Jesus was saying abraham saw his day and was glad

JESUS WAS SAYING ABRAHAM SAW HIS DAY AND WAS GLAD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyedto see
My day. He saw it and was glad."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christ And Abraham
John 8:54-59
B. Thomas
Whom makestthou thyself? In answerto this question and to the objections
made by his opponents, our Lord further reveals himself.
I. IN RELATION TO THE FATHER.
1. His entire devotion to him. This includes:
(1) His perfect knowledge ofhim. "I know him." His knowledge ofthe Father
was essential, absolute, andmost intimate. It was not merely knowledge which
he had gatheredin the past, but which he derived and possessedin the
present, then, on accountof his oneness with him.

(2) His faithful confessionof him. "I know him." He confessedhim before
men; did not hide the knowledge he possessedof the Father, but faithfully
declaredit.
(3) His thorough obedience to his will. "I keephis saying." His saying was his
will expressedin and to Christ. The Father's saying was Jesus'message;this
he faithfully kept and devotedly published. He swervednot from his Father's
command on accountof the most menacing threats of his foes, but most
minutely and enthusiasticallycarried it out.
2. Some of the features of his peculiar honour.
(1) The honour of absolute self-denial and self-forgetfulness.He honoured not
himself, but made himself of no reputation.
(2) The honour of the most devoted loyalty.
(3) Honour derived from the highest source, It was not self-sought, self-
derived, nor self-conferred. This honour, he says, would be worthless. "My
Father honoureth me." He was really what his Father made him, and he made
him what he was because ofhis essentialdignity and relationship and his
official integrity and devotion.
3. His entire contrastwith his foes.

(1) They were ignorant of him whom they calledtheir God. "Ye have not
known him." In spite of their greatadvantages, these had been lost. on them.
Christ knew him absolutely, and manifestedand proved his knowledge.
(2) They were utterly false. They were liars - false to themselves, to Jesus, and
to God. Christ was true to all. He was the faithful and true Witness.
(3) Their claimed relationship to God was an empty boast. It was disproved by
their spirit, language, actions, andwhole conduct. Christ's relationship to God
was real. His Sonship was most conclusivelyproved by his Divine knowledge,
his public ministry, his Divine miracles, by his whole life.
II. IN HIS RELATION TO ABRAHAM, AND ABRAHAM TO HIM. These
Jews claimedAbraham as their father, and attempted to cause a discord
betweenhim and Christ; but he reveals himself in relation to the patriarch.
1. In relation to his highestinterest.
(1) The incarnate life of Jesus engagedthe patriarch's most rapturous
attention. "Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day." The incarnate life
of Jesus was revealedto him in the promise which Godrepeatedly made to
him. This excited his interest, and became the subject of his ardent study. He
meditated on it with delight, raised himself, as it were, on tiptoe to look over
the shoulders of ages to catch a glimpse of it; stretchedforward with
eagerness andjoy to behold it; made use of every light, and earnestlyprayed
for more.

(2) A vision of his incarnate life was grantedhim. "And he saw it." His
faithful efforts met with success, andhis eagerfaith was rewardedwith the
desired vision. Whether this refers to the generalvision of his life of faith, or
to some specialone, is not certain. Perhaps it was speciallyenjoyedon the
summit of Moriah, and through his own experience in offering up his only son
he had a specialvision of the incarnate life of the Sonof God. This served as a
telescope throughwhich he saw the distant day close athand, and beheld its
leading features, and graspedits Divine and human bearings and import.
(3) This vision filled his soul with joy. "He saw it, and was glad." Being the
chief vision of his life, his soul overflowedwith delight and gladness. His was
the joy of overflowing gratitude, intense satisfaction, andDivine fulfilment.
Since he saw that day his joy was in his soul, a springtide which carried him at
last to the brighter visions and diviner joy beyond.
2. In relation to Abraham's age. "Before Abraham," etc. This implies:
(1) The priority of his being. It was very little for him to say that he was
before Abraham, consideredin the full light of his statement, but it was a step
in the right direction, and a reply to the objectionof his opponents.
(2) The eternity of his being. "I am." "I was" here would place him among
createdbeings, but "I am" at once reveals him as uncreated, eternal, self-
existent, and independent of time and material conditions and circumstances,
and makes him belong to the highest order of being.
(3) The unchangeability of his being. "I am." In time, and amid the changes of
his visible and earthly existence, his eternal personality and consciousnessare
preservedunchanged. He is still the "I am."

(4) His unquestionable Divinity. If his being is uncreated, eternal, self-existent,
and unchangeable, he must be Divine. This he most emphatically and
solemnly asserts:"Verily, verily," etc.
III. HIS REVELATION OF HIMSELF IN RELATION TO HIS
OPPONENTS.
1. They understood it. It was intellectually intelligible to them. They were too
acquainted with the attributes and designations ofJehovahto misunderstand
the language ofChrist, and their application to himself was felt by them, as
their conduct proves.
2. It became to them unbearable. "Theytook up stones,"etc. A proof of:
(1) Inability to refute his statement. When stone throwing begins, arguments
are at an end. Stone throwing is a sign of weakness.
(2) Inability to be convinced. Their false and malicious nature was patent
againstconviction. They could not rise to the Divinity of his Personand
mission. This inability was sad, but wilful and criminal.
(3) Inability to control themselves. Passionwas their master; hatred was on
the throne. They fail to concealthem.
3. It widened the gulf betweenhim and them. It was wide before - wider now.
As he revealedhimself in the sublimest manner as their promised Messiah

and the Son of God, they in consequence revealedthemselves in stone
throwing as his most implacable and deadly foes.
4. His revelation was suitably appended by his apparently miraculous escape.
"But Jesus hid himself," etc. Hid himself in the folds of his glory. A suitable
sequelto his revelation of himself as their Divine Deliverer. How easilyand
effectively could he defend himself, and retaliate in their fashion! But he
preferred his own. He had a royal road. He departed as a King. He could walk
through the crowdunobserved, and through the stones unhurt. The weak are
more ready to attack than the strong, but there is more majesty in the retreat
of the strong than in the attack of the weak. When stone throwing begins, it is
time for the messengerofpeace to retire. The stones may kill his person, but
cannot kill his published message,and he may be wanted elsewhere.
LESSONS.
1. Natural relationships often survive the spiritual. The natural relationship
betweenthese people and Abraham, and even betweenthem and God, still
remained, while the spiritual was all but gone. This is true of God and evil
spirits.
2. When the spiritual relationship is destroyed, the natural availeth nothing. It
is only the foundation of an empty boastand hypocritical self-righteousness,
and at last the source of painful reminiscences andcontrasts.
3. The best of fathers often have the worstof children. This is true of
Abraham, and even of God - the best Father of all.

4. Much of the religious capital of the present is derived entirely from the
past. Many claim relationship with, and boastof, the reformers and illustrous
men of bygone ages, andthis is all their stock-in-trade. Theirnames are on
their lips, while their principles are under their feet.
5. It was the chief mission of Christ to explain and establishthe spiritual
relationship betweenman and God. To establishit on a sound basis - the basis
of faith, obedience, and love. To be the real children of God and of our pious
ancestors,we must partake of their spiritual nature and principles. This Jesus
taught with fidelity, although it costhim at last a cruel cross.
6. We are indirectly indebted to the cavils of foes for some of the sublimest
revelations of Jesus ofhimself. It was so here. Their foul blasphemies, after
all, served as advantageous backgrounds to his grand pictures of incarnate
Divinity and love; so that we are not altogethersorrythat they calledhim a
"Samaritan" and a demon, as in consequence he shines forth with peculiar
brilliancy as the Friend of sinners, the Son of God, and the Saviour of
mankind. - B.T.

Biblical Illustrator
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see My day.
John 8:56
Abraham's vision of Christ's day
Bp. Andrewes.
(Christmas day Sermon): — Here is joy, joy at a sight, at the sight of a day,
and that day Christ's, and no day is so properly His as His birthday. First,
Christ has a day proper to Him. "My day." Secondly, this day is a day of
double joy — "rejoiced,""wasglad." Thirdly, this was so to Abraham.
Lastly, all this nothing displeasing to Christ, for it is spokento the praise of
Abraham that did it, and to the dispraise of the Jews who did it not. We are
now disposing ourselves to this, and have a three-fold warrant.
1. We have Abraham for our example. We do but as he in making Christ's
day a day of joy.
2. Abraham's example approved by Christ, who commends the patriarch, not
that he rejoicedat the sight of Him, but of His day. Verily, the speechis in
honour of Christmas.
3. He reproves the Jews fornot doing herein as Abraham, which is against
them that have a spleenat this feast, and think they can joy in Him and yet set
by His day. Nay, love Him, love His day. They tell us that to keepit they would
Judaize (Galatians 4:10), but the context shows not to keepit is to Judaize.
I. THE OBJECT. "Myday."

1. Notas the Son of God. He has no day.(1) Dayand night are parts of time,
but His goings forth are from eternity (Micah5:2).(2) If we would improperly
call it a day, no day to be seen(1 Timothy 6:16).(3) If we could see it and Him
in His Deity, yet there is small joy.
2. But as the Son of Man He hath more days than one; but this notes one
above the rest, a day with the double article. There are two such eminent days.
Of His Genesis, andof His Exodus; of His nativity and His passion.(1)Notof
His passion;for that was none of His (Luke 22:53), but ours: and no day, but
rather night; and no day of joy (Luke 23:48).(2)But of His birth, and so the
angelcalls it (Luke 2:11). And His day because everyman has a property in
His birthday; as kings in the day of the beginning of their reigns;as Churches,
when they are first dedicate;as cities, when their first trench is cast. And a
day of joy in heavenand earth (Luke 2:10-14):to all people, not only on and
after it, but before, and so to Abraham. Of course "day" must be takenfor
the whole time of Christ's life; yet that time had its beginning on a day, and
that day even for that beginning may challenge a right in the word.
II. THE ACTS.
1. Abraham's first act — his desire.(1)The cause of it. Why should Abraham
so desire two thousand years before! What was it to him? You remember
Job's Easter(Job 19:25). The joy of this was the same as Abraham's
Christmas; oven that a day should come when his Redeemershould come into
the world. Fora Redeemerhe needed, and therefore desiredHis day (Isaiah
29:22). The time when he had this day first shownhim he complains of his
need (Genesis 18:27).(2)The manner of it. We may take measure of the
greatness ofthe day by the greatness ofhis desire. The nature of the word is,
"he did even fetch a spring for joy," and that not once but often. He could not

