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![JOHN 7 COMMENTARY
Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles
1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He
did not want[a] to go about in Judea because the
Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to
kill him.
BARNES, "After these things - After the transactions which are recorded in the
last chapters had taken place, and after the offence he had given the Jews. See Joh_
5:18.
Jesus walked - Or Jesus lived, or taught. He traveled around Galilee teaching.
In Jewry - In Judea, the southern division of Palestine. Compare the notes at
Joh_4:3.
The Jews sought - That is, the rulers of the Jews. It does not appear that the
common people ever attempted to take his life.
CLARKE, "After these things - St. John passes from the preceding discourse
of our Lord, which he delivered a little before the passover, Joh_6:4, to the Feast of
Tabernacles, which happened six months after, and thus omits many things
mentioned by the other evangelists, which our blessed Lord said and did during that
time. He had already gone over Galilee four or five times; and he continued there,
because he found that the hatred of the Jews was such that they would kill him if they
could meet with him in Judea; and his time to suffer was not yet come.
For he would not walk in Jewry - Instead of this, some MSS., versions, and
fathers read, ουγαρ ειχεν εξουσιαν, he had not authority, or liberty to walk, etc. That
is, he was no longer tolerated, and could not preach publicly in Judea, but at the risk
of his life. He found greater scope for the exercise of his important ministry in Galilee
than in Judea, as the chief priests, etc., were continually plotting his death.
GILL, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee,.... That is, after he had fed
the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, near Bethsaida; and had had that
long discourse with the Jews at Capernaum, concerning himself, as the bread of life,
and about eating his flesh, and drinking his blood; and had been up to the feast of the
passover at Jerusalem, said to be nigh, when he went over the sea of Galilee, Joh_
6:4; otherwise the above places were in Galilee: but the case seems to be this, that
after he had been at Capernaum, he went to Jerusalem, to keep the passover; and
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![6. Christ goes up to the Feast: verse 10.
7. The attitude of men toward Christ: verses 11-13.
John 7 begins a new section of this fourth Gospel. Our Lord’s ministry in Galilee
was now over, though He still remained there, because the Judeans sought to kill
Him. The annual Feast of tabernacles was at hand, and His brethren were
anxious for Christ to go up to Jerusalem, and there give a public display of His
miraculous powers. To this request the Savior made a reply which at first glance
appears enigmatical. He bids His brethren go up to the Feast, but excuses
Himself on the ground that His time was not yet fully come. After their
departure, He abode still in Galilee. But very shortly after, He, too, goes up to the
Feast; as it were in secret. The Jews who wished to kill Him, sought but were
unable to discover Him. Among the people He formed the principal subject of
discussion, some of whom considered Him a good man, others regarding Him as
a deceiver. And then, in verse 14 we are told, "Now about the midst of the feast
Jesus went up into the temple, and taught." Such is a brief summary of the
passage which is to be before us.
That our passage will present a number of real difficulties to the cursory reader
is not to be denied, and perhaps the more diligent student may not be able to
clear up all of them. The simplest and often the most effective way of studying a
portion of God’s Word is to draw up a list of questions upon it. This will insure a
more definite approach: it will save us from mere generalizations: it will reveal
the particular points upon which we need to seek God’s help.
Who are meant by "his brethren"? (verse 3)—brethren who did not "believe in
him" (verse 5). To what did Christ refer when He said, "My time is not yet
come" (verse 6)? Why did Christ refuse to go up to the Feast with His brethren
(verse 8)? And why, after saying that His time was not yet come, did He go to the
Feast at all (verse 10)? What is meant by "He went not openly, but as it were in
secret" (verse 10)? If He went up to the Feast "as it were in secret," why did He,
about the midst of the Feast, go into the temple, and teach (verse 14)? These are
some of the more pertinent and important questions which will naturally occur
to the inquiring mind.
It should be obvious that the central item in our passage is the Feast itself,[1] and
in the scriptural significance of this Feast of tabernacles must be sought the
solution of most of our difficulties here. It will be necessary, then, to compare
carefully the leading scriptures which treat of this Feast, and then shall we be the
better able to understand what is before us. Having made these preliminary
remarks we shall now turn to our passage and offer an exposition of it according
to the measure of light which God has been pleased to grant us upon it.
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee" (John 7:1). The first three words
intimate that a new section of the Gospel commences here—cf. John 6:1 and our
comments thereon. "After these things" probably has a double reference. In its
more general significance, it points back to the whole of His Galilean ministry,
now ended. There is a peculiar and significant arrangement of the contents of the
first seven chapters of John: a strange alternating between Judea and Galilee. In
John 1 the scene is laid in Judea (see verse 28); but in John 2:1-12 Christ is seen
in Galilee. In John 2:13 we are told that "Jesus went up to Jerusalem," and He
remained in its vicinity till we reach John 4:3, where we are told, "He left Judea,
and departed again into Galilee." Then, in verse 1, we read, "Jesus went up to
Jerusalem," and He is viewed there to the end of the chapter. But in John 6:1 we
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![unto a country near to the wilderness," etc. It will thus appear that our Lord
used prudence and care to avoid persecution and danger till His time was fully
come; so it is our duty to endeavor by all wise means and precautions to protect
and preserve ourselves, that we may have opportunities for further service.
"Now the Jews’s feast of tabernacles was at hand" (John 7:2). By comparing this
verse with John 6:4 it will be seen that upwards of six months is spanned by
John 6 to 7:1. John 6:4 says the Passover was nigh, and from Leviticus 23:5 we
learn that this Feast was kept in the first month of the Jewish year: whereas
Leviticus 23:34 tells us that the Feast of tabernacles was celebrated in the seventh
month. How evident it is then that John was something more than an historian.
Surely it is plain that the Holy Spirit has recorded what He has in this fourth
Gospel (as in the others) according to a principle of selection, and in consonance
with a definite design.
"Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand." As already intimated, it will
be necessary for us to give careful attention to the leading scriptures of the Old
Testament on the Feast of tabernacles, that we may ascertain its historical and
typical significance, and thus be the better prepared to understand the details of
the passage now before us.
Leviticus 23 reveals the fact that there were seven Feasts in Israel’s religious
calendar, but there were three of these which were singled out as of special
importance. This we gather from Deuteronomy 16:16, where it is recorded that
Jehovah said to Israel, "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before
the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose i.e. in the tabernacle, and
afterwards the temple; in the feast of unleavened bread inseparably connected
with the passover, and in the feast of weeks i.e. pentecost, and in the feast of
tabernacles." We reserve a brief comment on the first two of these, until we have
considered the third.
The first time the Feast of tabernacles is mentioned by name is in Leviticus 23,
namely, in verses 34-36 and 39-44. As this passage is too long for us to quote here
in full, we would request the reader to turn and read it through carefully before
going farther. We give now a brief summary of its prominent features. First, the
Feast began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (verse 34). Second, it was a
"holy convocation," when Israel was to offer "an offering made by fire unto the
Lord" (verse 36). Third, it lasted for eight days (verse 39). Fourth, those who
celebrated this Feast were to take "boughs of goodly trees" (verse 40). Fifth, they
were to "rejoice before the Lord their God seven days" (verse 40). Sixth, they
were to "dwell in booths" (verse 42). Seventh, the purpose of this was to
memorialize the fact that "Jehovah made their fathers to dwell in booths, when
he brought them out of the land of Egypt" (verse 43). In Numbers 29:12-40 we
have a detailed record of the ritual or sacrificial requirements connected with
this Feast.
Though Leviticus 23 is the first time the Feast of tabernacles is mentioned by
name, there is one earlier reference to it, namely, in Exodus 23:16, where it is
termed the Feast of Ingathering,[2] "which is the end of the year (i.e. of the
sacred calendar of Feasts), when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the
field." The Feast of tabernacles, then, was the grand Harvest Festival, when the
Lord of the harvest was praised for all His temporal mercies. This one was the
most joyous Feast of the year. It was not observed by Israel till after they had
entered and settled in Canaan: their dwelling in booths at this Feast
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![wilderness, and a figure of the tabernacle state of God's spiritual Israel in this world.
This feast, which was instituted so many hundred years before, was still religiously
observed. Note, Divine institutions are never antiquated, nor go out of date, by length
of time: nor must wilderness mercies ever be forgotten. But it is called the Jews'
feast, because it was now shortly to be abolished, as a mere Jewish thing, and left to
them that served the tabernacle.
CALVIN, "2.Now a feast of the Jews was at hand. Though I do not affirm it, yet
it is probable that this happened during the second year after Christ’s baptism.
As to this feast, which the Evangelist mentions, it is not necessary at present to
say much. For what purpose and use it was enjoined, Moses shows, (Leviticus
23:34.) It was, that by this annual ceremony the Jews might call to remembrance,
that their fathers lived forty years in tabernacles, when they had no houses, that
they might thus celebrate the grace of God displayed in their deliverance. We
have formerly said that there were two reasons why Christ came to Jerusalem
during this feast. One was, that, being subject to the Law, in order to redeem us
all from its bondage, he wished to omit no part of the observation of it; and the
other was, that, amidst a numerous and extraordinary assemblage of people, he
had a better opportunity of advancing the Gospel. But now the Evangelist relates
that Christ kept himself in retirement at Galilee, as if he did not intend to come
to Jerusalem.
LIGHTFOOT, "2. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
[The Jews' feast of Tabernacles.] Tisri. Let us draw down this month from its
beginning to this feast of Tabernacles:
1. "The first day of the month Tisri was the beginning of the year, for stating the
years, the intermissions of the seventh year, and the jubilees."
Upon this day was the 'blowing of trumpets,' Leviticus 23:24; and persons were
sent out to give notice of the beginning of the year. On this day began the year of
the world 3960, in the middle of which year Christ was crucified.
2. The second day; observed also as holy by the Jews that were in Babylon, that
they might be sure not to miss the beginning of the year.
3. A fast for the murder of Gedaliah: for so they expound those words, (Zech
8:19) "the fast of the seventh month."
4. This day was the high priest in the apartment to which he then betook himself
from his own house, that he might inure himself by exercise to the rites of the
day of Atonement approaching, and be ready and fitted for the service of that
day. "Seven days before the day of Expiation they sequestered the chief priest
from his own house, and shut him up into an apartment, substituting to him
another priest, lest accidentally there should some sort of uncleanness befall
him."
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![22. The eighth day. One young bullock offered.
Upon all these days there was a pouring out of water upon the altar with wine (a
thing not used at any other time); and for the sake of that, great joy, and singing,
and dancing; such as was not all the year besides.
"At the close of the first day of the feast, they went down into the Court of the
Women, and there prepared a great stage." [That is, benches on which the
women stood above, and the men below.] "Golden candlesticks were there" fixed
to the walls: "over these were golden cups, to which were four ladders set; by
which four of the younger priests went up, having bottles in their hands that
contained a hundred and twenty logs, which they emptied into every cup. Of the
rags of the garments and girdles of the priests, they made wicks to light those
lamps; and there was not a street throughout all Jerusalem that did not shine
with that light."
"The religious and devout danced before them, having lighted torches in their
hands, and sang songs and doxologies. The Levites with harps, psalteries,
cymbals, and other instruments of music without number, stood upon those
fifteen steps by which they went down from the Court of the Women, according
to the fifteen psalms of degrees, and sang. Two priests also stood in the upper
gate, which goes down from the Court of Israel to the Court of the Women, with
two trumpets in their hands. When the cock crew [or the president gave his
signal], the trumpets sounded: when they came to the tenth step, they sounded
again: when they came to the court they sounded: when they came to the
pavement they sounded: and so went on sounding the trumpets till they came to
the east gate of the court. When they came thither, they turned their faces from
the east to west, and said, 'Our fathers in this place, turning their backs upon the
Temple, and their faces towards the east, worshipped the sun; but we turn our
faces to God,'" &c.
"The Rabbins have a tradition. Some of them while they were dancing said,
'Blessed be our youth, for that they have not made our old men ashamed.' These
were the religious, and men of good works. And some said, 'Blessed be our old
men, that have made atonement for our youth.' And both one and the other said,
'Blessed be he who hath not sinned; and he who hath, let it be forgiven him.'"
As to the reason of this mirth and pleasantness, we shall see more in our notes on
verse 38.
BURKITT, “Verse 2
There were three great feasts which the Jews celebrated every year; namely, the
feast of the passover, the feast of pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles; this last
was observed in the month of September, after they had gathered in the fruits of
the earth; whence it was also called the feast of ingathering: at this feast they
went out of their houses, and dwelt in booths seven days, in remembrance of
their living in tents or booths in the wilderness for forty years together, before
they came to Canaan. Now the institution of this feast, being to call the Israelites
to the remembrance of their former condition in the wilderness, teaches us how
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![depart hence: which is the language of carnal men, who desire not the company of
Christ, nor the knowledge of his ways; and like the Gergesenes, who preferred their
swine to Christ, and desired him to depart out of their coasts:
and go into Judea; among his most inveterate enemies, who sought to take away
his life; and which doubtless they knew; which showed a quite different regard to
him, from that of his true disciples, Joh_11:7, for which they give some plausible
reasons:
that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest: meaning not his
twelve disciples, who were now with him, but the disciples he had made, and
baptized in Judea, Joh_4:1. Or his disciples in the several parts of the land, who
would all be at Jerusalem, at the feast of tabernacles; and so, should he go, would
have an opportunity of seeing his miracles, and thereby be the more confirmed in the
faith of him,
HENRY, "III. Christ's discourse with his brethren, some of his kindred, whether
by his mother or his supposed father is not certain; but they were such as pretended
to have an interest in him, and therefore interposed to advise him in his conduct.
And observe,
1. Their ambition and vain-glory in urging him to make a more public appearance
than he did: “Depart hence,” said they, “and go into Judea (Joh_7:3), where thou
wilt make a better figure than thou canst here.”
(1.) They give two reasons for this advice: [1.] That it would be an encouragement
to those in and about Jerusalem who had a respect for him; for, expecting his
temporal kingdom, the royal seat of which they concluded must be at Jerusalem, they
would have had the disciples there particularly countenanced, and thought the time
he spent among his Galilean disciples wasted and thrown away, and his miracles
turning to no account unless those at Jerusalem saw them. Or, “That thy disciples, all
of them in general, who will be gathered at Jerusalem to keep the feast, may see thy
works, and not, as here, a few at one time and a few at another.” [2.] That it would be
for the advancement of his name and honour: There is no man that does any thing in
secret if he himself seeks to be known openly. They took it for granted that Christ
sought to make himself known, and therefore thought it absurd for him to conceal
his miracles: “If thou do these things, if thou be so well able to gain the applause of
the people and the approbation of the rulers by thy miracles, venture abroad, and
show thyself to the world. Supported with these credentials, thou canst not fail of
acceptance, and therefore it is high time to set up for an interest, and to think of
being great.”
JAMIESON, "His brethren said — (See on Mat_13:54-56).
Depart ... into Judea, etc. — In Joh_7:5 this speech is ascribed to their
unbelief. But as they were in the “upper room” among the one hundred and twenty
disciples who waited for the descent of the Spirit after the Lord’s ascension (Act_
1:14), they seem to have had their prejudices removed, perhaps after His
resurrection. Indeed here their language is more that of strong prejudice and
suspicion (such as near relatives, even the best, too frequently show in such cases),
than from unbelief. There was also, probably, a tincture of vanity in it. “Thou hast
many disciples in Judea; here in Galilee they are fast dropping off; it is not like one
who advances the claims Thou dost to linger so long here, away from the city of our
solemnities, where surely ‘the kingdom of our father David’ is to be set up: ‘seeking,’
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![that all may applaud thee, direct towards thee the eyes of all. And they add, show
thyself to the world, using the word world, as contrasted with the small number
of persons among whom he was spending his time without honor. We might also
draw from it another meaning. “If thou dost these things, that is, since thou art
endued with so great power as to procure reputation for thyself by miracles, do
not throw them away; for all that has been given to thee by God thou spendest
here to no purpose, because there are none to bear thee testimony, or to hold thee
in just estimation.” Hence we perceive how great is the indolence of men in
considering the works of God; for the relations of Christ would never have
spoken in this manner, if they had not — as it were — trampled under foot the
manifest proofs of his Divine power, which they ought to have beheld with the
greatest admiration and reverence. What is here told us concerning Christ
happens in daily experience, that the children of God suffer greater annoyance
from their near relations than from strangers; for they are instruments of Satan
which tempt, sometimes to ambition, and sometimes to avarice, those who desire
to serve God purely and faithfully. But such Satans receive a vigorous repulse
from Christ, who thus instructs us by his example, that we ought not to yield to
the foolish wishes of brethren or relations. (179)
LIGHTFOOT, "4. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he
himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the
world.
[In secret; openly.] these brethren of Christ, whoever they were, did not as yet
believe; because they saw him live so obscure, and did not behave himself with
that pomp and outward appearance which they expected in the Messiah. And
therefore they persuade him to go into Judea, where he had baptized most
disciples, John 3:22, that, upon the lustre of his miracles, he might shine with
greater splendour and
5 For even his own brothers did not believe in
him.
CLARKE, "Neither did his brethren believe in him - They did not receive
him as the promised Messiah; but, having seen so many of his miracles, they could
not but consider him as an eminent prophet. They supposed that, if he were the
Messiah, he would wish to manifest himself as such to the world; and, because he did
not do so, they did not believe that he was the salvation of Israel.
GILL, "For neither did his brethren believe in him. At first they might take
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![to him, and embrace him as the Messiah, and expect he would set up a temporal
kingdom; in which they might hope, on account of their relation to him, according to
the flesh to enjoy great honours and privileges; but finding that he was not inclined
to anything of that nature, and talked in a quite different way, they grew sick of him,
and rejected him, as the Messiah; so, little regard is to be had, or confidence placed,
in carnal descent from, or alliance to the best of men; as to Abraham, or any other
true believer, if they have not the same grace, or the same faith as such have; and
which comes not by blood, or natural generation, but by the free favour of God; for it
matters not, if men have known Christ, or have been allied to him after the flesh,
unless they are new creatures in him; they may be the one, and not the other; even
the carnal brethren of Christ, and yet not believers in him; and it is only such who are
so in a spiritual sense, that are regarded by him, Mat_12:49.
HENRY, "(2.) One would not think there was any harm in this advice, and yet the
evangelist noted it is an evidence of their infidelity: For neither did his brethren
believe in him (Joh_7:5), if they had, they would not have said this. Observe, [1.] It
was an honour to be of the kindred of Christ, but no saving honour; they that hear
his word and keep it are the kindred he values. Surely grace runs in no blood in the
world, when not in that of Christ's family. [2.] It was a sign that Christ did not aim at
any secular interest, for then his kindred would have struck in with him, and he
would have secured them first. [3.] There were those who were akin to Christ
according to the flesh who did believe in him (three of the twelve were his brethren),
and yet others, as nearly allied to him as they, did not believe in him. Many that have
the same external privileges and advantages do not make the same use of them. But,
(3.) What was there amiss in the advice which they gave him? I answer, [1.] It was
a piece of presumption for them to prescribe to Christ, and to teach him what
measures to take; it was a sign that they did not believe him able to guide them, when
they did not think him sufficient to guide himself. [2.] They discovered a great
carelessness about his safety, when they would have him go to Judea, where they
knew the Jews sought to kill him. Those that believed in him, and loved him,
dissuaded him from Judea, Joh_11:8. [3.] Some think they hoped that if his miracles
were wrought at Jerusalem the Pharisees and rulers would try them, and discover
some cheat in them, which would justify their unbelief. So. Dr. Whitby. [4.] Perhaps
they were weary of his company in Galilee (for are not all these that speak
Galileans?) and this was, in effect, a desire that he would depart out of their coasts.
[5.] They causelessly insinuate that he neglected his disciples, and denied them such
a sight of his works as was necessary to the support of their faith. [6.] They tacitly
reproach him as mean-spirited, that he durst not enter the lists with the great men,
nor trust himself upon the stage of public action, which, if he had any courage and
greatness of soul, he would do, and not sneak thus and skulk in a corner; thus
Christ's humility, and his humiliation, and the small figure which his religion has
usually made in the world, have been often turned to the reproach of both him and it.
[7.] They seem to question the truth of the miracles he wrought, in saying, “If thou do
these things, if they will bear the test of a public scrutiny in the courts above, produce
them there.” [8.] They think Christ altogether such a one as themselves, as subject as
they to worldly policy, and as desirous as they to make a fair show in the flesh;
whereas he sought not honour from men. [9.] Self was at the bottom of all; they
hoped, if he would make himself as great as he might, they, being his kinsmen,
should share in his honour, and have respect paid them for his sake. Note, First,
Many carnal people go to public ordinances, to worship at the feast, only to show
themselves, and all their care is to make a good appearance, to present themselves
handsomely to the world. Secondly, Many that seem to seek Christ's honour do really
therein seek their own, and make it serve a turn for themselves.
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![arguments used with him, to go up to the feast:
my time is not yet come; meaning, not the time of his death, or of his exaltation
and glorification, or of the showing of himself forth unto the world; though all this
was true; but of his going up to this feast; as appears from Joh_7:8;
but your time is always ready; intimating, they might go at any time; their lives
were not in any danger, as his was, and had nothing to consult about the preservation
of them; it was all one to them when they went up, whether before the feast, that they
might be ready for it, or at the beginning, middle, or end of it, as to any notice that
would be taken of them, unless they should be guilty of an omission of their duty; but
not on any other account; which was not his case.
HENRY 6-8, "2. The prudence and humility of our Lord Jesus, which appeared in
his answer to the advice his brethren gave him, Joh_7:6-8. Though there were so
many base insinuations in it, he answered them mildly. Note, Even that which is said
without reason should be answered without passion; we should learn of our Master
to reply with meekness even to that which is most impertinent and imperious, and,
where it is easy to find much amiss, to seem not to see it, and wink at the affront.
They expected Christ's company with them to the feast, perhaps hoping he would
bear their charges: but here,
(1.) He shows the difference between himself and them, in two things: - [1.] His
time was set, so was not theirs: My time is not yet come, but your time is always
ready. Understand it of the time of his going up to the feast. It was an indifferent
thing to them when they went, for they had nothing of moment to do either where
they were, to detain them there, or where they were going, to hasten them thither;
but every minute of Christ's time was precious, and had its own particular business
allotted to it. He had some work yet to do in Galilee before he left the country: in the
harmony of the gospels betwixt this motion made by his kindred and his going up to
this feast comes in the story of his sending forth the seventy disciples (Luk_10:1,
etc.), which was an affair of very great consequence; his time is not yet, for that must
be done first. Those who live useless lives have their time always ready; they can go
and come when they please. But those whose time is filled up with duty will often
find themselves straitened, and they have not yet time for that which others can do
at any time. Those who are made the servants of God, as all men are, and who have
made themselves the servants of all, as all useful men have, must not expect not covet
to be masters of their own time. The confinement of business is a thousand times
better than the liberty of idleness. or, it may be meant of the time of his appearing
publicly at Jerusalem; Christ, who knows all men and all things, knew that the best
and most proper time for it would be about the middle of the feast. We, who are
ignorant and short-sighted, are apt to prescribe to him, and to think he should
deliver his people, and so show himself now. The present time is our time, but he is
fittest to judge, and, it may be, his time is not yet come; his people are not yet ready
for deliverance, nor his enemies ripe for ruin; let us therefore wait with patience for
his time, for all he does will be most glorious in its season. [2.] His life was sought, so
was not theirs, Joh_7:7. They, in showing themselves to the world, did not expose
themselves: “The world cannot hate you, for you are of the world, its children, its
servants, and in with its interests; and no doubt the world will love its own;” see
Joh_15:19. Unholy souls, whom the holy God cannot love, the world that lies in
wickedness cannot hate; but Christ, in showing himself to the world, laid himself
open to the greatest danger; for me it hateth. Christ was not only slighted, as
inconsiderable in the world (the world knew him not), but hated, as if he had been
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![When the Spirit shall come, he will reprove the world of sin,
(John 16:8.)
We learn from it also, that so great is the pride natural to men, that they flatter
and applaud themselves in their vices; for they would not kindle into rage, when
they are reproved, were it not that they are blinded by excessive love of
themselves, and on that account flatter themselves in their sins. Even among the
vices of men, the chief and most dangerous is pride and arrogance. The Holy
Spirit alone softens us, so as to endure reproofs patiently, and thus to offer
ourselves willingly to be slain by the sword of the Church.
8 You go to the festival. I am not[b] going up to
this festival, because my time has not yet fully
come.”
BARNES, "I go not up yet - Jesus remained until about the middle of the feast,
Joh_7:14. That is, he remained about four days after his brethren had departed, or
until the mass of the people had gone up, so that his going might excite no attention,
and that it might not be said he chose such a time to excite a tumult. We have here a
signal instance of our Lord’s prudence and opposition to parade. Though it would
have been lawful for him to go up at that time, and though it would have been a
favorable period to make himself known, yet he chose to forego these advantages
rather than to afford an occasion of envy and jealousy to the rulers, or to appear even
to excite a tumult among the people.
CLARKE, "I go not up yet unto this feast - Porphyry accuses our blessed
Lord of falsehood, because he said here, I will not go to this feast, and yet afterwards
he went; and some interpreters have made more ado than was necessary, in order to
reconcile this seeming contradiction. To me the whole seems very simple and plain.
Our Lord did not say, I will not go to this feast; but merely, I go not yet, ουπω, or am
not going, i.e. at present; because, as he said Joh_7:6, and repeats here, his time was
not yet come - he had other business to transact before he could go. And it is very
likely that his business detained him in Galilee till the feast was half over: for we do
not find him at Jerusalem till the middle of the feast, Joh_7:14, i.e. till the feast had
been begun four days. He might also be unwilling to go at that time, there being such
a great concourse of people on the road to Jerusalem, and his enemies might say that
he had availed himself of this time and multitude in order to excite sedition.
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![GILL, "Go we up unto this feast,.... Suggesting, that he would not have them
stay for him, or hinder themselves on his account: he encourages them to go up, and
observe this festival; for the ceremonial law was not yet abolished; and though they
were carnal men, and did not understand what it typified: and so unregenerate
persons ought to attend on the outward means, as the hearing of the word, &c.
though they do not understand it; it may be God may make use of it, for the
enlightening of their minds; and blessed are they that wait at Wisdom's gates, and
there find Christ, and life and salvation by him:
I go not up yet unto this feast; this clause, in one of Beza's copies, is wholly left
out; and in some, the word "this" is not read; and in others it is read, "I go not up
unto this feast"; leaving out the word "yet"; and so read the Vulgate Latin and
Ethiopic versions; and the Persic version only, "I do not go up"; which occasioned
Porphyry, that great enemy of Christianity, to reproach Christ, as guilty of
inconstancy, or of an untruth, since he afterwards did go up: but in almost all the
ancient copies the word is read; and so it is by Chrysostom and Nonnus; and to the
same sense the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "I do not go up now to this
feast"; that is, just at that very time, that very day or hour: which is entirely
consistent with what is afterwards said,
for my time is not yet full come; not to die, or to be glorified, but to go up to the
feast.
HENRY, "(2.) He dismisses them, with a design to stay behind for some time in
Galilee (Joh_7:8): Go you up to this feast, I go not up yet. [1.] He allows their going
to the feast, though they were carnal and hypocritical in it. Note, Even those who go
not to holy ordinances with right affections and sincere intentions must not be
hindered nor discouraged from going; who knows but they may be wrought upon
there? [2.] He denies them his company when they went to the feast, because they
were carnal and hypocritical. Those who go to ordinances for ostentation, or to serve
some secular purpose, go without Christ, and will speed accordingly. How sad is the
condition of that man, though he reckon himself akin to Christ, to whom he saith,
“Go up to such an ordinance, Go pray, Go hear the word, Go receive the sacrament,
but I go not up with thee? Go thou and appear before God, but I will not appear for
thee,” as Exo_33:1-3. But, if the presence of Christ go not with us, to what purpose
should we go up? Go you up, I go not up. When we are going to, or coming fRom.
solemn ordinances, it becomes us to be careful what company we have and choose,
and to avoid that which is vain and carnal, lest the coal of good affections be
quenched by corrupt communication. I go not up yet to this feast; he does not say, I
will not go up at all, but not yet. There may be reasons for deferring a particular duty,
which yet must not be wholly omitted or laid aside; see Num_9:6-11. The reason he
gives is, My time is not yet fully come. Note, Our Lord Jesus is very exact and
punctual in knowing and keeping his time, and, as it was the time fixed, so it was the
best time.
LIGHTFOOT, "8. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for
my time is not yet full come.
[I go not up yet unto this feast.] That passage in St. Luke, chapter 9:51, "When
the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go
to Jerusalem" must have relation to this story; as will be very evident to any one
that will study the harmony of the gospel; especially if they observe, that this
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![might be the case of the far greater part; or through fear of the Jews; or because that
he was so well known.
HENRY, "5. The great expectation that there was of him among the Jews at
Jerusalem, Joh_7:11-14. Having formerly come up to the feasts, and signalized
himself by the miracles he wrought, he had made himself the subject of much
discourse and observation.
(1.) They could not but think of him (Joh_7:11): The Jews sought him at the feast,
and said, Where is he? [1.] The common people longed to see him there, that they
might have their curiosity gratified with the sight of his person and miracles. They
did not think it worth while to go to him into Galilee, though if they had they would
not have lost their labour, but they hoped the feast would bring him to Jerusalem,
and then they should see him. If an opportunity of acquaintance with Christ come to
their door, they can like it well enough. They sought him at the feast. When we
attend upon God in his holy ordinances, we should seek Christ in them, seek him at
the gospel feasts. Those who would see Christ at a feast must seek him there. Or, [2.]
Perhaps it was his enemies that were thus waiting an opportunity to seize him, and, if
possible, to put an effectual stop to his progress. They said, Where is he? pou esin
ekeinos - where is that fellow? Thus scornfully and contemptibly do they speak of
him. When they should have welcomed the feast as an opportunity of serving God,
they were glad of it as an opportunity of persecuting Christ. Thus Saul hoped to slay
David at the new moon, 1Sa_20:27. Those who seek opportunity to sin in solemn
assemblies for religious worship profane God's ordinances to the last degree, and
defy him upon his own ground; it is like striking within the verge of the court.
JAMIESON 11-13, "Jews — the rulers.
sought him — for no good end.
Where is He? — He had not been at Jerusalem for probably a year and a half.
CALVIN, "11.The Jews therefore sought him. Here we ought to consider what
was the condition of the Church. For the Jews, at that time, gaped for the
promised redemption like hungry men; yet, when Christ appears to them, they
remain in suspense. Hence arose that murmuring and that variety of opinions.
That they whisper secretly is an indication of the tyranny which the priests and
scribes exercised over them. It is a shocking exhibition, indeed, that this Church,
which was at that time the only Church on earth, is here represented to us as a
confused and shapeless chaos. (184) They who rule, instead of pastors, hold the
people oppressed by fear and terror, and throughout the whole body there is
shameful desolation and lamentable disorder. By the Jews he means the common
people, who, having been accustomed for two years to hear Christ, inquire about
him, because he does not appear according to his custom. For when they say,
Where is he? they describe a man whom they knew, and yet that word shows
that they had not yet been earnestly moved, and that they always remained in
doubt and suspense.
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![Christ, but concerning him; some murmured at the rulers, because they did not
countenance and encourage him: others murmured at them, because they did not
silence and restrain him. Some murmured that he had so great an interest in Galilee;
others, that he had so little interest in Jerusalem. Note, Christ and his religion have
been, and will be, the subject of much controversy and debate, Luk_12:51, Luk_
12:52. If all would agree to entertain Christ as they ought, there would be perfect
peace; but, when some receive the light and others resolve against it, there will be
murmuring. The bones in the valley, while they were dead and dry, lay quiet; but
when it was said unto them, Live, there was a noise and a shaking, Eze_37:7. But the
noise and rencounter of liberty and business are preferable, surely, to the silence and
agreement of a prison. Now what were the sentiments of the people concerning him?
[1.] Some said, he is a good man. This was a truth, but it was far short of being the
whole truth. He was not only a good man, but more than a man, he was the Son of
God. Many who have no ill thoughts of Christ have yet low thoughts of him, and
scarcely honour him, even when they speak well of him, because they do not say
enough; yet indeed it was his honour, and the reproach of those who persecuted him,
that even those who would not believe him to be the Messiah could not but own he
was a good man. [2.] Others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people; if this had been
true, he had been a very bad man. The doctrine he preached was sound, and could
not be contested; his miracles were real, and could not be disproved; his
conversation was manifestly holy and good; and yet it must be taken for granted,
notwithstanding, that there was some undiscovered cheat at the bottom, because it
was the interest of the chief priests to oppose him and run him down. Such
murmuring as there was among the Jews concerning Christ there is still among us:
the Socinians say, He is a good man, and further they say not; the deists will not
allow this, but say, He deceived the people. Thus some depreciate him, others abuse
him, but great is the truth. [3
JAMIESON, "much murmuring — buzzing.
among the people — the multitudes; the natural expression of a Jewish writer,
indicating without design the crowded state of Jerusalem at this festival [Webster
and Wilkinson].
a good man ... Nay ... deceiveth the people — the two opposite views of His
claims, that they were honest, and that they were an imposture.
COFFMAN, “Christ's name was upon all lips; his mighty deeds were the biggest
news that ever happened in Jerusalem; the people loved him; the leaders hated him;
and conversation buzzed all over the city; but if any of the Pharisees appeared, the
conversation ceased. The threat of murdering the Son of God lay like a mantle of
poison gas over Jerusalem during that feast. There was a dreadful air of impending
disaster; Satan was in control of the government of the Holy City, reminding one of
Paris in the terror:
A spell of horror seems temporarily to have fallen over the city of Paris, a
nightmare in which all communication with reality was suspended. It is impossible to
read of this period without the impression that one is here confronted with forces
more powerful than those controlled by men.[2]
In this great controversy, cosmic forces struggled for domination; and the war
between Christ and Satan was never more dramatic than here.
ENDNOTE:
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![[2] Stanley Loomis, Paris in the Terror (New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1964), p.
328.
CALVIN, "12.And there was much murmuring. He means that, wherever men
were collected in crowds, as usually happens in large assemblies, they held secret
conversations about Christ. The diversity of opinion, which is here related,
proves that it is not a new evil, that men should differ in their opinions about
Christ, even in the very bosom of the Church. And as we do not hesitate to
receive Christ, who was formerly condemned by the greater part of his own
nation, so we ought to be armed with the same kind of shield, that the dissensions
which we see daily may not disturb us. Again, we may perceive how great is the
rashness of men in the things of God. In a matter of no importance, they would
not have taken so great liberty, but when the question relates to the Son of God
and to his most holy doctrine, they immediately hasten to give judgment
respecting it. So much the greater moderation ought we to maintain, that we may
not thoughtlessly condemn our life with the eternal truth of God. And if the
world holds us for impostors, let us remember that these are the marks and
brands of Christ, provided that we show, at the same time, that we are faithful.
This passage shows likewise that in a great multitude, even when the whole body
is in a state of confusion, there are always some who think aright; but those few
persons, whose minds are well regulated, are swallowed up by the multitude of
those whose understandings are bewildered.
13 But no one would say anything publicly
about him for fear of the leaders.
BARNES, "Spake openly of him - The word translated “openly,” here, is
commonly rendered “boldly.” This refers doubtless, to those who really believed on
him. His enemies were not silent; but his friends had not confidence to speak of him
openly or boldly that is, to speak what they really thought. Many supposed that he
was the Messiah, yet even this they did not dare to profess. All that they could say in
his favor was that he was a good man. There are always many such friends of Jesus in
the world who are desirous of saying something good about him, but who, from fear
or shame, refuse to make a full acknowledgment of him. Many will praise his morals,
his precepts, and his holy life, while they are ashamed to speak of his divinity or his
atonement, and still more to acknowledge that they are dependent on him for
salvation.
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![GILL, "Howbeit, no man spoke openly of him,.... So loud as to be overheard,
at least by many, but in a secret and whispering way; or did not speak with freedom,
or all their mind, what they really thought of him, nor with courage and boldness:
for fear the Jews; for fear of being mobbed by them, or up and prosecuted, or
turned out of the synagogue; for a law was made, that whoever confessed him, should
be so used; and this deterred persons from expressing the true sentiments of their
minds about him.
HENRY, ".] They were frightened by their superiors from speaking much of him
(Joh_7:13): No man spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews. Either, First, They
durst not openly speak well of him. While any one was at liberty to censure and
reproach him, none durst vindicate him. Or, Secondly, They durst not speak at all of
him openly. Because nothing could justly be said against him, they would not suffer
any thing to be said of him. It was a crime to name him. Thus many have aimed to
suppress truth, under colour of silencing disputes about it, and would have all talk of
religion hushed, in hopes thereby to bury in oblivion religion itself.
JAMIESON, "none spake openly of him — that is, in His favor, “for fear of
the [ruling] Jews.”
CALVIN, "13.Yet no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. By the Jews
he here means the rulers, who had the government in their hands. They burned
with such hatred against Christ, that they did not permit a word to be uttered on
either side. Not that they were displeased at any reproaches which were heaped
upon him, but because they could discover no better expedient than that his
name should be buried in oblivion. Thus the enemies of the truth, after having
found that they gain nothing by their cruelty, desire nothing more than to
suppress the remembrance of him, and this object alone they strive to attain.
That all were silent, being subdued by fear, was a proof of gross tyranny, as I
have already said; for as unbridled licentiousness has no place in a well-
regulated Church, so when all freedom is held oppressed by fear, it is a most
wretched condition. But the power of our Lord Jesus Christ shone forth with
greater and more wonderful brightness, when — causing himself to be heard
amidst armed foes, and amidst their furious resentment, and under so
formidable a government — he openly maintained and asserted the truth of God.
NISBET, “ASHAMED OF JESUS
‘No man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews.’
John 7:13
The seventh chapter is divided from the preceding one by a wide interval of time.
The many miracles which our Lord wrought, while he ‘walked in Galilee,’ are
passed over by John in comparative silence. The events which he was specially
inspired to record, are those which took place in or near Jerusalem. Observe—
I. The desperate hardness and unbelief of human nature.—We are told that even
our Lord’s ‘brethren did not believe in Him.’ Holy and harmless and blameless
as He was in life, some of His nearest relatives, according to the flesh, did not
receive Him as the Messiah. It was bad enough for His own people, ‘the Jews
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!["that although the servants of Christ may for a time, and in some cases,
withdraw themselves from apprehended danger: yet, when God calls them to
appear openly; they must do it courageously, without shrinking, though the
danger be still impending." Jesus went up to Jerusalem, entered the temple and
taught.
Observe, 2. So admirable was our holy Lord's doctrine, that the Jews marvel
how he should come to the knowledge of such divine mysteries, considering the
meanness of his education. They were struck with admiration, but they wanted
faith; whereas the least degree of saving faith is beyond all admiration without it.
Observe, 3. Our Lord vindicates his doctrine, telling the Jews, That the doctrine
he delivered was not his own; that is, not of his own inventing and devising; it
was no contrivance of his, nor was it taught him by men: but received
immediately from the Father, whose ambassador and great prophet he was.
Again, when Christ says, My doctrine is not mine, that is, not only mine, but my
Father's and mine. For as he was God equal with the Father, so he naturally
knew all his counsels; and as man had knowledge thereof by communication
from his godhead.
Learn hence, That the doctrine of the gospel is a doctrine wholly from God; he
contrived it, and sent his own Son into the world to publish and reveal it. Christ
was sent, and his doctrine was not his own, but his that sent him.
Observe, 4. A double rule given by our Saviour, whereby the Jews might know,
whether the doctrine he preached, were the doctrine of God.
First, If a man walk uprightly, and doth the will of God in the best manner
according to his knowledge; If any man will do his will, he shall know of my
doctrine whether it be of God. There is no such way to find out truth, as by doing
the will of God.
The second rule by which they might know that his doctrine was from God was
this. Because he sought his Father's glory, and not his own in the delivery of it.
He that seeketh his glory that sent him, that same is true.
Hence learn, That the nature and scope of that doctrine which Christ delivered,
eminently tending not to promote his own private glory, but the glorifying of his
Father, is an undoubted proof and evidence that his doctrine was of God.
LIGHTFOOT, "14. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the
temple, and taught.
[About the midst of the feast.] On some work-day of the feast. But was he not
there on the first or second day of the feast, to perform those things that ought to
have been performed, making ready the Chagigahs, and appearing in the court?
If he was there the second day, he might be well enough said to be there about
the midst of the feast, for that day was not a festival; unless perchance at that
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![of the Savior. Let him remember that Christ is here speaking not from the
standpoint of His essential glory, not as a member of the Godhead, but as the Son
of God incarnate, that is, as the Servant of Jehovah. Let him turn to John 8:28
and compare its closing sentence: "As my Father hath taught me, I speak these
things." It was in no human schools He had learned to teach so that men
marvelled. This discourse He had delivered originated not in His own mind. His
doctrine came from the One who sent Him.
It was the same with the apostle Paul. Hear him as he says to the Galatians, "But
I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after
man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ" (John 1:11, 12). And these things, dear brethren, are
recorded for our learning. No one has to take a course in any Bible School in
order to gain a knowledge and insight of the Scriptures. The man most used of
God last century—Mr. C. H. Spurgeon—was a graduate of no Bible Institute!
We do not say that God has not used the Bible schools to help many who have
gone there; we do not say there may not be such which He is so using today. But
what we do say is, that such schools are not an imperative necessity. You have
the same Bible to hand that they have; and you have the same Holy Spirit to
guide you into all truth. God may be pleased to use human instruments in
instructing and enlightening you, or He may give you the far greater honor and
privilege of teaching you directly. That is for you to ascertain. Your first duty is
to humbly and diligently look to HIM, wait on Him for guidance, seek His
will, ,and the sure promise is, "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the
meek will he teach his way" (Ps. 25:9).
"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." These words were spoken by
Christ to correct the Jews, who were unable to account for the wondrous words
which fell from His lips. He would assure them that His "doctrine" had been
taught Him by no man, nor had He invented it. "My doctrine is not mine, but his
that sent me." How zealous He was for the Father’s honor! How jealously He
guarded the Father’s glory! Let every servant of God learn from this blessed One
who was "meek and lowly in heart." Whenever people praise you for some
message of help, fail not to disclaim all credit, and remind your God—
dishonoring admirers that the "doctrine" is not yours, but His that sent you.
"My doctrine is not mine." Observe that Christ does not say "My doctrines are
not mine," but "My doctrine." The word "doctrine" means "teaching," and the
teaching (truth) of God is one correlated and complete whole. In writing to
Timothy, Paul said, "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine" (not
doctrines—1 Timothy 4:6). And again he wrote, "All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine" (2 Tim. 3:16). In striking
contrast from this, Scripture speaks of "the doctrines of men" (Col. 2:22);
"strange doctrines" (Heb. 13:9); and "doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1). Here
the word is pluralized because there is no unity or harmony about the teachings
of men or the teachings of demons. They are diverse and conflicting. But God’s
truth is indivisible and harmonious.
"If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or whether I speak of myself" (John 7:17). The wording of this verse in the A.V.
leaves something to be desired; we give, therefore, the translation found in
Bagster’s Interlinear:[1] "If any one desire his will to practice, he shall know
concerning the teaching whether from God it is, or I from myself speak." The
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![mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again" (1 Pet. 2:22, 23). What a
beautiful illustration John 7 gives of this! When He was reviled, He "reviled not
again." He made no answer to their blasphemous declamation. O that Divine
grace may enable us to "follow his steps." When Christ said to the Jews, "I have
done one work, and ye all marvel," He was referring to what is recorded in John
5:1-16.
"Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of
the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the
sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken;
are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath
day?" (John 7:22, 23). Our Lord continued to point out how unreasonable was
their criticism of Himself for healing the impotent man on the Sabbath day. He
reminds them that circumcision was performed on the Sabbath; why then should
they complain because He had made a poor sufferer whole on that day! By this
argument Christ teaches us that works of necessity and works of mercy may be
legitimately performed on the Sabbath. Circumcision was a work of necessity if
the Law of Moses was to be observed, for if the infant reached its eighth day on
the Sabbath, it was then he must be circumcised. The healing of the impotent
man was a work of mercy. Thus are we permitted to engage in both works of
necessity and works of mercy on the holy Sabbath.
It is to be observed that Christ here refers to circumcision as belonging to "the
law of Moses." For a right understanding of the teaching of Scripture concerning
the Law it is of first importance that we distinguish sharply between "the law of
God" and "the law of Moses." The Law of God is found in the ten
commandments which Jehovah Himself wrote on the two tables of stone, thereby
intimating that they were of lasting duration. This is what has been rightly
termed the moral Law, inasmuch as the Decalogue (the ten commandments)
enunciates a rule of conduct. The moral Law has no dispensational limitations,
but is lastingly binding on every member of the human race. It was given not as a
means of salvation, but as expressing the obligations of every human creature to
the great Creator. The "law of Moses" consists of the moral, social, and
ceremonial laws which God gave to Moses after the ten commandments. The
Law of Moses included the ten commandments as we learn from Deuteronomy 5.
In one sense the Law of Moses is wider than "the law of God," inasmuch as it
contains far more than the Ten Commandments. In another sense, it is narrower,
inasmuch as "the law of Moses" is binding only upon Israelites and Gentile
proselytes; whereas "the law of God" is binding on Jews and Gentiles alike.[2]
Christ dearly observes this distinction by referring to circumcision as belonging
not to "the law of God," but as being an essential part of "the law of Moses"
which related only to Israel.
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John
7:24). The connection between this verse and the preceding ones is dear. Christ
had been vindicating His act of healing the impotent man on the Sabbath day. To
His superficial critics it might have seemed a breach of the Sabbatic law; but in
reality it was not so. Their judgment was hasty and partial. They were looking
for something they might condemn, and so seized upon this. But their verdict, as
is usually the case when hurried and prejudiced, was altogether erroneous.
Therefore, did our Lord bid them; "Judge not according to the appearance, but
judge righteous judgment." He exhorted them to be fair; to take into account all
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![having never learned, was surprising to them: that is, he had not had a liberal
education, but was brought up to a trade; he was not trained up at the feet of any of
their Rabbins, in any of their universities, or schools of learning; and in which they
were certainly right. Modern Jews pretend to say he had a master, whom they
sometimes call Elchanan (o), but most commonly they make him to be R. Joshua ben
Perachiah (p): with whom they say, he fled into Alexandria in Egypt, for fear of
Jannai the king: and one of their writers (q), on this account, charges the evangelist
with a falsehood: but who are we to believe, the Jews who lived at the same time with
Jesus, and knew his education and manner of life, or those that have lived ages since?
HENRY, "II. His discourse with the Jews hereupon; and the conference is
reducible to four heads:
1. Concerning his doctrine. See here,
(1.) How the Jews admired it (Joh_7:15): They marvelled, saying, How knoweth
this man letters, having never learned? Observe here, [1.] That our Lord Jesus was
not educated in the schools of the prophets, or at the feet of the rabbin; not only did
not travel for learning, as the philosophers did, but did not make any use of the
schools and academies in his own country. Moses was taught the learning of the
Egyptians, but Christ was not taught so much as the learning of the Jews; having
received the Spirit without measure, he needed not receive any knowledge from
man, or by man. At the time of Christ's appearing, learning flourished both in the
Roman empire and in the Jewish church more than in any age before or since, and in
such a time of enquiry Christ chose to establish his religion, not in an illiterate age,
lest it should look like a design to impose upon the world; yet he himself studied not
the learning then in vogue. [2.] That Christ had letters, though he had never learned
them; was mighty in the scriptures, though he never had any doctor of the law for his
tutor. It is necessary that Christ's ministers should have learning, as he had; and
since they cannot expect to have it as he had it, by inspiration, they must take pains
to get it in an ordinary way. [3.] That Christ's having learning, though he had not
been taught it, made him truly great and wonderful; the Jews speak of it here with
wonder. First, Some, it is likely, took notice of it to his honour: He that had no
human learning, and yet so far excelled all that had, certainly must be endued with a
divine knowledge. Secondly, Others, probably, mentioned it in disparagement and
contempt of him: Whatever he seems to have, he cannot really have any true
learning, for he was never at the university, nor took his degree. Thirdly, Some
perhaps suggested that he had got his learning by magic arts, or some unlawful
means or other. Since they know not how he could be a scholar, they will think him a
conjurer.
CALVIN, "15.And the Jews wondered Those who think that Christ was received
in such a manner as to be esteemed and honored are mistaken; for the wonder or
astonishment of the Jews is of such a nature, that they seek occasion from it to
despise him. For such is the ingratitude of men that, in judging of the works of
God, they always seek deliberately an occasion of falling into error. If God acts
by the usual means and in the ordinary way, those means which are visible to the
eyes are — as it were — veils which hinder us from perceiving the Divine hand;
and therefore we discern nothing in them but what is human. But if an unwonted
power of God shines above the order of nature and the means generally known,
we are stunned; and what ought to have deeply affected all our senses passes
away as a dream. For such is our pride, that we take no interest in any thing of
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![16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own.
It comes from the one who sent me.
BARNES, "My doctrine - My teaching, or what I teach. This is the proper
meaning of the word “doctrine.” It is what is taught us, and, as applied to religion, it
is what is taught us by God in the Holy Scriptures.
Is not wine - It is not originated by me. Though I have not learned in your
schools, yet you are not to infer that the doctrine which I teach is devised or invented
by me. I teach nothing that is contrary to the will of God, and which he has not
appointed me to teach.
His that sent me - God’s. It is such as he approves, and such as he has
commissioned me to teach. The doctrine is divine in its origin and in its nature.
CLARKE, "My doctrine is not mine - Our blessed Lord, in the character of
Messiah, might as well say, My doctrine is not mine, as an ambassador might say, I
speak not my own words, but his who sent me: and he speaks these words to draw
the attention of the Jews from the teaching of man to the teaching of God; and to
show them that he was the promised Messiah, the very person on whom, according
to the prophet, (Isa_11:2), the Spirit of Jehovah - the Spirit of wisdom, counsel,
understanding, might, and knowledge, should rest.
GILL, "Jesus answered them and said,.... Having heard them express their
surprise, and state their objection:
my doctrine is not mine: it was his, as he was God; as such, he was the author of
it, it was from him, by the revelation of him; and it was of him, or he was the subject
of it, as Mediator; it respected his person as God-man, his offices, as prophet, priest,
and King, and his grace, righteousness; and salvation; and it was his, as preached by
him as man; it came by him, and first began to be spoken by him; and was so spoken
by him, as it never was before, or since: but it was not human; it was not acquired by
him, as man; he did not learn it of man; he needed no human teachings; he increased
in wisdom without them, from his infancy: they said right, in saying he had never
learned; the spirit of wisdom and knowledge rested on high, and the treasures of
them were hid in him; nor was it a device or invention of his, as man; it was not from
himself as such, but it was from heaven, from his Father: wherefore he adds,
but his that sent me; thereby intimating, that it was of God, and was
communicated to him by his Father; from whom he received it, and from whom he
had a commission to preach it; so that his doctrine was that wisdom which comes
from above, and is pure and peaceable, divine and heavenly, and ought to be received
by men.
HENRY, "(2.) What he asserted concerning it; three things: -
[1.] That his doctrine is divine (Joh_7:16): My doctrine is not mine, but his that
sent me. They were offended because he undertook to teach though he had never
learned, in answer to which he tells them that his doctrine was such as was not to be
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![and that this doctrine must bring glory to God in the highest, while it produces peace
and good will among men; then acknowledge that God has visited you, and receive
me as the Messiah promised to your fathers.
GILL, "If any man will do his will,.... Meaning, not one that perfectly fulfils the
law, which is the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God; for there is no man
that does this, or can do it; nor is it so said here, "if any man do his will", but "if any
man will do" it; that is, is desirous of doing it; who has it wrought in him both to will
and do, of the good pleasure of God, by his grace and Spirit; with whom to will is
present, though, he has not power to perform, and so is a spiritual man; and who
believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is one branch of the will of God; and who
depends upon the Spirit and grace of God, and acts from a principle of love to God,
and in the exercise of faith on Christ:
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself; not a man of mere natural knowledge and learning, or a man of theory and
speculation, is a judge of doctrine; but he that leans not to his own understanding,
and implores the assistance of the Divine Spirit, and who is for reducing doctrine
into practice: he knows by the efficacy of the doctrine upon his heart, and the
influence it has on his life and conversation; by its coming not in word only, but in
power; and by its working effectually in him, whether it is divine or human, of God or
of man.
HENRY, "[2.] That the most competent judges of the truth and divine authority
of Christ's doctrine are those that with a sincere and upright heart desire and
endeavour to do the will of God (Joh_7:17): If any man be willing to do the will of
God, have his will melted into the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine whether
it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Observe here, First, What the question is,
concerning the doctrine of Christ, whether it be of God or no; whether the gospel be a
divine revelation or an imposture. Christ himself was willing to have his doctrine
enquired into, whether it were of God or no, much more should his ministers; and we
are concerned to examine what grounds we go upon, for, if we be deceived, we are
miserably deceived. Secondly, Who are likely to succeed in this search: those that do
the will of God, at least are desirous to do it. Now see, 1. Who they are that will do the
will of God. They are such as are impartial in their enquiries concerning the will of
God, and are not biassed by any lust or interest, and such as are resolved by the grace
of God, when they find out what the will of God is, to conform to it. They are such as
have an honest principle of regard to God, and are truly desirous to glorify and please
him. 2. Whence it is that such a one shall know of the truth of Christ's doctrine. (1.)
Christ has promised to give knowledge to such; he hath said, He shall know, and he
can give an understanding. Those who improve the light they have, and carefully live
up to it, shall be secured by divine grace from destructive mistakes. (2.) They are
disposed and prepared to receive that knowledge. He that is inclined to submit to the
rules of the divine law is disposed to admit the rays of divine light. To him that has
shall be given; those have a good understanding that do his commandments, Psa_
111:10. Those who resemble God are most likely to understand him.
JAMIESON, "If any man will do his will, etc. — “is willing,” or “wishes to
do.”
whether ... of God, or ... of myself — from above or from beneath; is divine or
an imposture of Mine. A principle of immense importance, showing, on the one
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![hand, that singleness of desire to please God is the grand inlet to light on all
questions vitally affecting one’s eternal interests, and on the other, that the want of
his, whether perceived or not, is the chief cause of infidelity amidst the light of
revealed religion.
SBC, "The general principle affirmed in the text is, that there is an unalterable
connection between the perceptions of the mind and the moral state of the heart—
between the understanding of truth and the practice of godliness. In other words,
that spiritual intelligence grows as proficiency in spiritual practice grows; and that,
other things being equal, nay, even under circumstances of the most unfavourable
intellectual disparity, that man will have the clearest, fullest, richest, deepest insight
into Divine things, whose will is most obediently and deeply fashioned after the will
of God. The text holds good:—
I. Because a life of true obedience to the Divine precepts is most favourable to the
operation of those thinking and feeling faculties, in and through which the
knowledge of God reaches the soul. Religion, we must remember, addresses itself to
the whole nature of man—that is, to all the parts of his intellectual, moral, and
spiritual being. No man could know the doctrine, whose whole life was consciously
opposed to the will of God, for he has determined not to know it; has raised as many
obstacles as he can in the way of knowing it; used his reason, as far as he has used it,
to sustain a false and foregone conclusion; putting out his own eyes, in order that he
may be in a position to say, "I cannot see."
II. But the principle of our text goes much farther than this. Not only will a life
opposed to the will of God raise up influences unfavourable to the reception of Divine
truth, but a life which is according to that will, or which tries to be according to it,
shall be blessed with a peculiar and special measure of religious knowledge—an
understanding hid from the wise and prudent—of the deep things of God. Obedience
strengthens love, and love induces likeness, and likeness is that which leads to the
most perfect knowledge; nay, is the very means by which, in our glorified state, we
are to have a true vision of God. The steps, or processes, of knowledge are unbroken;
we pass from light to light, from glory to glory; from a comprehending with all saints
what is the breadth and length and depth and height, to a state in which, with the
strong eagle gaze of our resurrection faculties, we see God face to face.
D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3412.
COFFMAN, “As in John 3:19-21, Jesus here again made the ability to believe on
himself to turn on a question of will, and not of intelligence alone; and these remarks
are the equivalent of his saying, "Look, if you really want to do the will of God, you
will recognize that it is God's will, and not mine own, that I am proclaiming," There
could also be further implications of this verse, as David Lipscomb noted:
Does not this involve the conclusion that if anyone in the world really desires to do
the will of God, he will be brought to know that will? Is it possible that God would
give his Son to die to open the way of salvation, and then leave one to die in
ignorance of that way who would accept it if he knew it?[3]
The difficulty of finding out what is right in religion is a common complaint among
men. They point to many differences among Christians and profess to be unable to
decide what is right. (Such a person) should use what little knowledge he has got, and
God will soon give him more.[4]SIZE>
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![The source of knowing God's will is the Bible; but reason, intelligence, experience,
obedience, and love are among the instruments by which true wisdom from its sacred
pages may be won. And even more important than those instruments is that of the
human will DESIRING to know the truth. Many accept blindly whatever teaching
they received as a child without ever striving to know if it was really God's will that
they learned. Ruskin warned against this:
Of all the insolent, and foolish persuasions that by any chance could enter and hold
your empty little heart, this is the profoundest and foolishest, - that you have been so
much the darling of heaven, and the favorite of the fates, as to be born in the nick of
time, and in the punctual place, when and where pure divine truth had been sifted
from the errors of the nations; and that your papa had been providentially disposed
to buy a house in the convenient neighborhood of the steeple under which that
immaculate and final verity would be proclaimed! Do not think it, child; it is not
so.[5]
[3] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the Gospel of John (Nashville: The Gospel
Advocate Co., 1960), p. 111.
[4] J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House), p. 440.
[5] James Hastings, The Great Texts of the Bible (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark), p.
307.
CALVIN, "17.If any man wish to do his will. He anticipates the objections that
might be made. For since he had many adversaries in that place, some one might
readily have murmured against him in this manner: “Why dost thou boast to us
of the name of God? For we do not know that thou hast proceeded from him.
Why, then, dost thou press upon us that maxim, which we do not admit to thee,
that thou teachest nothing but by the command of God?” Christ, therefore,
replies that sound judgment flows from fear and reverence for God; so that, if
their minds be well disposed to the fear of God, they will easily perceive if what
he preaches be true or not. He likewise administers to them, by it, an indirect
reproof; for how comes it that they cannot distinguish between falsehood and
truth, (185) but because they want the principal requisite to sound
understanding, namely, piety, and the earnest desire to obey God?
This statement is highly worthy of observation. Satan continually plots against
us, and spreads his nets in every direction, that he may take us unawares by his
delusions. Here Christ most excellently forewarns us to beware of exposing
ourselves to any of his impostures, assuring us that if we are prepared to obey
God, he will never fail to illuminate us by the light of his Spirit, so that we shall
be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Nothing else, therefore,
hinders us from judging aright, but that we are unruly and headstrong; and
every time that Satan deceives us, we are justly punished for our hypocrisy. In
like manner Moses gives warning that, when false prophets arise, we are tried
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![spoken alike to all in our ignorance, fears, doubts—that he who in very deed
willeth to do God’s will, shall not fail to know, now or in the life to come, of the
teaching whether it be of God. (Comp. Notes on John 5:44 et seq., and John 6:29
and John 6:45.)
CONSTABLE, “Jesus further claimed that the key to validating His claim that
His teaching came from God was a determination to do God's will. The normal
way that the rabbis settled such debates was through discussion. However, Jesus
taught that the key factor was moral rather than intellectual. If anyone was
willing to do God's will, not just to know God's truth, God would enable that one
to believe that Jesus' teaching came from above (cf. John 6:44). The most
important thing then is a commitment to follow God's will. Once a person makes
that commitment God begins to convince him or her what is true. Faith must
precede reason, not the other way around.
"His hearers had raised the question of his competence as a teacher. He raises
the question of their competence as hearers." [Note: Morris, p. 360.]
Jesus was not saying that the accuracy of our understanding is in direct
proportion to our submission to God. Some very godly people have held some
very erroneous views. There are other factors that also determine how accurate
our understanding may be. He was not saying that if a person happens to do
God's will he or she will automatically understand the origin of Jesus' teaching
either. His point was that submission to God rather than intellectual analysis is
the foundation for understanding truth, particularly the truth of Jesus' teachings
(cf. Proverbs 1:7).
"Spiritual understanding is not produced solely by learning facts or procedures,
but rather it depends on obedience to known truth. Obedience to God's known
will develops discernment between falsehood and truth." [Note: Tenney, "John,"
p. 84.]
GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE, "The Will to Know
If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of
God, or whether I speak from myself.—Joh_7:17.
1. The Feast of Tabernacles was in progress in Jerusalem when Jesus entered the
Temple to teach. A circle of Jews were gathered round Him, who seem to have
been spellbound with the extraordinary wisdom of His words. He made no
pretension to be a scholar. He was no graduate of the Rabbinical schools. He had
no access to the sacred literature of the people. Yet here was this stranger from
Nazareth confounding the wisest heads in Jerusalem, and unfolding with calm
and effortless skill such truths as even these Temple walls had never heard
before. Then “the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having
never learned?” What organ of spiritual knowledge can He have, never having
learned? Never having learned—they did not know that Christ had learned.
They did not know the school at Nazareth whose Teacher was in heaven—whose
schoolroom was a carpenter’s shop—the lesson, the Father’s will. They knew not
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![that hidden truths could come from God, or wisdom from above. What came to
them was gathered from human books, or caught from human lips. They knew
no organ save the mind; no instrument of knowing the things of heaven but that
by which they learned in the schools. But Jesus points to a spiritual world which
lay still far beyond, and tells them of the spiritual eye which reads its profounder
secrets and reveals the mysteries of God. “My doctrine is not mine,” He says,
“but his that sent me”; and “my judgment is just,” as He taught before, “because
I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” And
then, lest men should think this great experience was never meant for them, He
applies His principles to every human mind which seeks to know God’s will. “If
any man will do his will, he shall know of the teaching whether it be of God.”
2. “If any man willeth to do … he shall know.” The quality of our perceptions is
to be determined by the character of our wills. If we look after our moral wills
our spiritual eyes will attend to themselves. Our visions wait upon our volitions.
Moral obedience is the secret of spiritual discernment. “If any man willeth to
do”; that is the first step in the exploration of eternal truth; that is the “open
sesame” into the region of light and glory. “If any man willeth to do,” that is the
instrument; “he shall know,” that is the consequent revelation. “If any man
willeth to do”; that is the telescope through which we survey the far-stretching
panorama of Gospel truth, or it is the microscope through which we discern the
mind of God in the immediate problem. “He shall know!” The first part of the
text proclaims the means, the second enshrines the issues.
Doing and knowing are blood relations. “Obedience is the organ of spiritual
vision”—so Robertson re-issued the truth, that, if we would know God’s
doctrine, we must do His will. Experiment and experience spring from the same
root, and will not grow apart. Do you wish you had a Christian’s experience?
Will to make the Christian experiment. Will you know who Christ is, and what
He can do for you? Obey Him; do as He directs. Do not expect experience
without experiment. “Follow me” was Christ’s way of saying “Taste and see that
the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”1 [Note: M. D.
Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living, 38.]
I
Obeying
“If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know.” Here we have the means by
which knowledge of truth is attainable. There are a number of instruments for
finding out the will of God. One of them is a very great instrument, so far
surpassing all the rest in accuracy that there may be said to be but one which has
never been known to fail. The others are smaller and clumsier, much less
delicate, indeed, and often fail. They often fail to come within sight of the will of
God at all, and are so far astray at other times as to mistake some other thing for
it. Still they are instruments and, notwithstanding their defects, have a value by
themselves; and when the great instrument employs their humbler powers to
second its attempts, they immediately become as keen and as unerring as itself.
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![disobedience is mental darkness, but to submit our wills in loyalty to His law is to
open our minds to the light of His truth.1 [Note: M. D. Babcock, Thoughts for
Every-Day Living, 19.]
1. “If any man.”—Observe the universality of the law. “If any man willeth to do
his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak
from myself.” The law was true of the Man Christ Jesus Himself. He tells us it is
true of all other men. In God’s universe there are no favourites of heaven who
may transgress the laws of the universe with impunity—none who can take fire
in the hand and not be burnt—no enemies of heaven who if they sow corn will
reap tares. The law is just and true to all: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap.” In God’s spiritual universe there are no favourites of heaven who
can attain knowledge and spiritual wisdom apart from obedience. There are
none reprobate by an eternal decree, who can surrender self and in all things
submit to God, and yet fail of spiritual convictions. It is not therefore a rare,
partial condescension of God, arbitrary and causeless, which gives knowledge of
the truth to some, and shuts it out from others; but a vast, universal, glorious
law. The light lighteth every man that cometh into the world. “If any man willeth
to do his will, he shall know.”
Of all the insolent, all the foolish persuasions that by any chance could enter and
hold your empty little heart, this is the proudest and foolishest,—that you have
been so much the darling of the Heavens, and favourite of the Fates, as to be
born in the very nick of time, and in the punctual place, when and where pure
Divine truth had been sifted from the errors of the Nations; and that your papa
had been providentially disposed to buy a house in the convenient
neighbourhood of the steeple under which that Immaculate and final verity
would be beautifully proclaimed. Do not think it, child; it is not so. This, on the
contrary, is the fact,—unpleasant you may think it; pleasant, it seems to me,—
that you, with all your pretty dresses, and dainty looks, and kindly thoughts, and
saintly aspirations, are not one whit more thought of or loved by the great Maker
and Master than any poor little red, black, or blue savage, running wild in the
pestilent woods, or naked on the hot sands of the earth; and that, of the two, you
probably know less about God than she does; the only difference being that she
thinks little of Him that is right, and you much that is wrong.1 [Note: Ruskin,
Sesame and Lilies (Works, xviii. 36).]
2. “Willeth to do.”—The old version reads: “If any man will do his will, he shall
know,” but the Revised Version takes us a step farther back, away to the
preparatory conditions before any deed is yet accomplished. “If any man willeth
to do … he shall know!” Back from doing to willingness to do. We are led from
the realm of conduct to the region of character, from finished deed to primary
aspirations. Notice the difference this makes in the problem. Before, it looked as
if the doing were to come first and then the knowing His will; but now another
element is thrown in at the very beginning. The being willing comes first and
then the knowing; and thereafter the doing may follow—the doing, that is to say,
if the will has been sufficiently clear to proceed. The whole stress of the passage
therefore turns on this word “willeth.” And Christ’s answer to the question, How
shall we know the will of God? may be simply stated thus: “If any man is willing
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![to do God’s will, he shall know,” or, in plainer language still, “If any man is
sincerely trying to do God’s will, he shall know.” The connection of all this with
obedience is just that being willing is the highest form of obedience. It is the
spirit and essence of obedience. There is an obedience in the world which is no
obedience, because the act of obedience is there but the spirit of submission is
not.
On Joh_8:43-44 : “Ye cannot hear my word; and the lusts of your father ye will
do,” Brownlow North remarks, “The ‘will’ explains the ‘cannot.’ You cannot,
because your will is in opposition.”1 [Note: K. Moody-Stuart, Brownlow North,
265.]
“A certain man,” we read in the Bible, “had two sons; and he came to the first,
and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not:
but afterward he repented and went. And he came to the second, and said
likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them
twain did the will of his father?” Obedience here comes out in its true colours as
a thing in the will. And if any man have an obeying will, a truly single and
submissive will, he shall know of the teaching, or of the leading, whether it be of
God.2 [Note: H. Drummond, The Ideal Life, 309.]
3. “His will.”—If there is one thing more than another which is more personal to
the Christian, more singularly his than God’s love or God’s interest—one thing
which is a finer symbol of God’s love and interest, it is the knowledge of God’s
will—the private knowledge of God’s will. And this is more personal, just
inasmuch as it is more private. My private portion of God’s love is only a private
share in God’s love—only a part—the same in quality and kind as all the rest of
God’s love, which all the others get from God. But God’s will is a thing for
myself. There is a will of God for me which is willed for no one else besides. It is
not a share in the universal will, in the same sense as I have a share in the
universal love. It is a particular will for me, different from the will He has for
any one else—a private will—a will which no one else knows about, which no one
can know about, but me.
(1) God has a life-plan for every human life. In the eternal counsels of His will,
when He arranged the destiny of every star, and every sand-grain and grass-
blade, and each of those tiny insects which live but for an hour, the Creator had
a thought for each of us. Our life was to be the slow unfolding of this thought, as
the corn-stalk from the grain of corn, or the flower from the gradually opening
bud. It was a thought of what we were to be, of what we might become, of what
He would have us do with our days and years, our influence and our lives. But
we all had the terrible power to evade this thought, and shape our lives from
another thought, from another will, if we chose. The bud could only become a
flower, and the star revolve in the orbit God had fixed. But it was man’s
prerogative to choose his path, his duty to choose it in God. But the Divine right
to choose at all has always seemed more to him than his duty to choose in God,
so, for the most part, he has taken his life from God, and cut out his career for
himself.
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![Communion at Easter, and all he said was, ‘I’s cleaned my boots, and put ’em
under the bed.’ It is sad, indeed!”—“Well, dear friend,” replied the Bishop, “and
don’t you think the angels would rejoice to see them there?”1 [Note: G. W. E.
Russell, Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, 114.]
(2) Many of us are putting second things first. We are seeking to know the mind
of the Lord, to disengage His truth, when all the time we are rebels to the truth
we know. Now a neglected duty always pollutes the air like a neglected lamp; it
contributes smoke when it was purposed to contribute light, and the very
minister of illumination makes the atmosphere more dense and opaque. In our
quest for God and truth we must, therefore, see to it that there are no smoking
lamps, and we do this when we firmly set ourselves to do the will we know. There
are whole continents of spiritual truth lying back in twilight and night, but there
is a fringe of revelation in the foreground, glimpses of our Lord’s will which
leave us in no manner of doubt. Let us begin with the will we know, and through
it move on to the unknown. But, when I say “the will we know,” I mean all the
will we know. We are not to choose a candle here and a candle there, and reject
and ignore the rest. We must not pick and choose among the lamps. If we are
seeking the land of the morning, we must not despise a single candle which gives
its kindly guidance by the way. Wherever we find a clear revelation of our
Master’s will it is through scrupulous obedience to that will that we must seek
the unveiling of the truth that still remains hid.
Obey something; and you will have a chance some day of finding out what is best
to obey.1 [Note: Ruskin, Fors Clavigera.]
As long as we set up our own will and our own wisdom against God’s, we make
that wall between us and His love which I have spoken of just now. But as soon
as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light given us to guide
our own steps; as the foot-soldier who hears nothing of the councils that
determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of
command which he must himself obey.2 [Note: Mr. Tryan, in Scenes of Clerical
Life.]
(3) If a man is willing to do the will of God, he will be watchful against the
prejudices and prepossessions which would hinder him from knowing that will.
He will know the danger which always exists of self-deception, and of
confounding strong conviction with sound and solid persuasion. Some men have
strong convictions, but they believe a lie, a lie for which, if need be, they are
prepared to give up their life. Let us never forget that the firmness with which
we hold any principle is no proof of its truthfulness, unless we have verified it in
practice. The man whom Christ contemplates is one to whom all light is welcome,
come from what quarter it may. It may disturb old convictions; it may reveal
that as true which before seemed to be false; it may alter the proportions and
relations of truths, giving a primary position to some which once held but a
secondary, and, on the contrary, reducing to a lower status what once was
highest of all. But it is the will of God he is bent on knowing and doing, and this
is more than a recompense for all the disturbance which may befall merely
inherited opinions. He will feel that there is no interest, either in this world or in
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![any other, compared with that of finding out and fulfilling the will of God. This
must be right, this must be best.
The difficulty of gaining admission for any truth into the minds of men whose
lives are in disconformity with it is proverbial. If a man’s interests, his present or
even his fancied interests, or his pleasures are involved in his continuance in any
course of action, we know what a mass of evidence is required to convince him
that he is in the wrong. To the makers and sellers of silver shrines there will be
no goddess like Diana of the Ephesians. If a craft, however iniquitous, be in
danger, we need not be sanguine in our hopes of convincing of its wickedness
those who are enriching themselves by its gains. We may be prepared with much
evidence of its wrongfulness, but they have profits which overwhelm all our
demonstrations. Hence it is that the opinions of men are quite as frequently the
product of their practices as their cause; and the doctrine, while it gives its
complexion to the life, as certainly takes its complexion from it. Thieves do not
first excogitate evil maxims, and then begin to steal; they first begin to steal, and
then adopt evil maxims; and as a rule, the worse the man, the worse must be the
principles from which he acts; and the better the man, the nobler the principles
which animate him.1 [Note: E. Mellor, The Footsteps of Heroes, 239.]
When the Cliffords tell us how sinful it is to be Christians on such “insufficient
evidence,” insufficiency is really the last thing they have in mind. For them the
evidence is absolutely sufficient, only it makes the other way. They believe so
completely in an antichristian order of the universe that there is no living option:
Christianity is a dead hypothesis from the start.2 [Note: W. James, The Will to
Believe, 14.]
II
Knowing
“If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know.” Here we have the issue of
obedience. This willingness to do His will, whether I find the clear revelation in
the sacred word or in the private oratory of my own conscience, gives to my life
the requisite atmosphere in which all spiritual truth is to be discerned. To be
willing to do His will, and to do it, gathers into the life a certain air of refinement
which is the only congenial medium for the discovery of spiritual truth.
Everybody has noticed how clearly sounds travel when there is snow on the
ground. When that white vesture clothes the earth soft sounds become articulate
and doubtful callings become clear. And when, by scrupulous obedience to the
will of the Saviour, the heart grows pure, when it is clothed in habits of
consecration which dim even the whiteness of the virgin snow, then do the
doubtful utterances of our Lord become articulate, and suggestions of remote
and hidden truth speak clearly in our receptive ears. “If any man willeth to do
his will, he shall know of the teaching.”
1. “He shall know.”—If we hear our conscience and set our face to duty, it will
be with us as with the traveller who ascends the Gemmi Pass. When he comes to
the foot of the precipice along whose ledges and through whose crevices the
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![narrow path ascends, the mist may be lying heavy, and at first he may not find
the starting-point. Once his feet are upon the path, although he cannot see
beyond a few yards and has no idea how the path may wind, it is only a matter of
dogged and careful perseverance. With every step the mist grows more luminous,
glimpses of the crest can now and again be caught, and suddenly the traveller
comes out from the cloud into the clear sunlight on the height, with the spotless
snow around him and the blue of God’s heaven over his head. He that wills to do
God’s will shall come to know God’s will before set of sun.
I have known men who have for long doubted the existence of God and denied
that we could know anything of Him, resolutely set themselves to be true and
pure and unselfish, and the changed attitude has begotten a yearning for and a
trust in a truth and righteousness and goodness out of and beyond themselves.
The conviction that they must dwell in a personal source has gradually grown
within their aspiring spirits; and they have come to feel sure that it is a Personal
Will that is at the centre of our complicated, perplexed, and mysterious life,
always going out in work and always unexhausted—a Will and not a cold, hard,
material “power-not-of-ourselves”; the Personal Will of a living and loving
Father. In seeking to do the best, they have, like Zaccheus, come on the track of
Him who is the Absolute Best embodied and made attractive to all men for the
salvation of the world.1 [Note: J. Clifford, The Dawn of Manhood, 95.]
(1) “He shall know.”—There is a wide distinction between supposing and
knowing—between fancy and conviction—between opinion and belief. Whatever
rests on authority remains only supposition. We have an opinion when we know
what others think. We know when we feel. In matters practical we know only so
far as we can do. Feel God; do His will, till the Absolute Imperative within you
speaks as with a living voice: Thou shalt, and thou shalt not; and then you do not
think, you know, that there is a God. That is a conviction and a belief.
Faith in Christ is an act rather of the spiritual nature than of the intellect, and as
the result of sympathy with the truth rather than of critical examination of
evidence. A painter or art-critic familiar with the productions of great artists
feels himself insulted if you offer him evidence to convince him of the
genuineness of a work of art over and above the evidence which it carries in
itself, and which to him is the most convincing of all. If one of the lost books of
Tacitus were recovered, scholars would not judge it by any account that might be
given of its preservation and discovery, but would say, Let us see it and read it,
and we will very soon tell you whether it is genuine or not. When the man you
have seen every day for years, and whose character you have looked into under
the strongest lights, is accused of dishonesty, and damaging evidence is brought
against him, does it seriously disturb your confidence in him? Not at all. No
evidence can countervail the knowledge gained by intercourse. You know the
man, directly, and you believe in him without regard to what other persons
advance in his favour or against him. Christ expects acceptance on similar
grounds.2 [Note: Marcus Dods.]
I never saw a moor,
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![I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.1 [Note: Emily Dickinson.]
(2) Let us remember, however, that the knowledge promised by Christ may
become ours only gradually. Our experience may be like that of a man waiting
for the dawn, rather than that of a man who is suddenly plunged out of darkness
into the full blaze of the midday sun. The light grows upon us; and whilst, at
first, we may see distinctly only one or another thing that lies nearest to us, after
awhile other things rise into view, till at last whatever is within range becomes
clearly visible. In relation to Divine truth we often find an impatience which
would be counted very foolish in relation to natural truth. Men who are content
to grope on very slowly in science, getting a glimpse now of one truth and then of
another, expect in the region with which we are here concerned to pass almost at
once into full light and certainty. This cannot be. Moral loyalty, earnest and well-
directed labour and humble patience, are necessary conditions of entering into
full possession of the secret of the Lord.
I think I cannot be mistaken here. Could you know how I have lived in His mind,
and tried to understand Him, till comprehension became adoration, you would
think so. I am not pretending to a superior appreciation beyond yours—except
only on this ground, that, professionally forced to the contemplation, and forced
more terribly by doubts and difficulties that nearly shattered morals and life, till
I was left alone with myself and Him, I am, perhaps, qualified to speak with a
decision that would be otherwise dogmatism.2 [Note: Life and Letters of F. W.
Robertson, 407.]
2. “He shall know of the teaching.”—We ought to fix in our minds what exactly
Jesus intended by His words when He spoke of knowing the teaching and doing
the will. He did not mean that we must be acquainted with the various dogmas
which scientific religion has from time to time created and into whose mould the
fluid idea concerning spiritual truth has been run. Dogmas are the achievement
of the intellect, and the Pharisees were exceedingly strong in their dogmatic
knowledge. When Jesus spoke of teaching He referred to the burden of His own
teaching, and the sum of all His teaching was God. His aim was to impress the
mind with a certain idea of God, and it was a moral rather than an intellectual
conception. We do not find Jesus enlarging upon the existence and attributes of
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![God after the manner, say, of the Athanasian Creed. He said nothing about the
being of God, but He endeavoured to convince men that God was the merciful
and faithful Father of the human race; that He loved men, both good and bad,
with a patient fatherly love; that He desired His children to abandon their sins
and come home to His fellowship; that He was ready to receive them if they
would only trust and obey Him. This was not theology, it was religion. It was not
God’s being but God’s doing that Jesus preached, not His nature but His
character. He desired not that men should solve problems about God, but that
they should have fellowship with Him.
I cannot but think that the brethren sometimes err in measuring the Divine love
by the sinner’s knowledge.1 [Note: Dinah Morris, in Adam Bede.]
3. “Whether it be of God.”—The earnest purpose to do the will of God operates
upon the heart of man, and leads him to the knowledge of the teaching, whether
it be of God. Who can set himself to the higher life without there coming upon
his soul a sense of contrast between such life and that which he has hitherto led?
There is something enlightening in the very entertainment of a true purpose. It
gives notice to all the unworthy passions of the heart that a conflict is at hand.
The birth of this heavenly resolution is not unmingled pleasure. It cannot be. For
there is a past which comes up with its records of sin and guilt, and the man feels
that that past is his, and cannot be treated as if it had never been. He cannot
wipe it from his memory, nor can he silence the accusations of conscience. Does
not the soul feel that the teaching is of God, whatever may be the mysteries
which envelop it—that it is of God, because it addresses itself to the awakened
conscience—that it is of God, because it does not sweep justice away that it may
find room for mercy, but blends the claims of both in the sovereign and the
fatherly dispensation which saves the sinner, while it condemns his sins?
I asked myself what my life was, and received as an answer: “An evil and an
absurdity.” And indeed, my life—that life of pampered appetites and whims—
was meaningless and evil, and so the answer, “Life is evil and meaningless,” had
reference only to my life, and not to human life in general. I comprehended the
truth, which I later found in the gospel, that men had come to love the darkness
more than the light because their deeds were bad, for those who did bad deeds
hated the light and did not go to it, lest their deeds be disclosed. I saw that in
order to comprehend the meaning of life it was necessary, first of all, that life
should not be meaningless and evil, and then only was reason needed for the
understanding of it. I comprehended why I had so long walked round such a
manifest truth, and that if I were to think and speak of the life of humanity, I
ought to think and speak of the life of humanity, and not of the life of a few
parasites of life. This truth had always been a truth, just as two times two was
four, but I had not recognized it because, if I recognized that two times two was
four, I should have had to recognize that I was not good, whereas it was more
important and obligatory for me to feel myself good than to feel that two times
two was four. I came to love good people and to hate myself, and I recognized the
truth. Now everything became clear to me.1 [Note: Tolstoy, My Confession
(Complete Works, xiii. 62).]
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![4. What wonderful light the words of our Lord cast on the true channel through
which spiritual knowledge enters man, and how they rebuke the pride and
arrogance of that reason which presumes to have the power to master all things.
Reason has its sphere assigned to it by its Maker, and within that sphere it is “a
vision and a faculty Divine”; but there are realms in which it plays, and was
designed to play, a subordinate part, and in which its discovering power is very
small. Even apart from religion, how many departments of truth there are in
which reason is but an incompetent authority. How many men of the highest
intellectual powers are shut out of the beauties created by the genius of the artist,
the poet, the painter, the sculptor, and the musician. Their reason is blind and
deaf before forms and sounds of the most transcendent loveliness. Many a
mathematician, peerless in his power of calculation, stands in blank and
unsympathetic mood before the loveliest forms that ever breathed on the canvas;
and many a logician, whom no sophistry could elude, hears nothing but a
succession of incoherent and confused noises in some marvellous creation of
music which enthrals the appreciative soul. And yet the truth of art is as true as
that of such matters as are within the province of reason itself, and can no more
be justly discarded or despised by the merely intellectual philosopher than the
radiant glories of the external universe can be denied by the man who is blind.
So also, but in still higher degree, religion has its truths, which, though not
contrary to reason, lie beyond its power to discover or, it may be, for the present,
to harmonize. Shall reason, shut out of so many realms of truth even in the
natural world, claim a sovereignty over the world in which infinite love and
infinite wisdom are displaying their resources to redeem man from sin? Reason
by itself has almost as little to do with the deeper experiences of the soul as
affection has to do with the questions of arithmetic or the problems of geometry;
for these deeper experiences are those of repentance, remorse, faith, hope,
temptation, and struggle and heavenward aspiration. Love is ever the key to the
deepest mysteries. Though shut to the scrutiny of the keenest reason, they open
to the knocking of an affectionate and reverent heart. Hidden from those who
regard themselves as the wise and prudent, they are revealed unto babes. They
that seek to do the will of God shall indeed be taught of Him.
If e’er when faith had fall’n asleep,
I heard a voice “believe no more”
And heard an ever-breaking shore
That tumbled in the Godless deep;
A warmth within the breast would melt
The freezing reason’s colder part,
And like a man in wrath the heart
Stood up and answer’d “I have felt.”1 [Note: Tennyson, In Memoriam.]
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![I’ve seen pretty clear ever since I was a young un, as religion’s something else
besides notions. It isn’t notions sets people doing the right thing—it’s feelings.
It’s the same with the notions in religion as it is with math’matics,—a man may
be able to work problems straight off in’s head as he sits by the fire and smokes
his pipe; but if he has to make a machine or a building, he must have a will and a
resolution, and love something else better than his own ease.1 [Note: Adam Bede,
in Adam Bede.]
5. There are two types of men to whom Jesus’ words ought to be a warning.
(1) The first is the man who supposes that he knows the doctrine, but is not doing
the will. Is he sure that he knows anything which counts when his knowledge is
so absolutely divorced from life? He has a very strong theory about the
inspiration of the Bible, but what good is his devotion to the letter when the spirit
of the Book has not affected his heart? He believes that he knows God, but how
can he?—for God is love, and this man is not loving his brother. He is very keen
about the Deity of Christ, but what right has he to speak of Christ since he will
not carry Christ’s cross in mercy and humility? He is convinced that his sins are
forgiven, and prates about assurance, but can they be loosed if he will not give
quittance to his brother man? He has an unfaltering confidence that he will
reach heaven when he dies, but what place can he have in heaven who to-day is
carrying a hell of unclean or malignant passions in his heart?
(2) The other is the man who is proud of his scepticism, and complains that he
cannot know, while all the time he is refusing to obey. Granted that the Holy
Trinity and the sacrifice of Christ are mysteries, and that God Himself is the
chief mystery of all, he ought to remember that everything in life is not a
mystery. It is open to us all to do our daily work with a single mind, to be patient
amid the reverses of life, to be thoughtful in the discharge of our family duties,
and to be self-denying in the management of our souls. Duty at any rate is no
mystery, and it is grotesque that a man should proclaim that he cannot believe
the most profound truths when he is making no honest effort to keep the plainest
commandments.
“I wish I had your creed, then I would live your life,” said a seeker after truth to
Pascal, the great French thinker. “Live my life, and you will soon have my
creed,” was the swift reply. The solution of all difficulties of faith lies in Pascal’s
answer, which is after all but a variant of Christ’s greater saying, “He that
willeth to do the will of God, shall know the teaching.” Is not the whole reason
why, for so many of us, the religion of Christ which we profess has so little in it
to content us, simply this, that we have never heartily and honestly tried to
practise it?1 [Note: W. J. Dawson, The Empire of Love, 101.]
Therefore be strong, be strong,
Ye that remain, nor fruitlessly revolve,
Darkling, the riddles which ye cannot solve,
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![But do the works that unto you belong;
Believing that for every mystery,
For all the death, the darkness, and the curse
Of this dim universe,
Needs a solution full of love must be:
And that the way whereby ye may attain
Nearest to this, is not through broodings vain
And half-rebellious, questionings of God,
But by a patient seeking to fulfil
The purpose of His everlasting will,
Treading the path which lowly men have trod.
Since it is ever they who are too proud
For this, that are the foremost and most loud
To judge His hidden judgments, these are still
The most perplexed and lost at His mysterious will.2 [Note: Trench, Poems, 102.]
6. Jesus’ word has great comfort for two kinds of people.
(1) The first is the man who is harassed by many perplexing questions, but who
is doing his duty bravely. Courage, we say, and patience. No one ever carried
Christ’s Cross without coming near to Christ Himself, and where Christ is, the
light is sure to break. There is no sacrifice we make, no service we render, that is
not bringing us nearer to the heart of things; for the heart of the universe is love.
Let us watch as those who watch for the morning, and watch at our work, for the
day will break and it will come with morning songs. St. Thomas could hardly
believe anything, but he was willing to die with Christ, and Christ showed him
His wounds.
With anxious thoughts at this time General Booth avers, when the rubicon was
passed and the severance from the Methodist New Connexion made final, “That
he and his wife went out together not knowing a soul who would give them a
shilling, neither knowing where to go.” Mrs. Booth wrote to her parents, “I am
so nervous I can scarcely write. I am almost bewildered with fatigue and anxiety.
If I thought it was right to stop here in the ordinary work I would gladly consent.
But I cannot believe that it would be so. Why should he spend another year
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![plodding round this wreck of a circuit, preaching to twenty, thirty, and forty
people, when, with the same amount of cost to himself, he might be preaching to
thousands? And none of our friends would think it right if we had an income.
Then, I ask, does the securing of our bread and cheese make that right which
would otherwise be wrong when God has promised to feed and clothe us? I think
not; William hesitates. He thinks of me and the children, and I appreciate his
love and care. But I tell him that God will provide if he will only go straight on in
the path of duty. It is strange that I, who always used to shrink from the
sacrifice, should be the first in making it.”1 [Note: The Life Story of General
Booth, 55.]
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Was thy dream then a shadowy lie?
Toil on, sad heart, courageously,
And thou shalt find thy dream to be
A noonday light and truth to thee.2 [Note: Ellen S. Hooper.]
(2) The other is the man who laments the simplicity of his intellect. Be of good
cheer, and do not despair or despise yourself. The Master thanked God that He
had hidden the deep things from the wise and had revealed them to babes; He
also set a child in the midst of the disciples and told them that if any one desired
to be great he must become as a little child. It is not through deep thinking, but
through faithful doing, that one comes to know the mystery of God; and faithful
doing is within every one’s reach. The path which philosophers and scientists
have often missed has been found by shepherds on the hills, and by working
women. Mary of Bethany and the fishermen of Galilee knew more of God than
the scholars of Jerusalem.
One hears sometimes of religious controversies running very high; about faith,
works, grace, prevenient grace, the Arches Court and Essays and Reviews;—into
none of which do I enter, or concern myself with your entering. One thing I will
remind you of, That the essence and outcome of all religions, creeds and liturgies
whatsoever is, To do one’s work in a faithful manner. Unhappy caitiff, what to
you is the use of orthodoxy, if with every stroke of your hammer you are
breaking all the Ten Commandments,—operating upon Devil’s-dust, and, with
constant invocation of the Devil, endeavouring to reap where you have not sown?
3 [Note: Carlyle, Miscellaneous Essays, vii. 229.]
NISBET, “KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE
‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.’
John 7:17
‘All men naturally desire knowledge,’ said the ‘master of those who know,’ and it
is a statement never more re-echoed than to-day. But among the varieties of
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![but he that seeketh his glory that sent him; that gave him in commission what
he should say and speak, and his only; as did Christ, and so his apostles after him:
the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him; he is an upright and
faithful man, and what he says is truth; he brings true doctrine along with him, and
there is no fraud or imposture in him; nor any insincerity "in his heart", as the Syriac
and Persic versions render it; nor any dishonesty in his conduct; he is no cheat or
deceiver; was he, he would seek his own glory and interest; but as he appears to be a
man of no design, his doctrine is to be depended on and received; and such was
Christ.
HENRY, "[3.] That hereby it appeared that Christ, as a teacher, did not speak of
himself, because he did not seek himself, Joh_7:18. First, See here the character of a
deceiver: he seeketh his own glory, which is a sign that he speaks of himself, as the
false Christs and false prophets did. Here is the description of the cheat: they speak
of themselves, and have no commission nor instructions from God; no warrant but
their own will, no inspiration but their own imagination, their own policy and
artifice. Ambassadors speak not of themselves; those ministers disclaim that
character who glory in this that they speak of themselves. But see the discovery of the
cheat; by this their pretensions are disproved, they consult purely their own glory;
self-seekers are self-speakers. Those who speak from God will speak for God, and for
his glory; those who aim at their own preferment and interest make it to appear that
they had no commission form God. Secondly, See the contrary character Christ gives
of himself and his doctrine: He that seeks his glory that sent him, as I do, makes it to
appear that he is true. 1. He was sent of God. Those teachers, and those only, who are
sent of God, are to be received and entertained by us. Those who bring a divine
message must prove a divine mission, either by special revelation or by regular
institution. 2. He sought the glory of God. It was both the tendency of his doctrine
and the tenour of his whole conversation to glorify God. 3. This was a proof that he
was true, and there was no unrighteousness in him. False teachers are most
unrighteous; they are unjust to God whose name they abuse, and unjust to the souls
of men whom they impose upon. There cannot be a greater piece of unrighteousness
than this. But Christ made it appear that he was true, that he was really what he said
he was, that there was no unrighteousness in him, no falsehood in his doctrine, no
fallacy nor fraud in his dealings with us.
2. They discourse concerning the crime that was laid to his charge for curing the
impotent man, and bidding him carry his bed on the sabbath day, for which they had
formerly prosecuted him, and which was still the pretence of their enmity to him.
CALVIN, "18.He who speaketh from himself. Hitherto he has showed that there
is no other reason why men are blind, but because they are not governed by the
fear of God. He now puts another mark on the doctrine itself, by which it may be
known whether it is of God or of man. For every thing that displays the glory of
God is holy and divine; but every thing that contributes to the ambition of men,
and, by exalting them, obscures the glory of God, not only has no claim to be
believed, but ought to be vehemently rejected. He who shall make the glory of
God the object at which he aims will never go wrong; he who shall try and prove
by this touchstone what is brought forward in the name of God will never be
deceived by the semblance of right. We are also reminded by it that no man can
faithfully discharge the office of teacher in the Church, unless he be void of
ambition, and resolve to make it his sole object to promote, to the utmost of his
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![of ᆇ οχλος, the multitude, it serves to show the malice of his enemies in a still stronger
light: for, fearing lest their wish to put him to death might not be gratified, and that
his teaching should prevail among the common people; to ruin his credit, and
prevent his usefulness, they give out that he was possessed by a demon; and that,
though he might be pitied as a miserable man, yet he must not be attended to as a
teacher of righteousness. Malice and envy are ever active and indefatigable, leaving
no stone unturned, no mean unused, that they may win the object of their
resentment. See the note on Joh_7:26.
GILL, "The people answered and said,.... These seem to be the country people,
who came from Galilee and other parts, who knew nothing of the designs of the
Jerusalem Jews upon him; nor were they his downright enemies at least, but rather
seemed to favour him, and were on his side, though greatly provoked to hear him talk
after this manner:
thou hast a devil; or art possessed with one; thou talkest like one of the demoniacs,
like a madman, one beside thyself; whom the devil has so much power over, and has
so deprived of thy senses, that thou knowest not what thou sayest:
who goeth about to kill thee? no man; for they could not believe that any man, or
body of men, would be so wicked, as to attempt to take away the life of so harmless a
person, and who did so much good both to the bodies and souls of men.
HENRY, "Here the people rudely interrupted him in his discourse, and
contradicted what he said (Joh_7:20): Thou has a devil; who goes about to kill thee?
This intimates, [1.] The good opinion they had of their rulers, who, they think, would
never attempt so atrocious a thing as to kill him; no, such a veneration they had for
their elders and chief priests that they would swear for them they would do no harm
to an innocent man. Probably the rulers had their little emissaries among the people
who suggested this to them; many deny that wickedness which at the same time they
are contriving. [2.] The ill opinion they had of our Lord Jesus: “Thou hast a devil,
thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and art a bad man for saying so;” so some: or
rather, “Thou art melancholy, and art a weak man; thou frightenest thyself with
causeless fears, as hypochondriacal people are apt to do.” Not only open frenzies, but
silent melancholies, were then commonly imputed to the power of Satan. “Thou art
crazed, has a distempered brain.” Let us not think it strange if the best of men are put
under the worst of characters. To this vile calumny our Saviour returns no direct
answer, but seems as if he took no notice of it. Note, Those who would be like Christ
must put up with affronts, and pass by the indignities and injuries done them; must
not regard them, much less resent them, and least of all revenge them. I, as a deaf
man, heard not. When Christ was reviled, he reviled not again,
JAMIESON, "The people answered, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about
to kill thee? — This was said by the multitude, who as yet had no bad feeling to
Jesus, and were not in the secret of the plot hatching, as our Lord knew, against Him.
CALVIN, "20.Thou hast a devil. The meaning is, “Thou art mad;” for it was a
customary phrase among the Jews, who had been trained to the doctrine that,
when men are excited to rage, or when they have lost sense and reason, they are
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![take up his bed and walk, on the sabbath day: they did not marvel at the miracle that
was wrought; but were amazed, offended, and disturbed, at its being done on the
sabbath day.
