years of age makes himself equal to Abraham_, who died many centuries before. Though Christ was not yet thirty-four years of age, yet th... [ Continue Reading ]
58._Before Abraham was. _As unbelievers judge only from the appearance of the flesh, Christ reminds them that he has something greater and higher than human appearance, which is hidden from the senses of the flesh, and is perceived only by the eyes of faith; and that, in this respect, he might be se... [ Continue Reading ]
59._Then they took up stones. _There is reason to believe that they did this, as if Christ ought to be stoned according to the injunction of the Law, (Leviticus 24:16.) Hence we infer how great is the madness of inconsiderate zeal; for they have no ears to know the cause, but they have hands ready t... [ Continue Reading ]