contain his affection, it must out in bodily gesture. Think of a staid, discreet
man being so exceedinglymoved; and to do all this only in the desire.
2. Abraham's secondact. "He saw it," though "afaroff" (Hebrews 11:13), "as
in a perspective glass" (1 Corinthians 13:12). He did not know preciselythe
day, but that such a day should come. How did he see it?(1) Notas if he could
not see it unless Christ had been in the flesh in His day. So Simeon saw (Luke
2:30). But better than this, for if Simeon had not seenin Abraham's manner,
he had been no nearerthan the Jews who stonedChrist.(2) If not with the
eyes, then how? There is in every man two men — outward and inward. Now
if there be an inward we must allow him senses, andso eyes (Ephesians 1:18);
it was with these that Abraham saw, and by no other do we see.(3)By what
light saw he? He was a prophet, and might be in the Spirit, and have the
vision clearly representedbefore him; but he was a faithful man (Galatians
3:9), and saw it in the light of faith (Hebrews 11:1, 27).(4)Where was this and
when? The text is enough, but the Fathers hold that he saw his birth at
Mature, His passionat Moriah (Genesis 17:19;Genesis 18:10). Butthis day he
saw at Mature. Christ was in person there, one of the three.
3. Abraham's third act. He that was glad that he should see it must needs be
glad when he did see it; accomplishmentis more joyful than desire. And what
grounds (Genesis 26:4)!Conclusion:The reference to us.
1. Our desire. We have greatercause to desire this day because we have
greaterneed.
2. Our sight is much clearerthan his. For though we see as he, and he as we,
by the light of faith; yet he in the faith of prophecy yet to come, we in the faith
of history now past.

3. Our joy is to be above his, as we have the greatercause andthe better sight.
Rules for our joy.(1) Here are two sorts —(a) Our exultation, a motion of the
body.(b) The other, joy, a fruit of the spirit. Let the former have its part, but
should not have so large an allowance oftime and costas to leave little or
nothing for the spirit.(2) That our joy in Christ's day be for Him. We joy in it
as it is His. The common sort wish for it and joy in it as it is something else,
viz., a time of cheerand feasting, sports and revelling, and so you have a
golden calf's holiday.
(Bp. Andrewes.)
Abraham's sight of faith
I. THE GROUND OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH — the promise of God. (Genesis
12:3; Genesis 22:18). To open this promise we must inquire —
1. What was this seed? We must distinguish of a two-fold seed;that to whom
the blessing was promised, and that in whom both Abraham, his seed, and all
nations were to be blessed(Genesis 17:7). Now this promise was either to his
carnalseedor to his spiritual seed(Galatians 3:7). But then there was another
seed— the Messiah.
2. What was this blessedness?All the goodwhich results to us from God's
covenant.(1)Our reconciliationwith God consisting of —
(a)remissionof sins (Psalm 32:1, 2), which is included in the blessing of
Abraham (Galatians 3:8).
(b)Regeneration(Acts 3:25, 26).(2)Eternal life.

(a)The patriarchs sought it by virtue of this promise (Hebrews 11:18-15).
(b)Unless this had been included God could not actsuitably to the greatness of
His covenantrelation (Hebrews 11:16; Matthew 22:31, 32).
II. THE STRENGTHOF HIS FAITH.
1. His clearvision of Christ. "He saw my day." Three things argue the
strength of bodily sight.(1)When what we see is far off. Thousands of years
intervened, yet they went to the grave in full assurance.The nature of faith is
that it can look upon things absent and future as sure and near, but without it
man looks no further than present probabilities.(2) When there are clouds
between. Now when the promise was made it was impossible in the course of
nature for Abraham to have a son; but when the son was miraculously given
he was commanded to sacrifice him. Now to strive againstthese and other
difficulties argues strong faith (Romans 4:18).(3) When there is little light to
see by. The revelation was obscure;the patriarchs had only Genesis 3:15;
Abraham's was a little clearer, but it was a small glimmering comparedwith
what we enjoy. Yet they could do more with their faith than we with
ours.What, then, is this clearvision of Christ to us? How shall we judge of the
strength of our faith by this? Ans. —(1) As to Christ there is a sight of Him —
(a)Past. To see Him whom we have not seen, as if we had seenHim in the
flesh, is the work of faith (Galatians 3:1).
(b)Present. To see Him so as to make Him the objectof our love and trust
(John 6:40; Acts 7:56).

(c)Future. We must be assuredof His secondcoming and that we shall see
Him (Job 19:25-27).(2)As to the glory and blessednessofthe world to come.
Faith is the perspective of the soul, by which it can see things distant as
present (Hebrews 11:26; Hebrews 6:18; Hebrews 12:2).
2. His deep affection or rejoicing in Christ.(1) No other affectionwill become
Christ but greatjoy (Luke 2:10; Luke 19:6; Acts 13:48;Acts 8:39; Acts
16:34).(2)The reasons forthis joy.
(a)The excellencyofthe objectin Himself and His work (John 3:16); in His
necessityto us (Micah6:6, 7; Psalm49:7, 8; Job 33:24); in His benefit (1
Corinthians 1:30, 31).
(b)The subjects are delivered from their misery and find their happiness in
God.
(c)The causes — the Holy Ghostand faith as His instrument (Romans 14:17; 1
Thessalonians 1:5; Romans 15:18;1 Peter1:8).(3) The nature of this joy and
its solid effects.
(a)It enlarges our hearts in duty and strengthens us in the way of God
(Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm119:14).
(b)It sweetensour calamities (Hebrews 3:17, 18).
(c)It draws us off from the vain delights of the flesh (Psalm 4:7; Psalm43:4).

(T. Manton, D. D.)
Abraham beholding Christ's day
T. Bagnall-Baker, M. A.
I. THE DAY OF CHRIST. Not a period of twenty-four hours, but, as is usual
in the Bible, a dispensation.
1. Some of the remarkable days that Abraham saw.
(1)Looking back he saw the day when the Everlasting Father embraced
Abraham and all His chosenin Christ and designed their salvation(Proverbs
8:28).
(2)The day of Christ's incarnation. "In thy seed," etc.
(3)The day of Christ's oblation.
(4)The day of Christ's resurrection.
(5)The day of Christ's ascension.
(6)The day of Pentecost.
(7)The day of judgment as winding up the dispensation and completing the
fulfilment of the promise.

2. The characteristics ofthis day. It was a day of —
(1)Light.
(2)Gladness.
(3)Life.
(4)Love.
(5)Peace.
(6)Salvation.
II. THE BLESSED VIEW WHICH FAITH TAKES OF THIS DAY.
1. It could not have been a sensible view — for sense nevercan discoverGod.
The natural man receivethnot the things of the Spirit of God.
2. It was a spiritual view — a sight by faith. Faith, like the bodily eye, is —
(1)A recipient organ.

(2)An assuring organ. When a man sees a thing he cannot be mistakenif his
sight is good, so a man cannot believe without knowing he is saved.
(3)A directing organ. By the eye we are guided in our daily life, and by faith
we walk in the light.
(4)While a small, the eye is a capacious organ. Whata wide prospectit can
take in! So the leastfaith pierces the invisible.
(5)An impressible organ. As scenes are impressedon the retina, so is Christ on
faith.
III. THE JOY AND GLADNESS ARISING OUT OF THIS SIGHT. It was
not carnalbut spiritual joy, including —
1. Spiritual health (Psalm 33:1).
2. Soul satisfaction(Psalm36:8).
3. Enlargementof soul.
4. It is cordial, hidden and unknown to the world, lasting, matchless and
transcendent.

(T. Bagnall-Baker, M. A.)
Christian piety in relation to the future
D. Thomas, D. D.
Christian piety —
I. TURNS THE SOUL TOWARDS THE FUTURE. Piety seems to have
turned Abraham's mind to the "day" of Christ. This refers, undoubtedly, to
Christ's incarnation, personalministry, and spiritual reign. Nineteen long
centuries rolled between. Still he saw it. In relation to the future, Christian
piety —
1. Gives an interesting revelation of it. Science,poetry, literature, shed no light
on the on-coming periods of our being; but the Bible does. It opens up the
history of the race.
2. Gives a felt interestin the blessednessofthe future. It gave Abraham a felt
interest in the day of Christ. It gives the gooda felt interest in the glories that
are coming. And what glorious things are on their march!
II. FASTENS THE SOUL UPON CHRIST IN THE FUTURE. "My day." To
the godly Christ is everything in the future. Do the rivers point to the sea, the
needle to the pole, the plants to the sun? Does hungercry for food, life pant
for air? Even so does the heart of piety point to Christ in the future. He has a
"day," a universal day of His glorious revelation to come.
III. BRINGS JOYTO THE SOUL FROM THE FUTURE. Abraham was
"glad" —

1. With a benevolent gladness;he knew the world would be blessedby
Christ's advent.
2. With a religious gladness;he knew that God would be glorified by His
advent. Severalreasons might make us glad as we think of the coming day of
Christ.
(1)There will be a solution of all difficulties.
(2)A termination of all imperfections, physical, mental, spiritual.
(3)A consummation of unending blessedness.Conclusion:Learn —
1. The congruity of Christianity with the prospective tendency of the soul. The
soul is always pointing to the future. Christianity meets this tendency and
satisfies it.
2. The antidote of Christianity to the forebodings of the soul. Some souls are
always boding evil, and well all the ungodly may. Christianity lights up the
future.
3. The fitness of Christianity to the aspirations of the soul. Wonderful is the
goodafter which some souls are aspiring in the future. The present and the
material have lost for them their attractions. Man cannot aspire after
anything higher than that which Christianity supplies.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Christ seenafaroff
A very lofty mountain, rising in lonely grandeur on the horizon to cleave the
blue sky with its snowypinnacles, is descriedfrom afar. We see it a long way
off — from where hills and heights, shaggyforests, silentuplands, and busy
towns, and all other individual objects that lie between, are lost in distance,
and present the appearance ofa level plain. So, just so, Adam and Eve
descrieda child of theirs rising above the common level of mankind, at the
long distance of four thousand years. Of the millions who were to spring from
them and people the earth of which they were the lonely tenants, this
distinguished child was the only one on whom, on whose birth, and life, and
death, and works, their weeping eyes and eagerhopes, were fixed.
Christ before Abraham
David Gregg.
But how did Abraham see Him and His day? One answeris, Abraham was in
heaven when the Son of God left the seatof glory and came to earth. He saw
the return of the trooping bands of angels whose facesflashedout in the sky
above the plains of Bethlehem, and whose voices sang the anthem of
incarnation, "Gloryto God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men!" All heavenwas stirred from its centre to its outermost rim over
the coming of Christ to earth and over the greatwork which brought Him
among men. Abraham was in the midst of this stir. There is another answer.
You find it upon the page of Old Testamenthistory. There we are taught that
the Sonof Goddid not always maintain invisibility prior to Bethlehem. Under
the former religious economy He fellowshipped with men. He walkedwith
Adam in Eden and communed with him in the coolof the day. There is quite a
long chapter in the Old Testamentconcerning His visit to Abraham: how He
found his tent; what Abraham was doing; how He was received;how a kid
was dressedand cakes were baked;how He ate and refreshedHimself at