HENRY, "(2.) He argues by way of appeal and vindication.
[1.] He appeals to their own sentiments of this miracle: “I have done one work,
and you all marvel, Joh_7:21. You cannot choose but marvel at it as truly great, and
altogether supernatural; you must all own it to be marvellous.” Or, “Though I have
done but one work that you have any colour to find fault with, yet you marvel, you
are offended and displeased as if I had been guilty of some heinous or enormous
crime.”
[2.] He appeals to their own practice in other instances: “I have done one work on
the sabbath, and it was done easily, with a word's speaking, and you all marvel, you
make a mighty strange thing of it, that a religious man should dare do such a thing,
whereas you yourselves many a time do that which is a much more servile work on
the sabbath day, in the case of circumcision; if it be lawful for you, nay, and your
duty, to circumcise a child on the sabbath day, when it happens to be the eighth day,
as no doubt it is, much more was it lawful and good for me to heal a diseased man on
that day.” Observe,
First, The rise and origin of circumcision: Moses gave you circumcision, gave you
the law concerning it. Here, 1. Circumcision is said to be given, and (Joh_7:23) they
are said to receive it; it was not imposed upon them as a yoke, but conferred upon
them as a favour. Note, The ordinances of God, and particularly those which are seals
of the covenant, are gifts given to men, and are to be received as such. 2. Moses is
said to give it, because it was a part of that law which was given by Moses; yet, as
Christ said of the manna (Joh_6:32), Moses did not give it them, but God; nay, and it
was not of Moses first, but of the fathers, Joh_7:22. Though it was incorporated into
the Mosaic institution, yet it was ordained long before, for it was a seal of the
righteousness of faith, and therefore commenced with the promise four hundred and
thirty years before, Gal_3:17. The church membership of believers and their seed was
not of Moses or his law, and therefore did not fall with it; but was of the fathers,
belonged to the patriarchal church, and was part of that blessing of Abraham which
was to come upon the Gentiles, Gal_3:14.
Secondly, The respect paid to the law of circumcision above that of the sabbath, in
the constant practice of the Jewish church. The Jewish casuists frequently take notice
of it, Circumcisio et ejus sanatio pellit sabbbatum - Circumcision and its cure drive
away the sabbath; so that if a child was born one sabbath day it was without fail
circumcised the next. If then, when the sabbath rest was more strictly insisted on, yet
those works were allowed which were in ordine ad spiritualia - for the keeping up of
religion, much more are they allowed now under the gospel, when the stress is laid
more upon the sabbath work.
JAMIESON 21-24, "I have done one work, etc. — Taking no notice of the
popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He
recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (Joh_
5:9, Joh_5:16, Joh_5:18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year
and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt “to kill Him” brought
up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if indeed
they had ever forgotten it; and by this fearless reference to it, exposing their
hypocrisy and dark designs, He gave His position great moral strength.
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![certainly was a servile work) was counted no infringement of the Law. How much
less ought fault to be found with One who had made a man “every whit whole” - or
rather, “a man’s entire body whole” - on the sabbath-day? What a testimony to the
reality of the miracle, none daring to meet the bold appeal.
CALVIN, "22.Therefore Moses gave you circumcision The particle therefore
appears to be unsuitable; and, accordingly, some take διὰ τούτο (on this account,
or therefore) in the sense of διὰ τούτο, (because;) but the Greek syntax is
unfavourable to their opinion. (189) I explain it simply as meaning, that
circumcision was enjoined in such a manner that the practice of that symbolical
rite was necessary even on the Sabbath-day Therefore, says he; that is, it has in
this manner been sufficiently demonstrated to them, that the worship of the
Sabbath is not violated by the works of God. And although Christ accommodates
the instance of circumcision to the present subject, yet he immediately makes use
of a correction, when he says, that Moses was not the first minister of
circumcision. But it was enough for his purpose, that Moses, who so rigidly
demanded the keeping of the Sabbath, commanded that infants should be
circumcised on the eighth day, even though it should fall on the day of Rest (190)
LIGHTFOOT, "22. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it
is of Moses, but of the fathers); and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
[Ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.] They do all things that are necessary
towards circumcision on the sabbath day. "R. Akibah saith, Any work that may
be done on the vespers of the sabbath must not be done on the sabbath; but
circumcision, when it cannot be done on the vespers of the sabbath, may be done
on the sabbath day."
"Danger of life nulleth the sabbath: circumcision also, and its cure, nulleth the
sabbath."
But as to this matter, they distinguish in Bereshith Rabba: "Jacob of Nabor
taught us in Tsur: It is lawful to circumcise the son of a stranger on the sabbath
day. R. Haggai heard this, and sent to him saying, Come and be disciplined," &c.
And a little after; "R. Haggai saith to him, Lie down [to take discipline] and I
will teach you. If a heathen come to you, and say, I would be made a Jew, so that
he would be circumcised on the sabbath day, or on the day of Expiation, will we,
for his sake, profane those days? Do we ever profane those days either of the
sabbath, or Expiation, for any other than one born of an Israelitess only?" We
meet with the same also in Bemidbar Rabba, and Midras Coheleth.
Let us look a little into the way of Christ's arguing in this place: to me it seems
thus: "Moses, therefore, gave you circumcision, that you might rightly
understand the nature of the sabbath: for, I. Circumcision was to be observed by
the fathers before Moses, punctually on the eight day. II. Now, therefore, when
Moses established the laws about the sabbath, he did by no means forbid the
work of circumcision on the sabbath, if it happened to be the eighth day. III. For
this did Moses give and continue circumcision among you, that you might learn
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![from hence to judge of the nature of the sabbath day. And let us, therefore, argue
it: If by Moses' institution and allowance it was lawful, for the advantage of the
infant, to circumcise him on the sabbath day, is it not warrantable, by Moses'
law, for the advantage of a grown man, to heal him on the sabbath day? If it be
lawful to wound an infant by circumcision, surely it is equally, if not much more,
lawful to heal a man by a word's speaking."
CONSTABLE, “The antecedent of "On account of this" or "Yet" (Gr. dia touto)
is unclear. It could refer to what precedes. This interpretation would yield a
translation such as "you all marvel because of this." [Note: Bruce, p. 177; J. N.
Sanders, Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, p. 207.] However,
John consistently placed this phrase first when he used it in other clauses. [Note:
Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 314.] Probably Jesus was referring to His healing of
the paralytic (John 7:21) as representing God's desire for physical wholeness.
Moses prescribed circumcision for the physical wellbeing of the Israelites as well
as for other reasons (Leviticus 12:3). The Jews recognized this and consequently
circumcised male infants on the eighth day following their births even if that day
was a Sabbath. Normally observant Jews did no work on the Sabbath.
Jesus' parenthetic reference to the fact that the circumcision legislation really
began with the patriarchs and not Moses was probably a sleight depreciation of
Moses. Jesus' critics claimed to follow Moses faithfully, but in keeping the
circumcision law they were not truly honoring him but Abraham (Genesis
17:9-14). Technically Moses only incorporated the circumcision law into the
Mosaic Code, as he did many other older laws.
23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the
Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be
broken, why are you angry with me for healing
a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?
BARNES, "That the law of Moses should not be broken - In order that the
law requiring it to be done at a specified time, though that might occur on the
Sabbath, should be kept.
Are ye angry ... - The argument of Jesus is this: “You yourselves, in interpreting
the law about the Sabbath, allow a work of necessity to be done. You do that which is
necessary as an ordinance of religion denoting separation from other nations, or
external purity. As you allow this, you ought also, for the same reason, to allow that a
man should be completely restored to health - that a work of much more importance
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![not, therefore, object to His healing a whole adult then. Moreover they
performed circumcisions regularly on the Sabbath, but Jesus had only healed
one man on one Sabbath. Circumcision was an operation designed to insure good
health. The circumcised child was not even ill. Jesus on the other hand had
healed a man who had suffered with a serious handicap for 38 years. Moreover
circumcision was only a purification rite, but healing a paralytic involved
deliverance from enslavement. Therefore it was unfair for Jesus' critics to be
angry with Him for what He had done.
The Jews had established a hierarchy of activities by which they judged the
legitimacy of performing any work on the Sabbath (cf. Matthew 12:9-10). They
based this hierarchy on necessary need, urgency. Jesus also operated from a
hierarchical viewpoint, but He based His hierarchy on what was best for people
(Mark 2:27).
"Had his opponents understood the implications of the Mosaic provision for
circumcision on the Sabbath they would have seen that deeds of mercy such as he
has just done were not merely permissible but obligatory. Moses quite
understood that some things should be done even on the Sabbath. The Jews had
his words but not his meaning." [Note: Morris, p. 362.]
24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but
instead judge correctly.”
BARNES, "Judge not according to the appearance - Not as a thing first
offers itself to you, without reflection or candor. In appearance, to circumcise a child
on the Sabbath might be a violation of the law; yet you do it, and it is right. So, to
appearance, it might be a violation of the Sabbath to heal a man, yet it is right to do
works of necessity and mercy.
Judge righteous judgment - Candidly; looking at the law, and inquiring what
its spirit really requires.
CLARKE, "Judge not according to the appearance - Attend to the law, not
merely in the letter, but in its spirit and design. Learn that the law which commands
men to rest on the Sabbath day is subordinate to the law of mercy and love, which
requires them to be ever active to promote God’s glory in the comfort and salvation
of their fellow creatures; and endeavor to judge of the merit or demerit of an action,
not from the first impression it may make upon your prejudices but from its
tendency, and the motives of the person, as far as it is possible for you to acquaint
yourselves with them; still believing the best, where you have no certain proof to the
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![Christ had said, "Lay aside your prejudices against my person, and compare
these cases attentively and impartially with one another; and then see whether
you can justly condemn me as a sabbath-breaker, and acquit yourselves." Such
was the perfect innocency of our Saviour's actions, that he could and did submit
them to the reason and judgment of his very enemies.
Division Over Who Jesus Is
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem
began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying
to kill?
GILL, "Then said some of them of Jerusalem,.... Who were inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and so are distinguished from the people, Joh_7:20, who came up out of
the country to the feast; so Jose ben Jochanan is called ירושלים ,איש "a man of
Jerusalem" (c); that is, an inhabitant of it: now these men living in the city, knew
more of the temper and disposition, the designs and attempts, of the chief priests,
Scribes, and elders, to take away the life of Christ; and therefore say,
is not this he whom they seek to kill? they knew that they had formed a design
to kill him, ever since the passover before the last; when he wrought the miracle
referred to in the text, and that they had been ever since plotting against his life, and
were now at this feast seeking an opportunity to lay hold on him and kill him.
HENRY, "3. Christ discourses with them here concerning himself, whence he
came, and whither he was going, Joh_7:25-36.
(1.) Whence he came, Joh_7:25-31. In the account of this observe,
[1.] The objection concerning this stated by some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
who seem to have been of all others most prejudiced against him, Joh_7:25. One
would think that those who lived at the fountain-head of knowledge and religion
should have been most ready to receive the Messiah: but it proved quite contrary.
Those that have plenty of the means of knowledge and grace, if they are not made
better by them, are commonly made worse; and our Lord Jesus has often met with
the least welcome from those that one would expect the best from. But it was not
without some just cause that it came into a proverb, The nearer the church the
further from God. These people of Jerusalem showed their ill-will to Christ,
First, By their reflecting on the rulers, because they let him alone: Is not this he
whom they seek to kill? The multitude of the people that came up out of the country
to the feast did not suspect there was any design on foot against him, and therefore
they said, Who goes about to kill thee? Joh_7:20. But those of Jerusalem knew the
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![unbelief would of itself have kept back this multitude; but when that obstacle has
been removed, they contrive a new reason for themselves, that they may not
come to the faith. And even though it were proper that they should be influenced
by the example of their rulers, they are so far from following what is right, that
they willingly stumble at the first step. Thus it frequently happens, that men who
had begun well fall away quickly, unless the Lord conduct them to the very end
of their career.
But when Christ shall come. The argument by which they obstruct their own
progress is this: “The Prophets have testified that the origin of Christ will be
unknown. Now we know whence this man is, and therefore we cannot reckon
him to be the Christ. ” Hence we are reminded how pernicious it is to mangle the
Scriptures, and even Christ himself, so as not to admit more than the half of him.
God promised that the Redeemer would be of the seed of David; but he
frequently claims this office as peculiar to himself; therefore, he must have been
God manifested in the flesh, that he might be the Redeemer of his Church. Thus
Micah points out the place where Christ would be born. Out of thee, Bethlehem,
he says, a Prince shall come, to govern my people But, immediately afterwards,
he speaks of another going forth which is far loftier, and then he says that it is
hidden and secret, (Micah 5:2.) Yet those wretched men, when they perceived in
Christ nothing but what is liable to contempt, draw the absurd conclusion, that
he is not the person who had been promised. On the mean condition of Christ in
the flesh let us therefore learn to look in such a manner, that this state of
humiliation, which is despised by wicked men, may raise us to his heavenly glory.
Thus Bethlehem, where the man was to be born, will be to us a door by which we
may enter into the presence of the eternal God.
LIGHTFOOT, "27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ
cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
[When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.] How doth this agree with
verse 42, and with Matthew 2:5, 6? They doubted not, indeed, but he should give
the first manifestation of himself from Bethlehem; but then they supposed he
would be hid again; and after some space of time make a new appearance, from
what place no one could tell.
Jewish authors tell you, that Christ, before their times, had indeed been born in
Bethlehem, but immediately snatched away they knew not whither, and so hid
that he could not be found. We related the whole story before in our notes at
Matthew 2:1.
Their conceptions in this thing we have explained to us in Midras Schir: "'My
beloved is like a roe or a young hart,' Canticles 2:9. A roe appears and is hid,
appears and is hid again. So our first redeemer [Moses] appeared and was hid,
and at length appeared again. So our latter Redeemer [Messiah] shall be
revealed to them, and shall be hid again from them; and how long shall he be hid
from them?" &c. A little after; "In the end of forty-five days he shall be revealed
again, and cause manna to descend amongst them."
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![They conceive a twofold manifestation of the Messiah; the first, in Bethlehem;
but will straightway disappear and lie hid. At length he will shew himself; but
from what place and at what time that will be, no one knew. In his first
appearance in Bethlehem, he should do nothing that was memorable; in his
second was the hope and expectation of the nation. The Jews therefore who tell
our Saviour here, that "when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is,"
whether they knew him to have been born at Bethlehem or no, yet by his
wonderful works they conceive this to have been the second manifestation of
himself: and therefore only doubt whether he should be the Messiah or no,
because they knew the place [Nazareth] from whence he came; having been
taught by tradition, that Messiah should come the second time from a place
perfectly unknown to all men.
COFFMAN, “The evil rulers made many arguments against the Messianic claims
of Jesus: (1) Here they argued that the Messiah would have some mysterious
origin; and, of course, they pretended to know all about the origin of Christ,
although they did not. (2) They insisted that no prophet could come out of
Galilee, because none ever had come from Galilee; but, in their arrogance, they
were wrong on both counts, Jonah having come from Gath-Hepher, only three
and one-half miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25), and the Christ himself hailing
from there! (3) They insisted that Elijah must first come; but they ignored John
the Baptist's being the fulfillment of that prophecy.
No one knoweth whence he is ... This notion was a spin-off from the casuistry of
the Pharisees and deserves a little more attention. As Adam Clarke said:
The generality of the people knew that Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem ...
But from Isaiah 53:8, "Who shall declare his generation?" they thought that
there should be something so peculiarly mysterious in his birth, or in the manner
of his appearing, that no person could fully understand. Had they considered his
miraculous conception, they would have felt their minds relieved on that
point.[7]
The Pharisees had evidently talked with Joseph and Mary; but, if so, it is certain
that those devout souls would have told those nosey representatives of the ruling
class nothing whatever of the visit of the angel Gabriel, nor of the miraculous
birth of our Lord. Whatever investigation the Pharisees had conducted, it failed
to reveal either (1) the fact of Jesus' birth at Bethlehem, or (2) the miraculous
conception. Their arrogance in pretending to know all about Jesus, and then
daring to make their presumed "knowledge" the basis of rejecting him as the
Messiah is an example of human self-deception and conceit unsurpassed in the
history of the world.
ENDNOTE:
[7] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Whole Bible (London: Mason and Lane,
1837), Vol. V, p. 571.
ELLICOTT, “(27) Howbeit we know this man.—They at once supply a
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![GILL, "Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught,.... Overhearing the
reasonings of these men, however, knowing what they said; so the Persic version
adds, "having secretly known this"; exalted his voice as he was teaching in the
temple, and in the midst of his discourse, publicly before all the people, in the
temple, spoke out with a loud voice, that all might hear:
saying, ye both know me, and ye know whence I am; some, as the Ethiopic
version, read these words by way of interrogation, "do ye both know me, and do ye
know from whence I am?" no; you do not. Or they may be considered as an ironical
concession; yes, you know me, and you know whence I am; you know me to be Jesus
of Nazareth, but you are wrong, I am not of Nazareth; you suppose I come, from
Galilee, but that is your ignorance; you take me to be the real son of Joseph, to be
begotten by him on Mary, but that is your mistake: such is your knowledge of me:
you know me indeed who I am, and from whence I come.
And I am not come of myself; into this world, by incarnation, or the assumption
of human nature, to work out the salvation of men; the Father called him to it, and he
agreeing to do it, was in the fulness of time sent about it; this was not a device of his
own, or an honour he took to himself; he was not alone in it; it was a mutual
agreement between him and his Father, in consequence of which he was sent and
came.
But he that sent me is true; to the covenant he made with Christ, and to the
promises he made to the fathers of the Old Testament, concerning the mission of his
Son; and he is true to be believed, in the testimonies he gave of him, particularly by a
voice from heaven, declaring him his beloved Son.
Whom ye know not; so that notwithstanding all their boasted knowledge of him,
they knew not his Father, from whence he came, and by whom he was sent; and
notwithstanding also their boasted knowledge of the one, only, true, and living God,
see Rom_2:17; yet they knew him not in a spiritual sense; they knew him not in
Christ, nor as the Father of Christ; they knew neither the Father nor the Son: and this
their ignorance of both was the reason of their hatred of Christ, and of his followers,
Joh_15:21.
HENRY, "[2.] Christ's answer to this objection, Joh_7:28, Joh_7:29.
First, He spoke freely and boldly, he cried in the temple, as he taught, he spoke
this louder than the rest of his discourse, 1. To express his earnestness, being grieved
for the hardness of their hearts. There may be a vehemency in contending for the
truth where yet there is no intemperate heat nor passion. We may instruct gainsayers
with warmth, and yet with meekness. 2. The priests and those that were prejudiced
against him, did not come near enough to hear his preaching, and therefore he must
speak louder than ordinary what he will have them to hear. Whoever has ears to hear,
let him hear this.
Secondly, His answer to their cavil is, 1. By way of concession, granting that they
did or might know his origin as to the flesh: “You both know me, and you know
whence I am. You know I am of your own nation, and one of yourselves.” It is no
disparagement to the doctrine of Christ that there is that in it which is level to the
capacities of the meanest, plain truths, discovered even by nature's light, of which we
may say, We know whence they are. “You know me, you think you know me; but you
are mistaken; you take me to be the carpenter's son, and born at Nazareth, but it is
not so.” 2. By way of negation, denying that that which they did see in him, and know
of him, was all that was to be known; and therefore, if they looked no further, they
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![But he who hath sent me is true. He calls God true in the same sense that Paul
calls himfaithful
If we are unbelievers, says he, he remaineth faithful, he cannot deny himself,
(2 Timothy 2:13.)
For his object is to prove, that the credit due to the Gospel is not in the smallest
degree diminished by the utmost exertions of the world to overthrow it; that
though wicked men may attempt to take from Christ what belonged to him, still
he remains unimpaired, because the truth of God is firm and is always like itself.
Christ sees that he is despised; but so far is he from yielding, that, on the
contrary, he boldly repels the furious arrogance of those who hold him in no
estimation. With such unshaken and heroic fortitude all believers ought to be
endued; nay, more, our faith will never be solid or lasting, unless it treat with
contempt the presumption of wicked men, when they rise up against Christ.
Above all, godly teachers, relying on this support, ought to persevere in
maintaining sound doctrine, even though it should be opposed by the whole
world. Thus Jeremiah appeals to God as his defender and guardian, because he
is condemned as an impostor:
Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, says he, and I was deceived,
(Jeremiah 20:7.)
Thus Isaiah, overwhelmed on all sides by calumnies and reproaches, flies to this
refuge, that God will approve his cause, (Isaiah 50:8.) Thus Paul, oppressed by
unjust judgments, appeals against all to the day of the Lord, (1 Corinthians 4:5,)
reckoning it enough to have God alone to place against the whole world, however
it may rage and storm.
Whom you knew not. He means that it is not wonderful that he is not known by
the Jews, because they do not know God; for the beginning of wisdom is, to
behold God.
LIGHTFOOT, "28. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both
know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that
sent me is true, whom ye know not.
[He that sent me is true, whom ye know not.] "The men of Judea may be credited
as to the purity of the wine and the oil." Gloss: "Even the people of the land, the
very vulgar sort, may be credited for the purity of the wine and the oil, which is
dedicated by them to the altar in the time of the vintage or pressing."
Men not known by name or face to the priests, yet if they offered wine or oil,
were credited as to the purity and fitness of either, from their place of habitation.
There are numberless instances of men, though perfectly unknown, yet that may
be credited, either as to tithes, or separating the Trumah, or giving their
testimony, &c. To the same sense our Saviour, chapter 5:31, "If I bear witness of
myself, my witness is not true"; i.e. in your judicatories it is not of any value with
you, where no one is allowed to be a witness for himself. And in this place, "'He
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![pronouncement followed (cf. John 1:15; John 7:37; John 12:44). Jesus said that
His hearers did know Him. Probably He meant that they knew who He was
superficially (cf. John 7:24) and knew that He had an earthly origin (John 6:42),
but they knew less than they thought. Jesus was speaking ironically. They did
not know the One who had sent Him, though Jesus did because He had come
from that One.
The One who had sent Jesus was true (Gr. alethinos, real). Jesus meant that God
really had sent Him regardless of what others might think about His origins.
Unfortunately they did not know the One who had sent Him even though they
prided themselves on knowing the true God (cf. Romans 2:17-19). They did not
know God because they did not know their Scriptures (cf. John 5:46). They did
not know Jesus because they did not know the Father who had sent Him. In John
7:16 Jesus disclaimed originality for his teaching, and here he disclaimed
responsibility for his mission. [Note: Morris, p. 366.]
"He was once again claiming to be God! He was not simply born into this world
like any other human; He was sent to earth by the Father. This means that He
existed before He was born on the earth." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:317.]
29 but I know him because I am from him and
he sent me.”
CLARKE, "But I know him: for I am from him - Instead of εᅶµᆳ, I am, some
editions, the Syriac Hieros. read εᅽµι, I came, according to the Attics. Nonnus
confirms this reading by paraphrasing the word by εληλυθα, I came. As the difference
between the two words lies only in the accents, and as these are not found in ancient
MSS., it is uncertain which way the word was understood by them: nor is the matter
of much moment; both words amount nearly to the same meaning and εᅽµι, I came,
seems too refined.
GILL, "But I know him,.... His nature and perfections, his purposes and
promises, his council and covenant, his mind and will; and indeed none knows him
but he, and those to whom he pleases to reveal him; and there is good reason why he
should have intimate and perfect knowledge of him:
for I am from him; being the only begotten of him, and as such lay in his bosom,
and knew him, and his whole heart, and was privy to all of him, and that that is
within him;
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![BARNES, "Then they sought to take him - The rulers and their friends. They
did this:
1. Because of his reproof; and,
2. For professing to be the Messiah.
His hour - The proper and the appointed time for his death. See Mat_21:46.
GILL, "Then they sought to take him,.... By force, and carry him before the
sanhedrim, in order to be tried and condemned as a blasphemer, being enraged to
hear him claim a descent from God, whom they took to be a mere man, the son of
Joseph the carpenter:
but no man laid hands on him; though they had a good will to it, they had no
power to do it, being restrained by the, secret providence of God from it, and awed by
the majesty of Christ, which showed itself in his looks and words; and perhaps also
they might be afraid of the people, lest they should rise in his favour; and so every
man being fearful of being the first that should seize him, no man did: however, so it
was ordered by divine providence, that he should not be apprehended at, this time,
because his hour was not yet come; to suffer and die, to depart out of this
world, and go to the Father: there was a precise time fixed for this in the council and
covenant of God, by mutual compact, called "due time"; as his coming into the world
is called "the fulness of time"; nor could he die before that time, and therefore no
man was suffered to lay hands on him, whatever good will he had to it. And there is a
time for every man's death, nor can any man die before that time, or live beyond it;
see Ecc_3:2; and this is the sense of the ancient Jews; for they say (h),
"a man before his years, or his time, does not die;''
that is, before he comes to the years appointed for him: and they ask (i),
"who is there that goes before his time? i.e. dies before his time?''
And it is said (k) of a certain person who was in his house, and זמניה ,מטא "his time
was come"; and he died without sickness: though it must be owned some of them
were otherwise minded, and say (l), that death, by the hand of heaven, or God,
shortens a man's years; and that there are some reasons for which righteous men
depart out of this world before their time is come; and particularly of Enoch they say,
God took him before his time was come (m).
HENRY, "[3.] The provocation which this gave to his enemies, who hated him
because he told them the truth, Joh_7:30. They sought therefore to take him, to lay
violent hands on him, not only to do him a mischief, but some way or other to be the
death of him; but by the restraint of an invisible power it was prevented; nobody
touched him, because his hour was not yet come; this was not their reason why they
did it not, but God's reason why he hindered them from doing it. Note, First, The
faithful preachers of the truths of God, though they behave themselves with ever so
much prudence and meekness, must expect to be hated and persecuted by those who
think themselves tormented by their testimony, Rev_11:10. Secondly, God has
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![hundred years, and that John the Baptist himself had not wrought any. His miracles,
therefore, were a full proof of his Divine mission.
GILL, "And many of the people believed on him,.... Whilst some were
displeased at his doctrine, others were induced by his miracles to believe on him, as
an extraordinary person, if not the Messiah; and these were the common people,
especially those that came out of the country; for the city Jews, and above all the
rulers, were very averse to him: and it is easy to observe, that faith in Christ, and true
religion, spread and flourish most among the meaner sort of people.
And said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these
which this man hath done? referring not so much to the miracles many of them
might have seen done by him in other parts of Judea, and in Galilee; nor only to
those he had done in the preceding feasts at Jerusalem, but to those that were done
by him now, though not recorded by the evangelist. The Jews expected many
miracles to be wrought by the Messiah when he came, and they had good reason for
it from Isa_35:5. To these Christ sends John the Baptist, and the Jews, for proofs of
his being the Messiah, Mat_11:4; and by these he was approved of God as such, Act_
2:23. And it is certain that the ancient Jews expected miracles in the days of the
Messiah.
"Says R. Simeon to Eleazar his son, Eleazar, at the time that the King Messiah is
raised up, how many "signs and other wonders" will be done in the world? a little
after, from that day all the signs, and "wonders", and "mighty works", which the holy
blessed God did in Egypt, he will do to the Israelites, as it is said, Mic_7:15,
"according to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I show unto him
marvellous things" (n).''
So the Targumist on Isa_53:8 paraphrases thus,
"from afflictions and punishment he will deliver our captivity, and "the wonderful
things" which shall be done for us in his days, who can tell?''
It is true indeed that the modern Jews have laid aside such expectations, and pretend
they were not looked for formerly. Maimonides says (o),
"let it not enter into thy heart, that the King Messiah hath need to do signs and
wonders (as that he shall renew things in the world, or raise the dead, and the like;
these are things which fools speak of); the thing is not so.''
And he instances in Ben Coziba, who set up for the Messiah, of whom R. Akiba, and
the rest of the wise men of that age, did not require a sign or miracle: yet this same
writer elsewhere says (p), that
"all nations shall make peace with the Messiah, and serve him, because of his great
righteousness, and the miracles which shall be done by him.''
HENRY, "[4.] The good effect which Christ's discourse had, notwithstanding this,
upon some of his hearers (Joh_7:31): Many of the people believed on him. As he was
set for the fall of some, so for the rising again of others. Even where the gospel meets
with opposition there may yet be a great deal of good done, 1Th_2:2. Observe here,
First, Who they were that believed; not a few, but many, more than one would have
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![and the Pharisees, and the chief priests, sent officers to take him: and
bring him before the sanhedrim, by them to be condemned, and so a stop be put to
the people's receiving him, and believing in him as the Messiah; fearing, that should
things go on at this rate, their principles and practices would be rejected, and their
persons and authority be brought into contempt.
HENRY, "(2.) Whither he was going, Joh_7:32-36. Here observe,
[1.] The design of the Pharisees and chief priests against him, Joh_7:32. First, The
provocation given them was that they had information brought them by their spies,
who insinuated themselves into the conversation of the people, and gathered stories
to carry to their jealous masters, that the people murmured such things concerning
him, that there were many who had a respect and value for him, notwithstanding all
they had done to render him odious. Though the people did but whisper these things,
and had not courage to speak out, yet the Pharisees were enraged at it. The equity of
that government is justly suspected by others which is so suspicious of itself as to
take notice of, or be influenced by, the secret, various, uncertain mutterings of the
common people. The Pharisees valued themselves very much upon the respect of the
people, and were sensible that if Christ did thus increase they must decrease.
Secondly, The project they laid hereupon was to seize Jesus, and take him into
custody: They sent officers to take him, not to take up those who murmured
concerning him and frighten them; no, the most effectual way to disperse the flock is
to smite the shepherd. The Pharisees seem to have been the ringleaders in this
prosecution, but they, as such, had no power, and therefore they god the chief
priests, the judges of the ecclesiastical court, to join with them, who were ready
enough to do so. The Pharisees were the great pretenders to learning, and the chief
priests to sanctify. As the world by wisdom knew not God, but the greatest
philosophers were guilty of the greatest blunders in natural religion, so the Jewish
church by their wisdom knew not Christ, but their greatest rabbin were the greatest
fools concerning him, nay, they were the most inveterate enemies to him. Those
wicked rulers had their officers, officers of their court, church-officers, whom they
employed to take Christ, and who were ready to go on their errand, though it was an
ill errand. If Saul's footmen will not turn and fall upon the priests of the Lord, he has
a herdsman that will, 1Sa_22:17, 1Sa_22:18.
JAMIESON, "heard that the people murmured — that mutterings to this
effect were going about, and thought it high time to stop Him if He was not to be
allowed to carry away the people.
CALVIN, "32.The Pharisees heard. Hence it appears that the Pharisees, like
persons set on the watch, were anxious on all occasions not to permit Christ to be
known. In the first instance the Evangelist calls them only Pharisees, and next he
adds to themthe priests of whom the Pharisees were a part. There can be no
doubt that, as they wished to be reckoned the greatest zealots for the Law, they
opposed Christ more bitterly than all the other sects; but finding that their
unaided exertions were not sufficient to oppress Christ, they committed the
affair to the whole order of the priests. Thus they who, in other respects, differed
among themselves now conspire together, under the guidance of Satan, against
the Son of God. Meanwhile, since the Pharisees had such ardent zeal and such
incessant toil for defending their tyranny and the corrupt state of the Church,
how much more zealous ought we to be in maintaining the kingdom of Christ!
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![CLARKE, "Yet a little while am I with you - As he knew that the Pharisees
had designed to take and put him to death, and that in about six months from this
time, as some conjecture, he should be crucified, he took the present opportunity of
giving this information to the common people, who were best disposed towards him,
that they might lay their hearts to his teaching, and profit by it, while they had the
privilege of enjoying it.
The word αυτοις, to them, in the beginning of this verse, is wanting in BDEGHLMS,
more than eighty others, both the Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian,
Gothic, Slavonic, Saxon, most copies of the Vulgate and the Itala. It is omitted also by
Euthymius, Theophylact, Augustin, and Bede. Our Lord did not speak these words to
the officers who came to apprehend him, as αυτοις here implies, but to the common
people, merely to show that he was not ignorant of the designs of the Pharisees,
though they had not yet been able to put them into practice.
GILL, "Then said Jesus unto them,.... To the officers that were sent to take him,
and other unbelieving Jews that were about him:
yet a little while am I with you; no longer than till the next passover, which was
but about half a year at most: this he might say, partly to quicken the attention of the
people to him, to make the best use and improvement of his ministry whilst they had
it, since in a little time he would be removed from them; and partly to suggest to the
officers that were sent to take him, that they, and their masters, need not have given
themselves that trouble, for in a short time he should be gone from them, and till that
time he should continue in spite of them.
And then I go unto him that sent me; still confirming his mission from God,
expressing his death by going, and as being voluntary, and signifying his glory and
happiness after it.
HENRY, "[2.] The discourse of our Lord Jesus hereupon (Joh_7:33, Joh_7:34):
Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to him that sent me; you shall seek me,
and shall not find me; and where I am, thither you cannot come. These words, like
the pillar of cloud and fire, have a bright side and a dark side.
First, They have a bright side towards our Lord Jesus himself, and speak
abundance of comfort to him and all his faithful followers that are exposed to
difficulties and dangers for his sake. Three things Christ here comforted himself
with: - 1. That he had but a little time to continue here in this troublesome world. He
sees that he is never likely to have a quiet day among them; but the best of it is his
warfare will shortly be accomplished, and then he shall be no more in this world,
Joh_17:11. Whomsoever we are with in this world, friends or foes, it is but a little
while that we shall be with them; and it is a matter of comfort to those who are in the
world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and sick of it, that they shall not be
in it always, they shall not be in it long. We must be awhile with those that are
pricking briars and grieving thorns; but thanks be to God, it is but a little while, and
we shall be out of their reach. Our days being evil, it is well they are few. 2. That,
when he should quit this troublesome world, he should go to him that sent him; I go.
Not, “I am driven away by force,” but, “I voluntarily go; having finished my embassy,
I return to him on whose errand I came. When I have done my work with you, then,
and not till then, I go to him that sent me, and will receive me, will prefer me, as
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![the present tense instead of the future, where I shall be, you shall not be able to
come
COFFMAN, “According to Hovey, this language means:
That their (Israel's) longing and looking for the Messiah will continue after the
rejection and crucifixion. Vainly will they expect the great Prince foretold in
their Scriptures; and bitter will be their disappointment, from age to age,
because he does not appear. But clinging to their false hope of what the Messiah
should be, and hardening themselves against the evidence that he has already
appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, they will never find the deliverer
whom they seek.[9]
Where I am ye cannot come ... means that men who reject God's Son can never
come into God's presence while rejecting the Saviour. Jesus is the only way to the
Father; and men shall come unto God through Christ, or they shall not come to
God at all.
I am ... here is prophetic tense, used in the sense of "shall be."
ENDNOTE:
[9] Alvah Hovey, Commentary on John (Philadelphia: The American Baptist
Publication Society, 1885), p. 177.
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does
this man intend to go that we cannot find him?
Will he go where our people live scattered
among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
BARNES, "The dispersed among the Gentiles - To the Jews scattered among
the Gentiles, or living in distant parts of the earth. It is well known that at that time
there were Jews dwelling in almost every land. There were multitudes in Egypt, in
Asia Minor, in Greece, in Rome, etc., and in all these places they had synagogues. The
question which they asked was whether he would leave an ungrateful country, and go
into those distant nations and teach them.
Gentiles - In the original, Greeks. All those who were not Jews were called
Greeks, because they were chiefly acquainted with those pagans only who spake the
Greek language. It is remarkable that Jesus returned no answer to these inquiries. He
rather chose to turn off their minds from a speculation about the place to which he
was going, to the great affairs of their own personal salvation.
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![to the strangers who are scattered (194) through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1;) and James salutes the twelve tribes ἐν τὣ
διασπορᾷ, in the dispersion, that is, scattered abroad, (James 1:1.) The meaning
of the words therefore is, “Will he cross the sea, to go to Jews who dwell in a
world unknown to us?” And it is possible that they intended to teaze Christ by
this mockery. “If this be the Messiah, will he fix the seat of his reign in Greece,
since God has assigned to him the land of Canaan as his own habitation?” But
however that may be, we see that the severe threatening which Christ had
uttered did not at all affect them.
LIGHTFOOT, "35. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go,
that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and
teach the Gentiles?
[To the dispersed among the Gentiles, &c.] I confess Gentiles, in the apostle's
writings, does very frequently denote the Gentiles: to which that of the Rabbins
agrees well enough, the wisdom of the Greeks, i.e. the wisdom of the Gentiles.
But here I would take Gentiles in its proper signification for the Greeks. It is
doubtful, indeed, whether by the dispersed among the Gentiles ought to be
understood the dispersed Greeks, or the Jews dispersed amongst the Greeks.
There was no nation under heaven so dispersed and diffused throughout the
world as both Greeks and Jews were.
In the very heart of all the barbarous nations the Greeks had their cities, and
their language spoken amongst the Indians and Persians, &c.
And into what countries the Jews were scattered, the writings, both sacred and
profane, do frequently instance. So that if the words are to be taken strictly of
the Greeks, they bear this sense with them; "Is he going here and there amongst
the Greeks, so widely and remotely dispersed in the world?"
That distinction between the Hebrews and the Hellenists explains the thing. The
Jews of the first dispersion, viz. into Babylon, Assyria, and the countries
adjacent, are called Hebrews, because they used the Hebrew, or
Transeuphratensian language: and how they came to be dispersed into those
countries we all know well enough, viz. that they were led away captive by the
Babylonians and Persians. But those that were scattered amongst the Greeks
used the Greek tongue, and were called Hellenists: and it is not easy to tell upon
what account, or by what accident, they came to be dispersed amongst the
Greeks, or other nations about. Those that lived in Palestine, they were Hebrews
indeed as to their language, but they were not of the dispersion, either to one
place or another, because they dwelt in their own proper country. The
Babylonish dispersion was esteemed by the Jews the more noble, the more
famous, and the more holy of any other. "The land of Babylon is in the same
degree of purity with the land of Israel." "The Jewish offspring in Babylon is
more valuable than that among the Greeks, even purer than that in Judea itself."
Whence for a Palestine Jew to go to the Babylonish dispersion, was to go to a
people and country equal, if not superior, to his own: but to go to the dispersion
among the Greeks, was to go into unclean regions, where the very dust of the
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![as the common religious centre, and maintained a close communion with the
spiritual authorities who dwelt there. They sent liberal offerings to the Temple,
and were represented by numerous synagogues in the city, and flocked in large
numbers to the chief festivals. (Comp. Notes on Acts 2:9-11.) The Diaspora, then,
was a network of Judaism, spreading to every place of intellectual or commercial
importance, and linking it to Jerusalem, and a means by which the teaching of
the Old Testament was made familiarly known, even in the cities of the Gentiles.
“Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the
synagogues every sabbath day” (Acts 15:21).
Such was the dispersion among the Gentiles of which these rulers of the Jews
speak. They ask the question in evident scorn. “Will this Rabbi, leaving
Jerusalem, the centre of light and learning, go to those who dwell among the
heathen, and become a teacher of the very heathen themselves?” We feel that
there is some fact which gives point to their question, and is not apparent in the
narrative. We shall find this, it may be, if we remember that He Himself had
before this crossed the limits of the Holy Land, and had given words to teach and
power to save, in the case of the Greek woman who was a Syro-Phœnician by
nation. (Comp. Notes on Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30.) More fully still do
the words find their interpretation in the after history. They are, like the words
of Caiaphas (John 11:49-51), an unconscious prophecy, and may be taken as
summing up in one sentence the method of procedure in the earliest mission-
work of the church. The great high-roads of the Diaspora were those which the
Apostles followed. Every apostolic church of the Gentiles may be said to have
grown out of a synagogue of the Jews. There is a striking instance of the irony of
history, in the fact that the very words of these Jews of Palestine are recorded in
the Greek language, by a Jew of Palestine, presiding over a Christian church, in
a Gentile city.
For “Gentiles,” the margin reads “Greeks,” and this is the more exact
translation, but the almost constant New Testament use of the word is in
distinction from Jews, and our translators felt rightly that this is better conveyed
to the reader by the word “Gentiles.” (Comp. Notes on Mark 7:26 and Acts
11:20.) We must be careful to avoid the not unfrequent mistake of rendering the
word as though it were “Hellenist,” which means a Græcised Jew. This is to miss
the point of their scorn, which is in the idea of His teaching those outside the pale
of Judaism.
COFFMAN, “This man ... means, "This strange pretender ... The pronoun here
in the Greek carries an accent of surprise and contempt."[10]
The Dispersion ... refers to the Jews who were scattered abroad among the
Gentiles; and the suggestion that perhaps Jesus was planning to go to them has
the effect of saying: "Why, a crazy Messiah like he is, might even go to the
Dispersion and try to build a following among them." It was an evil thing which
they meant by this.
What is this word which he said ... There is an element of puzzlement on the part
of his foes in this. They rejected what he said, as a matter of course, but their
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![minds kept returning to it in wonderment of just what could have been meant by
Jesus in the clauses they murmured over and over. Again, from Westcott: "In
spite of all, Christ's words cannot be shaken off. They are not to be explained
away. A vague sense remains that there is in them some unfathomable
meaning."[11]
[10] Brooks Foss Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 122.
[11] B. F. Westcott, op. cit., p. 122.
COKE, “John 7:35-36. Will he go unto the dispersed, &c.— Ελληνων, of the
Greeks, by whom we are to understand here idolatrous Gentiles, and not
Hellenists, or Jews who used the Greek language; for these were the dispersed
among them. There appears therefore a sarcasm in these words beyond what has
been commonly observed. They insinuate, that if he were to go into foreign
countries, to address himself to the Jews there, who might be supposed not so
well instructed as those who lived in Judea and at Jerusalem, he would not be
able to make any proselytes even among these; but would be constrained to
apply himself to the ignorant and stupid Gentiles, to seek disciples among them;
which to be sure appeared to these haughty scorners one of themost infamous
circumstances that could be imagined, and most incompatible with the character
of the true Messiah.
36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will
look for me, but you will not find me,’ and
‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
GILL, "What manner of saying is this that he said,.... It is not easy to be
understood; and if that is not meant, which is suggested, what should he mean by
saying,
ye shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot
come? repeating the words of Christ just now expressed by him.
HENRY, "Secondly, These words have a black and dark side towards those
wicked Jews that hated and persecuted Christ. They now longed to be rid of him,
Away with him from the earth; but let them know, 1. That according to their choice
so shall their doom be. They were industrious to drive him from them, and their sin
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![shall be their punishment; he will not trouble them long, yet a little while and he will
depart from them. It is just with God to forsake those that think his presence a
burden. They that are weary of Christ need no more to make them miserable than to
have their wish. 2. That they would certainly repent their choice when it was too late.
(1.) They should in vain seek the presence of the Messiah: “You shall seek me, and
shall not find me. You shall expect the Christ to come, but your eyes shall fail with
looking for him, and you shall never find him.” Those who rejected the true Messiah
when he did come were justly abandoned to a miserable and endless expectation of
one that should never come. Or, it may refer to the final rejection of sinners from the
favours and grace of Christ at the great day: those who now seek Christ shall find
him, but the day is coming when those who now refuse him shall seek him, and shall
not find him. See Pro_1:28. They will in vain cry, Lord, Lord, open to us. Or,
perhaps, these words might be fulfilled in the despair of some of the Jews, who
possibly might be convinced and not converted, who would wish in vain to see Christ,
and to hear him preach again; but the day of grace is over (Luk_17:22); yet this is not
all. (2.) They should in vain expect a place in heaven: Where I am, and where all
believers shall be with me, thither ye cannot come. Not only because they are
excluded by the just and irreversible sentence of the judge, and the sword of the angel
at every gate of the new Jerusalem, to keep the way of the tree of life against those
who have no right to enter, but because they are disabled by their own iniquity and
infidelity: You cannot come, because you will not. Those who hate to be where Christ
is, in his word and ordinances on earth, are very unfit to be where he is in his glory in
heaven; for indeed heaven would be no heaven to them, such are the antipathies of
an unsanctified soul to the felicities of that state.
CONSTABLE, “Again Jesus' hearers thought that He was speaking of physical
matters and earthly places. The Dispersion was the term that described the Jews
who had scattered from Palestine and were living elsewhere in the world. They
thought Jesus was referring to ministering to Jews or perhaps Gentile proselytes
who were living outside Palestine. In the New Testament the word "Greek" is
synonymous with Gentiles (cf. Colossians 3:11). This seemed too fantastic to be a
messianic activity.
"Here, as more than once in this Gospel, the Jews are unconsciously
prophesying. The departure of Jesus in death would indeed be beneficial, but not
because it would remove from the earth a false Messiah, as they supposed, but
because, as a result of the proclamation of the gospel which would follow His
death and resurrection, Gentiles would be brought into the people of God."
[Note: Tasker, p. 106.]
These Jews did not understand where Jesus was going any more than they
understood where He had come from (John 7:27). They were so exclusive in their
thinking that they thought it very improbable that Jesus would leave Palestine.
Ironically the Christian apostles did go to those very areas and people to preach
the Christ whom the Jews rejected.
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,
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![I. Christ's discourse, with the explication of it, Joh_7:37-39. It is probable that
these are only short hints of what he enlarged upon, but they have in them the
substance of the whole gospel; here is a gospel invitation to come to Christ, and a
gospel promise of comfort and happiness in him. Now observe,
1. When he gave this invitation: On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, that
great day. The eighth day, which concluded that solemnity, was to be a holy
convocation, Lev_23:36. Now on this day Christ published this gospel-call, because
(1.) Much people were gathered together, and, if the invitation were given to many, it
might be hoped that some would accept of it, Pro_1:20. Numerous assemblies give
opportunity of doing the more good. (2.) The people were now returning to their
homes, and he would give them this to carry away with them as his parting word.
When a great congregation is to be dismissed, and is about to scatter, as here, it is
affecting to think that in all probability they will never come all together again in this
world, and therefore, if we can say or do any thing to help them to heaven, that must
be the time. It is good to be lively at the close of an ordinance. Christ made this offer
on the last day of the feast. [1.] To those who had turned a deaf ear to his preaching
on the foregoing days of this sacred week; he will try them once more, and, if they
will yet hear his voice, they shall live. [2.] To those who perhaps might never have
such another offer made them, and therefore were concerned to accept of this; it
would be half a year before there would be another feast, and in that time they would
many of them be in their graves. Behold now is the accepted time.
2. How he gave this invitation: Jesus stood and cried, which denotes, (1.) His great
earnestness and importunity. His heart was upon it, to bring poor souls in to himself.
The erection of his body and the elevation of his voice were indications of the
intenseness of his mind. Love to souls will make preachers lively. (2.) His desire that
all might take notice, and take hold of this invitation. He stood, and cried, that he
might the better be heard; for this is what every one that hath ears is concerned to
hear. Gospel truth seeks no corners, because it fears no trials. The heathen oracles
were delivered privately by them that peeped and muttered; but the oracles of the
gospel were proclaimed by one that stood, and cried. How sad is the case of man,
that he must be importuned to be happy, and how wonderful the grace of Christ, that
he will importune him! Ho, every one, Isa_55:1.
3. The invitation itself is very general: If any man thirst, whoever he be, he is
invited to Christ, be he high or low, rich or poor, young or old, bond or free, Jew or
Gentile. It is also very gracious: “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. If
any man desires to be truly and eternally happy, let him apply himself to me, and be
ruled by me, and I will undertake to make him so.”
(1.) The persons invited are such as thirst, which may be understood, either, [1.] Of
the indigence of their cases; either as to their outward condition (if any man be
destitute of the comforts of this life, or fatigued with the crosses of it, let his poverty
and afflictions draw him to Christ for that peace which the world can neither give nor
take away), or as to their inward state: “If any man want spiritual blessings, he may
be supplied by me.” Or, [2.] Of the inclination of their souls and their desires towards
a spiritual happiness. If any man hunger and thirst after righteousness, that is, truly
desire the good will of God towards him, and the good work of God in him.
(2.) The invitation itself: Let him come to me. Let him not go to the ceremonial law,
which would neither pacify the conscience nor purify it, and therefore could not
make the comers thereunto perfect, Heb_10:1. Nor let him go to the heathen
philosophy, which does but beguile men, lead them into a wood, and leave them
there; but let him go to Christ, admit his doctrine, submit to his discipline, believe in
him; come to him as the fountain of living waters, the giver of all comfort.
(3.) The satisfaction promised: “Let him come and drink, he shall have what he
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![comes for, and abundantly more, shall have that which will not only refresh, but
replenish, a soul that desires to be happy.”
JAMIESON 37-39, "the last day, that great day of the feast — the eighth
(Lev_23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by
very remarkable ceremonies. “The generally joyous character of this feast broke out
on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest,
as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from
the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured
it upon the altar. Then the words of Isa_12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act,
intimated in Joh_7:39, was expressed” [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with
which this ceremony was performed - accompanied with sound of trumpets - that it
used to be said, “Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all”
[Lightfoot].
Jesus stood — On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes
upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching - “JESUS stood,”
probably in some elevated position.
and cried — as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink! — What an offer! The
deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by
the figure of “thirst,” and the eternal satisfaction of them by “drinking.” To the
woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh_
4:13, Joh_4:14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned
into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living
water is the most prominent idea - in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the
perishable water of Jacob’s well - here, the prominence is given to Himself as the
Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-
LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST
(Mat_11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it,
under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum
(Joh_6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as “the BREAD of Life,” and
as both able and authorized to appease the “HUNGER,” and quench the “THIRST,”
of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But
what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial
audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in
language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah’s ancient
proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, “HO, EVERY ONE THAT
THIRSTETH, COME YE TO THE WATERS, AND HE THAT HATH NO MONEY!”
etc. (Isa_55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas
of Him that uttered such words, “He is guilty of death,” or falling down before Him
to exclaim with Thomas, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
SBC, "All human desire, all human need, is expressed in this one word thirst.
I. Take, first, what may be called the lowest thirst of all—the thirst for happiness. If
any man thirst, not for grace, but simply for happiness, let him come unto Jesus
Christ and drink. If it is not a spiritual desire at first, coming to Christ will make it so;
and if the man does not see how Jesus Christ can be of any service for his need, let
him just look at the fact—made abundantly plain in this text, and in many a text
besides—that Jesus Christ says He is able to meet that need exactly and completely,
and then let him come and see.
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![took the life and death of Jesus Christ to open the floodgates for the Spirit to become
real and powerful to all men.
We must notice how this passage finishes. Some people thought that Jesus was the
prophet whom Moses had promised (Deuteronomy 18:15). Some thought that he was
the Anointed One of God; and there followed a wrangle about whether or not the
Anointed One of God must come from Bethlehem. Here is tragedy. A great religious
experience had ended in the aridity of a theological wrangle.
That is what above all we must avoid. Jesus is not someone about whom to argue; he
is someone to know and love and enjoy. If we have one view of him and someone else
has another, it does not matter so long as both of us find him Saviour and accept him
as Lord. Even if we explain our religious experience in different ways, that should
never divide us, for it is the experience that is important, and not our explanation of it.
LIGHTFOOT, "37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
[In the last day, that great day of the feast.] The evangelist speaks according to a
received opinion of that people: for from divine institution it does not appear that the
last day of the feast had any greater mark set upon it than the first: nay, it might seem
of lower consideration than all the rest. For on the first day were offered thirteen
young bullocks upon the altar; on the second, twelve; and so fewer and fewer, till on
the seventh day it came to seven; and on this eighth and last day of the feast there was
but one only. As also for the whole seven days there were offered each day fourteen
lambs, but on this eighth day seven only, Numbers 29. So that if the numbers of the
sacrifices add any thing to the dignity of the day, this last day, will seem the most
inconsiderable, and not like the great day of the feast.
I. But what the Jews' opinion was about this matter and this day, we may learn from
themselves:
"There were seventy bullocks, according to the seventy nations of the world. But for
what is the single bullock? It is for the singular nation [the Jewish]. A parable. It is
like a great king that said to his servants, 'Make ready a great feast'; but the last day
said to his friend, 'Make ready some little matter, that I may refresh myself with thee.'"
The Gloss is, "I have no advantage or refreshment in that great feast with them, but in
this little one with thee."
"On the eighth day it shall be a holy day; for so saith the Scripture, 'For my love they
are my adversaries, but my prayer is for them,' Psalm 109. Thou seest, O God, that
Israel, in the feast of tabernacles, offers before thee seventy bullocks for the seventy
nations. Israel, therefore, say unto thee, O eternal Lord, behold we offer seventy
bullocks for these; it is but reasonable, therefore, that they should love us; but on the
contrary, as it is written, 'For our love they are our adversaries.' The holy blessed God,
therefore, saith to Israel, 'Offer for yourselves on the eighth day.'" A parable. "This is
like a king, who made a feast for seven days, and invited all the men in that province,
for those seven days of the feast: but when those seven days were past, he saith to his
friend, 'We have done what is needful to be done towards these men; let thee and me
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![return to enjoy together whatever comes to hand, be it but one pound of flesh, or fish,
or herbs.' So the holy blessed God saith to Israel, 'The eighth day shall be a feast or
holy day,'" &c.
"They offer seventy bullocks for the seventy nations, to make atonement for them, that
the rain may fall upon the fields of all the world; for, in the feast of tabernacles,
judgment is made as to the waters": i.e. God determines what rains shall be for the
year following.
Hence, therefore, this last day of the feast grew into such esteem in that nation above
the other days; because, on the other seven days they thought supplications and
sacrifices were offered not so much for themselves as for the nations of the world, but
the solemnities of the eighth day were wholly in their own behalf. And hence the
determination and finishing of the feast when the seven days were over, and the
beginning, as it were, of a new one on the eighth day. For,
II. They did not reckon the eighth day as included within the feast, but a festival day
separately and by itself.
The eighth day is a feast by itself, according to these letters, by which are meant,
1. The casting of lots. Gloss: "As to the bullocks of the seven days, there were no lots
cast to determine what course of priests should offer them, because they took it in
order, &c.; but on the eighth day they cast lots."
2. A peculiar benediction by itself.
3. A feast by itself. Gloss: "For on this day they did not sit in their tents." Whence that
is not unworthy our observation out of Maimonides; "If any one, either through
ignorance or presumption, have not made a booth for himself on the first day of the
feast [which is holy], let him do it on the next day; nay, at the very end of the seventh
day." Note that, "at the very end of the seventh day"; and yet there was no use of
booths on the eighth day.
4. A peculiar sacrifice. Not of six bullocks, which ought to have been, if that day were
to have been joined to the rest of the feast, but one only.
5. A song by itself. Otherwise sung than on other days.
6. The benediction of the day by itself; or as others, the royal blessing; according to
that 1 Kings 8:66, "On the eighth day Solomon sent the people away: and they blessed
the king." But the former most obtains.
To all which may be added what follows in the same place about this day; "A man is
bound to sing the Hallel" [viz. Psalms 113-118].
He is bound to rejoice; that is, to offer thank-offerings for the joy of that feast.
And he bound is to honour that last day, the eighth day of the feast, as well as all the
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![discontent, is, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.”
“Isaac Williams,” wrote Mr. Copeland, “mentioned to me a remark made on
Hurrell Froude by S. Wilberforce in his early days: ‘They talk of Froude’s fun,
but somehow I cannot be in a room with him alone for ten minutes without
feeling so intensely melancholy, that I do not know what to do with myself. At
Brighstone, in my Eden days, he was with me, and I was overwhelmed with the
deep sense which possessed him of yearning which nothing could satisfy and of
the unsatisfying nature of all things.’ ”1 [Note: Dean Church, The Oxford
Movement, 55.]
Its warping winds swept thro’ my soul:
Its fires scorched all my arc of life:
Of joy it gave a trivial dole—
Then brought me anguish, shame and strife:
An hour of pulsing feverish joy,
Framed in a flame of blazing red;
Then, rotting in its own rank soil,
The swift-born flower lay swiftly dead.2 [Note: Desmond Mountjoy, The Hills of
Hell, 15.]
2. “If any man thirst.”—Christ speaks as if that thirst was by no means
universal, and, alas! it is not. “If any man thirst”; there are some of us that do
not, for we are all so constituted that, unless we use continual self-discipline, and
self-suppression, and self-evolution, the lower desires will overgrow the loftier
ones, and kill them, as weeds kill the precious crop. And some of us are so much
taken up with gratifying the lowest necessities and longings of our nature, that
we leave the highest all uncared for, and the effect of that is that the unsatisfied
longing avenges itself, for our neglect of it, by infusing unrest and dissatisfaction
into what else would satisfy the lowest. “He that loveth silver shall not be
satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase,” but he that
loves God will be satisfied with less than silver, and will continue satisfied when
decrease comes. If we would suck the last drop of sweetness out of the luscious
purple grapes that grow on earth, we must have the appetite for the best things,
recognized, and ministered to, and satisfied. And when we are satisfied with
God, we shall have learnt in whatsoever state we are, therewith to be self-
sufficing.
The late Sir James Stephen in a lecture to young men once said that he could put
his suggestions in one word—Aspire. That was very good advice. But what
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![should the aspiration be?1 [Note: Lord Avebury, Peace and Happiness, 77.]
On the morning of January 7, 1900, Bishop Creighton, a few days before he died,
seemed particularly well. His chaplain, Mr. Percival, was with him for a long
while, and they spoke of various answers which had been given to the question,
What is the greatest danger of the coming century? The Bishop said, “I have no
doubt what is the greatest danger—it is the absence of high aspirations.”2 [Note:
The Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton, ii. 463.]
The first, and last, and closest trial question to any living creature is, “What do
you like?” Tell me what you like, and I’ll tell you what you are. Go out into the
street, and ask the first man or woman you meet, what their “taste” is; and if
they answer candidly, you know them, body and soul. “You, my friend in the
rags, with the unsteady gait, what do you like?” “A pipe, and a quartern of gin.”
I know you. “You, good woman, with the quick step and tidy bonnet, what do
you like?” “A swept hearth, and a clean tea-table; and my husband opposite me,
and a baby at my breast.” Good, I know you also. “You, little girl with the
golden hair and the soft eyes, what do you like?” “My canary, and a run among
the wood hyacinths.” “You, little boy with the dirty hands, and the low forehead,
what do you like?” “A shy at the sparrows, and a game at pitch farthing.” Good;
we know them all now. What more need we ask?3 [Note: Ruskin, The Crown of
Wild Olive (Works, xviii. 434).]
3. It is only the thirsty whom Jesus Christ invites to come to Him as the source
from which they can draw spirit and life. Those who have eaten and drunk to the
full must become thirsty before they can understand, and certainly before they
can take to heart, what it means when a man who has trod this earth bears
witness to a whole people, and lastly to all mankind: “I am the inexhaustible well
from which all man’s longing after life and spirit may be satisfied.”
I know not any pleasure of sense more exquisite than a draught of cool, clear
water, when you are thirsty; but few things are more insipid than water when
there is no thirst. It is thus that Christ and His salvation are very sweet to one,
and very tasteless to another.1 [Note: W. Arnot, The Anchor of the Soul, 31.]
O Lord, the most Fair, the most tender,
My heart is adrift and alone;
My heart is a-weary and thirsty,
Athirst for a joy unknown.
From a child I followed it, chased it,
By wilderness, wold, and hill;
I never have reached it or seen it,
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![blessing their very presence in Jerusalem proved; for, however mingled may
have been their desires, however worldly in many respects their thoughts of the
Kingdom of God, yet they did desire God and God’s Kingdom; and if the
religious hopes of the nation could have been obliterated, their one distinguishing
characteristic would have been gone. But they are seeking to satisfy their souls in
ways that do not, that cannot, succeed. God’s true presence is lost in the very
abundance and show of the paraphernalia and ceremony of worship, and the life
of God is dried up in them by the endless elaboration of their minute and barren
rules of living. The truth of their holy religion does little more for their actual
satisfaction than the sweet, living water of Siloam did for the golden vessel that it
filled; and it does no more through them for others than the water poured from
such vessel on to the altar, and wasted, as it streamed and trickled away. Let the
people come to Him, and God Himself shall live in them.
2. All the cravings after a settled and eternal state, all the longings for purity and
fellowship with the Highest, which the Temple services rather quickened than
satisfied, Christ says He will satisfy. The Temple service had been to them as a
screen on which the shadows of things spiritual were thrown; but they longed to
see the realities face to face, to have God revealed, to know the very truth of
things, and set foot on eternal verity. This thirst is felt by all men whose whole
nature is alive, whose experience has shaken them out of easy contentment with
material prosperity; they thirst for a life which does not so upbraid and mock
them as their own life does; they thirst to be able to live, so that the one-half of
their life shall not be condemned by the other half; they thirst to be once for all
in the “ampler ether” of happy and energetic existence, not looking through the
bars and fumbling at the lock. This thirst and all legitimate cravings which we
feel, Christ boldly and explicitly promises to satisfy; nay more, all illegitimate
cravings, all foolish discontent, all vicious dissatisfaction with life, all morbid
thirst that is rapidly becoming chronic disease in us, all weak and false views of
life, He will rid us of, and give us entrance into the life that God lives and
imparts—into pure, healthy, hopeful life.
It is on record that a visitor once ventured to ask Alfred Tennyson what he
thought of our Saviour. They were walking in a garden. The poet was silent for a
moment. Then he stopped by a beautiful flower, and pointing to it said: “What
the sun is to that flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul.”1 [Note: Arthur W.
Robinson, The Voice of Joy and Health, 49.]
Christ claims to be able to meet every aspiration, every spiritual want, every true
desire in this complex nature of ours. He claims to be able to do this for one, and
therefore for all. He claims to be able to do it for all the generations of mankind,
right away down to the end. Who is He that thus plants Himself in the front of
the race, knows their deep thirsts, takes account of the impotence of anything
created to satisfy them, assumes the Divine prerogative, and says, “I come to
satisfy every desire in every soul, to the end of time”?2 [Note: A. Maclaren.]
3. He claims to be separate altogether from those whose thirst He would satisfy.
It is a claim which only Divinity can warrant Him in making, or can fulfil when
it is made. And from that day when He stood in the Temple and cried these
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![words, down to this day, there have been, and there are, millions who can say,
“We have drawn water from this fountain of salvation, and it has never failed
us.” Christ’s audacious presentation of Himself to the world as adequate to fill
all its needs, and slake all its thirst, has been verified by nineteen centuries of
experience, and there are many men and women all over the world to-day who
would be ready to set to their seals that Christ is true, and that He, indeed, is all-
sufficient for the soul.
Jesus Christ threw a totally new light upon the personality of man. He took love
as His point of departure, the central principle in our nature, which gathers all
its other faculties and functions into one; our absolutely fundamental and
universal characteristic. He taught us that virtues and graces are thorough only
when they flow from love; and further, that love alone can reconcile the opposite
phases of our life—action and passion, doing and suffering, energy and pain,—
since love inevitably leads to sacrifice, and sacrifice is perfect love. It may be
granted that previous teachers had said somewhat kindred things. But Jesus
Christ carried His precepts home by practice, as none had ever done before. He
lived and died the life and death of love; and men saw, as they had never seen,
what human nature meant. Here at last was its true ideal, and its true ideal
realized.1 [Note: Illingworth, Personality, Human and Divine, 201.]
III
Christ’s Invitation to Humanity
1. “Jesus stood and cried.” The phrase used is singularly vivid: Jesus was
standing, watching, it might be, the procession of the people from their booths to
the Temple, and then, moved by some occasion, He cried. As Jesus stood and
cried to the people, He was conscious of power to impart to them a freshly
welling spring of life—a life that would overflow for the strengthening and
gladdening of others besides themselves. He has the same consciousness to-day.
The deep, living benefits He confers are as open to all ages as the sunshine and
the air; there is no necessity binding any one soul to feel that life is a failure, an
empty, disappointing husk, serving no good purpose, bringing daily fresh misery
and deeper hopelessness, a thing perhaps manfully to fight our way through but
certainly not to rejoice in. If any one has such views of life it is because he has not
honestly, believingly, and humbly responded to Christ’s word and come to Him.
We all forget that Christ’s teaching is not a teaching like that of Moses, of
Mohammed, and like all other human teachings, that is, a doctrine of rules to be
executed. Christ’s teaching is a gospel, that is, a teaching of the good.
He who is thirsty, let him go and drink.
And so, according to this teaching it is impossible to prescribe to any one, to
rebuke any one for anything, to condemn any one.
“Go and drink, if thou art thirsty,” that is, take the good which is revealed to us
by the spirit of Truth.
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![Can one be ordered to drink?
Can one be ordered to be blessed?
Even so a man cannot be rebuked for not drinking, or for not being blessed, nor
can he be condemned. The one thing that Christians can do, and always have
done, is to feel themselves blessed and to wish to communicate the key of
blessedness to other people.1 [Note: Tolstoy, Aphorisms (Complete Works, xix.
83).]
(1) The invitation was delivered with great earnestness. This is the world’s way
turned upside down. We are accustomed to hear those crying who are ready to
perish, while those who go out to save are calm and silent. Here this method is
reversed. The lost whom He saves are silent and satisfied; the Saviour, who
brings deliverance, cries. They act as if they were full, and He as if He were
needy. Why did He cry? All things are His in heaven and on earth; what want is
gnawing at the heart of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily? It is the longing of His soul, not to get, but to give, redemption. He has a
more eager desire to give pardon than any awakened sinner has to get it.
(2) “If any man.” The invitation was universal. The Gospel is as free as the air or
the sunshine. “Any”—the man may be atheist or deist or idolater; the man may
be sceptical and unbelieving: the man may be broken-hearted, because all his
cisterns are broken; the man may be disappointed with all the wells to which he
has been accustomed to resort; the man may be an outcast, forbidden to come
where men drink, or an apostate, one who has forsaken the fountain of living
water; the man may be conscious that he deserves only to die of thirst; the man
may be sad at his heart’s core, and weary in every limb, and dying of thirst; the
thirst may be morbid and foul, the thirst may be varied and deep, the thirst may
be refined and elevated, but to every man Jesus says, “Come unto me.” The
thirsty one may have no apparel but rags and these filthy, no vessel but an
earthen one and that broken, no money, no commendation; but Jesus says,
“Come.” He may have nothing, and may need everything—life, knowledge,
power, joy—still Jesus says, “Come.” He may be a most thirsty soul, with wide
capacity and fiery eagerness, but Jesus says, “Come and drink.” And if those
who hear Jesus say, “Come and drink,” do come and drink, they live satisfied,
they die satisfied, and they abide satisfied for ever; but if they never come, they
live thirsty, die thirsty, and abide madly thirsty for ever.
(3) “Let him come unto me.” The invitation is from a ceremony to a Person.
Christ is a personal Saviour. The world had had enough of ritual. It had gone the
weary round of form until life was almost extinct, and it seemed as if the smoke
of sacrifice only darkened the skies and brought man no nearer vision of God.
The Law increased the burden it professed to lift. Says Christ, It is not from
Siloam’s stream, it is not from your silver songs and solemn litanies, not from
your priests and altars and censers, that you can gain rest—“If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink.”
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![He that thirsts and wants relief must come to Christ Himself. He must not be
content with coming to His Church and His ordinances, or to the assemblies of
His people for prayer and praise. He must not stop short even at His holy table,
or rest satisfied with privately opening his heart to His ordained ministers. He
that is content with only drinking these waters “shall thirst again.” He must go
higher, further, much further than this. He must have personal dealings with
Christ Himself: all else in religion is worthless without Him. The King’s palace,
the attendant servants, the richly furnished banqueting-house, the very banquet
itself, all are nothing unless we speak with the King. His hand alone can take the
burden off our backs and make us feel free. The hand of man may take the stone
from the grave and show the dead; but none but Jesus can say to the dead,
“Come forth, and live.” We must deal directly with Christ.1 [Note: Bishop J. C.
Ryle, The Upper Room, 117.]
I remember a simple story that twined its clinging tendril fingers about my
heart. It was of a woman whose long years had ripened her hair, and sapped her
strength. She was a true saint in her long life of devotion to God. She knew the
Bible by heart, and would repeat long passages from memory. But as the years
came the strength went, and with it the memory gradually went too, to her grief.
She seemed to have lost almost wholly the power to recall at will what had been
stored away. But one precious bit still stayed. She would sit by the big sunny
window of the sitting-room in her home, repeating over that one bit, as though
chewing a delicious titbit, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” By
and by part of that seemed to slip its hold, and she would quietly be repeating,
“that which I have committed to him.” The last few weeks as the ripened old
saint hovered about the borderland between this and the spirit world, her
feebleness increased. Her loved ones would notice her lips moving, and thinking
she might be needing some creature comfort, they would go over and bend down
to listen for her request. And time and again they found the old saint repeating
over to herself one word, over and over again, the same one word, “Him—Him—
Him.” She had lost the whole Bible but one word. But she had the whole Bible in
that one word.”1 [Note: S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Service, 77.]
(4) “Let him come.” He that thirsts and wants relief from Christ must actually
come to Him. It is not enough to wish, and talk, and mean, and intend, and
resolve, and hope. The thirsty have to come. To come in inquiry and by
knowledge, to come in thought and by faith, to come in prayer and by trust, to
come in the surrender of themselves to the Saviour. The sole condition is coming,
and the only limit to the ministrations of the Saviour is our receptivity. Simple as
this remedy for thirst appears, it is the only cure for man’s spiritual disease, and
the only bridge from earth to heaven. Kings and their subjects, preachers and
hearers, masters and servants, high and low, rich and poor, learned and
unlearned, all alike must drink of this water of life, and drink in the same way.
For eighteen centuries men have laboured to find some other medicine for weary
consciences; but they have laboured in vain. Thousands, after blistering their
hands, and growing grey in hewing out “broken cisterns, which can hold no
water,” have been obliged to come back at last to the old Fountain, and have
confessed in their latest moment that here, in Christ alone, is true peace.
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![(5) “And drink.” Too many analyse, criticize, gather to the fountain and gaze on
its waters; they do not drink. They do not live by Christ. When we drink of love
we live on it, it enters into all our thoughts, colours all our hopes, gives strength
to all our purposes; it is ourself. It must be even so with us and Christ. We must
drink, must so draw His life and spirit into our souls that we shall be able to say,
“For me to live is Christ.” So shall the thirst of the heart be satisfied, but only so.
How many seem to come to Jesus Christ, and yet do not drink! How few
Christians are like a tree planted by the rivers of water! What would you have
thought of the Jews, if, when Moses smote the rock, they had refused to drink?
or what would you have thought if they had only put the water to their lips? Yet
such is the way with most Christians. It pleased the Father that in Him should all
fulness dwell. The Spirit was given to Him without measure. The command is
given to us to draw out of His fulness; yet who obeys? Not one in a thousand. A
Christian in our day is like a man who has got a great reservoir brimful of water.
He is at liberty to drink as much as he pleases, for he never can drink it dry; but
instead of drinking the full stream that flows from it, he dams it up, and is
content to drink the few drops that trickle through. O that ye would draw out of
His fulness, ye that have come to Christ! Do not be misers of grace. There is far
more than you will use in eternity. The same waters are now in Christ that
refreshed St. Paul, that gave St. Peter his boldness, that gave St. John his
affectionate tenderness. Why is your soul less richly supplied than theirs?
Because you will not drink: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and
drink.”1 [Note: R. M. M‘Cheyne, Additional Remains, 308.]
2. Christ satisfies every thirst of the soul. Do we thirst for activity? Jesus says,
“Come unto me, and drink.” Hear Jesus say, “He that believeth on me, the works
that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto my Father.” He opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped deaf ears, made the
lame to walk, healed the sick, cleansed the leper, and raised the dead. We thirst
for enjoyment, and still Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” Christ gives joy
in every gift, and promises it in every promise. There is joy in the eternal life He
gives, joy in the rest He gives, and joy in the peace which He bequeaths. We
thirst for power, and Christ continues to say, “Come unto me, and drink,” for He
makes His disciples now the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and
ultimately He makes them kings and priests unto God. We thirst for society, and
still Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” Our Saviour makes those who are
strangers and foreigners and aliens fellow-citizens with the saints and of the
household of God. We thirst for the love of others, and Christ says, “Come unto
me, and drink”; for He directs streams of kindness to every one who comes to
Him by means of His new commandment, “A new commandment I give unto
you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.” We thirst for knowledge, and Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.”
“Learn of me.” Those who come to Jesus are instructed by Him in the highest
subjects. To all such Jesus is Himself the truth, and the truth concerning all that
it is essential we should know. We thirst for God, and Jesus says, “Come unto
me, and drink.” He manifests God’s name to us, and shows us how He Himself is
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![Within Thy heart to be.1 [Note: Digby Mackworth Dolben.]
BURKITT, “Verse 37
The feast of tabernacles (which is the first here meant) lasted eight days; the first
and last of which were to be kept holy with religious assemblies and sacrifices;
and it was a custom among the Jews, upon that solemn day, to offer up a pot of
water unto God, which they drew out of the fountain of Siloam: with reference to
this custom, Christ here cries with a loud voice, inviting the people to fetch and
draw from him, as from a living fountain, all the sanctifying gifts and saving
graces of the Holy Spirit.
Learn hence, That Jesus Christ is the original and fountain of all saving grace,
whom, if we thirst after, repair to, and by faith depend upon, as a Mediator, we
shall certainly receive what influences of grace soever we want and stand in need
of.
ELLICOTT, “(37) In the last day, that great day of the feast.—The question
whether the seventh or the eighth day of the feast is intended here, is one of
antiquarian rather than of practical interest. The words commanding the
observance in Deuteronomy 16:13, and Numbers 29:12, mention only seven days;
but this latter passage is followed in John 7:35 by a reference to the solemn
assembly on the eighth day. With this agree the words in Leviticus 23:35-36;
Leviticus 23:39, and Nehemiah 8:18. Later the eight days of the festival are
certainly spoken of as in the Talmud, in 2 Maccabees 10:6, and Jos. Ant. iii. 10, §
4. The best modern authorities are for the most part agreed that it was the eighth
day, i.e., the 22nd of Tishri, that is here referred to. It was the “great day” as the
octave of the feast, and the day of holy convocation.
Jesus stood and cried.—Comp. Note on John 7:28. Here the vivid remembrance
of the writer remembers the attitude as well as the voice.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.—These words were almost
certainly suggested by part of the ritual of the festival, which consisted in a
solemn procession with music, and headed by a priest, which went on each
morning from the Temple to the pool of Siloam, where the priest filled a golden
vase with water and carried it to the Temple amid the joyful cries of the people.
He then poured it out on the western side of the altar of burnt-offering; while
another priest poured a drink-offering of wine, at the same time, on the eastern
side of the altar, and the people during this act chanted the words of “the
Hallel,” Psalms 113-118. If we accept the eighth day as that referred to in this
verse, then this ceremony was. not repeated; but its very absence may have
suggested the fuller declaration of the reality of which it was the representation.
The current Rabbinical interpretation of the symbolism connected it with the gift
of the latter rain, which was at this season; and also with the gift of the Holy
Spirit. The Talmud says expressly, “Therefore is its name called the house of
drawing, because from thence is drawn the Holy Spirit,” as it is said, “with joy
shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Jer. Succa, v. 1). Thoughts like
these would be connected with this ritual by the Jews and by Jesus Himself, and
the exact form which His own thought takes is marked by the words, “If any
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![man thirst.” He stands there on the great day of the feast, and around Him are
men who for seven successive mornings have witnessed acts and uttered words
telling, though they know it not, of the true satisfaction of spiritual thirst, and
thinking of the descent of showers on the thirsty ground, and in some vague way
of the Holy Spirit’s presence. They are as the woman of Samaria was by the side
of the true well. For every one who really knew his need, the source of living
water was at hand. (Comp. Notes on John 4:7-15.) That very Feast of
Tabernacles, with its dwelling in tents, moreover, brought vividly to their minds
the wilderness-life; and as in the past chapter the manna has formed the basis of
His teaching about the Bread of Life, so here the striking of the rock and the
streams gushing forth in the desert would be present to their minds. In the
interpretation of one who was himself a Pharisee, and was taught in the schools
of Jerusalem, “that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
CONSTABLE, “The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deuteronomy
16:13). However the day following the feast was a day of convocation that the
people popularly regarded as part of the feast (cf. Leviticus 23:36). It is difficult
to tell if John meant the seventh or the eighth day when he referred to "the great
day of the feast." Edersheim believed it was the seventh day. [Note: Edersheim,
2:156.]
"For the rabbis 'the last day' of the festival was the eighth day, but they never
spoke of it as the greatest day. Since the water-drawing rite and the dancing in
the light of the great menoras were omitted on the eighth day, the description of
'the greatest day' is thought by many to denote the seventh day, when the priests
processed around the altar with the water drawn from Siloam not once but seven
times. ... It is also to be recognized that the invitation [of Jesus] would have been
equally relevant on the eighth day, which was celebrated as a Sabbath with
appropriate ceremonies and was attended by a great congregation." [Note:
Beasley-Murray, p. 114.]
Jesus used the occasion to make another important public proclamation (cf. John
7:28). Perhaps Jesus laid low until this day to avoid arrest and then presented
Himself again publicly. He invited anyone who was thirsty spiritually to come to
Him and take what would satisfy and sustain him or her (cf. John 4:10; John
4:14).
Early each of the seven mornings of the feast the high priest would lead a
procession from the Pool of Siloam to the temple. Another priest would first fill a
golden ewer with water from the pool. He would then carry it through the Water
Gate on the south side of the temple and into the temple courtyard. There he
would ceremoniously pour the water into a silver basin on the west side of the
brazen altar from which it would flow through a tube to the base of the altar.
Many Jews would accompany these priests. Some of them would drink from the
pool while others would chant Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 12:3 : "Ho! Everyone who
thirsts, come to the waters. Joyously draw water from the springs of salvation."
This was such a happy occasion that the Mishnah stated, "He that never has seen
the joy of the Water-drawing has never in his life seen joy." [Note: Mishnah
Sukkoth 5:1.]
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![The priest would then pour water into the basin at the time of the morning
sacrifice. Another priest would also pour the daily drink offering of wine into
another basin at the same time. Then they would pour the water and the wine
out before the Lord. The pouring out of water represented God's provision of
water in the wilderness in the past and His provision of refreshment and
cleansing in the messianic age. The pouring out of wine symbolized God's
bestowal of His Spirit in the last days. Every male present would simultaneously
shake his little bundle of willow and myrtle twigs (his lulab) with his right hand
and hold a piece of citrus fruit aloft with his left hand. The twigs represented
stages of the wilderness journey marked by different kinds of vegetation, and the
citrus fruit symbolized the fruit of the Promised Land. [Note: Morris, p. 372.]
Everyone would also cry, "Give thanks to the Lord!" three times. Worshippers
in the temple courtyard would then sing the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). [Note: J.
Jeremias, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v., lithos, 4:277-78; J.
W. Shepard, The Christ of the Gospels, p. 348; Edersheim, 2:157-60.]
This "water rite" had become a part of the Israelites' traditional celebration of
the feast of Tabernacles. Essentially it symbolized the fertility and fruitfulness
that the rain brought. In the Old Testament, God likened His blessings in the
messianic kingdom to the falling of rain (Ezekiel 47:1-7; Zechariah 13:1). The
Jews regarded God's provision of water in the wilderness and rain in the land as
harbingers of His great blessings on the nation under Messiah's reign. Thus the
water rite in the feast of Tabernacles had strong messianic connotations.
Jesus stood to announce His invitation. Normally rabbis sat when they taught.
Therefore His standing position as well as His words stressed the importance of
what He said. Jesus' claim was even more impressive because on the eighth day
no water was poured out. When Jesus called out His invitation, He was claiming
to be the fulfillment of all that the feast of Tabernacles anticipated. He
announced that He was the One who could provide messianic blessing, that He
was the Messiah. His words compared Himself to the rock in the wilderness that
supplied the needs of the Israelites.
NISBET, “THIRST ASSUAGED
‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any
man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.
John 7:37
Christ here says that He is able and willing to assuage all man’s spiritual thirst.
Whatever spiritual need man has, in Christ it is met and in Christ alone.
I. Men thirst for pardon and peace with God.—This is a deep and universal
desire. It is not felt equally by all. In some it is an intense and almost constant
longing; in others the thirst is not so great nor is it as continuous. But in all souls
it is found. Sometimes the thirst is excited by startling, distressing circumstances
which awaken anxiety and dread; in others it comes they hardly know how, but
stealing into heart and mind, giving no rest. This thirst is caused now and again
by a sight—fitful and very fragmentary—of God’s love in Christ. However the
wish for pardon may spring up, by whomever it is felt, to all and every one
burdened with a sense of sin, Jesus says, ‘Come unto Me and drink’ of the free,
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![the time of the morning sacrifice, on each of the days of the feast, when that
beautiful psalm Isaiah 12. was sung. The pouring out of the water was a
commemoration of one very important event in the wilderness life, when the
people drank of the water that followed them from the rock, which rock
represented Christ.’
38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has
said, rivers of living water will flow from within
them.”[c]
BARNES, "He that believeth on me - He that acknowledges me as the
Messiah, and trusts in me for salvation.
As the scripture hath said - This is a difficult expression, from the fact that no
such expression as follows is to be found literally in the Old Testament. Some have
proposed to connect it with what precedes - “He that believeth on me, as the Old
Testament has commanded or required” - but to this there are many objections. The
natural and obvious meaning here is, doubtless, the true one; and Jesus probably
intended to say, not that there was any particular place in the Old Testament that
affirmed this in so many words, but that this was the substance of what the
Scriptures taught, or this was the spirit of their declarations. Hence, the Syriac
translates it in the plural - the Scriptures. Probably there is a reference more
particularly to Isa_58:11, than to any other single passage: “Thou shalt be like a
watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.” See also Isa_
44:3-4; Joe_3:18.
Out of his belly - Out of his midst, or out of his heart. The word “belly” is often
put for the midst of a thing, the center, and the heart, Mat_12:40. It means here that
from the man shall flow; that is, his piety shall be of such a nature that it will extend
its blessings to others. It shall be like a running fountain - perhaps in allusion to
statues or ornamented reservoirs in gardens. in which pipes were placed from which
water was continually flowing. The Jews used the same figure: “His two reins are like
fountains of water, from which the law flows.” And again: “When a man turns
himself to the Lord, he shall be as a fountain filled with living water, and his streams
shall flow to all the nations and tribes of men” (Kuinoel).
Rivers - This word is used to express abundance, or a full supply. It means here
that those who are Christians shall diffuse large, and liberal, and constant blessings
on their fellow-men; or, as Jesus immediately explains it, that they shall be the
instruments by which the Holy Spirit shall be poured down on the world.
Living water - Fountains, ever-flowing streams. That is, the gospel shall be
constant and life-giving in its blessings. We learn here:
1. That it is the nature of Christian piety to be diffusive.
2. That no man can believe on Jesus who does not desire that others should also,
and who will not seek it.
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![to whom he communicates his rich experiences of grace, to their comfort, and the
glory of God: for grace is of a diffusive and communicative nature; out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh: and also it flows out by his life and
conversation, which is sober, righteous, and godly; and this the grace of God teaches
and influences: and this grace, as it is permanent and lasting itself, even perpetual,
and always abiding; so it continues to flow, and to show itself in its acts and effects,
in one way or another. The Jews ought not to find fault with Christ's using such
expressions, mystically understood, since they, comparing Moses and the Messiah
together, say,
"as the first Redeemer caused a well to spring up, so the last Redeemer shall cause
waters to spring up, according to Joe_3:18 (e).''
HENRY, "4. A gracious promise annexed to this gracious call (Joh_7:38): He that
believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow - (1.) See here what it is to come to Christ:
It is to believe on him, as the scripture hath said; it is to receive and entertain him as
he is offered to us in the gospel. We must not frame a Christ according to our fancy,
but believe in a Christ according to the scripture. (2.) See how thirsty souls, that
come to Christ, shall be made to drink. Israel, that believed Moses, drank of the rock
that followed them, the streams followed; but believers drink of a rock in them,
Christ in them; he is in them a well of living water, Joh_4:14. Provision is made not
only for their present satisfaction, but for their continual perpetual comfort. Here is,
[1.] Living water, running water, which the Hebrew language calls living, because
still in motion. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are compared to living
(meaning running) water, because they are the active quickening principles of
spiritual life, and the earnests and beginnings of eternal life. See Jer_2:13. [2.] Rivers
of living water, denoting both plenty and constancy. The comfort flows in both
plentifully and constantly as a river; strong as a stream to bear down the oppositions
of doubts and fears. There is a fulness in Christ of grace for grace. [3.] These flow out
of his belly, that is, out of his heart or soul, which is the subject of the Spirit's
working and the seat of his government. There gracious principles are planted; and
out of the heart, in which the Spirit dwells, flow the issues of life, Pro_4:23. There
divine comforts are lodged, and the joy that a stranger doth not intermeddle with.
He that believes has the witness in himself, 1Jo_5:10. Sat lucis intus - Light abounds
within. Observe, further, where there are springs of grace and comfort in the soul
that will send forth streams: Out of his belly shall flow rivers. First, Grace and
comfort will produce good actions, and a holy heart will be seen in a holy life; the tree
is known by its fruits, and the fountain by its streams. Secondly, They will
communicate themselves for the benefit of others; a good man is a common good.
His mouth is a well of life, Pro_10:11. It is not enough that we drink waters out of
our own cistern, that we ourselves take the comfort of the grace given us, but we
must let our fountains be dispersed abroad, Pro_5:15, Pro_5:16.
Those words, as the scripture hath said, seem to refer to some promise in the Old
Testament to this purport, and there are many; as that God would pour out his Spirit,
which is a metaphor borrowed from waters (Pro_1:23; Joe_2:28; Isa_44:3; Zec_
12:10); that the dry land should become springs of water (Isa_41:18); that there
should be rivers in the desert (Isa_43:19); that gracious souls should be like a spring
of water (Isa_58:11); and the church a well of living water, Son_4:15. And here may
be an allusion to the waters issuing out of Ezekiel's temple, Eze_47:1. Compare Rev_
22:1, and see Zec_14:8. Dr. Lightfoot and others tell us it was a custom of the Jews,
which they received by tradition, the last day of the feast of tabernacles to have a
solemnity, which they called Libatio aquae - The pouring out of water. They fetched
a golden vessel of water from the pool of Siloam, brought it into the temple with
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![the graces of the Spirit scarcely come into us by drops, which would flow like
rivers, if we gave due admission to Christ; that is, if faith made us capable of
receiving him.
As the Scripture saith. Some confine this to the former clause, and others to the
latter clause; for my own part, I extend it to the entire scope of the discourse.
Besides, Christ does not here, in my opinion, point out any particular passage of
Scripture, but produces a testimony drawn from the ordinary doctrine of the
Prophets. For whenever the Lord, promising an abundance of his Spirit,
compares it to living waters, he looks principally to the kingdom of Christ, to
which he directs the minds of believers. All the predictions of living waters,
therefore, have their fulfillment in Christ, because he alone hath opened and
displayed the hidden treasures of God. The reason why the graces of the Spirit
are poured out on him is,
that we may all draw out of his fullness, (John 1:16.)
Those persons, therefore, whom Christ so kindly and graciously calls, and who
wander in every direction, deserve to perish miserably.
LIGHTFOOT, "38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water.
[Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.] To this offering of water,
perhaps, our Saviour's words may have some respect; for it was only at this feast
that it was used, and none other. You have the manner of this service described
in the place above quoted, to this purpose:
After what manner is this offering of water? "They filled a golden phial
containing three logs out of Siloam. When they came to the water gate" [a gate of
the Temple so called, as some would have it, because that water which was
fetched from Siloam was brought through it], "they sounded their trumpets and
sang. Then a priest goes up by the ascent of the altar, and turns to the left. There
were two silver vessels, one with water, the other with wine: he pours some of the
water into the wine, and some of the wine into the water, and so performs the
service."
"R. Judah saith, They offer one log every of those eight days: and they say to
him that offered it, 'Lift up thy hand': for upon a certain time there was one that
offered it upon his feet" [Gemar. He was a Sadducee. Gloss: The Sadducees do
not approve the offering of water], "and the whole congregation pelted him with
their citrons. That day a horn of the altar was broke."
"Whoever hath not seen the rejoicing that was upon the drawing of this water,
hath never seen any rejoicing at all."
This offering of water, they say, was a tradition given at mount Sinai: and that
the prophet Jonah was inspired by the Holy Ghost upon this offering of water.
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![The exact words “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,” are not
found in any part of the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, and yet
Christ Himself utters them with the formula of quotation. This will be a
difficulty only to those who value letter and syllable above spirit and substance.
It may be that the words which our Lord actually uttered in the current
language of Jerusalem were nearer to the very words of some passage in the Old
Testament than they seem to be in the Greek form in which St. John has
preserved them to us. But it is instructive that the thought is that which our Lord
Himself, or St. John as representing Him, considers as the essence of the
quotation. The thought meets us again and again in the Old Testament. See the
following passages: Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11; Psalms 114:8; Isaiah 44:3;
Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 58:11; Joel 2:23; Joel 3:18; Ezekiel 47:1; Ezekiel 47:12;
Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8.
This frequent reference to the refreshment and life-giving power of water is the
more natural in the East, where drought is a fearful evil ever to be guarded
against, and a well of water a blessing always sought for as the first necessity of
life.
The abundance is suggested by the contrast between the small quantity poured
out in the Temple and the streams which flowed from the rock struck in the
wilderness. The vessel they carried contained but three logs, or about a quart, of
water, brought from the tank of Siloam. This was poured through a perforated
silver bowl. In the spiritual interpretation the water shall not be carried to the
Temple, for every believer shall be a temple of the Holy Ghost and a source of
life; it shall not be a limited quantity in vessels of gold and silver, but shall be as
rivers bursting forth in their strength and fulness.
COFFMAN, “It is of interest that in the preceding verse Jesus said, "Come unto
me and drink"; while in this he said, "He that believeth on me ... from within
him shall flow, etc." We reject the comment of Tenney that "`Let him come unto
me and drink,' and `he that believeth on me' are practically synonymous
terms."[13] On the other hand, the expressions are poles apart in meaning, faith
being an action of the mind and heart, and coming being an action of both soul
and body. Faith is subjective; coming is objective. Faith is allied to thought;
coming is allied to deeds. That this is certain appears from writings throughout
the New Testament. These two verses (John 7:37-38) refer to Christians receiving
the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); and when this promise was fulfilled, they received
the Spirit "after they believed" (Ephesians 1:13), and after they repented and
were baptized (Acts 2:38ff and Galatians 4:6). Therefore these two verses are a
reference to the future giving of the Holy Spirit to Christians in consequence of
and subsequently to their believing in Christ and obeying the gospel, obedience
being the meaning of "come unto me" in John 7:37, and believing being the thing
mentioned in John 7:38. Both are required.
ENDNOTE:
[13] Merrill C. Tenney, op. cit., p. 135.
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![CONSTABLE, “Some commentators believed that the end of Jesus' statement
did not occur at the end of this verse but after "Me." [Note: E.g., Brown, 1:321.]
They saw Jesus saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink he
who believes in Me." This view results in the antecedent of "his innermost
being" or "him" being Jesus rather than the believer. This view makes Jesus the
source of the living water, which is biblical. However the punctuation in the
NASB and NIV probably represents the better translation. [Note: See Carson,
The Gospel . . ., pp. 323-25.]
The antecedent of "his innermost being" or "him" is probably the believer
rather than Jesus. This does not mean that Jesus was saying that the believer was
the source of the living water. The living water is a reference to the Holy Spirit
elsewhere in John, and it is Jesus who pours out the Spirit as living water (John
4:14). Jesus spoke elsewhere of the living water welling up within the believer
(John 4:14). The idea is not that the Spirit will flow out of the believer to other
believers. We are not the source of the Spirit for others. It is rather that the
Spirit from Jesus wells up within each believer and gives him or her satisfying
spiritual refreshment. Water satisfies thirst and produces fruitfulness, and
similarly the Spirit satisfies the inner person and enables us to bear fruit. The
Greek expression is ek tes koilias autou (lit. from within his belly). The belly here
pictures the center of the believer's personality. It may imply the womb, the
sphere of generation. [Note: Tasker, p. 109.]
There is no specific passage in the Old Testament that contains the same words
that Jesus mentioned here. Consequently He must have been summarizing the
teaching of the Old Testament (cf. Exodus 16:4; Exodus 17; Numbers 20;
Nehemiah 8:5-18; Psalms 78:15-16; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel
2:28-32; Zechariah 14:8). One writer believed Jesus had Ezekiel 47:1-11 in view.
[Note: Zane C. Hodges, "Rivers of Living Water-John 7:37-39," Bibliotheca
Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):239-48.] In these passages the ideas of the
Spirit and the law sustaining God's people as manna and water converge. Jesus
claimed that He alone could provide the satisfying Spirit. This was an offer of
salvation.
39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who
believed in him were later to receive. Up to that
time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus
had not yet been glorified.
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![of divine eloquence, then this was fulfilled, Out of his belly shall flow rivers.
(3.) This plentiful effusion of the Spirit was yet the matter of a promise; for the
Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. See here [1.] That
Jesus was not yet glorified. It was certain that he should be glorified, and he was
ever worthy of all honour; but he was as yet in a state of humiliation and contempt.
He had never forfeited the glory he had before all worlds, nay, he had merited a
further glory, and, besides his hereditary honours, might claim the achievement of a
mediatorial crown; and yet all this is in reversion. Jesus is now upheld (Isa_42:1), is
now satisfied (Isa_53:11), is now justified (1Ti_3:16), but he is not yet glorified. And,
if Christ must wait for his glory, let not us think it much to wait for ours. [2.] That the
Holy Ghost was not yet given. oupō gar hēn pneuma - for the Holy Ghost was not yet.
The Spirit of God was from eternity, for in the beginning he moved upon the face of
the waters. He was in the Old Testament prophets and saints, and Zacharias and
Elisabeth were both filled with the Holy Ghost. This therefore must be understood of
the eminent, plentiful, and general effusion of the Spirit which was promised, Joe_
2:28, and accomplished, Act_2:1, etc. The Holy Ghost was not yet given in that
visible manner that was intended. if we compare the clear knowledge and strong
grace of the disciples of Christ themselves, after the day of Pentecost, with their
darkness and weakness before, we shall understand in what sense the Holy Ghost
was not yet given; the earnests and first-fruits of the Spirit were given, but the full
harvest was not yet come. That which is most properly called the dispensation of the
Spirit did not yet commence. The Holy Ghost was not yet given in such rivers of
living water as should issue forth to water the whole earth, even the Gentile world,
not in the gifts of tongues, to which perhaps this promise principally refers. [3.] That
the reason why the Holy Ghost was not given was because Jesus was not yet
glorified. First, The death of Christ is sometimes called his glorification (Joh_13:31);
for in his cross he conquered and triumphed. Now the gift of the Holy Ghost was
purchased by the blood of Christ: this was the valuable consideration upon which
the grant was grounded, and therefore till this price was paid (though many other
gifts were bestowed upon its being secured to be paid) the Holy Ghost was not given.
Secondly, There was not so much need of the Spirit, while Christ himself was here
upon earth, as there was when he was gone, to supply the want of him. Thirdly, The
giving of the Holy Ghost was to be both an answer to Christ's intercession (Joh_
14:16), and an act of his dominion; and therefore till he is glorified, and enters upon
both these, the Holy Ghost is not given. Fourthly, The conversion of the Gentiles was
the glorifying of Jesus. When certain Greeks began to enquire after Christ, he said,
Now is the Son of man glorified, Joh_12:23. Now the time when the gospel should be
propagated in the nations was not yet come, and therefore there was as yet no
occasion for the gift of tongues, that river of living water. But observe, though the
Holy Ghost was not yet given, yet he was promised; it was now the great promise of
the Father, Act_1:4. Though the gifts of Christ's grace are long deferred, yet they are
well secured: and, while we are waiting for the good promise, we have the promise to
live upon, which shall speak and shall not lie.
CALVIN, "39.But this he spoke of the Spirit. The word water is sometimes
applied to the Spirit on account of its purity, because it is his office to cleanse our
pollutions; but in this and similar passages this term is employed in a different
acceptation, which is, that we are destitute of all the sap and moisture of life,
unless when the Spirit of God quickens us, and when he waters us, as it were, by
secret vigor. Under one part he includes the whole; (196) for under the one word
water he includes all the parts of life. Hence we infer also, that all who have not
been regenerated by the Spirit of Christ ought to be reckoned dead, whatever
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![may be the pretended life of which they boast.
For the Holy Spirit was not yet given. We know that the Spirit is eternal; but the
Evangelist declares that, so long as Christ dwelt in the world in the mean form of
a servant, that grace of the Spirit, which was poured out on men after the
resurrection of Christ, had not been openly manifested. And, indeed, he speaks
comparatively, in the same manner as when the New Testament is compared to
the Old. God promises his Spirit to his elect and believers, (197) as if he had
never given him to the Fathers. At that very time, the disciples had undoubtedly
received the first-fruits of the Spirit; for whence comes faith but from the Spirit?
The Evangelist, therefore, does not absolutely affirm that the grace of the Spirit
was not offered and given (198) to believers before the death of Christ, but that it
was not yet so bright and illustrious as it would afterwards become. For it is the
highest ornament of the kingdom of Christ, that he governs his Church by his
Spirit; but he entered into the lawful and — what may be called — the solemn
possession of his kingdom, when he was exalted to the right hand of the Father;
so that we need not wonder if he delayed till that time the full manifestation of
the Spirit.
But one question still remains to be answered. Does he mean here the visible
graces of the Spirit, or the regeneration which is the fruit of adoption? I answer:
The Spirit, who had been promised at the coming of Christ, appeared in those
visible gifts, as in mirrors; but here the question relates strictly to the power of
the Spirit, by which we are born again in Christ, and become new creatures.
That we lie on earth poor, and famished, and almost destitute of spiritual
blessings, while Christ now sits in glory at the right hand of the Father, and
clothed with the highest majesty of government, ought to be imputed to our
slothfulness, and to the small measure of our faith.
LIGHTFOOT, "39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on
him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)
[For the Holy Ghost was not yet.] These words have relation to that most
received opinion of the Jews about the departure of the Holy Spirit after the
death of Zechariah and Malachi. To this also must that passage be interpreted,
when those of Ephesus say, Acts 19:2, "We have not so much as heard whether
there be any Holy Ghost": that is, We have indeed heard of the Holy Ghost's
departure after the death of our last prophets, but of his return and redonation
of him we have not yet heard. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,
in the midst of the years make known, Habakkuk 3:2. He calls the seventy years
of captivity the midst of the years: for, on the one hand, it had been seven times
seventy years from the birth of Samuel, the first of the prophets, to the captivity,
and, on the other hand, it was seven times seventy years from the end of the
captivity to the death of Christ. The prayer is, that the gift of prophecy might not
be lost, but preserved, whiles the people should live exiled in a heathen country.
And according to the twofold virtue of prophecy, the one of working miracles,
the other of foretelling things to come, he uses a twofold phrase, revive thy work,
and make known. Nor indeed was that gift lost in the captivity, but was very
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![BARNES, "Are ye also deceived? - They set down the claims of Jesus as of
course an imposture. They did not examine, but were, like thousands, determined to
believe that he was a deceiver. Hence, they did not ask them whether they were
convinced, or had seen evidence that he was the Messiah; but, with mingled
contempt, envy, and anger, they asked if they were also deluded. Thus many assume
religion to be an imposture; and when one becomes a Christian, they assume at once
that he is deceived, that he is the victim of foolish credulity or superstition, and treat
him with ridicule or scorn. Candor would require them to inquire whether such
changes were not proof of the power and truth of the gospel, as candor in the case of
the rulers required them to inquire whether Jesus had not given them evidence that
he was from God.
GILL, "Then answered them the Pharisees, are ye also deceived? As well
as the common people; you that have been so long in our service, and should know
better; or who, at least, should have taken the sense of your superiors, and should
have waited to have had their opinion and judgment of him, and been determined by
that, and not so hastily have joined with a deluded set of people. It was the common
character of Christ, and his apostles, and so of all his faithful ministers in all
succeeding ages, that they were deceivers, and the people that followed them
deceived, a parcel of poor deluded creatures, carried aside by their teachers; when,
on the other hand, they are the deceived ones, who live in sin, and indulge
themselves in it; or who trust in themselves that they are righteous; who think they
are something, when they are nothing; who imagine, that touching the righteousness
of the law, they are blameless, are free from sin, and need no repentance; who follow
the traditions and commandments of men: whereas these cannot be deceived, who
follow Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, and his faithful ministers, who show
unto men the way of salvation.
HENRY 47-49, "3. The Pharisees endeavour to secure their officers to their
interest, and to beget in them prejudices against Christ, to whom they saw them
begin to be well affected. They suggest two things: -
(1.) That if they embrace the gospel of Christ they will deceive themselves (Joh_
7:47): Are you also deceived? Christianity has, from its first rise, been represented to
the world as a great cheat upon it, and they that embraced it as men deceived, then
when they began to be undeceived. Those that looked for a Messiah in external pomp
thought those deceived who believed in a Messiah that appeared in poverty and
disgrace; but the event declares that none were ever more shamefully deceived, nor
put a greater cheat upon themselves, than those who promised themselves worldly
wealth and secular dominion with the Messiah. Observe what a compliment the
Pharisees paid to these officers: “Are you also deceived? What! men of your sense,
and thought, and figure; men that know better than to be imposed upon by every
pretender and upstart teacher?” They endeavour to prejudice them against Christ by
persuading them to think well of themselves.
(2.) That they will disparage themselves. Most men, even in their religion, are
willing to be governed by the example of those of the first rank; these officers
therefore, whose preferments, such as they were, gave them a sense of honour, are
desired to consider,
[1.] That, if they become disciples of Christ, they go contrary to those who were
persons of quality and reputation: “Have any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees,
believed on him? You know they have not, and you ought to be bound up by their
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![judgment, and to believe and do in religion according to the will of your superiors;
will you be wiser than they?” Some of the rulers did embrace Christ (Mat_9:18; Joh_
4:53), and more believed in him, but wanted courage to confess him (Joh_12:42);
but, when the interest of Christ runs low in the world, it is common for its
adversaries to represent it as lower than really it is. But it was too true that few, very
few, of them did. Note, First, The cause of Christ has seldom had rulers and
Pharisees on its side. It needs not secular supports, nor proposes secular advantages,
and therefore neither courts nor is courted by the great men of this world. Self-denial
and the cross are hard lessons to rulers and Pharisees. Secondly, This has confirmed
many in their prejudices against Christ and his gospel, that the rulers and Pharisees
have been no friends to them. Shall secular men pretend to be more concerned about
spiritual things than spiritual men themselves, or to see further into religion than
those who make its study their profession? If rulers and Pharisees do not believe in
Christ, they that do believe in him will be the most singular, unfashionable, ungenteel
people in the world, and quite out of the way of preferment; thus are people foolishly
swayed by external motives in matters of eternal moment, are willing to be damned
for fashion-sake, and to go to hell in compliment to the rulers and Pharisees.
[2.] That they will link themselves with the despicable vulgar sort of people (Joh_
7:43): But this people, who know not the law, are cursed, meaning especially those
that were well-affected to the doctrine of Christ. Observe, First, How scornfully and
disdainfully they speak of them: This people. It is not laos, this lay-people,
distinguished from them that were the clergy, but ochlos outos, this rabble-people,
this pitiful, scandalous, scoundrel people, whom they disdained to set with the dogs
of their flock though God had set them with the lambs of his. If they meant the
commonalty of the Jewish nation, they were the seed of Abraham, and in covenant
with God, and not to be spoken of with such contempt. The church's common
interests are betrayed when any one part of it studies to render the other mean and
despicable. If they meant the followers of Christ, though they were generally persons
of small figure and fortune, yet by owning Christ they discovered such a sagacity,
integrity, and interest in the favours of Heaven, as made them truly great and
considerable. Note, As the wisdom of God has often chosen base things, and things
which are despised, so the folly of men has commonly debased and despised those
whom God has chosen. Secondly, How unjustly they reproach them as ignorant of
the word of God: They know not the law; as if none knew the law but those that
knew it from them, and no scripture-knowledge were current but what came out of
their mint; and as if none knew the law but such as were observant of their canons
and traditions. Perhaps many of those whom they thus despised knew the law, and
the prophets too, better than they did. Many a plain, honest, unlearned disciple of
Christ, by meditation, experience, prayers, and especially obedience, attains to a
more clear, sound, and useful knowledge of the word of God, than some great
scholars with all their wit and learning. Thus David came to understand more than
the ancients and all his teachers, Psa_119:99, Psa_119:100. If the common people
did not know the law, yet the chief priests and Pharisees, of all men, should not have
upbraided them with this; for whose fault was it but theirs, who should have taught
them better, but, instead of that, took away the key of knowledge? Luk_11:52.
Thirdly, How magisterially they pronounce sentence upon them: they are cursed,
hateful to God, and all wise men; epikatartoi - an execrable people. It is well that their
saying they were cursed did not make them so, for the curse causeless shall not
come. It is a usurpation of God's prerogative, as well as great uncharitableness, to say
of any particular persons, much more of any body of people, that they are reprobates.
We are unable to try, and therefore unfit to condemn, and our rule is, Bless, and
curse not. Some think they meant no more than that the people were apt to be
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![truth of God, and, when the rich and the mighty are pouring contempt on Jesus and
his cause, to stand forth as its fearless defender.
CLARKE, "Nicodemus - being one of them - That is, a Pharisee, and a ruler
of the Jews: see on Joh_3:1 (note).
GILL, "Nicodemus saith unto them,.... To the Jewish sanhedrim, who were
running down Christ, and his followers, in great wrath and fury:
he that came to Jesus by night; see Joh_3:1;
being one of them; a member of the sanhedrim.
HENRY, "(1.) Who it was that appeared against them; it was Nicodemus, he that
came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Joh_7:50. Observe, concerning him, [1.]
That, though he had been with Jesus, and taken him for his teacher, yet he retained
his place in the council, and his vote among them. Some impute this to his weakness
and cowardice, and think it was his fault that he did not quit his place, but Christ had
never said to him, Follow me, else he would have done as others that left all to follow
him; therefore it seems rather to have been his wisdom not immediately to throw up
his place, because there he might have opportunity of serving Christ and his interest,
and stemming the tide of the Jewish rage, which perhaps he did more than we are
aware of. He might there be as Hushai among Absalom's counsellors, instrumental to
turn their counsels into foolishness. Though we must in no case deny our Master, yet
we may wait for an opportunity of confessing him to the best advantage. God has his
remnant among all sorts, and many times finds, or puts, or makes, some good in the
worst places and societies. There was Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar's court, and
Nehemiah in Artaxerxes's. [2.] That though at first he came to Jesus by night, for
fear of being known, and still continued in his post; yet, when there was occasion, he
boldly appeared in defence of Christ, and opposed the whole council that were set
against him. Thus many believers who at first were timorous, and ready to flee at the
shaking of a leaf, have at length, by divine grace, grown courageous, and able to
laugh at the shaking of a spear. Let none justify the disguising of their faith by the
example of Nicodemus, unless, like him, they be ready upon the first occasion openly
to appear in the cause of Christ, though they stand alone in it; for so Nicodemus did
here, and Joh_19:39.
JAMIESON, "Nicodemus — reappearing to us after nearly three years’ absence
from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.
CALVIN, "50.Nicodemus said to them. The Evangelist describes Nicodemus as a
neutral man, who does not venture to undertake in good earnest the defense of
sound doctrine, and yet cannot endure to have the truth oppressed.
He who came to Jesus by night. This circumstance is mentioned by the
Evangelist, partly to the praise, and partly to the disgrace, of Nicodemus. If he
had not loved the doctrine of Christ, he would never have dared to meet the rage
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![proper precept in our judgments in private life.
CLARKE, "Doth our law judge any man - Τον ανθρωπον, the man, i.e. who is
accused. Perhaps Nicodemus did not refer so much to any thing in the law of Moses,
as to what was commonly practiced among them. Josephus says, Ant. b. xiv. c. 9. s. 3,
That the law has forbidden any man to be put to death, though wicked, unless he be
first condemned to die by the Sanhedrin. It was probably to this law, which is not
expressly mentioned in the five books of Moses, that Nicodemus here alludes. See
laws relative to this point, Deu_17:8, etc.; Deu_19:15.
GILL, "Doth our law judge any man,.... Or condemn any man; or can any man
be lawfully condemned:
before it hear him: what he has to say for himself; is this the usual process in our
courts? or is this a legal one to condemn a man unheard?
and know what he doth? what his crimes are. This he said, having a secret respect
for Christ, though he had not courage enough openly to appear for him.
HENRY, "(2.) What he alleged against their proceedings (Joh_7:51): Doth our
law judge any man before it hear him (akousē par' autou - hear from himself) and
know what he doeth? By no means, nor doth the law of any civilized nation allow it.
Observe, [1.] He prudently argues from the principles of their own law, and an
incontestable rule of justice, that no man is to be condemned unheard. Had he urged
the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them
his divine discourse with him (ch. 3), it had been but to cast pearls before swine,
who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him;
therefore he waives them. [2.] Whereas they had reproached the people, especially
the followers of Christ, as ignorant of the law, he here tacitly retorts the charge upon
themselves, and shows how ignorant they were of some of the first principles of the
law, so unfit were they to give law to others. [3.] The law is here said to judge, and
hear, and know, when magistrates that govern and are governed by it judge, and
hear, and know; for they are the mouth of the law, and whatsoever they bind and
loose according to the law is justly said to be bound and loosed by the law. [4.] It is
highly fit that none should come under the sentence of the law, till they have first by a
fair trial undergone the scrutiny of it. Judges, when they receive the complaints of
the accuser, must always reserve in their minds room for the defence of the accused,
for they have two ears, to remind them to hear both sides; this is said to be the
manner of the Romans, Act_25:18. The method of our law is Oyer and Terminer,
first to hear and then to determine. [5.] Persons are to be judged, not by what is said
of them, but by what they do. Our law will not ask what men's opinions are of them,
or out-cries against them, but, What have they done? What overt-acts can they be
convicted of? Sentence must be given, secundum allegata et probata - according to
what is alleged and proved. Facts, and not faces, must be known in judgment; and
the scale of justice must be used before the sword of justice.
Now we may suppose that the motion Nicodemus made in the house upon this
was, That Jesus should be desired to come and give them an account of himself and
his doctrine, and that they should favour him with an impartial and unprejudiced
hearing; but, though none of them could gainsay his maxim, none of them would
second his motion.
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![JAMIESON, "Doth our law, etc. — a very proper, but all too tame rejoinder,
and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce
positively in the case. “The feebleness of his defense of Jesus has a strong contrast in
the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees” [Webster and Wilkinson]
ELLICOTT, “(51) Doth our law judge any man?—He identifies Himself with
them. He, like they, is an expounder of the Law. The force of the question is in
the word “Law,” which they had used but the moment before in their scorn for
the people who knew not the Law. “Well, this Law, which we do know and
understand, doth it judge without open investigation?” Did they in their blind
zeal forget such passages as Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy
19:15? They had determined a death, and were seeking to carry their sentence
into effect in direct contravention of the Law. This holy people, instructed in the
Law—they were the Law-breakers.
Before it hear him.—The better reading is, unless it hear first from him.
And know what he doeth—i.e., know the deed for which he is tried.
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too?
Look into it, and you will find that a prophet
does not come out of Galilee.”
BARNES, "Art thou also of Galilee? - Here is another expression of contempt.
To be a Galilean was a term of the highest reproach. They knew well that he was not
of Galilee, but they meant to ask whether he also had become a follower of the
despised Galilean. Ridicule is not argument, and there is no demonstration in a gibe;
but, unhappily, this is the only weapon which the proud and haughty often use in
opposing religion.
Ariseth no prophet - That is, there is no prediction that any prophet should
come out of Galilee, and especially no prophet that was to attend or precede the
Messiah. Compare Joh_1:46. They assumed, therefore, that Jesus could not be the
Christ.
CLARKE, "Art thou also of Galilee? - They knew very well that he was not;
but they spoke this by way of reproach. As if they had said, thou art no better than he
is, as thou takest his part. Many of the Galileans had believed on him, Which the
Jews considered to be a reproach. Art thou his disciple, as the Galileans are?
Search, and look - Examine the Scriptures, search the public registers, and thou
wilt see that out of Galilee there ariseth no prophet. Neither the Messiah, nor any
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![other prophet, has ever proceeded from Galilee, nor ever can. This conclusion, says
Calmet, was false and impertinent: false, because Jonah was of Gathheper, in Galilee:
see 2Ki_14:25, compared with Jos_19:13. The Prophet Nahum was also a Galilean,
for he was of the tribe of Simeon; and some suppose that Malachi was of the same
place. The conclusion was false, because there not having been a prophet from any
particular place was no argument that there never could be one, as the place had not
been proscribed.
GILL, "They answered and said unto him,.... Being displeased with him, and
as reproaching him, though they could not deny, or refute what he said:
art thou also of Galilee? a follower of Jesus of Galilee, whom, by way of contempt,
they called the Galilean, and his followers Galilaeans, as Julian the apostate after
them did; for otherwise they knew that Nicodemus was not of the country of Galilee;
search and look; into the histories of former times, and especially the Scriptures:
for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet; but this is false, for Jonah the prophet
was of Gathhepher, which was in the tribe of Zebulun, which tribe was in Galilee; see
2Ki_14:25. And the Jews (z) themselves say, that Jonah, the son of Amittai, was,
,מזבולון of "Zebulun", and that his father was of Zebulun, and his mother was of Asher
(a); both which tribes were in Galilee: and if no prophet had, as yet, arose from
thence, it did not follow that no one should arise: besides, there is a prophecy in
which it was foretold, that a prophet, and even the Messiah, the great light, should
arise in Galilee; see Isa_9:1; and they themselves say, that the Messiah should be
revealed in Galilee; See Gill on Joh_7:41.
HENRY, "2. What was said to this objection. Here is no direct reply given to it;
but, when they could not resist the force of his argument, they fell foul upon him, and
what was to seek in reason they made up in railing and reproach. Note, It is a sign of
a bad cause when men cannot bear to hear reason, and take it as an affront to be
reminded of its maxims. Whoever are against reason give cause to suspect that
reason is against them. See how they taunt him: Art thou also of Galilee? Joh_7:52.
Some think he was well enough served for continuing among those whom he knew to
be enemies to Christ, and for his speaking no more on the behalf of Christ than what
he might have said on behalf of the greatest criminal - that he should not be
condemned unheard. Had he said, “As for this Jesus, I have heard him myself, and
know he is a teacher come from God, and you in opposing him fight against God,” as
he ought to have said, he could not have been more abused than he was for this
feeble effort of his tenderness for Christ. As to what they said to Nicodemus, we may
observe,
(1.) How false the grounds of their arguing were, for, [1.] They suppose that Christ
was of Galilee, and this was false, and if they would have been at the pains of an
impartial enquiry they would have found it so. [2.] They suppose that because most
of his disciples were Galileans they were all such, whereas he had abundance of
disciples in Judea. [3.] They suppose that out of Galilee no prophet had risen, and for
this appeal to Nicodemus's search; yet this was false too: Jonah was of Gath-hepher,
Nahum an Elkoshite, both of Galilee. Thus do they make lies their refuge.
(2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as were a shame to
rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the worse for the
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![poverty and obscurity of his country? The Galileans were the seed of Abraham;
barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one Father? [2.]
Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible that any
should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he was), and
if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned whether he was
a prophet or no?
3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in
confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met
to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a
vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on
earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces
with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they
could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them,
they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the
debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the
Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men.
JAMIESON, "thou of Galilee — in this taunt expressing their scorn of the
party. Even a word of caution, or the gentlest proposal to inquire before condemning,
was with them equivalent to an espousal of the hated One.
Search ... out of Galilee ... no prophet — Strange! For had not Jonah (of
Gath-hepher) and even Elijah (of Thisbe) arisen out of Galilee? And there it may be
more, of whom we have no record. But rage is blind, and deep prejudice distorts all
facts. Yet it looks as if they were afraid of losing Nicodemus, when they take the
trouble to reason the point at all. It was just because he had “searched,” as they
advised him, that he went the length even that he did.
CALVIN, "52.Art thou also from Galilee? They say that all who favor Christ are
from Galilee, and this is spoken reproachfully, as if he could not have any person
among his followers except from the small and unknown corner of Galilee (205)
The extreme violence to which they are excited against Nicodemus, shows with
what furious hatred they burned against Christ; for he had not avowedly
undertaken to defend Christ, but had only said that he ought not to be
condemned before he was heard Thus among the Papists in our own day, no man
can show the slightest token of candour that the Gospel may not be oppressed,
but immediately the enemies fly into a passion, and exclaim that he is a heretic.
LIGHTFOOT, "52. They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee?
Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
[Art thou also of Galilee?] It seems to be spoken scoffingly: "Art thou of those
Galileans that believe in this Galilean?"
Expositors, almost with one consent, do note that this story of the woman taken
in adultery, was not in some ancient copies; and whiles I am considering upon
what accident this should be, there are two little stories in Eusebius that come to
mind. The one we have in these words, He [Papias] tells us also another history
concerning a woman accused of many crimes before our Lord, which history
indeed the Gospel according to the Hebrews makes mention of. All that do cite
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![they asked him with an air of disdain and surprize, mixed with fierceness, Art
thou also of Galilee? "Art thou one of the ignorant low faction, which has
leagued to support a Galilean Messiah, in opposition to the law, which has
determined the Messiah's nativity to Bethlehem? Search and look; for out of
Galilee ariseth no prophet." They meant no Messiah, the prophet foretold by
Moses in their law; for they could not but know that Jonah was of Gath-hepher
in Galilee, 2 Kings 14:25 that Nahum also was probably a Galilean; and that
Tishbe, the town of Elijah the Tishbite, was likewise in Galilee; unless they were
as ignorant of the scriptures as they said the common people were, John 7:48. Be
this as it may, such blind judges were these masters of law and learning, that an
argument which had no force against Jesus, who was actually born at
Bethlehem, weighed a great deal more with them, than all the solid proofs by
which he so fully established his divine mission.
CONSTABLE, “Nicodemus' colleagues did not reply rationally but emotionally.
They had already decided Jesus' case without hearing Him. They did not want to
listen to any information that might prove that He was who He claimed to be.
They replied to Nicodemus' challenge with contempt and accused him of being a
despised Galilean himself since he sought to defend a Galilean. Unable to refute
the logic of Nicodemus' argument they attacked his person, an old debating
tactic designed to win an argument but not necessarily to arrive at the truth.
It is unclear if they meant that no prophet ever came from Galilee or that the
Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) would not come from there. Obviously Jonah and
Nahum had come from Galilee, so it seems unlikely that they meant that. Moses
did not predict where the Prophet would come from. As mentioned above, the
Jews of Jesus' day seem to have regarded the Prophet and Messiah as two
different individuals. The messianic Son of David would come from Bethlehem,
but where would the Prophet come from? If the Sanhedrin had taken the trouble
to investigate Jesus' origins thoroughly, they would have discovered than He had
not come from Galilee originally.
People still let prejudice (prejudging) and superficial evaluation blind them to
the truth.
[The earliest manuscripts and many other
ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11.
A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly
or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke
21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
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![BARNES, "And every man went unto his own house - There is every mark
of confusion and disorder in this breaking up of the Sanhedrin. It is possible that
some of the Sadducees might have joined Nicodemus in opposing the Pharisees, and
thus increased the disorder. It is a most instructive and melancholy exhibition of the
influence of pride, envy, contempt, and anger, when brought to bear on an inquiry,
and when they are manifestly opposed to candor, to argument, and to truth. So wild
and furious are the passions of men when they oppose the person and claims of the
Son of God! It is remarkable, too, how God accomplishes his purposes. They wished
to destroy Jesus. God suffered their passions to be excited, a tumult to ensue, the
assembly thus to break up in disorder, and Jesus to be safe, for his time had not yet
come. “The wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou
restrain,” Psa_76:10.
CLARKE, "And every man went, etc. - The authority and influence of
Nicodemus, in this case, was so great that the Sanhedrin broke up without being able
to conclude any thing. As the feast was now ended, they were not obliged to continue
any longer in or about Jerusalem; and therefore all returned to their respective
dwellings.
This verse and the first eleven verses of the following chapter are wanting in
several MSS. Some of those which retain the paragraph mark it with obelisks, as a
proof of spuriousness. Those which do retain it have it with such a variety of reading
as is no where else found in the sacred writings. Professor Griesbach leaves the whole
paragraph in the text with notes of doubtfulness. Most of the modern critics consider
it as resting on no solid authority.
GILL, "And every man went unto his own house. The officers not bringing
Jesus with them, and the sanhedrim being posed with Nicodemus, broke up without
doing any business, and every member of it went home: this we may suppose was
about the time of the evening sacrifice: for
"the great sanhedrim sat from the time of the morning daily sacrifice, to the time of
the evening daily sacrifice (b):''
and it is said (c), that
"after the evening daily sacrifice, the sanhedrim went, ,לבי־תאם "to their own
houses";''
as they now did, and not to their booths, the feast of tabernacles being now over.
HENRY, "(2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as were
a shame to rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the worse
for the poverty and obscurity of his country? The Galileans were the seed of
Abraham; barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one
Father? [2.] Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible
that any should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he
was), and if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned
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![whether he was a prophet or no?
3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in
confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met
to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a
vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on
earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces
with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they
could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them,
they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the
debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the
Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men.
JAMIESON, "(2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as
were a shame to rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the
worse for the poverty and obscurity of his country? The Galileans were the seed of
Abraham; barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one
Father? [2.] Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible
that any should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he
was), and if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned
whether he was a prophet or no?
3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in
confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met
to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a
vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on
earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces
with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they
could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them,
they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the
debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the
Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men.
CALVIN, "53.And every man went to his own house. Now follows an astonishing
close of the transaction. If any one take into account what was the reign of the
priests at that time, with what rage they were excited, and how vast was their
retinue, and, on the other hand, if he consider that Christ was unarmed and
defenceless, and that there was no body of men to protect him, the conclusion
must be, that it was all over with him a hundred times. When so formidable a
conspiracy is dissolved of its own accord, and when all those men, like waver of
the sea, break themselves by their own violence, who will not acknowledge that
they were scattered by the hand of God? But God always continues to be like
himself; and therefore, whenever he pleases, he will bring to nothing all the
efforts of enemies, so that, while they have everything in their power, and are
ready and prepared to execute their design, they will depart without having done
their work. And we have often found that, whatever contrivances our enemies
have made to extinguish the Gospel, yet by the amazing kindness of God, it
immediately fell powerless to the ground.
ELLICOTT, “(53) The section which follows (John 7:53 to John 8:11) is one of
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![the most striking instances of an undoubted addition to the original text of the
Gospel narratives. We shall find reason to believe that it belongs to the Apostolic
age, and preserves to us the record of an incident in the life of our Lord, but that
it has not come to us from the pen of St. John. (Comp. Excursus B: Some
Variations in the Text of St. John’s Gospel.) While, therefore, it is printed in the
text here, our text being a reprint of the Authorised version, without addition or
alteration, the reader will observe that it is an insertion which breaks the order
of the discourse, and in working out the line of thought will bear this in mind.
And every man went unto his own house.—This is not to be taken, then, as
marking the close of the discussion in the Sanhedrin. It joins the inserted section
with something which has preceded, but we have no means of judging what this
was.
BARCLAY, "WRETCHEDNESS AND PITY (John 7:53; John 8:1-11)
7:53 And each of them went to his own house; but Jesus went to the Mount of
Olives. Early in the morning he was again in the Temple precincts, and all the
people came to him. He sat down and went on teaching them. The scribes and
Pharisees brought a woman arrested for adultery. They set her in the midst and
said to him: "Teacher, this woman was arrested as she was committing
adultery--in the very act. In the law Moses enjoined us to stone women like this.
What do you say about her?" They were testing him when they said this, so that
they might have some ground on which to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and
wrote with his finger on the ground. When they went on asking him their
question, he straightened himself and said to them: "Let the man among you
who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her." And again he bent down
and wrote with his finger on the ground. One by one those who had heard what
he said went out, beginning from the eldest down to the youngest. So Jesus was
left alone, and the woman was still there in the midst. Jesus straightened himself
and said to her: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She
said: "No one, sir." Jesus said: "I am not going to pass judgment on you either.
Go, and from now on, sin no more."
[This incident is not included in all the ancient manuscripts
and appears only in a footnote in the Revised Standard
Version; see: NOTE ON THE STORY OF THE WOMAN TAKEN
IN ADULTERY]
The scribes and Pharisees were out to get some charge on which they could
discredit Jesus; and here they thought they had impaled him inescapably on the
horns of a dilemma. When a difficult legal question arose, the natural and
routine thing was to take it to a Rabbi for a decision. So the scribes and
Pharisees approached Jesus as a Rabbi with a woman taken in adultery.
In the eyes of the Jewish law adultery was a serious crime. The Rabbis said:
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![And never put on again."
In Jesus there is the gospel of the second chance. He was always intensely
interested, not only in what a person had been, but also in what a person could
be. He did not say that what they had done did not matter; broken laws and
broken hearts always matter; but he was sure that every man has a future as
well as a past.
(b) It involved pity. The basic difference between Jesus and the scribes and
Pharisees was that they wished to condemn; he wished to forgive. If we read
between the lines of this story it is quite clear that they wished to stone this
woman to death and were going to take pleasure in doing so. They knew the
thrill of exercising the power to condemn; Jesus knew the thrill of exercising the
power to forgive. Jesus regarded the sinner with pity born of love; the scribes
and Pharisees regarded him with disgust born of self-righteousness.
(c) It involved challenge. Jesus confronted this woman with the challenge of the
sinless life. He did not say: "It's all right; don't worry; just go on as you are
doing." He said: "It's all wrong; go out and fight; change your life from top to
bottom; go, and sin no more." Here was no easy forgiveness; here was a
challenge which pointed a sinner to heights of goodness of which she had never
dreamed. Jesus confronts the bad life with the challenge of the good.
(d) It involved belief in human nature. When we come to think of it, it is a
staggering thing that Jesus should say to a woman of loose morals: "Go, and sin
no more." The amazing, heart-uplifting thing about him was his belief in men
and women. When he was confronted with someone who had gone wrong, he did
not say: "You are a wretched and a hopeless creature." He said: "Go, and sin no
more." He believed that with his help the sinner has it in him to become the
saint. His method was not to blast men with the knowledge--which they already
possessed--that they were miserable sinners, but to inspire them with the
unglimpsed discovery that they were potential saints.
(e) It involved warning, clearly unspoken but implied. Here we are face to face
with the eternal choice. Jesus confronted the woman with a choice that day--
either to go back to her old ways or to reach out to the new way with him. This
story is unfinished, for every life is unfinished until it stands before God.
[As we noted at the beginning, this story does not appear in all the ancient
manuscripts. See the Note on the Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery (John
8:2-11).]
BI, "And every man went to his own house. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives..
If we group together the scenes of these chapters we might treat them.
1. A day with Jesus; in which we have not merely His answers to the disputing
Jews, but His proclamation of love.
2. A night with Jesus on the Mount of Olives.
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![suspicion at least, that they know their cause to be incapable of a rational defence.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, As the inveterate malignity of the chief priests and Pharisees
led them to determine the death of Jesus, by popular fury or by form of law; to avoid
their devices, he continued in Galilee. They who have obstinately refused the light of
truth, have it justly withdrawn from them; and where our enemies rage, and our safety
is in danger, it is prudent to depart, and carry that gospel of God to others, which
sinners against their own souls reject and persecute, unless the existing church of God
would be injured thereby. We have,
1. The conversation which passed in Galilee between Jesus and some of his relations.
The feast of tabernacles being at hand, when a great concourse of people would be
assembled in Jerusalem:
[1.] They urge him to make his public appearance there, and not stay in that obscure
part of the country, but go up to the metropolis, and shew himself and his wondrous
works, if really they would bear the test of examination: since this could not fail of
getting him disciples among the great men at Jerusalem, and of confirming those he
had already made, who would be assembled there on this solemnity. And they suggest
that this would be the way most effectually to advance his own reputation and honour,
which they sinfully imagined he, like the men of the world, designed. For neither did
his brethren believe in him. As he did not answer their expectations in erecting a
temporal kingdom, they began to suspect that he was not the Messiah, which they at
first hoped; and therefore wanted him to declare himself, and produce his credentials,
or go up to Jerusalem, where his pretensions, if false, might be detected. Note; (1.)
Many appear at public ordinances to shew themselves; not to ascribe glory to God, but
to secure reputation to themselves. (2.) They who want a temporal kingdom, evidently
prove that they are faithless followers of Christ.
[2.] Christ mildly replies to their perverse suggestions, My time is not yet come for
going up to the feast; but your time is alway ready, you may appear there at any time
without any danger; they seek not your lives, as they do mine. The world cannot hate
you, because your spirit, temper, and conduct, are but too conformable thereto; but me
it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil, which cannot but
exasperate those who determine not to part with their beloved sins. Go ye therefore up
unto this feast without delay: I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet full
come. Note; (1.) Sinners hate the light of truth, and cannot but be exasperated with
those reproofs, to which they obstinately refuse to submit. (2.) Whatever pretences
men make for their enmity against the gospel and the preachers of it, the true cause is
this, they cannot endure the testimony borne against their evil deeds. (3.) They who go
to ordinances with a hypocritical spirit, may never expect the comfort of Christ's
presence in them.
2. The journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. He stayed a while longer in Galilee, till his
brethren were gone up to the feast; and then, when his time was come, he went
himself, not openly, but as it were in secret, that he might give no offence to the ruling
powers, who, if he came with a multitude, might interpret it into a seditious design.
Note; Though the cause of Christ cannot be carried on without notice, we need not
provoke needless opposition: it will come fast enough upon us, if we are faithful.
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![4. Instead of refuting the force of his argument, they fell to reviling; Art thou also of
Galilee? A disciple of this despicable Galilean? Search, and look; for out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet. They concluded that Jesus had been born in Galilee, because he
had made it his chief abode; and as false was their assertion concerning the scriptures;
for Jonah was of Galilee, and probably Nahum and Elijah also. Note; (1.) It is a sure
sign of a bad cause, when men have recourse to abuse in the stead of argument. (2.)
Many confidently appeal to the scriptures, as if it was the same thing to assert and
prove; but we must examine for ourselves, and not take the scripture upon trust.
5. Hereupon the council separated, and each retired to his own home, unable to answer
Nicodemus, and ashamed to proceed farther, where the injustice was so glaring. Note;
One faithful man, who dares make a stand for Christ, will often silence and confound
a whole company of gainsayers.
CONSTABLE, “The woman caught in adultery 7:53-8:11
The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek
manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900
ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important early so-called Western
text (uncial D). We have about 24,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament or
parts of it. This number, by the way, contrasts strongly with the number of early
copies of the writings of other ancient writers. For example, we have about 643
copies of the writings of Homer, 8 of Herodotus, 9 of Euripides, 8 of Thucydides, 7 of
Plato, 49 of Aristotle, and 20 of Tacitus. Furthermore, the earliest copy of the New
Testament that we have dates about 125 years after its composition whereas the
earliest copy of one of the extrabiblical writings referred to above dates about 400
years after its composition.
None of the church fathers or early commentators referred to this story in their
comments on this Gospel. Instead they passed from John 7:52 right on to John 8:12.
Several later manuscripts identify it as special by using an asterisk or obelus at its
beginning and ending. An obelus is a straight horizontal stroke either simple or with
a dot above and another below it. Writers of ancient manuscripts used obeli to mark
a spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous word or passage. Some old copies have
this pericope after John 7:36 or John 7:44 or John 21:25 or Luke 21:38. Its
expressions and constructions are more similar to Luke's writings than they are to
John's. [Note: For a discussion of the evidence, see Hoskyns, pp. 563-64; B. M.
Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, pp. 219-22. For an
alternative view, see Zane C. Hodges, "The Woman Taken in Adultery (John
7:53-8:11): The Text," Bibliotheca Sacra 136:544 (October-December 1979):318-32.]
"This entire section, John 7:53 to John 8:11, traditionally known as the pericope
adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best MSS [manuscripts] and was
almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John. Among modern
commentators and textual critics, it is a foregone conclusion that the section is not
original but represents a later addition to the text of the Gospel." [Note: The Net
Bible note on 7:53.]
The event described here may have occurred, though the passage may represent a
conflation of two different accounts (cf. John 21:25). [Note: See Bart D. Ehrman,
"Jesus and the Adulteress," New Testament Studies 34 (1988):24-44.] Perhaps it was
a piece of oral tradition that later scribes inserted here to illustrate the sinfulness of
308](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/john7commentary-151108143239-lva1-app6892/75/John-7-commentary-308-2048.jpg)
![the Jewish leaders (cf. John 7:24; John 8:15; John 8:46).
"It may be accepted as historical truth; but based on the information we now have, it
was probably not a part of the original text." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 89.]
Then did the Holy Spirit inspire it? Probably He did not. It is similar to some of the
apocryphal stories, which some Christian traditions accept as inspired but which
others do not. How should the modern Christian use this story? Some expositors do
not preach or teach the passage publicly because they believe it is uninspired.
However other Christians disagree and accept it as equally authoritative as the rest of
Scripture. Roman Catholics accept it because it was in Jerome's Latin Vulgate
translation (late fourth century A.D.), which they regard as authoritative.
If I do not believe it was part of the inspired text of John's Gospel, why have I
bothered to expound it below? I have done so because most English Bibles contain
this pericope, and many Christians have questions about it. It is possible that, though
not a part of John's original Gospel, the Holy Spirit inspired it, though this view has
problems connected with it.
Verse 53
This verse suggests that the story that follows was originally the continuation of
another narrative. "Everyone" apparently refers to people at a gathering in
Jerusalem. This could refer to the Sanhedrin and the officers mentioned in John
7:45-52. However it could also refer to other people on a different occasion.
309](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/john7commentary-151108143239-lva1-app6892/75/John-7-commentary-309-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byGLENN PEASE
John 7 commentary
In John 7, Jesus refrains from traveling to Judea due to threats on his life from Jewish leaders, opting to minister in Galilee instead. His brothers urge him to showcase his miracles publicly at the Festival of Tabernacles, but Jesus indicates that the right moment for his public revelation has not yet arrived. This passage highlights the tension between Jesus' mission and the expectations of those around him, as well as the importance of divine timing in his ministry.
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John 7 commentary
- 1. JOHN 7 COMMENTARY JesusGoes to the Festival of Tabernacles 1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want[a] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. BARNES, "After these things - After the transactions which are recorded in the last chapters had taken place, and after the offence he had given the Jews. See Joh_ 5:18. Jesus walked - Or Jesus lived, or taught. He traveled around Galilee teaching. In Jewry - In Judea, the southern division of Palestine. Compare the notes at Joh_4:3. The Jews sought - That is, the rulers of the Jews. It does not appear that the common people ever attempted to take his life. CLARKE, "After these things - St. John passes from the preceding discourse of our Lord, which he delivered a little before the passover, Joh_6:4, to the Feast of Tabernacles, which happened six months after, and thus omits many things mentioned by the other evangelists, which our blessed Lord said and did during that time. He had already gone over Galilee four or five times; and he continued there, because he found that the hatred of the Jews was such that they would kill him if they could meet with him in Judea; and his time to suffer was not yet come. For he would not walk in Jewry - Instead of this, some MSS., versions, and fathers read, ουγαρ ειχεν εξουσιαν, he had not authority, or liberty to walk, etc. That is, he was no longer tolerated, and could not preach publicly in Judea, but at the risk of his life. He found greater scope for the exercise of his important ministry in Galilee than in Judea, as the chief priests, etc., were continually plotting his death. GILL, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee,.... That is, after he had fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, near Bethsaida; and had had that long discourse with the Jews at Capernaum, concerning himself, as the bread of life, and about eating his flesh, and drinking his blood; and had been up to the feast of the passover at Jerusalem, said to be nigh, when he went over the sea of Galilee, Joh_ 6:4; otherwise the above places were in Galilee: but the case seems to be this, that after he had been at Capernaum, he went to Jerusalem, to keep the passover; and 1
- 2. finding that theJews still sought to take away his life, he returned to Galilee, and "walked" there; he did not sit still, or lie at home, and live an inactive indolent life, but went about from place to place, preaching the Gospel, and healing diseases; he walked, and walked about; but not as the enemy of souls, seeking to do all mischief, but to do all good, to the bodies and souls of men: for he would not walk in Jewry; in the land of Judea, where he had been, and tarried, and made disciples; but being rejected and ill treated, he left them; which was a prelude of the Gospel being taken from them, and carried to another people; which afterwards took place, in the times of the apostles: his reason for it was, because the Jews sought to kill him; for healing a man on the sabbath day, and for asserting his equality with God: not that he was afraid to die, but his time was not come; and he had work to do for the glory of God, and the good of men; and therefore it was both just and prudent to withdraw and preserve his life; for like reasons he advised his disciples, when persecuted in one city, to flee to another: and very lawful and advisable it is for good men, when their lives are in danger, to make use of proper means to preserve them, for further usefulness in the cause of God, and for the benefit of men. HENRY, "We have here, I. The reason given why Christ spent more of his time in Galilee than in Judea (Joh_7:1): because the Jews, the people in Judea and Jerusalem, sought to kill him, for curing the impotent man on the sabbath day, Joh_ 5:16. They thought to be the death of him, either by a popular tumult or by a legal prosecution, in consideration of which he kept at a distance in another part of the country, very much out of the lines of Jerusalem's communication. It is not said, He durst not, but, He would not, walk in Jewry; it was not through fear and cowardice that he declined it, but in prudence, because his hour was not yet come. Note, 1. Gospel light is justly taken away from those that endeavour to extinguish it. Christ will withdraw from those that drive him from them, will hide his face from those that spit in it, and justly shut up his bowels from those who spurn at them. 2. In times of imminent peril it is not only allowable, but advisable, to withdraw and abscond for our own safety and preservation, and to choose the service of those places which are least perilous, Mat_10:23. Then, and not till then, we are called to expose and lay down our lives, when we cannot save them without sin. 3. If the providence of God casts persons of merit into places of obscurity and little note, it must not be thought strange; it was the lot of our Master himself. He who was fit to have sat in the highest of Moses's seats willingly walked in Galilee among the ordinary sort of people. Observe, He did not sit still in Galilee, nor bury himself alive there, but walked; he went about doing good. When we cannot do what and where we would, we must do what and where we can. JAMIESON, "Joh_7:1-53. Christ at the Feast of Tabernacles. After these things — that is, all that is recorded after Joh_5:18. walked in Galilee — continuing His labors there, instead of going to Judea, as might have been expected. sought to kill him — referring back to Joh_5:18. Hence it appears that our Lord did not attend the Passover mentioned in Joh_6:4 - being the third since His ministry began, if the feast mentioned in Joh_5:1 was a Passover. CALVIN, "1.Jesus walked in Galilee. The Evangelist appears not to pursue a 2
- 3. continued narrative, butto select out of what occurred at different times those events which were worthy of being related. He says that Christ sojourned for a time in Galilee, because he could not remain in safety anywhere among the Jews. If any person think it strange that Christ sought a place of concealment, who, by the mere act of his will, could break and render powerless all the efforts of his enemies, it is easy to reply, that he remembered the commission which he had received from the Father, and determined to confine himself within the limits which belonged to him as man; for, having taken upon him the form of a servant, he emptied himself, till the Father exalted him, (Philippians 2:6.) If it be objected that, as he knew the time of his death, which had been foreordained and determined in the purpose of God, (178) he had no reason for avoiding it, the former solution applies here also; for he conducted himself as a man who was liable to dangers, and, therefore, it was not proper that he should throw himself at random into dangerous situations. In encountering dangers, it is not our business to inquire what God has determined respecting us in his decree, but what he commands and enjoins on us, what our office requires and demands, and what is the proper method of regulating our life. Besides, while Christ avoided dangers, he did not turn aside a hairsbreadth from the course of duty; for to what purpose would life be maintained and defended, but that we may serve the Lord? We ought always to take care, therefore, that we do not, for the sake of life, lose the reasons for living. When a small and despised corner of Galilee grants a lodging to Christ, whom Judea cannot endure, we learn from it that piety and the fear of God are not always to be found in the chief places of the Church. BARCLAY, "NOT MAN'S TIME BUT GOD'S (John 7:1-9) 7:1-9 After these things Jesus moved about in Galilee, for he did not wish to move about in Judaea, because the Jews were out to kill him. The festival of the Jews which is called the Festival of Tabernacles was near. So his brothers said to him: "Leave here and go down to Jerusalem so that your disciples will get the chance to see the works that you do. For no one goes on doing things in secret, when he wishes to draw public attention to himself. Since you can do these things, show yourself to the world." For even his brothers did not believe in him. So Jesus said to them: "The time of opportunity that I am looking for has not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I bear witness about it that its deeds are evil. Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not yet going up to the festival, because my time has not yet come." When he had said these things to them he remained in Galilee. The Festival of Tabernacles fell at the end of September and the beginning of October. It was one of the obligatory festivals and every adult male Jew who lived within fifteen miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to attend it. But devout Jews from far outside the fifteen mile radius delighted to go to it. It lasted altogether for eight days. Later in this chapter we shall have occasion to deal more fully with it. When it came round, Jesus' brothers urged him to go to 3
- 4. Jerusalem for it;but Jesus rejected their arguments and went in his own good time. There is one unique thing in this passage which we must note. According to the Revised Standard Version (John 7:7) Jesus says: "My time is not yet come." Jesus frequently spoke about his time or his hour. But here he uses a different word, and uses it for the only time. In the other passages (John 2:4; John 7:30; John 8:20; John 12:27) the word that Jesus or John uses is hora (Greek #5610), which means the destined hour of God. Such a time or hour was not movable nor avoidable. It had to be accepted without argument and without alteration because it was the hour at which the plan of God had decided that something must happen. But in this passage the word is kairos (Greek #2540), which characteristically means an opportunity; that is, the best time to do something, the moment when circumstances are most suitable, the psychological moment. Jesus is not saying here that the destined hour of God has not come but something much simpler. He is saying that that was not the moment which would give him the chance for which he was waiting. That explains why Jesus later actually did go to Jerusalem. Many people have been troubled about the fact that he first told his brothers he would not go and then went. Schopenhauer, the German philosopher, actually said: "Jesus Christ did of set purpose utter a falsehood." Other people have argued that it means that Jesus said that he was not going up to the festival publicly but that did not preclude him from going privately. But Jesus is saying simply: "If I go up with you just now I will not get the opportunity I am looking for. The time is not opportune." So he delayed his going until the middle of the festival, since to arrive with the crowds all assembled and expectant gave him a far better opportunity than to go at the very beginning. Jesus is choosing his time with careful prudence in order to get the most effective results. From this passage we learn two things: (i) It is impossible to force Jesus' hand. His brothers tried to force him into going to Jerusalem. It was what we might call a dare. They were quite right from the human point of view. Jesus' great miracles had been wrought in Galilee--the changing of the water into wine (John 2:1 ff); the healing of the nobleman's son (John 4:46); the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1 ff). The only miracle that he had wrought in Jerusalem was the curing of the impotent man at the pool (John 5:1 ff). It was not unnatural to tell Jesus to go to Jerusalem and let his supporters there see what he could do. The story makes it clear that the healing of the impotent man had been regarded far more as an act of Sabbath breaking than as a miracle. Further, if Jesus was ever to succeed in winning men, he could not hope to do so by hiding in a comer; he must act in such a way that everyone could see what he did. Still further, Jerusalem was the keypoint. The Galilaeans were notoriously hot-blooded and hot-headed. Anyone who wanted a following would have no difficulty in raising one in the excitable atmosphere of Galilee; but Jerusalem was a very different proposition. It was the acid test. Jesus' brothers could have put up a good case for their insistence; but Jesus' 4
- 5. hand is notto be forced. He does things, not in man's time, but in God's. Man's impatience of man must learn to wait on God's wisdom. (ii) It is impossible to treat Jesus with indifference. It did not matter when his brothers went to Jerusalem, for no one would notice they were there and nothing whatever depended on their going. But Jesus' going was a very different thing. Why? Because his brothers were in tune with the world and they did not make it uncomfortable. But Jesus' coming is a condemnation of the world's way of life and a challenge to selfishness and lethargy. Jesus had to choose his moment, for when he arrives something happens. BI 1-18, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee. The situation surveyed I. THE SCENE IN GALILEE: the attitude of Christ’s brethren. 1. The counsel they offered. That Christ should repair to the centre of the theocratic kingdom and make His Messianic claims where they could be competently examined (Joh_7:3). 2. The argument they used. He could not acquire fame in Galilean obscurity, but only in the metropolis (Joh_7:4)—a perilous temptation He had twice encountered (Mat_4:9; Joh_6:15). 3. The spirit they cherished. They disbelieved in His Messiahship, but could not deny His miracles. Hence they wanted His true character settled. If He was the Christ they wanted to see Him crowned, if not, the bubble should burst. 4. The reply they received. Christ was not going up for the purpose suggested. (1) His hour for that had not come—there being for every purpose under heaven (Ecc_3:1), much more for this, a seasonable moment. (2) To go before that time would not secure what they desired—the great world of Jerusalem not being prepared to welcome Him (Joh_7:7). Any time would do for them, but not for Him. II. THE SCENE AT JERUSALEM. 1. The bloodthirsty Sanhedrists (1) Searched for their victim among the city throngs. (2) With unsleeping hostility, which they had nursed for eighteen months. (3) With murderous intent. (4) With eager inquiry. (5) With contemptuous scorn. “That celebrity who has been dazzling you with His wonders.” 2. The whispering multitudes. These were (1) Divided in their judgments concerning Him, as Simeon had predicted Luk_2:34), and Christ affirmed they would be (Mat_10:34-35), and as history proves they ever have been. (2) Afraid to speak openly about Him, which betokened insincerity as well. They were prepared to do as their leaders bade them. Miserable crew! 5
- 6. Learn: 1. It isbecoming and right to walk prudently: Christ did so. 2. In religion the wisdom of this world is almost wholly wrong. It was so with Christ’s brethren. 3. A man’s friends are often the last to believe in His greatness and goodness. It was so with Christ. 4. The more a man resembles Christ, the more he will be hated by the world. 5. The best of men may be evil spoken of. Christ was. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) Infidelity I. SELDOM LACKS EVIDENCE. These brethren must have had ample evidence of Christ’s Messiahship. As boys they must have seen something of His transcendent character. No doubt many had pointed out to them extraordinary phases of His birth and life, and how they had witnessed His public life for a considerable time, with its teaching and miracles. So infidels have plenty of evidence. All nature is full of proofs of God; and as for Christ the congruity of His biography with contemporaneous history, and of His system with the conscience, reason, and wants of humanity, and the immense and growing influence of His gospel upon the sentiment, spirit, and character of mankind are evidence enough. The cause of infidelity is in the heart rather than the head. II. IS ALWAYS VAIN. His brethren mainly from vanity counsel Him to make a display in Jerusalem on a great national occasion (Joh_7:4). His life was too obscure and His works too unostentatious. They wanted to share the honour that would accrue. Infidelity is always vain. The vainest speakers, authors, members of society, are those who profess infidel opinions. They are vain of their imaginary intellectual independency, of their superior mental insight and grasp, of their superiority to current creeds. It must be so. The man who believes in nothing greater than himself, will have both space and aliments in his mind in which his egotism can grow to the most offensive proportions. Faith in the infinitely great and good can alone burn out the native vanity of the corrupt heart. Infidelity is a negation. “Light empty minds,” says Leighton, “are like bladders blown up with anything.” III. IS EVER IN AGREEMENT WITH THE WORLD (Joh_7:6-7). By the world is meant the prevailing ideas, spirit, and aims of corrupt humanity. And the mind of His brethren was in accord with this, but it was dead against Him. What is the spirit of the world? Materialism—the body is everything. Practical atheism—God is ignored. Regnant selfishness—self is supreme. Infidelity agrees with all this; there is no moral discrepancy, no reason for mutual antipathies and battling. IV. NEVER THWARTS THE DIVINE PURPOSE (Joh_7:10). Christ’s plan was not to go up to Jerusalem at the time they requested Him; but in His own time. Their counselling influenced Him not. Infidelity can never modify, check, or retard the decrees of heaven. Conclusion: Such is infidelity in some of its phases. Iris a wretched thing, however enriched with learning, energized with logic, embellished with culture and genius. “I seem,” says Hume, “affrighted and confounded with the solitude in which I am placed by my philosophy. When I look abroad on every side I see dispute, contradiction, and distraction. When I turn my eye inward, I find nothing but doubt and ignorance. Where am I? What am I? From what cause do I derive my existence? To what condition shall I return? I am confounded with questions, I begin to fancy myself in a very deplorable condition, surrounded with 6
- 7. darkness on everyside.” (D. Thomas, D. D.) Christ and man I. THE DESPERATE HARDNESS AND UNBELIEF OF HUMAN NATURE. Even His brethren did not believe in Him, who should have been the first to do so. This was worse than the unbelief of the Jews. 1. The doctrine of man’s need of preventing and converting grace stands out here as a sunbeam. Seeing Christ’s miracles, hearing Christ’s teaching, living in Christ’s own company, were not enough to make men believers. The mere possession cf spiritual privileges never made any one a Christian. All is useless without the work of the Holy Ghost (chap. 6:44). 2. Christians in every age will do well to remember this. They are often troubled to find that they stand alone, and are ready to blame themselves because their families remain worldly and unbelieving. But let them look at the case before us. In our Lord Jesus Christ there was no fault either in temper, word, or deed. Yet even Christ’s own “brethren did not believe in Him.” 3. Christ has truly learned by experience how to sympathize with His people who stand alone. He has drunk this bitter cup. Let all who are cast down because relations despise religion turn to Him for comfort Heb_2:18). II. THE REASON WHY MANY HATE CHRIST (verse 7). 1. It was not so much the high doctrines He preached as the high standard of practice; not so much His Messianic claims as His protest against their wickedness. They could have tolerated His opinions if He had spared their sins. 2. This principle is of universal application and holds good to-day. Men dislike the gospel because of its holy demands. Teach abstract doctrines, and few will find any fault. Denounce the fashionable sins of the day, and call on men to repent, and thousands at once will be offended. The reason why many profess to be infidels and abuse Christianity is the witness that Christianity bears against their own bad lives (1Ki_22:8). III. THE STRANGE VARIETY OF OPINIONS ABOUT CHRIST, WHICH WERE CURRENT FROM THE BEGINNING (verse 12). The words which old Simeon had spoken thirty years before were here accomplished (Luk_2:34-35). 1. In the face of such a passage as this, the endless modern divisions about religion ought never to surprise us. The open hatred of some towards Christ—the carping, prejudiced spirit of others—the bold confession of the few faithful—the timid, man-fearing temper of the many faithless—the war of words and strife of tongues—are only modern symptoms of an old disease. Such is the corruption of human nature, that Christ is the cause of divisions among men, wherever He is preached. So long as the world stands, some, when they hear of Him, will love and some will hate—some will believe, and some will believe not (Mat_10:34). 2. What think we of Christ ourselves? This is the one question with which we have to do. Let us never be ashamed to be of that number who believe, hear, follow, and confess Him before men. While others waste their time in vain jangling and unprofitable controversy, let us take up the cross. The world may hate us as it hated Him because our religion is a standing witness against them. (Bp. Ryle.) 7
- 8. Christ an exampleof prudence Our Lord’s example recorded in this verse shows clearly that Christians are not meant to court martyrdom, or wilfully expose themselves to certain death, under the idea that it is their duty. Many primitive martyrs seem not to have understood this. (Bp. Ryle.) How Christians should act in times of danger The Roman rule in battle was neither to fly from dangers nor to follow them. The Christian’s motto is, “Neither timorous nor temeranous.” We must not basely desert the cause of Christ when called out to defend it. “Either vanquish or die,” the Black Prince’s father said to him. Either live with the gospel or die for it. Yet we may not rashly run ourselves upon unnecessary dangers, but decline them when we can with a good conscience. Christians are permitted to fly when they are sought for to the slaughter, so it be with the wings of a dove, and not with the pinions of a dragon. (J. Trapp.) We must not seek martyrdom In Tourney, about 1544, a very noted professor of the Protestant religion, being earnestly sought after, had concealed himself so closely that his persecutors were unable to discover where he was hid. Contrary, however, to the advice and entreaty of his wife and friends, he gave himself up, desirous of the glory of martyrdom; but being adjudged to be burnt, he recanted, and abjured the faith in order to be beheaded. The Papists improved this in order to decoy his fellow-sufferers to the like recantation; but they replied, “He had tempted God by rushing upon danger without a call, but they had to the utmost of their power shunned it, and hoped that, since He had called them to suffer, He would support them under it.” And it so happened they went to the fire in solemn pomp, and were consumed loudly singing the praise of God even in the flames, till their strength was exhausted. We are not to court sufferings; it is enough if we cheerfully endure them when, in the providence of God, we are called to it, Our Lord Himself says to His disciples, “When they persecute you in one city, flee ye into another.” The Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand The feast of tabernacles (Lev_23:34-43; Exo_23:16; Deu_16:13-15) lasted seven days, from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the seventh month, Tisri, October. An eighth day was further celebrated as a closing festival, like the first day, with a Sabbath rest and a holy convocation. The feast served as a thankful remembrance of God’s gracious protection of the nation during its desert wanderings, and as a joyous celebration of the harvest then completed with the gathering in of the fruit and wine. It was therefore considered by the Jews after the exile to be the greatest and moss glorious feast, and its celebration was distinguished by various customs. 1. By an arbitrary interpretation of Lev_23:40, those who visited the feast carried in the left hand a lemon, and in the right a palm branch, bound with sprays of willow and myrtle. 2. At every morning offering, a priest, amid music and songs of praise, poured 8
- 9. into two perforatedvessels on the next side of the altar water which he had drawn in a golden pitcher from the fountain of Shiloah Isa_12:3). 3. On the evening of the first day of the feast—according to later Rabbinical accounts, on each of the seven days—there was an illumination in the court of the women by means of a great golden candelabra, accompanied by a torch dance before them. (Prof. Luthardt.) This was perhaps the most joyous of all the Jewish festivals—the great annual holiday of the nation. During this festive period the people all left their houses and lived in tents or booths, which were erected in the streets and market places, and on the flat terraced roofs of the houses. From this circumstance it was called the “feast of tents” (text and Lev_23:34). It was likewise named the “feast of ingatherings” (Exo_23:16; Exo 34:22), because it took place at the close of the vintage, when the fruits of the year were gathered in. It was designed as a sort of a national praise-offering. The people assembled in the courts of the sanctuary to adore the bountiful providence of God which had crowned their labours with success, to rejoice in His goodness, and to implore His blessing on the following year. Josephus calls it “ a most holy and eminent feast.” (J. T.Bannister, LL. D.) Church festivals Let it suffice men of sober minds to know, that the law both of God and nature alloweth generally days of rest and festival solemnity to be observed, by way of thankful and joyful remembrance, if such miraculous favours be showed towards mankind, as require the same; that such graces God hath bestowed upon His Church as well in later as in former times; that in some particulars, when they have fallen out, Himself hath demanded His own honour, and in the rest hath left it to the wisdom of the Church, directed by those precedents and enlightened by other means, always to judge, when the like is requisite. Touching those festival days, therefore, which we now observe, what remaineth but to keep them throughout all generations holy, severed by manifest notes of difference from other times, adorned with that which most may betoken true, virtuous, and celestial joy. (Hooker.) His brethren.—The family dispute which John relates from personal knowledge, with the frankness and simplicity of a genuine historian, gives us an insight into the domestic trials of our Saviour. The unbelief of His brothers need not surprise us any more than the unbelief of the Nazarenes generally (Joh_4:44). Not un-frequently the nearest relatives throw more obstacles in the way of God’s children than strangers. Christ entered into the condition of fallen humanity with all its temptations and miseries. Hence His sympathy in this as in all (Heb_2:17-18; Heb 5:7-8). But the full significance of the passage depends upon the proper view of the brothers of Jesus. Here I must dissent from the cousin theory of Jerome, which assumes that three of them, James, Simon, and Jude, were apostles. This passage is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the more natural view that they were members of the Holy family, and under the care of Joseph and Mary, in whose company they constantly appear. 1. It is plain that John here, as in chap. 2:12, and in harmony with the Synoptists and Act_1:13, 1Co_9:5, distinguishes the brothers of Jesus from the apostles. 9
- 10. 2. But whatis more conclusive, John represents the brothers as unbelievers, and as using irreverent language against Christ, which could not have been the case had they been apostles. Not that they were unbelievers in the same sense as Jews or pagans, but not believers as the apostles must have been, at least from the miracle at Cana (Joh_2:11; comp. Verse 22; 16:17; 17:8). It would have been easy for John to have said, “some” of His brethren did not believe, had the others been believing apostles. John recognizes different degrees of belief (comp. Joh_2:23; Joh 4:39; Joh 8:31; Joh 12:42), and of unbelief, but he never confounds the sharp lines between belief and unbelief. Moreover, the language of the brothers contrasts with the reverence shown by the apostles on every occasion, even when they could not understand His conduct (Joh_4:27). 3. Our Lord characterizes them as men of the world whom the world cannot hate (verse 7); while He says the very reverse of the apostles Joh_15:18; Mat_10:5; Mat 10:22; Mat 10:40). We infer, then, that all the four brothers were distinct from the apostles, and not converted till after the Resurrection (Act_1:14; 1Co_ 15:7). As to the other question whether they were older from a former, otherwise unknown, marriage of Joseph (the Greek tradition defended by Epiphanius), or younger children of Mary and Joseph (the view held by Tertullian and Helvidius, and denounced first by Jerome as heretical and profane, because of its conflict with the tenet of Mary’s perpetual virginity), the passage gives no decisive answer. The patronizing tone of the brothers seems to favour the former view; but may be found also with younger brothers. (P. Schaff, D. D.) Jesus and His brethren The injunction was neither inspired by a too impatient zeal for the glory of Jesus, nor by the odious desire of seeing Him fall into the hands of His enemies. The truth lies between both these extremes. They seem to have been puzzled by the claims of their brother. On the one hand, they could not deny the extraordinary facts which they every day witnessed; on the other, they could not decide upon regarding as the Messiah one with whom they were accustomed to live upon terms of the greatest familiarity. They desired, therefore, to see Him abandon the equivocal position in which He placed Himself, and was keeping them, by so persistently absenting Himself from Jerusalem. If He were really the Messiah, why should He fear to appear before judges more capable of deciding on His pretensions than ignorant Galileans? Was not the capital the theatre on which Messiah was to play His part, and the place where the recognition of His mission should begin? The approaching festival, which seemed to make it a duty that He should visit Jerusalem, appeared, therefore, to make a favourable opportunity for taking a decided step. There is a certain amount of similarity between this and Mary’s request (chap. 2.), as there is also between our Lord’s conduct on the two occasions. (Prof. Godet.) For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly Show thyself to the world A single word will often lay bare a man’s object, habit of mind, whole bent of nature. This is a revealing sentence involving a perpetual principle of the carnal mind. Christ had been doing and saying great things, but of the latter these people made no account. They fix upon that which struck the eye. 10
- 11. I. THIS ISA SPEECH OF WORLDLY MINDED MEN, and presents to us the worldly mind in its foolishness, making false deductions because unable to understand the things of God. Rising no higher than Christ’s outward deeds, no wonder that they anticipated no nobler result than the world’s praise. It is just the old story “What will the world say?” It is sad to judge and live with a false standard of value. Were a man to go about with a piece of straw and measure men and even principles by his worthless standard we should think him mad; and yet this is the world all over. It takes its own empty opinion as the standard of all things. What did this involve? It put before Christ a false end of action, and had He gone on the principles here suggested, He would have become alienated from the Father, and been “of the world,” and so no Saviour. For there is here involved an entire perversion of His mission. His whole life was a testimony against the world, but His brethren say, “Go and take its admiration by storm with your wonderful deeds.” Note the following lessons 1. How entirely the things of God are mistaken by the world, and not only by the profligate, but by the simply unbelieving. 2. How foolish for the people of God to be led by the world’s opinion. 3. How it requires sympathy with the mind of Jesus to detect and repel the mind of the world. 4. What mischief results from ignorant or bad advice, even when well meant and of friends. 5. What a warning against what is merely colourably good! 6. What little importance is to be attached to the terrible formula, “What will the world say?” 7. Beware of mistaking the end of your position, life, gifts, none of which is given to gain the world’s praise. 8. Beware of reasoning on the world’s principles. 9. Be wary when a course of action has as its simple end your own honour. 10. In all solicitations of the world go down into the mind of God and your relationship with Him, and judge each by the light you have of them. II. THE WRONG THOUGHTS WHICH, IN CONNECTION WITH THIS MATTER, RISE IN THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 1. Discontent at being put and kept in the background—and hence discomfort and weakness in work. This arises from exaggerated views of our importance, and from not seeing that God will appoint what is best, and from that superficiality which prevents our seeing that show and noise are Dot power, and that many of the greatest processes which issue in manifold results are secret. We do not understand the beauties of the background of the Christian life where Jesus was for many a long year. This background is at least safe, and many of God’s dearest walk there unnoticed of men but honoured by Him. 2. Discontent at there being so little to show. What is this but coming into the world’s court and pleading for a verdict there. The believer must have no care about his work being seen by the world. If he live there will be no occasion for him to thrust himself forward. He must by his life condemn it, and that will create sufficient attention. God’s child must not be discontented at seeing honours and riches flowing in upon those who serve the world. “The world loves its own.” Let us calmly live before God. Here is comfort for those who are laid 11
- 12. aside too weakor poor to do aught that can attract observation. They are seen by God in secret and will be rewarded openly. (P. B. Power, M. A.) Self revelation Cnidius, a skilful architect, building a watch-tower for the King of Egypt, caused his own name to be engraved upon a stone in the wall in great letters, and afterwards covered it with lime and mortar, and upon the outside of that wrote the name of the King of Egypt in golden letters, as pretending that all was done for his honour and glory. But herein was his cunning, he very well knew that the dashing of the water would in a little while consume the plastering (as it did) and then his name and memory should abide to after generations. Thus there be many in this world, who pretend to seek only the glory of God, the good of His Church, and the happiness of the state; but if there were a window to look into their hearts we should find nothing there within but self-seeking. (J. Spencer.) For neither did His brethren believe in Him.—The prophecy that the Messiah should be “despised and rejected by men” was here fulfilled to the very letter. His brethren, who should have been the first, were the last to believe on Him. I. HOW STRANGE THIS WAS. 1. They had heard His doctrine, not as strangers or near neighbours, but in the familiar intercourse of home. 2. They had seen His miracles (Joh_2:11-12). 3. They had known the circumstances and manner of His life. They had heard no doubt of the marvels attendent on His birth, and had watched His pure and benevolent life for thirty-three years. II. HOW IT MAY BE ACCOUNTED FOR. This is necessary, for the text is a great favourite with modern Jews and infidels, who hold that His brethren could not have been more incredulous than others. It is singular, however, on this theory, that John should have made so damaging an admission. But 1. It is no uncommon thing for men to disbelieve in the face of the clearest evidence. To the Jews we reply that the Israelites did not believe in the Lord and Moses, though they could not deny the miracles; and to the deists that many deny God and immortality, notwithstanding the variety and strength of arguments in favour of both. 2. These men had strong prejudices against Christ. (1) Some were common to them as sinful men, arising from the purity of His doctrine and the stringency of His demands. (2) Some were peculiar to them as Jews arising from their conceptions of a temporal Messiah. They did not contest His miracles but thought that they should be displayed, if Messianic, at Jerusalem, so as to receive the suffrages of the great, and not in the obscurity of Galilee. 3. They were under the influence of an ambitious worldly spirit as Christ intimates in the next verse. Application: 12
- 13. 1. Let usnot wonder if some, who have enjoyed the greatest religious advantages, do not believe. What advantages these brethren must have had! And yet how little the impression produced. Do not wonder then, Christian parents, if, with the best of training, your children are not yet converted. But do not despair. Remember that Christ’s brethen eventually became His disciples (Act_1:14). 2. See what an enemy to Christianity a worldly spirit is. With their views Christ’s brethren held that if He were Messiah they would share His temporal glory. A worldly covetous disposition hinders multitudes from believing and obeying Christ. How much better is a relation to Christ by faith than by nature. (J. Orton.) The unbelief of Christ’s brethren The subject suggests that I. CHRIST OWED NOTHING TO MAN’S SYMPATHY. A man’s own relations of all men ought to manifest this. They are his own flesh and blood. To feel for him is only a step beyond feeling for selves. We do for the inner circle of our relatives what we should never think of doing for outsiders. But this common privilege was denied our Lord. We gather that His brethren were aware of His pretentions and of His works in support of them. But all they do is to dare Him to go to Judaea (Joh_7:4). An enemy might have spoken so, as indeed the Pharisees (Mat_16:1), the chief priests Mat_ 27:41-43), and the soldiers (Mat_27:29). In all cases He was treated as one who bad His claims to make good, so great was the chasm between those nearest to Him and Himself. There was one world of feeling within Him, and another around Him. How much went out from the One; how little came in from the other. II. HE OWED NOTHING TO MAN’S HELP. The rare instances in which He received a little sympathy show this. The confession of Peter (Mat_16:16) fell on His heart like cold water on a thirsty tongue; but like water spilt on the ground, so the next moment it was gone. In Gethsemane the disciples so far sympathized with Him as to catch the infection of His grief, but that which made Him watch made them sleep. It was not by His disciples, or mother, or brethren (Luk_2:49; Joh_2:4), but notwithstanding them that He effected His great work. Consider the cost of that work to Himself. It was one continuous sacrifice, and through the whole He was unaided and alone. (Mathematicus.) An unsuccessful ministry I. THE UNSUCCESSFULNESS OF OUR SAVIOUR’S MINISTRY. 1. The causes of our unsuccessful ministry. (1) Ignorance of Scripture truths. (2) Lack of effective expression. (3) Want of harmony between the minister’s private life and public teaching. (4) Absence of a prayerful spirit. 2. These causes did not operate in the case of Christ. He knew the Scriptures, spake as never man spake, was blameless, and went about doing good, and was mighty in prayer. Still, His brethren did not believe in Him. 3. The lessons which the Saviour’s unsuccessful ministry suggest. 13
- 14. (1) That aman should not always be held responsible for the unreligiousness of his family. (2) A true ministry may be unsuccessful when the greatest success may be expected. (3) Success is no proof of the true value of a ministry. II. INFIDELITY EXISTING IN THE MOST FAVOURABLE CIRCUMSTANCES TO BELIEF. This must be because of 1. Prejudice. 2. Intellectual pride. 3. Hardness of heart. (D. Lewis.) Unbelief an obstruction An empty vessel capable of holding water, if tightly corked none can enter it, though water is poured upon it in abundance; nay, it may be thrown into the sea and still remain empty. So it is with our hearts. Unbelief closes them so that overwhelming evidence can bring no conviction of the truth, and the most powerful influence can secure no entrance for the grace of God. Want of religious sympathy at home When Bunyan’s Pilgrim became alarmed about his state he found no sympathy from his friends. He told them of his fears, but “at this his relatives were sore amazed, nor for that they believed what he had said to them was true, but because they thought some frenzy distemper had got into his head, therefore, it drawing toward night, and they, hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed. When the morning was come they would know how he did. He told them worse and worse. They thought to drive away his distemper by harsh and surly carriage to him; sometimes they would deride; sometimes they would chide, and sometimes they would quite neglect him.” (“Pilgrim’s Progress. ”) My time is not yet come; but your time is alway ready I. GLORIOUS DANGER. 1. Jesus was in extreme peril. The storm, the first mutterings of which had been heard long before seemed now to concentrate its violence upon Him. Derision had become inveterate hatred. The scribes, etc., now longed to kill Him, and were doing all in their power to compass that end. That end was only a matter of time, and the limit was only imposed by Christ Himself. 2. He might have escaped it all, and been the leader and King of the people had He conciliated, compromised, and compounded. 3. But He would not. “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” His danger was glorious, because it arose from a persistent refusal (1) To live any life lower than the highest. (2) To accept any modification of the supreme law of righteousness. (3) To become anything less than the Saviour of the world. 14
- 15. II. INGLORIOUS SAFETY.His brethren were safe. They might go when and where they liked. They would meet with no exasperated enemies, lint rather with their true relations—unbelievers They were safe because 1. They were not opposing evil. Their true kinship was with the world, and the world would love and spare its own (Joh_15:19; cf. 1Jn_4:5). They were going with the stream. 2. They were not accomplishing any high mission in life. Having no work of Divine appointment—their “time was alway ready”; they had no “hour,” no climax. III. IN VARYING DEGREES THE CHOICE BETWEEN GLORIOUS DANGER AND INGLORIOUS SAFETY LIES BEFORE EACH ONE OF US, in regard to 1. Business. Which shall we conform to, tile average standard of commercial morality or the highest? 2. Politics. Shall we merely follow the party, or be true to our deepest conviction of rights? 3. Religion. Shall we accept doctrines and creeds that are simply popular, or stand by that which in our heart we feel to be the truth? Conclusion: 1. To live the high life, to be true to conviction, to dare to stand alone—if need be, oppose evil, breast the stream—this is hard, painful, dangerous, but gloriously so. 2. To live the average life, to accept the present condition of things, to conform, to compromise, to go with the tide; this is easy, generally pleasant, profitable, and for awhile safe, but inglorious. (L. Shackleford.) Salvation The world never ready for Christ’s salvation, but always ready for its own secular pleasures and profit. I. The ABSORBING EXCELLENCE of Christ’s salvation. 1. We fail to properly esteem it. 2. Or, confessing its excellence, we are too indolent to give it the preference over our other pursuits. Other things take our time and energy. 3. Or, proposing to pursue it, we do not make it our sovereign pleasure. (1) This is because of our vitiated taste. (2) We do not acquire the liking for religious duties by sufficient practice of them. (3) Or, if we give them time, we do not give to them more than half our hearts. II. HELPFUL RULES. 1. Study the reasons for Christian life until you have a strong conviction regarding them. 2. In all doubt, be reminded that Christian life alone has a hope set before it. Let this determine the scale. (Massillon.) 15
- 16. Limitations of humangreatness 1. Those who believe in the Divinity of Christ may wonder that He should be under the limitations of time. It was not until the time appointed that He was born, nor could He die till His hour was come. The Redeemer is put under sharper restrictions than are His disciples, for their time was alway. 2. Here was a focal centre to which preparatory events converged. The promise in the garden; the words of prophecy, the symbolism of ancient days—all were knit into the Redemption’s plan. But why was salvation so circuitous? Why wait so long? 3. We cannot comprehend the secrets of the Infinite Mind, nor argue a priori in the matter. We must move from our standpoint upward. Consider the limitations of human greatness and, by inference, those of Omnipotence itself. I. INCREASE OF POWER DOES NOT INCREASE THE RANGE OF FREEDOM FROM LAW. It rather hinders. Power can do some things, and some things it cannot do. To weld iron to iron, a man needs a blacksmith’s arm and muscle. To instruct a child’s intellect or develop its moral nature, physical power is not counted. 1. We cannot argue from the almightiness of God, seen in the material creation, that He will force men into heaven. The order of things is a narrowing condition. For example, an act of parliament cannot banish the plague. The disciples would have called down fire from heaven and have honoured God by destroying His enemies. This spirit established the Inquisition. It would break through the order of the universe to accomplish a subsidiary end. But God does not propose to outrage man’s faculties in man’s salvation. 2. Increasing power puts under restraint, by making needful the hiding of power. The crowd would proclaim Christ king. He checked them. So, again and again, He said to those on whom He had wrought miracles, “Tell it to no man,” knowing that the blazing abroad of it at: that time would precipitate His conflict with the civil power. He also guarded these miraculous energies, so as not to paralyze human responsibility. Thousands of hungry ones were fed. Their horizon is opened and they thought, perhaps, that no more labour would be needful, now that the granaries of heaven were open by Divine power. “Gather up the fragments!” How strange, when there is such a power to create supplies! So, too, there was danger of becoming estranged from the practical duties of life, as in the case of Peter, who wished to abide on the mount. This was rebuked by Christ. He kept in the realm of humanity. He laboured to prove Himself human. Men were already convinced that He was Divine. 3. This necessary control and restriction of increasing power is seen among men. A little boat in the river moves hither and thither as its rower pleases, but the huge ocean steamer, with its vast momentum, must be guarded in its movements, lest its iron weight and onward speed send it crashing into other craft, like some blind Polyphemus to devour and destroy. A child’s movements may not affect anything outside its home, but a Napoleon is watched by the nations with fear. How much more the tremendous power of God and His responsibility as related to the order and harmony of the universe! II. THE INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE ALSO BRINGS RESTRICTIONS. 1. The child sees no significance in the congeries of forces about him. He moves about freely. He plays with water, and knows not that each drop is a universe, and 16
- 17. that every motionof his finger is felt in Sirius. Higher knowledge puts us under sense of higher responsibility. 2. The power and use of speech is another field of illustration. As childhood ripens into manhood, this trust is more appreciated. Christ’s use of parables is a solemn rebuke to those who, had they fully known the truth, would have abused it—would have “held down the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom_1:18). Throw pearls to swine, and they will rend you. Fools rush in where angels dare not tread. Knowledge dwarfs our self esteem. The more wisdom the more modesty. The ignorant look at the sky and see but specks of light, and fancy this globe great. The astronomer reveals a gigantic system. We shrink abashed before the Father of lights, and fear to despise His mercy or trifle away our probation. III. GOODNESS DOES NOT BROADEN, BUT LIMITS FREEDOM IN SOME RESPECTS. 1. The wicked have “no bands in their death,” and in life they often revel in unlicensed liberty; but men like Paul deny themselves meat if it cause a brother to fall. Christ says, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself.” The good man separates himself from luxury and ease, and from all that hinders his work. 2. The man obtuse through sin or self-will shuts his eyes and ears to the suffering. The good man is sensitive. “If any suffer, I suffer; if any is weak, I am weak.” 3. A pure heart, too, is pained by sin, as a cultured ear is pained by the discords of music. The man who is destitute of musical sensibility is unaffected. Holiness, essentially, is a separating process. A Brahmin cannot touch food or drink prepared by one of lower caste. The shadow of such a one pollutes the air. He must therefore assume the burden of furnishing himself with food. Conclusion: 1. As obedient to the Father’s will, Christ the Holy One was under restrictions the most exacting. Step by step He fulfilled His course. Christ could not wander a vagrant. He steered between those who, on the one hand, said, “Show Thyself,” and those who, like Peter, cried, “Far be it from Thee,” and kept to the lines appointed him. When the clock of the universe pointed to the hour, He must be put upon the cross. 2. Gaze into the heavens where stars are wheeling in courses, the delicacy and exactness of whose curves it takes pages of figures to compute. The safety of worlds depend on their perfect harmony of movement. The astronomer calculates, centuries in advance, their various intersections. But in the moral world there is the same exactness. Jerusalem had her “day of visitation.” You and I have our day of mercy. The hour hastens when it will be said, “It is the last time.” God will not then move back the index on the dial plate. (J. B. Thomas, D. D.) Your time is alway ready.—Did we see the husbandman dreaming away his time, when all his fields lay uncultivated; or the generals of an army trifling an hour at cards, when the enemy was preparing to storm the camp; or a pilot asleep, when the ship was running directly upon a rock; and did all these allege, as the reason of their behaviour, that they had “nothing to do,” we should think a madhouse the only proper place for them: and we should think right. But why do we not perceive that there is not less of absurdity and madness in the con- duct of that Christian who 17
- 18. wastes his precioushours in idleness, and apologizes for it by saying in the same manner, that he has “nothing to do,” when perhaps the work of his salvation, that greatest of all works, the very work for which God sent him into the world, is not yet so much as entered upon, or even thought of Joh_11:9; 1Co_4:2). (Bp. Horne.) Misused opportunity Many do with opportunities as children do at the sea shore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till they are all gone. (T. Jones, D. D.) Opportunity unused Opportunity is like a strip of sand which stretches around a seaside cove. The greedy tide is lapping up the sand. The narrow strip will quickly become impassable; and then how sad the fate of the thoughtless children who are now playing and gathering shells and seaweed inside the cove! (Union Magazine.) Opportunities of doing good should be seized eagerly When the earth is soft the plough will enter. Take a man when he is mourning, or newly stirred by some moving sermon, and then set it home and you may do him good. Christian faithfulness doth require us not only to do good when it falls in our way, but to watch for opportunities of doing good. (Richard Baxter.) Christians may find opportunities of doing good at any time and anywhere Some persons are so extremely particular as to where they begin to work for Christ that they lose much time in what they think is wise waiting for opportunities. But it was not so with Uncle John Vassar (the American colporteur). He would begin anywhere. One day a minister met him at the railway station and was about to take him home with him before commencing his work. Uncle John proposed that they should work on the way home. “But where shall we begin?” said the minister. “Oh,” he replied, “let us begin at the station-master’s.” They did so, and before ten minutes had passed one poor discouraged backslider had opened her heart to the stranger’s earnest appeals and was kneeling in true penitence at the throne of Divine mercy. (R. Brewin, “Lecture on Uncle John Vassar.”) The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth The antagonism between Christ and the world I. CHRIST’S POSITION ONE OF ANTAGONISM TO THE GENERAL CURRENT OF HUMAN THOUGHT AND FEELING. The great idol of humanity is self. Every one worships it in one form or other. Christ comes to overthrow this idol and to claim all men for His Father. This claim is resented. In other words, Christ, by His Person, teaching, example, testifies of the world that its works are evil. The light rebukes the darkness. Christ does not say, “You are very nearly right”; but, “You are altogether 18
- 19. wrong.” Nor willHe rest until His statements are believed and His claims accepted. So He is hated. Men say they are indifferent, but they hate. II. IT IS THE FACT OF THIS ANTAGONISM WHICH MAKES MANY SHRINK FROM JOINING HIM. They dread running counter to general opinion. They cannot stand opposition or ridicule. They feel instinctively that the dislike with which the worm regards Christ is extended to His disciples; and at this dislike they shudder. But their condition is a very perilous one. It is to Him that “overcometh” that the blessing is given. The “fearful” are cast out with the “false and abominable.” Hence infer (1) that weakness towards the world is hardness towards Christ; and (2) that Christ, if we look to Him, will give us the needful strength. (G. Calthrop, M. A.) The world’s treatment of Christ The world gave Him a cradle, but it was a manger; a throne, but it was a cross; a crown, but it was thorns; a sceptre, but it was a reed; homage, but it was derisive mockery and bitter scorn; companions, but they were crucified criminals; a kingdom, but it was a grave (Jas_4:4). (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.) The world’s treatment of the Church In Brazil there grows a common plant, which is called the matodor, or murderer. Its slender stein creeps at first along the ground; but no sooner does it meet a vigorous tree than with clinging grasp it cleaves to it, and climbs it, and as it climbs, sends out at short intervals arm-like tendrils that embrace the tree. As the murderer ascends, these ligatures grow larger, and clasp tighter. Up, up it climbs, one hundred feet, nay, two hundred, if needs be, until the last loftiest spire is gained and fettered. Then, as if in triumph, the parasite shoots a huge flowery head above the strangled summit, and thence from the dead tree’s crown, scatters its seed to do again the work of death. Even thus does worldliness strangle churches. (S. Coley.) Truth begets hate. (Terence.) Go ye up to this feast. I go not up yet.—Whether “not yet” or “not’“ be adopted as the true reading, the utterance is not to be explained as an indication of fickleness, or of honest purpose subsequently changed, or of intentional evasion as if He wished to leave His counsellors uncertain how He meant to act, or signified that though He was really going to Jerusalem He was not going just yet—with a mental substitution of a now, or with the public caravans and feast trains, or to attend the feast in a legally prescribed man-nor, all of which have been suggested. The sense Christ desired His words to bear was probably that He was not yet (though afterwards He would), or not (absolutely for the present) going up to manifest Himself unto the world; if He went up, it would not be yet for any such purpose as they contemplated, because His time was not yet fulfilled. The seasonable moment when He would manifest Himself into the world was not to arrive till the next passover. And, having said these things, He abode in Galilee, waiting the signal from His Father which 19
- 20. determined all Hisearthly movements (chap. 11:6). His brethren having gone, then went He also up, not publicly as they desired, but as a private person incognito. Whether or not Christ travelled through Samaria, thus avoiding the ordinary path, He did not accompany any of the public caravans, but selected a solitary route. The “in secret” shows that this was neither the journey mentioned in Luk_9:51, nor the final departure from Galilee Mat_19:1-2), both of which were public. Though Christ’s journey was in secret it is not said that His visit to the feast was. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) Then the Jews sought Him at the feast Striking contrasts I. BASE COWARDICE AND SUBLIME COURAGE. 1. Base cowardice (Joh_7:11-13). (1) For these chief men of the nation to be in cunning search for the life of one lonely man. “Where is He?” We want Him. What for? To listen to His doctrines? honestly to test His merits, to do honour to His person or His mission? No; but to kill Him. Here are a number of influential men banded together to crush one humble peasant! (2) In the people meeting together in secrecy, and talking about Him. Why not openly? Sin is always cowardly: virtue alone is courageous. Sin’s talk is swaggering, and its attitude often defiant; but it is essentially craven-hearted. “Thou wear a lion’s hide! Doff it for shame, and hang a calf’s skin on those recreant limbs” (Shakespeare). 2. In contrast with this, we have the sublimest courage (Joh_7:14). When the festival was at its height, and the concourse swollen to the greatest number, and national enthusiasm most intense, this poor peasant Reformer confronted public sentiment when its billows were thundering at high tide. Where in all history have you an example of courage comparable to this? II. CONVENTIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AND DIVINE INTELLIGENCE. 1. Conventional scholarship (Joh_7:15). The question breathes contempt. The idea is, He has never been to our seats of learning and studied under our rabbis; what can He know? He is an uneducated man and, forsooth, presumes to teach. There is much of this spirit now. There are those who hold that a man cannot know much unless he has graduated at some university. This is a great fallacy; some of the most educated men have never passed the college curriculum. This idea fills society with pedants, and our pulpits with men who have neither the kind of lore, or genius to preach the gospel. 2. Divine intelligence. Note here that (1) God is the sole Teacher of the highest doctrine (Joh_7:16). Although I have not studied under you, rabbis, I have got my knowledge directly from the primal source of all true intelligence. Do not content yourself with sipping at the streams of conventional teachings, go to the fountain head. (2) Obedience is the qualification for obtaining the highest knowledge (Joh_ 7:17). Philosophy and experience show the truth of this. “The essence of goodness consists in wishing to be good,” says Seneca. And well too as Pascal said, that “a man must know earthly things in order to love them, but that he must love heavenly things in order to know them.” 20
- 21. (3) Entire devotionof self to the Divine is necessary in order to communicate the highest knowledge (Joh_7:18). It is not only as a man becomes self- oblivious, and lost in the love and thoughts of God, that he can reflect the bright rays of Divine intelligence upon his fellow-men. We must allow ourselves to become mere channels through which the Divine will flow. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Why Christ hid himself To kindle the desire of seeing and hearing Him so much the more; or to discover whether there were any numbers disposed by His first preaching to receive Him, to the end that He might not show Himself in vain. (J. Trapp.) Where is He.—Jesus went to the feast in secret, and the Jews sought Him. From differing motives they inquire for Him, but they did inquire. No man, having once heard of Jesus, can any longer remain indifferent to Him: he must take some sort of interest in the Lord Jesus. From many quarters come the question, “Where is He?” We will at this time I. CONSIDER THE WAYS IN WHICH THE QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED. 1. Hate, ferociously desiring to slay Him, and overthrow His cause. Herod was the type of this school. 2. Infidelity, sneeringly denying His existence, taunting His followers because His cause does not make progress (2Pe_3:4). 3. Timorous fear, sadly doubting His presence, power, and prevalence (Job_ 23:8-9). 4. Penitence, humbly seeking Him that she may confess her sin, trust her Lord, and show her gratitude to Him (Job_23:3). 5. Love, heartily pining for communion with Him, and for an opportunity to serve Him (Son_3:3). 6. Fear, bitterly lamenting His absence, and craving His return. 7. Desire, ardently aspiring to meet Him in His second advent, and to behold His glory (Rev_22:20). II. GIVE THE SAINTS’ EXPERIMENTAL ANSWER. He is 1. At the mercy-seat when we cry in secret. 2. In the Word as we search the sacred page. 3. In the assemblies of His people, even with two or three. 4. At His table, known in the breaking of bread. 5. In the field of service, aiding, sympathizing, guiding, and prospering. In all things glorified before the eyes of faith. 6. In the furnace of trial, revealing Himself, sanctifying the trial, bearing us through. 7. Near us, yea, with us, and in us. 21
- 22. III. RETURN THEQUESTION TO YOU. Is He 1. At the bottom of your trust? 2. At the root of your joys? 3. On the throne of your heart? 4. Near by constant converse? 5. Is His Spirit manifested in your spirit, words, and actions? 6. Is He before you, that to the end of your journey, the terminus towards which you are daily hastening? IV. ASK IT OF THE ANGELS. They, with one voice, reply that He is 1. In the bosom of the Father. 2. In the centre of glory. 3. On the throne of government. 4. In the place of representation. 5. In the armoury of mercy. 6. Within reach of you and all needy sinners who will now seek Him. Conclusion: 1. Come, let us go and find Him. We will hold no feast till He is among us. (C. H.Spurgeon.) Where is He? I. IS HE IN YOUR CHURCH ON SUNDAY? 1. Do you thither repair expecting to meet Him? 2. Does His presence banish every irreverent and worldly feeling? 3. Does He meet out to you the Word of Life, and render it sweet to your taste, and nourishing to your soul? II. IS HE IN YOUR PRAYER-MEETING? 1. Do you, in company with others, meet together weekly and claim the fulfilment of His promise? 2. Is He then causing your hearts to burn within you, and strengthening your grasp on His promises? 3. When you leave does your conduct say, “We have been with Jesus”? III. IS HE IN YOUR FAMILY? 1. Has he made your home His abode? 2. Does His presence refresh the weariness of toil, loosen the burden of care, and brighten the smile of affection? 3. Does He take your children in His arms and bless them? 4. Does He assure you that you shall form an individual family in heaven? 22
- 23. IV. IS HEIN YOUR HEART? 1. If so He is ever near. 2. If not, seek the Lord while He may be found. (Homiletic Review.) Motives for seeking Christ How diverse were the motives from which men sought Jesus: the Magi to adore Him; Herod to crush a rival prince; Greeks to satisfy curiosity; Jews to see miracles, or to crown Him a king to promote their carnal interests; only a few hungry souls sought Him as the Bread of Life. Some seek Him to find ground of objection to His mission. How many frequent His church and ordinances but never seek Him. To how many of the earth’s feasters would He prove an unwelcome guest? (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.) Christ found Many years ago, there was a young man in Birmingham whose dissipation and excess had brought into a condition from which he endeavoured to extricate himself by crime. The fear of detection, exposure, and ruin goaded him on to such a pitch of desperation that he left his father’s house resolutely bent on self-destruction. God’s good providence led him through Bond Street; and, under some inexplicable impulse, he found himself sitting in the Baptist Chapel almost before he was aware. The minister, a Mr. Edmonds, was reading from the Book of Job, occasionally throwing in some shrewd parenthetic remark. Coming to verses 8 and 9, the young man’s attention was irresistibly arrested: “Job, Job,” the preacher cried entreatingly, “why don’t you look upward?” These words were as nails fastened in a sure place, and the young man ever thanked God for the belief that he was unconsciously drawn by the Holy Spirit to enter that place, and that the preacher was impelled to the use of those words, to the end that his life might be redeemed from destruction, and crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercy. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Where to find Christ I saw a young brother last Friday, and, in answer to the question, How were you converted? he said it was through reading Luther on the Galatians. I said, “I am glad to see the man that reads Luther on the Galatians.” He was a young man employed in the city, and I admired him for preferring Luther to the wretched novels of the period. “I read it two or three times,” he said, “and I saw the difference between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace; I saw how man was ruined by his works, and how he must be saved by faith, and I found the Saviour while reading that book.” Oh, if people would but read the Bible, and books about the Bible, with the desire to know what the gospel is, they would soon find Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. (C. H.Spurgeon.) And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him. Christ when He comes brings division Describe the scene, the variety of characters and feelings and opinions, at this most 23
- 24. popular of allthe feasts; the movement, the stir, all circling round the central figure, Christ. Now discussion about Christ may be allowable enough, but as discussion proceeds the crowd takes sides, and there is a party for, and a party against, Christ. It is so now. The proclamation of truth separates men. Jesus is either a great foundation or else a stone of stumbling. Men are attracted or repelled, hardened or softened. Let us consider then I. THE DIVINE INTENTION. This is that all men shall be saved. God so loved the world, and His goodness should lead to repentance. But II. Such is the mystery that attaches to our creation, that MAN HAS IT IN HIS POWER TO FRUSTRATE THIS INTENTION OF GOD. The Holy Spirit pleads with him, but he resists. He can resist. Were it not so, he would be but a machine. Hearts cannot be compelled; they can only be drawn. Christ knocks at the door; but we can, if we choose, keep it bolted on the inside, and Christ will not force the way in. We must be persuaded to admit Him. He wishes to be a guest. “I will come in and sup with him, and he with me.” III. GOD DOES ALL IN HIS POWER TO WIN THE HUMAN HEART. To say that He multiplies kindnesses is to say little. He sends, He gives, He spares not His own Son. This is His last effort. Beyond this there is nothing. And if the heart can resist such an evidence of His love, its case is hopeless. There is nothing left that will touch it. How is it with us? Which side are we taking? For Christ? or against Him? “He that is not with Me is against Me.” There is no intermediate region; no neutral ground. Men start in lifo as boys, hand-in-hand, but on opposite sides of a little mountain rill. The widening stream soon compels them to unclasp their hands; and the distance between them increases as they advance. Presently they are out of sight of each other; and at last a broad, impassable gulf rolls between them. (G. Calthrop, M. A.) Diverse effects of contact with Christ The coating of our Lord acted as a moral shock upon the existing fabric of thought and life; it broke up the stagnant, fixed modes of feelings and thinking; it set men in movement; it led to anxious self-questionings, to widespread anxiety of mind, to general unsettlement; it destroyed that tranquil satisfaction with things as they were in Israel which had secured so much repose of mind to so many classes. Such an event would reveal above all the true character of the time; it would act as many a flash of lightning on the crew of a wreck; it would dispel illusions somewhat rudely, often at the cost of happiness and temper, and as a result it would be regarded in more ways than one. Those who wish to know the truth and to live in it at all costs, would welcome it, and thank God for it; those who did not wish this would slink away from an influence which made them uncomfortable, even though they might have reason to think that in the end it would make them better than they were. In ordinary life there are occurrences which act upon men in different ways, which bring out unsuspected tendencies for good or for evil. A railway accident, a fire, the outburst of aa epidemic, or the sudden inheritance of a fortune, are each in their own way revelations of character. They break through the ordinary habits, and surprise men for the moment into being perfectly natural, They reveal unexpected beauties in this man’s character, heroism, generosity, etc.; or they bring any little weakness to the surface in that man, and show him to be selfish or cowardly, or in other ways unlike what he was supposed to be. In the same way a great controversy acts as a solvent upon all sorts of persons. It throws them back upon the principles which really rule them; it precipitates a great deal in them which else might have remained undecided; it forces them to take a side, and, by taking that side, to make a revelation of 24
- 25. character. And muchmore is this the case when men are brought into contact with a mind and heart of unwonted greatness. Such a personality is too imperative to leave other men just as they were; such a personality sets feeling, thought, will, all in motion—not always in friendly motion—towards itself, not unfrequently in hostile and prejudiced motion. And this was especially the case with our Lord. Men could not, if they would, regard Him with indifference. They could not escape from some sort of profound emotion at coming into contact with Him. When He made His entry into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” And this was a sort of concrete representation of what took place on a vast historical scale on His entrance into the world. That event produced a varied and prolonged emotion in human souls. It stirred the lowest instincts as well as the highest thoughts of men. It was a fulfilment of that pregnant saying, “Yet once more do I shake, not the earth only, but heaven.” But its result was not, could not be, uniform. It was for the rising or fall of many a human soul. (Canon Liddon.) Howbeit no man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews Moral cowardice I. THE FACT—“No man spake openly of Him.” To this there was a large exception. His friends were silent, not His enemies. They were loud enough in their reproaches, etc. This is the case still to a large and lamentable extent. How much there is said and written against Christ which His professed followers allow to pass without protest or counter demonstration! There is no lack of private confession it may be. They that fear the Lord still speak “one to another”; but those who love Him will surely speak to others also. What Christ wants is confession before men, for the defence of His honour, the confutation of unbelief, the extension of His cause. II. ITS EXPLANATION—“For fear of the Jews.” This fear was and is twofold. 1. Nervous shrinking. To men, e.g., in the position of Nicodemus, there was not much to dread from the hostile majority. So many to-day hesitate to confess Christ and rebuke sin, say, to relatives and intimate friends, not because of consequences, but because of the tax it would make upon a highly-strung nervous organization. Over sensitiveness an enemy to the cause of Christ. 2. Rank cowardice. Taking sides for and with Christ in the case of many then meant pains and penalties, and they were not prepared to pay the cost of their convictions. To some extent discipleship still involves tribulation, but of how much milder a type! Yet men and women seal their lips because they are afraid of being called contemptuous names. III. THE LESSONS FOR US. 1. Our duty—to make a bold, manly, and decisive stand for Christ. (1) He deserves it. What a stand He made for us! hie fear of the Jews deterred Him from pleading our cause. (2) He will reward it with present approval and final blessedness. 2. Our privilege. “God hath not given us the spirit of cowardice,” etc. Christ does not ask us to undertake this or any duty without qualifying us for its discharge. 3. Our warning. “Whoso is ashamed of Me of him will I be ashamed.” (J. W. Burn.) 25