Abraham's table; even a report is given of the conversationwhich passed
betweenthem. From the declarationof superiority to Abraham, the Jewish
ideal of superior human greatness,Jesus passesto the declarationof His
equality with God. Christianity's Christ is a distinct and a well-defined
person. Everything about him is sharply cut and fearlesslystated. He speaks
for himself. He entraps no man into discipleship. He is not afraid of the light,
nor of the witness-stand, nor of the crucible. He asks no blind faith, but
submits himself to scrutiny. The man with a true Christ is a true man. The
Christ and the man always correspond.
(David Gregg.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(56) Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day.—They had askedin scorn
if He were greaterthan their father Abraham (John 8:53). .His words have
shown that He was. He now, with the thoughts of John 8:39 still present,
contrasts the exultation of him whom they claimed as father, when he saw
from afar the Messianic advent, with their rejectionof the Messiahwho is
actually among them. Abraham realisedthe fulness of the promises made to
him, and believed in the Lord that the blessing should be fulfilled to his seed.
He, too, had kept God’s word, and in the true sense had not seendeath (see
Genesis 15:1-6;Genesis 22:18). The words, “Myday,” are used, as in Luke
17:22, for the manifestation of Christ on earth.
And he saw it, and was glad.—This is the historic fulfilment of the joy which
lookedforward to the day of Christ. Our Lord reveals here a truth of the
unseen world that is beyond human knowledge orexplanation. From that
world Abraham was cognisantofthe fact of the Incarnation, and saw in it the
accomplishmentof the promise which had brought joy to shepherds watching

their flocks, as the Patriarchhad watchedhis; there came an angel, as angels
had come to him, and a multitude of the heavenly host, exulting in the good
news to men. In that joy Abraham had part. The truth comes as a ray of light
across the abyss which separatesthe saints in heaven from saints on earth. As
in the parable, where Lazarus is in Abraham’s bosom, the rich man is
representedas knowing and caring for his brethren on earth, so here the great
Patriarchis spokenofas knowing and rejoicing in the factof the Incarnation.
The faculty of reasoncannotexplain how it is, but the faculty of faith can
receive the truth that there is a “communion of saints,” and finds in it a
comfort which robs separationof its bitterness, and a power which
strengthens all the motives to a holy and devoted life. (Comp. Luke 16:19-31;
Hebrews 12:1.)
BensonCommentary
John 8:56-59. Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day — Ηγαλλιασατο
ινα ιδη την ημεραν, exulted with desire, to see my day. “The words ινα ιδη,
that he might see, immediately following the verb, show,” as Dr. Campbell
observes, “thatit cannot mean here, rejoiced, but rather signifies, desired
earnestly, wished, longed.” Indeed, the expressionmay with the strictest
propriety signify, “leaping forward with joy to meet the object of our wishes,
as well as exulting in the possessionofit.” By his day, our Lord seems to
mean, the time when the promised seedshould come, in whom all nations
were to be blessedby being convertedfrom idolatry to the knowledge and
worship of the true God; and put in possessionofall the blessings attendant
on true religion. He earnestly desired, as if our Lord said, to see the great
transactions ofmy life, by which these blessings were to be procured for all
nations, and to take a view of the happy state into which the world would be
brought, when they were bestowedupon them. And he saw it, and was glad —
His faith was equivalent to seeing. By the favour of a particular revelation,
Abraham had a distinct foresightof these things, and was exceedingly
transported with the prospect. If then you want to know my person and
character, you may form some notion of both from the disposition with which
Abraham regarded me. Our Lord, therefore, plainly enough assumedthe

characterof the Messiahon this occasion. Thensaid the Jews, Thouart not
yet fifty years old, &c. — Understanding what he said in a natural sense, they
thought he affirmed that he had lived in the days of Abraham; which they
took to be ridiculous nonsense, as he was not arrived at the age offifty; for
they had no conceptionof his divinity, notwithstanding he had told them
severaltimes that he was the Son of God. Jesus saith, Verily, &c., before
Abraham was, I am — Greek, πριν Αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι, “before
Abraham was born, I am, that is, I had a glorious existence with the Father,
and am still invariably the same, and one with him.” So Doddridge. Thus also
Dr. Campbell, who observes, “Ihave followedhere the version of Erasmus,
which is close, bothto the sense and to the letter: Antequam Abraham
nascereturego sum. Diodati renders the words in the same wayin Italian.
Heylin and Wynne translate in Englishin the same manner. Εγω ειμι, (which
we translate I am,) may indeed be rendered I was. The present for the
imperfect, or even for the preterperfect, is no unusual figure with this writer.
However, as an uninterrupted duration, from the time spokenof to the time
then present, seems to have been suggested, I thought it better to follow the
common method.” Our Lord here, in the strongestterms, appears to asserthis
proper divinity, declaring himself to be, what St. John more largely expresses,
(Revelation1:8,) the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, who is,
was, and is to come, the Almighty. See also Exodus 3:14; Hebrews 1:12.
As to rendering this clause, Before Abraham was born, I was:
notwithstanding the nicestcritical distinctions, it must at leastbe
acknowledgedthat this is a very unusual sense of εγω ειμι, and the less
necessary, as the proper and common translation affords us a just and
important sense, andone to which none but the enemies of our Lord’s divinity
can object. It is indeed striking to observe the unnatural constructionto which
they have recourse who stumble at this text. The Socinians, with the most
perverse impropriety, render the passagethus: “Before Abraham was made
Abraham,” that is, the father of many nations, in the spiritual sense ofthe
promise, “I am the Messiah.”Grotius and others, of too much learning not to
discern the proper force of the words, are of opinion that our Lord only
affirms of himself that he was before Abraham in the divine decree. But 1st,

Christ says this in answerto the objectionof the Jews, whichhad no respectto
the priority of these two persons in the decree of God, but as to actual
existence. 2d, This sense ofthe passageis trifling indeed, if our Lord was no
more than a man, it being certain that all creatures, ofwhatsoeverorder,
existed equally soonin the divine decree. Besides, thatour Lord did really
exist at the time mentioned in the text, is plain likewise from John 17:5. Noris
it to be imagined that, if our Lord had been a mere creature, he would have
ventured to express himself in a manner so nearly bordering on blasphemy, or
have permitted his beloved disciple so dangerouslyto disguise his meaning; a
meaning indisputably clear to every plain and unprejudiced reader; a full
proof whereofis the manner in which his hearers now receivedit: for, filled
with rage, upon the blasphemy, as they thought it, of his claiming divinity to
himself, they immediately prepare to inflict the punishment of a blasphemer
upon him, by stoning him. But Jesus hid himself — Greek, εκρυβη, was
hidden, or concealed, probably suddenly be came invisible; and went out of
the temple, going through the midst of them, unobserved, and so passedby —
Or passedon, with the same ease as if none had been there.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:54-59 Christ and all that are his, depend upon God for honour. Men may be
able to dispute about God, yet may not know him. Such as know not God, and
obey not the gospelof Christ, are put together, 2Th 1:8. All who rightly know
anything of Christ, earnestlydesire to know more of him. Those who discern
the dawn of the light of the Sun of Righteousness,wishto see his rising. Before
Abraham was, I AM. This speaks Abraham a creature, and our Lord the
Creator;well, therefore, might he make himself greaterthan Abraham. I AM,
is the name of God, Ex 3:14; it speaks his self-existence;he is the First and the
Last, everthe same, Re 1:8. Thus he was not only before Abraham, but before
all worlds, Pr 8:23; Joh 1:1. As Mediator, he was the appointed Messiah, long
before Abraham; the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Re 13:8.
The Lord Jesus was made of God Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and
Redemption, to Adam, and Abel, and all that lived and died by faith in him,
before Abraham. The Jews were about to stone Jesus for blasphemy, but he
withdrew; by his miraculous power he passedthrough them unhurt. Let us
stedfastlyprofess what we know and believe concerning God; and if heirs of

Abraham's faith, we shall rejoice in looking forward to that day when the
Saviour shall appear in glory, to the confusionof his enemies, and to complete
the salvationof all who believe in him.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Your father Abraham - The testimony of Abraham is adduced by Jesus
because the Jews consideredit to be a signalhonor to be his descendants, John
8:39. As they regardedthe sayings and deeds of Abraham as especially
illustrious and worthy of their imitation, so they were bound, in consistency,
to listen to what he had said of the Messiah.
Rejoiced- This word includes the notion of desire as well as rejoicing. It
denotes that actwhen, compelled with strong desire for an object, we leap
forward toward its attainment with joy; and it expresses:
1. the fact that this was an objectthat filled the heart of Abraham with joy;
and,
2. that he earnestlydesired to see it.
We have no single word which expresses the meaning of the original. In
Matthew 5:12 it is rendered "be exceeding glad."
To see - Rather, he earnestlyand joyfully desired that he might see. To see
here means to have a view or distinct conceptionof. It does not imply that
Abraham expected that the Messiahwouldappear during his life, but that he
might have a representationof, or a cleardescription and foresightof the
times of the Messiah.