- 26. The folly ofmoral cowardice When the passengers gallop by as if fear made them speedy, the cur follows them with an open mouth. Let them walk by in confident neglect, and the dog will not stir at all. It is a weakness that every creature takes advantage of. (J. Beaumont, M. D.) Cowardly Christians What would Her Majesty think of her soldiers, if they should swear they were loyal and true, and yet should say, “Your Majesty, we prefer not to wear these regimentals; let us wear the dress of civilians! we are right honest men, and upright; but do not care to stand in your ranks, acknowledged as your soldiers; we had rather slink into the enemy’s camp, and into your camp too, we therefore prefer not to wear anything that would mark us as being your soldiers!” Ah! some of you do the same with Christ. You are going to be secret Christians, are you, and slink into the devil’s camp, and into Christ’s camp, but acknowledged by none? Well, ye must take the chance of it, if ye will be double-minded; but I should not like to risk it. It is a solemn threatening— “Of him will I be ashamed when I come in the glory of My Father, and all His holy angels with Me!” It is a solemn thing, I say, when Christ says, “Except a man take up his cross and follow Me, he cannot be My disciple.” (C. H. Spurgeon.) We must openly show our love to Christ Some time ago, when in a mine, looking through its dark corridors, I now and then saw the glimmer of a moving lamp, and I could track it all through the mine. The reason was the miner carried it on his hat—it was a part of himself and showed where he was. I said, “Would that in this dark world every miner of the Master carried his lamp to show where he walks.” (Dr. Cuyler.) Openly religious It is not sufficient to carry religion in our hearts, as fire is carried in flint stones; but we are outwardly, visibly, apparently, to serve and honour the living God. (Hooker.) Christ must be openly praised If people are loud in the praise of a physician who has cured them of some deadly malady—recommending others to trust and seek his skill, why should not Christ’s people crown Him with equal honours, commend Him to a dying world and proclaim what He has done for them? (Dr. Guthrie.) PINK 1-13, "Below we give a rough Analysis of the passage which is to be before us:— 1. Jesus walked in Galilee: verse 1. 2. Time: immediately before the Feast of Tabernacles: verse 2. 3. The request of Christ’s brethren: verses 3-5. 4. Christ’s reply to them: verses 6-8. 5. Christ still in Galilee: verse 9. 26
- 27. 6. Christ goesup to the Feast: verse 10. 7. The attitude of men toward Christ: verses 11-13. John 7 begins a new section of this fourth Gospel. Our Lord’s ministry in Galilee was now over, though He still remained there, because the Judeans sought to kill Him. The annual Feast of tabernacles was at hand, and His brethren were anxious for Christ to go up to Jerusalem, and there give a public display of His miraculous powers. To this request the Savior made a reply which at first glance appears enigmatical. He bids His brethren go up to the Feast, but excuses Himself on the ground that His time was not yet fully come. After their departure, He abode still in Galilee. But very shortly after, He, too, goes up to the Feast; as it were in secret. The Jews who wished to kill Him, sought but were unable to discover Him. Among the people He formed the principal subject of discussion, some of whom considered Him a good man, others regarding Him as a deceiver. And then, in verse 14 we are told, "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught." Such is a brief summary of the passage which is to be before us. That our passage will present a number of real difficulties to the cursory reader is not to be denied, and perhaps the more diligent student may not be able to clear up all of them. The simplest and often the most effective way of studying a portion of God’s Word is to draw up a list of questions upon it. This will insure a more definite approach: it will save us from mere generalizations: it will reveal the particular points upon which we need to seek God’s help. Who are meant by "his brethren"? (verse 3)—brethren who did not "believe in him" (verse 5). To what did Christ refer when He said, "My time is not yet come" (verse 6)? Why did Christ refuse to go up to the Feast with His brethren (verse 8)? And why, after saying that His time was not yet come, did He go to the Feast at all (verse 10)? What is meant by "He went not openly, but as it were in secret" (verse 10)? If He went up to the Feast "as it were in secret," why did He, about the midst of the Feast, go into the temple, and teach (verse 14)? These are some of the more pertinent and important questions which will naturally occur to the inquiring mind. It should be obvious that the central item in our passage is the Feast itself,[1] and in the scriptural significance of this Feast of tabernacles must be sought the solution of most of our difficulties here. It will be necessary, then, to compare carefully the leading scriptures which treat of this Feast, and then shall we be the better able to understand what is before us. Having made these preliminary remarks we shall now turn to our passage and offer an exposition of it according to the measure of light which God has been pleased to grant us upon it. "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee" (John 7:1). The first three words intimate that a new section of the Gospel commences here—cf. John 6:1 and our comments thereon. "After these things" probably has a double reference. In its more general significance, it points back to the whole of His Galilean ministry, now ended. There is a peculiar and significant arrangement of the contents of the first seven chapters of John: a strange alternating between Judea and Galilee. In John 1 the scene is laid in Judea (see verse 28); but in John 2:1-12 Christ is seen in Galilee. In John 2:13 we are told that "Jesus went up to Jerusalem," and He remained in its vicinity till we reach John 4:3, where we are told, "He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee." Then, in verse 1, we read, "Jesus went up to Jerusalem," and He is viewed there to the end of the chapter. But in John 6:1 we 27
- 28. are told, "Afterthese things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee." And now in John 7 we are to see Him once more in Jerusalem. But why this strange and repeated alternation? In the light of Matthew 4:15—"Galilee of the Gentiles"—we would suggest two answers: First, this fourth Gospel, in a special manner, concerns the family of God, which is made up of Jew and Gentile; hence the emphasis here by our attention being directed, again and again, to both Judea and Galilee. But note that Judea always comes before Galilee: "To the Jew first" being the lesson taught. In the second place, if our references above be studied carefully, it will be seen that the passages treating of Galilee and what happened there, come in parenthetically; inasmuch as Jerusalem is both the geographical and moral center of the Gospel. "After these things," then, points back to the conclusion of His Galilean ministry: John 2:1-11; 4:43-54; 6:1-71. But we also regard these words as having a more restricted and specific reference to what is recorded at the close of chapter 6, particularly verse 66. "After these things" would thus point, more directly, to the forsaking of Christ by many of His Galilean disciples, following the miracles they had witnessed and the teaching they had heard. "After these things Jesus walked (literally, "was walking") in Galilee." It appears as though the Lord was reluctant to leave Galilee, for it seems that He never returned there any more. It was useless to work any further miracles, and His teaching has been despised, nevertheless, His person He would still keep before them a little longer. Jesus walking in Galilee, rather than dwelling in privacy, suggests the thought of the continued public manifestation of Himself: let the reader compare John 1:36; John 6:19; John 10:23 and John 11:54 for the other references in this Gospel to Jesus "walking", and he will find confirmation of what we have just said. Again, if John 7:1 be linked with John 6:66 (as the "after these things" suggests) the marvelous grace of the Savior will be evidenced. Many of His disciples went back and walked no more "with him." Notwithstanding, He continued to "walk," and that too, "in Galilee"! "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him" (John 7:1). Let the reader turn back and consult our remarks on verse 15 concerning "the Jews." It is indeed solemn to trace right through this fourth Gospel what is said about them. "The Jews" are not only to be distinguished from the Galileans, as being of Judea, but also from the common people of Judea. Note how in our present passage "the are distinguished from "the Jews": see verses 11, 12, 13. "The Jews" were evidently the leaders, the religious leaders. Notice how in John 8:48 it is "the Jews" who say to Christ "Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon." It was "the Jews" who cast out of the synagogue the man born blind, whose eyes Christ had opened (John 9:22, 34). It was "the Jews" who took up stones to stone Christ (John 10:31). It was "the officers of the Jews" who "took Jesus, and bound him" (John 18:12). And it was through "fear of the Jews" that Joseph of Arimathaea came secretly to Pilate and begged the body of the Savior (John 19:38). And so here: it was because of the Jews, who sought to kill Him, that Jesus would not walk in Judea, but remained in Galilee. Christ here left us a perfect example. By His actions, He teaches us not to court danger, and unnecessarily expose ourselves before our enemies. This will be the more evident if we link this verse with John 11:53, 54: "From that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence 28
- 29. unto a countrynear to the wilderness," etc. It will thus appear that our Lord used prudence and care to avoid persecution and danger till His time was fully come; so it is our duty to endeavor by all wise means and precautions to protect and preserve ourselves, that we may have opportunities for further service. "Now the Jews’s feast of tabernacles was at hand" (John 7:2). By comparing this verse with John 6:4 it will be seen that upwards of six months is spanned by John 6 to 7:1. John 6:4 says the Passover was nigh, and from Leviticus 23:5 we learn that this Feast was kept in the first month of the Jewish year: whereas Leviticus 23:34 tells us that the Feast of tabernacles was celebrated in the seventh month. How evident it is then that John was something more than an historian. Surely it is plain that the Holy Spirit has recorded what He has in this fourth Gospel (as in the others) according to a principle of selection, and in consonance with a definite design. "Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand." As already intimated, it will be necessary for us to give careful attention to the leading scriptures of the Old Testament on the Feast of tabernacles, that we may ascertain its historical and typical significance, and thus be the better prepared to understand the details of the passage now before us. Leviticus 23 reveals the fact that there were seven Feasts in Israel’s religious calendar, but there were three of these which were singled out as of special importance. This we gather from Deuteronomy 16:16, where it is recorded that Jehovah said to Israel, "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose i.e. in the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple; in the feast of unleavened bread inseparably connected with the passover, and in the feast of weeks i.e. pentecost, and in the feast of tabernacles." We reserve a brief comment on the first two of these, until we have considered the third. The first time the Feast of tabernacles is mentioned by name is in Leviticus 23, namely, in verses 34-36 and 39-44. As this passage is too long for us to quote here in full, we would request the reader to turn and read it through carefully before going farther. We give now a brief summary of its prominent features. First, the Feast began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (verse 34). Second, it was a "holy convocation," when Israel was to offer "an offering made by fire unto the Lord" (verse 36). Third, it lasted for eight days (verse 39). Fourth, those who celebrated this Feast were to take "boughs of goodly trees" (verse 40). Fifth, they were to "rejoice before the Lord their God seven days" (verse 40). Sixth, they were to "dwell in booths" (verse 42). Seventh, the purpose of this was to memorialize the fact that "Jehovah made their fathers to dwell in booths, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt" (verse 43). In Numbers 29:12-40 we have a detailed record of the ritual or sacrificial requirements connected with this Feast. Though Leviticus 23 is the first time the Feast of tabernacles is mentioned by name, there is one earlier reference to it, namely, in Exodus 23:16, where it is termed the Feast of Ingathering,[2] "which is the end of the year (i.e. of the sacred calendar of Feasts), when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field." The Feast of tabernacles, then, was the grand Harvest Festival, when the Lord of the harvest was praised for all His temporal mercies. This one was the most joyous Feast of the year. It was not observed by Israel till after they had entered and settled in Canaan: their dwelling in booths at this Feast 29
- 30. memorialized their wanderingsin the wilderness. The Old Testament records but two occasions when this Feast was ever observed by Israel in the past, and they are most significant. The first of these is found in 1 Kings 8, see verses 2, 11, 13, 62-66, and note particularly the "seventh month" in verse 2 and the "eighth day" in verse 66. This was in the days of Solomon at the completion and dedication of the Temple. In like manner, the antitypical Feast of tabernacles, will not be ushered in till the completion of the spiritual "temple," which God is now building (Eph. 2:22; 1 Peter 2:5). The second account of Israel’s past celebration of this Feast is recorded in Nehemiah 8:13-18. The occasion was the settlement of the Jewish remnant in Palestine, after they had come up out of captivity. We cannot offer here anything more than a very brief word on Deuteronomy 16:16. The three great Feasts which God required every male Israelite to observe annually in Jerusalem, were those of unleavened bread (inseparably connected with the passover), of weeks (or pentecost), and tabernacles. The first has already received its antitypical accomplishment at the Cross. The second began to receive its fulfillment on the day of pentecost (Acts 2), but was interrupted by the failure of the nation to repent (see Acts 3:1-21). The third looks forward to the future. "Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand." Someone has pointed out that in John 5, 6, and 7 there is a striking order followed in the typical suggestiveness of the contents of these chapters. In John 5 Israel may be seen, typically, as being delivered from the bondage of Egypt: this was adumbrated in the deliverance of the impotent man from lifelong suffering. In John 6 there is repeated reference made to Israel in the wilderness, eating the manna. While here in John 7 Israel is viewed in the land, keeping the Feast of tabernacles. "His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest" (John 7:3). These "brethren" were the brothers of Christ according to the flesh: that is, they were sons of Mary too. That they were completely blind to His Divine glory is evident from the fact they here told Him what to do. Blind to His glory, they were therefore devoid of all spiritual discernment, and hence their reasoning was according to the carnal mind. But what did they mean by "Go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest"? The answer is to be found in the "also" and the "therefore" at the beginning of the verse—"His brethren therefore said unto him," etc. The "therefore," of course, looks back to something previous. What this is, we find in the closing verses of John 6. In the first part of that chapter we have recorded a wonderful "work" performed by the Lord. But in verse 66 we are told, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." Now, said these brethren according to the flesh, do not waste any further efforts or time here, but go to Judea. They were evidently piqued at the reception which Christ had met with in Galilee. His work there seemed to amount to very little, why not, then, try Jerusalem, the headquarters of Judaism! Moreover, now was an opportune time: the Feast of tabernacles was at hand, and Jerusalem would be full. "For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world" (verse 4). Note the "if" here. There was evidently a slightly veiled taunt in these words. We take it that these brethren were really challenging Christ, and that the substance of 30
- 31. their challenge wasthis: ‘If these works of yours are genuine miracles, why confine yourself to villages and small country-towns in Galilee, where the illiterate and unsophisticated habituate. Go up to the Capital, where people are better qualified to judge. Go up to the Feast, and there display your powers, and if they will stand the test of the public scrutiny of the leaders, why, your disciples will gather around you, and your claims will be settled once for all.’ No doubt, these "brethren" really hoped that He would establish His claims, and in that event, as His near kinsmen, they would share the honors which would be heaped upon Him. But how insulting to our blessed Lord all this was! What indignities He suffered from those who were blind to His glory! "If thou do these things, show thyself to the world." How these words betrayed their hearts! They were men of the world: consequently, they adopted its ways, spoke its language, and employed its logic. "Show thyself to the world" meant, Accompany us to Jerusalem, work some startling miracle before the great crowds who will be assembled there; and thus, not only make yourself the center of attraction, but convince everybody you are the Messiah. Ah! how ignorant they were of the mind of God and the purpose of His Son’s mission! It was "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16) displaying itself. And how much of this same "pride of life" we see today, even among those who profess to be followers of that One whom the world crucified! What are the modem methods of evangelistic campaigns and Bible conferences—the devices resorted to to draw the crowds, the parading of the preacher’s photo, the self-advertising by the speakers—what are these, but the present-day expressions of "Show thyself to the world"! "If thou do these things, show thyself to the world." One other comment, an exegetical one, should be made on this before we pass on to the next verse. Here is a case in point where "the world" does not always signify the whole human race. When these brethren of Christ said, "Go show thyself to the world," it is evident that they did not mean, ‘Display yourself before all mankind.’ No, here, as frequently in this Gospel, "the world" is merely a general term, signifying all classes of men. "For neither did his brethren believe in him" (John 7:5). How this illustrates the desperate hardness and depravity of human nature. Holy and perfect as Christ was, faultless and flawless as were His character and conduct, yet, even those who had been brought up with Him in the same house believed not in Him! It was bad enough that the nation at large believed not on Him, but the case of these "kinsmen" (Mark 3:21, margin) was even more excuseless. How this demonstrates the imperative need of God’s almighty regenerating grace! And how this exemplifies Christ’s own teaching that "No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him"! And how striking to note that the unbelief of His "brethren" was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy: "I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children" (Ps. 69:8). Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready" (John 7:6). These words of Christ must be interpreted in the light of the immediate context. His brethren had said, "Go show thyself to the world." But His time to do this had not then come, nor has it yet arrived. Not then would He vindicate Himself by openly displaying His glory. This was the time of His humiliation. But how plainly His words here imply that there is a time coming when He will publicly reveal His majesty and glory. To this He referred when He 31
- 32. said, "And theyshall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). And what will be the effect of this on "the world"? Revelation 1:7 tells us: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." And solemn will be the accompaniments of this showing of Himself to the world. Then shall He say, "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me" (Luke 19:27); see, too, the last half of Revelation 19. How little, then, did these brethren realize the import of their request! Had He openly manifested Himself then—before the Cross—it would have involved the perdition of the whole human race, for then there had been no atoning-blood under which sinners might shelter! Thankful must we ever be that He did not do what they asked. And how often we ask Him for things, which He in His Divine wisdom and grace denies us! How true it is that "we know not what we should pray for as we ought" (Rom. 8:26)! "Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready." There was no "pride of life" in Christ. He demonstrated this in the great Temptation. All the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them could not tempt Him. Instead of seeking to show Himself before the world, instead of advertising Himself, instead of endeavoring to attract attention, He frequently drew a veil over His works and sought to hide Himself: see Mark 1:36-38; Mark 7:17; Mark 7:36; Mark 8:26, etc. After He had been transfigured on the holy mount and His glory had appeared before the eyes of the three apostles, He bade them "that they should tell no man what things they had seen" (Mark 9:9). How truly did He make Himself of "no reputation"! But how different with these brethren. "Your time is alway ready," He said. They were ever willing and wanting to win the applause of men, and make themselves popular with the world. "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil" (John 7:7). How this helps us to fix the meaning of the last clause of the previous verse. "Your time is alway ready" meant, as we have said, Your time to display yourself before the world, in order to court its smiles, is ever to hand. But how solemn is the reason Christ here gives for this! It was because they had not cast in their lot with this One who was "despised and rejected of men." Because of this, the world would not hate them. And why? Because they were of the world. Contrariwise, the world did hate Christ. It hated Christ because He testified of it (not "against" it!), that its works were evil. The holiness of His life condemned the worldliness of theirs. And right here is a solemn and searching test for those who profess to be His followers today. Dear reader, if you are popular with the world, that is indeed a solemn sign, an evil omen. The world has not changed. It still hates those whose lives condemn theirs. Listen to the words of Christ to His apostles, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19). Here our Lord tells us plainly that the world hates those who are truly His. This, then, is a searching test: does the world "hate" you? "Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee" (John 7:8, 9). The meaning of these verses is really very simple. Christ plainly qualified Himself. He did not say that He would not go up to the Feast; what He 32
- 33. said was, Hewould not go then—His time to go had not "yet come." "My time" must not be confounded with "Mine hour" which He used when referring to His approaching death. The simple force, then, of these verses is that Christ declined to go up to the Feast with His brethren. "But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast" (John 7:10). How tragic is this. How it reveals the hearts of these "brethren." They left Christ for the Feast! They preferred a religious festival for fellowship with the Christ of God. And how often we witness the same thing today. What zeal there is for religious performances, for forms and ceremonies, and how little heart for Christ Himself. "But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret" (John 7:10). The first part of this verse supplies another reason why He would not accompany His brethren to the Feast, as well as explains the somewhat ambiguous "as it were in secret." The general method of travel in those days, and especially at festival seasons, was to form caravans, and join together in considerable companies (cf. Luke 2:44). And when such a company reached Jerusalem, naturally it became known generally. It was, therefore, to avoid such publicity that our Lord waited till His brethren had gone, and then He went up to the Feast, "not openly, (R.V. publicly"), but as it were in secret," i.e., in private. "But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast." the words we have placed in italics are not so much a time-mark as a word of explanation. The "when" has the force of because as in John 4:1; 6:12; 6:16, etc. "Then went he also up unto the feast." This simple sentence gives us a striking revelation of our Lord’s perfections. In order to appreciate what we have here it is necessary to go back to the first verse of the chapter, where we are told, "Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." Why is it that the Holy Spirit has begun the chapter thus? The central incident in John 7 is Christ in Jerusalem at the Feast of tabernacles. Why, then, introduce the incident in this peculiar way? Ah! the Holy Spirit ever had the glory of Christ in view. Because the Jews "sought to kill him" He "walked in Galilee." And therein, as pointed out, He left us an example not to needlessly expose ourselves to danger. But now in verse 10 we find that He did go to Judea, yes to Jerusalem itself. Why was this? We have to turn back to Deuteronomy 16:16 for our answer. There we read, "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles." According to the flesh Christ was an Israelite, and "made under the law" (Gal. 4:4). Therefore, did He, in perfect submission to the will of His Father, go up to Jerusalem to keep the feast. In the volume of the book it was "written of him," and even though the Jews "sought to kill him," He promptly obeyed the written Word! And here, too, He has left us an example. On the one hand, danger should not be courted by us; on the other, when the Word of God plainly bids us follow a certain line of conduct, we are to do so, no matter what the consequences. "Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, he is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews" (John 7:11-13). Mark what a strange variety of opinions there were concerning Christ even at the beginning! In the light of 33
- 34. this passage thedifferences and divergencies of religious beliefs today ought not to surprise us. As said the late Bishop Ryle, "They are but the modern symptoms of an ancient disease." Christ Himself distinctly affirmed, "Think not that I am come to send peace." Whenever God’s truth is faithfully proclaimed, opposition will be encountered and strife stirred up. The fault is not in God’s truth, but in human nature. As the sun shines on the swamp it will call forth malaria: but the fault is not in the sun, but in the ground. The very same rays call forth fertility from the grainfields. So the truth of God will yield spiritual fruit from a believing heart, but from the carnal mind it will evoke endless cavil and blasphemy. Some thought Christ a good man; others regarded Him as a deceiver: sufficient for the disciple to be as His Master. "Some said, he is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people" (John 7:12). "The Lord might bring blessing out of it, but they were reasoning and discussing. In another place He asks His disciples, ‘Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’ They tell Him, ‘Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, one of the prophets.’ It was all discussion. But when Peter replies, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ He tells him, ‘Blessed art thou Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven’. There was personal recognition of Himself, and where there is that, there is no discussion. Discussing Him as subject-matter in their minds, they had not submitted to the righteousness of God. Where people’s minds are at work discussing the right and the wrong, there is not the mind of the new-born babe; they are not receiving, but judging" (J.N.D.). "Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews" (John 7:13). What a solemn warning to us is this! What an awful thing is the fear of man! How often it has silenced faithful witness for Christ! It is written, "The fear of man bringeth a snare" (Prov. 29:25). This is still true. Let us pray then for holy boldness that we may testify faithfully for an absent Savior before a world that cast Him out. COKE, “John 7:1. After these things— That is, after the miracle of the loaves, and the conversation in the synagogue at Capernaum. Sir Isaac Newton thinks, that these words intimate that our Lord did not celebrate the third passover at Jerusalem, (see ch. John 6:4.) and it must be owned that the evangelists do not say expressly that Jesus went up to it; nevertheless, if we may judge from the religious regard which he constantly shewed to all the divine institutions, and from his behaviour on other occasions of a like nature, we may safely believe, that he went not only to this, but to all the feasts which the Jewish males were obliged by law to attend; Deuteronomy 16:16. Numbers 9:13 and it seems that the many cities and villages which our Lord is said to have visited, Mark 6:56 lay on his way to this passover; a conjecture which appears to be favoured by the present passage; for it implies, that, after the miraculous dinner, Jesus had been in Jewry, where an attempt was made upon his life, which made it dangerous for him to continue there any longer at that time. But if any attempt was made upon our Lord's life in Jewry about this time, no scene was so fit for it as Jerusalem; no time so proper as the passover, which happened during this period; and no actors so likely to be engaged in it, as the haughty priests, the scribes, and Pharisees, who were assembled at the feast. Perhaps Christ's disciples also, who 34
- 35. were offended bythe sermon in the synagogue of Capernaum, had joined his enemies in the metropolis, when they came up to the feast; and incensed them anew, by rehearsing, with the usual aggravations of same, the miracle of the loaves, performed to the conviction of every individual present. BURKITT, “Our blessed Saviour knowing that the rage of the chief priests and Pharisees in Judea and at Jerusalem, was grown to that height, that they were resolved to kill him; to avoid their fury, he resolves to continue in Galilee, and would not come into Judea at present, nor go up to Jerusalem into the mouth of his enemies; his hour being not yet come. Learn hence, That so long as it was necessary for Christ to save and preserve himself from danger, he was pleased to use the ordinary means for his own preservation; namely, retirement, and withdrawing himself: Christ as God could have rid himself out of the hands of his enemies by a miraculous preservation; but he uses the ordinary means when they would serve their turn. And as he would not decline danger when his hour was come, so he would not run before it was come; but used all prudential means and methods for his own safety and preservation. He would not come into Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. COFFMAN, “John 7-10 record the great controversy that raged around the name of Jesus during the last six months of his ministry. It was October, at the beginning of this chapter, a full six months having elapsed since the tremendous events of chapter 6; and, during that intervening period, the Lord had continued his work in Galilee, beyond the reach of his enemies in Jerusalem. The synoptics reveal that in this same interim, the Lord had repeatedly schooled his disciples concerning the approaching Passion and his resurrection. Peter had confessed him (Matthew 16:13f); he had fed another great multitude (Mark 9:1-9); and the transfiguration had been witnessed by the inner circle of the Twelve (Luke 9:28f). It was time to face eventualities in the capital city, the account of which events comprises the rest of John. A short break would again occur (John 10:4-42) at the end of this section of controversy, in which the Lord briefly withdrew to await the final Passover. This chapter relates the events related to the feast of tabernacles in October, prior to the Passover in April at which Jesus was crucified. The rapids begin to roar in this chapter; the rising storm of hatred against the Lord would not diminish until a cross arose upon Golgotha. The marvelous value of this section (John 7-10) is in the surgical manner of John's exposing all the complex elements leading up to the crucifixion. Jesus never allowed others to signal the time of his actions; and just as he rejected the suggestion of his mother at Cana (John 2:4), he here rejected the suggestion of his brothers regarding attendance of the feast, attending not all of it, but the last half of it (John 7:1-13). He defended himself against a charge of sabbath-breaking (John 7:14-24); a feeble attempt to arrest him failed (John 7:25-36); he spoke of the living water (John 7:37-44); and Nicodemus spoke a word in his defense (John 7:45-52). And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill him. (John 7:1) 35
- 36. See under chapterheading above. The plot to kill Jesus had been in existence about eighteen months already (John 5:18). 2 But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, BARNES, "The Jews’ feast of tabernacles - Or the feast of tents. This feast was celebrated on the 15th day of the month Tisri, answering to the last half of our month September and the first half of October, Num_29:12; Deu_16:13-15. It was so called from the tents or tabernacles which on that occasion were erected in and about Jerusalem, and was designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, Neh_8:16-18. During the continuance of this feast they dwelt in booths or tents, as their fathers did in the wilderness, Lev_23:42-43. The feast was continued eight days, and the eighth or last day was the most distinguished, and was called the great day of the feast, Joh_7:37; Num_29:35. The Jews on this occasion not only dwelt in booths, but they carried about the branches of palms; willows, and other trees which bore a thick foliage, and also branches of the olive-tree, myrtle, etc., Neh_8:15. Many sacrifices were offered on this occasion Num. 29:12-39; Deu_ 16:14-16, and it was a time of general joy. It is called by Josephus and Philo the greatest feast, and was one of the three feasts which every male among the Jews was obliged to attend. CLARKE, "Feast of tabernacles - This feast was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, answering to the last half of our September, and the first half of October. This month was the seventh of the ecclesiastical, and first of the civil, year. The feast took its name from the tents which were erected about the temple, in public places, in courts, and on the flat roofs of their houses, and in gardens; in which the Jews dwelt for eight days, in commemoration of the forty years during which their fathers dwelt in the wilderness. It was one of the three solemn annual feasts in which all the males were obliged, by the law, to appear at Jerusalem. This feast was celebrated in the following manner. All the people cut down branches of palm trees, willows, and myrtles, (and tied them together with gold and silver cords, or with ribbons), which they carried with them all day, took them into their synagogues, and kept them by them while at prayers. On the other days of the feast they carried them with them into the temple and walked round the altar with them in their hands, singing, Hosanna! i.e. Save, we beseech thee! - the trumpets sounding on all sides. To this feast St. John seems to refer, Rev_7:9, Rev_7:10, where he represents the saints standing before the throne, with palm branches in their hands, singing, Salvation to God, etc. On the seventh day of the feast, they went seven times round the altar, and this was called Hosanna rabba, the great Hosanna. See the notes on Mat_21:9. But the ceremony at which the Jews testified most joy was that of pouring out the water, which was done on the eighth day of the feast. A priest drew some water out of the pool Siloam, in a golden vessel, and brought it into the temple; and at the time of the morning sacrifice, while the members of the sacrifice were on 36
- 37. the altar, hewent up and poured this water mingled with wine upon it, the people all the while singing, with transports of joy, Isa_12:1-6, especially Isa_12:6 : With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. To this part of the ceremony, our Lord appears to allude in Joh_7:37, of this chapter. During this feast many sacrifices were offered. On the first day, besides the ordinary sacrifices, they offered, as a burnt-offering, thirteen calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs with the offerings of flour and the libations of wine that were to accompany them. They offered also a goat for a sin-offering. On all the succeeding days they offered the same sacrifices, only abating one of the calves each day, so that when the seventh day came, they had but seven calves to offer. On the eighth day, which was kept with greater solemnity than the rest, they offered but one calf, one ram, and seven lambs, for a burnt-offering, and one goat for a sin-offering, with the usual offerings and libations. On this day, they also offered in the temple the first fruits of their latter crops, or of those things which come latest to maturity. During the feast, the 113th, 114th, 115th, 116th, 117th, 118th, and 119th Psalms were sung. Leo of Modena says that, though Moses appointed but eight days, yet custom and the devotion of the people have added a ninth to it, which is called the joy of the law, because that on it they complete the reading of the Pentateuch. See Calmet’s Com. and Dict., and father Lamy. For the law relative to this institution, see Lev_23:39, Lev_23:40 (note), etc., and the notes there; and Num_29:16, etc. GILL, "Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. Which began on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, which answers to part of our September; when the Jews erected tents or booths, in which they dwelt, and ate their meals during this festival; and which was done, in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths in the wilderness; and was typical of Christ's tabernacling in human nature; and an emblem of the saints dwelling in the earthly houses and tabernacles of their bodies, in this their wilderness and pilgrimage state. Some assign other reasons of this feast, as that it was appointed in commemoration of the divine command, for building the tabernacle; and others, that it was instituted in memory of the protection of the people of Israel under the cloud, as they travelled through the wilderness; by which they were preserved, as in a tent or booth; and to this inclines the Targum of Onkelos, on Lev_23:43, which paraphrases the words thus, "That your generations may know, that in the shadow of the clouds, I caused the children of Israel to dwell, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt": and one of the Jewish commentators (a) suggests, that the reason why the first place the Israelites pitched at, when they came out of Egypt, was called Succoth, which signifies "tents", or "tabernacles", is, because there they were covered with the clouds of glory: but the true reason of this feast is that which is first given, as is clear from Lev_23:43, and because they were obliged to dwell in tents, as soon as they came out of Egypt, therefore the first place they encamped at, was called "Succoth", or tabernacles, Exo_12:37. This feast was not kept at the time of year the people came out of Egypt; for that was at the time of the passover; but was put off, as it seems, to a colder season of the year; and which was not so convenient for dwelling in booths; lest it should be thought they observed this feast for the sake of pleasure and recreation, under the shade of these bowers; which, as appears from Neh_8:15, were made of olive, pine, myrtle, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees; and were fixed, some on the roofs of their houses, others in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God; and others in the streets: an account of the sacrifices offered at this feast, is given in Num_29:13, in which may be observed, that on the first day thirteen young bullocks were offered; on the second, twelve; on the third, eleven; on the fourth, ten; on the fifth, nine; on the sixth, eight; and on the seventh, seven; and on the eighth, but one. The Jews, in their 37
- 38. Misna, have atreatise called "Succa", or the "Tabernacle", in which they treat of this feast; and which contains various traditions, concerning their booths, their manner of living in them, and other rites and usages observed by them, during this festival: they are very particular about the measure and form, and covering of their booths; a booth might not be higher than twenty cubits, nor lower than ten hands' breadth; and its breadth might not be less than seven hands' breadth by seven; but it might he carried out as wide as they pleased (b), provided it had three sides: they might not cover their booths with anything, but what grew out of the earth, or was rooted up from thence; nor with anything that received uncleanness, or was of an ill smell, or anything that was fallen and faded (c): into these booths they brought their best goods, their best bedding, and all their drinking vessels, &c. and left their houses empty; for here was their fixed dwelling; they only occasionally went into their houses (d); for here they were obliged to dwell day and night, and eat all their meals, during the seven days of the feast; and however, it was reckoned praiseworthy, and he was accounted the most religious, who ate nothing out of his booth (e); they were indeed excused when it was rainy weather, but as soon as the rain was over, they were obliged to return again (f) and besides, their dwelling and sleeping, and eating and drinking, in their booths, there were various other rites which were performed by them; as particularly, the carrying of palm tree branches in their hands, or what they call the "Lulab"; which was made up of branches of palm tree, myrtle, and willow, bound up together in a bundle, which was carried in the right hand, and a pome citron in the left; and as they carried them, they waved them three times towards the several quarters of the world; and every day they went about the altar once, with these in their hands, saying the words in Psa_118:25, "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee, send now prosperity": and on the seventh day, they went about the altar seven times (g): also there were great illuminations in the temple; at the going out of the first day of the feast, they went down to the court of the women; they made a great preparation (i.e. as Bartenora explains it, they set benches round it, and set the women above, and the men below); and there were golden candlesticks there, and at the head of them four golden basins, and four ladders to every candlestick; and four young priests had four pitchers of oil, that held a hundred and twenty logs, which they put into each basin; and of the old breeches and girdles of the priests, they made wicks, and with them lighted them; and there was not a court in Jerusalem, which was not lighted with that light; and religious men, and men of good works, danced before them, with lighted torches in their hands, singing songs and hymns of praise (h); and this continued the six nights following (i): there was also, on everyone of these days, another custom observed; which was that of fetching water from the pool of Siloah, and pouring it with wine upon the altar, which was attended with great rejoicing; of which; see Gill on Joh_ 7:37, to which may be added, the music that was used during the performance of these rites; at the illumination in the court of the women, there were harps, psalteries, cymbals, and other instruments of music, playing all the while; and two priests with trumpets, who sounded, when they had the signal; and on every day, as they brought water from Siloah to the altar, they sounded with trumpets, and shouted; the great "Hallel", or hymn, was sung all the eight days, and the pipe was blown, sometimes five days, and sometimes six (k); and even on all the eight days; and the whole was a feast of rejoicing, according to Lev_23:40. HENRY, "II. The approach of the feast of tabernacles (Joh_7:2), one of the three solemnities which called for the personal attendance of all the males at Jerusalem; see the institution of it, Lev_23:34, etc., and the revival of it after a long disuse, Neh_ 8:14. It was intended to be both a memorial of the tabernacle state of Israel in the 38
- 39. wilderness, and afigure of the tabernacle state of God's spiritual Israel in this world. This feast, which was instituted so many hundred years before, was still religiously observed. Note, Divine institutions are never antiquated, nor go out of date, by length of time: nor must wilderness mercies ever be forgotten. But it is called the Jews' feast, because it was now shortly to be abolished, as a mere Jewish thing, and left to them that served the tabernacle. CALVIN, "2.Now a feast of the Jews was at hand. Though I do not affirm it, yet it is probable that this happened during the second year after Christ’s baptism. As to this feast, which the Evangelist mentions, it is not necessary at present to say much. For what purpose and use it was enjoined, Moses shows, (Leviticus 23:34.) It was, that by this annual ceremony the Jews might call to remembrance, that their fathers lived forty years in tabernacles, when they had no houses, that they might thus celebrate the grace of God displayed in their deliverance. We have formerly said that there were two reasons why Christ came to Jerusalem during this feast. One was, that, being subject to the Law, in order to redeem us all from its bondage, he wished to omit no part of the observation of it; and the other was, that, amidst a numerous and extraordinary assemblage of people, he had a better opportunity of advancing the Gospel. But now the Evangelist relates that Christ kept himself in retirement at Galilee, as if he did not intend to come to Jerusalem. LIGHTFOOT, "2. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. [The Jews' feast of Tabernacles.] Tisri. Let us draw down this month from its beginning to this feast of Tabernacles: 1. "The first day of the month Tisri was the beginning of the year, for stating the years, the intermissions of the seventh year, and the jubilees." Upon this day was the 'blowing of trumpets,' Leviticus 23:24; and persons were sent out to give notice of the beginning of the year. On this day began the year of the world 3960, in the middle of which year Christ was crucified. 2. The second day; observed also as holy by the Jews that were in Babylon, that they might be sure not to miss the beginning of the year. 3. A fast for the murder of Gedaliah: for so they expound those words, (Zech 8:19) "the fast of the seventh month." 4. This day was the high priest in the apartment to which he then betook himself from his own house, that he might inure himself by exercise to the rites of the day of Atonement approaching, and be ready and fitted for the service of that day. "Seven days before the day of Expiation they sequestered the chief priest from his own house, and shut him up into an apartment, substituting to him another priest, lest accidentally there should some sort of uncleanness befall him." 39
- 40. 5-8. All thoseseven days, after he betook himself from his own house to this chamber until the day of atonement, he sprinkles the blood of the daily sacrifice; offers the incense; snuffs the lamps; and brings the head and legs of the sacrifice to the altar, that he may be the more handy in his office upon the Expiation-day. In those seven days they send him some of the elders of the Beth Din, that they may read before him the office of that day. And at length those elders deliver him to the elders of the priesthood, who instruct him in handling the incense; and lead him into the apartment abtines; where they swear him, that he shall perform the service of that day according to rule, and not according to the Sadducees. 9. Whereas for the whole seven days they permitted him to eat according to his usual custom; the evening of this day approaching, they diet him more sparingly, lest a full stomach should occasion sleep. They spend the whole night waking; and when they find him nodding or inclining to sleepiness, then, either by words or some noise, they rouse and waken him. 10. The day of Expiation, a solemn fast. On this day began the year of jubilee, when it came about, Leviticus 25:9. And indeed this year, which is now under our consideration, was the twenty-eighth jubilee, reckoning from the seventh year of Joshua, wherein the land as subdued and rested from war, Joshua 11:23. 11-13. The multitude now gather together towards the feast of Tabernacles, that they might purify themselves before the feast, and prepare necessaries for it, viz. little tents, citrons, bundles of palms and willows, &c. But if any were defiled by the touch of a dead body, such were obliged to betake themselves to Jerusalem, before the feast of Expiation, that they might undergo seven days' purification before the feast of Tabernacles. 14. They were generally cut or trimmed on the vespers of the feast for the honour of it. 15. The first day of the feast of Tabernacles, a feast-day. Thirteen young bullocks offered, &c. Numbers 29:13, and so on. The preparation of the Chagigah. They lodge that night in Jerusalem. 16. The second day of the feast. Twelve young bullocks offered. The appearance of all the males in the court. 17. The third day. Eleven young bullocks. 18. The fourth day. Ten. 19. The fifth day. Nine. 20. The sixth day. Eight. 21. The seventh day. Seven. 40
- 41. 22. The eighthday. One young bullock offered. Upon all these days there was a pouring out of water upon the altar with wine (a thing not used at any other time); and for the sake of that, great joy, and singing, and dancing; such as was not all the year besides. "At the close of the first day of the feast, they went down into the Court of the Women, and there prepared a great stage." [That is, benches on which the women stood above, and the men below.] "Golden candlesticks were there" fixed to the walls: "over these were golden cups, to which were four ladders set; by which four of the younger priests went up, having bottles in their hands that contained a hundred and twenty logs, which they emptied into every cup. Of the rags of the garments and girdles of the priests, they made wicks to light those lamps; and there was not a street throughout all Jerusalem that did not shine with that light." "The religious and devout danced before them, having lighted torches in their hands, and sang songs and doxologies. The Levites with harps, psalteries, cymbals, and other instruments of music without number, stood upon those fifteen steps by which they went down from the Court of the Women, according to the fifteen psalms of degrees, and sang. Two priests also stood in the upper gate, which goes down from the Court of Israel to the Court of the Women, with two trumpets in their hands. When the cock crew [or the president gave his signal], the trumpets sounded: when they came to the tenth step, they sounded again: when they came to the court they sounded: when they came to the pavement they sounded: and so went on sounding the trumpets till they came to the east gate of the court. When they came thither, they turned their faces from the east to west, and said, 'Our fathers in this place, turning their backs upon the Temple, and their faces towards the east, worshipped the sun; but we turn our faces to God,'" &c. "The Rabbins have a tradition. Some of them while they were dancing said, 'Blessed be our youth, for that they have not made our old men ashamed.' These were the religious, and men of good works. And some said, 'Blessed be our old men, that have made atonement for our youth.' And both one and the other said, 'Blessed be he who hath not sinned; and he who hath, let it be forgiven him.'" As to the reason of this mirth and pleasantness, we shall see more in our notes on verse 38. BURKITT, “Verse 2 There were three great feasts which the Jews celebrated every year; namely, the feast of the passover, the feast of pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles; this last was observed in the month of September, after they had gathered in the fruits of the earth; whence it was also called the feast of ingathering: at this feast they went out of their houses, and dwelt in booths seven days, in remembrance of their living in tents or booths in the wilderness for forty years together, before they came to Canaan. Now the institution of this feast, being to call the Israelites to the remembrance of their former condition in the wilderness, teaches us how 41
- 42. prone and readywe are to forget our troubles, and the mercies wherewith our troubles have been sweetened, when once they are past and over. The Jews, when settled in Canaan, going out of their houses yearly, and dwelling in booths, did thereby testify, that present mercies had not made them forget former trials and troubles. 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. BARNES, "His brethren - See the notes at Mat_12:47. Thy disciples - The disciples which he had made when he was before in Judea, Joh_4:1-3. The works - The miracles. CLARKE, "His brethren - said - It is generally supposed that these were the children of the sisters of his mother Mary; but some of the ancients have stated that Joseph had several children by a former wife. See the account of the evangelist prefixed to this Gospel. No solid proof can be alleged against this; nor can we pretend to say that these were not the children of Joseph and Mary. Our blessed Lord, it is true, was her first born, while she was yet a virgin; but no man can prove that he was her last. It is an article of faith, in the Popish Church, to believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary; and in this respect, without any reason, several Protestants seem to be Papists. However this may be, it is certain that the Hebrews gave the name of brethren to all the relatives of a particular family. See Gen_31:32, Gen_31:46. That thy disciples also may see - That is, the disciples which he had made two years and six months before, at the Passover: Joh_2:23. GILL, "That is, the brethren of Jesus, as the Syriac and Persic versions express it; who were not James and Joses, and Simon and Judas, the sons of Alphaeus, the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary, so called, Mat_13:55, for some of these were of the number of the twelve; and all of them believers in Christ; whereas these his brethren were not. The Jew (l) therefore is mistaken, who supposed the above persons are here intended; and objects this their unbelief to Jesus, as if they knew him too well to give him any credit; whereas they did believe in him, and abode by him to the last; and some of them, if not all, suffered death for his sake. They therefore are to be understood of some distant relations of Mary or Joseph, that dwelt at Nazareth, or Capernaum, or in some of those parts; and the feast of tabernacles being at hand, they put him upon going up to it, being willing to be rid of him: saying, 42
- 43. depart hence: whichis the language of carnal men, who desire not the company of Christ, nor the knowledge of his ways; and like the Gergesenes, who preferred their swine to Christ, and desired him to depart out of their coasts: and go into Judea; among his most inveterate enemies, who sought to take away his life; and which doubtless they knew; which showed a quite different regard to him, from that of his true disciples, Joh_11:7, for which they give some plausible reasons: that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest: meaning not his twelve disciples, who were now with him, but the disciples he had made, and baptized in Judea, Joh_4:1. Or his disciples in the several parts of the land, who would all be at Jerusalem, at the feast of tabernacles; and so, should he go, would have an opportunity of seeing his miracles, and thereby be the more confirmed in the faith of him, HENRY, "III. Christ's discourse with his brethren, some of his kindred, whether by his mother or his supposed father is not certain; but they were such as pretended to have an interest in him, and therefore interposed to advise him in his conduct. And observe, 1. Their ambition and vain-glory in urging him to make a more public appearance than he did: “Depart hence,” said they, “and go into Judea (Joh_7:3), where thou wilt make a better figure than thou canst here.” (1.) They give two reasons for this advice: [1.] That it would be an encouragement to those in and about Jerusalem who had a respect for him; for, expecting his temporal kingdom, the royal seat of which they concluded must be at Jerusalem, they would have had the disciples there particularly countenanced, and thought the time he spent among his Galilean disciples wasted and thrown away, and his miracles turning to no account unless those at Jerusalem saw them. Or, “That thy disciples, all of them in general, who will be gathered at Jerusalem to keep the feast, may see thy works, and not, as here, a few at one time and a few at another.” [2.] That it would be for the advancement of his name and honour: There is no man that does any thing in secret if he himself seeks to be known openly. They took it for granted that Christ sought to make himself known, and therefore thought it absurd for him to conceal his miracles: “If thou do these things, if thou be so well able to gain the applause of the people and the approbation of the rulers by thy miracles, venture abroad, and show thyself to the world. Supported with these credentials, thou canst not fail of acceptance, and therefore it is high time to set up for an interest, and to think of being great.” JAMIESON, "His brethren said — (See on Mat_13:54-56). Depart ... into Judea, etc. — In Joh_7:5 this speech is ascribed to their unbelief. But as they were in the “upper room” among the one hundred and twenty disciples who waited for the descent of the Spirit after the Lord’s ascension (Act_ 1:14), they seem to have had their prejudices removed, perhaps after His resurrection. Indeed here their language is more that of strong prejudice and suspicion (such as near relatives, even the best, too frequently show in such cases), than from unbelief. There was also, probably, a tincture of vanity in it. “Thou hast many disciples in Judea; here in Galilee they are fast dropping off; it is not like one who advances the claims Thou dost to linger so long here, away from the city of our solemnities, where surely ‘the kingdom of our father David’ is to be set up: ‘seeking,’ 43
- 44. as Thou dost,‘to be known openly,’ those miracles of Thine ought not to be confined to this distant corner, but submitted at headquarters to the inspection of ‘the world.’” (See Psa_69:8, “I am become a stranger to my brethren, an alien unto my mother’s children!”) CALVIN, "3.His brethren therefore said to him. Under the word brethren the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity. He says that they mocked at Christ, because he shunned to be seen or known, and concealed himself in a mean and despised district of Judea. There is reason to doubt, however, if they were excited by ambition to desire that Christ should obtain celebrity. But granting this, still it is evident that they ridicule him, because they do not think that his conduct is rational and judicious; and they even upbraid him with folly, because, while he wishes to be something, he wants confidence in himself, and does not venture to appear openly before men. When they say,that thy disciples also may see, they mean not only his domestics, but all those whom he wished to procure out of the whole nation; for they add, “Thou wishest to be known by all, and yet thou concealest thyself.” COKE, “John 7:3-5. His brethren therefore said, &c.— By brethren we are to understand only cousins-german, or kinsfolk. As they did not believe on him, they condemned him in their own minds, and said that he acted altogether absurdly in passing so much of his time in Galilee and other remote corners of the country, while he pretended to so public a character as that of the Messiah: that it would be much more for his interest to make disciples in Judea and Jerusalem; and that he ought to work his miracles there in as public a manner as possible before the great and learned men of the nation, whosedecision in his favour would have great influence to induce others to believe on him. The word rendered openly, John 7:4. παρρησια, has a variety of senses: it signifies intrepidity, or fearlessness of danger;—freeness of speech, as opposite to restraint and reserve;—perspicuity or plainness of speech, divested of figures or allegories;—speaking in public, in the character of an orator; and lastly, authority, consisting in popularity, dignity of character, and civil power: perhaps the last sense is that which belongs to this verse. The present passage seems to be a very invidious and groundless insinuation, as if our Lord was actuated by ostentatious views; the contrary to which appeared so evidently from the whole of his conduct, that nothing but the meanest envy could suggest such a charge. It is astonishing that these relations of Christ, who must have had so many opportunities of seeing the glory both of his character and miracles, which last they here expressly acknowledge, should continue in unbelief. But they unhappily laid it down as a first principle, that the Messiah must be a temporal prince; and finding this mark of his mission wanting, and seeing more strongly than others could do, (who were not so intimately conversant with him,) his aversion to any such scheme, they would yield to no other proofs, and are, it is to be feared, on the fatal list of those who perished, as thousands now do, by opposing hypothesis to fact through worldly and carnal views of things. However, this circumstance serves to illustrate the character of ourSaviour; for had his relations been unanimous in owning his claims, it mighthave been 44
- 45. objected by infidelity,that the pretension which Jesus made to the character of Messiah was an imposture carried on by him and his family to deceive mankind; but when we find that he did not owe his success to their concurrence, but that they were rather obstacles in his way, all suspicion of collusion is removed, and the divinity of his mission shines forth with redoubled lustre. BURKITT, “Verse 3 Observe here, 1. The advice which Christ's brethren, that is, his kindness, gave him to render himself more famous and publicly known to the world: they advise him not to stay any longer in Galilee, an obscure place, but to go into the more noble and populous country of Judea, and work miracles there. But what high presumption was this in creatures to prescribe to Christ, and direct him whither to go, and what to do? Observe, 2. The reason they offer for their advice; For no man that seeketh to be known openly, will do any thing in secret: that is, "If thou wilt be thought to be the Messias by thy working miracles, do them not in a corner; but up to Jerusalem with us at this next feast, that the great men may take notice of them." Such as hunt after reputation themselves, and are ambitious of vain-glory and commendation from men, measure others, even the most holy and religious, by their own inclinations and dispositions: and wonder that others do not follow their measures for gaining reputation and respect. Thus did our Lord's brethren here: but the wonder ceases, if we consider the following words; Neither did his brethren believe in him. It is no new thing for the holiest servants of God to meet with great trials from their graceless friends. Christ met with this before us: his kindred, according to the flesh, not believing in him, were a sore trial and temptation to him. Some martyrs have confessed, that the hardest works they have met withal, have been to withstand the temptations, the tears, and entreaties, of their dearest and nearest relations. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” BARNES, "For there is no man ... - The brethren of Jesus supposed that he was influenced as others are. As it is a common thing among men to seek popularity, 45
- 46. so they supposedthat he would also seek it; and as a great multitude would be assembled at Jerusalem at this feast, they supposed it would be a favorable time to make himself known. What follows shows that this was said, probably, not in sincerity, but in derision; and to the other sufferings of our Lord was to be added, what is so common to Christians, derision from his relatives and friends on account of his pretensions. If our Saviour was derided, we also may expect to be by our relatives; and, having his example, we should be content to bear it. If thou do ... - It appears from this that they did not really believe that he performed miracles; or, if they did believe it, they did not suppose that he was the Christ. Yet it seems hardly credible that they could suppose that his miracles were real, and yet not admit that he was the Messiah. Besides, there is no evidence that these relatives had been present at any of his miracles, and all that they knew of them might have been from report. See the notes at Mar_3:21. On the word brethren in Joh_7:5, see the Mat_13:55 note, and Gal_1:19 note. CLARKE, "No man that doeth any thing in secret, etc. - They took it for granted that Christ was influenced by the same spirit which themselves felt; and that therefore he should use every opportunity of exhibiting himself to the public, that he might get into repute; and they hoped that a part of his honor would be reflected back upon themselves, as being his near relations. They seem to have said: “It is too little to employ thyself in working miracles in Galilee, in the country, and in small villages, among an ignorant and credulous people, from whom thou canst not get much credit: go to Jerusalem, the capital, and among the learned doctors, in the presence of the whole nation assembled at this feast, work thy miracles, and get thyself a name.” GILL, "For there is no man that doeth anything in secret,.... For so they reckoned his doing miracles in such a corner of the land, and in so obscure a place as Galilee: and he himself seeketh to be known openly; suggesting hereby, that Christ was an ambitious person, and sought popular applause, and honour and glory from men, when nothing was more foreign from him; see Joh_5:41. If thou do these things; for they question whether the miracles he wrought were real; and suspected that they were deceptions of the sight, and delusions; or at least they questioned their being done by him; and rather thought that they were done by diabolical influence, by Beelzebub the prince of devils: but if they were real ones, they advise him, saying, shew thyself to the world; or do these openly, and in the presence of the great men of the world; the princes of it, the rulers of the people, the chief priests and sanhedrim; and before all the males of Israel; who at this feast would come up from all parts of the land, and are for their multitude called the world: the reason of this their advice was, that if his miracles were real, and he was the person he would be thought to be, the doing of them before such, would gain him great credit and esteem; and if not, he might be detected by such numbers, and by men of such penetration as were among them. CALVIN, "4.If thou dost these things; that is, if thou aspirest to such greatness 46
- 47. that all mayapplaud thee, direct towards thee the eyes of all. And they add, show thyself to the world, using the word world, as contrasted with the small number of persons among whom he was spending his time without honor. We might also draw from it another meaning. “If thou dost these things, that is, since thou art endued with so great power as to procure reputation for thyself by miracles, do not throw them away; for all that has been given to thee by God thou spendest here to no purpose, because there are none to bear thee testimony, or to hold thee in just estimation.” Hence we perceive how great is the indolence of men in considering the works of God; for the relations of Christ would never have spoken in this manner, if they had not — as it were — trampled under foot the manifest proofs of his Divine power, which they ought to have beheld with the greatest admiration and reverence. What is here told us concerning Christ happens in daily experience, that the children of God suffer greater annoyance from their near relations than from strangers; for they are instruments of Satan which tempt, sometimes to ambition, and sometimes to avarice, those who desire to serve God purely and faithfully. But such Satans receive a vigorous repulse from Christ, who thus instructs us by his example, that we ought not to yield to the foolish wishes of brethren or relations. (179) LIGHTFOOT, "4. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. [In secret; openly.] these brethren of Christ, whoever they were, did not as yet believe; because they saw him live so obscure, and did not behave himself with that pomp and outward appearance which they expected in the Messiah. And therefore they persuade him to go into Judea, where he had baptized most disciples, John 3:22, that, upon the lustre of his miracles, he might shine with greater splendour and 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him. CLARKE, "Neither did his brethren believe in him - They did not receive him as the promised Messiah; but, having seen so many of his miracles, they could not but consider him as an eminent prophet. They supposed that, if he were the Messiah, he would wish to manifest himself as such to the world; and, because he did not do so, they did not believe that he was the salvation of Israel. GILL, "For neither did his brethren believe in him. At first they might take 47
- 48. to him, andembrace him as the Messiah, and expect he would set up a temporal kingdom; in which they might hope, on account of their relation to him, according to the flesh to enjoy great honours and privileges; but finding that he was not inclined to anything of that nature, and talked in a quite different way, they grew sick of him, and rejected him, as the Messiah; so, little regard is to be had, or confidence placed, in carnal descent from, or alliance to the best of men; as to Abraham, or any other true believer, if they have not the same grace, or the same faith as such have; and which comes not by blood, or natural generation, but by the free favour of God; for it matters not, if men have known Christ, or have been allied to him after the flesh, unless they are new creatures in him; they may be the one, and not the other; even the carnal brethren of Christ, and yet not believers in him; and it is only such who are so in a spiritual sense, that are regarded by him, Mat_12:49. HENRY, "(2.) One would not think there was any harm in this advice, and yet the evangelist noted it is an evidence of their infidelity: For neither did his brethren believe in him (Joh_7:5), if they had, they would not have said this. Observe, [1.] It was an honour to be of the kindred of Christ, but no saving honour; they that hear his word and keep it are the kindred he values. Surely grace runs in no blood in the world, when not in that of Christ's family. [2.] It was a sign that Christ did not aim at any secular interest, for then his kindred would have struck in with him, and he would have secured them first. [3.] There were those who were akin to Christ according to the flesh who did believe in him (three of the twelve were his brethren), and yet others, as nearly allied to him as they, did not believe in him. Many that have the same external privileges and advantages do not make the same use of them. But, (3.) What was there amiss in the advice which they gave him? I answer, [1.] It was a piece of presumption for them to prescribe to Christ, and to teach him what measures to take; it was a sign that they did not believe him able to guide them, when they did not think him sufficient to guide himself. [2.] They discovered a great carelessness about his safety, when they would have him go to Judea, where they knew the Jews sought to kill him. Those that believed in him, and loved him, dissuaded him from Judea, Joh_11:8. [3.] Some think they hoped that if his miracles were wrought at Jerusalem the Pharisees and rulers would try them, and discover some cheat in them, which would justify their unbelief. So. Dr. Whitby. [4.] Perhaps they were weary of his company in Galilee (for are not all these that speak Galileans?) and this was, in effect, a desire that he would depart out of their coasts. [5.] They causelessly insinuate that he neglected his disciples, and denied them such a sight of his works as was necessary to the support of their faith. [6.] They tacitly reproach him as mean-spirited, that he durst not enter the lists with the great men, nor trust himself upon the stage of public action, which, if he had any courage and greatness of soul, he would do, and not sneak thus and skulk in a corner; thus Christ's humility, and his humiliation, and the small figure which his religion has usually made in the world, have been often turned to the reproach of both him and it. [7.] They seem to question the truth of the miracles he wrought, in saying, “If thou do these things, if they will bear the test of a public scrutiny in the courts above, produce them there.” [8.] They think Christ altogether such a one as themselves, as subject as they to worldly policy, and as desirous as they to make a fair show in the flesh; whereas he sought not honour from men. [9.] Self was at the bottom of all; they hoped, if he would make himself as great as he might, they, being his kinsmen, should share in his honour, and have respect paid them for his sake. Note, First, Many carnal people go to public ordinances, to worship at the feast, only to show themselves, and all their care is to make a good appearance, to present themselves handsomely to the world. Secondly, Many that seem to seek Christ's honour do really therein seek their own, and make it serve a turn for themselves. 48
- 49. CALVIN, "5.For evenhis brethren did not believe in him. Hence we infer how small is the value of carnal relationship; for the Holy Spirit stamps with a perpetual mark of infamy the relations of Christ, because, though convinced by the testimonies of so many works, they did not even then believe. Therefore, whosoever wishes to be thought to be in Christ, as Paul says, let him be a new creature, (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15;) for they who dedicate themselves wholly to God obtain the place of father, and mother, and brethren to Christ, and all others he utterly disavows, (Matthew 12:50.) So much the more ridiculous is the superstition of Papists, who, disregarding everything else in the Virgin Mary, extol her only on the ground of relationship, bestowing on her the title of the Mother of Christ, (180) as if Christ himself had not reproved the woman who exclaimed from the midst of the crowd, Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that suckled thee; for Christ replied, Nay, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, (Luke 11:27.) 6 Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. BARNES, "My time ... - The proper time for my going up to the feast. We know not why it was not yet a proper time for him to go. It might be because if he went then, in their company, while multitudes were going, it would have too much the appearance of parade and ostentation; it might excite too much notice, and be more likely to expose him to the envy and opposition of the rulers. Your time ... - It makes no difference to you when you go up. Your going will excite no tumult or opposition; it will not attract attention, and will not endanger your lives. Jesus therefore chose to go up more privately, and to remain until the multitude had gone. They commonly traveled to those feasts in large companies, made up of most of the families in the neighborhood. See the notes at Luk_2:44. CLARKE, "My time is not yet come - It is probable our Lord meant no more than this, that he had some business to transact before he could go to Jerusalem; but his brethren, having nothing to hinder them might set off immediately. Others think he speaks of his passion: My time of suffering is not yet come: as ye are still in friendship with the world, ye need not be under any apprehension of danger: ye may go when ye please. The first sense I think is the best. GILL, "Then Jesus said unto them,.... In answer to their solicitations and 49
- 50. arguments used withhim, to go up to the feast: my time is not yet come; meaning, not the time of his death, or of his exaltation and glorification, or of the showing of himself forth unto the world; though all this was true; but of his going up to this feast; as appears from Joh_7:8; but your time is always ready; intimating, they might go at any time; their lives were not in any danger, as his was, and had nothing to consult about the preservation of them; it was all one to them when they went up, whether before the feast, that they might be ready for it, or at the beginning, middle, or end of it, as to any notice that would be taken of them, unless they should be guilty of an omission of their duty; but not on any other account; which was not his case. HENRY 6-8, "2. The prudence and humility of our Lord Jesus, which appeared in his answer to the advice his brethren gave him, Joh_7:6-8. Though there were so many base insinuations in it, he answered them mildly. Note, Even that which is said without reason should be answered without passion; we should learn of our Master to reply with meekness even to that which is most impertinent and imperious, and, where it is easy to find much amiss, to seem not to see it, and wink at the affront. They expected Christ's company with them to the feast, perhaps hoping he would bear their charges: but here, (1.) He shows the difference between himself and them, in two things: - [1.] His time was set, so was not theirs: My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. Understand it of the time of his going up to the feast. It was an indifferent thing to them when they went, for they had nothing of moment to do either where they were, to detain them there, or where they were going, to hasten them thither; but every minute of Christ's time was precious, and had its own particular business allotted to it. He had some work yet to do in Galilee before he left the country: in the harmony of the gospels betwixt this motion made by his kindred and his going up to this feast comes in the story of his sending forth the seventy disciples (Luk_10:1, etc.), which was an affair of very great consequence; his time is not yet, for that must be done first. Those who live useless lives have their time always ready; they can go and come when they please. But those whose time is filled up with duty will often find themselves straitened, and they have not yet time for that which others can do at any time. Those who are made the servants of God, as all men are, and who have made themselves the servants of all, as all useful men have, must not expect not covet to be masters of their own time. The confinement of business is a thousand times better than the liberty of idleness. or, it may be meant of the time of his appearing publicly at Jerusalem; Christ, who knows all men and all things, knew that the best and most proper time for it would be about the middle of the feast. We, who are ignorant and short-sighted, are apt to prescribe to him, and to think he should deliver his people, and so show himself now. The present time is our time, but he is fittest to judge, and, it may be, his time is not yet come; his people are not yet ready for deliverance, nor his enemies ripe for ruin; let us therefore wait with patience for his time, for all he does will be most glorious in its season. [2.] His life was sought, so was not theirs, Joh_7:7. They, in showing themselves to the world, did not expose themselves: “The world cannot hate you, for you are of the world, its children, its servants, and in with its interests; and no doubt the world will love its own;” see Joh_15:19. Unholy souls, whom the holy God cannot love, the world that lies in wickedness cannot hate; but Christ, in showing himself to the world, laid himself open to the greatest danger; for me it hateth. Christ was not only slighted, as inconsiderable in the world (the world knew him not), but hated, as if he had been 50
- 51. hurtful to theworld; thus ill was he requited for his love to the world: reigning sin is a rooted antipathy and enmity to Christ. But why did the world hate Christ? What evil had he done to it? Had he, like Alexander, under colour of conquering it, laid it waste? “No, but because” (saith he) “I testify of it, that the works of it are evil.” Note, First, The works of an evil world are evil works; as the tree is, so are the fruits: it is a dark world, and an apostate world, and its works are works of darkness and rebellion. Secondly, Our Lord Jesus, both by himself and by his ministers, did and will both discover and testify against the evil works of this wicked world. Thirdly, It is a great uneasiness and provocation to the world to be convicted of the evil of its works. It is for the honour of virtue and piety that those who are impious and vicious do not care for hearing of it, for their own consciences make them ashamed of the turpitude there is in sin and afraid of the punishment that follows after sin. Fourthly, Whatever is pretended, the real cause of the world's enmity to the gospel is the testimony it bears against sin and sinners. Christ's witnesses by their doctrine and conversation torment those that dwell on the earth, and therefore are treated so barbarously, Rev_11:10. But it is better to incur the world's hatred, by testifying against its wickedness, than gain its good-will by going down the stream with it. JAMIESON 6-10, "My time is not yet come — that is, for showing Himself to the world. your time is always ready — that is “It matters little when we go up, for ye have no great plans in life, and nothing hangs upon your movements. With Me it is otherwise; on every movement of Mine there hangs what ye know not. The world has no quarrel with you, for ye bear no testimony against it, and so draw down upon yourselves none of its wrath; but I am here to lift up My voice against its hypocrisy, and denounce its abominations; therefore it cannot endure Me, and one false step might precipitate its fury on its Victim’s head before the time. Away, therefore, to the feast as soon as it suits you; I follow at the fitting moment, but ‘My time is not yet full come.’” CALVIN, "6.My time is not yet come. There are some who erroneously interpret this as referring to the time of his death, for it denotes the time of his setting out on the journey to go to the feast. (181) He assures them that, in this respect, he differs from his relations. They may freely and without danger appear, at all hours, before the world, because the world is friendly and favorable to them; but he is in dread of his person, and justly, because the world is his mortal enemy. By these words he means that they do wrong in giving advice on a matter which they do not understand. BURKITT, “Verse 6 Here we have Christ's answer and refusal returned to his brethren's desire: he tells them, That they might go up to the feast of Jerusalem, when they pleased, and as publicly; but it was not fit for him to appear so publicly, because the doctrine which he taught was odious to the pharisees, and the prevailing power at Jerusalem: he therefore resolves to go up privately, that he might not stir up the jealousy of the sanhedrim: but for them, they were out of danger of the world's hatred: for, being the children of it, the world would love its own; but him it hated because he reproved its sins. 51
- 52. Where we mayremark, That though our Lord Jesus Christ was most freely willing, and ready, to lay down his life for sinners, when the time was come that God the Father called for it; yet he would not expose his life to hazard and danger unseasonalby. Teaching us by his example, as not to decline sufferings when God calls us to them: so not to tempt God by running into them, when we may inoffensively avoid them. Your time is always ready, mine is not yet come. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. BARNES, "The world cannot hate you - You profess no principles in opposition to the world. You do not excite its envy, or rouse against you the civil rulers. As you possess the same spirit and principles with the men of the world, they cannot be expected to hate you. I testify of it - I bear witness against it. This was the main cause of the opposition which was made to him. He proclaimed that men were depraved, and the result was that they hated him. We may expect that all who preach faithfully against the wickedness of men will excite opposition. Yet this is not to deter us from doing our duty, and, after the example of Jesus, from proclaiming to men their sins, whatever may be the result. CLARKE, "The world cannot hate you - The Jews will not persecute you, because ye are in their sentiments and interests. Ye also expect a worldly Messiah. But me it hateth - Because I condemn its injustice, its pride, its ambition, and its maxims, by my life and doctrine. It is very likely that the term world means here the Jewish people only: this is an acceptation in which ᆓ κοσµος frequently occurs in this Gospel. See on John 17 (note). GILL, "The world cannot hate you,.... Because they were of the world, belonged to it; they were like unto it, and every like loves its like; and they were the world's own, and therefore instead of being hated, were loved by it; and they walked according to the course of it; and wicked men not only take pleasure in sin, but in them that do it: but me it hateth; though without a cause; that is, without a just cause, or reason; a cause there was, and it follows: because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil; even those works of it, which were reckoned good works; Christ bore his testimony of these, that they were 52
- 53. evil; being doneeither not according to the command of God, but the traditions of the elders; or not from a right principle, as of faith and love, nor to a right end, as the glory of God; but only to be seen of men: and very severely did he inveigh against the pride, covetousness, hypocrisy, and uncleanness of the Scribes and Pharisees: and so he continued to do, and this drew upon him their hatred and ill will. HENRY, "His life was sought, so was not theirs, Joh_7:7. They, in showing themselves to the world, did not expose themselves: “The world cannot hate you, for you are of the world, its children, its servants, and in with its interests; and no doubt the world will love its own;” see Joh_15:19. Unholy souls, whom the holy God cannot love, the world that lies in wickedness cannot hate; but Christ, in showing himself to the world, laid himself open to the greatest danger; for me it hateth. Christ was not only slighted, as inconsiderable in the world (the world knew him not), but hated, as if he had been hurtful to the world; thus ill was he requited for his love to the world: reigning sin is a rooted antipathy and enmity to Christ. But why did the world hate Christ? What evil had he done to it? Had he, like Alexander, under colour of conquering it, laid it waste? “No, but because” (saith he) “I testify of it, that the works of it are evil.” Note, First, The works of an evil world are evil works; as the tree is, so are the fruits: it is a dark world, and an apostate world, and its works are works of darkness and rebellion. Secondly, Our Lord Jesus, both by himself and by his ministers, did and will both discover and testify against the evil works of this wicked world. Thirdly, It is a great uneasiness and provocation to the world to be convicted of the evil of its works. It is for the honour of virtue and piety that those who are impious and vicious do not care for hearing of it, for their own consciences make them ashamed of the turpitude there is in sin and afraid of the punishment that follows after sin. Fourthly, Whatever is pretended, the real cause of the world's enmity to the gospel is the testimony it bears against sin and sinners. Christ's witnesses by their doctrine and conversation torment those that dwell on the earth, and therefore are treated so barbarously, Rev_11:10. But it is better to incur the world's hatred, by testifying against its wickedness, than gain its good-will by going down the stream with it. CALVIN, "7.The world cannot hate you. When he says that the world cannot hate them, he reproves them for being altogether carnal; for peace with the world can only be purchased by a wicked consent to vices and to every kind of wickedness. But me it hateth, because I testify. The world here denotes men who are not born again, who retain their natural disposition; and accordingly he declares that all who have not yet been regenerated by the Spirit are Christ’s adversaries. And why? Because he condemns their works And if we acquiesce in the decision of Christ, we are under the necessity of acknowledging that the whole nature of man is so sinful and wicked, that nothing right, or sincere, or good, can proceed from it. This is the only reason why any of us is pleased with himself, so long as he is in his natural state. Because I testify of it, that its works are evil. When Christ says that the world hateth him on this account, he means that the Gospel cannot be faithfully preached without summoning the whole world, as guilty, to the judgment-seat of God, that flesh and blood may thus be crushed and reduced to nothing, according to that saying, 53
- 54. When the Spiritshall come, he will reprove the world of sin, (John 16:8.) We learn from it also, that so great is the pride natural to men, that they flatter and applaud themselves in their vices; for they would not kindle into rage, when they are reproved, were it not that they are blinded by excessive love of themselves, and on that account flatter themselves in their sins. Even among the vices of men, the chief and most dangerous is pride and arrogance. The Holy Spirit alone softens us, so as to endure reproofs patiently, and thus to offer ourselves willingly to be slain by the sword of the Church. 8 You go to the festival. I am not[b] going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” BARNES, "I go not up yet - Jesus remained until about the middle of the feast, Joh_7:14. That is, he remained about four days after his brethren had departed, or until the mass of the people had gone up, so that his going might excite no attention, and that it might not be said he chose such a time to excite a tumult. We have here a signal instance of our Lord’s prudence and opposition to parade. Though it would have been lawful for him to go up at that time, and though it would have been a favorable period to make himself known, yet he chose to forego these advantages rather than to afford an occasion of envy and jealousy to the rulers, or to appear even to excite a tumult among the people. CLARKE, "I go not up yet unto this feast - Porphyry accuses our blessed Lord of falsehood, because he said here, I will not go to this feast, and yet afterwards he went; and some interpreters have made more ado than was necessary, in order to reconcile this seeming contradiction. To me the whole seems very simple and plain. Our Lord did not say, I will not go to this feast; but merely, I go not yet, ουπω, or am not going, i.e. at present; because, as he said Joh_7:6, and repeats here, his time was not yet come - he had other business to transact before he could go. And it is very likely that his business detained him in Galilee till the feast was half over: for we do not find him at Jerusalem till the middle of the feast, Joh_7:14, i.e. till the feast had been begun four days. He might also be unwilling to go at that time, there being such a great concourse of people on the road to Jerusalem, and his enemies might say that he had availed himself of this time and multitude in order to excite sedition. 54
- 55. GILL, "Go weup unto this feast,.... Suggesting, that he would not have them stay for him, or hinder themselves on his account: he encourages them to go up, and observe this festival; for the ceremonial law was not yet abolished; and though they were carnal men, and did not understand what it typified: and so unregenerate persons ought to attend on the outward means, as the hearing of the word, &c. though they do not understand it; it may be God may make use of it, for the enlightening of their minds; and blessed are they that wait at Wisdom's gates, and there find Christ, and life and salvation by him: I go not up yet unto this feast; this clause, in one of Beza's copies, is wholly left out; and in some, the word "this" is not read; and in others it is read, "I go not up unto this feast"; leaving out the word "yet"; and so read the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions; and the Persic version only, "I do not go up"; which occasioned Porphyry, that great enemy of Christianity, to reproach Christ, as guilty of inconstancy, or of an untruth, since he afterwards did go up: but in almost all the ancient copies the word is read; and so it is by Chrysostom and Nonnus; and to the same sense the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "I do not go up now to this feast"; that is, just at that very time, that very day or hour: which is entirely consistent with what is afterwards said, for my time is not yet full come; not to die, or to be glorified, but to go up to the feast. HENRY, "(2.) He dismisses them, with a design to stay behind for some time in Galilee (Joh_7:8): Go you up to this feast, I go not up yet. [1.] He allows their going to the feast, though they were carnal and hypocritical in it. Note, Even those who go not to holy ordinances with right affections and sincere intentions must not be hindered nor discouraged from going; who knows but they may be wrought upon there? [2.] He denies them his company when they went to the feast, because they were carnal and hypocritical. Those who go to ordinances for ostentation, or to serve some secular purpose, go without Christ, and will speed accordingly. How sad is the condition of that man, though he reckon himself akin to Christ, to whom he saith, “Go up to such an ordinance, Go pray, Go hear the word, Go receive the sacrament, but I go not up with thee? Go thou and appear before God, but I will not appear for thee,” as Exo_33:1-3. But, if the presence of Christ go not with us, to what purpose should we go up? Go you up, I go not up. When we are going to, or coming fRom. solemn ordinances, it becomes us to be careful what company we have and choose, and to avoid that which is vain and carnal, lest the coal of good affections be quenched by corrupt communication. I go not up yet to this feast; he does not say, I will not go up at all, but not yet. There may be reasons for deferring a particular duty, which yet must not be wholly omitted or laid aside; see Num_9:6-11. The reason he gives is, My time is not yet fully come. Note, Our Lord Jesus is very exact and punctual in knowing and keeping his time, and, as it was the time fixed, so it was the best time. LIGHTFOOT, "8. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. [I go not up yet unto this feast.] That passage in St. Luke, chapter 9:51, "When the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" must have relation to this story; as will be very evident to any one that will study the harmony of the gospel; especially if they observe, that this 55
- 56. evangelist tells usof two journeys after this which Christ took to Jerusalem, viz. chapter 13:22, to the feast of the Dedication; and chapter 17:11, to the feast of the Passover. He had absented himself a long time from Judea, upon the account of those snares that had been laid for him; but now, when he had not above six months to live and converse in this world, he determines resolutely to give all due manifestations of himself, both in Judea, and wherever else he should happen to come. And for this cause he sent those seventy disciples before his face, into every city and place where he himself would come. Luke 10:1. When therefore he tells his unbelieving brethren, I go not up yet, &c., he does not deny that he would go at all, but only that he would not go yet: partly, because he had no need of those previous cleansings which they had, if they had touched any dead body; partly, that he might choose the most fit season for the manifestation of himself. But if we take notice how Christ was received into Jerusalem five days before the Passover, with those very rites and solemnities that were used at the feast of Tabernacles, viz. "with branches of palms," &c. chapter 12:13, these words may seem to relate to that time; and so the word feast might not denote the individual feast that was now instant, but the kind of feast, or festival-time. As if he had said, "You would have me go up to this feast, that I may be received by my disciples with applause; but I do not go up to that kind of festivity; the time appointed for that affair is not yet come." 9 After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee. GILL, "When he had said these words unto them,.... Had exhorted them to go up to the feast, and told them that he should not go yet, and the reason of it: he abode still in Galilee; and went not up with his brethren, nor at all at present; showing hereby a firmness and resolution of mind, not using lightness of speech; and his words being not yea, and nay, but all of a piece, and by which he abode. HENRY, "3. Christ's continuance in Galilee till his full time was come, Joh_7:9. He, saying these things to them (tauta de eipōn) abode still in Galilee; because of this discourse he continued there; for, (1.) He would not be influenced by those who advised him to seek honour from men, nor go along with those who put him upon making a figure; he would not seem to countenance the temptation. (2.) He would not depart from his own purpose. He had said, upon a clear foresight and mature deliberation, that he would not go up yet to this feast, and therefore he abode still in Galilee. It becomes the followers of Christ thus to be steady, and not to use lightness. 4. His going up to the feast when his time was come. Observe, (1.) When he went: When his brethren were gone up. He would not go up with them, lest they should 56
- 57. make a noiseand disturbance, under pretence of showing him to the world; whereas it agreed both with the prediction and with his spirit not to strive nor cry, nor let his voice be heard in the streets, Isa_42:2. But he went up after them. We may lawfully join in the same religious worship with those with whom we should yet decline an intimate acquaintance and converse; for the blessing of ordinances depends upon the grace of God, and not upon the grace of our fellow-worshippers. His carnal brethren went up first, and then he went. Note, In the external performances of religion it is possible that formal hypocrites may get the start of those that are sincere. Many come first to the temple who are brought thither by vain-glory, and go thence unjustified, as he, Luk_18:11. It is not, Who comes first? that will be the question, but, Who comes fittest? If we bring our hearts with us, it is no matter who gets before us. (2.) How he went, ōs en kruptō - as if he were hiding himself: not openly, but as it were in secret, rather for fear of giving offence than of receiving injury. He went up to the feast, because it was an opportunity of honouring God and doing good; but he went up as it were in secret, because he would not provoke the government. Note, Provided the work of God be done effectually, it is best done when done with least noise. The kingdom of God need not come with observation, Luk_17:20. We may do the work of God privately, and yet not do it deceitfully. CALVIN, "9.He remained in Galilee. The Evangelist here places before our eyes the cousins of our Lord Jesus Christ, (182) who, in compliance with ordinary customs, pretend to worship God, but yet are on friendly terms with unbelievers, and therefore walk without any alarm. On the other hand, he places before our eyes Christ himself, who hated by the world, comes secretly into the city, till the necessity arising out of his office compels him to show himself openly. But if there be nothing more wretched than to be separated from Christ, accursed be that peace which costs so high a price as to leave and abandon the Son of God. (183) 10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. CLARKE, "But when his brethren were gone up - Having despatched his business, and the concourse of people being now past, he went up also. GILL, "But when his brethren were gone up,.... To the feast, as all the Oriental versions read, from the next clause: then went he also up unto the feast; the Ethiopic version reads, "he went up that day"; which is very likely, and no ways contrary to what is said, in Joh_7:14; for 57
- 58. though he didnot go up to the temple to teach, till the middle of the feast, he might be up at the feast sooner: and according to the law, it was necessary that he should be there on the first and second days, and keep the Chagigah, and make his appearance in the court; though there was a provision made for such that failed, the canon runs thus (m); "he that does not make his festival sacrifice, on the first good day of the feast, may make it throughout the whole feast, and on the last good day of the feast; and if the feast passes, and he has not made the festival sacrifice, he is not obliged to a compensation; and of this it is said, Ecc_1:15, "That which is crooked cannot be made straight"; &c.'' But however, whatever day he went on, he went up not openly, but as it were in secret: as he was made under the law, and came to fulfil all righteousness, it was necessary that he should observe every precept, and fulfil the whole law: and therefore he went up to this feast; yet in the most private manner, that he might escape those who would lie in wait for him, and sought to kill him: and this he did, not through fear of death, but because his hour was not yet come; this was not the feast he was to suffer at, but the passover following; which when near at hand, he went up to it, and entered Jerusalem in the most public manner. BARCLAY, "REACTIONS TO JESUS (John 7:10-13) 7:10-13 When his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he too went up, not openly, but, as it were, in secret. So the Jews searched for him at the festival, and kept saying: "Where is he?" And there was many a heated argument about him among the crowds. Some said: "He is a good man." But others said: "No; far from it; he is leading the people astray." But no one spoke about him openly because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus chose his own moment and went to Jerusalem. Here we have the reactions of the people when they were confronted with him. Now one of the supreme interests of this chapter is the number of such reactions of which it tells; and we collect them all here. (i) There was the reaction of his brothers (John 7:1-5). It was really a reaction of half-amused and teasing contempt. They did not really believe in him; they were really egging him on, as you might egg on a precocious boy. We still meet that attitude of tolerant contempt to Christianity. George Bernanos in The Diary of a Country Priest tells how the country priest used sometimes to be invited to dinner at the big aristocratic house of his parish. The owner would encourage him to speak and argue before his guests, but he did it with that half-amused, half-contemptuous tolerance with which he might encourage a child to show off or a dog to display his tricks. There are still people who forget that Christian faith is a matter of life and death. (ii) There was the sheer hatred of the Pharisees and of the chief priests (John 7:7; John 7:19). They did not hate him for the same reason, because in point of fact they hated each other. The Pharisees hated him because he drove through their 58
- 59. petty rules andregulations. If he was right, they were wrong; and they loved their own little system more than they loved God. The Sadducees were a political party. They did not observe the Pharisaic rules and regulations. Nearly all the priests were Sadducees. They collaborated with their Roman masters, and they had a very comfortable and even luxurious time. They did not want a Messiah; for when he came their political set-up would disintegrate and their comfort would be gone. They hated Jesus because he interfered with the vested interests which were dearer to them than God. It is still possible for a man to love his own little system more than he loves God, and to place his own vested interests above the challenge of the adventurous and the sacrificial way. (iii) Both these reactions issued in the consuming desire to eliminate Jesus (John 7:30; John 7:32). When a man's ideals clash with those of Christ, either he must submit or he must seek to destroy him. Hitler would have no Christians about him, for the Christian owed a higher loyalty than loyalty to the state. A man is faced with a simple alternative if he allows Christ into his orbit. He can either do what he likes or he can do what Christ likes; and if he wishes to go on doing as he likes, he must seek to eliminate Christ. (iv) There was arrogant contempt (John 7:15; John 7:47-49). What right had this man to come and lay down the law? Jesus had no cultural background; he had no training in the rabbinic schools and colleges. Surely no intelligent person was going to listen to him? Here was the reaction of academic snobbery. Many of the greatest poets and writers and evangelists have had no technical qualifications at all. That is not for one moment to say that study and culture and education are to be despised and abandoned; but we must have a care never to wave a man away and consign him to the company who do not matter simply because he lacks the technical equipment of the schools. (v) There was the reaction of the crowd. This was twofold. First, there was the reaction of interest (John 7:11). The one thing impossible when Jesus really invades life is indifference. Apart from anything else, Jesus is the most interesting figure in the world. Second, there was the reaction of discussion (John 7:12; John 7:43). They talked about Jesus; they put forward their views about him; they debated about him. There is both value and danger here. The value is that nothing helps us clarify our own opinions like pitting them against someone else's. Mind sharpens mind as iron sharpens iron. The danger is that religion can so very easily come to be regarded as a matter for argument and debate and discussion, a series of fascinating questions, about which a man may talk for a lifetime--and do nothing. There is all the difference in the world between being an argumentative amateur theologian, willing to talk until the stars go out, and a truly religious person, who has passed from talking about Christ to knowing him. VERDICTS ON JESUS (John 7:10-13 continued) In this chapter there is a whole series of verdicts on Jesus. 59
- 60. (i) There isthe verdict that he was a good man (John 7:12). That verdict is true, but it is not the whole truth. It was Napoleon who made the famous remark: "I know men, and Jesus Christ is more than a man." Jesus was indeed truly man; but in him was the mind of God. When he speaks it is not one man speaking to another; if that were so we might argue about his commands. When he speaks it is God speaking to men; and Christianity means not arguing about his commands, but accepting them. (ii) There is the verdict that he was a prophet (John 7:40). That too is true. The prophet is the forth-teller of the will of God, the man who has lived so close to God that he knows his mind and purposes. That is true of Jesus; but there is this difference. The prophet says: "Thus saith the Lord." His authority is borrowed and delegated. His message is not his own. Jesus says: "I say unto you." He has the right to speak, not with a delegated authority, but with his own. (iii) There is the verdict that he was a deluded madman (John 7:20). It is true that either Jesus is the only completely sane person in the world or he was mad. He chose a Cross when he might have had power. He was the Suffering Servant when he might have been the conquering king. He washed the feet of his disciples when he might have had men kneeling at his own feet. He came to serve when he could have subjected the world to servitude. It is not common sense that the words of Jesus give us, but uncommon sense. He turned the world's standards upside down, because into a mad world he brought the supreme sanity of God. (iv) There is the verdict that he was a seducer. The Jewish authorities saw in him one who was leading men away from true religion. He was accused of every crime against religion in the calendar--of being a Sabbath-breaker, of being a drunkard and a glutton, of having the most disreputable friends, of destroying orthodox religion. It is quite clear that, if we prefer our idea of religion to his, he will certainly appear a seducer--and it is one of the hardest things in the world for any man to do to admit that he is wrong. (v) There is the verdict that he was a man of courage (John 7:26). No one could ever doubt his sheer courage. He had the moral courage to defy convention and be different. He had the physical courage that could bear the most terrible pain. He had the courage to go on when his family abandoned him, and his friends forsook him, and one of his own circle betrayed him. Here we see him courageously entering Jerusalem when to enter it was to enter the lions' den. He "feared God so much that he never feared the face of any man." (vi) There is the verdict that he had a most dynamic personality (John 7:46). The verdict of the officers who were sent to arrest him and came back empty-handed was that never had any man spoken like this. Julian Duguid tells how he once voyaged on the same Atlantic liner as Sir Wilfred Grenfell, and he says that when Grenfell came into a room you could tell it even if you had your back to him, for a wave of vitality emanated from him. When we think of how this Galilaean carpenter faced the highest in the land and dominated them until it was they who were on trial and not he, we are bound to admit that he was at 60
- 61. least one ofthe supreme personalities in history. The picture of a gentle, anaemic Jesus will not do. From him flowed a power that sent those despatched to arrest him back in empty-handed bewilderment. (vii) There is the verdict that he was the Christ, the Anointed One of God. Nothing less will do. It. is the plain fact that Jesus does not fit into any of the available human categories; only the category of the divine will do. Before we leave the general study of this chapter there are three other reactions to Jesus that we must note. (i) There was the crowd's reaction of fear (John 7:13). They talked about him but they were afraid to talk too loud. The word that John uses for their talking is an onomatopoeic word--that is, a word which imitates the sound of what it describes. It is the word goggusmos (Greek #1112) (two g's in Greek are pronounced "ng"). The King James Version translates it murmuring; the Revised Standard Version, muttering. It indicates a kind of growling, discontented undertone. It is the word used for the grumbling of the children of Israel in the wilderness when they complained against Moses. They muttered the complaints they were afraid to utter out loud. Fear can keep a man from making a clarion call of his faith and can turn it into an indistinct mutter. The Christian should never be afraid to tell the world in ringing tones that he believes in Christ. (ii) The reaction of a certain number of the crowd was belief (John 7:31). These were the men and women who could not deny the evidence of their own eyes. They heard what Jesus said; they saw what he did; they were confronted with his dynamism; and they believed. If a man rids himself of prejudice and fear, he is bound in the end to finish in belief. (iii) The reaction of Nicodemus was to defend Jesus (John 7:50). In that council of the Jewish authorities his was the lone voice raised in defence. There lies the duty of every one of us. Ian Maclaren, author of Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush, used to tell students when they preached: "Speak a good word for Jesus Christ." We live today in a world which is hostile to Christianity in many ways and in many places, but the strange thing is that the world was never more ready to talk about Christ and to discuss religion. We live in a generation when every one of us can earn the royal title, "Defender of the Faith." It is the privilege that God has given us that we can all be advocates and defenders of Christ in face of the criticism --and sometimes the mockery--of men. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. How our blessed Saviour, who came to fulfil the law, goes to Jerusalem at the Jewish feast, according to the command of God, Three times a year shall all thy males appear before me. Exodus 23:17 Christ being made under the law, sheweth a punctual obedience to the law, and fulfilled it in his own person. Observe, 2. The different opinions which the Jews at Jerusalem do express concerning our Saviour; some allowing him the charitable character of being a 61
- 62. good man; otherstraducing him as being a deceiver of the people. Our dear Lord, we see, when here on earth, passed through evil report and good report. Is it any wonder to find the friends of Christ branded with infamy and reproach, when Christ himself passes under the infamous character of a deceiver of the people? Some allowed him to be a good man; but others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people. COFFMAN, “JESUS GOES UP TO THE FEAST People from all over Palestine were at the feast, including, no doubt, many from Galilee who had witnessed the marvels there; and, besides, it is certain that many still remembered the healing of the man at Bethesda, over a year earlier. This strong favorable attitude toward Jesus among the populace was balanced by the hatred of the leaders, whose plot to kill the Lord was known; and, through fear, many considered it unsafe to speak of the Lord openly. As it were in secret ... Friends of Jesus would have aided his quiet and unobtrusive entrance into the city; but it must not be thought that Jesus was, in any sense, hiding from the authorities. He was determined to go just as far as possible without precipitating a premature crisis; and, in such a design, the time factor was all-important. Three and one-half days was not enough for the Pharisees to accomplish their purpose of killing him. 11 Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?” CLARKE, "Then the Jews sought him - By Jews here are to be understood the scribes, Pharisees, and rulers of the people, and not the inhabitants of the province of Judea. It appears, from the following verses, that many of the people were prejudiced in his favor, but they dared not to own it publicly for fear of the Jews, i.e. for fear of the rulers of the people. GILL, "Then the Jews sought him at the feast,.... Some to take him and kill him, and others to hear his doctrine, and see his miracles: for all expected him at the feast, knowing it was always his custom, as it was his duty, as an Israelite, to attend at it: and said, where is he? not naming his name; either through contempt, which 62
- 63. might be thecase of the far greater part; or through fear of the Jews; or because that he was so well known. HENRY, "5. The great expectation that there was of him among the Jews at Jerusalem, Joh_7:11-14. Having formerly come up to the feasts, and signalized himself by the miracles he wrought, he had made himself the subject of much discourse and observation. (1.) They could not but think of him (Joh_7:11): The Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [1.] The common people longed to see him there, that they might have their curiosity gratified with the sight of his person and miracles. They did not think it worth while to go to him into Galilee, though if they had they would not have lost their labour, but they hoped the feast would bring him to Jerusalem, and then they should see him. If an opportunity of acquaintance with Christ come to their door, they can like it well enough. They sought him at the feast. When we attend upon God in his holy ordinances, we should seek Christ in them, seek him at the gospel feasts. Those who would see Christ at a feast must seek him there. Or, [2.] Perhaps it was his enemies that were thus waiting an opportunity to seize him, and, if possible, to put an effectual stop to his progress. They said, Where is he? pou esin ekeinos - where is that fellow? Thus scornfully and contemptibly do they speak of him. When they should have welcomed the feast as an opportunity of serving God, they were glad of it as an opportunity of persecuting Christ. Thus Saul hoped to slay David at the new moon, 1Sa_20:27. Those who seek opportunity to sin in solemn assemblies for religious worship profane God's ordinances to the last degree, and defy him upon his own ground; it is like striking within the verge of the court. JAMIESON 11-13, "Jews — the rulers. sought him — for no good end. Where is He? — He had not been at Jerusalem for probably a year and a half. CALVIN, "11.The Jews therefore sought him. Here we ought to consider what was the condition of the Church. For the Jews, at that time, gaped for the promised redemption like hungry men; yet, when Christ appears to them, they remain in suspense. Hence arose that murmuring and that variety of opinions. That they whisper secretly is an indication of the tyranny which the priests and scribes exercised over them. It is a shocking exhibition, indeed, that this Church, which was at that time the only Church on earth, is here represented to us as a confused and shapeless chaos. (184) They who rule, instead of pastors, hold the people oppressed by fear and terror, and throughout the whole body there is shameful desolation and lamentable disorder. By the Jews he means the common people, who, having been accustomed for two years to hear Christ, inquire about him, because he does not appear according to his custom. For when they say, Where is he? they describe a man whom they knew, and yet that word shows that they had not yet been earnestly moved, and that they always remained in doubt and suspense. 63
- 64. 12 Among thecrowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” BARNES, "Murmuring - Contention, disputing. He deceiveth the people - That is, he is deluding them, or drawing them away by pretending to be the Messiah. CLARKE, "Some said, He is a good man - The multitude were divided in their opinions concerning him: those who knew him best said, He is a good man. Those who spoke according to the character given him by the priests, etc., said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Those who spoke evil of him spoke out, because they had the rulers on their side; but those who spoke good of him were obliged to do it in private, because they feared these rulers. Calumny and slander are among the privileged orders; they stalk abroad with their thousand brazen mouths, and blast the reputation of the followers of God. Benevolence and candor are only on sufferance; and a whisper in secret is the most they are permitted to give in behalf of Christ and his followers, whose laws and maxims condemn a vicious world, and goad it to revenge. GILL, "And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him,.... There was a general whisper, and a private controversy and contention among the people about him, upon inquiry being made after him: for some said he is a good man; a man of a good principle, of a good life and conversation; and who is good, kind, and beneficent, both to the bodies and souls of men; preaches good doctrine, and does many good things: others said: nay, or denied him to be a good man: but he deceiveth the people; drawing them off from the law of Moses, teaching them to break the sabbath, setting himself up for the Messiah, and asserting himself to be the son of God. HENRY, "(2.) The people differed much in their sentiments concerning him (Joh_7:12): There was much murmuring, or muttering rather, among the people concerning him. The enmity of the rulers against Christ, and their enquiries after him, caused him to be so much the more talked of and observed among the people. This ground the gospel of Christ has got by the opposition made to it, that it has been the more enquired into, and, by being every where spoken against, it has come to be every where spoken of, and by this means has been spread the further, and the merits of his cause have been the more searched into. This murmuring was not against 64
- 65. Christ, but concerninghim; some murmured at the rulers, because they did not countenance and encourage him: others murmured at them, because they did not silence and restrain him. Some murmured that he had so great an interest in Galilee; others, that he had so little interest in Jerusalem. Note, Christ and his religion have been, and will be, the subject of much controversy and debate, Luk_12:51, Luk_ 12:52. If all would agree to entertain Christ as they ought, there would be perfect peace; but, when some receive the light and others resolve against it, there will be murmuring. The bones in the valley, while they were dead and dry, lay quiet; but when it was said unto them, Live, there was a noise and a shaking, Eze_37:7. But the noise and rencounter of liberty and business are preferable, surely, to the silence and agreement of a prison. Now what were the sentiments of the people concerning him? [1.] Some said, he is a good man. This was a truth, but it was far short of being the whole truth. He was not only a good man, but more than a man, he was the Son of God. Many who have no ill thoughts of Christ have yet low thoughts of him, and scarcely honour him, even when they speak well of him, because they do not say enough; yet indeed it was his honour, and the reproach of those who persecuted him, that even those who would not believe him to be the Messiah could not but own he was a good man. [2.] Others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people; if this had been true, he had been a very bad man. The doctrine he preached was sound, and could not be contested; his miracles were real, and could not be disproved; his conversation was manifestly holy and good; and yet it must be taken for granted, notwithstanding, that there was some undiscovered cheat at the bottom, because it was the interest of the chief priests to oppose him and run him down. Such murmuring as there was among the Jews concerning Christ there is still among us: the Socinians say, He is a good man, and further they say not; the deists will not allow this, but say, He deceived the people. Thus some depreciate him, others abuse him, but great is the truth. [3 JAMIESON, "much murmuring — buzzing. among the people — the multitudes; the natural expression of a Jewish writer, indicating without design the crowded state of Jerusalem at this festival [Webster and Wilkinson]. a good man ... Nay ... deceiveth the people — the two opposite views of His claims, that they were honest, and that they were an imposture. COFFMAN, “Christ's name was upon all lips; his mighty deeds were the biggest news that ever happened in Jerusalem; the people loved him; the leaders hated him; and conversation buzzed all over the city; but if any of the Pharisees appeared, the conversation ceased. The threat of murdering the Son of God lay like a mantle of poison gas over Jerusalem during that feast. There was a dreadful air of impending disaster; Satan was in control of the government of the Holy City, reminding one of Paris in the terror: A spell of horror seems temporarily to have fallen over the city of Paris, a nightmare in which all communication with reality was suspended. It is impossible to read of this period without the impression that one is here confronted with forces more powerful than those controlled by men.[2] In this great controversy, cosmic forces struggled for domination; and the war between Christ and Satan was never more dramatic than here. ENDNOTE: 65
- 66. [2] Stanley Loomis,Paris in the Terror (New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1964), p. 328. CALVIN, "12.And there was much murmuring. He means that, wherever men were collected in crowds, as usually happens in large assemblies, they held secret conversations about Christ. The diversity of opinion, which is here related, proves that it is not a new evil, that men should differ in their opinions about Christ, even in the very bosom of the Church. And as we do not hesitate to receive Christ, who was formerly condemned by the greater part of his own nation, so we ought to be armed with the same kind of shield, that the dissensions which we see daily may not disturb us. Again, we may perceive how great is the rashness of men in the things of God. In a matter of no importance, they would not have taken so great liberty, but when the question relates to the Son of God and to his most holy doctrine, they immediately hasten to give judgment respecting it. So much the greater moderation ought we to maintain, that we may not thoughtlessly condemn our life with the eternal truth of God. And if the world holds us for impostors, let us remember that these are the marks and brands of Christ, provided that we show, at the same time, that we are faithful. This passage shows likewise that in a great multitude, even when the whole body is in a state of confusion, there are always some who think aright; but those few persons, whose minds are well regulated, are swallowed up by the multitude of those whose understandings are bewildered. 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. BARNES, "Spake openly of him - The word translated “openly,” here, is commonly rendered “boldly.” This refers doubtless, to those who really believed on him. His enemies were not silent; but his friends had not confidence to speak of him openly or boldly that is, to speak what they really thought. Many supposed that he was the Messiah, yet even this they did not dare to profess. All that they could say in his favor was that he was a good man. There are always many such friends of Jesus in the world who are desirous of saying something good about him, but who, from fear or shame, refuse to make a full acknowledgment of him. Many will praise his morals, his precepts, and his holy life, while they are ashamed to speak of his divinity or his atonement, and still more to acknowledge that they are dependent on him for salvation. 66
- 67. GILL, "Howbeit, noman spoke openly of him,.... So loud as to be overheard, at least by many, but in a secret and whispering way; or did not speak with freedom, or all their mind, what they really thought of him, nor with courage and boldness: for fear the Jews; for fear of being mobbed by them, or up and prosecuted, or turned out of the synagogue; for a law was made, that whoever confessed him, should be so used; and this deterred persons from expressing the true sentiments of their minds about him. HENRY, ".] They were frightened by their superiors from speaking much of him (Joh_7:13): No man spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews. Either, First, They durst not openly speak well of him. While any one was at liberty to censure and reproach him, none durst vindicate him. Or, Secondly, They durst not speak at all of him openly. Because nothing could justly be said against him, they would not suffer any thing to be said of him. It was a crime to name him. Thus many have aimed to suppress truth, under colour of silencing disputes about it, and would have all talk of religion hushed, in hopes thereby to bury in oblivion religion itself. JAMIESON, "none spake openly of him — that is, in His favor, “for fear of the [ruling] Jews.” CALVIN, "13.Yet no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. By the Jews he here means the rulers, who had the government in their hands. They burned with such hatred against Christ, that they did not permit a word to be uttered on either side. Not that they were displeased at any reproaches which were heaped upon him, but because they could discover no better expedient than that his name should be buried in oblivion. Thus the enemies of the truth, after having found that they gain nothing by their cruelty, desire nothing more than to suppress the remembrance of him, and this object alone they strive to attain. That all were silent, being subdued by fear, was a proof of gross tyranny, as I have already said; for as unbridled licentiousness has no place in a well- regulated Church, so when all freedom is held oppressed by fear, it is a most wretched condition. But the power of our Lord Jesus Christ shone forth with greater and more wonderful brightness, when — causing himself to be heard amidst armed foes, and amidst their furious resentment, and under so formidable a government — he openly maintained and asserted the truth of God. NISBET, “ASHAMED OF JESUS ‘No man spake openly of Him for fear of the Jews.’ John 7:13 The seventh chapter is divided from the preceding one by a wide interval of time. The many miracles which our Lord wrought, while he ‘walked in Galilee,’ are passed over by John in comparative silence. The events which he was specially inspired to record, are those which took place in or near Jerusalem. Observe— I. The desperate hardness and unbelief of human nature.—We are told that even our Lord’s ‘brethren did not believe in Him.’ Holy and harmless and blameless as He was in life, some of His nearest relatives, according to the flesh, did not receive Him as the Messiah. It was bad enough for His own people, ‘the Jews 67
- 68. sought to killHim.’ But it was even worse that ‘His brethren did not believe.’ That great Scriptural doctrine, man’s need of preventing and converting grace, stands out here, as if written with a sunbeam. It becomes all who question that doctrine to look at this passage and consider. Let them observe that seeing Christ’s miracles, hearing Christ’s teaching, living in Christ’s own company, were not enough to make men believers. The mere possession of spiritual privileges never yet made any one a Christian. All is useless without the effectual and applying work of God the Holy Ghost. II. One principal reason why many hate Christ.—Our Lord said to His unbelieving brethren, ‘The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.’ These words reveal one of those secret principles which influence men in their treatment of religion. They help to explain that deadly enmity with which many during our Lord’s earthly ministry regarded Him and His Gospel. They could have tolerated His opinions if He would only have spared their sins. The principle is one of universal application. It is at work now just as much as it was then. The real cause of many people’s dislike to the Gospel is the holiness of living which it demands. Teach abstract doctrines only, and few will find any fault. Denounce the fashionable sins of the day, and call on men to repent and walk consistently with God, and thousands at once will be offended. III. The strange variety of opinions about Christ, which were current from the beginning.—‘There was much murmuring among the people concerning Him: for some said, He is a good man; others said, Nay, but He deceiveth the people.’ The words which old Simeon had spoken thirty years before were here accomplished in a striking manner. The endless differences and divisions about religion, which we see on all sides in the present day, ought never to surprise us. The open hatred of some toward Christ; the carping, fault-finding, prejudiced spirit of others; the bold confession of the few faithful ones; the timid, man- fearing temper of the many faithless ones; the unceasing war of words and strife of tongues with which the Churches of Christ are so sadly familiar—are only modern symptoms of an old disease. IV. What think we of Christ ourselves?—This is the one question with which we have to do. Let us never be ashamed to be of that little number who believe on Him, hear His voice, follow Him, and confess Him before men. —Bishop J. C. Ryle. Illustration ‘Who these “brethren” were is a matter of dispute. Some think, as Alford, Stier, and others, that they were literally our Lord’s own brethren, and the children of Mary by Joseph, born after our Lord’s birth. (See Psalms 69:8.) Some think, as Theophylact and others, that they were the children of Joseph by a former marriage, and brought up by Mary under the same roof with our Lord. Others think, as Augustine, Zwingle, Musculus, and Bengel, that the word “brethren” does not necessarily mean more than cousins or kinsmen. (See 1 Chronicles 23:22.) This is the most probable opinion. We take these “brethren” to have been 68
- 69. relatives and kinsmenof Joseph and Mary, living at Nazareth, or Capernaum, or elsewhere in Galilee, who naturally observed all our Lord’s doings with interest and curiosity, but at present did not believe on Him. To suppose, as some do, that these brethren were some of our Lord’s Apostles, is a most improbable theory, and flatly contrary to the fifth verse of this chapter.’ Jesus Teaches at the Festival 14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. BARNES, "About the midst - Or about the middle of the feast. It continued eight days. The temple - See the notes at Mat_21:12. And taught - Great multitudes were assembled in and around the temple, and it was a favorable time and place to make known his doctrine. CLARKE, "The midst of the feast - Though the canons required him to be there on the first day, for the performance of a great variety of rites, yet, as these were in general the invention of their doctors, he might think it very proper neither to attend nor perform them. GILL, "Now about the midst of the feast,.... About the fourth day of it, for it lasted eight days; this might be on the sabbath day, which sometimes was החג ,בתוך "in the middle of the feast" (n); and the rather, since it follows, Jesus went up into the temple; as the Lord and proprietor of it, and as was his usual method; he had for some reasons kept himself retired till now, and now he appeared publicly: and taught the people his doctrine; he expounded the Scriptures, gave the true sense of them, and instructed the people out of them. HENRY, "Here is, I. Christ's public preaching in the temple (Joh_7:14): He went up into the temple, and taught, according to his custom when he was at Jerusalem. His business was to preach the gospel of the kingdom, and he did it in every place of concourse. His sermon is not recorded, because, probably, it was to the same purport 69
- 70. with the sermonshe had preached in Galilee, which were recorded by the other evangelists. For the gospel is the same to the plain and to the polite. But that which is observable here is that it was about the midst of the feast; the fourth or fifth day of the eight. Whether he did not come up to Jerusalem till the middle of the feast, or whether he came up at the beginning, but kept private till now, is not certain. But, Query, Why did he not go to the temple sooner, to preach? Answer, 1. Because the people would have more leisure to hear him, and, it might be hoped, would be better disposed to hear him, when they had spent some days in their booths, as they did at the feast of tabernacles. 2. Because he would choose to appear when both his friends and his enemies had done looking for him; and so give a specimen of the method he would observe in his appearances, which is to come at midnight, Mat_25:6. But why did he appear thus publicly now? Surely it was to shame his persecutors, the chief priests and elders. (1.) By showing that, though they were very bitter against him, yet he did not fear them, nor their power. See Isa_50:7, Isa_50:8. (2.) By taking their work out of their hands. Their office was to teach the people in the temple, and particularly at the feast of tabernacles, Neh_8:17, Neh_8:18. But they either did not teach them at all or taught for doctrines the commandments of men, and therefore he goes up to the temple and teaches the people. When the shepherds of Israel made a prey of the flock it was time for the chief Shepherd to appear, as was promised. Eze_ 34:22, Eze_34:23; Mal_3:1. JAMIESON 14-15, "about the midst of the feast — the fourth or fifth day of the eight, during which it lasted. went up into the temple and taught — The word denotes formal and continuous teaching, as distinguished from mere casual sayings. This was probably the first time that He did so thus openly in Jerusalem. He had kept back till the feast was half through, to let the stir about Him subside, and entering the city unexpectedly, had begun His “teaching” at the temple, and created a certain awe, before the wrath of the rulers had time to break it. CALVIN, "14.Jesus went up into the temple. We now see that Christ was not so much afraid as to desist from the execution of his office; for the cause of his delay was, that he might preach to a very large assembly. We may sometimes, therefore, expose ourselves to dangers, but we ought never to disregard or omit a single opportunity of doing good. As to his teaching in the temple, he does so according to the ancient ordinance and custom; for while God commanded so many ceremonies, he did not choose that his people should be occupied with cold and useless spectacles. That their usefulness might be known, it was necessary that they should be accompanied by doctrine; and in this manner, external rites are lively images of spiritual things, when they take their shape from the word of God. But almost all the priests being at that time dumb, and the pure doctrine being corrupted by the leaven and false inventions of the scribes, Christ undertook the office of a teacher; and justly, because he was the great High Priest, as he affirms shortly afterwards, that he attempts nothing but by the command of the Father. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. Though Christ went up to Jerusalem privately, lest he should stir up the jealousy of the Pharisees against himself unseasonably; yet went he into the temple and taught publicly; his example teaches us thus much, 70
- 71. "that although theservants of Christ may for a time, and in some cases, withdraw themselves from apprehended danger: yet, when God calls them to appear openly; they must do it courageously, without shrinking, though the danger be still impending." Jesus went up to Jerusalem, entered the temple and taught. Observe, 2. So admirable was our holy Lord's doctrine, that the Jews marvel how he should come to the knowledge of such divine mysteries, considering the meanness of his education. They were struck with admiration, but they wanted faith; whereas the least degree of saving faith is beyond all admiration without it. Observe, 3. Our Lord vindicates his doctrine, telling the Jews, That the doctrine he delivered was not his own; that is, not of his own inventing and devising; it was no contrivance of his, nor was it taught him by men: but received immediately from the Father, whose ambassador and great prophet he was. Again, when Christ says, My doctrine is not mine, that is, not only mine, but my Father's and mine. For as he was God equal with the Father, so he naturally knew all his counsels; and as man had knowledge thereof by communication from his godhead. Learn hence, That the doctrine of the gospel is a doctrine wholly from God; he contrived it, and sent his own Son into the world to publish and reveal it. Christ was sent, and his doctrine was not his own, but his that sent him. Observe, 4. A double rule given by our Saviour, whereby the Jews might know, whether the doctrine he preached, were the doctrine of God. First, If a man walk uprightly, and doth the will of God in the best manner according to his knowledge; If any man will do his will, he shall know of my doctrine whether it be of God. There is no such way to find out truth, as by doing the will of God. The second rule by which they might know that his doctrine was from God was this. Because he sought his Father's glory, and not his own in the delivery of it. He that seeketh his glory that sent him, that same is true. Hence learn, That the nature and scope of that doctrine which Christ delivered, eminently tending not to promote his own private glory, but the glorifying of his Father, is an undoubted proof and evidence that his doctrine was of God. LIGHTFOOT, "14. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. [About the midst of the feast.] On some work-day of the feast. But was he not there on the first or second day of the feast, to perform those things that ought to have been performed, making ready the Chagigahs, and appearing in the court? If he was there the second day, he might be well enough said to be there about the midst of the feast, for that day was not a festival; unless perchance at that 71
- 72. time it mighthave been the sabbath: and for absence the first day, there were certain compensations might be made. "The compensations that might be made for the first day were these: if any one was obliged to offer on the first day, and did not do it, he compensated by offering upon any other day." But that which is here said, that "he went up into the Temple and taught, about the midst of the feast," need not suppose he was absent from the beginning of it: nor ought we rashly to think that he would neglect any thing that had been prescribed and appointed in the law. But if may be reasonably enough questioned, whether he nicely observed all those rites and usages of the feast that had been invented by the scribes. That is, whether he had a little tent or tabernacle of his own, or made use of some friend's, which was allowed and lawful to be done. Whether he made fourteen meals in that little booth, as is prescribed. Whether he carried bundles of palms and willows about the altar, as also a citron; whether he made his tent for all those seven days his fixed habitation, and his own house only occasional; and many other things, largely and nicely prescribed in the canons and rules about this feast. PINK 14-31, "Below is an outline Analysis of the passage which is to be before us:— 1. Christ in the Temple, teaching: verse 14. 2. The Jews marvelling and Christ’s answer: verses 15-19. 3. The people’s question and Christ’s response: verses 20-24. 4. The inquiry of those of Jerusalem: verses 25-27. 5. The response of Christ: verses 28, 29. 6. The futile attempt to apprehend Christ: verse 30. 7. The attitude of the common people: verse 31. In the last chapter we discussed the first thirteen verses of John 7, from which we learned that notwithstanding "the Jews" (Judean leaders) sought to kill Him (verse 1), Christ, nevertheless, went up to Jerusalem to the Feast of tabernacles (verse 10). We pointed out how this manifested the perfections of the Lord Jesus, inasmuch as it demonstrated His submission to the will and His obedience to the word of His Father. Our present chapter records an important incident which transpired during the midst of the Feast. The Savior entered the Temple, and, refusing to be intimidated by those who sought His life, boldly taught those who were there assembled. "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught" (John 7:14). Twice previously has "the temple" been mentioned in this Gospel. In John 2 we behold Christ as the Vindicator of the Father’s house, cleansing the Temple. In verse 14 we read how Christ found in the temple the impotent man whom He had healed. But here in John 7, for the tint time, we find our Lord teaching in the Temple. The Holy Spirit has not seen well to record the details of what it was that our Lord "taught" on this significant occasion, but He intimates that the Savior must have delivered a discourse of unusual weight. For in the very next verse we learn that even His enemies, "the Jews," marvelled at it. In keeping with His usual custom, we doubt not that He took advantage of the occasion to speak at length 72
- 73. upon the differentaspects and relations of the Feast itself. Most probably He linked together the various Old Testament scriptures which treat of the Feast, and brought out of them things which His hearers had never suspected were in them. And then there would be a searching application of the Word made to the consciences and hearts of those who listened. "And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (John 7:15). "These words undoubtedly refer to our Lord’s great acquaintance with the Scrip tures, and the judicious and masterly manner in which He taught the people out of them, with far greater majesty and nobler eloquence than the scribes could attain by a learned education." (Dr. Philip Doddridge). But how their very speech betrayed these Jews! How this exclamation of theirs exposed the state of their hearts! It was not their consciences which were exercised, but their curiosity that was aroused. It was not the claims of God they were occupied with, but the schools of men. It was not the discourse itself they were pondering, but the manner of its delivery that engaged their attention. "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" How like the spirit which is abroad today! How many there are in the educational and religious world who suppose it is impossible for man to expound the Scriptures gracefully and to the edification of his hearers unless, forsooth, he has first been trained in some college or seminary! Education is an altar which is now thronged by a multitude of idolatrous worshippers. That, no doubt, is one reason why God’s curse has fallen on almost all our seats of learning. He is jealous of His glory, and anything which enters into competition with Himself He blights and withers. An unholy valuation of human learning, which supplants humble dependence upon the Holy Spirit is, perhaps, the chief reason why God’s presence and blessing have long since departed from the vast majority of our centers of Christian education. And in the judgment of the writer, there is an immediate and grave danger that we may shortly witness the same tragedy in connection with our Bible Schools and Bible Institutes. If young men are taught, even though indirectly and by way of implication, that they cannot and must not expect to become able ministers of God’s Word unless they first take a course in one of the Bible Institutes, then the sooner all such institutions are shut down the better both for them and the cause of God. If such views are disseminated, if a course in some Bible School is advocated in preference to personal waiting upon God and the daily searching of the Scriptures in private, then God will blast these schools as surely as He did the seminaries and universities. And such an event is not so far beyond the bounds of probability as some may suppose. Already there are not wanting signs to show that "Ichabod" has been written over some of them. One of the principle Bible training schools in England closed down some years ago; and the fact that one of the leading Institutes in this country is constantly sending out urgent appeals for financial help is conclusive evidence that it is now being run in the energy of the flesh. "Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me" (John 7:16). Let every young man who reads these lines ponder carefully this sentence from Christ. If he is fully assured that he has received a call from God to devote his life to the Lord’s service, and is now exercised as to how he may become equipped for such service, let him prayerfully meditate upon these words 73
- 74. of the Savior.Let him remember that Christ is here speaking not from the standpoint of His essential glory, not as a member of the Godhead, but as the Son of God incarnate, that is, as the Servant of Jehovah. Let him turn to John 8:28 and compare its closing sentence: "As my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." It was in no human schools He had learned to teach so that men marvelled. This discourse He had delivered originated not in His own mind. His doctrine came from the One who sent Him. It was the same with the apostle Paul. Hear him as he says to the Galatians, "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (John 1:11, 12). And these things, dear brethren, are recorded for our learning. No one has to take a course in any Bible School in order to gain a knowledge and insight of the Scriptures. The man most used of God last century—Mr. C. H. Spurgeon—was a graduate of no Bible Institute! We do not say that God has not used the Bible schools to help many who have gone there; we do not say there may not be such which He is so using today. But what we do say is, that such schools are not an imperative necessity. You have the same Bible to hand that they have; and you have the same Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. God may be pleased to use human instruments in instructing and enlightening you, or He may give you the far greater honor and privilege of teaching you directly. That is for you to ascertain. Your first duty is to humbly and diligently look to HIM, wait on Him for guidance, seek His will, ,and the sure promise is, "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way" (Ps. 25:9). "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." These words were spoken by Christ to correct the Jews, who were unable to account for the wondrous words which fell from His lips. He would assure them that His "doctrine" had been taught Him by no man, nor had He invented it. "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." How zealous He was for the Father’s honor! How jealously He guarded the Father’s glory! Let every servant of God learn from this blessed One who was "meek and lowly in heart." Whenever people praise you for some message of help, fail not to disclaim all credit, and remind your God— dishonoring admirers that the "doctrine" is not yours, but His that sent you. "My doctrine is not mine." Observe that Christ does not say "My doctrines are not mine," but "My doctrine." The word "doctrine" means "teaching," and the teaching (truth) of God is one correlated and complete whole. In writing to Timothy, Paul said, "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine" (not doctrines—1 Timothy 4:6). And again he wrote, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine" (2 Tim. 3:16). In striking contrast from this, Scripture speaks of "the doctrines of men" (Col. 2:22); "strange doctrines" (Heb. 13:9); and "doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1). Here the word is pluralized because there is no unity or harmony about the teachings of men or the teachings of demons. They are diverse and conflicting. But God’s truth is indivisible and harmonious. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" (John 7:17). The wording of this verse in the A.V. leaves something to be desired; we give, therefore, the translation found in Bagster’s Interlinear:[1] "If any one desire his will to practice, he shall know concerning the teaching whether from God it is, or I from myself speak." The 74
- 75. Greek word hererendered "desire" signifies no fleeting impression or impulse, but a deeply rooted determination. The connection between this verse and the one preceding is as follows: "What you have just heard from My lips is no invention of Mine, but instead, it proceedeth from Him that sent Me. Now if you really wish to test this and prove it for yourselves you must take care to preserve an honest mind and cultivate a heart that yields itself unquestioningly to God’s truth." "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." In this declaration our Lord laid down a principle of supreme practical importance. He informs us how certainty may be arrived at in connection with the things of God. He tells us how spiritual discernment and assurance are to be obtained. The fundamental condition for obtaining spiritual knowledge is a genuine heart-desire to carry out the revealed will of God in our lives. Wherever the heart is right God gives the capacity to apprehend His truth. If the heart be not right, wherein would be the value of knowing God’s truth? God will not grant light on His Word unless we are truly anxious to walk according to that light. If the motive of the investigator be pure, then he will obtain an assurance that the teaching of Scripture is "of God" that will be far more convincing and conclusive than a hundred logical arguments. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." How this word rebuked, again, these worldly- minded Jews; and how it reverses the judgment of many of our moderns! One does not have to enter a seminary or a Bible Institute and take a course in Christian Apologetics in order to obtain assurance that the Bible is inspired, or in order to learn how to interpret it. Spiritual intelligence comes not through the intellect, but via the heart: it is acquired not by force of reasoning, but by the exercise of faith. In Hebrews 11:3 we read, "Through faith we understand," and faith cometh not by schooling but by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God! Thousands of years ago one of Israel’s prophets was moved by the Holy Spirit to write, "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know THE LORD" (Hos. 6:3). "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him" (John 7:18). Christ here appealed to the manner and purpose of His teaching, to show that He was no impostor. He that speaketh of, or better from, himself, means, he whose message originates with himself, rather than God. Such an one seeketh his own glory. That is to say, he attracts attention to himself: he aims at his own honor and aggrandizement. On the other hand, the one who seeks the glory of Him that sent him, the same is "true" or genuine (cf. "true" in John 6:32 and 15:1), i.e. a genuine servant of God. And of such, Christ added, "and no unrighteousness is in him." Interpreting this in the light of the context (namely, verses 12 and 15), its evident meaning is, The one who seeks God’s glory is no impostor. "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." What a searching word is this for every servant of God today! How it condemns that spirit of self-exaltation which at times, alas, is found (we fear) in all of us. The Pharisees sought "the praise of men," and they have had many successors. But how different was it with the apostle Paul, who wrote, "I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle" (1 Cor. 15:9). And again, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8). And what an 75
- 76. important word doesthis eighteenth verse of John 7 contain for those who sit under the ministry of the professed servants of God. Here is one test by which we may discover whether the preacher has been called of God to the ministry, or whether he ran without being sent. Does he magnify himself or his Lord? Does he seek his own glory, or the glory of God? Does he speak about himself or about Christ? Can he truthfully say with the apostle, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord" (2 Cor. 4:5)? Is the general trend of his ministry, Behold me, or Behold the church, or Behold the Lamb of God? "Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" (John 7:19). Here Christ completely turns the tables upon them. They were saying that He was unlettered, and now He charges them with having the letter of the Law, but failing to render obedience to it. They professed to be the disciples of Moses, and yet there they were with murder in their hearts, because He had healed a man on the Sabbath. He had just declared there was no unrighteousness in Himself; now He uncovered the unrighteousness which was in them, for they stood ready to break the sixth commandment in the Decalogue. His question, "Why go ye about to kill me?" is very solemn. It was a word of more than local application. Where there is no heart for the truth, there is always an heart against it. And where there is enmity against the truth itself there is hatred of those who faithfully proclaim it. No one who is in anywise acquainted with the history of the last two thousand years can doubt that. And it is due alone to God’s grace and restraining power that His servants do not now share the experiences of Stephen, and Paul, and thousands of the saints who were "faithful unto death" during the Middle Ages. Nor will it be long before the Divine restraint, which now holds Satan in leash and which is curbing the passions of God’s enemies, shall be removed. Read through the prophecies of the Revelation and mark the awful sufferings which godly Jews will yet endure. Moreover, who can say how soon what is now transpiring in Russia may not become general and universal! "The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?" (John 7:20). "The people" evidently refers to the miscellaneous company of Israelites in the Temple courts. At that season they came from all parts of Palestine up to Jerusalem to observe the Feast. Many of them were ignorant of the fact that the Judean leaders had designs upon the life of Christ; and when He said to the Jews (of verse 15) "Why go ye about to kill me?" (verse 19, and cf. verse 1), these "people" deemed our Lord insane, and said "Thou hast a demon," for insanity is often one of the marks of demoniacal possession. This fearful blasphemy not only exposed their blindness to the glory of Christ, but also demonstrated the desperate evil of their hearts. To what awful indignities and insults did our blessed Lord submit in becoming incarnate! "Thou hast a demon:" is such an aspersion ever cast on thee, fellow-Christian? Then remember that thy Lord before thee was similarly reviled: sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master. "Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel" (John 7:21). Christ ignored the horrible charge of "the people," and continued to address Himself to "the Jews." And herein He has left us a blessed example. It is to be noted that in the passage where we are told, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps," the Holy Spirit has immediately followed this with, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his 76
- 77. mouth: who, whenhe was reviled, reviled not again" (1 Pet. 2:22, 23). What a beautiful illustration John 7 gives of this! When He was reviled, He "reviled not again." He made no answer to their blasphemous declamation. O that Divine grace may enable us to "follow his steps." When Christ said to the Jews, "I have done one work, and ye all marvel," He was referring to what is recorded in John 5:1-16. "Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?" (John 7:22, 23). Our Lord continued to point out how unreasonable was their criticism of Himself for healing the impotent man on the Sabbath day. He reminds them that circumcision was performed on the Sabbath; why then should they complain because He had made a poor sufferer whole on that day! By this argument Christ teaches us that works of necessity and works of mercy may be legitimately performed on the Sabbath. Circumcision was a work of necessity if the Law of Moses was to be observed, for if the infant reached its eighth day on the Sabbath, it was then he must be circumcised. The healing of the impotent man was a work of mercy. Thus are we permitted to engage in both works of necessity and works of mercy on the holy Sabbath. It is to be observed that Christ here refers to circumcision as belonging to "the law of Moses." For a right understanding of the teaching of Scripture concerning the Law it is of first importance that we distinguish sharply between "the law of God" and "the law of Moses." The Law of God is found in the ten commandments which Jehovah Himself wrote on the two tables of stone, thereby intimating that they were of lasting duration. This is what has been rightly termed the moral Law, inasmuch as the Decalogue (the ten commandments) enunciates a rule of conduct. The moral Law has no dispensational limitations, but is lastingly binding on every member of the human race. It was given not as a means of salvation, but as expressing the obligations of every human creature to the great Creator. The "law of Moses" consists of the moral, social, and ceremonial laws which God gave to Moses after the ten commandments. The Law of Moses included the ten commandments as we learn from Deuteronomy 5. In one sense the Law of Moses is wider than "the law of God," inasmuch as it contains far more than the Ten Commandments. In another sense, it is narrower, inasmuch as "the law of Moses" is binding only upon Israelites and Gentile proselytes; whereas "the law of God" is binding on Jews and Gentiles alike.[2] Christ dearly observes this distinction by referring to circumcision as belonging not to "the law of God," but as being an essential part of "the law of Moses" which related only to Israel. "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). The connection between this verse and the preceding ones is dear. Christ had been vindicating His act of healing the impotent man on the Sabbath day. To His superficial critics it might have seemed a breach of the Sabbatic law; but in reality it was not so. Their judgment was hasty and partial. They were looking for something they might condemn, and so seized upon this. But their verdict, as is usually the case when hurried and prejudiced, was altogether erroneous. Therefore, did our Lord bid them; "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." He exhorted them to be fair; to take into account all 77
- 78. the circumstances; toweigh all that God’s Word revealed about the Sabbath. "In it thou shalt not do any work," was not to be taken absolutely: other scriptures plainly modified it. The ministrations of the priests in the temple on the Sabbath, and the circumcising of the child on that day when the Law required it, were cases in point. But the Jews had overlooked or ignored these. They had judged by appearances. They had not considered the incident according to its merits, nor in the light of the general tenor of Scripture. Hence, their judgment was unrighteous, because unfair and false. "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." This is a word which each of us much need to take to heart. Most of us fail at this point; fail in one of two directions. Some are prone to form too good an opinion of people. They are easily deceived by an air of piety. The mere fact that a man professes to be a Christian, does not prove that he is one. That he is sound in his morals and a regular attender of religious services, is no sure index to the state of his heart. Remember that all is not gold that glitters. On the other hand, some are too critical and harsh in their judgment. We must not make a man an offender for a word. In many things we all offend. "There is not a just man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The evil nature, inherited from Adam, remains in every Christian to the end of his earthly course. And too, God bestows more grace on one than He does on another. There is real danger to some of us lest, forgetting the frailties and infirmities of our fellows, we regard certain Christians as unbelievers. Even a nugget of gold has been known to be covered with dust. It is highly probable that all of us who reach heaven will receive surprises there. Some whom we expected to meet will be absent, and some we never expected to see will be there. Let us seek grace to heed this timely word of our Lord’s: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." "Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?" (John 7:25, 26). In this chapter one party after another stands exposed. The Light was shining and it revealed the hidden things of darkness. First, the "brethren" of Christ (verses 3-5) are exhibited as men of the world, unbelievers. Next, "the Jews" (the Judean leaders) display their carnality (verse 15). Then, the miscellaneous crowd, "the people" (verse 20) make manifest their hearts. Now the regular inhabitants of Jerusalem come before us. They, too, make bare their spiritual condition. In sheltering behind "the rulers" they showed what little anxiety they had to discover for themselves whether or not Christ was preaching the truth of God. Verily, "there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." The common people were no better than the rulers; the Lord’s brethren no more believed on Him than did the Jews; the inhabitants of Jerusalem had no more heart for Christ than they of the provinces. How plain it was, then, that no man would come to Christ except he had been drawn of the Father! It is so still. One class is just as much opposed to the Gospel as any other. Human nature is the same the world over. It is nothing but the distinguishing grace of God that ever makes one to differ from another. "Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is" (John 7:27). What pride of heart these words evidence! These men of Jerusalem deemed themselves wiser than their credulous rulers. 78
- 79. The religious leadersmight stand in some doubt, but they knew whence Christ was. Evidently they were well acquainted with His early life in Nazareth. Supposing that Joseph was His father, they were satisfied that He was merely a man: "We know this man" indicates plainly the trend of their thoughts. "But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is." This sentence needs to be pondered with verse 42 before us. From Matthew 2:4, 5 it is also plain that it was well known at the time that the Messiah should first appear in Bethlehem. What, then, did these people mean when they said, "When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is"? With Dr. Doddridge, we regard this statement as an expression of the Jewish belief that the Messiah would be supernaturally born, i.e. of a virgin, as Isaiah 7:14 declared. "Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not" (John 7:28). It appears to the writer that in the first part of this utterance the Lord was speaking ironically. Some of them who lived in Jerusalem had declared, "we know this man whence he is." Here Christ takes up their words and refutes them. "Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am," such was their idle boast; but, continues the Savior, "I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not." So they did not know whence He was. When Christ here declared of the Father, "He that sent me is true," He looked back, no doubt, to the Old Testament Scriptures. God had been "true" to His promises and predictions, many of which had already been fulfilled, and others were even then in course of fulfillment; yea, their very rejection of His Son evidenced the Father’s veracity. "But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me" (John 7:29). It was because Christ knew the Father, and was from Him, that He could reveal Him; for it is by the Son, and by Him alone, that the Father is made known. "No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" (Matthew 11:27). None cometh unto the Father but by Christ; and none knoweth the Father but by Him. "Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come" (John 7:30). This verse sets forth a truth which should be of great comfort to God’s people, and indeed it is so, when received by unquestioning faith. We find here a striking example of the restraining hand of God upon His enemies. Their purpose was to apprehend Christ. They sought to take Him, yet not a hand was laid upon Him! They thirsted for His blood, and were determined to kill Him; yet by an invisible restraint from above, they were powerless to do so. How blessed, then, to know that everything is under the immediate control of God. Not a hair of our heads can be touched without His permission. The demon-possessed Saul might hurl his javelin at David, but hurling it and killing him were two different things. Daniel might be cast into the den of lions, but as his time to die had not then come, their mouths were mysteriously sealed. The three Hebrews were cast into the fiery furnace, but of what avail were the flames against those protected by Jehovah? "Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come." How this evidences the invincibility of God’s eternal decrees! "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord" (Prov. 21:30). God had decreed that the Savior should be betrayed by a familiar friend, and sold for thirty pieces of silver. How, then, was it possible for these men to 79
- 80. seize Him? Theycould no more arrest Christ than they could stop the sun from shining. "There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21). What an illustration of this is furnished by the incident before us! "No man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come." Not until the sixty-ninth "week" of Daniel 9:24 had run its courses could Messiah the Prince be "cut off." All the hatred of men and all the enmity of Satan and his hosts could not hasten Christ’s appointed death. Until God’s foreordained hour smack, and the incarnate Son bowed to His Father’s good pleasure, He was immortal. And blessed be God, it is our privilege to be assured that the hand of death cannot strike us down before God’s predestined "hour" arrives for us to go hence. The enemy may war against us, and he may be permitted to strike our bodies; but shorten our lives he cannot, anymore than he could Job’s. A frightful epidemic of disease may visit the neighborhood in which I live, but I am immune till God suffers me to be affected. Unless it is His will for me to be sick or to die, no matter how the epidemic may rage, nor how many of those around me may fall victims to it, it cannot harm me. "I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust." His reassuring voice answers me: "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee" (Ps. 91:2, 6, 7). Should any be inclined to think we have expressed ourselves too strongly, we ask them to ponder the following scriptures: "Is there not an appointed time for man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?"—that is, strictly numbered (Job 7:1 ). "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass . . . If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come" (Job 14:5, 14). "No man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come." How this brings out the fact that all of Christ’s sufferings were undergone voluntarily. He did not go to the Cross because He was unable to escape it; nor did He die because He could not prevent it. Far, far from it. Had He so pleased, He could have smitten down these men with a single word from His mouth. But even that was not necessary. They were prevented from touching Him without so much as a single word being spoken! "And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these, which this man hath done?" (John 7:31). Whether or not this was a saving faith it is rather difficult to ascertain. Personally, we do not think it was. Bather do we regard this verse as parallel with John 2:23: "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did." But that theirs was not a saving faith is evident from what follows: "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all." So here, the remainder of verse 31 seems to argue against a saving faith. "When Christ cometh," intimates that they did not really regard the Lord Jesus as the Messiah himself. And their closing words, ‘Will he do more miracles than these which this (fellow) hath done?" shows what a derogatory conception they had of the incarnate Son of God. 80
- 81. 15 The Jewsthere were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” BARNES, "Knoweth this man letters - The Jewish letters or science consisted in the knowledge of their Scriptures and traditions. Jesus exhibited in his discourses such a profound acquaintance with the Old Testament as to excite their amazement and admiration. Having never learned - The Jews taught their law and tradition in celebrated schools. As Jesus had not been instructed in those schools, they were amazed at his learning. What early human teaching the Saviour had we have no means of ascertaining, further than that it was customary for the Jews to teach their children to read the Scriptures. 2Ti_3:15; “from a child thou (Timothy) hast known the holy scriptures.” CLARKE, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? - The Jewish learning consisted in the knowledge of their own scriptures, and the traditions of their elders. In this learning our blessed Lord excelled. No person ever spoke with more grace and dignity, or knew better how to make a more proper use, or a happier application, of Jewish allegories and parables; because none ever penetrated the sense of the Scriptures as he did; none ever cited them more successfully, or ever showed their accomplishment in so complete and satisfactory a manner. As these branches of learning were taught at the Jewish schools, and our Lord had never attended there, they were astonished to find him excelling in that sort of learning, of which they themselves professed to be the sole teachers. GILL, "And the Jews marvelled,.... Both at the matter, and manner of his doctrine; it was such, as never man spake; his words were so gracious, and there were such truth and evidence in them, and they were delivered with such power and authority, that they were astonished at them: saying, how knoweth this man letters? or "the Scriptures", as the Arabic and Persic versions render it; which are called "holy letters", 2Ti_3:15; according to which, the sense is, that they were surprised at his knowledge of the Scriptures, that he should be conversant with them, and be able to interpret them, and give the sense and meaning of them, in so full and clear a manner, as he did: or else the sense is, how came this man to be such a learned man? whence has he this wisdom, and all this learning which he shows? as in Mat_13:54. So a learned man is in Isa_29:11, said to be one that הספר ,יודע επισταµενος γραµµατα, "knows letters", as the Septuagint there translate the Hebrew text; but how Christ should know them, or be a learned man, 81
- 82. having never learned,was surprising to them: that is, he had not had a liberal education, but was brought up to a trade; he was not trained up at the feet of any of their Rabbins, in any of their universities, or schools of learning; and in which they were certainly right. Modern Jews pretend to say he had a master, whom they sometimes call Elchanan (o), but most commonly they make him to be R. Joshua ben Perachiah (p): with whom they say, he fled into Alexandria in Egypt, for fear of Jannai the king: and one of their writers (q), on this account, charges the evangelist with a falsehood: but who are we to believe, the Jews who lived at the same time with Jesus, and knew his education and manner of life, or those that have lived ages since? HENRY, "II. His discourse with the Jews hereupon; and the conference is reducible to four heads: 1. Concerning his doctrine. See here, (1.) How the Jews admired it (Joh_7:15): They marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Observe here, [1.] That our Lord Jesus was not educated in the schools of the prophets, or at the feet of the rabbin; not only did not travel for learning, as the philosophers did, but did not make any use of the schools and academies in his own country. Moses was taught the learning of the Egyptians, but Christ was not taught so much as the learning of the Jews; having received the Spirit without measure, he needed not receive any knowledge from man, or by man. At the time of Christ's appearing, learning flourished both in the Roman empire and in the Jewish church more than in any age before or since, and in such a time of enquiry Christ chose to establish his religion, not in an illiterate age, lest it should look like a design to impose upon the world; yet he himself studied not the learning then in vogue. [2.] That Christ had letters, though he had never learned them; was mighty in the scriptures, though he never had any doctor of the law for his tutor. It is necessary that Christ's ministers should have learning, as he had; and since they cannot expect to have it as he had it, by inspiration, they must take pains to get it in an ordinary way. [3.] That Christ's having learning, though he had not been taught it, made him truly great and wonderful; the Jews speak of it here with wonder. First, Some, it is likely, took notice of it to his honour: He that had no human learning, and yet so far excelled all that had, certainly must be endued with a divine knowledge. Secondly, Others, probably, mentioned it in disparagement and contempt of him: Whatever he seems to have, he cannot really have any true learning, for he was never at the university, nor took his degree. Thirdly, Some perhaps suggested that he had got his learning by magic arts, or some unlawful means or other. Since they know not how he could be a scholar, they will think him a conjurer. CALVIN, "15.And the Jews wondered Those who think that Christ was received in such a manner as to be esteemed and honored are mistaken; for the wonder or astonishment of the Jews is of such a nature, that they seek occasion from it to despise him. For such is the ingratitude of men that, in judging of the works of God, they always seek deliberately an occasion of falling into error. If God acts by the usual means and in the ordinary way, those means which are visible to the eyes are — as it were — veils which hinder us from perceiving the Divine hand; and therefore we discern nothing in them but what is human. But if an unwonted power of God shines above the order of nature and the means generally known, we are stunned; and what ought to have deeply affected all our senses passes away as a dream. For such is our pride, that we take no interest in any thing of 82
- 83. which we donot know the reason. How doth this man know letters? It was an astonishing proof of the power and grace of God, that Christ, who had not been taught by any master, was yet eminently distinguished by his knowledge of the Scriptures; and that he, who had never been a scholar, should be a most excellent teacher and instructor. But for this very reason the Jews despise the grace of God, because it exceeds their capacity. Admonished by their example, therefore, let us learn to exercise deeper reverence for God than we are wont to do in the consideration of his works. BARCLAY, 'THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY (John 7:15-18) 7:15-18 The Jews were amazed. "How," they said, "can this fellow read when he is quite uneducated?" "My teaching," said Jesus, "is not mine, but it belongs to him who sent me. If anyone is willing to do his will, he will understand whether my teaching derives from God, or whether I am speaking from no source beyond myself. The man who speaks from no other source beyond himself is out for his own glory. He who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is no wickedness in him." We have already had occasion to see that it is very likely that some parts of John's gospel have become misplaced. Maybe he never had time to put it fully in order; maybe the leaves on which it was written were finally assembled wrongly. This section and the one which follows form one of the clearest cases of misplacement. As these two passages come in here they hardly make sense for they have no connection with their context. It is almost certain that they should come after John 5:47. John 5:1-47 tells of the healing of the impotent man at the healing pool. That miracle was done on the Sabbath and was regarded by the Jewish authorities as a breach of that day. In his defence Jesus cited the writings of Moses and said that if they really knew what these writings meant and really believed in them, they would also believe in him. The chapter finishes: "If you had believed in Moses, you would have believed in me, for he wrote about me. If you do not believe in his writings, how will you believe in my words?" (John 5:47). If we go straight from there and read John 7:15-24 it makes a clear connection. Jesus has just referred to the writing of Moses, and immediately the astonished Jewish leaders break in: "How can this fellow read when he is quite uneducated?" We will understand the sense and the relevance of John 7:15-24 far better if we assume that it originally came after John 5:47; and with that in mind we turn to the passage itself. The criticism was that Jesus was quite uneducated. It is exactly the same accusation that was made against Peter and John when they stood before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:13). Jesus had been to no rabbinic school. It was the practice that only the disciple of an accredited teacher was entitled to expound scripture, and to talk about the law. No Rabbi ever made a statement on his own authority. He always began: "There is a teaching that..." He then went on to cite quotations and authorities for every statement he made. And here was this Galilaean carpenter, a man with no training whatever, daring to quote and to expound Moses to them. 83
- 84. Jesus could verywell have walked straight into a trap here. He might have said: "I need no teacher; I am self-taught; I got my teaching and my wisdom from no one but myself." But, instead, he said in effect: "You ask who was my teacher? You ask what authority I produce for my exposition of scripture? My authority is God" Jesus claimed to be God-taught. It is in fact a claim he makes again and again. "I have not spoken on my own authority. The Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak" (John 12:49). "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority" (John 14:10). Frank Salisbury tells of a letter he received after he had painted his great picture of the burial of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey. A fellow artist wrote: "I want to congratulate you on the great picture that you have painted-- or rather the picture that God has helped you to paint." All great productions of the human mind and spirit are given by God. If we glory in being self-taught, if we claim that any discovery we have made is our own unaided work, we are, in the last analysis, glorifying only our own reputation and our own selves. The greatest of men think not of the power of their own mind or hand; they think always of the God who told them what they know and taught them what they can do. Further, Jesus goes on to lay down a truth. Only the man who does God's will can truly understand His teaching. That is not a theological but a universal truth. We learn by doing. A doctor might learn the technique of surgery from textbooks. He might know the theory of every possible operation. But that would not make him a surgeon; he has to learn by doing. A man might learn the way in which an automobile engine works; in theory he might be able to carry out every possible repair and adjustment; but that would not make him an engineer; he has to learn by doing. It is the same with the Christian life. If we wait until we have understood everything, we will never start at all. But if we begin by doing God's will as we know it, God's truth will become clearer and clearer to us. We learn by doing. If a man says: "I cannot be a Christian because there is so much of Christian doctrine that I do not understand, and I must wait until I understand it all," the answer is: "You never will understand it all; but if you start trying to live the Christian life, you will understand more and more of it as the days go on." In Christianity, as in all other things, the way to learn is to do. Let us remember that this passage really ought to come after the story of the healing of the impotent man. Jesus has been accused of wickedness in that he healed the man on the Sabbath day; and he goes on to demonstrate that he was seeking only the glory of God and that there is no wickedness whatsoever in his action. 84
- 85. 16 Jesus answered,“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. BARNES, "My doctrine - My teaching, or what I teach. This is the proper meaning of the word “doctrine.” It is what is taught us, and, as applied to religion, it is what is taught us by God in the Holy Scriptures. Is not wine - It is not originated by me. Though I have not learned in your schools, yet you are not to infer that the doctrine which I teach is devised or invented by me. I teach nothing that is contrary to the will of God, and which he has not appointed me to teach. His that sent me - God’s. It is such as he approves, and such as he has commissioned me to teach. The doctrine is divine in its origin and in its nature. CLARKE, "My doctrine is not mine - Our blessed Lord, in the character of Messiah, might as well say, My doctrine is not mine, as an ambassador might say, I speak not my own words, but his who sent me: and he speaks these words to draw the attention of the Jews from the teaching of man to the teaching of God; and to show them that he was the promised Messiah, the very person on whom, according to the prophet, (Isa_11:2), the Spirit of Jehovah - the Spirit of wisdom, counsel, understanding, might, and knowledge, should rest. GILL, "Jesus answered them and said,.... Having heard them express their surprise, and state their objection: my doctrine is not mine: it was his, as he was God; as such, he was the author of it, it was from him, by the revelation of him; and it was of him, or he was the subject of it, as Mediator; it respected his person as God-man, his offices, as prophet, priest, and King, and his grace, righteousness; and salvation; and it was his, as preached by him as man; it came by him, and first began to be spoken by him; and was so spoken by him, as it never was before, or since: but it was not human; it was not acquired by him, as man; he did not learn it of man; he needed no human teachings; he increased in wisdom without them, from his infancy: they said right, in saying he had never learned; the spirit of wisdom and knowledge rested on high, and the treasures of them were hid in him; nor was it a device or invention of his, as man; it was not from himself as such, but it was from heaven, from his Father: wherefore he adds, but his that sent me; thereby intimating, that it was of God, and was communicated to him by his Father; from whom he received it, and from whom he had a commission to preach it; so that his doctrine was that wisdom which comes from above, and is pure and peaceable, divine and heavenly, and ought to be received by men. HENRY, "(2.) What he asserted concerning it; three things: - [1.] That his doctrine is divine (Joh_7:16): My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. They were offended because he undertook to teach though he had never learned, in answer to which he tells them that his doctrine was such as was not to be 85
- 86. learned, for itwas not the product of human thought and natural powers enlarged and elevated by reading and conversation, but it was a divine revelation. As God, equal with the Father, he might truly have said, My doctrine is mine, and his that sent me; but being now in his estate of humiliation, and being, as Mediator, God's servant, it was more congruous to say, “My doctrine is not mine, not mine only, nor mine originally, as man and mediator, but his that sent me; it does not centre in myself, nor lead ultimately to myself, but to him that sent me.” God had promised concerning the great prophet that he would put his words into his mouth (Deu_ 18:18), to which Christ seems here to refer. Note, It is the comfort of those who embrace Christ's doctrine, and the condemnation of those who reject it, that it is a divine doctrine: it is of God and not of man. CALVIN, "16.My doctrine is not mine. Christ shows that this circumstance, which was an offense to the Jews, was rather a ladder by which they ought to have risen higher to perceive the glory of God; as if he had said, “When you see a teacher not trained in the school of men, know that I have been taught by God.” For the reason why the Heavenly Father determined that his Son should go out of a mechanic’s workshop, rather than from the schools of the scribes, was, that the origin of the Gospel might be more manifest, that none might think that it had been fabricated on the earth, or imagine that any human being was the author of it. Thus also Christ chose ignorant and uneducated men to be his apostles, and permitted them to remain three years in gross ignorance, that, having instructed them in a single instant, he might bring them forward as new men, and even as angels who had just come down from heaven. But that of him who sent me. Meanwhile, Christ shows whence we ought to derive the authority of spiritual doctrine, from God alone. And when he asserts that the doctrine of his Father is not his, he looks to the capacity of the hearers, who had no higher opinion of him than that he was a man. By way of concession, therefore, he allows himself to be reckoned different from his Father, but so as to bring forward nothing but what the Father had enjoined. The amount of what is stated is, that what he teaches in the name of his Father is not a doctrine of men, and did not proceed from men, so as to be capable of being despised with impunity. We see by what method he procures authority for his doctrine. It is by referring it to God as its Author. We see also on what ground, and for what reason, he demands that he shall be heard. It is, because the Father sent him to teach. Both of these things ought to be possessed by every man who takes upon himself the office of a teacher, and wishes that he should be believed. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 86
- 87. BARNES, "If anyman will do his will - Literally, if any man wills or is willing to do the will of God. If there is a disposition in anyone to do that will, though he should not be able perfectly to keep His commandments. To do the will of God is to obey His commandments; to yield our hearts and lives to His requirements. A disposition to do His will is a readiness to yield our intellects, our feelings, and all that we have entirely to Him, to be governed according to His pleasure. He shall know - He shall have evidence, in the very attempt to do the will of God, of the truth of the doctrine. This evidence is internal, and to the individual it is satisfactory and conclusive. It is of two kinds. 1. He will find that the doctrines which Jesus taught are such as commend themselves to his reason and conscience, and such as are consistent with all that we know of the perfections of God. His doctrines commend themselves to us as fitted to make us pure and happy, and of course they are such as must be from God. 2. An honest desire to obey God will lead a man to embrace the great doctrines of the Bible. He will find that his heart is depraved and inclined to evil, and he will see and feel the truth of the doctrine of depravity; he will find that he is a sinner and needs to be born again; he will learn his own weakness, and see his need of a Saviour, of an atonement, and of pardoning mercy; he will feel that he is polluted, and needs the purifying influence of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we may learn: 1. That an honest effort to obey God is the easiest way to become acquainted with the doctrines of the Bible. 2. Those who make such an effort will not cavil at any of the doctrines of the Scriptures. 3. This is evidence of the truth of revelation which every person can apply to his own case. 4. It is such evidence as to lead to certainty. No one who has ever made an honest effort to live a pious life, and to do all the will of God, has ever had any doubt of the truth of the Saviour’s doctrines, or any doubt that his religion is true and is suited to the nature of man. They only doubt the truth of religion who wish to live in sin. 5. We see the goodness of God in giving us evidence of his truth that may be within every man’s reach. It does not require great learning to be a Christian, and to be convinced of the truth of the Bible. It requires an honest heart, and a willingness to obey God. Whether it be of God - Whether it be divine. Or whether I speak of myself - Of myself without being commissioned or directed by God. CLARKE, "If any man wilt do his will, etc. - I will give you a sure rule by which ye may judge of my doctrine: If you really wish to do the will of God, begin the practice of it; and take my doctrine, and apply it to all that you know God requires of man; and if you find one of my precepts contrary to the nature, perfections, and glory of God, or to the present or eternal welfare of men, then ye shall be at liberty to assert that my doctrine is human and erroneous, and God has not sent me. But if, on the contrary, ye find that the sum and substance of my preaching is, That men shall love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves; 87
- 88. and that thisdoctrine must bring glory to God in the highest, while it produces peace and good will among men; then acknowledge that God has visited you, and receive me as the Messiah promised to your fathers. GILL, "If any man will do his will,.... Meaning, not one that perfectly fulfils the law, which is the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God; for there is no man that does this, or can do it; nor is it so said here, "if any man do his will", but "if any man will do" it; that is, is desirous of doing it; who has it wrought in him both to will and do, of the good pleasure of God, by his grace and Spirit; with whom to will is present, though, he has not power to perform, and so is a spiritual man; and who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is one branch of the will of God; and who depends upon the Spirit and grace of God, and acts from a principle of love to God, and in the exercise of faith on Christ: he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself; not a man of mere natural knowledge and learning, or a man of theory and speculation, is a judge of doctrine; but he that leans not to his own understanding, and implores the assistance of the Divine Spirit, and who is for reducing doctrine into practice: he knows by the efficacy of the doctrine upon his heart, and the influence it has on his life and conversation; by its coming not in word only, but in power; and by its working effectually in him, whether it is divine or human, of God or of man. HENRY, "[2.] That the most competent judges of the truth and divine authority of Christ's doctrine are those that with a sincere and upright heart desire and endeavour to do the will of God (Joh_7:17): If any man be willing to do the will of God, have his will melted into the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Observe here, First, What the question is, concerning the doctrine of Christ, whether it be of God or no; whether the gospel be a divine revelation or an imposture. Christ himself was willing to have his doctrine enquired into, whether it were of God or no, much more should his ministers; and we are concerned to examine what grounds we go upon, for, if we be deceived, we are miserably deceived. Secondly, Who are likely to succeed in this search: those that do the will of God, at least are desirous to do it. Now see, 1. Who they are that will do the will of God. They are such as are impartial in their enquiries concerning the will of God, and are not biassed by any lust or interest, and such as are resolved by the grace of God, when they find out what the will of God is, to conform to it. They are such as have an honest principle of regard to God, and are truly desirous to glorify and please him. 2. Whence it is that such a one shall know of the truth of Christ's doctrine. (1.) Christ has promised to give knowledge to such; he hath said, He shall know, and he can give an understanding. Those who improve the light they have, and carefully live up to it, shall be secured by divine grace from destructive mistakes. (2.) They are disposed and prepared to receive that knowledge. He that is inclined to submit to the rules of the divine law is disposed to admit the rays of divine light. To him that has shall be given; those have a good understanding that do his commandments, Psa_ 111:10. Those who resemble God are most likely to understand him. JAMIESON, "If any man will do his will, etc. — “is willing,” or “wishes to do.” whether ... of God, or ... of myself — from above or from beneath; is divine or an imposture of Mine. A principle of immense importance, showing, on the one 88
- 89. hand, that singlenessof desire to please God is the grand inlet to light on all questions vitally affecting one’s eternal interests, and on the other, that the want of his, whether perceived or not, is the chief cause of infidelity amidst the light of revealed religion. SBC, "The general principle affirmed in the text is, that there is an unalterable connection between the perceptions of the mind and the moral state of the heart— between the understanding of truth and the practice of godliness. In other words, that spiritual intelligence grows as proficiency in spiritual practice grows; and that, other things being equal, nay, even under circumstances of the most unfavourable intellectual disparity, that man will have the clearest, fullest, richest, deepest insight into Divine things, whose will is most obediently and deeply fashioned after the will of God. The text holds good:— I. Because a life of true obedience to the Divine precepts is most favourable to the operation of those thinking and feeling faculties, in and through which the knowledge of God reaches the soul. Religion, we must remember, addresses itself to the whole nature of man—that is, to all the parts of his intellectual, moral, and spiritual being. No man could know the doctrine, whose whole life was consciously opposed to the will of God, for he has determined not to know it; has raised as many obstacles as he can in the way of knowing it; used his reason, as far as he has used it, to sustain a false and foregone conclusion; putting out his own eyes, in order that he may be in a position to say, "I cannot see." II. But the principle of our text goes much farther than this. Not only will a life opposed to the will of God raise up influences unfavourable to the reception of Divine truth, but a life which is according to that will, or which tries to be according to it, shall be blessed with a peculiar and special measure of religious knowledge—an understanding hid from the wise and prudent—of the deep things of God. Obedience strengthens love, and love induces likeness, and likeness is that which leads to the most perfect knowledge; nay, is the very means by which, in our glorified state, we are to have a true vision of God. The steps, or processes, of knowledge are unbroken; we pass from light to light, from glory to glory; from a comprehending with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, to a state in which, with the strong eagle gaze of our resurrection faculties, we see God face to face. D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3412. COFFMAN, “As in John 3:19-21, Jesus here again made the ability to believe on himself to turn on a question of will, and not of intelligence alone; and these remarks are the equivalent of his saying, "Look, if you really want to do the will of God, you will recognize that it is God's will, and not mine own, that I am proclaiming," There could also be further implications of this verse, as David Lipscomb noted: Does not this involve the conclusion that if anyone in the world really desires to do the will of God, he will be brought to know that will? Is it possible that God would give his Son to die to open the way of salvation, and then leave one to die in ignorance of that way who would accept it if he knew it?[3] The difficulty of finding out what is right in religion is a common complaint among men. They point to many differences among Christians and profess to be unable to decide what is right. (Such a person) should use what little knowledge he has got, and God will soon give him more.[4]SIZE> 89
- 90. The source ofknowing God's will is the Bible; but reason, intelligence, experience, obedience, and love are among the instruments by which true wisdom from its sacred pages may be won. And even more important than those instruments is that of the human will DESIRING to know the truth. Many accept blindly whatever teaching they received as a child without ever striving to know if it was really God's will that they learned. Ruskin warned against this: Of all the insolent, and foolish persuasions that by any chance could enter and hold your empty little heart, this is the profoundest and foolishest, - that you have been so much the darling of heaven, and the favorite of the fates, as to be born in the nick of time, and in the punctual place, when and where pure divine truth had been sifted from the errors of the nations; and that your papa had been providentially disposed to buy a house in the convenient neighborhood of the steeple under which that immaculate and final verity would be proclaimed! Do not think it, child; it is not so.[5] [3] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the Gospel of John (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Co., 1960), p. 111. [4] J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 440. [5] James Hastings, The Great Texts of the Bible (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark), p. 307. CALVIN, "17.If any man wish to do his will. He anticipates the objections that might be made. For since he had many adversaries in that place, some one might readily have murmured against him in this manner: “Why dost thou boast to us of the name of God? For we do not know that thou hast proceeded from him. Why, then, dost thou press upon us that maxim, which we do not admit to thee, that thou teachest nothing but by the command of God?” Christ, therefore, replies that sound judgment flows from fear and reverence for God; so that, if their minds be well disposed to the fear of God, they will easily perceive if what he preaches be true or not. He likewise administers to them, by it, an indirect reproof; for how comes it that they cannot distinguish between falsehood and truth, (185) but because they want the principal requisite to sound understanding, namely, piety, and the earnest desire to obey God? This statement is highly worthy of observation. Satan continually plots against us, and spreads his nets in every direction, that he may take us unawares by his delusions. Here Christ most excellently forewarns us to beware of exposing ourselves to any of his impostures, assuring us that if we are prepared to obey God, he will never fail to illuminate us by the light of his Spirit, so that we shall be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Nothing else, therefore, hinders us from judging aright, but that we are unruly and headstrong; and every time that Satan deceives us, we are justly punished for our hypocrisy. In like manner Moses gives warning that, when false prophets arise, we are tried 90
- 91. and proved byGod; for they whose hearts are right will never be deceived, (Deuteronomy 13:3.) Hence it is evident how wickedly and foolishly many persons in the present day, dreading the danger of falling into error, by that very dread shut the door against all desire to learn; as if our Savior had not good ground for saying, Knock, and it shall be opened to you, (Matthew 7:7.) On the contrary, if we be entirely devoted to obedience to God, let us not doubt that He will give us the spirit of discernment, to be our continual director and guide. If others choose to waver, they will ultimately find how flimsy are the pretences for their ignorance. And, indeed, we see that all who now hesitate, and prefer to cherish their doubt rather than, by reading or hearing, to inquire earnestly where the truth of God is, have the hardihood to set God at defiance by general principles. One man will say that he prays for the dead, because, distrusting his own judgment, he cannot venture to condemn the false doctrines invented by wicked men about purgatory; and yet he will freely allow himself to commit fornication. Another will say that he has not so much acuteness as to be able to distinguish between the pure doctrine of Christ and the spurious contrivances of men, but yet he will have acuteness enough to steal or commit perjury. In short, all those doubters, who cover themselves with a veil of doubt in all those matters which are at present the subject of controversy, display a manifest contempt of God on subjects that are not at all obscure. We need not wonder, therefore, that the doctrine of the Gospel is received by very few persons in the present day, since there is so little of the fear of God in the world. Besides, these words of Christ contain a definition of true religion; that is, when we are prepared heartily to follow the will of God, which no man can do, unless he has renounced his own views. Or if I speak from myself. We ought to observe in what manner Christ wishes that a judgment should be formed about any doctrine whatever. He wishes that what is from God should be received without controversy, but freely allows us to reject whatever is from man; for this is the only distinction that he lays down, by which we ought to distinguish between doctrines. ELLICOTT, “(17) If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.— Better, If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching. The stress is upon “willeth,” which in our version reads as if it were only the auxiliary verb. It is not deed, which is the outcome of faith; but will, which precedes it, that is here spoken of. This human will to do the divine will is the condition of knowing it. The words are unlimited and far-reaching in their meaning. Those who heard them would naturally understand them, as it was intended they should, of the divine will expressed in the Law and the Prophets (John 7:19), but they include the will of God revealed, more or less clearly, to all men and in all times. Our thoughts dwell naturally on representative lives, such as those of Saul the Pharisee, Cornelius the centurion, Justin the philosopher; but the truth holds good for every honest heart in every walk of life. The “any man” of Christ’s own words excludes none from its reach, and the voice of comfort and of hope is 91
- 92. spoken alike toall in our ignorance, fears, doubts—that he who in very deed willeth to do God’s will, shall not fail to know, now or in the life to come, of the teaching whether it be of God. (Comp. Notes on John 5:44 et seq., and John 6:29 and John 6:45.) CONSTABLE, “Jesus further claimed that the key to validating His claim that His teaching came from God was a determination to do God's will. The normal way that the rabbis settled such debates was through discussion. However, Jesus taught that the key factor was moral rather than intellectual. If anyone was willing to do God's will, not just to know God's truth, God would enable that one to believe that Jesus' teaching came from above (cf. John 6:44). The most important thing then is a commitment to follow God's will. Once a person makes that commitment God begins to convince him or her what is true. Faith must precede reason, not the other way around. "His hearers had raised the question of his competence as a teacher. He raises the question of their competence as hearers." [Note: Morris, p. 360.] Jesus was not saying that the accuracy of our understanding is in direct proportion to our submission to God. Some very godly people have held some very erroneous views. There are other factors that also determine how accurate our understanding may be. He was not saying that if a person happens to do God's will he or she will automatically understand the origin of Jesus' teaching either. His point was that submission to God rather than intellectual analysis is the foundation for understanding truth, particularly the truth of Jesus' teachings (cf. Proverbs 1:7). "Spiritual understanding is not produced solely by learning facts or procedures, but rather it depends on obedience to known truth. Obedience to God's known will develops discernment between falsehood and truth." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 84.] GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE, "The Will to Know If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself.—Joh_7:17. 1. The Feast of Tabernacles was in progress in Jerusalem when Jesus entered the Temple to teach. A circle of Jews were gathered round Him, who seem to have been spellbound with the extraordinary wisdom of His words. He made no pretension to be a scholar. He was no graduate of the Rabbinical schools. He had no access to the sacred literature of the people. Yet here was this stranger from Nazareth confounding the wisest heads in Jerusalem, and unfolding with calm and effortless skill such truths as even these Temple walls had never heard before. Then “the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” What organ of spiritual knowledge can He have, never having learned? Never having learned—they did not know that Christ had learned. They did not know the school at Nazareth whose Teacher was in heaven—whose schoolroom was a carpenter’s shop—the lesson, the Father’s will. They knew not 92
- 93. that hidden truthscould come from God, or wisdom from above. What came to them was gathered from human books, or caught from human lips. They knew no organ save the mind; no instrument of knowing the things of heaven but that by which they learned in the schools. But Jesus points to a spiritual world which lay still far beyond, and tells them of the spiritual eye which reads its profounder secrets and reveals the mysteries of God. “My doctrine is not mine,” He says, “but his that sent me”; and “my judgment is just,” as He taught before, “because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” And then, lest men should think this great experience was never meant for them, He applies His principles to every human mind which seeks to know God’s will. “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the teaching whether it be of God.” 2. “If any man willeth to do … he shall know.” The quality of our perceptions is to be determined by the character of our wills. If we look after our moral wills our spiritual eyes will attend to themselves. Our visions wait upon our volitions. Moral obedience is the secret of spiritual discernment. “If any man willeth to do”; that is the first step in the exploration of eternal truth; that is the “open sesame” into the region of light and glory. “If any man willeth to do,” that is the instrument; “he shall know,” that is the consequent revelation. “If any man willeth to do”; that is the telescope through which we survey the far-stretching panorama of Gospel truth, or it is the microscope through which we discern the mind of God in the immediate problem. “He shall know!” The first part of the text proclaims the means, the second enshrines the issues. Doing and knowing are blood relations. “Obedience is the organ of spiritual vision”—so Robertson re-issued the truth, that, if we would know God’s doctrine, we must do His will. Experiment and experience spring from the same root, and will not grow apart. Do you wish you had a Christian’s experience? Will to make the Christian experiment. Will you know who Christ is, and what He can do for you? Obey Him; do as He directs. Do not expect experience without experiment. “Follow me” was Christ’s way of saying “Taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”1 [Note: M. D. Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living, 38.] I Obeying “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know.” Here we have the means by which knowledge of truth is attainable. There are a number of instruments for finding out the will of God. One of them is a very great instrument, so far surpassing all the rest in accuracy that there may be said to be but one which has never been known to fail. The others are smaller and clumsier, much less delicate, indeed, and often fail. They often fail to come within sight of the will of God at all, and are so far astray at other times as to mistake some other thing for it. Still they are instruments and, notwithstanding their defects, have a value by themselves; and when the great instrument employs their humbler powers to second its attempts, they immediately become as keen and as unerring as itself. 93
- 94. The most importantof these minor instruments is Reason; and although it is a minor instrument, it is great enough in many a case to reveal the secret will of God. God is taking our life and character through a certain process, for example. He is running our career along a certain chain of events. And sometimes the light which He is showing us stops, and we have to pick our way for a few steps by the dimmer lights of thought. But it is God’s will for us then to use this thought, and to elevate it through regions of consecration, into faith, and to walk by this light till the clearer beam from His will comes back again. Another of these instruments is Experience. There are many paths in life which we all tread more than once. God’s light was by us when we walked them first, and lit a beacon here and there along the way. But the next time He sent our feet along that path He knew the sidelights would be burning still, and let us walk alone. And then there is Circumstance. God closes things in around us till our alternatives are all reduced to one. That one, if we must act, is probably the will of God just then. And then there are the Advice of others—an important element at least—and the Welfare of others, and the Example to others, and the many other facts and principles that make up the moral man, which, if not strong enough always to discover what God’s will is, are not too feeble often to determine what it is not. Even the best of these instruments, however, has but little power in its own hands. The ultimate appeal is always to the one great Instrument, which uses them in turn as it requires, and which supplements their discoveries, or even supplants them, if it choose, by its own superior light, and might, and right. It is like some great glass that can sweep the skies in the darkest night and trace the motions of the farthest stars, while all the rest can but see a faint uncertain light piercing, for a moment here and there the clouds which lie between. And this great instrument for finding out God’s will, this instrument which can penetrate where reason cannot go, where observation has not been before, and memory is helpless, and the guiding hand of circumstance has failed, has a name which is seldom associated with any end so great, a name which every child may understand, even as the stupendous instrument itself with all its mighty powers is sometimes moved by infant hands when others have tried in vain. The name of the instrument is Obedience. Obedience, as it is sometimes expressed, is the organ of spiritual knowledge. As the eye is the organ of physical sight; the mind, of intellectual sight; so the organ of spiritual vision is this strange power, Obedience. This is one of the great discoveries the Bible has made to the world. It is purely a Bible thought. Philosophy never conceived a truth so simple and yet so sublime. And, although it was known in Old Testament times, and expressed in Old Testament books, it was reserved for Jesus Christ to make the full discovery to the world, and add to His teaching another of the profoundest truths that have come from heaven to earth—that the mysteries of the Father’s will are hid in this word “obey.” Men say that when they know they will do; Jesus says that when they do they will know. He does not promise to manifest Himself to the man who dreams or debates, but to him who keeps his commandments. The seeds of truth sprout in the soil of obedience. The words of Jesus in the mind of a disobedient man are no more vital than wheat in the wrappings of a mummy. To know the Divinity of Jesus’s teachings, we must do His will with definite intention. Moral 94
- 95. disobedience is mentaldarkness, but to submit our wills in loyalty to His law is to open our minds to the light of His truth.1 [Note: M. D. Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living, 19.] 1. “If any man.”—Observe the universality of the law. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself.” The law was true of the Man Christ Jesus Himself. He tells us it is true of all other men. In God’s universe there are no favourites of heaven who may transgress the laws of the universe with impunity—none who can take fire in the hand and not be burnt—no enemies of heaven who if they sow corn will reap tares. The law is just and true to all: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” In God’s spiritual universe there are no favourites of heaven who can attain knowledge and spiritual wisdom apart from obedience. There are none reprobate by an eternal decree, who can surrender self and in all things submit to God, and yet fail of spiritual convictions. It is not therefore a rare, partial condescension of God, arbitrary and causeless, which gives knowledge of the truth to some, and shuts it out from others; but a vast, universal, glorious law. The light lighteth every man that cometh into the world. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know.” Of all the insolent, all the foolish persuasions that by any chance could enter and hold your empty little heart, this is the proudest and foolishest,—that you have been so much the darling of the Heavens, and favourite of the Fates, as to be born in the very nick of time, and in the punctual place, when and where pure Divine truth had been sifted from the errors of the Nations; and that your papa had been providentially disposed to buy a house in the convenient neighbourhood of the steeple under which that Immaculate and final verity would be beautifully proclaimed. Do not think it, child; it is not so. This, on the contrary, is the fact,—unpleasant you may think it; pleasant, it seems to me,— that you, with all your pretty dresses, and dainty looks, and kindly thoughts, and saintly aspirations, are not one whit more thought of or loved by the great Maker and Master than any poor little red, black, or blue savage, running wild in the pestilent woods, or naked on the hot sands of the earth; and that, of the two, you probably know less about God than she does; the only difference being that she thinks little of Him that is right, and you much that is wrong.1 [Note: Ruskin, Sesame and Lilies (Works, xviii. 36).] 2. “Willeth to do.”—The old version reads: “If any man will do his will, he shall know,” but the Revised Version takes us a step farther back, away to the preparatory conditions before any deed is yet accomplished. “If any man willeth to do … he shall know!” Back from doing to willingness to do. We are led from the realm of conduct to the region of character, from finished deed to primary aspirations. Notice the difference this makes in the problem. Before, it looked as if the doing were to come first and then the knowing His will; but now another element is thrown in at the very beginning. The being willing comes first and then the knowing; and thereafter the doing may follow—the doing, that is to say, if the will has been sufficiently clear to proceed. The whole stress of the passage therefore turns on this word “willeth.” And Christ’s answer to the question, How shall we know the will of God? may be simply stated thus: “If any man is willing 95
- 96. to do God’swill, he shall know,” or, in plainer language still, “If any man is sincerely trying to do God’s will, he shall know.” The connection of all this with obedience is just that being willing is the highest form of obedience. It is the spirit and essence of obedience. There is an obedience in the world which is no obedience, because the act of obedience is there but the spirit of submission is not. On Joh_8:43-44 : “Ye cannot hear my word; and the lusts of your father ye will do,” Brownlow North remarks, “The ‘will’ explains the ‘cannot.’ You cannot, because your will is in opposition.”1 [Note: K. Moody-Stuart, Brownlow North, 265.] “A certain man,” we read in the Bible, “had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” Obedience here comes out in its true colours as a thing in the will. And if any man have an obeying will, a truly single and submissive will, he shall know of the teaching, or of the leading, whether it be of God.2 [Note: H. Drummond, The Ideal Life, 309.] 3. “His will.”—If there is one thing more than another which is more personal to the Christian, more singularly his than God’s love or God’s interest—one thing which is a finer symbol of God’s love and interest, it is the knowledge of God’s will—the private knowledge of God’s will. And this is more personal, just inasmuch as it is more private. My private portion of God’s love is only a private share in God’s love—only a part—the same in quality and kind as all the rest of God’s love, which all the others get from God. But God’s will is a thing for myself. There is a will of God for me which is willed for no one else besides. It is not a share in the universal will, in the same sense as I have a share in the universal love. It is a particular will for me, different from the will He has for any one else—a private will—a will which no one else knows about, which no one can know about, but me. (1) God has a life-plan for every human life. In the eternal counsels of His will, when He arranged the destiny of every star, and every sand-grain and grass- blade, and each of those tiny insects which live but for an hour, the Creator had a thought for each of us. Our life was to be the slow unfolding of this thought, as the corn-stalk from the grain of corn, or the flower from the gradually opening bud. It was a thought of what we were to be, of what we might become, of what He would have us do with our days and years, our influence and our lives. But we all had the terrible power to evade this thought, and shape our lives from another thought, from another will, if we chose. The bud could only become a flower, and the star revolve in the orbit God had fixed. But it was man’s prerogative to choose his path, his duty to choose it in God. But the Divine right to choose at all has always seemed more to him than his duty to choose in God, so, for the most part, he has taken his life from God, and cut out his career for himself. 96
- 97. (2) It hashappened, therefore, that the very fact of God’s guidance in the individual life has been denied. It is said to give life an importance quite foreign to the Divine intention in making man. One life, it is argued, is of no more importance than any other life, and to talk of special providences happening every hour of every day is to detract from the majesty and dignity of God; in fact, it reduces a religious life to a mere religious caprice, and the thought that God’s will is being done to a hallucination of the mind. But the Christian cannot allow the question to be put off with poor evasions like these. Every day, indeed, and many times a day, the question arises in a hundred practical forms. What is the will of God for me? What is the will of God for me to-day, just now, for the next step, for this arrangement and for that, and this amusement, and this projected work for Christ? For all these he feels he must consult the will of God; and that God has a will for him in all such things, and that it must be possible somehow to know what that will is, is not only a matter of hope, but a point in his doctrine and creed. 4. How may we assure ourselves that this willingness to do God’s will is ours? (1) We may judge our primary bias by our treatment of the light which we have already received. Our inclinations are reflected in our ways; our inclinations are the moulds in which our deeds are shaped. What, then, have our deeds to say about our inclinations? What have we done with the light which has already been given? For God has nowhere and at no time left Himself without a witness. In no man’s life, however imprisoned and bewildered, is there ever a heaven without a twinkle of guiding light. On the darkening wastes of every life, with all its moors and fens and torrents, there is a kindly gleam. Many things are hidden, but all things are not obscure. Some things are clear, and what have we done with them? We are praying for larger days, and there is a little glow-lamp at our feet; what have we done with that? Are we asking for stars and at the same time despising candles? Are we waiting for light upon unknown continents, and disdaining the proffered lamp that would guide us down the street? We are, perhaps, waiting for the sun to rise upon the dark and awful mysteries of the Atonement, while in our immediate presence there shines the light of a vivid and neglected duty. The text makes one thing plain, and we shall do infinitely well to heed it—that sunrises are not for those who neglect candles, and that we need never expect to enter into the illumined recesses of sacred truth if the condemnatory light of despised lamps is shining in our rear. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know,” and we are pathetically and tragically foolish if we are seeking the knowledge by any other road. The way to firm, fine perception, and therefore to the rich unfolding of truth and glory, is not through metaphysics, or by the towering aspirations of philosophic Babels, but by the humble commonplace road of reverent moral obedience. An earnest but pessimistic priest was talking to the Bishop about the state of his parish, and was specially troubled by the small success of his efforts to help the younger farm-lads lodging at the various homesteads. “For example, my Lord,” he said, “there is one lad with whom I had taken much trouble, and I hoped an influence for good was getting a lodgment in the boy’s heart. But, imagine my distress when I asked what he had done in the way of preparation for his early 97
- 98. Communion at Easter,and all he said was, ‘I’s cleaned my boots, and put ’em under the bed.’ It is sad, indeed!”—“Well, dear friend,” replied the Bishop, “and don’t you think the angels would rejoice to see them there?”1 [Note: G. W. E. Russell, Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, 114.] (2) Many of us are putting second things first. We are seeking to know the mind of the Lord, to disengage His truth, when all the time we are rebels to the truth we know. Now a neglected duty always pollutes the air like a neglected lamp; it contributes smoke when it was purposed to contribute light, and the very minister of illumination makes the atmosphere more dense and opaque. In our quest for God and truth we must, therefore, see to it that there are no smoking lamps, and we do this when we firmly set ourselves to do the will we know. There are whole continents of spiritual truth lying back in twilight and night, but there is a fringe of revelation in the foreground, glimpses of our Lord’s will which leave us in no manner of doubt. Let us begin with the will we know, and through it move on to the unknown. But, when I say “the will we know,” I mean all the will we know. We are not to choose a candle here and a candle there, and reject and ignore the rest. We must not pick and choose among the lamps. If we are seeking the land of the morning, we must not despise a single candle which gives its kindly guidance by the way. Wherever we find a clear revelation of our Master’s will it is through scrupulous obedience to that will that we must seek the unveiling of the truth that still remains hid. Obey something; and you will have a chance some day of finding out what is best to obey.1 [Note: Ruskin, Fors Clavigera.] As long as we set up our own will and our own wisdom against God’s, we make that wall between us and His love which I have spoken of just now. But as soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light given us to guide our own steps; as the foot-soldier who hears nothing of the councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey.2 [Note: Mr. Tryan, in Scenes of Clerical Life.] (3) If a man is willing to do the will of God, he will be watchful against the prejudices and prepossessions which would hinder him from knowing that will. He will know the danger which always exists of self-deception, and of confounding strong conviction with sound and solid persuasion. Some men have strong convictions, but they believe a lie, a lie for which, if need be, they are prepared to give up their life. Let us never forget that the firmness with which we hold any principle is no proof of its truthfulness, unless we have verified it in practice. The man whom Christ contemplates is one to whom all light is welcome, come from what quarter it may. It may disturb old convictions; it may reveal that as true which before seemed to be false; it may alter the proportions and relations of truths, giving a primary position to some which once held but a secondary, and, on the contrary, reducing to a lower status what once was highest of all. But it is the will of God he is bent on knowing and doing, and this is more than a recompense for all the disturbance which may befall merely inherited opinions. He will feel that there is no interest, either in this world or in 98
- 99. any other, comparedwith that of finding out and fulfilling the will of God. This must be right, this must be best. The difficulty of gaining admission for any truth into the minds of men whose lives are in disconformity with it is proverbial. If a man’s interests, his present or even his fancied interests, or his pleasures are involved in his continuance in any course of action, we know what a mass of evidence is required to convince him that he is in the wrong. To the makers and sellers of silver shrines there will be no goddess like Diana of the Ephesians. If a craft, however iniquitous, be in danger, we need not be sanguine in our hopes of convincing of its wickedness those who are enriching themselves by its gains. We may be prepared with much evidence of its wrongfulness, but they have profits which overwhelm all our demonstrations. Hence it is that the opinions of men are quite as frequently the product of their practices as their cause; and the doctrine, while it gives its complexion to the life, as certainly takes its complexion from it. Thieves do not first excogitate evil maxims, and then begin to steal; they first begin to steal, and then adopt evil maxims; and as a rule, the worse the man, the worse must be the principles from which he acts; and the better the man, the nobler the principles which animate him.1 [Note: E. Mellor, The Footsteps of Heroes, 239.] When the Cliffords tell us how sinful it is to be Christians on such “insufficient evidence,” insufficiency is really the last thing they have in mind. For them the evidence is absolutely sufficient, only it makes the other way. They believe so completely in an antichristian order of the universe that there is no living option: Christianity is a dead hypothesis from the start.2 [Note: W. James, The Will to Believe, 14.] II Knowing “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know.” Here we have the issue of obedience. This willingness to do His will, whether I find the clear revelation in the sacred word or in the private oratory of my own conscience, gives to my life the requisite atmosphere in which all spiritual truth is to be discerned. To be willing to do His will, and to do it, gathers into the life a certain air of refinement which is the only congenial medium for the discovery of spiritual truth. Everybody has noticed how clearly sounds travel when there is snow on the ground. When that white vesture clothes the earth soft sounds become articulate and doubtful callings become clear. And when, by scrupulous obedience to the will of the Saviour, the heart grows pure, when it is clothed in habits of consecration which dim even the whiteness of the virgin snow, then do the doubtful utterances of our Lord become articulate, and suggestions of remote and hidden truth speak clearly in our receptive ears. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching.” 1. “He shall know.”—If we hear our conscience and set our face to duty, it will be with us as with the traveller who ascends the Gemmi Pass. When he comes to the foot of the precipice along whose ledges and through whose crevices the 99
- 100. narrow path ascends,the mist may be lying heavy, and at first he may not find the starting-point. Once his feet are upon the path, although he cannot see beyond a few yards and has no idea how the path may wind, it is only a matter of dogged and careful perseverance. With every step the mist grows more luminous, glimpses of the crest can now and again be caught, and suddenly the traveller comes out from the cloud into the clear sunlight on the height, with the spotless snow around him and the blue of God’s heaven over his head. He that wills to do God’s will shall come to know God’s will before set of sun. I have known men who have for long doubted the existence of God and denied that we could know anything of Him, resolutely set themselves to be true and pure and unselfish, and the changed attitude has begotten a yearning for and a trust in a truth and righteousness and goodness out of and beyond themselves. The conviction that they must dwell in a personal source has gradually grown within their aspiring spirits; and they have come to feel sure that it is a Personal Will that is at the centre of our complicated, perplexed, and mysterious life, always going out in work and always unexhausted—a Will and not a cold, hard, material “power-not-of-ourselves”; the Personal Will of a living and loving Father. In seeking to do the best, they have, like Zaccheus, come on the track of Him who is the Absolute Best embodied and made attractive to all men for the salvation of the world.1 [Note: J. Clifford, The Dawn of Manhood, 95.] (1) “He shall know.”—There is a wide distinction between supposing and knowing—between fancy and conviction—between opinion and belief. Whatever rests on authority remains only supposition. We have an opinion when we know what others think. We know when we feel. In matters practical we know only so far as we can do. Feel God; do His will, till the Absolute Imperative within you speaks as with a living voice: Thou shalt, and thou shalt not; and then you do not think, you know, that there is a God. That is a conviction and a belief. Faith in Christ is an act rather of the spiritual nature than of the intellect, and as the result of sympathy with the truth rather than of critical examination of evidence. A painter or art-critic familiar with the productions of great artists feels himself insulted if you offer him evidence to convince him of the genuineness of a work of art over and above the evidence which it carries in itself, and which to him is the most convincing of all. If one of the lost books of Tacitus were recovered, scholars would not judge it by any account that might be given of its preservation and discovery, but would say, Let us see it and read it, and we will very soon tell you whether it is genuine or not. When the man you have seen every day for years, and whose character you have looked into under the strongest lights, is accused of dishonesty, and damaging evidence is brought against him, does it seriously disturb your confidence in him? Not at all. No evidence can countervail the knowledge gained by intercourse. You know the man, directly, and you believe in him without regard to what other persons advance in his favour or against him. Christ expects acceptance on similar grounds.2 [Note: Marcus Dods.] I never saw a moor, 100
- 101. I never sawthe sea; Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be. I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.1 [Note: Emily Dickinson.] (2) Let us remember, however, that the knowledge promised by Christ may become ours only gradually. Our experience may be like that of a man waiting for the dawn, rather than that of a man who is suddenly plunged out of darkness into the full blaze of the midday sun. The light grows upon us; and whilst, at first, we may see distinctly only one or another thing that lies nearest to us, after awhile other things rise into view, till at last whatever is within range becomes clearly visible. In relation to Divine truth we often find an impatience which would be counted very foolish in relation to natural truth. Men who are content to grope on very slowly in science, getting a glimpse now of one truth and then of another, expect in the region with which we are here concerned to pass almost at once into full light and certainty. This cannot be. Moral loyalty, earnest and well- directed labour and humble patience, are necessary conditions of entering into full possession of the secret of the Lord. I think I cannot be mistaken here. Could you know how I have lived in His mind, and tried to understand Him, till comprehension became adoration, you would think so. I am not pretending to a superior appreciation beyond yours—except only on this ground, that, professionally forced to the contemplation, and forced more terribly by doubts and difficulties that nearly shattered morals and life, till I was left alone with myself and Him, I am, perhaps, qualified to speak with a decision that would be otherwise dogmatism.2 [Note: Life and Letters of F. W. Robertson, 407.] 2. “He shall know of the teaching.”—We ought to fix in our minds what exactly Jesus intended by His words when He spoke of knowing the teaching and doing the will. He did not mean that we must be acquainted with the various dogmas which scientific religion has from time to time created and into whose mould the fluid idea concerning spiritual truth has been run. Dogmas are the achievement of the intellect, and the Pharisees were exceedingly strong in their dogmatic knowledge. When Jesus spoke of teaching He referred to the burden of His own teaching, and the sum of all His teaching was God. His aim was to impress the mind with a certain idea of God, and it was a moral rather than an intellectual conception. We do not find Jesus enlarging upon the existence and attributes of 101
- 102. God after themanner, say, of the Athanasian Creed. He said nothing about the being of God, but He endeavoured to convince men that God was the merciful and faithful Father of the human race; that He loved men, both good and bad, with a patient fatherly love; that He desired His children to abandon their sins and come home to His fellowship; that He was ready to receive them if they would only trust and obey Him. This was not theology, it was religion. It was not God’s being but God’s doing that Jesus preached, not His nature but His character. He desired not that men should solve problems about God, but that they should have fellowship with Him. I cannot but think that the brethren sometimes err in measuring the Divine love by the sinner’s knowledge.1 [Note: Dinah Morris, in Adam Bede.] 3. “Whether it be of God.”—The earnest purpose to do the will of God operates upon the heart of man, and leads him to the knowledge of the teaching, whether it be of God. Who can set himself to the higher life without there coming upon his soul a sense of contrast between such life and that which he has hitherto led? There is something enlightening in the very entertainment of a true purpose. It gives notice to all the unworthy passions of the heart that a conflict is at hand. The birth of this heavenly resolution is not unmingled pleasure. It cannot be. For there is a past which comes up with its records of sin and guilt, and the man feels that that past is his, and cannot be treated as if it had never been. He cannot wipe it from his memory, nor can he silence the accusations of conscience. Does not the soul feel that the teaching is of God, whatever may be the mysteries which envelop it—that it is of God, because it addresses itself to the awakened conscience—that it is of God, because it does not sweep justice away that it may find room for mercy, but blends the claims of both in the sovereign and the fatherly dispensation which saves the sinner, while it condemns his sins? I asked myself what my life was, and received as an answer: “An evil and an absurdity.” And indeed, my life—that life of pampered appetites and whims— was meaningless and evil, and so the answer, “Life is evil and meaningless,” had reference only to my life, and not to human life in general. I comprehended the truth, which I later found in the gospel, that men had come to love the darkness more than the light because their deeds were bad, for those who did bad deeds hated the light and did not go to it, lest their deeds be disclosed. I saw that in order to comprehend the meaning of life it was necessary, first of all, that life should not be meaningless and evil, and then only was reason needed for the understanding of it. I comprehended why I had so long walked round such a manifest truth, and that if I were to think and speak of the life of humanity, I ought to think and speak of the life of humanity, and not of the life of a few parasites of life. This truth had always been a truth, just as two times two was four, but I had not recognized it because, if I recognized that two times two was four, I should have had to recognize that I was not good, whereas it was more important and obligatory for me to feel myself good than to feel that two times two was four. I came to love good people and to hate myself, and I recognized the truth. Now everything became clear to me.1 [Note: Tolstoy, My Confession (Complete Works, xiii. 62).] 102
- 103. 4. What wonderfullight the words of our Lord cast on the true channel through which spiritual knowledge enters man, and how they rebuke the pride and arrogance of that reason which presumes to have the power to master all things. Reason has its sphere assigned to it by its Maker, and within that sphere it is “a vision and a faculty Divine”; but there are realms in which it plays, and was designed to play, a subordinate part, and in which its discovering power is very small. Even apart from religion, how many departments of truth there are in which reason is but an incompetent authority. How many men of the highest intellectual powers are shut out of the beauties created by the genius of the artist, the poet, the painter, the sculptor, and the musician. Their reason is blind and deaf before forms and sounds of the most transcendent loveliness. Many a mathematician, peerless in his power of calculation, stands in blank and unsympathetic mood before the loveliest forms that ever breathed on the canvas; and many a logician, whom no sophistry could elude, hears nothing but a succession of incoherent and confused noises in some marvellous creation of music which enthrals the appreciative soul. And yet the truth of art is as true as that of such matters as are within the province of reason itself, and can no more be justly discarded or despised by the merely intellectual philosopher than the radiant glories of the external universe can be denied by the man who is blind. So also, but in still higher degree, religion has its truths, which, though not contrary to reason, lie beyond its power to discover or, it may be, for the present, to harmonize. Shall reason, shut out of so many realms of truth even in the natural world, claim a sovereignty over the world in which infinite love and infinite wisdom are displaying their resources to redeem man from sin? Reason by itself has almost as little to do with the deeper experiences of the soul as affection has to do with the questions of arithmetic or the problems of geometry; for these deeper experiences are those of repentance, remorse, faith, hope, temptation, and struggle and heavenward aspiration. Love is ever the key to the deepest mysteries. Though shut to the scrutiny of the keenest reason, they open to the knocking of an affectionate and reverent heart. Hidden from those who regard themselves as the wise and prudent, they are revealed unto babes. They that seek to do the will of God shall indeed be taught of Him. If e’er when faith had fall’n asleep, I heard a voice “believe no more” And heard an ever-breaking shore That tumbled in the Godless deep; A warmth within the breast would melt The freezing reason’s colder part, And like a man in wrath the heart Stood up and answer’d “I have felt.”1 [Note: Tennyson, In Memoriam.] 103