My day - The, day of the Messiah. The word "day," here, is used to denote the
time, the appearance, the advent, and the manner of life of the Messiah. Luke
17:26;"as it was in the days of Noahso shall it be also in the days of the Son
of man." See John 9:4; Matthew 11:12. The day of judgment is also calledthe
day of the Sonof man, because it will be a remarkable time of his
manifestation. Or perhaps in both those cases itis calledhis day because he
will actthe most conspicuous part; his personand work will characterize the
times; as we speak of the days of Noah, etc., because he was the most
conspicuous personof the age.
He saw it - See Hebrews 11:13; "These alldied in faith, not having received
(obtained the fulfillment of) the promises, but having seenthem afar off, and
were persuaded of them," etc. Though Abraham was not permitted to live to
see the times of the Messiah, yethe was permitted to have a prophetic view of
him, and also of the designof his coming; for,
1. God foretold his advent clearlyto him, Genesis 12:3;Genesis 18:18.
Compare Galatians 3:16; "Now to Abraham and his seedwere the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as ofmany; but as of one, and to thy seed,
which is Christ."
2. Abraham was permitted to have a view of the death of the Messiahas a
sacrifice for sin, representedby the command to offer Isaac, Genesis 22:1-13.
Compare Hebrews 11:19. The death of the Messiahas a sacrifice forthe sins
of men was that which characterizedhis work - which distinguished his times
and his advent, and this was representedto Abraham clearlyby the command
to offer his son. From this arose the proverb among the Jews Genesis22:14,
"In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen," orit shall be provided for; a
proverb evidently referring to the offering of the Messiahonthe mount for
the sins of men. By this event Abraham was impressively told that a parent
would not be required to offer in sacrifice his sons for the sins of his soul - a

thing which has often been done by pagan; but that God would provide a
victim, and in due time an offering would be made for the world.
Was glad - Was glad in view of the promise, and that he was permitted so
distinctly to see it represented. If the father of the faithful rejoicedso much to
see him afar off, how should we rejoice that he has come;that we are not
required to look into a distant futurity, but know that he has appeared; that
we may learn clearlythe manner of his coming, his doctrine, and the design of
his death! Well might the eyes of a patriarch rejoice to be permitted to look in
any manner on the sublime and glorious scene of the Son of God dying for the
sins of men. And our chief honor and happiness is to contemplate the amazing
scene ofman's redemption, where the Saviour groanedand died to save a lost
and ruined race.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
56. Abraham rejoicedto see my day, &c.—exulted, or exceedinglyrejoiced
that he should see, he exulted to see it, that is, by anticipation. Nay,
he saw it, and was glad—he actually beheld it, to his joy. If this mean no more
than that he had a prophetic foresight of the gospel-day—the secondclause
just repeating the first—how could the Jews understand our Lord to mean
that He "had seenAbraham?" And if it mean that Abraham was then
beholding, in his disembodied spirit, the incarnate Messiah[Stier, Alford,
&c.], the words seemvery unsuitable to express it. It expressessomething
past—"he saw My day, and was glad," that is, surely while he lived. He seems
to refer to the familiar intercourse which Abraham had with God, who is once
and againin the history called"the Angel of the Lord," and whom Christ
here identifies with Himself. On those occasions, Abraham "saw ME"
(Olshausen, though he thinks the reference is to some unrecorded scene). If
this be the meaning, all that follows is quite natural.

Matthew Poole's Commentary
You glory much in this, that you have Abraham to your father. This father of
yours foresaw my coming into the world, and my dying upon the cross. He
saw it by the eye of faith, in the promise which was made to him, That in his
seedall the nations of the earth should be blessed. He saw it in the type of
Isaac’s being offered, then receiving him in a figure, Hebrews 11:19. He saw it
in the light of Divine revelation. He saw my coming in the flesh; my dying
upon the cross forsinners; the publication of my gospelto the whole world, by
which means all the nations of the earth became blessedin his seed. And he
was glad, with the joy of faith, which gives the soul a union with an absent
objectby faith made certain to it, Hebrews 11:1.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day,.... Or "he was desirous to see
my day", as the Syriac and Arabic versions rightly render the word; or "very
desirous", as the Persic version:and indeed, this was what many kings and
prophets, and righteous men, were desirous of, even of seeing the Messiahand
his day: we often read of , "the days of the Messiah":and the Jews, in their
Talmud (y), dispute much about them, how long they will be; one says forty
years, another seventy, another three ages:it is the opinion of some, that they
shall be according to the number of the days of the year, three hundred and
sixty five years;some say seventhousand years, and others as many as have
been from the beginning of the world; and others, as many as from Noah; but
we know the day of Christ better, and how long he was here on earth; and
whose whole time here is calledhis day; this Abraham had a very great desire
to see:
and he saw it and was glad; he saw it with an eye of faith, he saw it in the
promise, that in his seedall the nations of the earth should be blessed;and
when it was promised him he should have a son, which was the beginning of
the fulfilment of the other, he laughed, and therefore his son was calledIsaac,
to which some reference is here made; he saw him in the birth of his son Isaac

and rejoiced, and therefore called his name Isaac, thatis, "laughter":he saw
also Christ and his day, his sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead,
in a figure; in the binding of Isaac, in the sacrifice of the ram, and in the
receiving of Isaac, as from the dead; and he not only saw the Messiahin his
type Melchizedek, and who some think was the Son of God himself, but he
saw the secondperson, the promised Messiah, in an human form, Genesis
18:2; and all this was matter of joy and gladness to him. This brings to mind
what the Jews sayat the rejoicing at the law, when the book of the law is
brought out (z).
"Abraham rejoicedwith the rejoicing of the law, he that cometh shall come,
the branch with the joy of the law; Isaac, Jacob, Moses,Aaron, Joshua,
Samuel, David, Solomon, rejoicedwith the joy of the law; he that cometh shall
come, the branch with the joy of the law.''
(y) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 99. 1.((z) SederTephillot, fol. 309. 1. Ed. Basil.
Geneva Study Bible
{20} Your father Abraham {t} rejoicedto see my {u} day: and he {x} saw it,
and was glad.
(20) The powerof Christ showeditself through all former ages in the fathers,
for they saw in the promises that he would come, and very joyfully laid hold of
him with a living faith.
(t) Was very desirous.
(u) A day is a space that a man lives in, or does any notable act in, or endures
any greatthing in.

(x) With the eyes of faith; He 11:13.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 8:56. Εἶτα κατασκευάζει καὶ ὅτι μείζωνἐστι τοῦ Ἀβρ., Euth. Zigabenus,
and, indeed, in such a manner, that He, at the same time, puts the hostile
children of Abraham to shame.
ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν] with a reproving glance back to John 8:39.
ἠγαλλιάσατο, ἵνα ἴδῃ]he exulted to see;the objectof his exultation is
conceivedas the goalto whose attainment the joyous movement of the heart is
directed. He rejoicedin the anticipation of seeing my day, i.e. of witnessing the
day of my appearance onearth.[39]As to its historicaldate, ἠγαλλιάσατο does
not refer to an event in the paradisaicallife of Abraham; but, as Abraham
was the recipient of the Messianic promise, which described, on the one hand,
the Messiahas His ownσπέρμα, himself, however, on the other hand, as the
founder and vehicle of the entire redemptive Messianic developmentfor all
nations, the allusion is to the time in his earthly life when the promise was
made to him. His faith in this promise (Genesis 15:6)and the certainty of the
Messianic future, whose developmentwas to proceedfrom him, with which he
was thus inspired, could not but fill him with joy and exultation; hence, also,
there is no need for an express testimony to the ἠγαλλ. in Genesis (the
supposedreference to the laughing mentioned in Genesis 17:17 whichwas
already interpreted by Philo to denote greatjoy and exultation, and which
Hofmann also has againrevived in his Weissag. und Erfüll. II. p. 13, is
inadmissible, on a correctexplanation of the passage). So much, however, is
presupposed, namely, that Abraham recognisedthe Messianic characterof
the divine promise; and this we are justified in presupposing in him who was

the chosenrecipientof divine revelations. Forinventions of the Rabbis
regarding revelations of future events asserted, on the ground of Genesis
17:17, to have been made to Abraham, see Fabric. Cod. Pseudepigr. I. p. 423
ff. The seeing ofthe day (the experimental perceptionthereof through the
living to see it, Luke 17:22;Polyb. x. 4. 7; Soph. O. R. 831, 1528;and see
Wetsteinand Kypke on the passage)to which (ἵνα) the exultation of Abraham
was directed, was, for the soul of the patriarch, a moment of the indefinite
future. And this seeing was realized, not during his earthly life, but in his
paradisaicalstate (comp. Lampe, Lücke, Tholuck, De Wette, Maier, Luthardt,
Lechler in the Stud. u. Krit. 1854, p. 817, Lange, Baeumlein, Ebrard, Godet),
when he, the ancestorofthe Messiahandof the nation, learnt that the
Messianic agehad dawned on the earth in the birth of Jesus as the Messiah. In
like manner the advent of Jesus on the earth was made known to Moses and
Elias (Matthew 17:4), which fact, however, does not justify us in supposing
that reference is here made to occurrencessimilarto the transfiguration
(Ewald). In Paradise Abraham saw the day of Christ; indeed, he there
maintained in generala relation to the states and experiences ofhis people
(Luke 16:25 ff.). This was the objectof the καὶ εἶδε καὶ ἐχάρη; it is impossible,
however, to determine exactlythe form under which the ΕἾΔΕ was
vouchsafedto him, though it ought not to be explained with B. Crusius as
mere anticipation. We must restcontented with the idea of divine information.
The apocryphal romance, TestamentumLevi, p. 586 f. (which tells us that the
MessiahHimself opens the gates ofParadise, feeds the saints from the tree of
life, etc., and then adds: τότε ἀγαλλιάσεται Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ κ. Ἰακὼβ κἀγὼ
χαρήσομαι καὶ πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι ἐνδύσονται εὐφροσύνην), merely supplies a
generalconfirmation of the thought that Abraham, in the intermediate state
of happiness, receivedwith joy the news of the advent of Messiah. Supposing,
however, that the relation betweenpromise (ἨΓΑΛΛΙΆΣΑΤΟ, ἽΝΑ ἼΔῌ,
etc.)and fulfilment (ΚΑῚ ΕἾΔΕ Κ. ἘΧΆΡΗ), expressedin the two clauses of
the verse, do require the beholding of the day of Christ to be a realbeholding,
and the day of Christ itself to be the day of His actualappearance, i.e. the day
of the incarnation of the promised One on earth, it is not allowable to
understand by it, either, with Raphelius and Hengstenberg, the appearance of
the angelof the Lord (Genesis 18), i.e. of the Logos, to Abraham; or, with
Luther, “the vision of faith with the heart” at the announcement made in