- 104. I’ve seen prettyclear ever since I was a young un, as religion’s something else besides notions. It isn’t notions sets people doing the right thing—it’s feelings. It’s the same with the notions in religion as it is with math’matics,—a man may be able to work problems straight off in’s head as he sits by the fire and smokes his pipe; but if he has to make a machine or a building, he must have a will and a resolution, and love something else better than his own ease.1 [Note: Adam Bede, in Adam Bede.] 5. There are two types of men to whom Jesus’ words ought to be a warning. (1) The first is the man who supposes that he knows the doctrine, but is not doing the will. Is he sure that he knows anything which counts when his knowledge is so absolutely divorced from life? He has a very strong theory about the inspiration of the Bible, but what good is his devotion to the letter when the spirit of the Book has not affected his heart? He believes that he knows God, but how can he?—for God is love, and this man is not loving his brother. He is very keen about the Deity of Christ, but what right has he to speak of Christ since he will not carry Christ’s cross in mercy and humility? He is convinced that his sins are forgiven, and prates about assurance, but can they be loosed if he will not give quittance to his brother man? He has an unfaltering confidence that he will reach heaven when he dies, but what place can he have in heaven who to-day is carrying a hell of unclean or malignant passions in his heart? (2) The other is the man who is proud of his scepticism, and complains that he cannot know, while all the time he is refusing to obey. Granted that the Holy Trinity and the sacrifice of Christ are mysteries, and that God Himself is the chief mystery of all, he ought to remember that everything in life is not a mystery. It is open to us all to do our daily work with a single mind, to be patient amid the reverses of life, to be thoughtful in the discharge of our family duties, and to be self-denying in the management of our souls. Duty at any rate is no mystery, and it is grotesque that a man should proclaim that he cannot believe the most profound truths when he is making no honest effort to keep the plainest commandments. “I wish I had your creed, then I would live your life,” said a seeker after truth to Pascal, the great French thinker. “Live my life, and you will soon have my creed,” was the swift reply. The solution of all difficulties of faith lies in Pascal’s answer, which is after all but a variant of Christ’s greater saying, “He that willeth to do the will of God, shall know the teaching.” Is not the whole reason why, for so many of us, the religion of Christ which we profess has so little in it to content us, simply this, that we have never heartily and honestly tried to practise it?1 [Note: W. J. Dawson, The Empire of Love, 101.] Therefore be strong, be strong, Ye that remain, nor fruitlessly revolve, Darkling, the riddles which ye cannot solve, 104
- 105. But do theworks that unto you belong; Believing that for every mystery, For all the death, the darkness, and the curse Of this dim universe, Needs a solution full of love must be: And that the way whereby ye may attain Nearest to this, is not through broodings vain And half-rebellious, questionings of God, But by a patient seeking to fulfil The purpose of His everlasting will, Treading the path which lowly men have trod. Since it is ever they who are too proud For this, that are the foremost and most loud To judge His hidden judgments, these are still The most perplexed and lost at His mysterious will.2 [Note: Trench, Poems, 102.] 6. Jesus’ word has great comfort for two kinds of people. (1) The first is the man who is harassed by many perplexing questions, but who is doing his duty bravely. Courage, we say, and patience. No one ever carried Christ’s Cross without coming near to Christ Himself, and where Christ is, the light is sure to break. There is no sacrifice we make, no service we render, that is not bringing us nearer to the heart of things; for the heart of the universe is love. Let us watch as those who watch for the morning, and watch at our work, for the day will break and it will come with morning songs. St. Thomas could hardly believe anything, but he was willing to die with Christ, and Christ showed him His wounds. With anxious thoughts at this time General Booth avers, when the rubicon was passed and the severance from the Methodist New Connexion made final, “That he and his wife went out together not knowing a soul who would give them a shilling, neither knowing where to go.” Mrs. Booth wrote to her parents, “I am so nervous I can scarcely write. I am almost bewildered with fatigue and anxiety. If I thought it was right to stop here in the ordinary work I would gladly consent. But I cannot believe that it would be so. Why should he spend another year 105
- 106. plodding round thiswreck of a circuit, preaching to twenty, thirty, and forty people, when, with the same amount of cost to himself, he might be preaching to thousands? And none of our friends would think it right if we had an income. Then, I ask, does the securing of our bread and cheese make that right which would otherwise be wrong when God has promised to feed and clothe us? I think not; William hesitates. He thinks of me and the children, and I appreciate his love and care. But I tell him that God will provide if he will only go straight on in the path of duty. It is strange that I, who always used to shrink from the sacrifice, should be the first in making it.”1 [Note: The Life Story of General Booth, 55.] I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty; I woke, and found that life was Duty. Was thy dream then a shadowy lie? Toil on, sad heart, courageously, And thou shalt find thy dream to be A noonday light and truth to thee.2 [Note: Ellen S. Hooper.] (2) The other is the man who laments the simplicity of his intellect. Be of good cheer, and do not despair or despise yourself. The Master thanked God that He had hidden the deep things from the wise and had revealed them to babes; He also set a child in the midst of the disciples and told them that if any one desired to be great he must become as a little child. It is not through deep thinking, but through faithful doing, that one comes to know the mystery of God; and faithful doing is within every one’s reach. The path which philosophers and scientists have often missed has been found by shepherds on the hills, and by working women. Mary of Bethany and the fishermen of Galilee knew more of God than the scholars of Jerusalem. One hears sometimes of religious controversies running very high; about faith, works, grace, prevenient grace, the Arches Court and Essays and Reviews;—into none of which do I enter, or concern myself with your entering. One thing I will remind you of, That the essence and outcome of all religions, creeds and liturgies whatsoever is, To do one’s work in a faithful manner. Unhappy caitiff, what to you is the use of orthodoxy, if with every stroke of your hammer you are breaking all the Ten Commandments,—operating upon Devil’s-dust, and, with constant invocation of the Devil, endeavouring to reap where you have not sown? 3 [Note: Carlyle, Miscellaneous Essays, vii. 229.] NISBET, “KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE ‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.’ John 7:17 ‘All men naturally desire knowledge,’ said the ‘master of those who know,’ and it is a statement never more re-echoed than to-day. But among the varieties of 106
- 107. knowledge there isone, and one only, which concerns us all, learned and unlearned alike, and that is religious knowledge—the knowledge of our relation to God. I. God once known in any degree makes an immediate personal demand upon our conduct.—To reject that demand is, by the very nature of the case, to refuse to know Him, while to comply with the demand is to do His will, and so to verify the teaching of the text that if any man willeth to do, he shall know of the teaching. God means to us, above all things, a holy being, and holiness casts an obligation upon us who come near it. To be in the presence of holiness is to feel an obligation to be holy. This obligation is part of the very nature of holiness. To decline the obligation is to deny the nature of holiness, to be blind to its existence, and therefore to Him Whose attribute it is. There is, therefore, nothing unreasonable in the assertion that conduct is the key to creed, for the analogy of all knowledge argues this. The only difference in this respect between secular and sacred science is that the former is departmental, while the latter is universal. II. There is a quantitative relation between our doing and knowing.—We shall learn exactly as much of science as our experiment has justified, of God as our conduct may deserve. The same line of thought may help us to meet a further objection of the day. Knowledge which is based on conduct is a personal property which outsiders cannot share. This many resent. They expect belief to be universal—open to all; to be read in a book and criticised at will. But such is not the case with any other sort of knowledge. III. Divine truth is a revelation.—We have not chosen Him, but He has chosen us, and He appeals to all the faculties of our complex being. It was not in the critical attitude of the faculties that the saints of old spoke. From this personal character it follows that religious knowledge must be mystic, incommunicable. The religious man may be able to adduce reasons for the faith that is in him, but he feels all the while that his arguments cannot produce conviction. They but draw their colour therefrom, and are too secret, too spiritual, too sacred to produce. Our belief is sure. The influence of our life, prayers answered, judgments unmistakable, punishment for secret sin—these, as they gather round our inner history, make us hear the same voice speaking which said to Nathanael, ‘Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.’ Saintly example may call us to Christ, but it is only the sense that His eye is upon us that can change probability into certainty, and elicit the confession, ‘Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.’ The knowledge of God depends, primarily, upon the desire to do His will. It is revealed, not invented. It may be described and commended, but not imparted to our fellowmen. IV. ‘Come, and I will show you what the Lord hath done for my soul’ is the limit of a possible missionary appeal. From this vein the Church of Christ draws a practical corollary which men do not like to draw—that moral purification is necessary to the knowledge of God. There may have been earnest seekers after truth who have not found Him, but these are few and far between. Those who 107
- 108. bandy words aboutagnosticism have not been in earnest as the Church of Christ counts earnestness. Earnestness means to bring our secret sins into the light of God’s countenance; to mourn over them, forsake them, and acquiesce in the solemn fact that we have marred our purity for ever. The very fact that men consider it an insult to have unbelief attributed to sin shows how little they have studied the effect of sin on the soul. The knowledge of God may indeed be hard of attainment, as calling for personal effort long sustained. But it is within the reach of all, simple as well as sage. All men, of whatever intellectual capacity, are capable of loving, and may follow love’s leading if they will. ‘And he that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.’ Rev. J. R. Illingworth. Illustration ‘The best and most active-minded Christians, even those whose interests and tastes are naturally speculative, seem increasingly disposed to recognise that their main energies ought to be directed to practical and social rather than to intellectual pursuits, that their chief life’s work ought to be done in the world of their fellowmen rather than in their studies. This disposition arises not from any tendency to obscurantism, but from their increasing recognition of the fact that Christianity is, and ever must be, its own chief evidence, and that, therefore, the man who lives a consistent, progressive Christian life, and thus displays its beauty and its grace in concrete form, is the most effective kind of apologist. He not merely can point to evidence already existing—he produces new evidence himself, and that in a form most likely to be convincing to a race of predominantly practical instincts. (SECOND OUTLINE) KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING God never tells us that we are intended, at present, to understand all; but what He does tell us is that He does mean us to know they are true. You may know a thing without understanding it in the least; a child may know that medicine cures, or that fire warms when he has not the least idea how. So God tells us that we may know of the doctrine, know its truth, know that these facts and teachings will bring us right, and set us in the way of happiness for life and death without understanding how. I. We have Christ’s own word for it.—Our text is a fitting one for Trinity Sunday, the Day of the Athanasian Creed, the day which sums up all the series of amazing facts and marvellous doctrines, when Christ tells us that the Doing of God’s will is the way to know that all these doctrines are true; and that there is one plain way of knowledge, and that is doing God’s will. He does not say, If any man will be very clever and very intellectual, and succeed in understanding all mysteries, then he shall know that all this is true; He does say, If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine. II. This is intensely comforting.—Think how few people can give their lives to hard thinking and to solving difficulties; it would be a poor Gospel, indeed, which was a Gospel only for the learned. 108
- 109. III. It isalso a very solemn warning.—Look how it brings the knowledge of God home to every one of us as a thing quite within your reach, so that you are all quite inexcusable if you do not get it. For knowing means that sort of feeling quite sure about a thing which you have about the facts of your own house and family. This knowing of the doctrine means feeling the same sort of sureness and certainty that Christ is your Saviour, that God is your Father, that the Holy Spirit is in you—working out your renewal into God’s likeness—the same sort of certainty of all these things—and that your life is arranged for you by God—as you had that your earthly parents watched over your infancy and provided for your bringing up. IV. It is the doing of His will which is sure to bring this home to you.—Therefore we know that disbelief in a man’s mind means sin in a man’s life. It is a strong thing to say; but Christ says it, not I, and I am bound to say what Christ says. Christ says it, not I and Christ must know, for He made us, and He knows what is in man. What is God’s will that we are to do? There are many things; but one thing is the chief. When Christ was about to be offered He gave His Apostles one command—one New Command—that Love to one another should be the rule of their lives: as He had loved us, so we are to love one another; and St. Paul fills it up when he says Charity and Love is the life of Christianity. It is the one rule for all: for individuals, for churches, for parishes, for towns—practical charity, goodwill to one another in private life and in public. All evil speaking, all thinking evil of one another, all jealousies, misrepresentations, all party spirit— all these things war against the life of religion, and throw us open to the misunderstanding of the doctrine, as well as to forsaking the way of Christ. Illustration ‘It should never be forgotten that God deals with us as moral beings, and not as beasts or stones. He loves to encourage us to self-exertion and diligent use of such means as we have in our hands. The plain things in religion are undeniably very many. Let a man honestly attend to them, and he shall be taught the deep things of God. Whatever some may say about their inability to find out truth, you will rarely find one of them who does not know better than he practises. Then if he is sincere, let him begin here at once. Let him humbly use what little knowledge he has got, and God will soon give him more.’ 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is 109
- 110. nothing false abouthim. BARNES, "That speaketh of himself - This does not mean about or concerning himself, but he that speaks by his own authority, without being sent by God, as mere human teachers do. Seeketh his own glory - His own praise, or seeks for reputation and applause. This is the case with mere human teachers, and as Jesus in his discourses manifestly sought to honor God, they ought to have supposed that he was sent by him. No unrighteousness - This word here means, evidently, there is no falsehood, no deception in him. He is not an impostor. It is used in the same sense in 2Th_ 2:10-12. It is true that there was no unrighteousness, no sin in Jesus Christ, but that is not the truth taught here. It is that he was not an impostor, and the evidence of this was that he sought not his own glory, but the honor of God. This evidence was furnished: 1. In his retiring, unobtrusive disposition; in his not seeking the applause of people; 2. In his teaching such doctrines as tended to exalt God and humble man; 3. In his ascribing all glory and praise to God; CLARKE, "He that speaketh of himself, etc. - I will give you another rule, whereby you shall know whether I am from God or not: If I speak so as to procure my own glory, to gratify vanity, or to secure and promote my secular interests, then reject me as a deceiver and as a false prophet. But if I act only to promote the glory of God, to induce all men to love and obey him; if I propose nothing but what leads to the perfection of his law, and the accomplishment of its ordinances, you cannot help acknowledging me at least for a true prophet; and, if you add to this the proofs which I have given of my mission and power, you must acknowledge me as the mighty power of God, and the promised Messiah. And no unrighteousness is in him - Or, there is no falsehood in him: so the word αδικια should be translated here; and it is frequently used by the Septuagint for שקר sheker, a lie, falsehood, etc. See in Psa_52:3; Psa_119:29, Psa_119:69, Psa_ 119:104, Psa_119:163; Psa_144:8. This is its meaning in Rom_2:8; where αδικια, falsehood, is put in opposition to αληθεια, truth. GILL, "He that speaketh of himself,..... What he himself has devised, and is a scheme of his own; for which he has no divine warrant and commission: seeketh his own glory; honour and applause from men; as did the Scribes and Pharisees, who taught for doctrines the commandments of men, the traditions of the elders, their own glosses upon the law, and their own decisions and determinations: and as did the false teachers, who had nothing else in view but themselves, their worldly interest, or vain glory; these suited their doctrines to the minds and lusts of men, in order to gain their point: 110
- 111. but he thatseeketh his glory that sent him; that gave him in commission what he should say and speak, and his only; as did Christ, and so his apostles after him: the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him; he is an upright and faithful man, and what he says is truth; he brings true doctrine along with him, and there is no fraud or imposture in him; nor any insincerity "in his heart", as the Syriac and Persic versions render it; nor any dishonesty in his conduct; he is no cheat or deceiver; was he, he would seek his own glory and interest; but as he appears to be a man of no design, his doctrine is to be depended on and received; and such was Christ. HENRY, "[3.] That hereby it appeared that Christ, as a teacher, did not speak of himself, because he did not seek himself, Joh_7:18. First, See here the character of a deceiver: he seeketh his own glory, which is a sign that he speaks of himself, as the false Christs and false prophets did. Here is the description of the cheat: they speak of themselves, and have no commission nor instructions from God; no warrant but their own will, no inspiration but their own imagination, their own policy and artifice. Ambassadors speak not of themselves; those ministers disclaim that character who glory in this that they speak of themselves. But see the discovery of the cheat; by this their pretensions are disproved, they consult purely their own glory; self-seekers are self-speakers. Those who speak from God will speak for God, and for his glory; those who aim at their own preferment and interest make it to appear that they had no commission form God. Secondly, See the contrary character Christ gives of himself and his doctrine: He that seeks his glory that sent him, as I do, makes it to appear that he is true. 1. He was sent of God. Those teachers, and those only, who are sent of God, are to be received and entertained by us. Those who bring a divine message must prove a divine mission, either by special revelation or by regular institution. 2. He sought the glory of God. It was both the tendency of his doctrine and the tenour of his whole conversation to glorify God. 3. This was a proof that he was true, and there was no unrighteousness in him. False teachers are most unrighteous; they are unjust to God whose name they abuse, and unjust to the souls of men whom they impose upon. There cannot be a greater piece of unrighteousness than this. But Christ made it appear that he was true, that he was really what he said he was, that there was no unrighteousness in him, no falsehood in his doctrine, no fallacy nor fraud in his dealings with us. 2. They discourse concerning the crime that was laid to his charge for curing the impotent man, and bidding him carry his bed on the sabbath day, for which they had formerly prosecuted him, and which was still the pretence of their enmity to him. CALVIN, "18.He who speaketh from himself. Hitherto he has showed that there is no other reason why men are blind, but because they are not governed by the fear of God. He now puts another mark on the doctrine itself, by which it may be known whether it is of God or of man. For every thing that displays the glory of God is holy and divine; but every thing that contributes to the ambition of men, and, by exalting them, obscures the glory of God, not only has no claim to be believed, but ought to be vehemently rejected. He who shall make the glory of God the object at which he aims will never go wrong; he who shall try and prove by this touchstone what is brought forward in the name of God will never be deceived by the semblance of right. We are also reminded by it that no man can faithfully discharge the office of teacher in the Church, unless he be void of ambition, and resolve to make it his sole object to promote, to the utmost of his 111
- 112. power, the gloryof God. When he says that there is no unrighteousness in him, he means that there is nothing wicked or hypocritical, but that he does what becomes an upright and sincere minister of God. ELLICOTT, “(18) He that speaketh of himself.—Again the words repeat the thoughts of the earlier discourse. (See Notes on John 5:41-44.) They contrast His position and that of His hearers. Professional teachers, they sought glory one from another, and regarded their teaching as of themselves, the special honour of their caste. In the pride of their own knowledge they willed not the glory of God, and so had not the faculty to know and receive His teaching. He sought the will of Him that sent Him, and therefore was true, in harmony with the eternal will of God. The effect of the submission of His will to the Father’s, and His seeking in word and work the Father’s glory, was that there was no possibility of unrighteousness in Him. This emphasis laid upon truth and righteousness has reference to the charges which they are plotting against Him, and which have already been expressed in the murmuring of the multitude (John 7:12). The words are clearly to be explained with special reference to their position and His, but the general form of the expressions, “He that speaketh of himself . . .” “He that seeketh His glory . . .” show that this is not the exclusive reference. They, too, hold good of every man who speaketh of himself, and of every man who seeketh the glory of Him that sent Him. NISBET, “THE NEGATION OF SELF ‘He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh His glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.’ John 7:18 There is no feature in our Saviour’s life, no single word or act of His more distinctive of the Deity revealed in Him than the persistent will to deny and efface Himself. Among the innumerable forms under which self-love swells into pride, and becomes the root of sin in man and suffering in society, we shall by way of practical illustration select one only whose dangers lie chiefly in its subtle and plausible character. We shall endeavour to trace how the spirit of emulation develops into the love of interference and pre-eminence, contrasting it with true humility in doing the work of God. I. At first, indeed, to ‘excel’ would appear to be a duty which we owe both, to ourselves and to God: it is the very spring of progress, both in the arts and in morals, as men strive to realise in their lives or in outward material such glimpses as they attain of perfection; neither does the good craftsman, as Plato taught us, ‘seek to go beyond his fellow.’ But when, instead of devoting ourselves with single eye to our own appointed work, we begin to cast another upon our neighbours’, to measure ourselves against them, endeavouring to surpass, to outshine—then the praiseworthy ambition to excel degenerates into the vulgar passion of emulation and the proud love of superiority. And therewith enter in one evil spirit after another: the spirit of competition, which drives the weakest to the wall; the spirit of envy and discontent, which can embitter the sweetest blessings of life; the spirit of vainglory, which cares only for outward recognition; the spirit of hypocrisy, hiding its festering burden within. But 112
- 113. where, on theother hand, the spirit of Christ is, where self-will is lost in the single-hearted desire to do the work and declare the message from above, there indeed is liberty: no rivalries, no anxious comparisons with other men, no dependence for our happiness upon what others may think or say, no slavery to any will outside our own, which is, to do the will of God. Such a self- surrendering spirit is quite compatible, and indeed directly conduces to what is well called ‘proper pride.’ II. ‘Proper pride’ can only be truly and radically distinguished by this, that it is centred, not in ourselves or in our own achievements, but in the work to which we are called, and extends at furthest to a grateful recognition that therein we have been enabled in some measure, however humble, to assist. Here, therefore, proper pride and true humility meet in one. For true humility again bears more semblance to that base counterfeit which is for ever parading a pretended inferiority, wasting time and breath in mutually obsequious hypocrisies. On the contrary, it will have nothing at all to do with personal estimations of character, with the comparing and appraising of one man with another. It springs only from the just appreciation of human nature when viewed in the light of Divine perfection, and the Divine calling of which it is all unworthy. Thus and thus only it learns to put a higher value upon the gifts and efforts of other men, leading us to deem those who differ from ourselves as more exceeding honourable, just because they are what is required in order to supplement our own imperfections in order to carry out the common aim and work of redeemed humanity. III. Where the true humility of self-effacement does not exist, the very opposite result takes place.—We attach undue importance to the particular gifts which we possess ourselves; we imagine that they are just what are needed at this particular epoch, at that particular juncture. We think perhaps that we are marked out to solve some special problem in religion, in politics, in society, or to fulfil the requirements of the work in some other department of the Lord’s vineyard; and instead of waiting still upon God, making Him both guide and goal, we become impatient, interfering, and finally end in seeking our own glory. —Rev. Dr. Bidder. Illustration ‘It is one mark of a man being a true servant of God, and really commissioned by our Father in heaven, that he ever seeks his Master’s glory more than his own. The principle here laid down is a very valuable one. By it we may test the pretensions of many false teachers of religion, and prove them to be unsound guides. There is a curious tendency in every system of heresy, or unsound religion, to make its ministers magnify themselves, their authority, their importance, and their office. It may be seen in Brahminism to a remarkable extent. Alford’s remark, however, is very true, that in the highest and strictest sense, “the latter part of the sentence is only true of the Holy One Himself, and that owing to human infirmity, purity of motive is no sure guarantee for correctness of doctrine”; and therefore in the end of the verse it is not said, “he who seeketh God’s glory,” but “he who seeketh His glory that sent Him”— specially indicating Christ Himself.’ 113
- 114. 19 Has notMoses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” BARNES, "Did not Moses give you the law? - This they admitted, and on this they prided themselves. Every violation of that law they considered as deserving of death. They had accused Jesus of violating it because he had healed a man on the Sabbath, and for that they had sought his life, Joh_5:10-16. He here recalls that charge to their recollection, and shows them that, though they pretended great reverence for that law, yet they were really its violators in having sought his life. None of you ... - None of you Jews. They had sought to kill him. This was a pointed and severe charge, and shows the great faithfulness with which he was accustomed to proclaim the truth. Why go ye about to kill me? - Why do ye seek to kill me? See Joh_5:16. CLARKE, "Did not Moses give you the law, etc. - The scribes and Pharisees announced our Lord to the multitude as a deceiver; and they grounded their calumny on this, that he was not an exact observer of the law, for he had healed a man on the Sabbath day, Joh_5:9, Joh_5:10; and consequently must be a false prophet. Now they insinuated, that the interests of religion required him to be put to death: 1. As a violator of the law; and, 2. as a false prophet and deceiver of the people. To destroy this evil reasoning, our Lord speaks in this wise: If I deserve death for curing a man on the Sabbath, and desiring him to carry home his bed, which you consider a violation of the law, you are more culpable than I am, for you circumcise a child on the Sabbath, which requires much more bustle, and is of so much less use than what I have done to the infirm man. But, if you think you do not violate the law by circumcising a child on the Sabbath, how can you condemn me for having cured one of yourselves, who has been afflicted thirty and eight years? If you consider my conduct with the same eye with which you view your own, far from finding any thing criminal in it, you will see much reason to give glory to God. Why, therefore, go ye about to kill me, as a transgressor of the law, when not one of yourselves keeps it? GILL, "Did not Moses give you the law,.... After Christ had vindicated himself and his doctrine, he proceeds to reprove the Jews for their breaking the law, which contained the will of God: by which it appeared, that they were no proper judges of his doctrine, though they cavilled at it: the question he puts could not be denied by 114
- 115. them; for though,properly speaking, God was the lawgiver, yet inasmuch as it was delivered by Moses, it is ascribed to him, and said to come by him; and it was put into his hands, to be delivered by him, peculiarly to the people of Israel; and being given to the Jewish fathers, not only for themselves, but for their posterity in ages to come, is said to be given to the then present generation; and may be understood, either of the whole system of laws, moral, ceremonial, and, judicial, belonging to that people; or else of the particular law, concerning the keeping of the sabbath, which was a peculiar law of Moses, and proper to the children of Israel only: and yet none of you keepeth the law; though they boasted of it as a singular privilege, and rested in it, and their obedience to it for life and salvation, yet daily broke it in various instances, in thought, word, or deed; yea, those that sat in Moses's chair, and taught it, did not observe and do what they taught; nor could the most holy and righteous man among them perfectly keep it: and many of them, who were most forward to censure others, for the violation of it, paid the least regard to it; and particularly to the law of the sabbath, which both priests and people transgressed, in one point or another, every sabbath day: wherefore our Lord reasons with them, why go ye about to kill me? an harmless and innocent man, who never injured you in your persons and properties; and which is a proof of their not keeping that body of laws Moses gave them, since "thou shalt not kill" is one of them: though rather this may refer to the law of the sabbath, and the sense he, that since Moses had given them the law of the sabbath, and they did not keep it themselves, why should they seek to take away his life, for what they pretended was a breach of it? for our Lord here, as appears by what follows, refers to what they sought to do, above a year and a half ago, and still continued to seek after; namely, to kill him, because he had healed a man on the sabbath day, Joh_5:16. HENRY, "(1.) He argues against them by way of recrimination, convicting them of far worse practices, Joh_7:19. How could they for shame censure him for a breach of the law of Moses, when they themselves were such notorious breakers of it? Did not Moses give you the law? And it was their privilege that they had the law, no nation had such a law; but it was their wickedness that none of them kept the law, that they rebelled against it, and lived contrary to it. Many that have the law given them, when they have it do not keep it. Their neglect of the law was universal: None of you keepeth it: neither those of them that were in posts of honour, who should have been most knowing, nor those who were in posts of subjection, who should have been most obedient. They boasted of the law, and pretended a zeal for it, and were enraged at Christ for seeming to transgress it, and yet none of them kept it; like those who say that they are for the church, and yet never go to church. It was an aggravation of their wickedness, in persecuting Christ for breaking the law, that they themselves did not keep it: “None of you keepeth the law, why then go ye about to kill me for not keeping it?” Note, Those are commonly most censorious of others who are most faulty themselves. Thus hypocrites, who are forward to pull a mote out of their brother's eye, are not aware of a beam in their own. Why go ye about to kill me? Some take this as the evidence of their not keeping the law: “You keep not the law; if you did, you would understand yourselves better than to go about to kill me for doing a good work.” Those that support themselves and their interest by persecution and violence, whatever they pretend (though they may call themselves custodes utriusque tabulae - the guardians of both tables), are not keepers of the law of God. Chemnitius understands this as a reason why it was time to supersede the law of Moses by the gospel, because the law was found insufficient to restrain sin: “Moses gave you the law, but you do not keep it, nor are kept by it from the greatest 115
- 116. wickedness; there istherefore need of a clearer light and better law to be brought in; why then do you aim to kill me for introducing it?” JAMIESON, "Did not Moses, etc. — that is, In opposing Me ye pretend zeal for Moses, but to the spirit and end of that law which he gave ye are total strangers, and in “going about to kill Me” ye are its greatest enemies. COFFMAN, “Thus Jesus publicly exposed the plot to kill him on a trumped-up charge of sabbath-breaking, pointing out at the same time the paradox of such notorious violators of Moses' law, as were the Pharisees, plotting to kill Jesus for, of all things, breaking the sabbath. None of the Pharisees kept the sabbath strictly, enjoying a hundred petty little exemptions from the rigorous rules they imposed on others, deserving the comment Jesus made of them: "Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matthew 23:4). Keep the sabbath day? Of course, they did not. They circumcised on the sabbath; and they had devised some kind of a bypass for practically all of the sabbath restrictions. For example, with reference to walking no more than seven-eighths of a mile, which was the allowable distance according to their rules for a sabbath's journey, they often walked long distances, pausing each seven-eighths of a mile to partake of a bite of food previously cached there in anticipation of the journey, and thus taking any length journey on the pretext that they had changed their residence at each pause! Here, Jesus openly charged them with not keeping Moses' law. Why seek ye to kill me ...? Why such men would seek to kill the holy Son of God is a part of the mystery of iniquity. CALVIN, "19.Did not Moses give you the Law? The Evangelist does not give a full and connected narrative of the sermon delivered by Christ, but only a brief selection of the principal topics, which contain the substance of what was spoken. The scribes mortally hated him, (186) and the priests had been kindled into rage against him, because he had cured a paralytic; and they professed that this arose from their zeal for the Law. To confute their hypocrisy, he reasons, not from the subject, but from the person. All of them having freely indulged in their vices, as if they had never known any law, he infers from it that they are not moved by any love or zeal for the Law. True, this defense would not have been sufficient to prove the point. Granting that — under a false pretense — they concealed their wicked and unjust hatred, still it does not follow that Christ did right, if he committed any thing contrary to the injunction of the Law; for we must not attempt to extenuate our own blame by the sins of others. But Christ connects here two clauses. In the former, he addresses the consciences of his enemies, and, since they proudly boasted of being defenders of the Law, he tears from them this mask; for he brings against them this reproach, that they allow themselves to violate the Law as often as they please, and, therefore, that they care nothing about the Law. Next, he comes to the question itself, as we shall afterwards see; so that the defense is satisfactory and complete in all its parts. 116
- 117. Consequently, the amountof this clause is, that no zeal for the Law exists in its despisers. Hence Christ infers that something else has excited the Jews to so great rage, when they seek to put him to death. In this manner we ought to drag the wicked from their concealments, whenever they fight against God and sound doctrine, and pretend to do so from pious motives. Those who, in the present day, are the fiercest enemies of the Gospel and the most strenuous defenders of Popery, have nothing more plausible to urge in their behalf than that they are excited by ardor of zeal. But if their life be narrowly examined, they are all filled with base crimes, and openly mock at God. Who knows not that the Pope’s court is filled with Epicureans? (187) And as to Bishops and Abbots, have they as much modesty as to conceal their baseness, that some appearance of religion may be observed in them? Again, as to monks and other brawlers, are they not abandoned to all wickedness, to uncleanness, covetousness, and every kind of shocking crimes, so that their life cries aloud that they have altogether forgotten God? And now that they are not ashamed to boast of their zeal for God and the Church, ought we not to repress them by this reply of Christ? BARCLAY, "A WISE ARGUMENT (John 7:19-24) 7:19-24 "Did not Moses give you the law--and not one of you really keeps it? Why do you try to kill me?" The crowd answered: "You are mad! Who is trying to kill you?" Jesus answered them: "I have done only one deed and you are all astonished by it. Moses gave you the rite of circumcision (not that it had its origin in Moses--it came down from your fathers) and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath, without breaking the law of Moses, are you angry at me for making the entire body of a man whole on the Sabbath? Stop judging by appearances, and make your judgment just." Before we begin to look at this passage in detail, we must note one point. We must picture this scene as a debate between Jesus and the leaders of the Jews, with the crowd standing all around. The crowd Is listening as the debate goes on. Jesus is aiming to justify his action in healing the man on the Sabbath day and thereby technically breaking the Sabbath law. He begins by saying that Moses gave them the Sabbath law, and yet none of them keeps it absolutely. (What he meant by that we shall shortly see.) If he then breaks the law to heal a man, why do they, who themselves break the law, seek to kill him? At this point the crowd break in with the exclamation: "You are mad!" and the question: "Who is trying to kill you?" The crowd have not yet realized the malignant hatred of their leaders; they are not yet aware of the plots to eliminate him. They think that Jesus has a persecution mania, that his imagination is disordered and his mind upset; and they think in this fashion because they do not know the facts. Jesus does not answer the question of the crowd which was not really a question so much as a kind of bystanders' interjection; but goes on with his argument. Jesus' argument is this. It was the law that a child should be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall 117
- 118. be circumcised" (Leviticus12:3). Obviously that day would often fall on a Sabbath; and the law was quite clear that "everything necessary for circumcision may be done on the Sabbath day." So Jesus' argument runs like this. "You say that you fully observe the law which came to you through Moses which lays it down that there must be no work done on the Sabbath day, and under work you have included every kind of medical attention which is not necessary actually to save life. And yet you have allowed circumcision to be carried out on the Sabbath day. "Now circumcision is two things. It is medical attention to one part of a man's body; and the body has actually two hundred and forty-eight parts. (That was the Jewish reckoning.) Further, circumcision is a kind of mutilation; it is actually taking something from the body. How can you in reason blame me for making a man's body whole when you allow yourselves to mutilate it on the Sabbath day?" That is an extremely clever argument. Jesus finishes by telling them to try to see below the surface of things and to judge fairly. If they do, they will not be able any longer to accuse him of breaking the law. A passage like this may sound remote to us; but when we read it we can see the keen, clear, logical mind of Jesus in operation, we can see him meeting the wisest and most subtle men of his day with their own weapons and on their own terms, and we can see him defeating them. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. That our Lord, having vindicated his doctrine in the former verses, comes now to vindicate his practice in healing the impotent man on the sabbath-day, for which the Jews sought his life, as a violation of the fourth commandment given by Moses. Our Saviour tells them, That notwithstanding their pretended zeal for the law of Moses, they more notoriously broke the sixth commandment, by going about to kill him, an innocent person, than he had broken the fourth commandment, by making a man whole on the sabbath-day. Hence learn, That it is damnable hypocrisy, when men pretend great zeal against the sins of others, and do allow and tolerate worse in themselves. This is for their practice to give their profession the lie: the Jews condemn our Saviour for a supposed breach of the fourth commandment; whilst they are guilty themselves of a real breach of the sixth commandment. Observe, 2. The ignominy and reproach which the Jews fix upon our blessed Saviour, in the height of their rage and fury against him, Thou hast a devil. The king of saints in heaven, as well as the whole host of saints on earth, hath been frequently smitten and deeply wounded with reproach. Christ was reproached for our sake, and when we are reproached for his sake, he takes our reproach as his own. Moses's reproach was the reproach of Christ, Hebrews 11:26 And he esteemed it a treasure, which did more enrich him with its worth, than press him with its weight. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Observe, 3. The wonderful meekness of Christ, in passing over this reproach and 118
- 119. calumny, without oneword of reply. Guilt is commonly clamorous and impatient, but, innocence is silent and regardless of misreports. Our Saviour is not at the pains of a word to vindicate himself from their impotent censure, but goes on with his discourse, and justifies his own action, in healing a man on the sabbath-day, from the Jews own practice in circumcising their children on that day, if it happen to be the eighth day: and the argument runs thus: "If circumcision may be administered to a child on the sabbath-day, which is a servile kind of work, and bodily exercise, without blame or censure, why must I fall under censure, for healing a man on the sabbath-day thoroughly and perfectly, only by a word speaking?" Hence learn, that the law of doing good, and relieving the miserable at all times, is a more ancient and excellent law, than either that of the sabbath rest, or of circumscion upon the eighth day. A ritual law must and ought to give place to the law of nature, which is written in every man's heart. As if our Lord had said, "If you may wound a man by circumcision on the sabbath-day, may not I heal one? If you may heal on that day one member of the circumcised, may not I make a man whole every whit. If you be at pains cure such a one with your hand, may not I without pains cure a man with the word of my mouth? BI 19-30, "Did not Moses give you the law? Murder in desire The desire to kill Christ I. WAS INCONSISTENT WITH THEIR RELIGIOUS PROFESSION. They professedly believed in Moses, and esteemed him highly. But there was nothing in Moses to sanction their antagonism to Christ. 1. The spirit of their opposition was inconsistent with the moral law of Moses (Joh_7:19). You seek to kill Me, when your moral master in God’s name has said, “Thou shalt not kill.” None of you keepeth the law in this respect. 2. The proximate cause of the opposition was inconsistent with the moral law of Moses—the healing of the impotent man at Bethesda on the Sabbath day. This was the “one work” which now fired their indignation. But what did Moses do? What might have been considered more objectionable than this. He circumcised children on the Sabbath day—a work that inflicted physical pain and manual labour. And not only did Moses do it, but Abraham, etc, whose authority is of greater antiquity. Could it be right for them to do, on the Sabbath day, the work of mere ceremony, and wrong for Me to do a work of mercy? The crime and curse of religionists in all ages and lands have been the exalting the ceremonial over the moral—the local, the temporary, and contingent above the universal, eternal, and absolute. II. IMPLIED A GREAT INACCURACY OF JUDGMENT (Joh_7:24). Judging from appearance, they concluded 1. That a mere ordinary peasant had no Divine mission. Perhaps most of them knew His humble birthplace and parentage, and concluded from His lowly appearance that He was a poor man and nothing more. They were too blinded to discover beneath such apparently abject forms a Divine spirit, character, and mission. It has ever been so. Men who judge from appearances have always failed 119
- 120. to discern anythinggreat or Divine in those who occupy the humbler walks of life. And yet the men of highest genius, divinest inspirations and aims have been counted the offscouring of all things. 2. That a ritualistic religion was a religion of righteousness. Had there been in connection with the ceremonies of the Temple the healing of the sick on the Sabbath day, they would have esteemed the work as sacred. No ceremony could they allow as of secondary importance. But the ritualistic religion is sometimes immoral. When men observe even the divinest ceremonies as a matter of custom and form, they degrade their spiritual natures and insult omniscience. “God is a Spirit,” etc. The religion of righteousness is the religion of love, not of law. 3. That by killing a teacher they would kill his influence. They sought to kill Christ because they knew if His doctrines spread their authority would crumble. Men who have judged from appearances have ever sought to kill unpopular teachers. But facts as well as philosophy show that such judgment is not righteous. The blood of the martyrs has always been the seed of the Church; their doctrines get free force and sweep from their death. It was so with Christ. III. INVOLVED THEM IN PERPLEXITY (Joh_7:25-27). There seems much bewilderment here. They thought they knew Him, yet they felt they did not know Him. They wondered, too, how a man whom their rulers desired to kill should speak so boldly without being arrested. Minds under a wrong leading passion are sure to get into confusion. No intellect is clear, and its path straight and sunny, that is not under the control of benevolent dispositions. All the conflicting theories of the world concerning God, spirit, and morals, have their origin in a wrong state of heart. The intellectual confusion of hell grows out of malevolence. What they could not see Christ explains (Joh_7:28). As they had no love in them, they could not see God; and as they could not see God, they could not understand Him that He came from God and was sent by Him. Observe what Christ asserts 1. That He knows the Absolute. He is the only Being in the universe that knows Him. 2. That He was a messenger from the Absolute. “He that sent me.” This is the great spiritual ministry of the world. What are popes, cardinals, archbishops, to Him? “This is My beloved Son,” says God; “hear ye Him.” Whoever else you disregard, “hear ye Him.” IV. Their desire to kill Him was DIVINELY RESTRAINED (Joh_7:30). Why did not their malignant desire work itself out at once? It was wide and strong enough. The answer is, “Because His hour was not yet come.” There was an unseen hand that held them back. He who holds the wind in His fist turns the hearts of men as the rivers of water. With God for “everything there is a season.” Men may wish to hurry events, and to go before the appointed time, but there is a power that holds them back until the hour comes. The power that governs every wavelet in the ocean controls every passing passion of mankind. Conclusion: Learn 1. That being hated by society is not always a proof of hate-worthiness. Here is one, “who did no sin,” etc., hated with a mortal hate. To be hated by a corrupt society is to have the highest testimony to your goodness. The world loves its own, and hates all moral aliens. It worships the Herods, and stones the Stephens. “Marvel not if the world hate you, it hated Me before it hated you.” 2. That being hated by society is no reason for neglecting our mission. Though Christ knew that in the leading men there flamed the fiercest indignation towards Him, yet He enters the Temple on a great public occasion and fearlessly delivers His message. That love for truth, God, and humanity which inspired and ruled 120
- 121. Him raised Himabove the fear of men, made Him fearless and invincible. (D. Thomas, D. D.) The assailants assailed (Joh_7:19-24) I. A FOURFOLD FACT PREMISED. 1. Moses gave the Jews the law, moral and ceremonial, with its statutes against murder, about the Sabbath and circumcision. 2. Moses incorporated circumcision in his statute-book to prevent the law in this item from being broken as it had been prior to his time. 3. The Jews were accustomed to administer this rite upon the Sabbath. 4. They did so that the law might not be broken, as it would have been if delayed, to save the Sabbath. II. A SIMPLE ARGUMENT CONDUCTED. 1. The Jews were not wrong in their procedure with regard to circumcision. He taught that the Sabbath was made for man (Mar_2:27-28). 2. Christ, a fortiori, could not have been wrong in His work on the Bethesda cripple. If He suspended the law, so did they. If they had a good reason, He had a better. 3. The leaders of the people were wrong in seeking to kill Christ. This was obvious, since He had proved that He had broken neither the Sabbath nor the law. III. A NECESSARY LESSON TAUGHT. 1. Not to judge according to appearances. Neither men nor deeds can be safely estimated by their external aspects. As it is the man’s interior that constitutes the man (Pro_23:7), so the motive enshrined forms the act. Appearances are frequently deceptive; cf. Hannah (1Sa_1:15) and Paul (Act_26:25). 2. To judge according to truth. In every instance there is a judgment of man or deed which corresponds with truth and justice. This is always the characteristic of the Divine (Psa_67:4; Psa 96:13; 1Sa_16:7; Joh_5:30; 1Pe_2:23), and ever should be of human Lev_19:15; Deu_1:16; Pro_31:9; Php_4:8) judgments. Learn: 1. Pretenders to the greatest reverence for Divine law are sometimes its most flagrant transgressors. 2. A man may meditate murder in his heart and yet think himself a saint. 3. It is easier to keep the law in the letter than in the spirit, to circumcise the body than circumcise the heart. 4. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 5. Nothing more attests depravity than to hate Christ and Christianity for their practical beneficence. 6. The only physician who can work a cure upon the whole man is Christ. 7. The propriety of setting in judgment on our own judgments. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) 121
- 122. The law doesnot save men This parlour is the heart of a man who was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the gospel. The dust is original sin and inward corruption that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the law. Now, whereas thou sawest that as soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did fly about, that the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked therewith; this is to show thee that the law, instead of cleansing the heart by its working from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it, for it doth not give power to subdue it. (Pilgrim’s Progress.) How to treat slander; “Thou hast a devil.” This he passeth by as a frontless slander, not worth repeating. Sincerity throws off slanders, as Paul did the viper; yet, in a holy scorn, it laughs at them, as the wild ass doth at the horse and his rider. (J. Trapp.) If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision.—I healed a whole Joh_ 9:34; Joh 13:10), whereas circumcision inflicts a wound. And that is performed on the Sabbath. Which work is the more sabbatical of the two? Circumcision produces pain, but I have made a man free from pain. This illustrates the question of the relation of the Seventh-day Sabbath to the Lord’s day. The law of the former gave way to the rite which took place on the eighth day. That rite was the typical forerunner of baptism, which is the sacrament of spiritual resurrection from the grave of sin into newness of life. Well, therefore, may the Jewish Seventh-day Sabbath give way to the festival of Christ’s resurrection, which was on the eighth day, i.e., on the octave of the first. (Bp. Wordsworth.) Every whit whole I. THE GREAT WANT OF MAN. To be made “whole.” Man is unsound in every part. 1. Corporeally. Some physical organizations are healthier than others; but even the strongest is unsound. The seeds of disease and death are in all. The strongest man is, as compared to the weakest, like an oak to a fragile reed; but ever at the roots of the oak there is a disease that is working its way up. 2. Intellectually. The man who has the strongest mind is subject to some mental infirmity. He lacks elasticity, freedom, clearness of vision, courage, and independency. He cannot see things completely, or hold them with a manly grasp. The strongest intellects are the most conscious of their unsoundness. 3. Socially. Men were made to love their fellow-men and to he loved by them, and thus be harmoniously united in reciprocal affection and services of mutual goodwill and usefulness. But socially man is unsound in every point. The social heart is diseased with greed, envy, jealousy, ambition, and malice. So that the social world is rife with discords, contentions, and wars. 4. Morally. Man has lost at once the true idea of true sympathy with right. His conscience is dim, infirm, torpid, buried in the flesh, carnally sold unto sin. Thus 122
- 123. man in everypart is unsound. He is lost, not in the sense of being missed, for God knows where he is; nor in the sense of being extinct, for he lives a certain kind of life; not in the sense of being inactive for he is in constant labour; but in the sense of incapacity to fulfil the object of his being. He is lost, in the sense that the gallant ship is lost when no longer seaworthy; that the grand organ is lost that has no longer the power to pour out music. II. THE GRAND WORK OF CHRIST. To make “man every whit whole.” He makes man whole 1. Corporeally. It is true that He allows the human body to go down to dust; but that dust He has pledged to reorganize “like unto His glorious body.” “It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption,” etc., etc. How sound will the resurrection body be! 2. Intellectually. Here He begins the healing of the intellect. He clears away from it the moral atmosphere of depravity, and opens its eyes so that it may see things as they are. In the future world it will be “every whit whole,” free from prejudice, errors, and all depravity. 3. Socially, by filling them with that spirit of true philanthropy which prompts them not to seek their own things, but to labour for the common good of men as men, irrespective of creeds, countries, races, or religions. This He is doing now, this He will continue to do on this earth until men shall love each other as brethren and nations beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, and hear of war no more. He will make the world, even here, “every whir” socially whole, and in the Heavenly Jerusalem above the social soundness and order will be perfect. 4. Morally, by bringing him under the control of supreme love for the Supremely Good. Thus: He will take away the heart of “stone” and give it a heart of “flesh.” At last He will cause all men to stand before Him without “ spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Conclusion: What a Physician is Christ! He cures all manner of diseases. No malady can baffle His skill. The world has never wanted men who have tried to make people sound. It has its corporeal, intellectual, social, and moral doctors; but those who succeed most in their respective departments only prove by their miserable failures that they are miserable empirics. Here is a Physician that makes a “ man every whir whole.” (D. Thomas, D. D.) Every day is a fit day for doing good As burning candles give light until they be consumed, so godly Christians must be occupied in doing good as long as they live. (Cowdray.) Appelles the painter much lamented if he should escape but one day without drawing some picture outline; so ought a Christian to be sorry if any day should pass without doing some good work or exercise. (Cowdray.) Doing good a blessed work Dr. Guthrie once said: “I know a man (Thomas Wright) who, at the close of each day’s work, turned his steps to the prison, and with his Bible, or on his knees on the floor, spent the evening hours in its gloomy cells, seeking to instruct the ignorant and 123
- 124. redeem the criminaland raise the fallen. The judgment day shall show how many he restored, penitent and pardoned, to the bosom of God; but it is certain that alone and single-handed he rescued and reformed four hundred criminals, restoring them, honest and well-doing men, to the bosom of society.” Judge not according to the appearance, but Judge righteous Judgment. Judging according to the appearance led the Jews into error I. RESPECTING THE LORD HIMSELF. 1. They never got deeper than the surface of His Person. The Christ they were expecting was one pieced up of mere outsides of the reality. What resemblance had that sorrow-stricken prophet of Nazareth to the glare and splendour of the Christ of their imagination? He came poor to look at and poor as He seemed. They had no eyes for the Divinity within. 2. There is the same shutting of the eyes now to the Divinity in His person; the same refusal to receive Him as Lord. (1) By how many is nature regarded as greater than Christ! (2) Many accept the opinion of the world for their idea of Christ. (3) Some habitually exclude from their thoughts the presence of Jesus in providence. (4) Others, staggered at their sinfulness, are blinded to the fact that in Jesus there is cleansing for all their vileness. 3. Some scriptural views which will counteract these errors and lead to a righteous judgment. (1) It ought not to seem strange to a human being that a Divine Saviour should be human also. Man cannot draw near to an abstract God. We need one who has dwelt on earth, who has known our sorrows, and is as near to us as our nature is; and such a one is Jesus. (2) But a merely human Saviour would not meet our need. Only God can save us. This Jesus claims to be, and the Gospels say He was, and prove it on every page. II. RESPECTING THE WORKS OF THE SAVIOUR. 1. It was one of these that called forth the unrighteous judgment He here rebukes. About six months before He had healed the impotent man Joh_5:1-9). According to appearance He had violated the Sabbath, But in the strictest sense that was such a deed as the Sabbath was appointed to suggest and promote. And the misjudging eye followed Him wherever He went, and adjudged the miracles, which were manifestations from heaven, to be a sign from hell. 2. Similar errors are found among us. (1) His work on the cross has been judged according to appearance, and set down as martyrdom and as the last manifestation of that obedience which is a model to us. Neither of these views enter into the inner meaning of the transaction. As for the first, it is not in harmony with the law of Jesus: “When they persecute you in one city, flee ye into another.” But our Lord sought death. As for the next, the Bible leaves no room for doubt that there was more in Christ’s death than that “Christ died for the ungodly.” “We have redemption through His blood,” etc. The primal and essential aim of Christ’s 124
- 125. death was atonementfor sin. (2) His work in carrying on His providence. There may be an appearance of evil to God’s people, while we know that “no evil shall happen to them.” The Lord’s dealings with them are transacted beyond the range of the outward eye. Jesus cannot be unkind to them. III. RESPECTING THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL STATE. 1. They did not suspect their own wickedness, but seemed to themselves to be animated by zeal for God’s law. There was much in appearances to foment this delusion. Had we arrived on the scene when these words were spoken, we should have concluded that some grand act of national worship was going forward; and had we heard this reference to Sabbath violation, we might have thought the people no respecters of persons in their zeal for God’s law. But underneath all that show of worship was hollow unbelief, and all that zeal for “Remember the Sabbath” was a cloak for their transgression of “Thou shalt not kill.” 2. Our circumstances are not dissimilar to theirs. Our Lord’s day is a festival as really as that feast; but is ,our heart in Sabbath worship, and while we bow the head, are we bowing the heart? Excellent though Sabbath-keeping and Church- going are, they are apt to deceive us. And so with other religious acts. We may be very scrupulous outwardly, and yet inwardly be far from God. Conclusion: 1. The world is full of people who seem as though they were all journeying in one direction; yet part is travelling to heaven and part to hell. Whatever the outside of our lives may seem to say, we belong to one or the other. Let us ascertain by the test of a righteous judgment to which we belong. 2. We are all hastening to a day when judgment will not be according to appearance. 3. But why appeal to the future? God is passing His righteous judgments on our state and actions now. Let us be judges with God in this matter, and be satisfied with nothing that will not satisfy Him. (A. Macleod, D. D.) Hiding behind others Here is administered a rebuke to the injustice and peril of making the apparent inconsistencies of Christians the apology for delay in beginning a religious life. I. THE INJUSTICE OF JUDGING THE MERE APPEARANCE OF OTHERS. 1. One cannot always know the actual facts as to another’s inconsistent behaviour. 2. Nor the balances of better behaviour behind it. 3. Nor the unseen spiritual struggle against it. 4. Nor the penitence and prayer which may have followed it. II. The peril of hiding behind the mere appearance of others. 1. It is itself inconsistent; would men follow Christians who are correct? 2. It is evasive: men only mean to stop appeal. 3. It is illogical: it pays the highest compliment to real religion. 125
- 126. 4. It isunreasonable: men know they are independently responsible to God. 5. It is unsafe: it shows men they know the right way of living when they criticize what is inconsistent with it. (Charles S. Robinson, D. D.) Judging by outward appearances I. IS NOT A TRUE WAY OF JUDGING. Some of the most delicious fruits are encased in rough and unsightly coverings; and one who had not tasted them before, would be likely to pass them by, and go on to others which seemed to be better. One day a man dressed in plain, coarse clothes walked into a little English village, carrying a bundle tied up in a handkerchief. No one noticed him, or cared for him. After a while the stage-coach drove up; the little way-side mail-bag was thrown off, and all the idlers of the village assembled about the post-office. The contents of the bag were soon assorted, and there was nothing deserving of notice, except a formidable-looking letter, with a large seal, directed to Lord Somebody. The postmaster examined it, and read its superscription aloud. Everybody was on tip-toe of expectation, and for giving the nobleman a grand reception. Meanwhile, the stranger in the homespun dress sat silently watching the proceedings; and, when the public curiosity had worn itself out over the letter, he claimed it as his own. Astonishment, indignation, and a variety of other emotions, took possession of the crowd. But when the postmaster, who had seen the nobleman some- where before, and now recognized him in his plain clothes, handed him the letter, every one began to try and do away with the unfavourable impression which had been made on the stranger by the cool contempt with which he had been treated so long as he had been thought to be only an ordinary traveller. Lord Somebody, taking his bundle in his hand, left the village, giving the advice contained in the text as his parting legacy to its mortified inhabitants. II. IS NOT A JUST WAY OF JUDGING. Many hundred years age when the Tabernacle of the Lord was at Shiloh, a good woman, named Hannah, went into pray, and to ask for a special blessing which she greatly longed for. It was in her heart that she spake to the Lord, and no loud word was uttered. But He who knoweth all things could hear her. Eli the priest saw her come in, and, judging from outward appearance, he judged unjustly, rashly concluding her to be tipsy. How Eli’s heart must have been wrung by the reply (1Sa_1:15). People who wear the longest faces, and who talk the most religiously, have not always the most of the love of God in their hearts. As Shakespeare has worded it—“A man may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” III. IS NOT A SAFE WAY OF JUDGING. The ice on the river appears to be as safe as the earth, but how many who venture upon it pay for their temerity! “Oh! how I wish I could ride in a carriage, like that gentleman!” exclaimed a little fellow, one day, as a handsome coach and four dashed rapidly by him, while he trudged along the dusty road. “I am sure that man must be as happy as a king. O that I had been born so lucky!” At no great distance from the spot where the carriage passed him, it suddenly stopped, and the complaining and envious boy arrived just in time to see the happy owner of the carriage descend from it. Alas! little of happiness was to be seen. The rich man was a cripple, and before he could move a step, a pair of crutches had to be brought to him, and, as he cautiously raised himself from the seat, his face was distorted with pain. The little boy was thus taught the lesson of the text. (J. N. Norton, D. D.) 126
- 127. Appearances A traveller showedLavater two portraits—the one a highwayman who had been broken upon the wheel, the other was a portrait of Kant the philosopher. He was desired to distinguish between them. Lavater took up the portrait of the highwayman, and, after attentively considering it for some time, “Here,” said he, “we have the true philosopher. Here is penetration in the eye and reflection in the forehead; here is cause, and there is effect; here is combination, there is distinction; synthetic lips and analytic nose.” Then, turning to the portrait of the philosopher, he exclaimed, “The calm-thinking villain is so well expressed and so strongly marked in this countenance that it needs no comment.” This anecdote Kant used to tell with great glee. Judge not by appearances At one of the annual Waterloo banquets the Duke of Wellington after dinner handed round for inspection a very valuable presentation snuff-box set with diamonds. After a time it disappeared, and could nowhere be found. The Duke was much annoyed. The guests (there being no servants in the room at the time) were more so, and they all agreed to turn out their pockets. To this one old officer vehemently objected, and, on their pressing the point, left the room, notwithstanding that the Duke begged that nothing more might be said about the matter. Of course suspicion fell on the old officer; nobody seemed to know much about him or where he lived. The next year the Duke at the annual banquet put his hand in the pocket of his coat, which he had not worn since the last dinner, and there was the missing snuff-box! The Duke was dreadfully distressed, found out the old officer, who was living in a wretched garret, and apologized. “But why,” said His Grace, “did you not consent to what the other officers proposed, and thus have saved yourself from the terrible suspicion?” “Because, sir, my pockets were full of broken meat, which I had contrived to put there to save my wife and family, who were at that time literally dying of starvation.” The Duke, it is said, sobbed like a child; and it need not be added that the old officer and his family suffered no more from want from that day. Appearances are often deceptive. We don’t know all. Therefore “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” We must not judge by appearances Whatever truth there may be in phrenology, or in Lavater’s kindred science of physiognomy, we shall do well scrupulously to avoid forming an opinion against a man from his personal appearance. If we so judge we shall often commit the greatest injustice, which may, if we should ever live to be disfigured by sickness or marred by age, be returned into our own bosom to our bitter sorrow. Plato compared Socrates to the gallipots of the Athenian apothecaries, on the outside of which were painted grotesque figures of apes and owls, but they contained within precious balsams. All the beauty of a Cleopatra cannot save her name from being infamous; personal attractions have adorned some of the grossest monsters that ever cursed humanity. Judge then no man or woman after their outward fashion, but with purified eye behold the hidden beauty of the heart and life. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The folly of judging by appearances Two knights met in a wood one day, and saw between them a shield fastened to a branch. Neither knew to whom it belonged, or why it was there. “Whose is this white shield? “ said one. “White? Why it is black!” replied the other. “Do you take me for blind, or a fool, that you tell me what my own eyes can see is false?” And so words 127
- 128. were bandied aboutuntil the dispute became so violent that swords were drawn, when a third knight came upon the scene. Looking at the angry men, he said, “You should be brothers in arms. Why do I see these passionate gestures, and hear these fierce words?” Each knight made baste to explain the imposition which the other had tried to practice upon him. The stranger smiled, and riding to one side of the shield, and then to the other, he said, very quietly, “Do not charge with your weapons just yet. Change places!” They did so, and, behold, the knight who had seen the white side of the shield saw now the black side also; and the knight who had been ready to do battle for the black stood face to face with the white side. Ashamed of their hot haste, they apologized one to the other, and rode out of the greenwood as good friends as ever. The lesson taught in this story is very important. Half the misunderstandings and quarrels which disturb the peace and destroy the happiness of families and neighbourhoods might be prevented, if those who engage in these disputes could see both sides of the question at once. How wise, then, are those people who are careful never to form hasty opinions, and who wait until they have seen or heard both sides, before venturing to determine which is right! (J. N. Norton, D. D.) Deceptive appearances Rabbi Joshua, the son of Chananiah, was a very learned and wise man, but he was ugly. His complexion was so dark that he was nicknamed “The Blacksmith,” and little children ran away from him. One day, when the Rabbi went to court, the Emperor Trajan’s daughter laughed at his ugliness, and said, “Rabbi, I wonder how it is that such great wisdom should be contained in an ugly head.” Rabbi Joshua kept his temper, and, instead of replying, asked, “Princess, in what vessels does your august father keep his wine?” “In earthern jars, to be sure,” replied she. “Indeed,” exclaimed the Rabbi, “why all the common people keep their wine in earthern jars; the Emperor’s wine should be kept in handsome vessels.” The princess, who thought that Joshua was really in earnest, went off to the chief butler, and ordered him to pour all the Emperor’s wine into gold and silver vessels, earthern jars being unworthy of such precious drink. The butler followed these orders; but when the wine came to the royal table it had turned sour. The next time the princess met the Rabbi she expressed her astonishment at his having given her such a strange piece of advice, and mentioned the result. “Then you have learned a simple lesson, princess,” was the Rabbi’s reply. “ Wine is best kept in common vessels: so is wisdom.” The next time the princess met the Rabbi she did not laugh at his ugly face. (W. Baxendale.) Deceptive appearances I have heard of one who felt convinced that there must be something in the Roman Catholic religion from the extremely starved and pinched appearance of a certain ecclesiastic. “Look,” said he,”how the man is worn to a skeleton by his daily fastings and nightly vigils! How he must mortify his flesh!” Now the probabilities are that the emaciated priest was labouring under some internal disease, which he would have been heartily glad to be rid of, and it was not conquest of appetite, but failure in digestion which had so reduced him; or possibly a troubled conscience, which made him fret himself down to the light weights. Certainly I never met with a text which mentions prominence of bone as an evidence of grace. If so “the living skeleton” should have been exhibited, not merely as a living curiosity, but as the standard of virtue. Some of the biggest rogues have been as mortified in appearance as if they had lived on locusts and wild honey. It is a very vulgar error to suppose that a melancholy countenance is the index of a gracious heart. (C. H.Spurgeon.) 128
- 129. Sometimes hard tojudge An ingenious device is attributed in the Talmud to King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba, attracted by the reputation of his wisdom, one day presented herself before him, holding in her hands two wreaths, the one of exquisite natural flowers, the other of artificial. The artificial wreath was arranged with so much taste and skill, the delicate form of the flowers so perfectly imitated, and the minutest shades of colour so wonderfully blended, that the wise king, at the distance at which they were held, was unable to determine which was really the work of the Divine Artist. For a moment he seemed baffled; the Jewish court looked on in melancholy astonishment; then his eyes turned towards a window, near which a swarm of bees were hovering. He commanded it to be opened; the bees rushed into the court, and immediately alighted on one of the wreaths; whilst not a single one fixed on the other. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this He whom they seek to kill? I. THE OBSTINATE BLINDNESS OF THE UNBELIEVING JEWS. They defended their denial of our Lord’s Messiahship by two assertions, both of which were wrong (Joh_7:27). 1. They were wrong in saying that they knew whence He came. They meant that He came from Nazareth; but He was born at Bethlehem, and belonged to the tribe of Judah, and was of the lineage of David. The Jews, with their care- fully- kept family histories, could have found this out. Their ignorance was, therefore, without excuse. 2. They were wrong in saying that “no man was to know whence Christ came.” This was in fiat contradiction to Mic_5:2 (see Mt Joh_7:42), which they found it convenient not to remember (2Pe_3:5). How common is this habit to-day! “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” II. THE OVER-RULING HAND OF GOD OVER ALL HIS ENEMIES (verse30). 1. Our Lord’s sufferings were undergone voluntarily. He did not go to the cross because He could not help it. Neither Jew nor Gentile could have hurt Him, except power had been given them from above. The passion could not begin until the very hour which God had appointed. 2. Christ’s servants should treasure up this doctrine. Nothing can happen to them but by Divine permission (Psa_31:15). III. THE MISERABLE END TO WHICH UNBELIEVERS SHALL ONE DAY COME (verse 34). It is uncertain whether our Lord had in view individual cases of unbelief, or the national remorse at the siege of Jerusalem. There is such a thing as finding out truth too late (Pro_1:28; Mat_25:11). Therefore decide for Christ now. (Bishop Ryle.) The origin of Jesus I. THE COGITATIONS OF THE JERUSALEMITES. 1. Wonder. (1) The fearlessness of Christ (Joh_7:26) startled them, considering that He was a marked Man (Joh_7:25). Being themselves destitute of moral courage (Joh_7:13), they had no idea of such fortitude as innocence and truth could 129
- 130. inspire, and thathe whom God shields is invulnerable (Isa_54:17) until his work is done (Deu_33:25) and his hour is come Joh_9:4; Heb_9:27). (2) The timidity of the rulers (verse 26) puzzled them. They had as little comprehension of the essential cowardice of wickedness (Pr Job_18:7-21) as of the majesty of goodness. 2. Suspicion. Ruminating on the inaction of the authorities, they began to whisper that something had occurred to change their tactics; that perhaps they had ascertained that Jesus was the Messiah (verse 26)—a conjecture that was immediately dismissed, little guessing that truth often presents itself in such seemingly involuntary suggestions. 3. Decision. Who Jesus was they could settle in a moment. (1) When Messiah came, no one would be able to tell whence He came, or His parentage (verse 27), though His birthplace would be known (verse 42). (2) Everybody knew Jesus’ birthplace and parentage. (3) Therefore He could not be Messiah, but only “a man,” like His fellows. Good logic, it is obvious, is not the same thing as sound Divinity. II. THE DECLARATIONS OF JESUS. 1. A concession. Their knowledge of His origin was (1) Ostensibly complete. (2) Essentially erroneous, since they had no acquaintance with His higher nature. 2. A proclamation. (1) Concerning Himself. (a) His Divine Mission. “I am not Come of Myself.” “He sent Me.” (b) His Divine knowledge. “I know Him,” the Sender. (c) His Divine essence. “I am from Him.” (2) Concerning them. (a) Their ignorance of God. “Whom ye know not.” (b) As a consequence, their non-recognition of Him. Lessons: 1. The true humanity of Jesus. 2. To know Christ after the flesh only is to be ignorant of Him in reality. 3. No one knows Christ who recognizes not His Divine origin and mission. 4. A knowledge of the Father necessary to a true acquaintance with the Son (Mat_11:27). 5. It is not possible for wicked men to do all they wish except God wills. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) Knowledge of Christ must be more than critical I heard two persons on the Wengem Alp talking by the hour of the names of ferns; 130
- 131. not a wordabout their characteristics, uses, or habits, but a medley of crack-jaw titles, nothing more. They evidently felt that they were ventilating their botany, and kept each other in countenance by alternate volleys of nonsense. They were about as sensible as those doctrinalists who for ever talk over the technicalities of religion, but know nothing by experience of its spirit and power. Are we not all too apt to amuse ourselves after the same fashion. He who knows mere Linnaean names, but has never seen a flower, is as reliable in botany as he is in theology who can descant upon supralapsaranism, but has never known the love of Christ in his heart. True religion is more than doctrine; something must be known and felt. (C. H.Spurgeon.) Howbeit we know this Man whence He is; but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is.—Note the ineffable self-complacency of spiritual ignorance and pride. Although His miracles made Him famous, yet they neither know nor desired to know His real nature. 1. Knowing God’s power, they would not have resisted His Son. 2. Knowing God’s justice, they would not have rejected His warnings. 3. Knowing God’s mercy, they would not have grieved His Spirit. 4. Knowing God’s wisdom, they would not have trusted their folly. So far from knowing, they have never carefully inquired into His life and birth. Indeed, they did not know that He was born at Bethlehem. Had they known Him, they would not have felt angry at Sabbath healing. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.) Jewish theories about Christ’s origin and coming When the wise men came, the scribes at Jerusalem averred that the Messiah should be born “in Bethlehem of Judaea,” and adduced in proof the words of Micah. But here we find that Micah’s words were by no means universally held as conclusive. Some held—and many famous Jewish expositors have since maintained that the Messiah would come suddenly, like a bright and unexpected meteor, as here. The popular opinion, however, agreed with the answer of the scribes above (verse 42). Now it would be erroneous to suppose that the opinion expressed in the text was groundless or fanciful. It rested on all those passages in the Old Testament which refer to our Lord’s Divine origin. To us the doctrine of the Divine and human natures in Christ is a cardinal article of faith; and, trained in this belief, we reconcile by its aid many statements of the prophets which externally are at variance with one another. But this twofold aspect must have been a serious difficulty to those who had only the teaching of the prophets, without the New Testament exposition of that teaching; nor can I see anything absurd in the expectation that, like a second Melchisedek, He would appear suddenly, with no human lineage, and no place of earthly birth and education. More correctly, we may regard this idea as only a confused anticipation of the truth that the Messiah was not only David’s Son, but also “the Son of God.” This very title is more than once given to our Lord (Joh_1:49;Mat_16:16; Mat 26:63). In the latter text, Caiaphas probably put the question contemptuously, as representing what he deemed to be the most extreme form of Messianic doctrine; but there were other and better men who held it devoutly as a truth. But could these noble souls make it harmonize with the equally plain prophetic teaching that the Messiah was to be a Man, a descendant of David, and born at Bethlehem? Many attempts were no doubt made to harmonize this apparent discrepancy. One such we read in Justin Martyr’s dialogue with the Jew Trypho. Trypho there affirms “ that the Messiah at 131
- 132. His birth wouldremain unknown and unacquainted with His powers until Elias appeared, who would anoint Him and proclaim Him as the Christ.” In the Talmud the most conflicting opinions are found respecting the Messiah’s advent. In one place it is said that He will first manifest Himself at Rome; in another, that the place will be Babylon; in a third, that He will not appear at all unless the Jews reform their manners. More frequently, however, it asserts that Jerusalem would be the place of His birth. Who could read such passages as Psa_87:5; Isa_2:3; Psa_50:2, and not draw from them the conclusion that the Messiah would be born on Zion’s Holy Hill (2Es_13:6; 2Es 13:35, etc.). (Dean Payne Smith.) Then cried Jesus in the Temple Christ grieved by misconceptions about Himself Nathanael had a technical objection (Joh_1:46); but it was swept away at once by the moral impression produced by Jesus. These Jews had also a technical objection (“when Christ came, no one was to know whence He was”), and this served to neutralize, for them, all the effect of the Saviour’s teaching. They were bond-slaves to the letter; and this not the letter of Scripture, but of their own interpretation of Scripture. Let us consider I. THE ATTACK UPON CHRIST. Just before His teaching had been assailed; now His person and mission. “He cannot be the Christ, because we know all about Him.” Recall circumstance. The speakers are Jerusalem Jews, who are well acquainted with the animus of the rulers towards Him. “How is it, then,” they ask, “that He is allowed to speak so fearlessly? Are the rulers coming round to believe in Him? But when we think of it, that cannot be. They are aware, as we are, that one over whose antecedents no obscurity rests can be no Messiah.” All neutralized by a notion I This pains and distresses Jesus, and He “cries out” loudly, with emotion, seeking to rectify the mistake. II. THE DEFENCE. Jesus admits the truth of what they say, so far as it goes; they have an outward knowledge of Him and His origin. But this is only what appears. There is something beyond of which they are ignorant, and that is the Divine mission. But this mission is a fact. “He that sent Me is real”—i.e. (probably), “really exists.” Why, then, do they not recognize the fact? Because they, little as they think it, are ignorant of God. With this ignorance of God, He contrasts His own inward consciousness of God and His relation to Him. “I know Him.” III. RESULT OF THE DEFENCE. The extreme irritation of the Jews at being told that they did not know God, and their indignation at Jesus’ assumption of a peculiar relationship to the Father. They consider Him to be at least touching upon the confines of blasphemy, and “seek to take Him”; but they could not, because His hour was not yet come. IV. FOR PRACTICAL INFERENCES, let us Ñ 1. Recur to the thought that Christ is pained by misconception of His person and work, because He knows how ruinous such misconsceptions are to mankind. 2. That He speaks severely, because it is necessary to do so. In no other way could He hope to obtain for the truth admission into the hearts of His hearers. (G. Calthrop, M. A.) Then they sought to take Him; but no man laid hands on Him, because 132
- 133. His hour wasnot yet come The hour of destiny I. CHRIST’S HOUR WAS DIVINELY PREDESTINATED. This is proved by 1. The numerous predictions of Scripture. 2. The long suffering of God in the preservation of the human race. 3. The influences which this hour has exerted on the condition of the world. II. CHRIST’S HOUR WAS ABOVE ALL CONTINGENCY AND HUMAN INTERFERENCES. This fact shows 1. The universality of Divine providence. 2. The futility of human opposition to the ways of God. 3. The steadfastness of the Divine plan. III. HIS HOUR DID NOT AFFECT THE MORAL FREEDOM OF HIS CONDUCT. 1. He chose the hour. 2. This choice proves His infinite love for us. 3. The manner in which He submitted to His destiny is a sublime model for us. (P. L. Davies, A. M.) 20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” BARNES, "The people - Perhaps some of the people who were not aware of the designs of the rulers. Thou hast a devil - Thou art deranged or mad. See Joh_10:20. As they saw no effort to kill him, and as they were ignorant of the designs of the rulers, they supposed that this was the effect of derangement. CLARKE, "Thou hast a devil - The crowd, who made this answer, were not in the secret of the chief priests. They could not suppose that any person desired to put him to death for healing a diseased man; and therefore, in their brutish manner, they say, Thou hast a demon - thou art beside thyself, and slanderest the people, for none of them desires to put thee to death. The Codex Cyprius (K), four others, and the margin of the later Syriac, attribute this answer to the Jews, i.e. those who were seeking his life. If the reading, therefore, of οᅷ Ιουδαιοι, the Jews, be received instead 133
- 134. of ᆇ οχλος,the multitude, it serves to show the malice of his enemies in a still stronger light: for, fearing lest their wish to put him to death might not be gratified, and that his teaching should prevail among the common people; to ruin his credit, and prevent his usefulness, they give out that he was possessed by a demon; and that, though he might be pitied as a miserable man, yet he must not be attended to as a teacher of righteousness. Malice and envy are ever active and indefatigable, leaving no stone unturned, no mean unused, that they may win the object of their resentment. See the note on Joh_7:26. GILL, "The people answered and said,.... These seem to be the country people, who came from Galilee and other parts, who knew nothing of the designs of the Jerusalem Jews upon him; nor were they his downright enemies at least, but rather seemed to favour him, and were on his side, though greatly provoked to hear him talk after this manner: thou hast a devil; or art possessed with one; thou talkest like one of the demoniacs, like a madman, one beside thyself; whom the devil has so much power over, and has so deprived of thy senses, that thou knowest not what thou sayest: who goeth about to kill thee? no man; for they could not believe that any man, or body of men, would be so wicked, as to attempt to take away the life of so harmless a person, and who did so much good both to the bodies and souls of men. HENRY, "Here the people rudely interrupted him in his discourse, and contradicted what he said (Joh_7:20): Thou has a devil; who goes about to kill thee? This intimates, [1.] The good opinion they had of their rulers, who, they think, would never attempt so atrocious a thing as to kill him; no, such a veneration they had for their elders and chief priests that they would swear for them they would do no harm to an innocent man. Probably the rulers had their little emissaries among the people who suggested this to them; many deny that wickedness which at the same time they are contriving. [2.] The ill opinion they had of our Lord Jesus: “Thou hast a devil, thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and art a bad man for saying so;” so some: or rather, “Thou art melancholy, and art a weak man; thou frightenest thyself with causeless fears, as hypochondriacal people are apt to do.” Not only open frenzies, but silent melancholies, were then commonly imputed to the power of Satan. “Thou art crazed, has a distempered brain.” Let us not think it strange if the best of men are put under the worst of characters. To this vile calumny our Saviour returns no direct answer, but seems as if he took no notice of it. Note, Those who would be like Christ must put up with affronts, and pass by the indignities and injuries done them; must not regard them, much less resent them, and least of all revenge them. I, as a deaf man, heard not. When Christ was reviled, he reviled not again, JAMIESON, "The people answered, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? — This was said by the multitude, who as yet had no bad feeling to Jesus, and were not in the secret of the plot hatching, as our Lord knew, against Him. CALVIN, "20.Thou hast a devil. The meaning is, “Thou art mad;” for it was a customary phrase among the Jews, who had been trained to the doctrine that, when men are excited to rage, or when they have lost sense and reason, they are 134
- 135. tormented by thedevil. And, indeed, as gentle and moderate chastisements are God’s fatherly rods, so when He treats us with greater harshness and severity, He appears not to strike us with his own hand, but rather to employ the devil as the executioner and minister of his wrath. Again, the multitude reproach Christ with simplicity; for the common people were not acquainted with the intentions of the priests. Those foolish men, therefore, ascribe it to madness, when Christ complains that they are endeavoring to put him to death. We learn from it that we ought to be exceedingly cautious not to form an opinion about subjects which we do not understand; but, if it ever happens that we are rashly condemned by ignorant men, mildly to digest such an affront. 21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. BARNES, "One work - The healing of the man on the Sabbath, John 5. Ye all marvel - You all wonder or are amazed, and particularly that it was done on the Sabbath. This was the particular ground of astonishment, that he should dare to do what they esteemed a violation of the Sabbath. CLARKE, "I have done one work - That of curing the impotent man, already referred to. See Joh_5:9. And ye all marvel - or, ye all marvel because of this. Some have δια τουτο, in connection with θαυµαζετε, which the common pointing makes the beginning of the next verse, and which, in our common version, is translated therefore; but this word conveys no meaning at all, in the connection in which it is thus placed. Proof of this construction Kypke gives from Themistius, Strabo, and Aelian. All the eminent critics are on the side of this arrangement of the words. GILL, "Jesus answered and said unto them,.... Taking no notice of their passion, reproach, and blasphemy; but proceeding upon the thing he had in view, and which he was determined to reassume, and vindicate himself in; I have done one work; that is, on the sabbath day; meaning, his cure of the man that had had a disorder eight and thirty years, who lay at Bethesda's pool; which single action, they charged with being a breach of the sabbath, he mentions with a view to their many, and daily violations of it: and ye all marvel; at it, as a thing unheard of, as a most shocking piece of iniquity, as an intolerable evil; wondering that any man should have the front, to bid another 135
- 136. take up hisbed and walk, on the sabbath day: they did not marvel at the miracle that was wrought; but were amazed, offended, and disturbed, at its being done on the sabbath day. HENRY, "(2.) He argues by way of appeal and vindication. [1.] He appeals to their own sentiments of this miracle: “I have done one work, and you all marvel, Joh_7:21. You cannot choose but marvel at it as truly great, and altogether supernatural; you must all own it to be marvellous.” Or, “Though I have done but one work that you have any colour to find fault with, yet you marvel, you are offended and displeased as if I had been guilty of some heinous or enormous crime.” [2.] He appeals to their own practice in other instances: “I have done one work on the sabbath, and it was done easily, with a word's speaking, and you all marvel, you make a mighty strange thing of it, that a religious man should dare do such a thing, whereas you yourselves many a time do that which is a much more servile work on the sabbath day, in the case of circumcision; if it be lawful for you, nay, and your duty, to circumcise a child on the sabbath day, when it happens to be the eighth day, as no doubt it is, much more was it lawful and good for me to heal a diseased man on that day.” Observe, First, The rise and origin of circumcision: Moses gave you circumcision, gave you the law concerning it. Here, 1. Circumcision is said to be given, and (Joh_7:23) they are said to receive it; it was not imposed upon them as a yoke, but conferred upon them as a favour. Note, The ordinances of God, and particularly those which are seals of the covenant, are gifts given to men, and are to be received as such. 2. Moses is said to give it, because it was a part of that law which was given by Moses; yet, as Christ said of the manna (Joh_6:32), Moses did not give it them, but God; nay, and it was not of Moses first, but of the fathers, Joh_7:22. Though it was incorporated into the Mosaic institution, yet it was ordained long before, for it was a seal of the righteousness of faith, and therefore commenced with the promise four hundred and thirty years before, Gal_3:17. The church membership of believers and their seed was not of Moses or his law, and therefore did not fall with it; but was of the fathers, belonged to the patriarchal church, and was part of that blessing of Abraham which was to come upon the Gentiles, Gal_3:14. Secondly, The respect paid to the law of circumcision above that of the sabbath, in the constant practice of the Jewish church. The Jewish casuists frequently take notice of it, Circumcisio et ejus sanatio pellit sabbbatum - Circumcision and its cure drive away the sabbath; so that if a child was born one sabbath day it was without fail circumcised the next. If then, when the sabbath rest was more strictly insisted on, yet those works were allowed which were in ordine ad spiritualia - for the keeping up of religion, much more are they allowed now under the gospel, when the stress is laid more upon the sabbath work. JAMIESON 21-24, "I have done one work, etc. — Taking no notice of the popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (Joh_ 5:9, Joh_5:16, Joh_5:18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt “to kill Him” brought up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if indeed they had ever forgotten it; and by this fearless reference to it, exposing their hypocrisy and dark designs, He gave His position great moral strength. 136
- 137. CALVIN, "21.I havedone one work. Now, leaving their persons, he begins to speak of the fact; for he proves that the miracle which he performed is not inconsistent with the Law of God. When he says that he has done one work, the meaning is, that it is only of a single crime that he is held guilty, or that it is only for a single work that he is blamed, which is, that he cured a man on the day of Rest; (188) but that they, on every day of Rest, do many works of the same, or a similar description, and do not reckon them criminal; for not a day of Rest passed on which there were not many infants circumcised in Judea. By this example he defends his action, although he does not merely argue from what is similar, but draws a comparison between the greater and the less. There was this similarity between circumcision and the cure of the paralytic, that both were works of God; but Christ maintains that the latter is more excellent, because the benefit of it extends to the whole man. Now if he had merely cured the man of bodily disease, the comparison would not have been applicable; for circumcision would have greater excellence as to the cure of the soul. Christ, therefore, connects the spiritual advantage of the miracle with the outward benefit granted to the body; and on this account he justly prefers tocircumcision the entire cure of a man. There might also be another reason for the comparison, namely, that the sacraments are not always attended by power and efficacy, while Christ wrought efficaciously in curing the paralytic. But I prefer the former exposition, that the Jews maliciously and slanderously blame a work, in which the grace of God shines more illustriously than in circumcision, on which they bestow so much honor that they think the Sabbath is not violated by it. And you all wonder The wonder, of which he speaks, means that what Christ had done caused this murmur, because they thought that he had ventured to do more than was lawful. COKE, “John 7:21-22. I have done one work, &c.— It is plain, that the miracle of Bethesda, here referred to, was wrought a year and a half before this feast; but they made use of it as a pretence to destroy him, because he had done it on the sabbath-day. The words δια τουτο, at the beginning of John 7:22 should be joined with the last words of John 7:21 if we may trust the judgment of some of the most learned critics. I have done one work, and ye all marvel at it. And it must be acknowledged, that we have precisely the same construction Mark 6:6. All the versions, however, retain the common pointing; and if we do so, the translation of John 7:22 must run thus: Because that Moses gave you the precept concerning circumcision, ye circumcise a man even on the sabbath-day. But the pointing just proposed makes the sense more clear and elegant thus: Moses gave you the law of circumcision, and on the sabbath ye circumcise a man, not because it is a precept of Moses only, but of the fathers. Jesus, being charged by the Jews as a transgressor of the law of Moses for having cured a man on the sabbath-day, thus expostulates with his accusers: "You wonder and object that I should cure a man, and order him to carry his couch, on the sabbath day; yet a little reflection might convince you, that your cavil is very unreasonable, even on your own principles; for to instance in circumcision, which Moses enjoined you to observe, and not to omit the performance of it on the eighth day; now if this happen to fall on the sabbath, you interrupt its holy rest, by performing the rite 137
- 138. without scruple onthis day, because you will not break the law of Moses, which has marked out a certain day for this work of charity; are you therefore angry atme for performing a work of equal charity on the sabbath day, John 7:23 and that with far less bodily labour than you perform the ceremony of circumcision." 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. BARNES, "Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision - Moses commanded you to circumcise your children, Lev_12:3. The word “therefore” in this place - literally “on account of this” - means, “Moses on this account gave you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;” that is, the reason was not that he himself appointed it as a new institution, but he found it already in existence, and incorporated it in his institutions and laws. Not because ... - Not that it is of Moses. Though Jesus spoke in accordance with the custom of the Jews, who ascribed the appointment of circumcision to Moses, yet he is careful to remind them that it was in observance long before Moses. So, also, the Sabbath was kept before Moses, and alike in the one case and the other they ought to keep in mind the design of the appointment. Of the fathers - Of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen_17:10. Ye on the sabbath-day ... - The law required that the child should be circumcised on the eighth day. If that day happened to be the Sabbath, yet they held that he was to be circumcised, as there was a positive law to that effect; and as this was commanded, they did not consider it a breach of the Sabbath. A man - Not an adult man, but a man-child. See Joh_16:21; “She remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” CLARKE, "But of the fathers - That is, it came from the patriarchs. Circumcision was not, properly speaking, one of the laws of the Mosaic institution, it having been given at first to Abraham, and continued among his posterity till the giving of the law: Gen_17:9, Gen_17:10, etc. Ye - circumcise a man - That is, a male child: for every male child was circumcised when eight days old; and if the eighth day after its birth happened to be a Sabbath, it was nevertheless circumcised, that the law might not be broken, which had enjoined the circumcision to take place at that time, Lev_12:3. From this and several other circumstances it is evident that the keeping of the Sabbath, even in the strictest sense of the word, ever admitted of the works of necessity and mercy to be done on it; and that those who did not perform such works on that day, when they 138
- 139. had opportunity, wereproperly violators of every law founded on the principles of mercy and justice. If the Jews had said, Why didst thou not defer the healing of the sick man till the ensuing day? He might have well answered, Why do ye not defer the circumcising of your children to the ensuing day, when the eighth day happens to be a Sabbath? - which is a matter of infinitely less consequence than the restoration of this long-afflicted man. GILL, "Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision,.... The command of circumcision, which he renewed and established, Lev_12:3; (not because, or that it is of Moses; originally, or that he was the first giver of it, for it was enjoined before his time; this is a correction of what is before said, giving a more accurate account of the rise of circumcision: but of the fathers); Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom it was enjoined by God, and who practised it before the times of Moses; so that this command was in force before him, and obligatory upon the descendants of Abraham, before he delivered it; and would have been, if he had never mentioned it; though the Jews say (r), "we do not circumcise because Abraham our father, on whom be peace, circumcised himself and his household, but because the holy blessed God commanded us by Moses, that we should be circumcised, as Abraham our father was circumcised.'' But no doubt it would have been binding on them, if Moses had said nothing about it; the command to Abraham is so express, for the circumcision of his male offspring, Gen_17:10; however, it being both of Moses and of the fathers, laid a very great obligation on the Jews to observe it: and ye on the sabbath day, circumcise a man; a male child, as they did, when the eighth day fell on a sabbath day; for the law of circumcision was before the law of the sabbath, and therefore was not to be made void by it, nor was it made void by it; and so much is intimated by our Lord's observing, that it was not of Moses, but of the fathers; and this is the reason which the Karaite Jews give for circumcision on the sabbath day: for (s). "say they, because it is a former command, from the time of Abraham our father, on whom be peace, before the giving of the law of the sabbath, בשבת מלים ,היו "they circumcise on the sabbath day", and when the command of the sabbath afterwards took place, it was not possible it should disannul circumcision on the sabbath day; and for the same reason, they also allow the sacrifice of the passover to be done on the sabbath day, because it is a command which went before the command of the sabbath.'' And this was also the sense and practice of the other Jews: thus citing the law of Moses in Lev_12:3. "And in the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised", by way of gloss upon it add, בשבת ,ואפילו "and even on the sabbath day" (t); and on the same text another writer observes (u), that by Gematry, every day is fit for circumcision. R. Jose says (w), "they do all things necessary to circumcision, on the sabbath day.'' 139
- 140. R. Abika says(x), "all work that can be done on the evening of the sabbath, does not drive away the sabbath; but circumcision, which cannot be done on the evening of the sabbath, drives away the sabbath: they do all things necessary to circumcision; they circumcise, and make bare, and suck, and put (on the wound) a plaster and cummin; and which, if not bruised on the evening of the sabbath, they may chew with their teeth.'' Also it is allowed of (y), to "wash the infant on the third day of circumcision, which happens to be on the sabbath.'' Moreover, a case is put after this manner (z); "if a man has two infants, one to be circumcised after the sabbath, and the other to be "circumcised on the sabbath", and forgets, and circumcises that, that was to be after the sabbath, on the sabbath, he is guilty of sin; if one is to be circumcised in the evening of the sabbath, and the other on the sabbath, and he forgets, and circumcises that which should be on the evening of the sabbath, on the sabbath, R. Eliezer pronounces him guilty, but R, Joshua absolves him.'' And we have an instance (a) of "R. Sheshana, the son of R. Samuel bar Abdimo, that when he was to be circumcised, it was the sabbath day, and they forgot the razor; and they inquired of R. Meni and R. Isaac ben Eleazar, and it was drove off to another day.'' From all which it appears, that circumcision on the sabbath day, was a common practice, and which confirms the assertion of Christ. HENRY, " Moses is said to give it, because it was a part of that law which was given by Moses; yet, as Christ said of the manna (Joh_6:32), Moses did not give it them, but God; nay, and it was not of Moses first, but of the fathers, Joh_7:22. Though it was incorporated into the Mosaic institution, yet it was ordained long before, for it was a seal of the righteousness of faith, and therefore commenced with the promise four hundred and thirty years before, Gal_3:17. The church membership of believers and their seed was not of Moses or his law, and therefore did not fall with it; but was of the fathers, belonged to the patriarchal church, and was part of that blessing of Abraham which was to come upon the Gentiles, Gal_3:14. Secondly, The respect paid to the law of circumcision above that of the sabbath, in the constant practice of the Jewish church. The Jewish casuists frequently take notice of it, Circumcisio et ejus sanatio pellit sabbbatum - Circumcision and its cure drive away the sabbath; so that if a child was born one sabbath day it was without fail circumcised the next. If then, when the sabbath rest was more strictly insisted on, yet those works were allowed which were in ordine ad spiritualia - for the keeping up of religion, much more are they allowed now under the gospel, when the stress is laid more upon the sabbath work. JAMIESON, "Moses ... gave unto you circumcision, etc. — Though servile work was forbidden on the sabbath, the circumcision of males on that day (which 140
- 141. certainly was aservile work) was counted no infringement of the Law. How much less ought fault to be found with One who had made a man “every whit whole” - or rather, “a man’s entire body whole” - on the sabbath-day? What a testimony to the reality of the miracle, none daring to meet the bold appeal. CALVIN, "22.Therefore Moses gave you circumcision The particle therefore appears to be unsuitable; and, accordingly, some take διὰ τούτο (on this account, or therefore) in the sense of διὰ τούτο, (because;) but the Greek syntax is unfavourable to their opinion. (189) I explain it simply as meaning, that circumcision was enjoined in such a manner that the practice of that symbolical rite was necessary even on the Sabbath-day Therefore, says he; that is, it has in this manner been sufficiently demonstrated to them, that the worship of the Sabbath is not violated by the works of God. And although Christ accommodates the instance of circumcision to the present subject, yet he immediately makes use of a correction, when he says, that Moses was not the first minister of circumcision. But it was enough for his purpose, that Moses, who so rigidly demanded the keeping of the Sabbath, commanded that infants should be circumcised on the eighth day, even though it should fall on the day of Rest (190) LIGHTFOOT, "22. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. [Ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.] They do all things that are necessary towards circumcision on the sabbath day. "R. Akibah saith, Any work that may be done on the vespers of the sabbath must not be done on the sabbath; but circumcision, when it cannot be done on the vespers of the sabbath, may be done on the sabbath day." "Danger of life nulleth the sabbath: circumcision also, and its cure, nulleth the sabbath." But as to this matter, they distinguish in Bereshith Rabba: "Jacob of Nabor taught us in Tsur: It is lawful to circumcise the son of a stranger on the sabbath day. R. Haggai heard this, and sent to him saying, Come and be disciplined," &c. And a little after; "R. Haggai saith to him, Lie down [to take discipline] and I will teach you. If a heathen come to you, and say, I would be made a Jew, so that he would be circumcised on the sabbath day, or on the day of Expiation, will we, for his sake, profane those days? Do we ever profane those days either of the sabbath, or Expiation, for any other than one born of an Israelitess only?" We meet with the same also in Bemidbar Rabba, and Midras Coheleth. Let us look a little into the way of Christ's arguing in this place: to me it seems thus: "Moses, therefore, gave you circumcision, that you might rightly understand the nature of the sabbath: for, I. Circumcision was to be observed by the fathers before Moses, punctually on the eight day. II. Now, therefore, when Moses established the laws about the sabbath, he did by no means forbid the work of circumcision on the sabbath, if it happened to be the eighth day. III. For this did Moses give and continue circumcision among you, that you might learn 141
- 142. from hence tojudge of the nature of the sabbath day. And let us, therefore, argue it: If by Moses' institution and allowance it was lawful, for the advantage of the infant, to circumcise him on the sabbath day, is it not warrantable, by Moses' law, for the advantage of a grown man, to heal him on the sabbath day? If it be lawful to wound an infant by circumcision, surely it is equally, if not much more, lawful to heal a man by a word's speaking." CONSTABLE, “The antecedent of "On account of this" or "Yet" (Gr. dia touto) is unclear. It could refer to what precedes. This interpretation would yield a translation such as "you all marvel because of this." [Note: Bruce, p. 177; J. N. Sanders, Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, p. 207.] However, John consistently placed this phrase first when he used it in other clauses. [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 314.] Probably Jesus was referring to His healing of the paralytic (John 7:21) as representing God's desire for physical wholeness. Moses prescribed circumcision for the physical wellbeing of the Israelites as well as for other reasons (Leviticus 12:3). The Jews recognized this and consequently circumcised male infants on the eighth day following their births even if that day was a Sabbath. Normally observant Jews did no work on the Sabbath. Jesus' parenthetic reference to the fact that the circumcision legislation really began with the patriarchs and not Moses was probably a sleight depreciation of Moses. Jesus' critics claimed to follow Moses faithfully, but in keeping the circumcision law they were not truly honoring him but Abraham (Genesis 17:9-14). Technically Moses only incorporated the circumcision law into the Mosaic Code, as he did many other older laws. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? BARNES, "That the law of Moses should not be broken - In order that the law requiring it to be done at a specified time, though that might occur on the Sabbath, should be kept. Are ye angry ... - The argument of Jesus is this: “You yourselves, in interpreting the law about the Sabbath, allow a work of necessity to be done. You do that which is necessary as an ordinance of religion denoting separation from other nations, or external purity. As you allow this, you ought also, for the same reason, to allow that a man should be completely restored to health - that a work of much more importance 142
- 143. should be done.”We may learn here that it would be happy for all if they would not condemn others in that thing which they allow. People often accuse others of doing things which they themselves do in other ways. Every whit whole - Literally, “I have restored the whole man to health,” implying that the man’s whole body was diseased, and that he had been entirely restored to health. CLARKE, "Every whit whole - The law of circumcision required the removal of a small portion of flesh, which was considered a blot and reproach among the Hebrews, because it confounded them with the nations who were not in covenant with God. Christ, to this, opposes the complete cure of the infirm man, who was diseased throughout his whole body: if the one was permitted on the Sabbath day, for the reason already alleged, surely the other had stronger reasons to recommend it. Some think that the original words, ᆇλον ανθρωπον, should be translated, the whole man; and that the meaning is, that the blessed Savior made him whole both in body and soul. This makes the miracle the greater, and shows still more forcibly the necessity of doing it without delay. Battier ap. Wets. supposes that, instead of ᆇλον, χωλον should be read - I have made a Maimed man whole; but there is no countenance for this reading in any of the MSS., versions, or fathers. GILL, "If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision,.... As it was certain in many instances he did: that the law of Moses might not be broken; either the law concerning circumcision, which confirmed the law given to Abraham, and required it should be on the eighth day, let it fall when it would, even on a sabbath day; and therefore on that day, male children received circumcision, that that law might be kept, and not be broken: or else the law concerning the sabbath; and the sense be, if circumcision was administered on the sabbath day, "without breaking the law of Moses", as some render the words, which commanded the observation of the sabbath, are ye angry at me; and pursue me with so much wrath and bitterness, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? or "a man that was whole, sound on the sabbath day"; who was wholly, or all over disordered, every limb of whom shook with the palsy: or as some think the sense is, he was made every whit whole, both in soul and body; and then the argument is, if it was, no breach of the sabbath to make a wound, and lay a plaster on it, as in circumcision; it would be no violation of it, nor ought any to be offended with it, that Christ should heal a diseased man, who was so in every part of his body, and restore health to his soul likewise and nothing is more common with the Jews than to say, the danger of life, and נפש ,פיקוח "the preservation of the soul", or life, drive away the sabbath (b). HENRY, "Thirdly, The inference Christ draws hence in justification of himself, and of what he had done (Joh_7:23): A man-child on the sabbath day receives circumcision, that the law of circumcision might not be broken; or, as the margin reads it, without breaking the law, namely, of the sabbath. Divine commands must 143
- 144. be construed soas to agree with each other. “Now, if this be allowed by yourselves, how unreasonable are you, who are angry with me because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day!” emoi cholate. The word is used only here, from chogē - fel, gall. They were angry at him with the greatest indignation; it was a spiteful anger, anger with gall in it. Note, It is very absurd and unreasonable for us to condemn others for that in which we justify ourselves. Observe the comparison Christ here makes between their circumcising a child and his healing a man on the sabbath day. 1. Circumcision was but a ceremonial institution; it was of the fathers indeed, but not from the beginning; but what Christ did was a good work by the law of nature, a more excellent law than that which made circumcision a good work. 2. Circumcision was a bloody ordinance, and made sore; but what Christ did was healing, and made whole. The law works pain, and, if that work may be done on the sabbath day, much more a gospel work, which produces peace. 3. Especially considering that whereas, when they had circumcised a child, their care was only to heal up that part which was circumcised, which might be done and yet the child remain under other illnesses, Christ had made this man every whit whole, holon anthrōpon hugiē - I have made the whole man healthful and sound. The whole body was healed, for the disease affected the whole body; and it was a perfect cure, such as left no relics of the disease behind; nay, Christ not only healed his body, but his soul too, by that admonition, Go, and sin no more, and so indeed made the whole man sound, for the soul is the man. Circumcision indeed was intended for the good of the soul, and to make the whole man as it should be; but they had perverted it, and turned it into a mere carnal ordinance; but Christ accompanied his outward cures with inward grace, and so made them sacramental, and healed the whole man. ELLICOTT, “(23) That the law of Moses should not be broken.—The text here is to be preferred to the marginal reading, though the latter has still the support of considerable authority. In the one case, the law which may not be broken is the law directing circumcision on the eighth day. In the other, “without breaking the law of Moses,” refers to the law of the Sabbath. The rule of circumcision on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12; Genesis 21:4) was adopted in the Mosaic law (Leviticus 12:3), and strictly adhered to—we have examples in the New Testament, in Luke 1:59; Luke 2:21, and Philippians 3:5—and if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath, then, according to Rabbinic precept, “circumcision vacated the Sabbath.” The school of Hillel the Great—and disciples of this school were at the time of our Lord the chief teachers at Jerusalem (comp. Note on John 5:39)— gave as a reason for this that the “Sabbath Law was one of the Negative and the Circumcision Law one of the Positive Precepts, and that the Positive destroys the Negative.” His appeal, then, is an example of His knowledge of their technical law, at which they wondered in John 7:15. Indeed, the argument itself is an example of Hillel’s first great law of interpretation—“that the Major may be inferred from the Minor.” If circumcision be lawful on the Sabbath, much more is it lawful to restore the whole man. For other instances in which our Lord used this famous Canon of Interpretation, comp. Matthew 7:11; Matthew 10:29-31. CONSTABLE, “Jesus' critics permitted an act on the Sabbath that resulted in the health of part of a person, and an infant at that, on the Sabbath. They should 144