Genesis 22:18 (comp. Melancthon, Calvin, and Calovius);[40] or, with
Olshausen, a prophetic vision of the δόξα of Christ (comp. John 12:41); or,
with Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, and most of the
older commentators, also Hofmann, the beholding of an event which merely
prefigured the day of Christ, a typical beholding, whether the birth of Isaac be
regardedas the event in question (Hofmann; see also his Schriftbew. II. 2, p.
304 f.), or the offering up of Isaac as a sacrifice, prefiguring the atoning
sacrifice and resurrectionof Christ (Chrysostom, Grotius, and many others).
According to Linder, in the Stud. und Krit. 1859, p. 518 f., 1867, p. 507 f., the
day of Christ denotes nothing but the time of the birth of Isaac, whichwas
promised in Genesis 18:10, so that Christ would thus appear to have
representedHimself as one of the angels ofthe grove of Mamre (comp.
Hengstenberg), and, by the expressionἡμέρα ἡ ἐμή, to have denoted a time of
special, actualrevelation. Takenthus, however, the day in question would be
only mediately the day of Christ; whereas, according to the connectionand
the express designationτὴν ἡμέραντὴν ἐμήν, Christ Himself must be the
immediate subjectof the day, as the one whose appearance constitutes the day
emphatically His
His κατʼἐξοχὴν, analogouslyto the day of His secondadvent (Luke 17:24;1
Corinthians 1:8; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; Php 1:6; Php 2:16; 1
Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2);hence, also, the plural had not to be
employed (in answerto Linder’s objection).
ΚΑῚ ἘΧΑΡΗ] appropriately interchangedfor ἨΓΑΛΛ., the latter
corresponding to the first outburst of emotion at the unexpected
proclamation.
[39] ἡμέρα ἡ ἐμή expresslydenotes (hence not τὰς ἡμέρας τὰς ἐμάς, comp.
Luke 17:22) the exact, particular day of the appearance ofChrist on earth, i.e.
the day of His birth (Job 3:1; Diog. L. 4. 41), from the Johannine point of

view, the day on which the ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο was accomplished. This was
the greatepochin the history of redemption which Abraham was to behold.
[40] Bengelalso:“Vidit diem Christi, qui in semine, quod stellarum instar
futurum erat, sidus maximum est et fulgidissimum.”
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 8:56. And as regards The connectionthey claim with Abraham, this
reflects discredit on their present attitude towards Jesus;for Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ
ὑμῶν, “Abraham in whose parentage youglory,” ἠγαλλιάσατοἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν
ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν, “rejoicedto see my day”. The day of Christ is the time of
His earthly manifestation: τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ τῆς μετὰ σαρκός, Cyril. See
Luke 17:22-26;where the plural expresses the same as the singular here. “To
see” the day is “to be present” at it, “to experience” it; cf. Eurip., Hecuba, 56,
δούλειονἦμαρεἶδες, and the Homeric νόστιμον ἦμαρἰδέσθαι. ἵνα ἴδῃ cannot
here have its usual Johannine force and be epexegetical(Burton, Moods, etc.),
nor as Holtzmann says = ὅτι ὄψοιτο, becausein this case the εἶδε καὶ ἐχάρη
would be tautological. Euthymius gives the right interpretation: ἠγαλλ.,
ἤγουν, ἐπεθύμησεν (similarly Theophylact), and the meaning is “Abraham
exulted in the prospectof seeing,” or“that he should see”. This he was able to
do by means of the promises given to him.—καὶ εἶδε, “and he saw it,” not
merely while he was on earth (although this seems to have been the idea the
Jews took up from the words, see John 8:57); for this kind of anticipation
Jesus uses different language, Matthew 13:17, and at the utmost the O.T.
saints could be describedas πόρρωθεν ἰδόντες, Hebrews 11:13; but he has
seenit in its actuality. This involves that Abraham has not died so as to be
unconscious, John8:52, and cf. Mark 12:26.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
56. rejoicedto see my day] Literally, exulted that he might see My day, the
objectof his joy being representedas the goalto 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 seemmore natural.

Comp. John 4:34; John 4:47, John 6:29; John 6:50, John 9:2-3; John 9:22,
John 11:50, John 16:7. Abraham exulted in anticipation of the coming of the
Messiahthrough implicit belief in the Divine promises.
and he saw it, and was glad] A very important passagewith regardto the
intermediate state, shewing that the soul does not, as some maintain, remain
unconscious betweendeathand the Day of Judgment. The Old Testament
saints in Paradise were allowedto know that the Messiahhadcome. How this
was revealedto them we are not told; but here is a plain statementof the fact.
The word for ‘was glad’ expressesa calmer, less emotionaljoy than the word
for ‘rejoiced,’and therefore both are appropriate: ‘exulted’ while still on
earth; ‘was glad’ in Hades. Thus the ‘Communion of Saints’ is assured, not
merely in parables (Luke 16:27-28), but in the plainer words of Scripture.
Comp. Hebrews 12:1.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 8:56. Ὁ πατὴρὑμῶν, your Father) John 8:37; John 8:39, “I know that ye
are Abraham’s seed;Abraham is our father.”—ἠγαλλιάσατο, ἵνα, exulted
that) Evinced his eagernesswith longing desire. A similar expressionoccurs,
Romans 10:1, “My heart’s desire, εὐδοκία τῆς ἐμῆς καρδίας,”ἵνα, that follows
verbs of desiring. This ἀγαλλίασις, exultation, preceded, his seeing;and again
χαρά, joy, accompaniedthe seeing.—τὴνἡμέραντὴν ἐμήν, my day) The day of
the Majestyof Christ: Php 1:10, “sincere and without offence till the day of
Christ;” 1 Corinthians 1:8, “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
which day presupposes all the times of Christ, even in the eyes of Abraham.
The days of Christ’s flesh (when He bestowedHimself on others)are one
thing, the day of Christ Himself and of His glory is another thing [i.e. the two
are altogetherdistinct]. This latter day was future in respectto this speech.
Therefore the joy of Abraham preceded that day.—καὶ εἶδε, and he saw it) He
saw it, eventhen in the revelation of My Divine glory; see verses following and
Hebrews 11:13, “These alldied in faith, not having receivedthe promises, but
having seenthem afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them,”
etc. He saw the day of Christ, who of the seedof the patriarch, which was

about to be equal in number to the stars, is the greatestandbrightest
luminary. And inasmuch as he saw this day, which is to be altogethera day of
life, he did not see death; John 8:51, etc., “If a man keepMy saying, he shall
never see death:—Abraham is dead—and Thou sayest, If a man,” etc.—Thus
the vehemence of the Jews is rebutted. He did not howeversee it, as the
apostles did: Matthew 13:17, “Many prophets and righteous men have desired
to see those things which ye see, and have not seenthem.”—καὶ ἐχάρη, and he
rejoiced)having obtained his wish.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 56. - Christ then proceeds to the allegationthat he was greaterthan
Abraham, and exclaims, Abraham, your father, exulted (a word is used of
tumultuous joy, Luke 1:47) - triumphantly rejoicedthat he should see my day
(so RevisedVersion, margin). Winer translates the ἵνα ἴδῃ in the same way,
though that translationreally means "exulted in the knowledge that he should
see." The "rejoicedto see," ofthe Authorized Version and RevisedVersion,
implies that, when he thus exulted, he had seen, which is not exactly
compatible or consistentwith the following clause. If CanonEvans's theory of
the use of ἵνα in the New Testamentin the sense of"the contemplated result"
be sound, we have a sufficient translation in "exulted that he would or should
see" my day. In Luke 17:22 we hear of "one of the days of the Son of man."
All those days seemgatheredtogetherin the expression, "my day," and can
only mean the whole day of his manifestationas the incarnate Word - the day
in which, through himself, God had visited his people. When did Abraham
exult with so lofty an expectationand desire? Many times in solemn vision and
by heavenly voice and holy promise Abraham was led to believe that in
himself and in his seedall the nations of the world would be blessed(Genesis
15:4; Genesis 17:17;Genesis 18:10;Genesis 22:18). This promise made him
young again. He staggerednot at the promise of God. His faith was counted
for righteousness. He believed that God could and would do what seemed
impossible. That which he rejoicedthat he should see was the day of Christ,
the revelationof the Father, and the way of life proffered to all nations. He
anticipated a fulfilment of the promises to such an extent that he rejoicedin
hope of the glory of God. So far thee is little difficulty. Our imagination easily
pictures Abraham in the sacredtumult of a blessedhope concerning that

which was eventually realized in the Messianicgloryof the Lord Jesus. But
our Lord added, He saw it, and was glad. And the interpretations of this
clause are very conflicting. Calvin asks whetherthis does not contradict Luke
10:24, "Many kings and prophets desired to see the things which ye see, and
yet did not see them." And he adds, "Faith has its degrees in beholding Christ.
The ancient prophets beheld Christ at a distance, but not as present with
them." We are reminded by others of Hebrews 11:13, "These alldied in faith,
not having receivedthe promises, but having seenand greetedthem from
afar." Consequently, the only vision of the day of Christ vouchsafedto
Abraham was the far off prophetic glance. This interpretation ignores the
difference of two clauses, "exultedthat he would see,"and "saw it, and was
glad." This secondclause is supposedby Hengstenberg and others to refer to
the vision of the angelof the Lord, the Logos (Genesis 18.), orto the revelation
of the vicarious death and resurrectionof Messiahin the sacrifice of Isaac (so
Chrysostomand Erasmus). Others, again, have laid emphasis on the "birth of
Isaac" as the fulfilment of promises previously made to his faith. Isaac was
regardedas "heir of the world," and the embodiment of the Messianic hope.
He was the child of promise, of the Spirit rather than of the flesh. This view
has been urged by Hofmann, Wordsworth, Westcott. The proper sense was,
doubtless, that, since the Lord became incarnate, Abraham's exulting hope
has been realized; that which he desired and rejoicedin anticipation to see has
now dawned upon him. This becomes an emphatic revelation by our Lord in
one palmary case, andtherefore presumably in other instances as well, of the
relation and communion betweenthe glorified life of the saints, and the events
and progress ofthe kingdom of God upon earth. A greatconsensus of
commentators confirms this in terpretation - Origen, Lampe, Lucke, De
Wette, Godet, Meyer, Stier, Alford, Lange, Watkins, Thoma. It is objected
that this kind of information about the invisible world is contrary to the
manner of Christ, and would stand alone. This objection, however, ignores,
and especiallyin the case ofAbraham, other references by our Lord to the
same idea and fact. The parable, so called, of the rich man and Lazarus,
introduces Abraham as having been acquainted, during their lifetime, with
the condition of the two dead men (see Luke 16:22-25). And when our Lord, in
conflict with the Sadducees, wouldprove from Scripture and the language of
Jehovahin the "passageconcerning the bush" that the dead rise, he said,

"Since Godcalled himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he was not
the Godof the dead, but of the living;" therefore Abraham, Isaac, andJacob
were living, and not dead (Luke 20:36-38). In like manner, Mosesand Elijah
are representedas conversing with Jesus concerning the decease(ἔξοδον)he
was about to accomplish(Luke 9:30, 31). St. Peter (1 Peter1:12) declares that
the angels desire to look into the mysteries of human redemption. St. Paul tells
us that the principalities and powers in heavenly places receive fresh
illustration of the manifold wisdom of God by and from the Church on earth
(Ephesians 3:10). So that the idea is one in harmony with many other lines of
Divine revelation. Abraham rejoicedat the advent of Christ. He has seenit,
and been gladdened. The angels sang their praises at the birth of Christ, and
rejoicedover one penitent sinner (Luke 15.). The patriarchs also rejoice that
the promises which they handed down to the generations that would follow
them have been fulfilled. The 'Midrash' declares, says Wunsche, that
Abrabam saw the Law giving on Sinai, and rejoicedat it. Westcottsays the
"tense" is decisive againstthis joy of Abraham in Paradise. Butthe aorist
simply calls attention to the effectat once produced upon the consciousnessof
Abraham as soonas he became aware of the day of the Son of man.
Rabbinical ideas of the knowledge communicatedto Abraham concerning the
careerof his descendants, confirm and illustrate this interpretation; while the
light thus castupon the darkness of the grave expounds the greatstatement,
"He that continueth in [keepeth]my word shall not see death."
Vincent's Word Studies
Rejoiced(ἠγαλλιάσατο)
With exultant joy. See on 1 Peter 1:6.
To see (ἵνα ἴδῃ)
The Greek constructionis peculiar. Literally, that he should see;i.e., in the
knowledge oranticipation that he should see.

My day
The exactmeaning of the expressionis altogetheruncertain.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Abraham rejoicedto see my day - Or, he earnestlydesired to see my day;
ηγαλλιασατο, fromαγαν, very much, and ἁλλομαι, I leap - his soulleaped
forward in earnesthope and strong expectationthat he might see the
incarnation of Jesus Christ. The metaphor appears to be taken from a person
who, desiring to see a long-expectedfriend who is coming, runs forward, now
and then jumping up to see if he can discoverhim. There is a saying very like
this in SoharNumer fol. 61: "Abraham rejoicedbecause he could know, and
perceive, and cleave to the Divine Name." The Divine name is ‫הוהי‬ Yehovah ;
and by this they simply mean God himself.
And he saw it - Not only in the first promise, Genesis 3:15, for the other
patriarchs saw this as well as he; and not only in that promise which was
made particularly to himself, Genesis 12:7;Genesis 22:18, (comparedwith
Galatians 3:16;), that the Messiahshould spring from his family; but he saw
this day especiallywhen Jehovahappeared to him in a human form, Genesis
18:2, Genesis 18:17, whichmany suppose to have been a manifestation of the
Lord Jesus.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 8:56". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
8.html. 1832.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Your father Abraham - The testimony of Abraham is adduced by Jesus
because the Jews consideredit to be a signalhonor to be his descendants, John
8:39. As they regardedthe sayings and deeds of Abraham as especially
illustrious and worthy of their imitation, so they were bound, in consistency,
to listen to what he had said of the Messiah.
Rejoiced- This word includes the notion of desire as well as rejoicing. It
denotes that actwhen, compelled with strong desire for an object, we leap
forward toward its attainment with joy; and it expresses:
1.the factthat this was an objectthat filled the heart of Abraham with joy;
and,
2.that he earnestlydesired to see it.

We have no single word which expresses the meaning of the original. In
Matthew 5:12 it is rendered “be exceeding glad.”
To see - Rather, he earnestlyand joyfully desired that he might see. To see
here means to have a view or distinct conceptionof. It does not imply that
Abraham expected that the Messiahwouldappear during his life, but that he
might have a representationof, or a cleardescription and foresightof the
times of the Messiah.
My day - The, day of the Messiah. The word “day,” here, is used to denote the
time, the appearance, the advent, and the manner of life of the Messiah. Luke
17:26;“as it was in the days of Noahso shall it be also in the days of the Son of
man.” See John 9:4; Matthew 11:12. The day of judgment is also calledthe
day of the Sonof man, because it will be a remarkable time of his
manifestation. Or perhaps in both those cases itis calledhis day because he
will actthe most conspicuous part; his personand work will characterize the
times; as we speak of the days of Noah, etc., because he was the most
conspicuous personof the age.
He saw it - See Hebrews 11:13; “These alldied in faith, not having received
(obtained the fulfillment of) the promises, but having seenthem afar off, and
were persuaded of them,” etc. Though Abraham was not permitted to live to
see the times of the Messiah, yethe was permitted to have a prophetic view of
him, and also of the designof his coming; for,
1. God foretold his advent clearlyto him, Genesis 12:3;Genesis 18:18.
Compare Galatians 3:16; “Now to Abraham and his seedwere the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as ofmany; but as of one, and to thy seed,
which is Christ.”

2. Abraham was permitted to have a view of the death of the Messiahas a
sacrifice for sin, representedby the command to offer Isaac, Genesis 22:1-13.
Compare Hebrews 11:19. The death of the Messiahas a sacrifice forthe sins
of men was that which characterizedhis work - which distinguished his times
and his advent, and this was representedto Abraham clearlyby the command
to offer his son. From this arose the proverb among the Jews Genesis22:14,
“In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen,” orit shall be provided for; a
proverb evidently referring to the offering of the Messiahonthe mount for
the sins of men. By this event Abraham was impressively told that a parent
would not be required to offer in sacrifice his sons for the sins of his soul - a
thing which has often been done by pagan; but that God would provide a
victim, and in due time an offering would be made for the world.
Was glad - Was glad in view of the promise, and that he was permitted so
distinctly to see it represented. If the father of the faithful rejoicedso much to
see him afar off, how should we rejoice that he has come;that we are not
required to look into a distant futurity, but know that he has appeared; that
we may learn clearlythe manner of his coming, his doctrine, and the design of
his death! Well might the eyes of a patriarch rejoice to be permitted to look in
any manner on the sublime and glorious scene of the Son of God dying for the
sins of men. And our chief honor and happiness is to contemplate the amazing
scene ofman‘s redemption, where the Saviour groanedand died to save a lost
and ruined race.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon John 8:56". "Barnes'Notes onthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/john-8.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see My day
Abraham’s vision of Christ’s day
(Christmas day Sermon):--Here is joy, joy at a sight, at the sight of a day, and
that day Christ’s, and no day is so properly His as His birthday.
First, Christ has a day proper to Him. “My day.” Secondly, this day is a day
of double joy--“rejoiced,” “was glad.” Thirdly, this was so to Abraham.
Lastly, all this nothing displeasing to Christ, for it is spokento the praise of
Abraham that did it, and to the dispraise of the Jews who did it not. We are
now disposing ourselves to this, and have a three-fold warrant.
1. We have Abraham for our example. We do but as he in making Christ’s
day a day of joy.
2. Abraham’s example approved by Christ, who commends the patriarch, not
that he rejoicedat the sight of Him, but of His day. Verily, the speechis in
honour of Christmas.

3. He reproves the Jews fornot doing herein as Abraham, which is against
them that have a spleenat this feast, and think they can joy in Him and yet set
by His day. Nay, love Him, love His day. They tell us that to keepit they would
Judaize (Galatians 4:10), but the contextshows not to keepit is to Judaize.
I. THE OBJECT. “Myday.”
1. Notas the Son of God. He has no day.
2. But as the Son of Man He hath more days than one; but this notes one
above the rest, a day with the double article. There are two such eminent days.
Of His Genesis, andof His Exodus; of His nativity and His passion.
II. THE ACTS.
1. Abraham’s first act--his desire.
2. Abraham’s secondact. “He saw it,” though “afaroff” (Hebrews 11:13), “as
in a perspective glass” (1 Corinthians 13:12). He did not know preciselythe
day, but that such a day should come. How did he see it?

3. Abraham’s third act. He that was glad that he should see it must needs be
glad when he did see it; accomplishmentis more joyful than desire. And what
grounds (Genesis 26:4)!
Conclusion:The reference to us.
1. Our desire. We have greatercause to desire this day because we have
greaterneed.
2. Our sight is much clearerthan his. For though we see as he, and he as we,
by the light of faith; yet he in the faith of prophecy yet to come, we in the faith
of history now past.
3. Our joy is to be above his, as we have the greatercause andthe better sight.
Rules for our joy.
(a) Our exultation, a motion of the body.
(b) The other, joy, a fruit of the spirit. Let the former have its part, but should
not have so large an allowance oftime and costas to leave little or nothing for
the spirit.
Abraham’s sight of faith

I. THE GROUND OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH--the promise of God. (Genesis
12:3; Gen_22:18). To openthis promise we must inquire
1. What was this seed? We must distinguish of a two-fold seed;that to whom
the blessing was promised, and that in whom both Abraham, his seed, and all
nations were to be blessed(Genesis 17:7). Now this promise was either to his
carnalseedor to his spiritual seed(Galatians 3:7). But then there was another
seed--the Messiah.
2. What was this blessedness?All the goodwhich results to us from God’s
covenant.
(a) remission of sins (Psalms 32:1-2), which is included in the blessing of
Abraham (Galatians 3:8).
(b) Regeneration(Acts 3:25-26).
(a) The patriarchs sought it by virtue of this promise (Hebrews 11:13-15).
(b) Unless this had been included God could not actsuitably to the greatness
of His covenantrelation (Hebrews 11:16; Matthew 22:31-32).
II. THE STRENGTHOF HIS FAITH.