- 145. not, therefore, objectto His healing a whole adult then. Moreover they performed circumcisions regularly on the Sabbath, but Jesus had only healed one man on one Sabbath. Circumcision was an operation designed to insure good health. The circumcised child was not even ill. Jesus on the other hand had healed a man who had suffered with a serious handicap for 38 years. Moreover circumcision was only a purification rite, but healing a paralytic involved deliverance from enslavement. Therefore it was unfair for Jesus' critics to be angry with Him for what He had done. The Jews had established a hierarchy of activities by which they judged the legitimacy of performing any work on the Sabbath (cf. Matthew 12:9-10). They based this hierarchy on necessary need, urgency. Jesus also operated from a hierarchical viewpoint, but He based His hierarchy on what was best for people (Mark 2:27). "Had his opponents understood the implications of the Mosaic provision for circumcision on the Sabbath they would have seen that deeds of mercy such as he has just done were not merely permissible but obligatory. Moses quite understood that some things should be done even on the Sabbath. The Jews had his words but not his meaning." [Note: Morris, p. 362.] 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” BARNES, "Judge not according to the appearance - Not as a thing first offers itself to you, without reflection or candor. In appearance, to circumcise a child on the Sabbath might be a violation of the law; yet you do it, and it is right. So, to appearance, it might be a violation of the Sabbath to heal a man, yet it is right to do works of necessity and mercy. Judge righteous judgment - Candidly; looking at the law, and inquiring what its spirit really requires. CLARKE, "Judge not according to the appearance - Attend to the law, not merely in the letter, but in its spirit and design. Learn that the law which commands men to rest on the Sabbath day is subordinate to the law of mercy and love, which requires them to be ever active to promote God’s glory in the comfort and salvation of their fellow creatures; and endeavor to judge of the merit or demerit of an action, not from the first impression it may make upon your prejudices but from its tendency, and the motives of the person, as far as it is possible for you to acquaint yourselves with them; still believing the best, where you have no certain proof to the 145
- 146. contrary. GILL, "Judge notaccording to the appearance,.... Or through respect of persons, and so as to please men, the Scribes and Pharisees; who had condemned the action of Christ, in curing the diseased man on the sabbath day, and sought to kill him for it: but judge righteous judgment; give your sense and judgment of things, according to the truth and evidence of them; and do not find fault with that, which you yourselves allow of, and which Moses and his law, and your own practices, justify. HENRY, "He concludes this argument with that rule (Joh_7:24): Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. This may be applied, either, First, In particular, to this work which they quarrelled with as a violation of the law. Be not partial in your judgment; judge not, kat' opsin - with respect of persons; knowing faces, as the Hebrew phrase is, Deu_1:17. It is contrary to the law of justice, as well as charity, to censure those who differ in opinion from us as transgressors, in taking that liberty which yet in those of our own party, and way, and opinion, we allow of; as it is also to commend that in some as necessary strictness and severity which in others we condemn as imposition and persecution. Or, Secondly, In general, to Christ's person and preaching, which they were offended at and prejudiced against. Those things that are false, and designed to impose upon men, commonly appear best when they are judged of according to the outward appearance, they appear most plausible prima facie - at the first glance. It was this that gained the Pharisees such an interest and reputation, that they appeared right unto men (Mat_23:27, Mat_23:28), and men judged of them by that appearance, and so were sadly mistaken in them. “But,” saith Christ, “be not too confident that all are real saints who are seeming ones.” With reference to himself, his outward appearance was far short of his real dignity and excellency, for he took upon him the form of a servant (Phi_2:7), was in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom_8:3), had no form nor comeliness, Isa_53:2. So that those who undertook to judge whether he was the Son of God or no by his outward appearance were not likely to judge righteous judgment. The Jews expected the outward appearance of the Messiah to be pompous and magnificent, and attended with all the ceremonies of secular grandeur; and, judging of Christ by that rule, their judgment was from first to last a continual mistake, for the kingdom of Christ was not to be of this world, nor to come with observation. If a divine power accompanied him, and God bore him witness, and the scriptures were fulfilled in him, though his appearance was ever so mean, they ought to receive him, and to judge by faith, and not by the sight of the eye. See Isa_11:3, and 1Sa_16:7. Christ and his doctrine and doings desire nothing but righteous judgment; if truth and justice may but pass the sentence, Christ and his cause will carry the day. We must not judge concerning any by their outward appearance, not by their titles, the figure they make in the world, and their fluttering show, but by their intrinsic worth, and the gifts and graces of God's Spirit in them. SBC, "I. Are we to judge men according to the appearance of their life? There is a general social judgment which we must give. We look upon a man’s outer life, and pass a sentence on it, either of praise or blame; and, so far as appearance goes, that sentence may be just, as long as the matters it judges are within the sphere of the broad lines of right and wrong. But in other matters it may be quite unjust. The 146
- 147. human heart ishidden from us, and out of that alone can be drawn the materials for a righteous judgment of the lives of men. II. Again, you are forbidden to judge the whole of a man’s life from the results of his acts upon his own life. That is the way in which the world, while the man is alive, usually judges; and it is almost always wrong. We thank God that in the life of the Son of God, in the central life of history, a divine and eternal contradiction has been given to the world’s lie—that obloquy and slander, and suffering and poverty, and shame and death, are any proof that a man’s life is base or foolish or degraded. It is emblazoned on the walls of heaven and earth by the death of Christ, that the prosperous are not always right, and the sufferer not always wrong. III. Again, you cannot judge a man’s character according to the appearance of any single act. You must know the man before you can blame or praise him for the act. You must know the circumstances which preceded it, the many motives which entered into every act—the sum of which impelled it—before you can truly judge the man from the action. On the whole, we have scarcely any right to judge at all, just because we know nothing but the appearance. When we know more, then we may with diffidence judge; but, for the most part, we have no business to make the judgment openly, unless it happen to be a judgment of love. Still, after long experience, a long labour towards certain qualities, we may attain some power of judging righteously. (1) The first of these qualities is to love men as Christ loved them, through utter loss of self; the other qualities are secured by love. With love comes (2) patience; (3) freedom from prejudice. These qualities are modes of love; and, in truth, love includes all we need for judging righteously of men. S. A. Brooke, The Spirit of the Christian Life, p. 42. CALVIN, "24.Judege not according to the appearance. Having concluded his defense, he likewise administers a reproof on this ground, that they are carried away by wicked dispositions, and do not form a judgment according to the fact and the matter in hand. Circumcision was properly held by them in reverence; and when it was performed on the Sabbath-day, they knew that the Law was not violated by it, because the works of God agree well with each other. Why do they not arrive at the same conclusion as to the work of Christ, but because their minds are preoccupied by a prejudice which they have formed against his person? Judegment, therefore, will never be right, unless it be regulated by the truth of the fact; for as soon as persons appear in public, they turn their eyes and senses on them, so that the truth immediately vanishes. While this admonition ought to be observed in all causes and affairs, it is peculiarly necessary when the question relates to the heavenly doctrine; for there is nothing to which we are more prone than to dislike that doctrine on account of the hatred or contempt of men. BURKITT, “From the foregoing argument, Christ draws an inference or conclusion, That there is no making a judgment according to the first appearance of things: and that suddenness or rashness, prejudice or partiality, in judging, overthrows righteous judgment. This is the general application of what Christ had said before: and the particular application of it, as to himself, comes to this, Judege not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment; as if 147
- 148. Christ had said,"Lay aside your prejudices against my person, and compare these cases attentively and impartially with one another; and then see whether you can justly condemn me as a sabbath-breaker, and acquit yourselves." Such was the perfect innocency of our Saviour's actions, that he could and did submit them to the reason and judgment of his very enemies. Division Over Who Jesus Is 25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? GILL, "Then said some of them of Jerusalem,.... Who were inhabitants of Jerusalem, and so are distinguished from the people, Joh_7:20, who came up out of the country to the feast; so Jose ben Jochanan is called ירושלים ,איש "a man of Jerusalem" (c); that is, an inhabitant of it: now these men living in the city, knew more of the temper and disposition, the designs and attempts, of the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, to take away the life of Christ; and therefore say, is not this he whom they seek to kill? they knew that they had formed a design to kill him, ever since the passover before the last; when he wrought the miracle referred to in the text, and that they had been ever since plotting against his life, and were now at this feast seeking an opportunity to lay hold on him and kill him. HENRY, "3. Christ discourses with them here concerning himself, whence he came, and whither he was going, Joh_7:25-36. (1.) Whence he came, Joh_7:25-31. In the account of this observe, [1.] The objection concerning this stated by some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who seem to have been of all others most prejudiced against him, Joh_7:25. One would think that those who lived at the fountain-head of knowledge and religion should have been most ready to receive the Messiah: but it proved quite contrary. Those that have plenty of the means of knowledge and grace, if they are not made better by them, are commonly made worse; and our Lord Jesus has often met with the least welcome from those that one would expect the best from. But it was not without some just cause that it came into a proverb, The nearer the church the further from God. These people of Jerusalem showed their ill-will to Christ, First, By their reflecting on the rulers, because they let him alone: Is not this he whom they seek to kill? The multitude of the people that came up out of the country to the feast did not suspect there was any design on foot against him, and therefore they said, Who goes about to kill thee? Joh_7:20. But those of Jerusalem knew the 148
- 149. plot, and irritatedtheir rulers to put it into execution: “Is not this he whom they seek to kill? Why do they not do it then? Who hinders them? They say that they have a mind to get him out of the way, and yet, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing to him; do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?” Joh_7:26. Here they slyly and maliciously insinuate two things, to exasperate the rulers against Christ, when indeed they needed to spur. 1. That by conniving at his preaching they brought their authority into contempt. “Must a man that is condemned by the sanhedrim as a deceiver be permitted to speak boldly, without any check or contradiction? This makes their sentence to be but brutem fulmen - a vain menace; if our rulers will suffer themselves to be thus trampled upon, they may thank themselves if none stand in awe of them and their laws.” Note, The worst of persecutions have often been carried on under colour of the necessary support of authority and government. 2. That hereby they brought their judgment into suspicion. Do they know that this is the Christ? It is spoken ironically, “How came they to change their mind? What new discovery have they lighted on? They give people occasion to think that they believe him to be the Christ, and it behoves them to act vigorously against him to clear themselves from the suspicion.” Thus the rulers, who had made the people enemies to Christ, made them seven times more the children of hell than themselves, Mat_ 23:15. When religion and the profession of Christ's name are out of fashion, and consequently out of repute, many are strongly tempted to persecute and oppose them, only that they may not be thought to favour them and incline to them. And for this reason apostates, and the degenerate offspring of good parents, have been sometimes worse than others, as it were to wipe off the stain of their profession. It was strange that the rulers, thus irritated, did not seize Christ; but his hour was not yet come; and God can tie men's hands to admiration, though he should not turn their hearts. JAMIESON, "some of them of Jerusalem — the citizens, who, knowing the long-formed purpose of the rulers to put Jesus to death, wondered that they were now letting Him teach openly. CALVIN, "25.Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; that is, those to whom the rulers had communicated their plots, and who knew how much Christ was hated; for the people at large — as we saw lately — looked upon this as a dream, or as madness. Those persons, therefore, who knew with what inveterate rage the rulers of their nation burned against Christ, have some reason for wondering that, while Christ in the temple not only converses openly but preaches freely, the rulers say nothing to him. But they err in this respect, that in a miracle altogether Divine they do not take into account the providence of God. Thus carnal men, whenever they behold any unusual work of God, do indeed wonder, but no consideration of the power of God ever enters into their mind. But it is our duty to examine more wisely the works of God; and especially when wicked men, with all their contrivances, do not hinder the progress of the Gospel so much as they would desire, we ought to be fully persuaded that their efforts have been rendered fruitless, because God, by interposing his word, has defeated them. BARCLAY, "THE CLAIM OF CHRIST (John 7:14; John 7:25-30) 7:14,25-30 When the festival was now half way through, Jesus went up to the Temple precincts and began to teach. So some of the people of Jerusalem said: 149
- 150. "Is not thisthe man whom they are trying to kill? And look! He is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities have really discovered that this is the Anointed One of God? But he cannot be because we know where he comes from. When the Anointed One of God comes no one knows where he comes from." So Jesus, as he taught in the Temple, cried: "So you know me? And you know where I come from? But it is not on my own authority that I have come; but he who sent me is real--and you do not know him. But I know him, because I have come from him, and it was he who sent me." So they would like to have found a way to arrest him; but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. We have already seen that the likelihood is that John 7:15-24 should come after John 5:47; so, to get the connection, we begin at John 7:14 and go on to John 1:24. The crowd were surprised to find Jesus preaching in the Temple precincts. Along the sides of the Court of the Gentiles ran two great pillared colonnades or porticoes--the Royal Porch and Solomon's Porch. These were places where people walked and where Rabbis talked and it would be there that Jesus was teaching. The people well knew the hostility of the authorities to Jesus; they were astonished to see his courage in thus defying the authorities; and they were still more astonished to see that he was allowed to teach unmolested. A thought suddenly struck them: "Can it be that after all this man is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, and that the authorities know it?" But no sooner had the thought struck them than it was dismissed. Their objection was that they knew where Jesus had come from. They knew that his home was in Nazareth; they knew who his parents and who his brothers and sisters were; there was no mystery about his antecedents. That was the very opposite of popular belief, which held that the Messiah would appear. The idea was that he was waiting concealed and some day would burst suddenly upon the world and no one would know where he had come from. They believed that they did know that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, for that was David's town, but they also believed that nothing else would be known about him. There was a rabbinic saying: "Three things come wholly unexpectedly, the Messiah, a godsend, and a scorpion." The Messiah would appear as suddenly as a man stumbles on a godsend or steps on a hidden scorpion. In later years when Justin Martyr was talking and arguing with a Jew about his beliefs, the Jew says of the Messiah: "Although the Messiah be already born and exists somewhere, yet he is unknown and is himself ignorant of his Messiahship, nor has he any power until Elijah comes to anoint him and to make him known." AH popular Jewish belief believed the Messiah would burst upon the world mysteriously. Jesus did not measure up to that kind of standard; to the Jews there was no mystery about where he came from. This belief was characteristic of a certain attitude of mind which prevailed among the Jews and is by no means dead--that which seeks for God in the abnormal. They could never be persuaded to see God in ordinary things. They had to be extraordinary before God could be in them. The teaching of 150
- 151. Christianity is justthe reverse. If God is to enter the world only in the unusual, he will very seldom be in it; whereas if we can find God in the common things, it means that he is always present. Christianity does not look on this world as one which God very occasionally invades; it looks on it as a world from which he is never absent. In answer to these objections, Jesus made two statements, both of which shocked the people and the authorities. He said that it was quite true that they knew who he was and where he came from; but it was also true that ultimately he had come direct from God. Second, he said that they did not know God but he did. It was a bitter insult to tell God's chosen people that they did not know God. It was an incredible claim to make that Jesus alone knew him, that he stood in a unique relationship to him, that he knew him as no one else did. Here is one of the great turning-points in Jesus' life. Up to this point the authorities had looked on him as a revolutionary Sabbath breaker, which was in truth a serious enough charge; but from now on he was guilty not of Sabbath- breaking but of the ultimate sin, of blasphemy. As they saw it, he was talking of Israel and of God as no human being had any right to speak. This is precisely the choice which is still before us. Either, what Jesus said about himself is false, in which case he is guilty of such blasphemy as no man ever dared utter; or, what he said about himself is true, in which case he is what he claimed to be and can be described in no other terms than the Son of God. Every man has to decide for or against Jesus Christ. COKE, “John 7:25-28. Then said some of them, &c.— The inhabitants of Jerusalem, always Christ's bitter enemies, asked with surprize, if our Lord's boldness, and the silence of the rulers, proceeded from their having acknowledged him as the Messiah; at the same time, in derision of his pretensions they added, howbeit, we know this man whence he is, that is, we know his parents and relations, (ch. John 6:42.) but then Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is; alluding to the popular sense of Isaiah 53:8 who shall declare his generation? The Greek phrase ποθεν εστι, rendered whence he is, signifies in the Hellenistic Greek of the Old Testament, who is his father. Thus 2 Samuel 1:13. David says to the young man, Whence art thou? and he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. If we judge of this question by the answer, to ask whence art thou? is as much as to ask "of what father, stock, and family do you come? of whom were you born?" Take the speech of the Jews in this sense, and their confession is in point: we know this man whence he is, "who is his father?" as they said before, chap. John 6:42 but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is, that is, who is his father? How could they say then, that the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, and that they knew he was to be a descendant of David? David was his remote ancestor; and they knew that by father or mother Christ must descend from him; but who was his immediate father, if he was born of a virgin, they must own they were ignorant; but whatever theypretended, Jesus would not allow that they knew his Father, or whence he came; thereby intimating that they wanted not this character of the Messiah in him, John 7:28. The words should have been rendered interrogatively 151
- 152. thus, "Do youindeed know me, and whence I am? No; ye do not,"—as Tertullian resolves the question, negatively: and then, concealing his true original, as his manner was, that they might not ground an accusation before the time on what he had said, he passes to his works which were the proofs of his divine mission; yet so as to leave room to infer from his discourse, that he was the Son of God, and not the son of Joseph: and, or yet, I came not of myself; but he is true who sent me, whom ye know not; that is, "God the Father is my true Father, whom you know not, though you say ye know whence I am, and who is my Father; and this you may be assured of, from my doing the works of God." it might be with respect to his extraordinary birth of a virgin, that the Jews at first spoke of the Messiah as the Son of God: and their asserting, that when Christ COMETH, or is born, none knoweth whence he is, might be an allusion to Isaiah 53:8 above mentioned. But be this as it may, this doctrine is expressed in the traditionary writings of the Jews to this effect, in Beresh. Rab. on Genesis 37:2. "The Messiah is the Seed that shall come from another place:" by which they mean, that he shall have another principle of generation, as appears by the different ways of their varying the phrase in other places. Thus from Rabbi Berachia, in the same book, we are told that "the birth of the Messiah alone shall be without defect;" which could not be, if he was born as other men are. Jarchi cites the following passages from the same place: "His birth shall not be like that of other creatures. None shall know the Father before he tells it. The Redeemer that shall come, shall be without father." And in Berachoth, is the following remarkable passage: "The birth of the Messiah shall be like the dew from the Lord,—as drops upon the grass, expect not labour (or action) of men." It would be endless to enumerate all that has been said by the rabbinical writers to this purpose: what has been produced is sufficient to prove, that it was a Jewish opinion that the birth of the Messiah should be extraordinary, if not miraculous; and that his Father should not be known, whatever his mother might be. 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? BARNES, "Do the rulers know indeed ... - It seems from this that they supposed that the rulers had been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but that from some cause they were not willing yet to make it known to the people. The reasons of this opinion were these: 1. They knew that they had attempted to kill him. 2. They now saw him speaking boldly to the people without interruption from the rulers. They concluded, therefore, that some change had taken place in the sentiments of 152
- 153. the rulers inregard to him, though they had not yet made it public. The rulers - The members of the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation, who had charge of religious affairs. Indeed - Truly; certainly. Have they certain evidence, as would appear from their suffering him to speak without interruption? The very Christ - Is truly or really the Messiah. CLARKE, "That this is the very Christ? - In most of the common printed editions αληθως is found, the Very Christ; but the word is wanting in BDKLTX, twenty-two others, several editions; all the Arabic, Wheelock’s Persic, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, and all the Itala but one, Origen, Epiphanius, Cyril, Isidore, Pelusian, and Nonnus. Grotius, Mill, Bengel, and Griesbach, decide against it. Bishop Pearce says, I am of opinion that this second αληθως, in this verse, should be omitted, it seeming quite unnecessary, if not inaccurate, when the words αληθως εγνωσαν, had just preceded it. Calmet observes that the multitude which heard our Lord at this time was composed of three different classes of persons: 1. The rulers, priests, and Pharisees, declared enemies of Christ. 2. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who knew the sentiments of their rulers concerning him. 3. The strangers, who from different quarters had come up to Jerusalem to the feast, and who heard Christ attentively, being ignorant of the designs of the rulers, etc., against him. Our Lord addresses himself in this discourse principally to his enemies. The strange Jews were those who were astonished when Christ said, Joh_7:20, that they sought to kill him, having no such design themselves, and not knowing that others had. And the Jews of Jerusalem were those who, knowing the disposition of the rulers, and seeing Christ speak openly, no man attempting to seize him, addressed each other in the foregoing words, Do the rulers know indeed that this is the Christ? imagining that the chief priests, etc., had at last been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. GILL, "But lo, he speaketh boldly,.... And with great freedom, and openly and publicly in the temple, as if he had a licence from the chief priests for so doing: and they say nothing to him; do not contradict him, or forbid him speaking; he goes on without control; though he takes great liberty in charging the Jews with an intention to kill him, in arguing from their practices in vindication of himself, and in suggesting that they judged in favour of men, and not according to the truth of things. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? have they changed their minds concerning him, and so their conduct towards him? are they convinced, and do they know by plain demonstrations, and full proof, that he is really the Messiah that has been promised of old, and long expected? 153
- 154. JAMIESON, "Do therulers know, etc. — Have they got some new light in favor of His claims? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” BARNES, "Howbeit - But. They proceeded to state a reason why they supposed that he could not be the Messiah, whatever the rulers might think. We know this man whence he is - We know the place of his birth and residence. No man knoweth whence he is - From Mat_2:5, it appears that the common expectation of the Jews was that the Messiah would be born at Bethlehem; but they had also feigned that after his birth he would be hidden or taken away in some mysterious manner, and appear again from some unexpected quarter. We find allusions to this expectation in the New Testament, where our Saviour corrects their common notions, Mat_24:23; “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not.” And again Joh_7:26, “If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not.” The following extracts from Jewish writings show that this was the common expectation: “The Redeemer shall manifest himself, and afterward be hid. So it was in the redemption from Egypt. Moses showed himself and then was hidden.” So on the passage, Son_2:9 - “My beloved is like a roe or a young hart” - they say: “A roe appears and then is hid; so the Redeemer shall first appear and then be concealed, and then again be concealed and then again appear.” “So the Redeemer shall first appear and then be hid, and then, at the end of 45 days, shall reappear, and cause manna to descend.” See Lightfoot. Whatever may have been the source of this opinion, it explains this passage, and shows that the writer of this gospel was well acquainted with the opinions of the Jews, however improbable those opinions were. CLARKE, "No man knoweth whence he is - The generality of the people knew very well that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, in the city, and of the family, of David; see Joh_7:42. But, from Isa_53:8, Who shall declare his generation? they probably thought that there should be something so peculiarly mysterious in his birth, or in the manner of his appearing, that no person could fully understand. Had they considered his miraculous conception, they would have felt their minds relieved on this point. The Jews thought that the Messiah, after his birth, would hide himself for some considerable time; and that when he began to preach no man should know where he had been hidden, and whence he had come. The rabbins have the following proverb: Three things come unexpectedly: 154
- 155. 1. A thingfound by chance. 2. The sting of a scorpion: and, 3. The Messiah. It was probably in reference to the above that the people said, No man knoweth whence he is. However, they might have spoken this of his parents. We know that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, of the family of David; but no man can know his parents: therefore they rejected him: Joh_6:42, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? GILL, "Howbeit, we know this man whence he is,.... They signify, that if the rulers had altered their minds, and had gone into the belief of Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah, they should not follow them in it, for this reason; because they knew from whence he came; meaning not so much the place of his birth, which they supposed was Galilee, and Nazareth in Galilee, in which they were mistaken, as the manner of his birth, which they could account for: they pretended to know his extract, that he was the son of Joseph and Mary, that he was begotten in wedlock, and was born as other persons are; there was no difficulty with them in accounting for his coming into the world, no more than any other ordinary person; his descent from Joseph and Mary was well known to them, and to be accounted for in a rational way, and therefore concluded he could not be the Messiah: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is; they knew the place from whence he was to come; so the chief priests and Scribes did, Mat_2:4; and so did these Jews, Joh_7:42. They knew he would come from Bethlehem, and they knew that he would come out of the seed of David; but then he was to be born of a virgin, according to Isa_7:14, and such a coming into the world was not to be known, reasoned upon, and accounted for: wherefore since Jesus, according to the notion of these men, came into the world in the common and ordinary way, they thought they had an invincible argument against his being the Messiah; and therefore, let their rulers do what they would, for their parts, they were determined to reject him: and because it could not be known from whence the Messiah should come; hence the ancient Jews used to call him the seed which comes from another place; not from the place from whence seed ordinarily comes, from the loins of men, but from some other place they knew not where: their words are very remarkable on that passage in Gen_4:25, "and she called his name Seth, for God hath appointed me another seed", &c. This observation is made by R. Tanchuma, in the name of R. Samuel (d); says he, "she has respect to that seed, which is he that comes, אהר ,ממקום "from another place", and what is this? this is the King Messiah.'' And elsewhere (e), the same Rabbi observes on those words in Gen_19:32, "that we may preserve seed of our father": it is not written, "that we may preserve a son of our father", but "that we may preserve seed of our father"; that seed which is he that comes from "another place"; and what is this? this is the King Messiah. The modern Jews (f) endeavour to explain away the sense of this phrase, "another seed", as if it regarded strange seed; and that the sense of the expression is only, that the Messiah should spring from the family of Moab, and from Ruth the Moabitess: nor is their sense what Aquinas (g) at tributes to the Jewish Rabbins, 155
- 156. "that the morenoble part of that mass, of which Adam was made, remained untouched (by sin), and was afterwards transfused into Seth; and so through all descending from him, unto Joakim, or Eliakim, or Heli, the father of the virgin, out of which the body of the blessed Virgin was made:'' which is no other than a Popish device, fathered upon the Jews, and made for the sake of the, Virgin Mary, rather than for the sake of Christ. But their meaning is, that Christ should not be gotten of man, or come into the world in the ordinary way of generation, but should be born of a virgin; and so it could not be known, and accounted for from whence he was, or from whence that seed was of which he was made. The angel gives the best account of this in Luk_1:35, a body was prepared for Christ by the Lord; it was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost; his birth of a virgin was miraculous; it is beyond the comprehension of men, and cannot explained by any mortal; from whence he is it cannot be said; no man can be pointed to as his father; all that can be said is, he was made of a woman, a virgin. HENRY, "Secondly, By their exception against his being the Christ, in which appeared more malice than matter, Joh_7:27. “If the rulers think him to be the Christ, we neither can nor will believe him to be so, for we have this argument against it, that we know this man, whence he is; but when Christ comes no man knows whence he is.” Here is a fallacy in the argument, for the propositions are not body ad idem - adapted to the same view of the subject. 1. If they speak of his divine nature, it is true that when Christ comes no man knows whence he is, for he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was without descent, and his goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, Mic_5:2. But then it is not true that as for this man they knew whence he was, for they knew not his divine nature, nor how the Word was made flesh. 2. If they speak of his human nature, it is true that they knew whence he was, who was his mother, and where he was bred up; but then it is false that ever it was said of the Messiah that none should know whence he was, for it was known before where he should be born, Mat_2:4, Mat_2:5. Observe, (1.) How they despised him, because they knew whence he was. Familiarity breeds contempt, and we are apt to disdain the use of those whom we know the rise of. Christ's own received him not, because he was their own, for which very reason they should the rather have loved him, and been thankful that their nation and their age were honoured with his appearance. (2.) How they endeavoured unjustly to fasten the ground of their prejudice upon the scriptures, as if they countenanced them, when there was no such thing. Therefore people err concerning Christ, because they know not the scripture. JAMIESON, "Howbeit we know this man, etc. — This seems to refer to some current opinion that Messiah’s origin would be mysterious (not altogether wrong), from which they concluded that Jesus could not be He, since they knew all about His family at Nazareth. CALVIN, "27.But we know whence this man is. Here we see not only how great is the blindness of men, when they ought to judge about the things of God, but this vice is almost natural to them, to be ingenious in contriving what may hinder them from arriving at the knowledge of the truth. It is frequently, indeed, from the craft of Satan that offenses arise, which cause many to turn away from Christ; but though the road were plain and smooth, every man would contrive an offense for himself. So long as the rulers were opposed to Christ, their 156
- 157. unbelief would ofitself have kept back this multitude; but when that obstacle has been removed, they contrive a new reason for themselves, that they may not come to the faith. And even though it were proper that they should be influenced by the example of their rulers, they are so far from following what is right, that they willingly stumble at the first step. Thus it frequently happens, that men who had begun well fall away quickly, unless the Lord conduct them to the very end of their career. But when Christ shall come. The argument by which they obstruct their own progress is this: “The Prophets have testified that the origin of Christ will be unknown. Now we know whence this man is, and therefore we cannot reckon him to be the Christ. ” Hence we are reminded how pernicious it is to mangle the Scriptures, and even Christ himself, so as not to admit more than the half of him. God promised that the Redeemer would be of the seed of David; but he frequently claims this office as peculiar to himself; therefore, he must have been God manifested in the flesh, that he might be the Redeemer of his Church. Thus Micah points out the place where Christ would be born. Out of thee, Bethlehem, he says, a Prince shall come, to govern my people But, immediately afterwards, he speaks of another going forth which is far loftier, and then he says that it is hidden and secret, (Micah 5:2.) Yet those wretched men, when they perceived in Christ nothing but what is liable to contempt, draw the absurd conclusion, that he is not the person who had been promised. On the mean condition of Christ in the flesh let us therefore learn to look in such a manner, that this state of humiliation, which is despised by wicked men, may raise us to his heavenly glory. Thus Bethlehem, where the man was to be born, will be to us a door by which we may enter into the presence of the eternal God. LIGHTFOOT, "27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. [When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.] How doth this agree with verse 42, and with Matthew 2:5, 6? They doubted not, indeed, but he should give the first manifestation of himself from Bethlehem; but then they supposed he would be hid again; and after some space of time make a new appearance, from what place no one could tell. Jewish authors tell you, that Christ, before their times, had indeed been born in Bethlehem, but immediately snatched away they knew not whither, and so hid that he could not be found. We related the whole story before in our notes at Matthew 2:1. Their conceptions in this thing we have explained to us in Midras Schir: "'My beloved is like a roe or a young hart,' Canticles 2:9. A roe appears and is hid, appears and is hid again. So our first redeemer [Moses] appeared and was hid, and at length appeared again. So our latter Redeemer [Messiah] shall be revealed to them, and shall be hid again from them; and how long shall he be hid from them?" &c. A little after; "In the end of forty-five days he shall be revealed again, and cause manna to descend amongst them." 157
- 158. They conceive atwofold manifestation of the Messiah; the first, in Bethlehem; but will straightway disappear and lie hid. At length he will shew himself; but from what place and at what time that will be, no one knew. In his first appearance in Bethlehem, he should do nothing that was memorable; in his second was the hope and expectation of the nation. The Jews therefore who tell our Saviour here, that "when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is," whether they knew him to have been born at Bethlehem or no, yet by his wonderful works they conceive this to have been the second manifestation of himself: and therefore only doubt whether he should be the Messiah or no, because they knew the place [Nazareth] from whence he came; having been taught by tradition, that Messiah should come the second time from a place perfectly unknown to all men. COFFMAN, “The evil rulers made many arguments against the Messianic claims of Jesus: (1) Here they argued that the Messiah would have some mysterious origin; and, of course, they pretended to know all about the origin of Christ, although they did not. (2) They insisted that no prophet could come out of Galilee, because none ever had come from Galilee; but, in their arrogance, they were wrong on both counts, Jonah having come from Gath-Hepher, only three and one-half miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25), and the Christ himself hailing from there! (3) They insisted that Elijah must first come; but they ignored John the Baptist's being the fulfillment of that prophecy. No one knoweth whence he is ... This notion was a spin-off from the casuistry of the Pharisees and deserves a little more attention. As Adam Clarke said: The generality of the people knew that Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem ... But from Isaiah 53:8, "Who shall declare his generation?" they thought that there should be something so peculiarly mysterious in his birth, or in the manner of his appearing, that no person could fully understand. Had they considered his miraculous conception, they would have felt their minds relieved on that point.[7] The Pharisees had evidently talked with Joseph and Mary; but, if so, it is certain that those devout souls would have told those nosey representatives of the ruling class nothing whatever of the visit of the angel Gabriel, nor of the miraculous birth of our Lord. Whatever investigation the Pharisees had conducted, it failed to reveal either (1) the fact of Jesus' birth at Bethlehem, or (2) the miraculous conception. Their arrogance in pretending to know all about Jesus, and then daring to make their presumed "knowledge" the basis of rejecting him as the Messiah is an example of human self-deception and conceit unsurpassed in the history of the world. ENDNOTE: [7] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Whole Bible (London: Mason and Lane, 1837), Vol. V, p. 571. ELLICOTT, “(27) Howbeit we know this man.—They at once supply a 158
- 159. corrective answer totheir own question. They know this Man whence He is. He is the carpenter’s son, and His mother, and brethren, and sisters, are well known (Matthew 13:55-56). His brothers, indeed, are part of that multitude (John 7:10). They know that the Messiah will be of the seed and town of David (John 7:42); but they have no knowledge of an earthly home and earthly relations, and all their ideas are of a Being who will not be subject to the ordinary conditions of life, and whose immediate origin no man can know. God’s Anointed living among them as a man, with mother, and brothers, and sisters! This cannot be. What meant the coming in the clouds of heaven of Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:13), or the coming suddenly to the Temple of Malachi’s prophecy? (Malachi 3:1.) Why did Isaiah tell of His being “Wonderful, Counsellor, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace?” (Isaiah 9:6.) In such thoughts they fulfilled another prophecy of the same Isaiah, which their own Rabbis interpreted of the Messiah, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). 28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, BARNES, "Ye know whence I am - You have sufficient evidence of my divine mission, and that I am the Messiah. Is true - Is worthy to be believed. He has given evidence that I came from him, and he is worthy to be believed. Many read this as a question - Do ye know me, and know whence I am? I have not come from myself, etc. CLARKE, "Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am - Perhaps they should be read interrogatively: Do ye both know me, and know whence I am? Our Lord takes them up on their own profession, and argues from it. Since you have got so much information concerning me, add this to it, to make it complete; viz. that I am not come of myself; am no self-created or self-authorized prophet; I came from God: - the testimony of John the Baptist, the descent of the Holy Ghost, the voice from heaven, the purity and excellence of my doctrine, and the multitude of my miracles, sufficiently attest this. Now, God is true who has borne testimony to me; but ye know him not, therefore it is that this testimony is disregarded. 159
- 160. GILL, "Then criedJesus in the temple as he taught,.... Overhearing the reasonings of these men, however, knowing what they said; so the Persic version adds, "having secretly known this"; exalted his voice as he was teaching in the temple, and in the midst of his discourse, publicly before all the people, in the temple, spoke out with a loud voice, that all might hear: saying, ye both know me, and ye know whence I am; some, as the Ethiopic version, read these words by way of interrogation, "do ye both know me, and do ye know from whence I am?" no; you do not. Or they may be considered as an ironical concession; yes, you know me, and you know whence I am; you know me to be Jesus of Nazareth, but you are wrong, I am not of Nazareth; you suppose I come, from Galilee, but that is your ignorance; you take me to be the real son of Joseph, to be begotten by him on Mary, but that is your mistake: such is your knowledge of me: you know me indeed who I am, and from whence I come. And I am not come of myself; into this world, by incarnation, or the assumption of human nature, to work out the salvation of men; the Father called him to it, and he agreeing to do it, was in the fulness of time sent about it; this was not a device of his own, or an honour he took to himself; he was not alone in it; it was a mutual agreement between him and his Father, in consequence of which he was sent and came. But he that sent me is true; to the covenant he made with Christ, and to the promises he made to the fathers of the Old Testament, concerning the mission of his Son; and he is true to be believed, in the testimonies he gave of him, particularly by a voice from heaven, declaring him his beloved Son. Whom ye know not; so that notwithstanding all their boasted knowledge of him, they knew not his Father, from whence he came, and by whom he was sent; and notwithstanding also their boasted knowledge of the one, only, true, and living God, see Rom_2:17; yet they knew him not in a spiritual sense; they knew him not in Christ, nor as the Father of Christ; they knew neither the Father nor the Son: and this their ignorance of both was the reason of their hatred of Christ, and of his followers, Joh_15:21. HENRY, "[2.] Christ's answer to this objection, Joh_7:28, Joh_7:29. First, He spoke freely and boldly, he cried in the temple, as he taught, he spoke this louder than the rest of his discourse, 1. To express his earnestness, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts. There may be a vehemency in contending for the truth where yet there is no intemperate heat nor passion. We may instruct gainsayers with warmth, and yet with meekness. 2. The priests and those that were prejudiced against him, did not come near enough to hear his preaching, and therefore he must speak louder than ordinary what he will have them to hear. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear this. Secondly, His answer to their cavil is, 1. By way of concession, granting that they did or might know his origin as to the flesh: “You both know me, and you know whence I am. You know I am of your own nation, and one of yourselves.” It is no disparagement to the doctrine of Christ that there is that in it which is level to the capacities of the meanest, plain truths, discovered even by nature's light, of which we may say, We know whence they are. “You know me, you think you know me; but you are mistaken; you take me to be the carpenter's son, and born at Nazareth, but it is not so.” 2. By way of negation, denying that that which they did see in him, and know of him, was all that was to be known; and therefore, if they looked no further, they 160
- 161. judged by theoutward appearance only. They knew whence he came perhaps, and where he had his birth, but he will tell them what they knew not, from whom he came. (1.) That he did not come of himself; that he did not run without sending, nor come as a private person, but with a public character. (2.) That he was sent of his Father; this is twice mentioned: He hath sent me. And again, “He hath sent me, to say what I say, and do what I do.” This he was himself well assured of, and therefore knew that his Father would bear him out; and it is well for us that we are assured of it too, that we may with holy confidence go to God by him. (3.) That he was from his Father, par' autou eimi - I am from him; not only sent from him as a servant from his master, but from him by eternal generation, as a son from his father, by essential emanation, as the beams from the sun. (4.) That the Father who sent him is true; he had promised to give the Messiah, and, though the Jews had forfeited the promise, yet he that made the promise is true, and has performed it. He had promised that the Messiah should see his seed, and be successful in his undertaking; and, though the generality of the Jews reject him and his gospel, yet he is true, and will fulfil the promise in the calling of the Gentiles. (5.) That these unbelieving Jews did not know the Father: He that sent me, whom you know not. There is much ignorance of God even with many that have a form of knowledge; and the true reason why people reject Christ is because they do not know God; for there is such a harmony of the divine attributes in the work of redemption, and such an admirable agreement between natural and revealed religion, that the right knowledge of the former would not only admit, but introduce, the latter. (6.) Our Lord Jesus was intimately acquainted with the Father that sent him: but I know him. He knew him so well that he was not at all in doubt concerning his mission from him, but perfectly assured of it; nor at all in the dark concerning the work he had to do, but perfectly apprized of it, Mat_11:27. JAMIESON, "cried Jesus — in a louder tone, and more solemn, witnessing style than usual. Ye both, etc. — that is, “Yes, ye know both Myself and My local parentage, and (yet) I am not come of Myself.” but he that sent me is true, etc. — Probably the meaning is, “He that sent Me is the only real Sender of any one.” CALVIN, "28.Jesus therefore exclaimed in the temple. He bitterly reproaches them for their rashness, because they arrogantly flattered themselves in a false opinion, and in this manner excluded themselves from a knowledge of the truth; as if he had said, “Youknow all things, and yet you know nothing.” And, indeed, there is not a more destructive plague than when men are so intoxicated by the scanty portion of knowledge which they possess, that they boldly reject every thing that is contrary to their opinion. You both know me, and you know whence I am. This is ironical language. With the false opinion which they had formed concerning him, he contrasts what is true; as if he had said, “While you have your eyes fixed on the earth, you think that every part of me is before your eyes; and therefore you despise me as mean and unknown. But God will testify that I have come from heaven; and though I may be rejected by you, God will acknowledge that I am truly his own Son.” 161
- 162. But he whohath sent me is true. He calls God true in the same sense that Paul calls himfaithful If we are unbelievers, says he, he remaineth faithful, he cannot deny himself, (2 Timothy 2:13.) For his object is to prove, that the credit due to the Gospel is not in the smallest degree diminished by the utmost exertions of the world to overthrow it; that though wicked men may attempt to take from Christ what belonged to him, still he remains unimpaired, because the truth of God is firm and is always like itself. Christ sees that he is despised; but so far is he from yielding, that, on the contrary, he boldly repels the furious arrogance of those who hold him in no estimation. With such unshaken and heroic fortitude all believers ought to be endued; nay, more, our faith will never be solid or lasting, unless it treat with contempt the presumption of wicked men, when they rise up against Christ. Above all, godly teachers, relying on this support, ought to persevere in maintaining sound doctrine, even though it should be opposed by the whole world. Thus Jeremiah appeals to God as his defender and guardian, because he is condemned as an impostor: Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, says he, and I was deceived, (Jeremiah 20:7.) Thus Isaiah, overwhelmed on all sides by calumnies and reproaches, flies to this refuge, that God will approve his cause, (Isaiah 50:8.) Thus Paul, oppressed by unjust judgments, appeals against all to the day of the Lord, (1 Corinthians 4:5,) reckoning it enough to have God alone to place against the whole world, however it may rage and storm. Whom you knew not. He means that it is not wonderful that he is not known by the Jews, because they do not know God; for the beginning of wisdom is, to behold God. LIGHTFOOT, "28. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. [He that sent me is true, whom ye know not.] "The men of Judea may be credited as to the purity of the wine and the oil." Gloss: "Even the people of the land, the very vulgar sort, may be credited for the purity of the wine and the oil, which is dedicated by them to the altar in the time of the vintage or pressing." Men not known by name or face to the priests, yet if they offered wine or oil, were credited as to the purity and fitness of either, from their place of habitation. There are numberless instances of men, though perfectly unknown, yet that may be credited, either as to tithes, or separating the Trumah, or giving their testimony, &c. To the same sense our Saviour, chapter 5:31, "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true"; i.e. in your judicatories it is not of any value with you, where no one is allowed to be a witness for himself. And in this place, "'He 162
- 163. that hath sentme,' although you know him not, yet 'is he true, or worthy belief,' however I myself may not be so amongst you." ELLICOTT, “(28) Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught.—The word rendered “cried,” implies always an elevation of voice answering to the intensity of the speaker’s feeling. (Comp. in this Gospel John 1:15; John 7:37; John 12:44.) Here this feeling has been roused by another instance of their misapprehension, because they think of the outward appearance only, and therefore do not grasp the inner truth. They know whence He is; they had been taught that no man should know the Messiah’s origin, and therefore they think He is not the Christ. And this technical reason, the meaning of which they have never fathomed, is enough to stifle every growing conviction, and to annul the force of all His words and all His works! St. John is impressed with the fact that it was in the very Temple itself, in the presence of the priests and rulers, in the act of public teaching, that He uttered these words, and he again notices this, though he has told us so before (John 7:14; John 7:26). Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am.—He takes up their objection in order to refute it. There is, indeed, a sense in which it is true. Those features were well known alike to friend and foe. With minds glowing with the fire of love or of hate, they had gazed upon Him as He walked or taught, and His form had fixed itself on the memory. They knew about His earthly home and early life (John 7:27), but all this was far short of the real knowledge of Him. It is but little that the events of the outer life tell of the true life and being even of a brother man. Little does a man know even his bosom friend; how infinitely far were they, with minds which did not even approach the true method of knowledge, from knowing Him whom no mind can fully comprehend! And I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true.—Once again He asserts that He claims no position of independence. He is the first great Apostle (comp. Hebrews 3:1), but He is not self-commissioned. Had He not been the Christ, their objection that they knew His origin might have had force. But sent by Him who is the really existent One, and whom they knew not, His origin is unknown to them, and their technical test is fulfilled. In the fullest sense, they neither knew Him nor from whence He came. For the meaning of the word “true,” see Note on John 1:9. It is almost impossible to give the sense of the original except in a paraphrase. We must keep, therefore, the ordinary rendering, but bear in mind that it does not mean, “He that sent Me is truthful,” but “He that sent Me is the ideally true One.” “You talk of person, and of origin, of knowing Me, and from whence I came, but all this is knowledge of the senses, and in the region of the phenomenal world. Being is only truly known in relation to the Eternal Being. He that sent Me to manifest His Being in the world is the truly existent One. In Him is My true origin, and Him ye know not.” CONSTABLE, “Verse 28-29 Whenever John described Jesus as crying out, an important public 163
- 164. pronouncement followed (cf.John 1:15; John 7:37; John 12:44). Jesus said that His hearers did know Him. Probably He meant that they knew who He was superficially (cf. John 7:24) and knew that He had an earthly origin (John 6:42), but they knew less than they thought. Jesus was speaking ironically. They did not know the One who had sent Him, though Jesus did because He had come from that One. The One who had sent Jesus was true (Gr. alethinos, real). Jesus meant that God really had sent Him regardless of what others might think about His origins. Unfortunately they did not know the One who had sent Him even though they prided themselves on knowing the true God (cf. Romans 2:17-19). They did not know God because they did not know their Scriptures (cf. John 5:46). They did not know Jesus because they did not know the Father who had sent Him. In John 7:16 Jesus disclaimed originality for his teaching, and here he disclaimed responsibility for his mission. [Note: Morris, p. 366.] "He was once again claiming to be God! He was not simply born into this world like any other human; He was sent to earth by the Father. This means that He existed before He was born on the earth." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:317.] 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” CLARKE, "But I know him: for I am from him - Instead of εᅶµᆳ, I am, some editions, the Syriac Hieros. read εᅽµι, I came, according to the Attics. Nonnus confirms this reading by paraphrasing the word by εληλυθα, I came. As the difference between the two words lies only in the accents, and as these are not found in ancient MSS., it is uncertain which way the word was understood by them: nor is the matter of much moment; both words amount nearly to the same meaning and εᅽµι, I came, seems too refined. GILL, "But I know him,.... His nature and perfections, his purposes and promises, his council and covenant, his mind and will; and indeed none knows him but he, and those to whom he pleases to reveal him; and there is good reason why he should have intimate and perfect knowledge of him: for I am from him; being the only begotten of him, and as such lay in his bosom, and knew him, and his whole heart, and was privy to all of him, and that that is within him; 164
- 165. and he hathsent me; in an office capacity to redeem his people. This is the original descent of Christ, which the Jews knew not, though they pretended to know him, and whence he was. HENRY, "Then they sought to take him - The rulers and their friends. They did this: 1. Because of his reproof; and, 2. For professing to be the Messiah. His hour - The proper and the appointed time for his death. See Mat_21:46. JAMIESON, "sought to take ... none laid hands — their impotence being equal to their malignity. CALVIN, "29.But I know him. When he says that he knoweth God, he means that it is not without good grounds that he has risen to so great confidence; and by his example he warns us not to assume lightly the name of God, so as to vaunt of Him as the patron and defender of our cause. For many are too presumptuous in boasting of the authority of God; and, indeed, it is impossible to imagine greater readiness and boldness in rejecting the opinions of all men, than is to be found among fanatics who give out their own inventions as the oracles of God. But we are taught by these words of our Lord Jesus Christ that we ought especially to beware of proud and foolish confidence; and that, when we have fully ascertained the truth of God, we ought boldly to resist men. And he who is fully aware that God is on his side has no reason to dread the charge of being insolent, in trampling under foot all the haughtiness of the world. Because I am from him, and he hath sent me. Some distinguish these two clauses in this manner. They refer the former clause — I am from him — to the Divine essence of Christ; and the latter clause — he hath sent me — to the office enjoined on him by the Father, for the sake of executing which he took upon him the flesh and human nature. Though I do not venture to reject this view, still I do not know if Christ intended to speak so abstrusely. I readily acknowledge that Christ’s heavenly descent may be inferred from it, but it would not be a sufficiently strong proof of his eternal Divinity against the Arians. 30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 165
- 166. BARNES, "Then theysought to take him - The rulers and their friends. They did this: 1. Because of his reproof; and, 2. For professing to be the Messiah. His hour - The proper and the appointed time for his death. See Mat_21:46. GILL, "Then they sought to take him,.... By force, and carry him before the sanhedrim, in order to be tried and condemned as a blasphemer, being enraged to hear him claim a descent from God, whom they took to be a mere man, the son of Joseph the carpenter: but no man laid hands on him; though they had a good will to it, they had no power to do it, being restrained by the, secret providence of God from it, and awed by the majesty of Christ, which showed itself in his looks and words; and perhaps also they might be afraid of the people, lest they should rise in his favour; and so every man being fearful of being the first that should seize him, no man did: however, so it was ordered by divine providence, that he should not be apprehended at, this time, because his hour was not yet come; to suffer and die, to depart out of this world, and go to the Father: there was a precise time fixed for this in the council and covenant of God, by mutual compact, called "due time"; as his coming into the world is called "the fulness of time"; nor could he die before that time, and therefore no man was suffered to lay hands on him, whatever good will he had to it. And there is a time for every man's death, nor can any man die before that time, or live beyond it; see Ecc_3:2; and this is the sense of the ancient Jews; for they say (h), "a man before his years, or his time, does not die;'' that is, before he comes to the years appointed for him: and they ask (i), "who is there that goes before his time? i.e. dies before his time?'' And it is said (k) of a certain person who was in his house, and זמניה ,מטא "his time was come"; and he died without sickness: though it must be owned some of them were otherwise minded, and say (l), that death, by the hand of heaven, or God, shortens a man's years; and that there are some reasons for which righteous men depart out of this world before their time is come; and particularly of Enoch they say, God took him before his time was come (m). HENRY, "[3.] The provocation which this gave to his enemies, who hated him because he told them the truth, Joh_7:30. They sought therefore to take him, to lay violent hands on him, not only to do him a mischief, but some way or other to be the death of him; but by the restraint of an invisible power it was prevented; nobody touched him, because his hour was not yet come; this was not their reason why they did it not, but God's reason why he hindered them from doing it. Note, First, The faithful preachers of the truths of God, though they behave themselves with ever so much prudence and meekness, must expect to be hated and persecuted by those who think themselves tormented by their testimony, Rev_11:10. Secondly, God has 166
- 167. wicked men ina chain, and, whatever mischief they would do, they can do no more than God will suffer them to do. The malice of persecutors is impotent even when it is most impetuous, and, when Satan fills their hearts, yet God ties their hands. Thirdly, God's servants are sometimes wonderfully protected by indiscernible unaccountable means. Their enemies do not do the mischief they designed, and yet neither they themselves nor any one else can tell why they do not. Fourthly, Christ had his hour set, which was to put a period to his day and work on earth; so have all his people and all his ministers, and, till that hour comes, the attempts of their enemies against them are ineffectual, and their day shall be lengthened as long as their Master has any work for them to do; nor can all the powers of hell and earth prevail against them, until they have finished their testimony. JAMIESON, "sought to take ... none laid hands — their impotence being equal to their malignity. CALVIN, "30.Therefore they sought to seize him. They had no want of will to do him mischief; they even made the attempt, and they had strength to do it. Why, then, amidst so much ardor, are they benumbed, as if they had their hands and feet bound? The Evangelist replies, because Christ ’s hour was not yet come; by which he means that, against all their violence and furious attacks, Christ was guarded by the protection of God. And at the same time he meets the offense of the cross; for we have no reason to be alarmed when we learn that Christ was dragged to death, not through the caprice of men, but because he was destined for such a sacrifice by the decree of the Father. And hence we ought to infer a general doctrine; for though we live from day to day, still the time of every man’s death has been fixed by God. It is difficult to believe that, while we are subject to so many accidents, exposed to so many open and concealed attacks both from men and beasts, and liable to so many diseases, we are safe from all risk until God is pleased to call us away. But we ought to struggle against our own distrust; and we ought to attend first to the doctrine itself which is here taught, and next, to the object at which it aims, and the exhortation which is drawn from it, namely, that each of us, casting all his cares on God, (Psalms 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7,) should follow his own calling, and not be led away from the performance of his duty by any fears. Yet let no man go beyond his own bounds; for confidence in the providence of God must not go farther than God himself commands. COKE, “John 7:30-32. Then they sought to take him, &c.— The defence made by our Lord did not pacify his enemies; for some of them would gladly have apprehended him: however, none of them had the courage to lay hold of him, being restrained by his Divine Providence, because the season of his sufferings was not yet come. In the mean time, the miracle which he had lately performed on the infirm man was so great, and so well known, and this defence by which he justified himself so clear, and so convincing, that many of the people believed on him, publicly affirming that he was the Messiah, John 7:31. This attachment of the common peopleto the Lord Jesus greatly incensed the chief priests and Pharisees, with their adherents; and therefore on the last great day of the feast, being met in council, (as appears from comparing John 7:32; John 7:45; John 7:50; John 7:53.) they sent their officers to apprehend him, and bring him before 167
- 168. them, thinking toconfute his pretensions, and punish him. ELLICOTT, “(30) Then they sought to take him.—The tense is imperfect, marking the continuance of a series of efforts to take Him. The persons who thus sought to take Him are, of course, the members of the Sanhedrin. The people are mentioned in contrast in the next verse. For the present their efforts are confined to plots. No one attempts to use actual force. His hour was not yet come.—This is the writer’s explanation of the fact that they did not seek to take Him. Jesus had Himself used these words at the first sign at Cana of Galilee (John 2:4), and again before going up to this very festival (John 7:6). The beloved disciple has learnt the religious interpretation of history. That the hour was not yet come, was not the immediate cause which influenced those who desired, but dared not, to lay hands upon Him. The next verse points out that there was a division in the multitude (comp. John 7:43-44), and in the uncertainty of what the consequences may be, no one was bold enough to take the decisive step. But if not the immediate cause, the writer regards it as the primary cause. Looking back on the life of his Lord, from the old age of his own life, so full of eventful issues, he has learnt that every deed of that life, as every deed of every life, had its hour mapped out in the eternal counsels of God. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” BARNES, "Will he do more miracles? - It was a common expectation that the Messiah would work many miracles. This opinion was founded on such passages as Isa_35:5-6, etc.: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart,” etc. Jesus had given abundant evidence of his power to work such miracles, and they therefore believed that he was the Messiah. CLARKE, "Will he do more miracles - It was the belief of the Jews, and they founded it upon Isa_35:5, that, when the Messiah came, he would do all kinds of miracles; and, in order that they might have the fullest proof of the Divine mission of Christ, it had pleased God to cause miracles to cease for between four and five 168
- 169. hundred years, andthat John the Baptist himself had not wrought any. His miracles, therefore, were a full proof of his Divine mission. GILL, "And many of the people believed on him,.... Whilst some were displeased at his doctrine, others were induced by his miracles to believe on him, as an extraordinary person, if not the Messiah; and these were the common people, especially those that came out of the country; for the city Jews, and above all the rulers, were very averse to him: and it is easy to observe, that faith in Christ, and true religion, spread and flourish most among the meaner sort of people. And said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? referring not so much to the miracles many of them might have seen done by him in other parts of Judea, and in Galilee; nor only to those he had done in the preceding feasts at Jerusalem, but to those that were done by him now, though not recorded by the evangelist. The Jews expected many miracles to be wrought by the Messiah when he came, and they had good reason for it from Isa_35:5. To these Christ sends John the Baptist, and the Jews, for proofs of his being the Messiah, Mat_11:4; and by these he was approved of God as such, Act_ 2:23. And it is certain that the ancient Jews expected miracles in the days of the Messiah. "Says R. Simeon to Eleazar his son, Eleazar, at the time that the King Messiah is raised up, how many "signs and other wonders" will be done in the world? a little after, from that day all the signs, and "wonders", and "mighty works", which the holy blessed God did in Egypt, he will do to the Israelites, as it is said, Mic_7:15, "according to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, will I show unto him marvellous things" (n).'' So the Targumist on Isa_53:8 paraphrases thus, "from afflictions and punishment he will deliver our captivity, and "the wonderful things" which shall be done for us in his days, who can tell?'' It is true indeed that the modern Jews have laid aside such expectations, and pretend they were not looked for formerly. Maimonides says (o), "let it not enter into thy heart, that the King Messiah hath need to do signs and wonders (as that he shall renew things in the world, or raise the dead, and the like; these are things which fools speak of); the thing is not so.'' And he instances in Ben Coziba, who set up for the Messiah, of whom R. Akiba, and the rest of the wise men of that age, did not require a sign or miracle: yet this same writer elsewhere says (p), that "all nations shall make peace with the Messiah, and serve him, because of his great righteousness, and the miracles which shall be done by him.'' HENRY, "[4.] The good effect which Christ's discourse had, notwithstanding this, upon some of his hearers (Joh_7:31): Many of the people believed on him. As he was set for the fall of some, so for the rising again of others. Even where the gospel meets with opposition there may yet be a great deal of good done, 1Th_2:2. Observe here, First, Who they were that believed; not a few, but many, more than one would have 169
- 170. expected when thestream ran so strongly the other way. But these many were of the people, ek tou ochlou - of the multitude, the crowd, the inferior sort, the mob, the rabble, some would have called them. We must not measure the prosperity of the gospel by its success among the great ones; nor much ministers say that they labour in vain, though none but the poor, and those of no figure, receive the gospel, 1Co_ 1:26. Secondly, What induced them to believe: the miracles which he did, which were not only the accomplishment of the Old Testament prophecies (Isa_35:5, Isa_35:6), but an argument of a divine power. He that had an ability to do that which none but God can do, to control and overrule the powers of nature, no doubt had authority to enact that which none but God can enact, a law that shall bind conscience, and a covenant that shall give life. Thirdly, How weak their faith was: they do not positively assert, as the Samaritans did, This is indeed the Christ, but they only argue, When Christ comes will he do more miracles than these? They take it for granted that Christ will come, and, when he comes, will do many miracles. “Is not this he then? In him we see, though not all the worldly pomp we have fancied, yet all the divine power we have believed the Messiah should appear in; and therefore why may not this be he?” They believe it, but have not courage to own it. Note, Even weak faith may be true faith, and so accounted, so accepted, by the Lord Jesus, who despises not the day of small things. JAMIESON, "When Christ cometh, will he, etc. — that is, If this be not the Christ, what can the Christ do, when He does come, which has not been anticipated and eclipsed by this man? This was evidently the language of friendly persons, overborne by their spiteful superiors, but unable to keep quite silent. CALVIN, "31.And many of the multitude believed in him. We might have thought that Christ preached to deaf and altogether obstinate persons; and yet the Evangelist says that some fruit followed. And, therefore, though some may murmur, and others scorn, and others slander, and though many differences of opinion may arise, still the preaching of the Gospel will not be without effect; so that we must sow the seed, and wait with patience until, in process of time, the fruit appear. The word believe is here used inaccurately, for they depended more on miracles than they relied on doctrine, and were not convinced that Jesus was the Christ; but as they were prepared to listen to him, and showed themselves willing to receive instruction from him as their Teacher, such a preparation for faith is called faith When the Holy Spirit bestows so honorable a designation on a small spark of good disposition, it ought to encourage us, so as not to doubt that faith, however small it may be, is acceptable to God. BARCLAY, "SEARCHING--IN TIME (John 7:31-36) 7:31-36 Many of the crowd believed in him. "When the Anointed One of God comes," they said, "surely he cannot do greater signs than this man has done?" The Pharisees heard the crowds carrying on these discussions about him; and the chief priests and Pharisees despatched officers to arrest him. So Jesus said: "For a little while I am to be with you, and then I go back to him who sent me. You will search for me and you will not find me. You cannot come where I am." So the Jew., said to each other: "Where is this fellow going to go that we will not be able to find him? Surely he is not going to go to the Jews who are dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What can this word of his mean--'You 170
- 171. will search forme and you will not find me' and 'You cannot come where I am'?" Certain of the crowd could not help believing that Jesus was the Anointed One of God. They believed that no one could possibly do greater things than he was doing. That was in fact the argument which Jesus himself used when John the Baptist was in doubt about whether he was the one who was to come or if they had to look for another. When John sent his messengers, Jesus' answer was: "Go and tell John what you hear and see" (Matthew 11:1-6). The very fact that there were those who were trembling on the brink of acceptance moved the authorities to action. They sent their officers--most likely, the Temple police--to arrest him. Jesus said that he was only with them for a little time; and the day would come when they would search for him, not to arrest him, but to obtain what only he could give, and it would be too late. He would be gone where they could never follow. Jesus meant that he would return to his Father, from whom by their disobedience they had shut themselves out. But his hearers did not understand. Throughout the centuries the Jews had been scattered across the world. Sometimes they had been forcibly removed as exiles; sometimes in the time of their country's misfortune they had emigrated to other lands. There was one comprehensive term for the Jews who lived outside Palestine. They were called the Diaspora, the dispersion, and scholars still use this term to describe the Jews who live outside Palestine. That is the phrase the people used here. "Is Jesus going away to the Diaspora? Will he even go the length of going away and preaching to the Greeks and so become lost in the masses of the Gentile world? Is he going to run away so far that he will be completely out of reach?" It is amazing how a taunt became a prophecy. The Jews meant it for a jest, but as the years went on it became blessedly true that it was to the Gentiles that the Risen Christ went out. This passage brings us face to face with the promise and the threat of Jesus. Jesus had said: "Seek and you will find" (Matthew 7:7). Now he says: "You will seek me and you will not find me" (John 7:34). Long ago the ancient prophet had put the two things together in a wonderful way: "Seek the Lord while he may be found" (Isaiah 55:6). It is characteristic of this life that time is limited. Physical strength decays and there are things a man can do at thirty that he cannot do at sixty. Mental vigour weakens and there are mental tasks to which a man can address himself in his youth and in his prime which are beyond him in his age. Moral fibre grows less muscular; and if a man allows some habit to dominate him there may come the day when he cannot break himself of it, even if at the beginning he could easily have ejected it from his life. It is like that with us and Jesus Christ. What Jesus was saying to these people was: "You can awaken to a sense of need too late." A man may so long refuse Christ, that in the end he does not even see his beauty; evil becomes his good and repentance becomes impossible. So long as sin still hurts us, and the unattainable good still beckons us, the chance to seek and find is still there. But a man must have a care lest he grow so used to sin that he does not know that he is sinning 171
- 172. and neglect Godso long that he forgets that he exists. For then the sense of need dies, and if there is no sense of need, we cannot seek, and if we cannot seek, we will never find. The one thing a man must never lose is his sense of sin. CCCC` BI 31-34, "And many of the people believed on Him. The favourably disposed, and the malignantly opposed to Christ I. THOSE WHO WERE FAVOURABLY DISPOSED (Joh_7:31). The commonalty, who were more or less unsophisticated and free from religious prejudices. These “heard Christ gladly.” This favourable disposition 1. Was founded on facts. There does not seem to be any question, even among His opponents, as to the reality of His miracles. 2. Intensified the opposition of His enemies (Joh_7:32). They felt that if the people believed in Him their influence, honour, etc., would vanish; and so they were inflamed. Through all Christendom there has always been a large class favourably disposed towards Christ; and this upon a basis of facts. This class still intensifies the opposition of enemies when the atheist, the worldling, etc., mark this disposition they, too, become the more anxious to banish Him from the world. But popular sentiment is our bulwark against infidelity. II. THOSE WHO WERE MALIGNANTLY OPPOSED. Pharisees and chief priests. 1. They were to be deprived of the fellowship of Christ (verse 83). But six months after this Christ returned to the bosom of the Father. It was only “a little while” He was in their midst, it would have been well had they availed themselves of it. The period of redemptive mercy with all men is but “a little while.” 2. They would vainly seek the help of Christ (Joh_7:34). The hour was approaching for the fall of Jerusalem, and when the Romans were at the gates they would look for deliverance and not find it. There is a time to seek “ the Lord, while He may be found”; and there is a time when He will be sought and not found. “Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord!” etc. 3. They misunderstood the meaning of Christ (verses 35-36). (1) They started from His words an ungenerous conjecture, “Will He go” etc., i.e., amongst the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, or to the Gentiles. In either case He will go to a contemptible class, and leave our glorious country. (2) They failed to attach to His words the true idea, “What manner of saying is this.” They were carnal and judged after the flesh. Thus is it ever with this class. They are deprived of His fellowship. By their corrupt natures they are excluded from the sublime region of purity and benevolence in which He lives. They must all seek His help when too late. They all misunderstand Him. “They have ears but hear not.” Conclusion: To which class do you belong? 1. Probably to the former. But to be favourably disposed is not enough; there must be decision, consecration, vital affinity. 2. If to the latter, ponder your condition ere it be too late. (D. Thomas, D. D.) The coming of the bailiffs 172
- 173. I. A HOSTILEEMBASSY. 1. Its occasion—the favourable impression made on the multitude. 2. Its promoters. The chief priests and the Pharisees, who resolved to take a forward step by dispatching their constables to the Temple (verse 82). 3. Its object. To mingle with the crowd, show as much favour as possible, so as to throw them and Christ off their guard, and then embrace the first opportunity of detaching them from Him, or Him from them, and took Him prisoner to the council chamber. II. AN UNEXPECTED GREETING. Having observed the officers and their intention, our Lord replied to this forward movement by announcing His departure. 1. It,would be soon, “a little while.” “The increasing hostility of the rulers, and the fickle character of the populace, made it apparent that tile final collision could not be long delayed. 2. It would be voluntary. The designs of the rulers would in the providence of God lead to His departure but would not be its cause (Joh_10:18). “I go.” 3. It would be a homegoing (Joh_7:33; Joh_6:62), like an ambassador to report about His mission, or like a Son to the presence of His Father Joh_14:2). 4. It would terminate their day of grace. His appearance had been a day of salvation (Luk_19:42), which at His departure would be over (verse 34; Luk_ 17:22). 5. It would place an impassable gulf between Him and them (verse 34). Without foreclosing heaven’s gate upon the crowd, many of whom were probably afterwards converted (Act_2:41), or upon individual members of the Sanhedrim (Joh_19:38-39; Act_6:7), the words announced that when Christ departed their day of grace as a nation would be over for impenitent individuals. III. A MELANCHOLY RESULT. 1. Perplexity. They failed to understand the Saviour’s meaning, or pretended to do so (verse 36); as the apostles did an analogous expression Joh_16:17). Yet Christ’s language was plain. But they did not wish Christ’s words to have the sense they conveyed, and so pronounced them nonsensical. 2. Ridicule. They endeavoured to sport with Him and His words. Tomorrow they will ask Him if He purposes to commit suicide (chap. 8:12), to-day they inquire if He contemplates playing at Messiah among the Greeks (verse 35). 3. Rejection. The true reason why they could not understand Him was, that already in their hearts they had rejected Him and them. Lessons: 1. The day of grace to all is of limited duration. 2. Those who improve that day so as to find Christ will ultimately be with Him. 3. To such as find Christ, death will be going home. 4. Those who reject Christ here will not be able to accept Him hereafter. 5. Christ’s sayings are enigmas to those who do not wish to understand Him. 6. Scoffing at good men marks the last stage of depravity. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.) 173
- 174. The boldness ofChrist The officers were after our Lord, and He knew it. He could spy them out in the crowd, but He was not therefore in the least afraid or disconcerted. He reminds me of that minister who, when he was about to preach, was stopped by a soldier, who held a pistol at his head, and threatened that if he spake he would kill him. “ Soldier,” said he, “do your duty; I shall do mine”; and he went on with his preaching. (C. H.Spurgeon.) Then said Jesus unto them, yet a little while am I with you One saying with two meanings (text and Joh_13:33) 1. No greater contrast can be conceived than between these two groups. The one consists of tile officers sent to seize Christ, but were restrained by an awe inexplicable even to themselves. The other consists of the little company of His faithful, though slow scholars. Hatred animated the one, love the other. 2. Christ speaks to them both nearly the same words, but with what a different tone, meaning, and application. To the officers they exhibit the triumphant confidence that their Maker is omnipotent. When He wills He will go, not be dragged, to a safe asylum, where foes cannot follow Him. The officers do not understand. They think, that bad Jew as they have always believed Him to be, He may consummate His apostasy by going over to the Gentiles altogether; but at any rate they feel that He is going to escape their hands. The disciples understand little more, and though the upper side of the saying seems to be full of separation, there is an underside that suggests reunion. 3. The words are nearly the same, but they are not quite identical. I. THE TWO SEEKINGS. 1. The enemies are told they will never find Him. (1) No man with hostile intent seeking for Christ can ever find Him. All the antagonism that has stormed against Him and His cause has been impotent and vain. The pursuers are like dogs chasing a bird which all the while carols in the sky. As in the days of His flesh His foes could not touch His person till He chose, so ever since no weapon that is formed against His cause or His friends shall prosper. All Christian service is a prolongation of Christ’s, and both are immortal and safe. (2) But it is not only hostile seeking that is vain. When the dark days came over Israel, and amidst the agonies of that last seige, do you not think that many of these people said, “Ah! if we had only Jesus back for a day or two.” They sought Him not in anger any more, nor in penitence, or they would have found Him, but simply in distress, and wishing that they could have back again what they had cared so little for when they had it. And are there none to whom the words apply, “He that will not when he may, when he will it shall be nay.” (3) There is another kind of vain seeking—intellectual, without the preparation of the heart. Many a man goes in quest for religious certainty and looks at, if not for Jesus, and is not capable of discerning Him when He sees 174
- 175. Him because Hiseye is not single, or his heart is full of worldliness and indifference, or he begins with a foregone conclusion. He will never find Him. 2. The seeking that is not vain. “Ye shall seek Me,” to any heart that loves Christ is not a sentence of separation, but the blessed law of Christian life. (1) That life is one great seeking after Christ. Love seeks the absent. If we care anything for Him at all our hearts will turn to Him as naturally as when the winter begins to pinch, the birds seek the sunny south. The same law which sends loving thoughts across the globe to seek husband, child, or friend, sets the Christian heart seeking for Christ. (2) And if you do not seek Him you will lose Him, for there is no way of keeping a person who is not before our eyes near us except by diligent effort— thought meditating, love going out towards Him, will submitting. Unless there be this effort you will lose your Master like the child in a crowd loses his nurse if his hand slips from the protecting hand. (3) And that seeking in this threefold form is neither a seeking which starts from a sense of non-possession, nor one which ends in disappointment. We seek Him because we possess Him, and that we may have Him more abundantly, and it is as impossible that such a search shall be vain as that lungs dilated shall not fill with air. A mother will sometimes hide that the child’s delight may be the greater in searching and finding; and so Christ has gone away for one thing that He may stimulate our desires after Him. II. THE TWO CANNOTS. “Whither I go ye cannot come,” says He to His enemies, with no limitation or condition. To His friends He only says, “now,” and “thou shalt follow Me afterwards.” So then Christ is somewhere, He has gone into a place as well as a state, and there friend and enemy alike cannot enter while compassed with “the earthly house.” But the incapacity goes deeper, no sinful man can pass within. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Our power to enter there depends on our union with Christ by faith, and that will effect the preparation. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) I go. Three Greek words are thus translated in St. John, and two of them in similar connections. Each expresses a distinct aspect of departure, and its special force must be taken into account in the interpretation of the passage in which it is found. 1. ᆓπάγω, which is used here, emphasizes the personal act of going in itself, as a withdrawal (Joh_8:14; Joh 8:21; Joh 13:3; Joh 13:33; Joh 13:36; Joh 14:4; Joh 14:28; Joh 16:5; Joh 16:10; Joh 16:16). 2. πορεύοµαι marks the going as connected with a purpose, a mission, an end to be gained (Joh_7:35; Joh 14:3; Joh 14:12; Joh 14:28; Joh 16:7; Joh 16:28). 3. ᅊπεοχοµαι expresses simple separation, the point left (Joh_6:68; Joh 16:7, (“go away”). The differences are very clearly seen in a comparison of Joh_16:10 (ᆓπάγω) with Joh_14:28 (πορεύοµαι) and the succession of words in Joh_16:7-10. (Bp. Westcott.) 175
- 176. While Christ isnear we must cry to Him for pardon A few years ago, when Pennsylvania had a Christian governor, there was a young man down in one of the counties who was arrested for murder. He was brought before the Court, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His friends thought there would be no trouble in getting a reprieve or pardon. Because the governor was a Christian man they thought he would not sign the death warrant. But he signed it. They called on the governor and begged of him to pardon the young man. But the governor said “No; the law must take its course, and the man must die.” I think the mother of the young man called on the governor and pleaded with him; but the governor stood firm and said, “No; the man must die.” A few days before the man was executed, the governor took the train to the county where the man was imprisoned. He went to the sheriff of the county and said to him, “I wish you to take me to that man’s cell, and leave me alone with him for a little while; and do not tell him who I am until I am gone.” The governor went to the prison and talked to the young man about his soul, and told him that, although he was condemned by man to be executed, God would have mercy upon him and save him, if he would accept pardon from God. He preached Christ, and told him how Christ came to seek and to save sinners; and, having explained as he best knew how the plan of salvation, he got down and prayed, and after praying he shook hands with him and bade him farewell. Some time after the sheriff passed by the condemned man’s cell, and he called him to the door of the cell and said, “Who was that man who talked and prayed with me so kindly?” The sheriff said, “That was Governor Pollock.” The man turned deathly pale, and he threw up both his hands and said, “Was that Governor Pollock? was that kind-hearted man the governor? Oh, sheriff, why did not you tell me? If I had known that was the governor I would have fell at his feet and asked for pardon; I would have pleaded for pardon and for my life. Oh, sir, the governor has been here, and I did not know it.” Sinner, I have got good news to tell you. There is one greater than the governor here to-night, and He wants to pardon every one. (Moody.) Seeking in vain A young policeman was in the Edinburgh infirmary with an injured leg. There was a man lying on the next bed to him exceedingly ill, and his life despaired of by the physicians, but who would not allow any one to speak to him on religious subjects, or pray either for his recovery, or for the salvation of his soul. At first he himself had no idea that death was so near him; but when its ghastly presence could no longer be denied, then this bold impenitent sinner became a victim of despair. Again and again did he cry out for the chaplain to pray for his soul. Of course there were many prayers offered for him, but his day of grace was over, and he continued to shriek aloud for mercy, until finally his voice became too weak for utterance, and full of dreadful apprehensions of “the wrath to come,” he expired. (T. Mahon.) Resisting the light will prove our undoing It is related of Jeine, the chief of one of the South Sea Islands, who had offered no small amount of opposition to the introduction of Christianity, that, during a sickness which terminated in his death, he manifested more mental distress than is usually seen in a heathen. He often expressed a wish that “he had died ten years before.” And why? The light of life and love had been shining around him, but he had opposed its entrance into his heart, and its power over his people. And now, having loved darkness, in darkness of soul, stung by an upbraiding of conscience, he must 176
- 177. die. (Biblical Museum.) Thosewho refuse Christ when offered may soon seek Him in vain I was once called upon to visit a dying man in Bristol, under the following circumstances: He had not entered the church for many years. At last he made up his mind to go, and on the morning of the Sabbath he and his wife went. But the door was closed, the church being under repair. They returned home disappointed. In the evening they went to another church. But it was so crowded that they could get no farther than the doorway, and were unable to hear a word. On the following Sunday he resolved to make another effort; but while he was dressing he fell down in an apoplectic fit, and never spoke again I He knew me when I entered his chamber. I preached the gospel in his dying ear, but he was speechless, and I could not learn the state of his mind. This case illustrates some paris of the first chapter of Proverbs: “Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me.” The procrastinating sinner may say, “I will serve God by and by. He shall have the services of my age:” and God may say, “No; thou shalt not have old age to offer Me.” (J. East.) The imperilled condition of the impenitent sinner Two friends were in the Highlands recently, shooting, and one of them observed an animal on a jutting rock. He inquired, “Is that a sheep?” and looking through his field-glass he saw that it was. In search of herbage the sheep had descended from one grass-covered ledge to another, and found it impossible to return. No shepherd in Scotland dare risk his life by going down the declivity. The sheep must remain there till an eagle observed it, when in eddying circles it would hover over the poor animal, drawing nearer and nearer, until at last the affrighted sheep would take a dreadful leap into space, to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below, and then become the eagle’s prey. (W. HayAitken.) The dispersed among the Gentiles, or simply the Dispersion was the general title applied to those Jews who remained settled in foreign countries after the return from Babylon, and during the period of the second Temple. The Hebrew word applied to these foreign settlers (see Jer_24:5; Jer 28:4; Ezr_6:16) conveys the notion of spoliation and bereavement, as of men removed from the Temple and home of their fathers; but in the LXX. the ideas of “sojourning,” and of a “colony,” were combined with that of a “captivity,” while the term “dispersion” Deu_28:25; cf. Jer_34:17), which finally prevailed, seemed to imply that the people thus scattered (Deu_30:4) in bondage (Macc. 1:27), and shut out from the privileges of the human race (text), should yet be as a seed sown for a future harvest (cf. Isa_49:6, Hebrews) in the strange lands where they found a temporary resting- 1Pe 1:1). The schism which had divided the first kingdom was forgotten in the results of the general calamity. The Dispersion was not limited to the exiles of Judah, but included “the twelve tribes” Jas_1:1), which expressed the completeness of the whole Jewish nation (Act_26:7). The Dispersion really dates from the Babylonish exile. Uncertain legends point to earlier settlements in Arabia, Ethiopia, and Abyssinia, but these must have been isolated and casual, while the Dispersion was the outward proof that a faith had succeeded to a kingdom. Apart from the necessary influence which Jewish communities, bound by common laws, ennobled by the possession of the same 177
- 178. truths, and animatedby kindred hopes must have exercised on the nations among whom they were scattered, the difficulties which set aside the literal observance of the Mosaic ritual led to a wider view of the scope of the law, and a stronger sense of its spiritual significance. Outwardly and inwardly, by its effects, both on the Gentiles and on Israel, the Dispersion was the clearest providential preparation for Christianity. But while the fact of a recognized Dispersion must have weakened the local and ceremonial influences which were essential to the first training of the people of God, the Dispersion was still bound together in itself and to its mother country by religious ties. The Temple was the acknowledged centre of Judaism, and the faithful Jew everywhere contributed the half-shekel towards its maintenance Mat_17:24; Jos. Ant. 16:6). The tribute was indeed the simplest and most striking outward proof of the religious unity of the nation. Treasuries were established to receive the payments of different districts, and the collected sums were forwarded to Jerusalem, as in later times the Mohammedan offerings were sent to Mecca. At the beginning of the Christian era the Dispersion was divided into three great sections, the Babylonian, the Syrian, and the Egyptian. Precedence was yielded to the first. The jealousy which had originally existed between the poor who remained in Jerusalem and their wealthier countrymen at Babylon had passed away. From Babylon the Jews spread throughout Persia, Media, and Parthia; but the settlements in China belong to a modern date. The Greek conquests in Asia extended the limits of the Dispersion. Selencus Nicator transplanted large bodies of Jewish colonists from Babylonia to the capitals of his western provinces. His policy was followed by his successor, Antiochus the Great, and the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes only served to push forward the Jewish emigration to the remoter districts of the empire. In Armenia the Jews arrived at the greatest dignities, and Nisibis became a new centre of colonization. The Jews of Cappadocia (1Pe_1:1) are mentioned in the Mishna; and a prince and princess of Adiabene adopted the Jewish faith only thirty years before the destruction of the Temple. Large settlements were established in Cyprus, in the islands of the AEgean, and on the western coast of Asia Minor. The Romans confirmed to them the privileges obtained from the Syrian kings; and though they were exposed to sudden outbursts of popular violence, the Jews of the Syrian provinces gradually formed a closer connection with their new homes, and, together with the Greek language, adopted in many respects Greek ideas. This Hellenizing tendency, however, found its most free development at Alexandria. The Jewish settlements established there by Alexander and Ptolemy I. became the source of the African Dispersion, which spread over the north coast of Africa, and perhaps inland to Abyssinia. At Cyrene and Berenice (Tripoli) the Jewish inhabitants formed a considerable portion of the population. But the distinction in language led to wider differences, which were averted in Babylon by the currency of an Aramaic dialect. The Scriptures were no longer read on the Sabbath, and no fire signals conveyed the dates of the new moons to Egypt. Still, the spirit of the African Jews was not destroyed. After the destruction of the Temple the zealots found a reception in Cyrene, and in A.D. 115 the Jewish population in Africa rose with terrible ferocity, and were put down by a war of extermination, and the remnant who escaped established themselves on the opposite coast of Europe, as the beginning of a new Dispersion. The Jewish settlements in Rome were consequent on the occupation of Jerusalem by Pompey B.C. 63. The captives and emigrants whom he brought with him were located inthe Trans-Tiberine quarter, and by degrees rose in station and importance. They were favoured by Augustus and Tiberius after the fall of Sejanus, and a Jewish school was founded at Rome. In the reign of Claudius the Jews became objects of suspicion from their immense numbers; and the internal disputes, consequent, perhaps, upon the preaching of Christianity, led to their banishment from the city 178
- 179. (Act_18:2). But thiswas only temporary, for in a few years the Jews at Rome were numerous (Act_28:17), and continued to be sufficiently conspicuous to attract the attention of the satirists. The influence of the Dispersion on the rapid growth of Christianity can scarcely be overrated. The course of apostolic preaching followed in a regular progress the line of Jewish settlements. The mixed assembly from which the first converts were gathered on the day of Pentecost represented each division of the Dispersion, and these converts naturally prepared the way for the apostles. The names of the seven deacons are all Greek, and one was a proselyte. The Church at Antioch, by which St. Paul was entrusted with his great work among the heathen Act_13:1), included Barnabus of Cyprus, Lucius of Cyrene, and Simeon, surnamed Niger; and among his fellow labourers at a later time are found Apollos of Alexandria, Urbanus, and Clement, whose names, at least, are Roman. Antioch itself became a centre of the Christian Church, as it had been of the Jewish Dispersion; and throughout the apostolic journeys the Jews were the class to whom “it was necessary that the Word of God should be first spoken” (Act_13:46), and they in turn were united with the mass of the population by the intermediate body of “the devout “ who had recognized in various degrees “the faith of the God of Israel.” (Bp. Westcott.) 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. BARNES, "The people murmured such things - That is, that the question was agitated whether he was the Messiah; that it excited debate and contention; and that the consequence was, he made many friends. They chose, therefore, if possible, to remove him from them. CLARKE, "The people murmured such things - The people began to be convinced that he was the Messiah; and this being generally whispered about, the Pharisees, etc., thought it high time to put him to death, lest the people should believe on him; therefore they sent officers to take him. GILL, "The Pharisees heard that the people murmured,.... Or whispered, privately talked among themselves: such things concerning him; as that surely he must be the Messiah, since such wonderful things were done by him, and might also express some uneasiness and surprise, that the rulers did not receive him as such: 179
- 180. and the Pharisees,and the chief priests, sent officers to take him: and bring him before the sanhedrim, by them to be condemned, and so a stop be put to the people's receiving him, and believing in him as the Messiah; fearing, that should things go on at this rate, their principles and practices would be rejected, and their persons and authority be brought into contempt. HENRY, "(2.) Whither he was going, Joh_7:32-36. Here observe, [1.] The design of the Pharisees and chief priests against him, Joh_7:32. First, The provocation given them was that they had information brought them by their spies, who insinuated themselves into the conversation of the people, and gathered stories to carry to their jealous masters, that the people murmured such things concerning him, that there were many who had a respect and value for him, notwithstanding all they had done to render him odious. Though the people did but whisper these things, and had not courage to speak out, yet the Pharisees were enraged at it. The equity of that government is justly suspected by others which is so suspicious of itself as to take notice of, or be influenced by, the secret, various, uncertain mutterings of the common people. The Pharisees valued themselves very much upon the respect of the people, and were sensible that if Christ did thus increase they must decrease. Secondly, The project they laid hereupon was to seize Jesus, and take him into custody: They sent officers to take him, not to take up those who murmured concerning him and frighten them; no, the most effectual way to disperse the flock is to smite the shepherd. The Pharisees seem to have been the ringleaders in this prosecution, but they, as such, had no power, and therefore they god the chief priests, the judges of the ecclesiastical court, to join with them, who were ready enough to do so. The Pharisees were the great pretenders to learning, and the chief priests to sanctify. As the world by wisdom knew not God, but the greatest philosophers were guilty of the greatest blunders in natural religion, so the Jewish church by their wisdom knew not Christ, but their greatest rabbin were the greatest fools concerning him, nay, they were the most inveterate enemies to him. Those wicked rulers had their officers, officers of their court, church-officers, whom they employed to take Christ, and who were ready to go on their errand, though it was an ill errand. If Saul's footmen will not turn and fall upon the priests of the Lord, he has a herdsman that will, 1Sa_22:17, 1Sa_22:18. JAMIESON, "heard that the people murmured — that mutterings to this effect were going about, and thought it high time to stop Him if He was not to be allowed to carry away the people. CALVIN, "32.The Pharisees heard. Hence it appears that the Pharisees, like persons set on the watch, were anxious on all occasions not to permit Christ to be known. In the first instance the Evangelist calls them only Pharisees, and next he adds to themthe priests of whom the Pharisees were a part. There can be no doubt that, as they wished to be reckoned the greatest zealots for the Law, they opposed Christ more bitterly than all the other sects; but finding that their unaided exertions were not sufficient to oppress Christ, they committed the affair to the whole order of the priests. Thus they who, in other respects, differed among themselves now conspire together, under the guidance of Satan, against the Son of God. Meanwhile, since the Pharisees had such ardent zeal and such incessant toil for defending their tyranny and the corrupt state of the Church, how much more zealous ought we to be in maintaining the kingdom of Christ! 180
- 181. The Papists inthe present day are not less mad or less eager to extinguish the Gospel; and yet it is monstrously wicked that their example does not, at least, whet our desires, and cause us to labor with greater boldness in the defense of true and sound doctrine. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. How enraged the Pharisees were, when they heard that so many of the common people were brought to believe in Christ, and to cleave unto Christ, insomuch that they sent public officers, armed with authority, to apprehend our blessed Saviour: The Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take him. Learn thence, That nothing more enrages the enemies of religion, and draws trouble on the preachers and professors of it, than the success which the gospel at any time meets with. Observe, 2. Our Saviour tells them that as they desired to be rid of him, so ere long they should have their desire: he would leave them, and go to his Father, and in his absence they would wish for his bodily presence again, but should not have it. Learn, The despisers of Christ have little cause to be weary of him, and to seek to put him away by violence and persecution; for their obstinate contempt of him will cause him to depart from them, and finally to forsake them. Observe, 3. How the Jews, not understanding our Saviour's words aright, reasoned among themselves, whether, by leaving of them, he meant to go into some Pagan country, and teach the Gentiles the mysteries of the Jewish religion; which above all things they could not endure to hear. Learn hence, That it is the ordinary sin of a people privileged with the means of grace, not to be sensible of the hazard or danger of Christ's leaving and forsaking them: till at last he forsakes them finally, and casts them off, to their inevitable unutterable condemnation. Thus did our Lord deal with the Jews here; I go my way, and whither I go, ye cannot come. PINK 32-53, "The following is a general Outline of the passage which is to be before us:— 1. The Pharisees’ attempt to apprehend Christ: verse 32. 2. Christ’s words to their officers: verses 33, 34. 3. The mystification of the Jews: verses 35, 36. 4. Christ’s words on the last day of the Feast: verses 37-39. 5. The divided opinion of the common people: verses 40-44. 6. The confession of the officers: verses 45, 46. 7. The conference of the Pharisees broken up by Nicodemus: verses 47-53. The passage for our present consideration continues and completes the one that was before us in our last lesson. It views our Lord still in the Temple, and supplies additional evidences of His absolute Deity. It also affords further proofs of the desperate wickedness of the human heart. There is a strange mingling of 181
- 182. the lights andthe shadows. First, the Pharisees send officers to arrest Christ, and then we find these returning to their masters and confessing that never man spake as He did. On the one hand, we hear of Christ ministering blessing to the thirsty souls who come unto Him and drink; on the other, we learn of there being a division among the people because of Him. The Sanhedrin sit in judgment upon Christ, and yet one of their own number, Nicodemus, is found rebuking them. Before examining in detail the dosing verses of John 7 this will be the best place, perhaps, to call attention (though very briefly) to the significant order of truth found in John 5, 6, and 7. This may be seen in two different directions: First, concerning Christ Himself; second, concerning His people. In John 5 Christ is seen disclosing His Divine attributes, His essential perfections. In John 6 He is viewed in His humiliation, as the One come down from heaven, and who was to "give his life" for the world. But here in John 7, He says, "Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me" (verse 33), and speaks of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was subsequent upon His glorification (verse 39). So, too, there is a similar progressive unfolding of truth in connection with the believer. In John 5 he is viewed as "quickened" (verse 21). In John 6 we see the result of this: he comes to Christ and is saved. Now, in John 7, we hear of "rivers of living water" flowing from him to others! "The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him" (John 7:32). Things began to move swiftly. An interval of but six months divides between the time contemplated in our lesson and the actual crucifixion of Christ. The shadows commence to fall more thickly and darkly across His path. The opposition of His enemies is more definite and relentless. The religious leaders were incensed: their intelligence had been called into question (verse 26), and they were losing their hold over many of the people (verse 31). When these tidings reached the ears of the Pharisees and chief priests, they sent out officers to arrest the Savior. "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me" (John 7:33). This was tantamount to saying, My presence here is a source of annoyance to your masters, but not for long will this be continued. But our Lord did not forget to remind these officers that He was complete master of the situation. None could remove Him until His work was finished: "Yet a little while am I with you." True that little while spanned only six months, but until these had run their course He would be with them, and no power on earth could prevent it; no power either human or satanic could shorten that little while by so much as a single day or hour. And when that little while had expired He would "go." He would return to His Father in heaven. Equally powerless would they be to prevent this. Of His own self He would lay down His life, and of His own self would He take it again. "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me." How solemnly these words apply to our own age! Christ is now here in the Person of the Holy Spirit. But not forever is the Holy Spirit to remain in the world. When the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, then shall the Holy Spirit return to the One that sent Him. And how many indications there are that this is not far distant! Verily, we are justified in saying to sinners, "Yet a little while" will the Holy Spirit be "with you" and then He will "go unto him" 182
- 183. that sent Him.Then resist Him no longer: "Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come" (John 7:34). This, no doubt, received its first fulfillment immediately after our Lord had risen from the dead. When "some of the watch" came to Jerusalem and made known to the chief priests that Christ had risen, that the sepulcher was empty, we may be sure that a diligent search was made for Him. But never again did any of them set eyes upon Him—the next time they shall behold Him will be at the Great White Throne. Whither He had gone they could not come, for "Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God." And how tragically have these words of Christ received a continual verification in connection with Israel all through the centuries. In vain have the Jews sought their Messiah: in vain, because there is a veil over their hearts even as they read their own Scriptures (2 Cor. 3:15). "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come" (John 7:34). These words also have a solemn message for unsaved Gentiles living today. In applying the previous verse to our own times we pointed out how that the words, "Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me" find their fulfillment in the presence of the Spirit of Christ in the world today, a presence so soon to be removed. And once He is removed, once the Spirit of Christ returns to heaven, He will be sought in vain. "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me" will receive a most solemn verification in a soon— coming day. This is very clear from Proverbs 1:24-28: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Nor does this solemn passage stand alone: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able when once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door" (Luke 13:24, 25). In view of these solemn warnings let every unsaved reader heed promptly that imperative word in Isaiah 55:6: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." "And where I am, thither ye cannot come." How this brings out the Deity of Christ. Mark He does not say, "Where I shall be," or "Where I then am, ye cannot come"; but, though still on earth, He declared, "Where I am, thither ye cannot come." In the previous verse He had said, "I go unto him that sent me." These two statements refer severally, to His distinct natures. "Where I am" intimated His perpetual presence in heaven by virtue of His Divine nature; His going there was yet a future thing for His human nature! "Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?" (John 7:35). How true it is that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Devoid of any spiritual perception, these Jews were unable to understand Christ’s reference to His return to heaven. When they asked, "Will he go to the dispersed among the 183
- 184. Gentiles?" they werereferring to those Jews who lived away from Palestine. The Greek word is "diaspora" and signifies the Dispersion. It is found only here and in James 1:1 where it is rendered "The twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," literally, "in the dispersion’’, and in 1 Peter 1:1, "sojourners of the dispersion." Further, these Jews asked, "Will he teach the Gentiles?" What an evidence is this that unbelief will think about anything but God? God not being in their thoughts, it never occurred to them that the Lord Jesus might be referring to His Father in heaven; hence their minds turned to the dispersion and the Gentiles. It is thus even with a Christian when he is under the control of unbelief: the last one he will think of is God. Solemn and humbling commentary is this on the corruption of our natural heart. "What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?" (John 7:36). And mark it, these were not illiterate men who thus mused, but men of education and religious training. But no amount of culture or religious instruction can impart spiritual understanding to the intellect. A man must be Divinely illumined before he can perceive the meaning and value of the things of God. The truth is that the most illiterate babe in Christ has a capacity to understand spiritual things which an unregenerate university graduate does not possess. The plainest and simplest word from God is far above the reach of the natural faculties. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37). Their celebration of this Feast of tabernacles was drawing to a close. The "last" or eighth day had now arrived. It is here termed "the last great day of the feast"; in John 19:31 the same word is rendered "high day." It was so called because on this closing day there was a general and solemn convocation of the worshippers (see Leviticus 23:36). On this eighth day, when the temple courts would be thronged with unusually large crowds, Jesus "stood and cried." What a contrast this pointed between Himself and those who hated Him: they desired to rid the world of Him; He to minister unto needy souls. "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Here is the Gospel in a single short sentence. Three words in it stand out and call for special emphasis—"thirst," "come," "drink." The first tells of a recognized need. Thirst, like hunger, is something of which we are acutely conscious. It is a craving for that which is not in our actual possession. There is a soul thirst as well as a bodily. The pathetic thing is that so many thirst for that which cannot slake them. Their thirst is for the things of the world: pleasure, money, fame, ease, self-indulgence; and over all these Christ has written in imperishable letters, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again." But in our text Christ is referring to a thirst for something infinitely nobler and grander, even for Himself. He speaks of that intense longing for Himself which only the Spirit of God can create in the soul. If a poor sinner is convicted of his pollution and desires cleansing, if he is weighted down with the awful burden of conscious guilt and desires pardon, if he is fully aware of his weakness and impotency and longs for strength and deliverance, if he is filled with fears and distrust and craves for peace and rest,—then, says Christ, let him "come unto me." Happy the one who so thirsts after Christ that he can say, "As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God" (Ps. 42:1). "Let him come unto me." "Come" is one of the simplest words in the English 184