1. His clearvision of Christ. “He saw my day.” Three things argue the
strength of bodily sight.
(a) Past. To see Him whom we have not seen, as if we had seenHim in the
flesh, is the work of faith (Galatians 3:1).
(b) Present. To see Him so as to make Him the object of our love and trust
(John 6:40; Acts 7:56).
(c) Future. We must be assuredof His secondcoming and that we shall see
Him (Job 19:25-27).
What, then, is this clearvision of Christ to us? How shall we judge of the
strength of our faith by this? Ans
2. His deep affection or rejoicing in Christ.
(a) The excellencyof the objectin Himself and His work (John 3:16); in His
necessityto us (Micah6:6-7; Psalms 49:7-8;Job 33:24); in His benefit (1
Corinthians 1:30-31).
(b) The subjects are delivered from their misery and find their happiness in
God.
(c) The causes--the Holy Ghost and faith as His instrument Romans 14:17; 1
Thessalonians 1:5; Romans 15:18;1 Peter1:8).

(a) It enlarges ourhearts in duty and strengthens us in the way of Nehemiah
8:10; Psalms 119:14).
(b) It sweetens ourcalamities (Hebrews 3:17-18).
(c) It draws us off from the vain delights of the flesh (Psalms 4:7; Psa_43:4).
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Abraham beholding Christ’s day
I. THE DAY OF CHRIST. Not a period of twenty-four hours, but, as is usual
in the Bible, a dispensation.
1. Some of the remarkable days that Abraham saw.
2. The characteristics ofthis day. It was a day of
II. THE BLESSED VIEW WHICH FAITH TAKES OF THIS DAY.
1. It could not have been a sensible view--for sense nevercan discoverGod.
The natural man receivethnot the things of the Spirit of God.

2. It was a spiritual view--a sight by faith. Faith, like the bodily eye, is
III. THE JOY AND GLADNESS ARISING OUT OF THIS SIGHT. It was
not carnalbut spiritual joy, including
1. Spiritual health (Psalms 33:1).
2. Soul satisfaction(Psalms 36:8).
3. Enlargementof soul.
4. It is cordial, hidden and unknown to the world, lasting, matchless and
transcendent. (T. Bagnall-Baker, M. A.)
Christian piety in relation to the future
Christian piety
I. TURNS THE SOUL TOWARDS THE FUTURE. Piety seems to have
turned Abraham’s mind to the “day” of Christ. This refers, undoubtedly, to
Christ’s incarnation, personalministry, and spiritual reign. Nineteen long

centuries rolled between. Still he saw it. In relation to the future, Christian
piety
1. Gives an interesting revelation of it. Science,poetry, literature, shed no light
on the on-coming periods of our being; but the Bible does. It opens up the
history of the race.
2. Gives a felt interestin the blessednessofthe future. It gave Abraham a felt
interest in the day of Christ. It gives the gooda felt interest in the glories that
are coming. And what glorious things are on their march!
II. FASTENS THE SOUL UPON CHRIST IN THE FUTURE. “My day.” To
the godly Christ is everything in the future. Do the rivers point to the sea, the
needle to the pole, the plants to the sun? Does hungercry for food, life pant
for air? Even so does the heart of piety point to Christ in the future. He has a
“day,” a universal day of His glorious revelation to come.
III. BRINGS JOYTO THE SOUL FROM THE FUTURE. Abraham was
“glad”
1. With a benevolent gladness;he knew the world would be blessedby
Christ’s advent.

2. With a religious gladness;he knew that God would be glorified by His
advent. Severalreasons might make us glad as we think of the coming day of
Christ.
Conclusion:Learn
1. The congruity of Christianity with the prospective tendency of the soul. The
soul is always pointing to the future. Christianity meets this tendency and
satisfies it.
2. The antidote of Christianity to the forebodings of the soul. Some souls are
always boding evil, and well all the ungodly may. Christianity lights up the
future.
3. The fitness of Christianity to the aspirations of the soul. Wonderful is the
goodafter which some souls are aspiring in the future. The present and the
material have lost for them their attractions. Man cannot aspire after
anything higher than that which Christianity supplies. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Christ seenafaroff
A very lofty mountain, rising in lonely grandeur on the horizon to cleave the
blue sky with its snowypinnacles, is descriedfrom afar. We see it a long way
off--from where hills and heights, shaggyforests, silentuplands, and busy
towns, and all other individual objects that lie between, are lost in distance,
and present the appearance ofa level plain. So, just so, Adam and Eve
descrieda child of theirs rising above the common level of mankind, at the
long distance of four thousand years. Of the millions who were to spring from

them and people the earth of which they were the lonely tenants, this
distinguished child was the only one on whom, on whose birth, and life, and
death, and works, their weeping eyes and eagerhopes, were fixed.
Christ before Abraham
But how did Abraham see Him and His day? One answeris, Abraham was in
heaven when the Son of God left the seatof glory and came to earth. He saw
the return of the trooping bands of angels whose facesflashedout in the sky
above the plains of Bethlehem, and whose voices sang the anthem of
incarnation, “Gloryto God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men!” All heavenwas stirred from its centre to its outermost rim over
the coming of Christ to earth and over the greatwork which brought Him
among men. Abraham was in the midst of this stir. There is another answer.
You find it upon the page of Old Testamenthistory. There we are taught that
the Sonof Goddid not always maintain invisibility prior to Bethlehem. Under
the former religious economy He fellowshipped with men. He walkedwith
Adam in Eden and communed with him in the coolof the day. There is quite a
long chapter in the Old Testamentconcerning His visit to Abraham: how He
found his tent; what Abraham was doing; how He was received;how a kid
was dressedand cakes were baked;how He ate and refreshedHimself at
Abraham’s table; even a report is given of the conversationwhich passed
betweenthem. From the declarationof superiority to Abraham, the Jewish
ideal of superior human greatness,Jesus passesto the declarationof His
equality with God. Christianity’s Christ is a distinct and a well-defined
person. Everything about him is sharply cut and fearlesslystated. He speaks
for himself. He entraps no man into discipleship. He is not afraid of the light,
nor of the witness-stand, nor of the crucible. He asks no blind faith, but
submits himself to scrutiny. The man with a true Christ is a true man. The
Christ and the man always correspond. (David Gregg.)

Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "John 8:56". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/john-8.html. 1905-1909.
New York.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.
This is one of the most interesting things Jesus eversaid. When did this occur?
It did not happen in Abraham's lifetime, for "These alldied in faith, not
having receivedthe promise, but having seenand greetedthem from afar"
(Hebrews 11:13). Thus, this verse goes beyond what happened in Abraham's
life span, suggesting that just as Moses andElijah had been granted personal
conversationwith Jesus (Matthew 17:3), something similar may have been
granted to Abraham. The whole mystery of this focuses the mind upon the
words of the Lord, "He that keepethmy word shall not see death!"
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.

Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on John 8:56". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-8.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day,.... Or "he was desirous to see
my day", as the Syriac and Arabic versions rightly render the word; or "very
desirous", as the Persic version:and indeed, this was what many kings and
prophets, and righteous men, were desirous of, even of seeing the Messiahand
his day: we often read of ‫תומי‬ ‫,חישמה‬ "the days of the Messiah":and the Jews,
in their TalmudF25, dispute much about them, how long they will be; one says
forty years, another seventy, another three ages:it is the opinion of some, that
they shall be according to the number of the days of the year, three hundred
and sixty five years;some say seventhousand years, and others as many as
have been from the beginning of the world; and others, as many as from
Noah;but we know the day of Christ better, and how long he was here on
earth; and whose whole time here is calledhis day; this Abraham had a very
greatdesire to see:
and he saw it and was glad; he saw it with an eye of faith, he saw it in the
promise, that in his seedall the nations of the earth should be blessed;and
when it was promised him he should have a son, which was the beginning of
the fulfilment of the other, he laughed, and therefore his son was calledIsaac,
to which some reference is here made; he saw him in the birth of his son Isaac
and rejoiced, and therefore called his name Isaac, thatis, "laughter":he saw
also Christ and his day, his sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead,
in a figure; in the binding of Isaac, in the sacrifice of the ram, and in the
receiving of Isaac, as from the dead; and he not only saw the Messiahin his

type Melchizedek, and who some think was the Son of God himself, but he
saw the secondperson, the promised Messiah, in an human form, Genesis
18:2; and all this was matter of joy and gladness to him. This brings to mind
what the Jews sayat the rejoicing at the law, when the book of the law is
brought outF26.
"Abraham rejoicedwith the rejoicing of the law, he that cometh shall come,
the branch with the joy of the law; Isaac, Jacob, Moses,Aaron, Joshua,
Samuel, David, Solomon, rejoicedwith the joy of the law; he that cometh shall
come, the branch with the joy of the law.'
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on John 8:56". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-
8.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
20 Your father Abraham t rejoicedto see my u day: and he x saw [it], and was
glad.

(20) The powerof Christ showeditself through all former ages in the fathers,
for they saw in the promises that he would come, and very joyfully laid hold of
him with a living faith.
(t) Was very desirous.
(u) A day is a space that a man lives in, or does any notable act in, or endures
any greatthing in.
(x) With the eyes of faith; (Hebrews 11:13).
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon John 8:56". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/john-8.html. 1599-
1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Abraham rejoicedto see my day, etc. — exulted, or exceedinglyrejoicedthat
he should see, he exulted to see it, that is, by anticipation. Nay,

he saw it, and was glad— he actually beheld it, to his joy. If this mean no
more than that he had a prophetic foresightof the gospel-day- the second
clause just repeating the first - how could the Jews understand our Lord to
mean that He “had seenAbraham?” And if it mean that Abraham was then
beholding, in his disembodied spirit, the incarnate Messiah[Stier, Alford,
etc.], the words seemvery unsuitable to express it. It expressessomething past
- “he saw My day, and was glad,” that is, surely while he lived. He seems to
refer to the familiar intercourse which Abraham had with God, who is once
and againin the history called“the Angel of the Lord,” and whom Christ here
identifies with Himself. On those occasions, Abraham “saw ME” (Olshausen,
though he thinks the reference is to some unrecorded scene). If this be the
meaning, all that follows is quite natural.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
8:56". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/john-8.html. 1871-8.
People's New Testament
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day... and was glad.. Saw it in
promise by prophetic vision; whether or not "Abraham was greater," he
rejoicedin the hope of the revelationof Christ.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on John 8:56". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/john-8.html.
1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Rejoiced(ηγαλλιασατο— ēgalliasato). Firstaoristmiddle indicative of
αγαλλιαομαι — agalliaomaia word of Hellenistic coinage from αγαλλομαι —
agallomaito rejoice.
To see (ινα ιδηι — hina idēi). Sub-final use of ινα — hina and secondaorist
active subjunctive of οραω — horaō This joy of Abraham is referred to in
Hebrews 11:13 (saluting, ασπασαμενοι — aspasamenoithe promises from
afar). There was a Jewishtradition that Abraham saw the whole history of his
descendants in the vision of Genesis 15:6., but that is not necessaryhere. He
did look for and welcome the Messianic time, “my day” (την ημεραν την εμην
— tēn hēmeran tēn emēn). “He saw it, and was glad” (ειδεν και εχαρη —
eiden kai echarē). Secondaoristactive indicative of οραω — horaō and second
aoristpassive indicative of χαιρω — chairō Ye see it and are angry!
Copyright Statement

The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 8:56". "Robertson'sWordPictures of
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-8.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Rejoiced( ἠγαλλιάσατο )
With exultant joy. See on 1 Peter 1:6.
To see ( ἵνα ἴδῃ )
The Greek constructionis peculiar. Literally, that he should see;i.e., in the
knowledge oranticipation that he should see.
My day
The exactmeaning of the expressionis altogetheruncertain.

Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon John 8:56". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/john-8.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
He saw it — By faith in types, figures, and promises; as particularly in
Melchisedec;in the appearance ofJehovahto him in the plains of Mamre,
Genesis 18:1;and in the promise that in his seedall the nations of the earth
shall be blessed. Possiblyhe had likewise a peculiar revelationeither of
Christ's first or secondcoming.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography

Wesley, John. "Commentary on John 8:56". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/john-8.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day1; and he saw it, and was glad.
Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day. "My day" means the
mediatorial manifestation of Messiah. Abraham saw it by faith in the
promised seed.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon John 8:56". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-
8.html. Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
To see my day; to foresee it.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon John 8:56". "Abbott's
Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/john-8.html. 1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
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
objectiondrawn from the name of Abraham “He had no other object,” says
he, “during his whole life, than to see my kingdom flourish. He longedfor me
when I was absent, you despise me when I am present.” What Christ here
asserts concerning Abraham alone, applies to all the saints. But this doctrine
has greaterweightin the personof Abraham, because he is the father of the
whole Church. Whoeverthen desires to be reckonedin the number of the
godly, let him rejoice, as he ought to do, in the presence of Christ, for which
Abraham ardently longed.
Exulted to see my day. The word exult expressesa vehement zeal (248)and
ardent affection. We must now supply the contrast. Though the knowledge of
Christ was still so obscure, Abraham was inflamed by so strong a desire, that
he preferred the enjoyment of it to everything that was reckoneddesirable.
How base then is the ingratitude of those who despise and reject him, when he
is plainly offered to them? The wordday does not, in this passage,denote
eternity, (as Augustine thought,) but the time of Christ’s kingdom, when he
appearedin the world clothedwith flesh, to fulfill the office of Redeemer.

But a question now arises, How did Abraham behold, even with the eyes of
faith, the manifestation of Christ? For this appears not to agree with another
statementof Christ,
Many kings and prophets desiredto see the things which you see,
and yet did not see them,
(Luke 10:24.)
I reply, faith has its degrees in beholding Christ. Thus the ancient prophets
beheld Christ at a distance, as he had been promised to them, and yet were
not permitted to behold him present, as he made himself familiarly and
completely visible, when he came down from heaven to men.
Again, we are taught by these words that, as God did not disappoint the desire
of Abraham, so he will not now permit any one to breathe after Christ,
without obtaining some good fruit which shall correspondto his holy desire.
The reasonwhy he does not grant the enjoyment of himself to many is — the
wickednessofmen; for few desire him. Abraham ’s joy testifies that he
regardedthe knowledge ofthe kingdom of Christ as an incomparable
treasure;and the reasonwhy we are told that herejoicedto see the day of
Christ is, that we may know that there was nothing which he valued more
highly. But all believers receive this fruit from their faith, that, being satisfied
with Christ alone, in whom they are fully and completely happy and blessed,
their consciencesare calm and cheerful. And indeed no man knows Christ
aright, unless he gives him this honor of relying entirely upon him.
Others explain it to mean, that Abraham, being already dead, enjoyed the
presence ofChrist, when he appearedto the world; and so they make the time

of desiring and the time of seeing to be different. And indeed it is true, that the
coming of Christ was manifested to holy spirits after death, of which coming
they were held in expectationduring the whole of their life; but I do not know
if so refined an exposition agrees with Christ’s words.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on John 8:56". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/john-8.html. 1840-
57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
56 Your father Abraham rejoicedto see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Ver. 56. Your father Abraham rejoicedto see]He saw it afar off, and saluted
it, ασπασαμενοι, Hebrews 11:13. His goodold heart dancedlevaltos within
him, as children use to dance about a bonfire (so the word ηγαλλιασατο
signifies), with an exuberance of joy, that joy of faith. The Fathers saythat he
saw Christ’s birth at the valley of Mamre, Genesis 18:1-16,and his passionin
the mount Moriah, Genesis 22:3-14
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 8:56". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-8.html.
1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
John 8:56
Christ's Day, or Christmas Joys
I. The text does not tell us that Abraham had any distinct foresightof the
manner of Christ's birth. That was a mystery which remained lockedup in
the secretchambers of God's counsels, until it seemedgoodto the Holy Ghost
to reveal it to the prophet Isaiah. But the meaning of the words My day in the
text must clearlybe the day or seasonofChrist's coming, and dwelling upon
earth, the day or seasonofthat earthly life into which He entered. This, then,
is the day which our father Abraham rejoicedthat he was to see, the day of
the coming of Him in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, the
day of Christ's coming to dwell upon earth, in order that He might deliver
mankind from their sins.
II. If we have the spirit of Abraham, if we have the faith of Abraham, we must
rejoice, as Abraham rejoiced, in the thought that we are to see Christ's day.

The Christian is to rejoice atthe coming of Christ, because He who is the
Lord of light and life brings both one and the other. This He did, when He
first came, to the whole world. The whole world was lying in darkness and in
the shadow of death, when the Sun of righteousness arose andturned its
darkness into light, its night into day. The whole world was rotten at heart
and palsiedin all its limbs, when Christ came and breathed His spirit into it,
and said, "Arise and walk." And as it was with the whole world, when Christ
first came as on this day to deliver it out of its deadly darkness, so is it still
with the soulof every one to whom Christ comes for the first time. These,
then, are the reasons whywe are to rejoice in the coming of Christ; that,
whereas without Christ we are blind, Christ opens our eyes and enables us to
see;that whereas withoutChrist we are deaf, Christ enables us to hear; that
whereas without Christ we are in darkness and know not where we are nor
whither we go, Christ sheds the clearest, brightestlight both upon us and
upon everything around us: that, further, whereas without Christ we are
bound with the chains of sin, Christ came to burst those chains and to deliver
us into the glorious liberty of the children of God; in a word that, whereas
without Christ we are without God in the world, Christ has set us at one with
God—that, whereas without Christ we are at war with God, with eachother,
and with ourselves, Christcame to bring us peace with ourselves, with each
other, and with God.
J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church, p. 111.
References:John 8:56.—Clergyman's Magazine,vol. iv., p. 20;Homilist, 3rd
series, vol. iii., p. 151.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on John 8:56". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/john-
8.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 8:56. Your FatherAbraham rejoiced, &c.— When the figurative word
day is used not to express the period of any one's existence, but to denote his
peculiar office and employment, it must needs signify that very circumstance
in his life which is the characteristic ofsuch office or employment: but Jesus is
here speaking ofhis peculiar office and employment, as appears from the
occasionofthe debate, which was his saying, if any man keepmy
commandments, he shall never taste of death; intimating thereby the virtue of
his office as Redeemer. Therefore, by the word day, must needs be meant that
characteristic circumstanceofhis life; but that circumstance was the laying it
down for the redemption of mankind; consequently, by the word day, is
meant the greatsacrifice ofChrist. But not only the matter, but the manner
likewise ofthis greatrevelation, is delivered in the text; Abraham rejoicedto
SEE my day: this evidently shews it to have been made not merely by
revelation in words, but by representationin action. The Greek word
rendered to see, is frequently used in the New Testamentin its proper
signification, for to see sensibly;but whether used literallyor figuratively, it
always denotes a full intention. That the expressionwas as strong in the Syriac
language, as in the Greek of this inspired historian, appears from the reply
which the Jews made to our Lord; Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast
thou SEEN Abraham? which plainly intimated, that theyunderstood the
assertionofAbraham's seeing Christ's day, to mean a realbeholding him in
person. We may therefore conclude from the words of the text, that the
redemption of mankind was not only revealedto Abraham, but revealed

likewise by representation:and we have shewnin the notes on Genesis 22 that
the command to offer up Isaac was the very revelation of Christ's day, or of
the redemption of mankind by his death and sufferings. St. Chrysostom, in his
comment on this place, says, "Christ, by the word day, seems to signify that of
his crucifixion, which was typified in the offering up of Isaac and the ram."
Erasmus says likewise, "Jesus meant, by these dark passages,that Abraham,
when he was preparing to offer up his son Isaac, saw ourLord's being
delivered up to the death of the cross forthe redemption of mankind." We are
sure that Abraham had in fact this desire highly raisedin him: the verb
ηγαλλιαστατοsignifies to leap forward with joy to meet the objectof one's
wishes, as wellas to exult in the possessionthereof. Accordingly, the ancient
versions, particularly the Syriac, render it by words which express earnest
desire; and after them the best critics translate it, earnestly desiredινα ιδη,
that he might see;which implies, that the period of his desires was in the space
betweenthe promise made, and the actualperformance of it by the delivery of
the command; consequently, that it was granted at his request. The text
plainly distinguishes two different periods of joy; the first, when it was
promised that he should see;the second, when he actually saw:and it is to be
observed, that according to the exactuse of the word rendered rejoiced, which
is noted above, it implies that tumultuous pleasure which the certain
expectationof an approaching blessing, understood only in thegross,
occasions;and the word rendered was glad, that calm and settled joy which
arises from our knowledge and acquiescencein the possessionof it: but the
translators, perhaps, not apprehending that there was any time betweenthe
grant to see, and the act of seeing, turned it, he rejoicedto see. Fromthe
following words of this verse it will appear, that Abraham, at the time when
the command to sacrifice his son was given, knew it to be that revelation
which he had so earnestlyrequested. He saw it and was glad. Thus our Lord
plainly and peremptorily assumedthe characterofthe Messiah.
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