- 185. language. It signifiesour approach to an object or person. It expresses action, and implies that the will is operative. To come to Christ means, that you do with your heart and will what you would do with your feet were He standing in bodily form before you and saying, "Come unto me." It is an act of faith. It intimates that you have turned your back upon the world, and have abandoned all confidence in everything about yourself, and now cast yourself empty-handed, at the feet of incarnate Grace and Truth. But make sure that nothing whatever is substituted for Christ. It is not, come to the Lord’s table, or come to the waters of baptism, or come to the priest or minister, or come and join the church; but come to Christ Himself, and to none other. "And drink." It is here that so many seem to fail. There are numbers who give evidence of an awakened conscience, of heart-exercise, of a conscious need of Christ; and there are numbers who appear to be seeking Him, and yet stop short at that. But Christ not only said, "Come unto me," but He added, "and drink." A river flowing through a country where people were dying of thirst, would avail them nothing unless they drink of it. The blood of the slain lamb availed the Israelite household nothing, unless the head of that household had applied it to the door. So Christ saves none who do not receive Him by faith. "Drinking" is here a figurative expression, and signifies making Christ your own. In all ages God’s saints have been those who saw their deep need, who came to the Lord, and appropriated the provision of grace. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Let us not forget where these words were first uttered. The Speaker was not in a penitentiary, but in the Temple. Christ was not addressing a company of profligates, but a religious crowd who were observing a Divinely-instituted Feast! What an example for each of His servants! Brother preacher, take nothing for granted. Do not suppose that because those you address are respectable people and punctual in their religious exercises they are necessarily saved. Heed that word of your Master’s, and "preach the gospel to every creature," cultured as well as illiterate, the respectable as well as the profligate, the religious man as well as the irreligious. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). The language used by our Lord really implies that He had some definite passage in mind. We believe that He referred to Isaiah 58:11, And thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Our Lord applies the promise to believers of the present dispensation. The believer should not be like a sponge-taking in but not giving out—but like a spring, ever fresh and giving forth. Twice before had Christ employed "water" as a figure, and it is striking to observe the progressive order. In John 3:5 He had spoken of a man being born "of water and of the Spirit": here the "water" comes down from God—cf. John 3:3 margin, "born From above." In John 4:14 He says, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Here the "water" springs up to God, reaching out to the Source from whence it came. But in John 7:38 He says, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Here the "water" flows forth for God in blessing to others. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." This verse describes the normal Christian, and yet, how many of us would say that its contents are receiving a practical exemplification in our daily lives? How many of us would make so bold as to affirm that out of 185
- 186. our innermost partare flowing "rivers of living water"? Few indeed, if we were honest and truthful. What, then, is wrong? Let us examine the verse a little more attentively. "Out of his belly shall flow." What is the "belly"? It is that part of man which constantly craves. It is that part which, in his fallen condition, is the natural man’s god—"Whose god is their belly" (Phil. 3:19), said the apostle: styled their "god" because it receives the most care and attention. The "belly" is that part of man which is never really satisfied, for it is constantly crying for something else to appease its cravings. Now the remarkable thing, yea, the blessed thing, is, that not only is the believer himself satisfied, but he overflows with that which satisfies—out of his innermost parts "flow (forth) rivers of living water" The thought indeed is a striking one. It is not merely "from him" shall flow, but "out of his belly shall flow;" that is, from that very part of our constitution which, in the natural man, is never satisfied, there shall be a constant overflow. Now how is the believer satisfied? The answer is, By "coming" to Christ and drinking; which mean receiving from Him: by having his emptiness ministered to from His fulness. But does this refer only to a single act? Is this something that is done once for all? Such seems to be the common idea. Many appear to imagine that grace is a sort of thing which God puts into the soul like a seed, and that it will grow and develop into more. Not that we deny that the believer grows, but the believer grows in grace; it is not the grace in him which grows! O dear Christian reader, we are to continue as we began. Where was it that you found rest and peace? It was in Christ. And how did you obtain these? It was from a consciousness of your need (thirsting), and your coming to Christ to have this met, and by appropriating from Him. But why stop there? This ought to be a daily experience. And it is our failure at this very point which is the reason why John 7:38 does not describe our spiritual history. A vessel will not overflow until it is full, and to be full it has to be filled! How simple; and yet how searching! The order of Christ in the scripture before us has never changed. I must first come to Him and "drink" before the rivers of living water will flow forth from my satisfied soul. What the Lord most wants from us is receptiveness, that is, the capacity to receive, to receive from Him. I must receive from Him, before I can give out for Him. The apostles came to Christ for the bread before they distributed to the hungry multitude. Here is the secret of all real service. When my own "belly" has been filled, that is, when my own needy heart has been satisfied by Christ, then no effort will be required, but out from me shall flow "rivers of living water." O may Divine grace teach us daily to first come to Christ before we attempt anything for Him. "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given: because that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39). This intimates a further reason why we are told in verse 37 that the words there recorded were uttered by Christ on "the last" day, that is the eighth day of the Feast. In Scripture eight ever refers to a new beginning, and for this reason, like the numeral three, eight is also the number of resurrection: Christ arose on the eighth day, "in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first of the week" (Matthew 28:1). And, doctrinally considered, Christ was here speaking as from resurrection ground. He was referring to that which could not receive its accomplishment till after He had risen from the dead. When he said "the Holy Spirit was not yet," John meant that He was not yet publicly 186
- 187. manifested on earth.His manifestation was subsequent to the glorification of Christ. "Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet" (John 7:40). The line of thought found in this verse and the twelve that follow it might be termed, The testing of men by the truth, and their failure to receive it. The first class brought before us here is the common people. Many of them were impressed by the gracious words which proceeded out of the mouth of Christ. They said, "Of a truth this is the Prophet." Their language was identical with that of the Galileans, recorded in John 6:14. But observe they merely said, "This is the Prophet." We are not told that they received Him as such. Words are cheap, and worth little unless followed by action. It is significant, however, that John was the only one of the Evangelists that records these sayings of the people, for they were in harmony with his special theme. As its first verse intimates, the fourth Gospel presents Christ as "the Word," that is, the Speech, the Revealer, of God. A "prophet" is God’s spokesman! "Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" (John 7:41, 42). Here is another illustration of an acquaintance with the letter of the Word which failed to regulate the walk. These people could quote prophecy while they rejected Christ! How vain is an intellectual knowledge of spiritual things when unaccompanied by grace in the heart! These men knew where Christ was to be born. They referred to the Scriptures as though familiar with their contents. And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. The Messiah Himself stood before them, but they knew Him not. What a solemn warning is there here for us! A knowledge of the letter of Scripture is not to be despised, far from it: would that all the Lord’s people today were as familiar with the Word as probably these Jews were. It is a cause for deep thankfulness if we were taught to read and memorize Scripture from our earliest childhood. But while a knowledge of the letter of Scripture is to be prized, it ought not to be over-estimated. It is not sufficient that we are versed in the historical facts of the Bible, nor that we have a clear grasp, intellectually, of the doctrines of Christianity. Unless our hearts are affected and our lives moulded by God’s Word, we are no better off than a starving man with a cook book in his hand. "Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" These words are recorded for our learning. We must not pass them over hurriedly as though they contained no message for us. They should lead us to solemnly and seriously examine ourselves. There are many today who, like these men of old, can quote the Scriptures readily and accurately, and yet who give no evidence that they have been born again. An experiential acquaintance with Christ is the one thing needful. A heart knowledge of God’s truth is the vital thing, and it is that which no schooling or seminary training can confer. If you have discovered the plague of your own heart; if you have seen yourself as a lost sinner, and have received as yours the sinner’s Savior; if you have tasted for yourself that the Lord is gracious; if you are now, not only a hearer but a doer of the Word; then, abundant cause have you to thank God for thus enlightening you. You may be altogether ignorant of Hebrew and Greek, but if you know Him, whom to know is life eternal, and if 187
- 188. you sit dailyat His feet to be taught of Him, then have you that which is above the price of rubies. But O make quite sure on the point, dear reader. You cannot afford to remain in uncertainty. Rest not, until by Divine grace you can say, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. And if your eyes have been opened, pray God daily to give you a better heart-knowledge of His Word. "So there was a division among the people because of him" (John 7:43). How this fulfilled His own predicted word. Near the beginning of His public ministry (cf. Matthew 10:34,35) He said, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division. For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three," etc. (Luke 12:51, 52). So it proved then, and so it has been ever since. Why we do not know. God’s ways are ever different from ours. There will be another "division" among the people of the earth when the Lord Jesus leaves the Father’s throne and descends into the air; yea, a "division" also among the people in the graves. Only the "dead in Christ" shall then be raised, and only the living ones who have been saved by Him will be "caught up together to meet the Lord in the air." The rest will be left behind. What a "division" that will be! In which company would you be, dear reader, were Christ to come today? "So there was a division among the people because of him." If this was the ease when Christ was upon earth, then we must not be surprised if those who faithfully serve Him occasion a "division" during His absence. Scripture says, "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you." Read through the book of Acts and note what "divisions" the preaching of the apostles caused. Mark that solemn but explicit word in 1 Corinthians 11:19, "For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you" (R.V.). How senseless, then, is all this modem talk about the union of Christendom. Fellow-preacher, if you are faithfully declaring all the counsel of God, be not surprised, nor be dismayed, if there is a "division" because of you. Regard it as an ominous sign if it be otherwise. "And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him" (John 7:44). This is similar to what was before us in verse 30. Again and again is this noted in John’s Gospel: cf. John 5:16, 18; 17:1; 8:20; 10:39, etc. But they were powerless before the decrees of God. "Some of them would have taken him." The Greek word means they "desired" to do so. They had a will to, but not the ability. Ah! men may boast of their will-power and of their "free will," but after all, what does it amount to? Pilate said, "Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee" (John 19:10). So he boasted, and so he really believed. But what was our Lord’s rejoinder? "Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above." It was so here: these men desired to arrest Christ, but they were not given power from above to do so. Verily, we may say with the prophet of old, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him?" (John 7:45). Well might they ask such a question, for they were totally ignorant of the real answer. Well might Pharaoh now ask, Why did I fail in destroying the Hebrews? Or Nero, Why did I not succeed in exterminating all the Christians? Or the king of Spain, Why did my "invincible Armada" fail to reach the English ports and destroy the British 188
- 189. navy? Or theKaiser, Why did my legions not succeed in taking Paris? In each case the answer would be, Because God did not allow you to! Like these other infamous characters, the Pharisees had reckoned without God. They sent their officers to arrest Christ: they might as well have ordered them to stop the sun from shining. Not all the hosts of earth and hell could have arrested Him one moment before God’s predestined hour had arrived. Ah, dear reader, the God of the Bible is no mere figurehead. He is Supreme in fact as well as in name. When He gets ready to act none can hinder; and until He is ready, none can speed Him. This is a hateful thought for His enemies, but one full of comfort to His people. If you, my reader, are fighting against Him, be it known that the great God laughs at your consummate folly, and will one day ere long deal with you in His fury. On the other hand, if you are, by sovereign grace, one of His children, then He is for you, and if God be for you, who can be against you? Who, indeed! "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man." (John 7:46). What a testimony was this from unbelievers! Instead of arresting Him, they had been arrested by what they had heard, Mark again how this magnifies Christ as "the Word"! It was not His miracles which had so deeply impressed them, but His speech! "Never man spake as this man." True indeed was their witness, for the One they had listened to was more than "man"—"the Word was God"! No man ever spake like Christ because His words were spirit and life (John 6:63). What sayest thou of Christ, my reader? Do you own that "never man spake as this man"? Have His words come to you with a force that none other’s ever did? Have they pierced you through to "the dividing asunder of soul and spirit"? Have they brought life to your soul, joy to your heart, rest to your conscience, peace to your mind? Ah, if you have heard Him say "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," and you have responded to His voice, then can you say indeed, "Never man spake like this man." "Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" (John 7:47, 48). The "rulers" were men of official rank; the "Pharisees,’’ the religious formalists of that day. Few "rulers" or men of eminent standing, few "scribes" or men of erudition, few "Pharisees’’ or men of strict morality, were numbered among the followers of the Lamb. They were too well satisfied with themselves to see any need of a Savior. The sneering criticism of these Pharisees has been repeated in every age, and the very fact that it is made only supplies another evidence of the veracity of God’s Word. Said the apostle Paul, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things which are" (1 Cor. 1:26-28). And why?—"that no flesh should glory in his presence"! "But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed" (John 7:49). "This people" was a term of contempt. It has been rendered by some scholars, "This rabble—this mob—this rift raft." Nothing was more mortifying to these proud Pharisees, and nothing is more humiliating to their modern descendants than to find harlots and publicans entering the kingdom while they are left outside. "Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" 189
- 190. (John 7:50, 51).Have any of the Pharisees believed on Christ, they asked? Not many had, but at least one had, as Nicodemus gave evidence. Here is the one ray of light which relieves this dark picture. Sovereign grace had singled out one of these very Pharisees, and gave him courage to rebuke his unrighteous fellows. It is true that Nicodemus does not appear to have said much on this occasion, but he said sufficient to break up their conference. Not yet did he come out boldly on the Lord’s side; but he was no longer one of His enemies. The work of grace proceeds slowly in some hearts, as in the case of Nicodemus; for eighteen months had elapsed since what is recorded in John 3. With others the work of grace acts more swiftly, as in the case of Saul of Tarsus. Here, as everywhere, God acts according to His own sovereign pleasure. Later, if the Lord will, Nicodemus will come before us again, and then we shall behold the full corn in the ear. John’s Gospel depicts three stages in the spiritual career of Nicodemus. In John 3 it is midnight: here in John 7 it is twilight: in John 19 it is daylight in his soul. "They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet" (John 7:52). But they were wrong. Their own Scriptures refuted them. Jonah was a "prophet," and he arose from Galilee: see 2 Kings 14:25. So, most probably, did one or two other of their prophets. When they asked Nicodemus, "Art thou also of Galilee?" they evidently meant, Art thou also a Galilean, that is, one of His party? "And every man went unto his own house" (John 7:53). The reference here is to "every man" mentioned throughout this chapter. The Feast was now over. The temporary "booths" would be taken down: and all would now retire to their regular dwellings. "Every man went unto his own house" is very solemn. Away from Christ they went. Him they left! They desired His company no longer. And there the curtain falls. 33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. BARNES, "Yet a little while am I with you - It will not be long before my death. This is supposed to have been about six months before his death. This speech of Jesus is full of tenderness. They were seeking his life. He tells them that he is fully aware of it; that he will not be long with them; and implies that they should be diligent to seek him while he was yet with them. He was about to die, but they might now seek his favor and find it. When we remember that this was said to his persecutors and murderers; that it was said even while they were seeking his life, we see the special tenderness of his love. Enmity, and hate, and persecution did not prevent his offering salvation to them. I go unto him that sent me - This is one of the intimations that he gave that he would ascend to God. Compare Joh_6:62. 190
- 191. CLARKE, "Yet alittle while am I with you - As he knew that the Pharisees had designed to take and put him to death, and that in about six months from this time, as some conjecture, he should be crucified, he took the present opportunity of giving this information to the common people, who were best disposed towards him, that they might lay their hearts to his teaching, and profit by it, while they had the privilege of enjoying it. The word αυτοις, to them, in the beginning of this verse, is wanting in BDEGHLMS, more than eighty others, both the Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Gothic, Slavonic, Saxon, most copies of the Vulgate and the Itala. It is omitted also by Euthymius, Theophylact, Augustin, and Bede. Our Lord did not speak these words to the officers who came to apprehend him, as αυτοις here implies, but to the common people, merely to show that he was not ignorant of the designs of the Pharisees, though they had not yet been able to put them into practice. GILL, "Then said Jesus unto them,.... To the officers that were sent to take him, and other unbelieving Jews that were about him: yet a little while am I with you; no longer than till the next passover, which was but about half a year at most: this he might say, partly to quicken the attention of the people to him, to make the best use and improvement of his ministry whilst they had it, since in a little time he would be removed from them; and partly to suggest to the officers that were sent to take him, that they, and their masters, need not have given themselves that trouble, for in a short time he should be gone from them, and till that time he should continue in spite of them. And then I go unto him that sent me; still confirming his mission from God, expressing his death by going, and as being voluntary, and signifying his glory and happiness after it. HENRY, "[2.] The discourse of our Lord Jesus hereupon (Joh_7:33, Joh_7:34): Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to him that sent me; you shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, thither you cannot come. These words, like the pillar of cloud and fire, have a bright side and a dark side. First, They have a bright side towards our Lord Jesus himself, and speak abundance of comfort to him and all his faithful followers that are exposed to difficulties and dangers for his sake. Three things Christ here comforted himself with: - 1. That he had but a little time to continue here in this troublesome world. He sees that he is never likely to have a quiet day among them; but the best of it is his warfare will shortly be accomplished, and then he shall be no more in this world, Joh_17:11. Whomsoever we are with in this world, friends or foes, it is but a little while that we shall be with them; and it is a matter of comfort to those who are in the world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and sick of it, that they shall not be in it always, they shall not be in it long. We must be awhile with those that are pricking briars and grieving thorns; but thanks be to God, it is but a little while, and we shall be out of their reach. Our days being evil, it is well they are few. 2. That, when he should quit this troublesome world, he should go to him that sent him; I go. Not, “I am driven away by force,” but, “I voluntarily go; having finished my embassy, I return to him on whose errand I came. When I have done my work with you, then, and not till then, I go to him that sent me, and will receive me, will prefer me, as 191
- 192. ambassadors are preferredwhen they return.” Their rage against him would not only not hinder him fRom. but would hasten him to the glory and joy that were set before him. Let those who suffer for Christ comfort themselves with this, that they have a God to go to, and are going to him, going apace, to be for ever with him. 3. That, though they persecuted him here, wherever he went, yet none of their persecutions could follow him to heaven: You shall seek me, and shall not find me. It appears, by their enmity to his followers when he was gone, that if they could have reached him they would have persecuted him: “But you cannot enter into that temple as you do into this.” Where I am, that is, where I then shall be; but he expressed it thus because, even when he was on earth, by his divine nature and divine affections he was in heaven, Joh_3:13. Or it denotes that he should be so soon there that he was as good as there already. Note, It adds to the happiness of glorified saints that they are out of the reach of the devil and all his wicked instruments. Secondly, These words have a black and dark side towards those wicked Jews that hated and persecuted Christ. They now longed to be rid of him, Away with him from the earth; but let them know, 1. That according to their choice so shall their doom be. They were industrious to drive him from them, and their sin shall be their punishment; he will not trouble them long, yet a little while and he will depart from them. It is just with God to forsake those that think his presence a burden. They that are weary of Christ need no more to make them miserable than to have their wish. 2. That they would certainly repent their choice when it was too late. (1.) They should in vain seek the presence of the Messiah: “You shall seek me, and shall not find me. You shall expect the Christ to come, but your eyes shall fail with looking for him, and you shall never find him.” Those who rejected the true Messiah when he did come were justly abandoned to a miserable and endless expectation of one that should never come. Or, it may refer to the final rejection of sinners from the favours and grace of Christ at the great day: those who now seek Christ shall find him, but the day is coming when those who now refuse him shall seek him, and shall not find him. See Pro_1:28. They will in vain cry, Lord, Lord, open to us. Or, perhaps, these words might be fulfilled in the despair of some of the Jews, who possibly might be convinced and not converted, who would wish in vain to see Christ, and to hear him preach again; but the day of grace is over (Luk_17:22); yet this is not all. (2.) They should in vain expect a place in heaven: Where I am, and where all believers shall be with me, thither ye cannot come. Not only because they are excluded by the just and irreversible sentence of the judge, and the sword of the angel at every gate of the new Jerusalem, to keep the way of the tree of life against those who have no right to enter, but because they are disabled by their own iniquity and infidelity: You cannot come, because you will not. Those who hate to be where Christ is, in his word and ordinances on earth, are very unfit to be where he is in his glory in heaven; for indeed heaven would be no heaven to them, such are the antipathies of an unsanctified soul to the felicities of that state. JAMIESON, "Yet a little while, etc. — that is, “Your desire to be rid of Me will be for you all too soon fulfilled. Yet a little while and we part company - for ever; for I go whither ye cannot come: nor, even when ye at length seek Him whom ye now despise, shall ye be able to find Him” - referring not to any penitential, but to purely selfish cries in their time of desperation. CALVIN, "33.Yet a little while am I with you. Some think that this sermon was addressed to the assembly of the people who were present, and others, that it was 192
- 193. addressed to theofficers who had been sent to seize Christ. But for my own part, I have no doubt that Christ particularly addresses his enemies, who had taken counsel to destroy him; for he ridicules their efforts, because they will be utterly ineffectual, until the time decreed by the Father be come And at the same time, he reproaches them for their obstinacy, because they not only reject, but furiously oppose, the grace which is offered to them; and threatens that ere long it will be taken from them. When he says, I am with you, he rebukes their ingratitude, because, though he had been given to them by the Father, though he had come down to them from the heavenly glory, though, by calling them to be his familiar associates, he desired nothing more than to assist them, still there were few who received him. When he says, Yet a little while, he warns them that God will not long endure that his grace should be exposed to such shameful contempt. Yet he also means, that neither his life nor his death is placed at their disposal, but that his Father has fixed a time, which must be fulfilled. I go to him who hath sent me. By these words he testifies that he will not be extinguished by his death, but, on the contrary, when he shall have laid aside his mortal body, will be declared to be the Son of God by the magnificent triumph of his resurrection; as if he had said, “Labour as much as you please, yet you will never hinder my Father from receiving me into his heavenly glory, when I have discharged the embassy which he has committed to me. Thus not only will my rank remain undiminished after my death, but a more excellent condition is then provided for me.” Besides, we ought to draw from it a general admonition; for as often as Christ calls us to the hope of salvation by the preaching of the Gospel, he is present with us. For not without reason is the preaching of the Gospel called Christ’s descent to us, where it is said, he came and preached peace to those who were far off, and to those who were near, (Ephesians 2:17.) If we accept the hand which he holds out, he will lead us to the Father; and so long as we must sojourn in the world, not only will he show himself to be near us, but will constantly dwell in us. And if we disregard his presence, he will lose nothing, but, departing from us, will leave us altogether strangers to God and to life. MACLAREN, "ONE SAYING WITH TWO MEANINGS Joh_7:33-34; Joh_13:33 No greater contrast can be conceived than that between these two groups to whom such singularly similar words were addressed. The one consists of the officers, tools of the Pharisees and of the priests, who had been sent to seize Christ, and would fain have carried out their masters’ commission, but were restrained by a strange awe, inexplicable even to themselves. The other consists of the little company of His faithful, though slow, scholars, who made a great many mistakes, and sometimes all but tired out even His patience, and yet were forgiven much because they loved much. Hatred animated one group, loving sorrow the other. Christ speaks to them both in nearly the same words, but with what a different tone, 193
- 194. meaning, and application!To the officers the saying is an exhibition of His triumphant confidence that their malice is impotent and their arms paralysed; that when He wills He will go, not be dragged by them or any man, but go to a safe asylum, where foes can neither find nor follow. The officers do not understand what He means. They think that, bad Jew as they have always believed Him to be, He may very possibly consummate His apostasy by going over to the Gentiles altogether; but, at any rate, they feel that He is to escape their hands. The disciples understand little more as to whither He goes, as they themselves confess a moment after; but they gather from His words His loving pity, and though the upper side of the saying seems to be menacing and full of separation, there is an under side that suggests the possibility of a reunion for them. The words are nearly the same in both cases, but they are not absolutely identical. There are significant omissions and additions in the second form of them. ‘Little children’ is the tenderest of all the names that ever came from Christ’s lips to His disciples, and never was heard on His lips except on this one occasion, for parting words ought to be very loving words. ‘A little while I am with you,’ but He does not say, ‘And then I go to Him that sent Me.’ ‘Ye shall seek Me,’ but He does not say, ‘And shall not find Me.’ ‘As I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say to you,’ that little word ‘now’ makes the announcement a truth for the present only. His disciples shall not seek Him in vain, but when they seek they shall find. And though for a moment they be parted from Him, it is with the prospect and the confidence of reunion. Let us, then, look at the two main thoughts here. First, the two ‘seekings,’ the seeking which is vain, and the seeking which is never vain; and the two ‘cannots,’ the inability of His enemies for evermore to come where He is, and the inability of His friends, for a little season, to come where He is. I. The two seekings. As I have observed, there is a very significant omission in one of the forms of the words. The enemies are told that they will never find Him, but no such dark words are spoken to the friends. So, then, hostile seeking of the Christ is in vain, and loving seeking of Him by His friends, though they understand Him but very poorly, and therefore seek Him that they may know Him better, is always answered and over- answered. Let me deal just for a moment or two with each of these. In their simplest use the words of my first text merely mean this: ‘You cannot touch Me, I am passing into a safe asylum where your hands can never reach Me.’ We may generalise that for a moment, though it does not lie directly in our path, and preach the old blessed truth that no man with hostile intent seeking for Christ in His person, in His Gospel, or in His followers and friends, can ever find Him. All the antagonism that has stormed against Him and His cause and words, and His followers and lovers, has been impotent and vain. The pursuers are like dogs chasing a bird, sniffing along the ground after their prey, which all the while sits out of their reach on a bough, and carols to the sky. As in the days of His flesh, His foes could not touch His person till He chose, and vainly sought Him when it pleased Him to hide from them, so ever since, in regard to His cause, and in regard to all hearts that love Him, no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper. They shall be wrapped, when need be, in a cloud of protecting darkness, and stand safe within its shelter. Take good cheer, all you that are trying to do anything, however little, however secular it may appear to be, for the good and well-being of your fellows! All such service is a prolongation of Christ’s work, and an effluence from His, if there be any good in it at all; and it is immortal and safe, as is His. ‘Ye shall seek Me and shall not 194
- 195. find Me.’ But then,besides that, there is another thought. It is not merely hostile seeking of Him that is hopeless vain. When the dark days came over Israel, under the growing pressure of the Roman yoke, and amidst the agonies of that last siege, and the unutterable sufferings which all but annihilated the nation, do you not think that there were many of these people who said to themselves: ‘Ah! if we had only that Jesus of Nazareth back with us for a day or two; if we had only listened to Him!’ Do you not think that before Israel dissolved in blood there were many of those who had stood hostile or alienated, who desired to see ‘one of the days of the Son of Man,’ and did not see it? They sought Him, not in anger any more; they sought Him, not in penitence, or else they would have found Him; but they sought Him simply in distress, and wishing that they could have back again what they had cared so little for when they had it. And are there no people listening to me now, to whom these words apply?- ‘He that will not, when he may, When he will it shall be-Nay!’ Although it is (blessed be His name) always true that a seeking heart finds Him, and whensoever there is the faintest trace of penitent desire to get hold of Christ’s hand it does grasp ours, it is also true that things neglected once cannot be brought back; that the sowing time allowed to pass can never return; and that they who have turned, as some of you have turned, dear friends, all your lives, a deaf ear to the Christ that asks you to love Him and trust Him, may one day wish that it had been otherwise, and go to look for Him and not find Him. There is another kind of seeking that is vain, an intellectual seeking without the preparation of the heart. There are, no doubt, some people here to-day that would say, ‘We have been seeking the truth about religion all our lives, and we have not got to it yet.’ Well, I do not want to judge either your motives or your methods, but I know this, that there is many a man who goes on the quest for religious certainty, and looks at, if not for Jesus Christ, and is not really capable of discerning Him when he sees Him, because his eye is not single, or because his heart is full of worldliness or indifference, or because he begins with a foregone conclusion, and looks for facts to establish that; or because he will not cast down and put away evil things that rise up between him and his Master. My brother! if you go to look for Jesus Christ with a heart full of the world, if you go to look for Him while you wish to hold on by all the habitudes and earthlinesses of your past, you will never find Him. The sensualist seeks for Him, the covetous man seeks for Him, the passionate, ill-tempered man seeks for Him; the woman plunged in frivolities, or steeped to the eyebrows in domestic cares,-these may in some feeble fashion go to look for Him and they will not find Him, because they have sought for Him with hearts overcharged with other things and filled with the affairs of this life, its trifles and its sins. I turn for a moment to the seeking that is not vain. ‘Ye shall seek Me’ is not on Christ’s lips to any heart that loves Him, however imperfectly, a sentence of separation or an appointment of a sorrowful lot, but it is a blessed law, the law of the Christian life. That life is all one great seeking after Christ. Love seeks the absent when removed from our sight. If we care anything about Him at all, our hearts will turn to Him as naturally as, when the winter begins to pinch, the migrating birds seek the sunny south, impelled by an instinct that they do not themselves understand. 195
- 196. The same lawwhich sends loving thoughts out across the globe to seek for husband, child, or friend when absent, sets the really Christian heart seeking for the Christ, whom, having not seen, it loves, as surely as the ivy tendril feels out for a support. As surely as the roots of a mountain-ash growing on the top of a boulder feel down the side of the rock till they reach the soil; as surely as the stork follows the warmth to the sunny Mediterranean, so surely, if your heart loves Christ, will the very heart and motive of your action be the search for Him. And if you do not seek Him, brother, as surely as He is parted from our sense you will lose Him, and He will be parted from you wholly, for there is no way by which a person who is not before our eyes may be kept near us except only by diligent effort on our part to keep thought and love and will all in contact with Him; thought meditating, love going out towards Him, will submitting. Unless there be this effort, you will lose your Master as surely as a little child in a crowd will lose his nurse and his guide, if his hand slips from out the protecting hand. The dark shadow of the earth on which you stand will slowly steal over His silvery brightness, as when the moon is eclipsed, and you will not know how you have lost Him, but only be sadly aware that your heaven is darkened. ‘Ye shall seek Me,’ is the condition of all happy communion between Christ and us. And that seeking, dear brother, in the threefold form in which I have spoken of it- effort to keep Him in our thoughts, in our love, and over our will-is neither a seeking which starts from a sense that we do not possess Him, nor one which ends in disappointment. But we seek for Him because we already have Him in a measure, and we seek Him that we may possess Him more abundantly, and anything is possible rather than that such a search shall be vain. Men may go to created wells, and find no water, and return ashamed, and with their vessels empty, but every one who seeks for that Fountain of salvation shall draw from it with joy. It is as impossible that a heart which desires Jesus Christ shall not have Him, as it is that lungs dilated shall not fill with air, or as it is that an empty vessel put out in a rainfall shall not be replenished. He does not hide Himself, but He desires to be found. May I say that as a mother will sometimes pretend to her child to hide, that the child’s delight may be the greater in searching and in finding, so Christ has gone away from our sight in order, for one reason, that He may stimulate our desires to feel after Him! If we seek Him hid in God, we shall find Him for the joy of our hearts. A great thinker once said that he would rather have the search after truth than the possession of truth. It was a rash word, but it pointed to the fact that there is a search which is only one shade less blessed than the possession. And if that be so in regard to any pure and high truth, it is still more so about Christ Himself. To seek for Him is joy; to find Him is joy. What can be a happier life than the life of constant pursuit after an infinitely precious object, which is ever being sought and ever being found; sought with a profound consciousness of its preciousness, found with a widening appreciation and capacity for its enjoyment? ‘Ye shall seek Me’ is a word not of evil but of good cheer; for buried in the depth of the commandment to search is the promise that we shall find. II, Secondly, let us look briefly at these two ‘cannots.’ ‘Whither I go, ye cannot come,’ says He to His enemies, with no limitation, with no condition. The ‘cannot’ is absolute and permanent, so long as they retain their enmity. To His friends, on the other hand, He says, ‘So now I say to you,’ the law for to-day, the law for this side the flood, but not the law for the beyond, as He explains more fully in the subsequent words: ‘Thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards.’ So, then, Christ is somewhere. When He passed from life it was not into a state only, 196
- 197. but into aplace; and He took with Him a material body, howsoever changed. He is somewhere, and there friend and enemy alike cannot enter, so long as they are compassed with ‘the earthly house of this tabernacle.’ But the incapacity is deeper than that. No sinful man can pass thither. Where has He gone? The preceding words give us the answer. ‘God shall glorify Him in Himself.’ The prospect of that assumption into the inmost glory of the divine nature directly led our Lord to think of the change it would bring about in the relation of His humble friends to Him. While for Himself He triumphs in the prospect, He cannot but turn a thought to their lonesomeness, and hence come the words of our text. He has passed into the bosom and blaze of divinity. Can I walk there, can I pass into that tremendous fiery furnace? ‘Who shall dwell with the everlasting burnings?’ ‘Ye cannot follow Me now.’ No man can go thither except Christ goes thither. There are deep mysteries lying in that word of our Lords,-’I go to prepare a place for you.’ We know not what manner of activity on His part that definitely means. It seems as if somehow or other the presence in Heaven of our Brother in His glorified humanity was necessary in order that the golden pavement should be trodden by our feet, and that our poor, feeble manhood should live and not be shrivelled up in the blaze of that central brightness. We know not how He prepares the place, but heaven, whatever it be, is no place for a man unless the Man, Christ Jesus, be there. He is the Revealer of God, not only for earth, but for heaven; not only for time, but for eternity. ‘No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,’ is true everywhere and always, there as here. So I suppose that, but for His presence, heaven itself would be dark, and its King invisible, and if a man could enter there he would either be blasted with unbearable flashes of brightness or grope at its noonday as the blind, because his eye was not adapted to such beams. Be that as it may, ‘the Forerunner is for us entered.’ He has gone before, because He knows the great City, ‘His own calm home, His habitation from eternity.’ He has gone before to make ready a lodging for us, in whose land He has dwelt so long, and He will meet us, who would else be bewildered like some dweller in a desert if brought to the capital, when we reach the gates, and guide our unaccustomed steps to the mansion prepared for us. But the power to enter there, even when He is there, depends on our union with Christ by faith. When we are joined to Him, the absolute ‘cannot,’ based upon flesh, and still more upon sin, which is a radical and permanent impossibility, is changed into a relative and temporary incapacity. If we have faith in Christ, and are thereby drawing a kindred life from Him, our nature will be in process of being changed into that which is capable of bearing the brilliance of the felicities of heaven. But just as these friends of Christ, though they loved Him very truly, and understood Him a little, were a long way from being ready to follow Him, and needed the schooling of the Cross, and Olivet, and Pentecost, as well as the discipline of life and toil, before they were fully ripe for the harvest, so we, for the most part, have to pass through analogous training before we are prepared for the place which Christ has prepared for us. Certainly, so soon as a heart has trusted Christ, it is capable of entering where He is, and the real reason why the disciples could not come where He went was that they did not yet clearly know Him as the divine Sacrifice for theirs and the world’s sins, and, however much they believed in Him as Messiah, had not yet, nor could have, the knowledge on which they could found their trust in Him as their Saviour. But, while that is true, it is also true that each advance in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour will bring with it capacity to advance further into the heart of the far-off land, and to see more of the King in His beauty. So, as long as His friends were wrapped in such dark clouds of misconception and error, as long as their Christian characters were so imperfect and incomplete as they were at the time of my 197
- 198. text being spoken,they could not go thither and follow Him. But it was a diminishing impossibility, and day by day they approximated more and more to His likeness, because they understood Him more, and trusted Him more, and loved Him more, and grew towards Him, and, therefore, day by day became more and more able to enter into that Kingdom. Are you growing in power so to do? Is the only thing which unfits you for heaven the fact that you have a mortal body? In other respects are you fit to go into that heaven, and walk in its brightness and not be consumed? The answer to the question is found in another one-Are you joined to Jesus Christ by simple faith? The incapacity is absolute and eternal if the enmity is eternal. State and place are determined yonder by character, and character is determined by faith. Take a bottle of some solution in which heterogeneous substances have all been melted up together, and let it stand on a shelf and gradually settle down, and its contents will settle in regular layers, the heaviest at the bottom and the lightest at the top, and stratify themselves according to gravity. And that is how the other world is arranged-stratified. When all the confusions of this present are at an end, and all the moisture is driven off, men and women will be left in layers, like drawing to like. As Peter said about Judas with equal wisdom and reticence, ‘He went to his own place.’ That is where we shall all go, to the place we are fit for. God does not slam the door of heaven in anybody’s face; it stands wide open. But there is a mystic barrier, unseen, but most real, more repellent than cherub and flaming sword, which makes it impossible for any foot to cross that threshold except the foot of the man whose heart and nature have been made Christlike, and fitted for heaven by simple faith in Him. Love Him and trust Him, and then your life on earth will be a blessed seeking and a blessed finding of Him whom to seek is joyous effort, whom to find is an Elysium of rest. You will walk here not parted from Him, but with your thoughts and your love, which are your truest self, going up where He is, until you drop ‘the muddy vesture of decay’ which unfits you whilst you wear it for the presence-chamber of the King, and so you will enter in and be ‘for ever with the Lord.’ COKE, “John 7:33-34. Yet a little while am I with you, &c.— While the rulers were taking counsel against him, Jesus was preaching to the people concerning the improvement which it became them to make of his ministry among them: "Yet a little while, said our Lord, and my ministry among you is at an end; you ought therefore, while it lasts, to make the best possible improvement of it; particularly, you should listen to my sermons with great attention, that you may have your minds stored with the truths of God before I go away: for after I am gone, you shall earnestly desire my presence with you, but shall not obtain it: You shall seek me, and shall not find me." This seeking for the Messiah was general through the nation during thecalamities in Judea occasioned by Titus and his armies, and has continued among the Jews ever since, in all the countries where they have been dispersed—but to no purpose; for their Messiah having already appeared, it is in vain to expect another. By thus predicting his own death, our Lord insinuated, that he both knew the present disposition of the council, and foresaw that they would soon put an end to his ministry by taking away his life. Indeed, some suppose that our Lord spoke these words to the officers themselves, who were sent to take him; as much as to say, "I know the design on which some of you are come; but my Father will not permit you immediately to execute it: for yet a little while longer I am to continue, &c."—Where I am, thither ye cannot come, means, "You cannot come to heaven, where I am soon to be." The reason mentioned in the parallel passage, Ch. John 8:21 shews this to be our 198
- 199. Lord's meaning: "Igo my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come, because ye shall die in your sins:" or as it is expressed in this discourse, "because ye shall not find me, you cannot come to heaven." 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” BARNES, "Ye shall seek me - This probably means simply, Ye shall seek the Messiah. Such will be your troubles, such the calamities that will come on the nation, that you will earnestly desire the coming of the Messiah. You will seek for a Deliverer, and will look for feign that he may bring deliverance. This does not mean that they would seek for Jesus and not be able to find him, but that they would desire the aid and comfort of the Messiah, and would be disappointed. Jesus speaks of himself as the Messiah, and his own name as synonymous with the Messiah. See the notes at Mat_23:39. Shall not find me - Shall not find the Messiah. He will not come, according to your expectations, to aid you. See the notes at Matt. 24. Where I am - This whole clause is to be understood as future, though the words AM and cannot are both in the present tense. The meaning is, Where I shall be you will not be able to come. That is, he, the Messiah, would be in heaven; and though they would earnestly desire his presence and aid to save the city and nation from the Romans, yet they would not be able to obtain it - represented here by their not being able to come to him. This does not refer to their individual salvation, but to the deliverance of their nation. It is not true of individual sinners that they seek Christ in a proper manner and are not able to find him; but it was true of the Jewish nation that they looked for the Messiah, and sought his coming to deliver them, but he did not do it. CLARKE, "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me - When the Roman armies come against you, you will vainly seek for a deliverer. But ye shall be cut off in your sins, because ye did not believe in me; and where I am - in the kingdom of glory, ye cannot come; for nothing that is unholy shall enter into the new Jerusalem. In this, and the thirty-sixth verse, εᅶµᆳ, I am, is read by several εᅽµι, I came, as in the twenty-ninth verse; and in these two last places the Ethiopic, Arabic, three copies of the Itala, Nonnus, and Theophylact, agree. See the note on Joh_7:29. GILL, "Ye shall seek me,.... That is, the Messiah, who he was; meaning, that after his departure they should be in great distress, and be very much on the inquiry after, and solicitous for the coming of the Messiah, to be a Redeemer and Deliverer of them out of their troubles: and shall not find me; no Messiah will appear, no Saviour will be sent, no 199
- 200. Redeemer will cometo relieve them; they shall inquire, and look for one in vain, as they did. And where I am, thither ye cannot come; intimating hereby, that not only their temporal estate and condition would be very distressed and miserable, but also their eternal estate; since they should not be able to come where he would be in his human nature, and where he now was as a divine person, namely, in heaven. CALVIN, "34.You shall seek me. They sought Christ, to put him to death. Here Christ alludes to the ambiguous signification of the word seek, for soon they shall seek him in another manner; as if he had said, “My presence, which is now irksome and intolerable to you, will last for a short time; but ere long you shall seek me in vain, for, far removed from you, not only by my body, but also by my power, I shall behold from heaven your destruction.” But here a question may be put, of what nature was this seeking of Christ? For it is plain enough that Christ speaks of the reprobate, whose obstinacy in rejecting Christ had reached the utmost point. Some refer it to doctrine, because the Jews, by foolishly pursuing the righteousness of works, did not obtain what they desired, (Romans 9:31.) Many understand it as referring to the person of the Messiah, because the Jews, reduced to extremities, in vain implored a Redeemer. But for my own part, I explain it as merely denoting the groans of distress uttered by the wicked, when, compelled by necessity, they look in some manner towards God. And shall not find me. When they seek him, they do not seek him; for unbelief and obstinacy — by shutting up their hearts, as it were — hinders them from approaching to God. They would desire, indeed, that God should aid them, and should be their Redeemer, but, by impenitence and hardness of heart, they obstruct their path. We have a very striking example (192) in Esau, who, on account of having lost his birthright, not only is oppressed with grief, but groans and gnashes his teeth, and breaks out into furious indignation, (Genesis 27:38; Hebrews 12:17.) But yet so far is he from the right way of seeking the blessing, that, at the very time when he is seeking it, (193) he renders himself more unworthy of it. In this manner God usually punishes the contempt of his grace in the reprobate, so that, either afflicted by severe punishments, or oppressed by a conviction of their misery, or reduced to other extremities, they complain, and cry, and howl, but without reaping any advantage; for, being always like themselves, they nourish within their hearts the same cruelty which they formerly displayed, and do not go to God, but rather wish that he were changed, since they cannot destroy him. Hence let us learn that we ought to receive Christ without delay, while he is still present with us, that the opportunity of enjoying him may not pass away from us; for if the door be once shut, it will be vain for us to try to open it. Seek the Lord, says Isaiah, while he may be found; call upon him, while he is near, (Isaiah 55:6.) We ought therefore to go to God early, while the time of his good pleasure lasts, as the prophet speaks, (Isaiah 49:8;) for we know not how long God will bear with our negligence. In these words, where I am, you cannot come, he employs 200
- 201. the present tenseinstead of the future, where I shall be, you shall not be able to come COFFMAN, “According to Hovey, this language means: That their (Israel's) longing and looking for the Messiah will continue after the rejection and crucifixion. Vainly will they expect the great Prince foretold in their Scriptures; and bitter will be their disappointment, from age to age, because he does not appear. But clinging to their false hope of what the Messiah should be, and hardening themselves against the evidence that he has already appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, they will never find the deliverer whom they seek.[9] Where I am ye cannot come ... means that men who reject God's Son can never come into God's presence while rejecting the Saviour. Jesus is the only way to the Father; and men shall come unto God through Christ, or they shall not come to God at all. I am ... here is prophetic tense, used in the sense of "shall be." ENDNOTE: [9] Alvah Hovey, Commentary on John (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1885), p. 177. 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? BARNES, "The dispersed among the Gentiles - To the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, or living in distant parts of the earth. It is well known that at that time there were Jews dwelling in almost every land. There were multitudes in Egypt, in Asia Minor, in Greece, in Rome, etc., and in all these places they had synagogues. The question which they asked was whether he would leave an ungrateful country, and go into those distant nations and teach them. Gentiles - In the original, Greeks. All those who were not Jews were called Greeks, because they were chiefly acquainted with those pagans only who spake the Greek language. It is remarkable that Jesus returned no answer to these inquiries. He rather chose to turn off their minds from a speculation about the place to which he was going, to the great affairs of their own personal salvation. 201
- 202. CLARKE, "The dispersedamong the Gentiles - Or Greeks. By the dispersed, are meant here the Jews who were scattered through various parts of that empire which Alexander the Great had founded, in Greece, Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor, where the Greek language was used, and where the Jewish Scriptures in the Greek version of the Septuagint were read. Others suppose that the Gentiles themselves are meant - others, that the ten tribes which had been long lost are here intended. GILL, "Then said the Jews among themselves,.... That is, the unbelieving, scoffing Jews; it may be the officers, at least some of them, that were sent to take him: whither will he go that we shall not find him? what distant, or obscure part of the world will he betake himself to, and there hide himself, that so he cannot be found? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles? or Greeks; and so may design the Jews, who were scattered abroad in the times of the Grecian monarchy, under the successors of Alexander, and particularly Antiochus, in distinction from the Babylonish dispersion; or the strangers scattered through Pontus Galatia, &c. to whom Peter writes, 1Pe_1:1. The Arabic version renders it, "the sect of the Greeks" by which the Hellenistic Jews seem to be meant: or the Jews in general, wherever, and by whomsoever scattered, who might be thought to be more ignorant than the Jews in Judea, and therefore more easily to be imposed upon: hence, in a flouting manner, they inquire, whether he will go to those when he is rejected by them. The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "will he go into the countries, or country of the Gentiles"; into Heathen countries, not to the Jews there, but to the Gentiles themselves: and teach the Gentiles? suggesting, that he was more fit to be a teacher of them, than of the Jews, and might meet with more encouragement and success among them, who would not be able to detect him. JAMIESON, " Whither will he go, etc. — They cannot comprehend Him, but seem awed by the solemn grandeur of His warning. He takes no notice, however, of their questions. CALVIN, "35.Whither will he go? This was added by the Evangelist, for the express purpose of showing how great was the stupidity of the people. Thus not only are wicked men deaf to hear God’s instruction, but even dreadful threatenings are allowed by them to pass by in mockery, as if they were listening to a fable. Christ spoke expressly of the Father, but they remain fixed on the earth, and think of nothing else than a departure to distant countries. Will he go to the dispersion of the Greeks? It is well known that the Jews gave the name of Greeks to all nations beyond the sea; but they do not mean that Christ will go to the uncircumcised nations, but to the Jews, who were dispersed through the various countries of the world. For the word dispersion would not apply to those who are natives of the place, and who inhabit their native soil, but applies well to the Jews, who were fugitives and exiles. Thus Peter inscribes his First Epistle παρεπιδήμοις διασπορᾶς, to the strangers of the dispersion, that is, 202
- 203. to the strangerswho are scattered (194) through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1;) and James salutes the twelve tribes ἐν τὣ διασπορᾷ, in the dispersion, that is, scattered abroad, (James 1:1.) The meaning of the words therefore is, “Will he cross the sea, to go to Jews who dwell in a world unknown to us?” And it is possible that they intended to teaze Christ by this mockery. “If this be the Messiah, will he fix the seat of his reign in Greece, since God has assigned to him the land of Canaan as his own habitation?” But however that may be, we see that the severe threatening which Christ had uttered did not at all affect them. LIGHTFOOT, "35. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? [To the dispersed among the Gentiles, &c.] I confess Gentiles, in the apostle's writings, does very frequently denote the Gentiles: to which that of the Rabbins agrees well enough, the wisdom of the Greeks, i.e. the wisdom of the Gentiles. But here I would take Gentiles in its proper signification for the Greeks. It is doubtful, indeed, whether by the dispersed among the Gentiles ought to be understood the dispersed Greeks, or the Jews dispersed amongst the Greeks. There was no nation under heaven so dispersed and diffused throughout the world as both Greeks and Jews were. In the very heart of all the barbarous nations the Greeks had their cities, and their language spoken amongst the Indians and Persians, &c. And into what countries the Jews were scattered, the writings, both sacred and profane, do frequently instance. So that if the words are to be taken strictly of the Greeks, they bear this sense with them; "Is he going here and there amongst the Greeks, so widely and remotely dispersed in the world?" That distinction between the Hebrews and the Hellenists explains the thing. The Jews of the first dispersion, viz. into Babylon, Assyria, and the countries adjacent, are called Hebrews, because they used the Hebrew, or Transeuphratensian language: and how they came to be dispersed into those countries we all know well enough, viz. that they were led away captive by the Babylonians and Persians. But those that were scattered amongst the Greeks used the Greek tongue, and were called Hellenists: and it is not easy to tell upon what account, or by what accident, they came to be dispersed amongst the Greeks, or other nations about. Those that lived in Palestine, they were Hebrews indeed as to their language, but they were not of the dispersion, either to one place or another, because they dwelt in their own proper country. The Babylonish dispersion was esteemed by the Jews the more noble, the more famous, and the more holy of any other. "The land of Babylon is in the same degree of purity with the land of Israel." "The Jewish offspring in Babylon is more valuable than that among the Greeks, even purer than that in Judea itself." Whence for a Palestine Jew to go to the Babylonish dispersion, was to go to a people and country equal, if not superior, to his own: but to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, was to go into unclean regions, where the very dust of the 203
- 204. land defiled them:it was to go to an inferior race of Jews, and more impure in their blood; it was to go into nations most heathenized. ELLICOTT, “(35) Whither will he go that we shall not find him?—He had said in John 7:33, “I go unto Him that sent Me,” and in John 7:28. He had declared that they knew not Him that sent Him. There is, then, no contradiction between these verses, and their question, strange as it seems, is but another instance of their total want of power to read any meaning which does not lie upon the surface. He is going away, and they will not be able to find Him, and they can only think of distant lands where other Jews had gone, as of Babylon, or of Egypt, or of Greece. Will He join some distant colony of Jews where they cannot follow Him? They have no thought of His death and return to His Father’s home. Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?— Better, Will He go unto the dispersion among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? The word for “dispersion” ( διασπορά, diaspora) occurs again, in the New Testament, only in the opening verses of the Epistle of St. James and of the First Epistle of St. Peter, and is in both these passages represented by the English word “scattered.” The only other instance of its occurrence in the Bible, is in the Greek version (LXX.) of Psalms 146:2. (In Authorised version, Psalms 147:2, “He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.”) It is also found in 2 Maccabees 1:27, “Gather those together that are scattered from us.” (Comp. Jos. Wars, vii. 3, § 3; Ant. xii. 1-3; 15:3, § 1.) The abstract word is used like “the circumcision,” e.g., as a comprehensive title for the individuals included in it. These were the Jews who did not dwell within the limits of the Holy Land, but spreading from the three chief centres, Babylonia, Egypt, and Syria, were found in every part of the civilised world. The Babylonian Diaspora owed its origin to the vast number of exiles who preferred to remain in the positions they had acquired for themselves in their new homes, and did not return to Palestine after the Captivity. They were by far the greater part of the nation, and were scattered through the whole extent of the Persian empire. Of the origin of the Egyptian Diaspora, we find traces in the Old Testament, as in Jeremiah 41:17; Jeremiah 42:18. Their numbers were greatly increased under Alexander the Great and his successors, so that they extended over the whole country (Jos. Ant. xvi. 7, §2). Much less numerous than their brethren of Babylonia, and regarded as less pure in descent, they have, through their contact with Western thought and the Greek language, left a deeper and wider influence on after ages. To them we owe the LXX. translation of the Old Testament Scriptures, and the Alexandrian school of Jewish philosophers, two of the most important influences which first prepared the way for, and afterwards moulded the forms of, Christianity. The Syrian Diaspora is traced by Josephus (Ant. vii. 3, § 1) to the conquests of Seleucus Nicator (B.C. 300). Under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, they spread over a wider area, including the whole of Asia Minor, and thence to the islands and mainland of Greece. It was less numerous than either that of Babylonia or that of Egypt, but the synagogues of this Diaspora formed the connecting links between the older and the newer revelation, and were the first buildings in which Jesus was preached as the Messiah. But though thus scattered abroad, the Jews of the Diaspora regarded Jerusalem 204
- 205. as the commonreligious centre, and maintained a close communion with the spiritual authorities who dwelt there. They sent liberal offerings to the Temple, and were represented by numerous synagogues in the city, and flocked in large numbers to the chief festivals. (Comp. Notes on Acts 2:9-11.) The Diaspora, then, was a network of Judaism, spreading to every place of intellectual or commercial importance, and linking it to Jerusalem, and a means by which the teaching of the Old Testament was made familiarly known, even in the cities of the Gentiles. “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day” (Acts 15:21). Such was the dispersion among the Gentiles of which these rulers of the Jews speak. They ask the question in evident scorn. “Will this Rabbi, leaving Jerusalem, the centre of light and learning, go to those who dwell among the heathen, and become a teacher of the very heathen themselves?” We feel that there is some fact which gives point to their question, and is not apparent in the narrative. We shall find this, it may be, if we remember that He Himself had before this crossed the limits of the Holy Land, and had given words to teach and power to save, in the case of the Greek woman who was a Syro-Phœnician by nation. (Comp. Notes on Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30.) More fully still do the words find their interpretation in the after history. They are, like the words of Caiaphas (John 11:49-51), an unconscious prophecy, and may be taken as summing up in one sentence the method of procedure in the earliest mission- work of the church. The great high-roads of the Diaspora were those which the Apostles followed. Every apostolic church of the Gentiles may be said to have grown out of a synagogue of the Jews. There is a striking instance of the irony of history, in the fact that the very words of these Jews of Palestine are recorded in the Greek language, by a Jew of Palestine, presiding over a Christian church, in a Gentile city. For “Gentiles,” the margin reads “Greeks,” and this is the more exact translation, but the almost constant New Testament use of the word is in distinction from Jews, and our translators felt rightly that this is better conveyed to the reader by the word “Gentiles.” (Comp. Notes on Mark 7:26 and Acts 11:20.) We must be careful to avoid the not unfrequent mistake of rendering the word as though it were “Hellenist,” which means a Græcised Jew. This is to miss the point of their scorn, which is in the idea of His teaching those outside the pale of Judaism. COFFMAN, “This man ... means, "This strange pretender ... The pronoun here in the Greek carries an accent of surprise and contempt."[10] The Dispersion ... refers to the Jews who were scattered abroad among the Gentiles; and the suggestion that perhaps Jesus was planning to go to them has the effect of saying: "Why, a crazy Messiah like he is, might even go to the Dispersion and try to build a following among them." It was an evil thing which they meant by this. What is this word which he said ... There is an element of puzzlement on the part of his foes in this. They rejected what he said, as a matter of course, but their 205
- 206. minds kept returningto it in wonderment of just what could have been meant by Jesus in the clauses they murmured over and over. Again, from Westcott: "In spite of all, Christ's words cannot be shaken off. They are not to be explained away. A vague sense remains that there is in them some unfathomable meaning."[11] [10] Brooks Foss Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 122. [11] B. F. Westcott, op. cit., p. 122. COKE, “John 7:35-36. Will he go unto the dispersed, &c.— Ελληνων, of the Greeks, by whom we are to understand here idolatrous Gentiles, and not Hellenists, or Jews who used the Greek language; for these were the dispersed among them. There appears therefore a sarcasm in these words beyond what has been commonly observed. They insinuate, that if he were to go into foreign countries, to address himself to the Jews there, who might be supposed not so well instructed as those who lived in Judea and at Jerusalem, he would not be able to make any proselytes even among these; but would be constrained to apply himself to the ignorant and stupid Gentiles, to seek disciples among them; which to be sure appeared to these haughty scorners one of themost infamous circumstances that could be imagined, and most incompatible with the character of the true Messiah. 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” GILL, "What manner of saying is this that he said,.... It is not easy to be understood; and if that is not meant, which is suggested, what should he mean by saying, ye shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot come? repeating the words of Christ just now expressed by him. HENRY, "Secondly, These words have a black and dark side towards those wicked Jews that hated and persecuted Christ. They now longed to be rid of him, Away with him from the earth; but let them know, 1. That according to their choice so shall their doom be. They were industrious to drive him from them, and their sin 206
- 207. shall be theirpunishment; he will not trouble them long, yet a little while and he will depart from them. It is just with God to forsake those that think his presence a burden. They that are weary of Christ need no more to make them miserable than to have their wish. 2. That they would certainly repent their choice when it was too late. (1.) They should in vain seek the presence of the Messiah: “You shall seek me, and shall not find me. You shall expect the Christ to come, but your eyes shall fail with looking for him, and you shall never find him.” Those who rejected the true Messiah when he did come were justly abandoned to a miserable and endless expectation of one that should never come. Or, it may refer to the final rejection of sinners from the favours and grace of Christ at the great day: those who now seek Christ shall find him, but the day is coming when those who now refuse him shall seek him, and shall not find him. See Pro_1:28. They will in vain cry, Lord, Lord, open to us. Or, perhaps, these words might be fulfilled in the despair of some of the Jews, who possibly might be convinced and not converted, who would wish in vain to see Christ, and to hear him preach again; but the day of grace is over (Luk_17:22); yet this is not all. (2.) They should in vain expect a place in heaven: Where I am, and where all believers shall be with me, thither ye cannot come. Not only because they are excluded by the just and irreversible sentence of the judge, and the sword of the angel at every gate of the new Jerusalem, to keep the way of the tree of life against those who have no right to enter, but because they are disabled by their own iniquity and infidelity: You cannot come, because you will not. Those who hate to be where Christ is, in his word and ordinances on earth, are very unfit to be where he is in his glory in heaven; for indeed heaven would be no heaven to them, such are the antipathies of an unsanctified soul to the felicities of that state. CONSTABLE, “Again Jesus' hearers thought that He was speaking of physical matters and earthly places. The Dispersion was the term that described the Jews who had scattered from Palestine and were living elsewhere in the world. They thought Jesus was referring to ministering to Jews or perhaps Gentile proselytes who were living outside Palestine. In the New Testament the word "Greek" is synonymous with Gentiles (cf. Colossians 3:11). This seemed too fantastic to be a messianic activity. "Here, as more than once in this Gospel, the Jews are unconsciously prophesying. The departure of Jesus in death would indeed be beneficial, but not because it would remove from the earth a false Messiah, as they supposed, but because, as a result of the proclamation of the gospel which would follow His death and resurrection, Gentiles would be brought into the people of God." [Note: Tasker, p. 106.] These Jews did not understand where Jesus was going any more than they understood where He had come from (John 7:27). They were so exclusive in their thinking that they thought it very improbable that Jesus would leave Palestine. Ironically the Christian apostles did go to those very areas and people to preach the Christ whom the Jews rejected. 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, 207
- 208. Jesus stood andsaid in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. BARNES, "In the last day - The eighth day of the festival. That great day - The day of the holy convocation or solemn assembly, Lev_ 23:36. This seems to have been called the great day: 1. Because of the solemn assembly, and because it was the closing scene. 2. Because, according to their traditions, on the previous days they offered sacrifices for the pagan nations as well as for themselves, but on this day for the Jews only (Lightfoot). 3. Because on this day they abstained from all servile labor Lev_23:39, and regarded it as a holy day. 4. On this day they finished the reading of the law, which they commenced at the beginning of the feast. 5. Because on this day probably occurred the ceremony of drawing water from the pool of Siloam. On the last day of the feast it was customary to perform a solemn ceremony in this manner: The priest filled a golden vial with water from the fount of Siloam (see the notes at Joh_9:7), which was borne with great solemnity, attended with the clangor of trumpets, through the gate of the temple, and being mixed with wine, was poured on the sacrifice on the altar. What was the origin of this custom is unknown. Some suppose, and not improbably, that it arose from an improper understanding of the passage in Isa_12:3; “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” It is certain that no such ceremony is commanded by Moses. It is supposed to be probable that Jesus stood and cried while they were performing this ceremony, that he might: 1. Illustrate the nature of his doctrine by this; and, 2. Call off their attention from a rite that was uncommanded, and that could not confer eternal life. Jesus stood - In the temple, in the midst of thousands of the people. If any man thirst - Spiritually. If any man feels his need of salvation. See Joh_ 4:13-14; Mat_5:6; Rev_22:17. The invitation is full and free to all. Let him come unto me ... - Instead of depending on this ceremony of drawing water let him come to me, the Messiah, and he shall find an ever-abundant supply for all the wants of his soul. CLARKE, "In the last day, that great day of the feast - This was the eighth day, and was called the great day, because of certain traditional observances, and not on account of any excellence which it derived from the original institution. On the seven days they professed to offer sacrifices for the seventy nations of the earth, but on the eighth day they offered sacrifices for Israel; therefore the eighth day was more highly esteemed than any of the others. It is probably to this that the evangelist refers when he calls the last day the great day of the feast. See the account of the feast of tabernacles, in the note on Joh_7:2 (note). It was probably when they went to draw water from the pool Siloam, and while they were pouring it out at the foot of the altar, that our Lord spoke these words; for, as that ceremony pointed out the 208
- 209. gracious influences ofthe Holy Spirit, our Lord, who was the fountain whence it was to proceed, called the people to himself, that, by believing on him, they might be made partakers of that inestimable benefit. GILL, "In the last day, that great day of the feast,.... That is, of tabernacles, as appears from Joh_7:2, which was usually called ,חג "the feast", in distinction from the passover and Pentecost (q); and the eighth day of it was called האחרון ,הרגל "the last day of the feast" (r), as here: and it was a "great day", being, as is said in Lev_ 23:36, an holy convocation, a solemn assembly, in which no servile work was done, and in which an offering was made by fire unto the Lord. According to the traditions of the Jews, fewer sacrifices were offered on this day than on the rest; for on the first day they offered thirteen bullocks, and lessened one every day; so that on the seventh, day, there was but seven offered, and on the eighth day but one, when the priests returned to their lots, as at other feasts (s); but notwithstanding the Jews make out this to be the greater day for them, since the seventy bullocks offered on the other seven days, were for the seventy nations of the world; but the one bullock, on the eighth day, was peculiarly for the people of Israel (t): and besides, they observe, that there were several things peculiar on this day, as different from the rest; as the casting of lots, the benediction by itself, a feast by itself, an offering by itself, a song by itself, and a blessing by itself (u): and on this day they had also the ceremony of drawing and pouring water, attended with the usual rejoicings as on other days; the account of which is this (w): "the pouring out of water was after this manner; a golden pot, which held three logs, was tilled out of Siloah, and when they came to the water gate, they blew (their trumpets) and shouted, and blew; (then a priest) went up by the ascent of the altar, and turned to the left hand, (where) were two silver basins--that on the west side was filled with water, and that on the east with wine; he poured the basin of water into that of wine, and that of wine into that of water.'' At which time there were great rejoicing, piping, and dancing, by the most religious and sober people among the Jews; insomuch that it is said (x), that "he that never saw the rejoicing of the place of drawing of water, never saw any rejoicing in his life.'' And this ceremony, they say (y), is a tradition of Moses from Mount Sinai, and refers to some secret and mysterious things; yea, they plainly say, that it has respect to the pouring forth of the Holy Ghost (z). "Says R. Joshua ben Levi, why is its name called the place of drawing water? because, from thence הקודש רוח ,שואבים "they draw the Holy Ghost", as it is said, "and ye shall draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation", Isa_12:3.'' Moreover, it was on this day they prayed for the rains for the year ensuing: it is asked (a), "from what time do they make mention of the powers of the rains (which descend by the power of God)? R. Eliezer says, from the first good day of the feast (of tabernacles); R. Joshua says, from the last good day of the feast.--They do not pray 209
- 210. for the rains,but near the rains;'' that is, the time of rains; and which, one of their commentators says (b), is the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles; for from the feast of tabernacles, thenceforward is the time of rains. The Jews have a notion, that at this feast the rains of the ensuing year were fixed: hence they say (c), that "at the feast of tabernacles judgment is made concerning the waters;'' or a decree or determination is made concerning them by God. Upon which the Gemara (d) has these words, "wherefore does the law say pour out water on the feast of tabernacles? Says the holy blessed God, pour out water before me, that the rains of the year may be blessed unto you.'' Now when all these things are considered, it will easily be seen with what pertinency our Lord expresses himself on this day, with respect to the effusion of the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, as follows: Jesus stood and cried; he now stood up, whereas at other times he used to sit, and spoke with a loud voice, both to show his fervour and earnestness, and that all might hear: saying, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. This is to be understood not of a natural thirst, though the allusion is to it, which is very painful and distressing; as the instances of the Israelites in the wilderness, Samson after he had slain the Philistines, and our Lord upon the cross, show; much less a sinful thirst, a thirst after the riches, honours, and pleasures of this life; but a spiritual thirst, or a thirst after spiritual things, after salvation by Christ, and a view of interest in it, free and full pardon of sin through him, justification by his righteousness, a greater degree of knowledge of him, more communion with him, and conformity to him, and after the sincere milk of the word, and the breasts of Gospel ordinances: and such that thirst after these things, and eagerly desire them, and are in pain and uneasiness without them, as a man is, who has a violent thirst upon him, are such as are regenerated and quickened by the Spirit of God, and are made sensible of themselves, and of their state and condition by nature. Now these Christ invites to come unto him, not to Moses and his law, moral or ceremonial, and to obedience to them, and works of righteousness done by them, to any creature, or creature acts; for these are cisterns without water, where no true peace, joy, righteousness, and salvation are to be had; but to himself, who is the fountain of gardens, the well of living waters, and who is as rivers of water in a dry land, to thirsty souls: and when come to him, which is by believing in him, they are encouraged to drink; that is, to take of the water of life freely, or to take of his grace freely; salvation by him is of free grace, and the pardon of sin is according to the riches of grace, and justification is freely by his grace, and so all other blessings; and of this they may drink abundantly, or they may partake of it largely: there is a fulness of grace in Christ, and there is an abundance of it communicated to his people; it is exceeding abundant; it flows, and overflows, and may be drank of to satisfaction, till their souls are as a watered garden, and they are satisfied with the goodness of the Lord. HENRY, "In these verses we have, 210
- 211. I. Christ's discourse,with the explication of it, Joh_7:37-39. It is probable that these are only short hints of what he enlarged upon, but they have in them the substance of the whole gospel; here is a gospel invitation to come to Christ, and a gospel promise of comfort and happiness in him. Now observe, 1. When he gave this invitation: On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, that great day. The eighth day, which concluded that solemnity, was to be a holy convocation, Lev_23:36. Now on this day Christ published this gospel-call, because (1.) Much people were gathered together, and, if the invitation were given to many, it might be hoped that some would accept of it, Pro_1:20. Numerous assemblies give opportunity of doing the more good. (2.) The people were now returning to their homes, and he would give them this to carry away with them as his parting word. When a great congregation is to be dismissed, and is about to scatter, as here, it is affecting to think that in all probability they will never come all together again in this world, and therefore, if we can say or do any thing to help them to heaven, that must be the time. It is good to be lively at the close of an ordinance. Christ made this offer on the last day of the feast. [1.] To those who had turned a deaf ear to his preaching on the foregoing days of this sacred week; he will try them once more, and, if they will yet hear his voice, they shall live. [2.] To those who perhaps might never have such another offer made them, and therefore were concerned to accept of this; it would be half a year before there would be another feast, and in that time they would many of them be in their graves. Behold now is the accepted time. 2. How he gave this invitation: Jesus stood and cried, which denotes, (1.) His great earnestness and importunity. His heart was upon it, to bring poor souls in to himself. The erection of his body and the elevation of his voice were indications of the intenseness of his mind. Love to souls will make preachers lively. (2.) His desire that all might take notice, and take hold of this invitation. He stood, and cried, that he might the better be heard; for this is what every one that hath ears is concerned to hear. Gospel truth seeks no corners, because it fears no trials. The heathen oracles were delivered privately by them that peeped and muttered; but the oracles of the gospel were proclaimed by one that stood, and cried. How sad is the case of man, that he must be importuned to be happy, and how wonderful the grace of Christ, that he will importune him! Ho, every one, Isa_55:1. 3. The invitation itself is very general: If any man thirst, whoever he be, he is invited to Christ, be he high or low, rich or poor, young or old, bond or free, Jew or Gentile. It is also very gracious: “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. If any man desires to be truly and eternally happy, let him apply himself to me, and be ruled by me, and I will undertake to make him so.” (1.) The persons invited are such as thirst, which may be understood, either, [1.] Of the indigence of their cases; either as to their outward condition (if any man be destitute of the comforts of this life, or fatigued with the crosses of it, let his poverty and afflictions draw him to Christ for that peace which the world can neither give nor take away), or as to their inward state: “If any man want spiritual blessings, he may be supplied by me.” Or, [2.] Of the inclination of their souls and their desires towards a spiritual happiness. If any man hunger and thirst after righteousness, that is, truly desire the good will of God towards him, and the good work of God in him. (2.) The invitation itself: Let him come to me. Let him not go to the ceremonial law, which would neither pacify the conscience nor purify it, and therefore could not make the comers thereunto perfect, Heb_10:1. Nor let him go to the heathen philosophy, which does but beguile men, lead them into a wood, and leave them there; but let him go to Christ, admit his doctrine, submit to his discipline, believe in him; come to him as the fountain of living waters, the giver of all comfort. (3.) The satisfaction promised: “Let him come and drink, he shall have what he 211
- 212. comes for, andabundantly more, shall have that which will not only refresh, but replenish, a soul that desires to be happy.” JAMIESON 37-39, "the last day, that great day of the feast — the eighth (Lev_23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. “The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of Isa_12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in Joh_7:39, was expressed” [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed - accompanied with sound of trumpets - that it used to be said, “Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all” [Lightfoot]. Jesus stood — On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching - “JESUS stood,” probably in some elevated position. and cried — as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink! — What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of “thirst,” and the eternal satisfaction of them by “drinking.” To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh_ 4:13, Joh_4:14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea - in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob’s well - here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY- LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mat_11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh_6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as “the BREAD of Life,” and as both able and authorized to appease the “HUNGER,” and quench the “THIRST,” of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah’s ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, “HO, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, COME YE TO THE WATERS, AND HE THAT HATH NO MONEY!” etc. (Isa_55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, “He is guilty of death,” or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!” SBC, "All human desire, all human need, is expressed in this one word thirst. I. Take, first, what may be called the lowest thirst of all—the thirst for happiness. If any man thirst, not for grace, but simply for happiness, let him come unto Jesus Christ and drink. If it is not a spiritual desire at first, coming to Christ will make it so; and if the man does not see how Jesus Christ can be of any service for his need, let him just look at the fact—made abundantly plain in this text, and in many a text besides—that Jesus Christ says He is able to meet that need exactly and completely, and then let him come and see. 212
- 213. II. Coming so,a man soon begins to be conscious of higher desires than this natural universal desire for happiness. Any one really coming to Jesus Christ, in that very act has grace, although he may not know it. He has the true beginnings of the gracious life; he has therefore—begins at least to have—thirsts of a higher and nobler kind, and these also he will have assuaged and satisfied. Thirst for righteousness arises, for a personal rectitude, for conformity of heart and habit and life to the holy will of God. Jesus, knowing on the feast day that He carried atonement and rectification and purity in Himself—in His blood and life, in His love and purpose—stood and cried, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." III. But, once more, the thirst for righteousness does not contain within itself all the desire of a renewed soul. The affections are not satisfied with truth and rectitude in their abstract forms; but they have a distinctive thirst of their own, which we may call the thirst for love. The love of Christ will sanctify, ennoble, fulfil, all other; it will be to your yearning and sorrowing affection what no love but His can be. IV. There is yet another thirst—profounder, vaster, more awful—which Christ only can satisfy,—the thirst for very life. Back from the dark realm of eternal oblivion the living soul recoils, and cries for life; out towards the realm of life it stretches, wherever that realm may seem to be. Who gives us this stupendous faith in life— future, eternal, happy life? Who but He who is the Life, and who brings life and immortality to light through the Gospel. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." A. Raleigh, Penny Pulpit, No. 323 Christ’s Call to the Thirsty I. Note, first, who are called. The invitation is to the thirsty. This thirst may be either general and unfixed, or it may be special and definite. It may be a thirst for something, many things, anything,—we scarcely know or care what; or it may be a thirst for some one precise thing, of which we have in part a distinct conception. To both kinds of thirst—but especially, as I think, to the latter—is our Lord’s invitation in the text intended to be applicable. (1) It applies to the first sort of thirst. To the many who say, "Who will show us any good?" is the invitation addressed. Your conscious uneasiness indicates something wrong. Do not hastily conclude that the wrong is irremediable. You have been seeking more from the world than it was ever fitted or intended to yield. It is the tabernacle of your pilgrimage; it cannot be a home for your hearts. Seek ye then the Lord, and let your souls thirst for the living God. (2) The thirst referred to in the invitation of our Lord may be regarded as somewhat more definite and precise—as the thirst of a guilty conscience, a heart estranged from God, seeking and needing peace. Here is Christ, having all blessings in store for you— pardon, peace, reconciliation, renewal, hope, joy, the water of life; come unto Him without hesitation, without delay, without fear, without doubt. Come unto Him, and drink freely, copiously, continually. II. The invitation is as simple as it is suitable. "Come unto Me and drink." It is faith viewed (1) as the faith of application—"let him come unto Me"; (2) as the faith of appropriation—"Drink." Whatever you need, seek not to attain to it directly, as if by an effort of your own; but go to Christ, seek it through Christ, seek it in Christ, seek Christ Himself, and the thing you need and want will be yours. You cannot directly, by any exertion of your own, compass any spiritual achievement. If you complain of weak faith, by no wishing and working can you make it strong. If of a cold heart, no 213
- 214. working in orupon the heart itself will warm it. Come to Christ; be ever coming to Christ to drink. R. S. Candlish, The Gospel of Forgiveness, p. 37. Consider:— I. Man as a thirsty creature. We thirst for life, pleasure, activity, society, knowledge, power, esteem, and love. And we thirst for God. (1) All men have natural thirsts. (2) Besides these, there are secondary—derived thirsts. (3) The entrance of sin has produced depraved thirsts. (4) The return of man to God, and his salvation by Jesus Christ, involve new thirsts. There is the thirst of the quickened spirit for particular religious knowledge, and the thirst of the penitent for pardon, the thirst of the new- born spirit for righteousness, the thirst of the godly for God, and the abiding thirst of the child of God for all that is godly, for being filled with the fulness of God. II. Jesus Christ as a fountain of supply. (1) We thirst for continued life. Jesus saith, "Come unto Me, and drink!" "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." Instead of weakness there shall be power; instead of dishonour, glory; and instead of corruption, incorruption; instead of mortality, everlasting life. (2) Do we thirst for activity? Hear Jesus say, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." (3) We thirst for enjoyment, and still Jesus saith, "Come unto Me, and drink." Christ gives joy in every gift, and promises it in every promise. There is joy in the eternal life He gives, joy in the rest He gives, and joy in the peace which He bequeaths. (4) We thirst for power, and Christ continues to say, "Come unto Me, and drink!" for He makes His disciples now the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and ultimately He makes them kings and priests to God. (5) We thirst for society, and still Jesus saith, "Come unto Me, and drink." Our Saviour makes those who are strangers and foreigners and aliens, fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. (6) We thirst for the love of others, and Christ saith, "Come unto Me, and drink." For He directs streams of kindness to every one who comes to Him by means of His new commandment: "A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another." All the thirsts of the God-born spirit are recognised in our text. The thirst of the depressed in spiritual life for the renewing of the Holy Ghost, the thirst of the backslider for reunion with God and with His people, the thirst of the doubter for certain religious knowledge, the thirst of the weary and heavy-laden for rest, and the thirst of the exhausted for renewal of strength—all thirsts, whatever may be the thirst, Jesus can slake it with living water. S. Martin, Rain upon the Mown Grass, p. 254. CALVIN, "37.On the last day. The first thing that ought to be observed here is, that no plots or intrigues of enemies terrified Christ, so as to cause him to desist from his duty; but, on the contrary, his courage rose with dangers, so that he persevered with greater firmness. This is proved by the circumstance of the time, the crowded assembly, and the freedom he used in exclaiming, while he knew that hands were stretched out on all sides to seize him; for it is probable that the officers were at that time ready to execute their commission. We must next observe, that nothing else than the protection of God, on which he relied, enabled him to stand firm against such violent efforts of those men, who had 214
- 215. every thing intheir power. For what other reason can be assigned why Christ preached on the most public day of the festival, in the midst of the temple, over which his enemies enjoyed a quiet reign, and after that they had prepared a band of officers, but because God restrained their rage? Yet it is highly useful to us, that the Evangelist introduces Christ exclaiming aloud, Let all who thirst come to me For we infer from it that the invitation was not addressed to one or two persons only, or in a low and gentle whisper, but that this doctrine is proclaimed to all, in such a manner that none may be ignorant of it, but those who, of their own accord shutting their ears, will not receive this loud and distinct cry. If any man thirst. By this clause he exhorts all to partake of his blessings, provided that, from a conviction of their own poverty, they desire to obtain assistance. For it is true that we are all poor and destitute of every blessing, but it is far from being true that all are roused by a conviction of their poverty to seek relief. Hence it arises that many persons do not stir a foot, but wretchedly wither and decay, and there are even very many who are not affected by a perception of their emptiness, until the Spirit of God, by his own fire, kindle hunger and thirst in their hearts. It belongs to the Spirit, therefore, to cause us to desire his grace. As to the present passage, we ought to observe, first, that none are called to obtain the riches of the Spirit but those who burn with the desire of them. For we know that the pain of thirst is most acute and tormenting, so that the very strongest men, and those who can endure any amount of toil, are overpowered by thirst. And yet he invites the thirsty rather than the hungry, in order to pursue the metaphor which he afterwards employs in the word water and the word drink, that all the parts of the discourse may agree with each other. And I have no doubt that he alludes to that passage in Isaiah, All that thirst, come to the waters, (Isaiah 55:1.) For what the Prophet there ascribes to God must have been at length fulfilled in Christ, as also that which the blessed Virgin sung, that those who are rich and full he sendeth empty away, (Luke 1:53.) He therefore enjoins us to come direct to himself, as if he had said, that it is he alone who can fully satisfy thethirst of all, and that all who seek even the smallest alleviation of their thirst anywhere else are mistaken, and labor in vain. And let him drink. To the exhortation a promise is added; for though the word — let him drink — conveys an exhortation, still it contains within itself a promise; because Christ testifies that he is not a dry and worn-out cistern, but an inexhaustible fountain, which largely and abundantly supplies all who will come to drink Hence it follows that, if we ask from him what we want, our desire will not be disappointed. BARCLAY, “THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER (John 7:37-44) 7:37-44 On the last, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. As the scripture says: 'He who believes in me-- rivers of living water shall flow from his belly.'" It was about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, that he said this. For as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words some of the crowd 215
- 216. said: "This isreally the promised Prophet." Others said: "This is the Anointed One of God." But some said: "Surely the Anointed One of God does not come from Galilee? Does the scripture not say that the Anointed One of God is a descendant of David, and that he is to come from Bethlehem, the village where David used to live?" So there was a division of opinion in the crowd because of him. Some of them would have liked to arrest him, but none laid hands on him. All the events of this chapter took place during the Festival of Tabernacles; and properly to understand them we must know the significance, and at least some of the ritual of that Festival. The Festival of Tabernacles or Booths was the third of the trio of great Jewish Festivals, attendance at which was compulsory for all adult male Jews who lived within fifteen miles of Jerusalem--the Passover, the Festival of Pentecost, and the Festival of Tabernacles. It fell on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, that is, about 15th October. Like all the great Jewish festivals it had a double significance. First, it had an historical significance. It received its name from the fact that all through it people left their houses and lived in little booths. During the Festival the booths sprang up everywhere, on the flat roofs of the houses, in the streets, in the city squares, in the gardens, and even in the very courts of the Temple. The law laid it down that the booths must not be permanent structures but built specially for the occasion. Their walls were made of branches and fronds, and had to be such that they would give protection from the weather but not shut out the sun. The roof had to be thatched, but the thatching had to be wide enough for the stars to be seen at night. The historical significance of all this was to remind the people in unforgettable fashion that once they had been homeless wanderers in the desert without a roof over their heads (Leviticus 23:40-43). Its purpose was "that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." Originally it lasted seven days, but by the time of Jesus an eighth day had been added. Second, it had an agricultural significance. It was supremely a harvest-thanksgiving festival. It is sometimes called the Festival of the Ingathering (Exodus 23:16; Exodus 34:22); and it was the most popular festival of all. For that reason it was sometimes called simply The Feast (1 Kings 8:2), and sometimes The Festival of the Lord (Leviticus 23:39). It stood out above all others. The people called it "the season of our gladness," for it marked the ingathering of all the harvests, since by this time the barley, the wheat, and the grapes were all safely gathered in. As the law had it, it was to be celebrated "at the end of the year when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour" (Exodus 23:16); it was to be kept "when you make your ingathering from your threshing floor and your wine press" (Deuteronomy 16:13; Deuteronomy 16:16). It was not only thanksgiving for one harvest; it was glad thanksgiving for all the bounty of nature which made life possible and living happy. In Zechariah's dream of the new world it was this festival which was to be celebrated everywhere (Zechariah 14:16-18). Josephus called it "the holiest and the greatest festival among the Jews" (Antiquities of the Jews, 3: 10: 4). It was not only a time for the rich; it was laid down that the servant, the stranger, the widow and the poor were all to share in the universal joy. 216
- 217. One particular ceremonywas connected with it. The worshippers were told to take "the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook" (Leviticus 23:40). The Sadducees said that was a description of the material out of which the booths had to be built; the Pharisees said it was a description of the things the worshippers had to bring with them when they came to the Temple. Naturally the people accepted the interpretation of the Pharisees, for it gave them a vivid ceremony in which to participate. This special ceremony is very closely connected with this passage and with the words of Jesus. Quite certainly he spoke with it in his mind, and possibly even with it as an immediate background. Each day of the festival the people came with their palms and their willows to the Temple; with them they formed a kind of screen or roof and marched round the great altar. At the same time a priest took a golden pitcher which held three logs--that is, about two pints--and went down to the Pool of Siloam and filled it with water. It was carried back through the Water Gate while the people recited Isaiah 12:3 : "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." The water was carried up to the Temple altar and poured out as an offering to God. While this was being done The Hallel--that is, Psalms 113:1-9; Psalms 114:1-8; Psalms 115:1-18; Psalms 116:1-19; Psalms 117:1-2; Psalms 118:1-29 --was sung to the accompaniment of flutes by the Levite choir. When they came to the words, "O give thanks to the Lord" (Psalms 118:1), and again to the words, "O work now then salvation" (Psalms 118:25), and finally to the closing words, "O give thanks to the Lord" (Psalms 118:29), the worshippers shouted and waved their palms towards the altar. The whole dramatic ceremony was a vivid thanksgiving for God's good gift of water and an acted prayer for rain, and a memory of the water which sprang from the rock when they travelled through the wilderness. On the last day the ceremony was doubly impressive for they marched seven times round the altar in memory of the sevenfold circuit round the walls of Jericho, whereby the wails fell down and the city was taken. Against this background and perhaps at that very moment, Jesus' voice rang out: "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink." It is as if Jesus said: "You are thanking and glorifying God for the water which quenches the thirst of your bodies. Come to me if you want water which will quench the thirst of your soul." He was using that dramatic moment to turn men's thoughts to the thirst for God and the eternal things. THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER (John 7:37-44 continued) Now that we have seen the vivid background of this passage we must look at it in more detail. The promise of Jesus presents us with something of a problem. He said: "He who believes in me--rivers of water shall flow from his belly." And he introduces that statement by saying, "as scripture says." No one has ever been able to identify that quotation satisfactorily, and the question is, just what does it mean? There are two distinct possibilities. (i) It may refer to the man who comes to Jesus and accepts him. He will have within him a river of refreshing water. It would be another way of saying what Jesus said to 217
- 218. the woman ofSamaria: "The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). It would be another way of putting Isaiah's beautiful saying: "And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Isaiah 58:11). The meaning would be that Jesus can give a man the refreshment of the Holy Spirit. The Jews placed all the thoughts and the emotions in certain parts of the body. The heart was the seat of the intellect; the kidneys and the belly were the seat of the inmost feelings. As the writer of the Proverbs had it: "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts" (Proverbs 20:27). This would mean that Jesus was promising a cleansing, refreshing, life-giving stream of the Holy Spirit so that our thoughts and feelings would be purified and revitalized. It is as if Jesus said: "Come to me and accept me; and I will put into you through my Spirit a new life which will give you purity and satisfaction, and give you the kind of life you have always longed for and never had." Whichever interpretation we take, it is quite certain that what this one stands for is true. (ii) The other interpretation is that "rivers of living water shall flow from his belly" may refer to Jesus himself. It may be a description of the Messiah which Jesus is taking from somewhere which we cannot place. The Christians always identified Jesus with the rock which gave the Israelites water in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6). Paul took that image and applied it to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). John tells how there came forth at the thrust of the soldier's spear water and blood from Jesus' side (John 19:34). The water stands for the purification which comes in baptism and the blood for the atoning death of the Cross. This symbol of the life-giving water which comes from God is often in the Old Testament (Psalms 105:41; Ezekiel 47:1; Ezekiel 47:12). Joel has the great picture: "And a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord" (Joel 3:18). It may well be that John is thinking of Jesus as the fountain from which the cleansing stream flows. Water is that without which man cannot live; and Christ is the one without whom man cannot live and dare not die. Again, whichever interpretation we choose, that, too, is deeply true. Whether we take this picture as referring to Christ or to the man who accepts him, it means that from Christ there flows the strength and power and cleansing which alone give us life in the real sense of the term. In this passage there is a startling thing. The King James Version and the Revised Standard tone it down, but in the best Greek manuscript there is the strange statement in John 7:39 : "For as yet there was no Spirit." What is the meaning of that? Think of it this way. A great power can exist for years and even centuries without men being able to tap it. To take a very relevant example there has always been atomic power in this world; men did not invent it. But only in our own time have men tapped and used it. The Holy Spirit has always existed; but men never really enjoyed his full power until after Pentecost. As it has been finely said, "There could be no Pentecost without Calvary." It was only when men had known Jesus that they really knew the Spirit. Before that the Spirit had been a power, but now he is a person, for he has become to us nothing other than the presence of the Risen Christ always with us. In this apparently startling sentence John is not saying that the Spirit did not exist; but that it 218
- 219. took the lifeand death of Jesus Christ to open the floodgates for the Spirit to become real and powerful to all men. We must notice how this passage finishes. Some people thought that Jesus was the prophet whom Moses had promised (Deuteronomy 18:15). Some thought that he was the Anointed One of God; and there followed a wrangle about whether or not the Anointed One of God must come from Bethlehem. Here is tragedy. A great religious experience had ended in the aridity of a theological wrangle. That is what above all we must avoid. Jesus is not someone about whom to argue; he is someone to know and love and enjoy. If we have one view of him and someone else has another, it does not matter so long as both of us find him Saviour and accept him as Lord. Even if we explain our religious experience in different ways, that should never divide us, for it is the experience that is important, and not our explanation of it. LIGHTFOOT, "37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [In the last day, that great day of the feast.] The evangelist speaks according to a received opinion of that people: for from divine institution it does not appear that the last day of the feast had any greater mark set upon it than the first: nay, it might seem of lower consideration than all the rest. For on the first day were offered thirteen young bullocks upon the altar; on the second, twelve; and so fewer and fewer, till on the seventh day it came to seven; and on this eighth and last day of the feast there was but one only. As also for the whole seven days there were offered each day fourteen lambs, but on this eighth day seven only, Numbers 29. So that if the numbers of the sacrifices add any thing to the dignity of the day, this last day, will seem the most inconsiderable, and not like the great day of the feast. I. But what the Jews' opinion was about this matter and this day, we may learn from themselves: "There were seventy bullocks, according to the seventy nations of the world. But for what is the single bullock? It is for the singular nation [the Jewish]. A parable. It is like a great king that said to his servants, 'Make ready a great feast'; but the last day said to his friend, 'Make ready some little matter, that I may refresh myself with thee.'" The Gloss is, "I have no advantage or refreshment in that great feast with them, but in this little one with thee." "On the eighth day it shall be a holy day; for so saith the Scripture, 'For my love they are my adversaries, but my prayer is for them,' Psalm 109. Thou seest, O God, that Israel, in the feast of tabernacles, offers before thee seventy bullocks for the seventy nations. Israel, therefore, say unto thee, O eternal Lord, behold we offer seventy bullocks for these; it is but reasonable, therefore, that they should love us; but on the contrary, as it is written, 'For our love they are our adversaries.' The holy blessed God, therefore, saith to Israel, 'Offer for yourselves on the eighth day.'" A parable. "This is like a king, who made a feast for seven days, and invited all the men in that province, for those seven days of the feast: but when those seven days were past, he saith to his friend, 'We have done what is needful to be done towards these men; let thee and me 219
- 220. return to enjoytogether whatever comes to hand, be it but one pound of flesh, or fish, or herbs.' So the holy blessed God saith to Israel, 'The eighth day shall be a feast or holy day,'" &c. "They offer seventy bullocks for the seventy nations, to make atonement for them, that the rain may fall upon the fields of all the world; for, in the feast of tabernacles, judgment is made as to the waters": i.e. God determines what rains shall be for the year following. Hence, therefore, this last day of the feast grew into such esteem in that nation above the other days; because, on the other seven days they thought supplications and sacrifices were offered not so much for themselves as for the nations of the world, but the solemnities of the eighth day were wholly in their own behalf. And hence the determination and finishing of the feast when the seven days were over, and the beginning, as it were, of a new one on the eighth day. For, II. They did not reckon the eighth day as included within the feast, but a festival day separately and by itself. The eighth day is a feast by itself, according to these letters, by which are meant, 1. The casting of lots. Gloss: "As to the bullocks of the seven days, there were no lots cast to determine what course of priests should offer them, because they took it in order, &c.; but on the eighth day they cast lots." 2. A peculiar benediction by itself. 3. A feast by itself. Gloss: "For on this day they did not sit in their tents." Whence that is not unworthy our observation out of Maimonides; "If any one, either through ignorance or presumption, have not made a booth for himself on the first day of the feast [which is holy], let him do it on the next day; nay, at the very end of the seventh day." Note that, "at the very end of the seventh day"; and yet there was no use of booths on the eighth day. 4. A peculiar sacrifice. Not of six bullocks, which ought to have been, if that day were to have been joined to the rest of the feast, but one only. 5. A song by itself. Otherwise sung than on other days. 6. The benediction of the day by itself; or as others, the royal blessing; according to that 1 Kings 8:66, "On the eighth day Solomon sent the people away: and they blessed the king." But the former most obtains. To all which may be added what follows in the same place about this day; "A man is bound to sing the Hallel" [viz. Psalms 113-118]. He is bound to rejoice; that is, to offer thank-offerings for the joy of that feast. And he bound is to honour that last day, the eighth day of the feast, as well as all the 220
- 221. rest. On this daythey did not use their booths, nor their branches of palms, nor their pome- citrons: but they had their offering of water upon this day as well as the rest. COKE, “John 7:37-39. In the last day, &c.— It is commonly supposed, that, while Jesus was thus discoursing in the temple on the last and great day of the feast, the water from Siloam was brought into the women's court of the temple with the usual solemnities, according to the directions of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, if we may believe the Jewish writers: part of this water they drank with loud acclamations, in commemorationofthemercy shewn to their fathers, who were relieved by the miracle of a great stream of water made to flow out of a rock, (see Psalms 78:20.) when the nation was ready to die with thirst in a sandy desart, where was neither river nor spring: and part of it they poured out as a drink-offering, which they accompanied with prayers to Almighty God for a plentiful rain to fall at the followingseed-time; the people in the mean time singing the passage, Isaiah 12:3. With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. The exposition of the Talmud, which asserts that this ceremony had reference to the pouring out of the Holy Ghost, shews the peculiar propriety of our Lord's address, and his application of this circumstance; for the Lord Jesus, whose custom it was to raise moral instructions from sensible occurrences, took this opportunity of inviting, in the most solemn and affectionatemanner, all who were in pursuit, whether of knowledge or happiness, to come unto him and drink, in allusion to the rite which they were then employed about. He probably stood upon an eminence, so as to be conspicuous, and spoke aloud, supplying the place of the trumpets used on these occasions; and by this address he taught them, that the effusion of the Holy Ghost, represented by their pouring out the water, was not to be expected from their rites and ceremonies, but from a belief in the doctrine which he preached: for that by coming to him and drinking, he meant believing on him, is manifest from the context, and from ch. John 6:35. Further to encourage them, our Lord promised them the gifts of his Spirit, which he represented under the image of a river flowing from their belly, to express the efficacy and perpetuity of these gifts, together with the divine pleasures which they produce, by quenching the desires of those who possess them, and fructifying others who come within their influence. See ch. John 4:14. Isaiah 55:1. The words of the 38th verse are not to be found literally in the scriptures of the Old Testament, but are to be understood, as Grotius observes, as a general reference to the several prophesies which refer to the effusion of the Spirit by the Messiah, under the similitude of pouring out water. See Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 58:11. Ezekiel 36:23-27. Joel 2:28. Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8. See also Numbers 24:7. The flowing of rivers of living water out of the believer's belly is an idea taken from receptacles placed round springs, out of which great quantities of water flow by pipes; and perhaps there may be some allusion here to the prominency of that capacious golden vale, from which the water at this festival was poured out in a large stream. This figure therefore represented the plenitude of spiritual gifts to be possessed by believers, and the happy effects which they should produce in the world. By the facultyof speaking all the different languages of the earth fluently, which wasthe first gift of the Spirit, qualifying the apostles and others to preach such doctrines of the gospel as the 221
- 222. Spirit revealed tothem, they were both watered themselves, and in a condition to water the Gentiles, not with small streams, but with large rivers of divine knowledge; and so the land, which till then had been barren, was from that time forth to beexceedingfruitfulinrighteousnessuntoGod.Accordinglythe evangelist adds by way of explication, But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. These peculiar gifts of illumination and utterance were not yet communicated to believers, being what they received on the day of Pentecost, to fit them for converting the world. Nevertheless, if the universality of the invitation and promise inclines the reader to think, that, on this occasion, our Lord had the ordinary influences of the Spirit also in his eye, the evangelist's remark, that the Holy Ghost was not yet given, will not exclude them; because even these might, at that time, be said not to have been given, as they had been given but sparingly, in comparison of the plentiful distribution which was to be made of them to all believers after Christ's ascension. Accordingly, the ordinary influences of the Spirit are often in scripture represented as the consequences and reward of faith; Galatians 3:14. Ephesians 1:12. And possibly in the words shall flow rivers of living water, our Lord might design a contrast to the stream which at this time was poured out of the golden vase. The quantity taken out of the waters of Siloam was such, as might be soon poured out and exhausted; but out of those believers on whom the Holy Ghost should come, rivers of living water should flow, whose effect and benefit should never cease as long as the world itself should endure. There had been some drops, as it were, of this Spirit, which had fallen upon some of the Jewish nation before; but those were no more to be compared with these rivers of water, than the waters of Siloam with the great river Euphrates. What was the spirit which Bezaleel had, when compared with that Spirit wherewith the apostles were inspired? What was that spirit of courage which was given to the judges, if compared with that which convinced the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment? What was that spirit of Moses, communicated to the seventy elders, compared with that of the SON OF GOD, which he has shed abroad in the hearts of his people? What was that spirit of prophesy, which inspired a few prophets, when compared with that pouring out of the Spirit upon all flesh upon and after the day of Pentecost? For these rivers of water, though they began their course at Jerusalem upon that day, as the fruit of the glorious and triumphant ascension of Jesus into heaven, yet they soon overflowed the Christian church in other parts of the world: the sound of that mighty rushing wind was soon heard in the most distant places, and the fiery tongues inflamed the hearts of many who never saw them. See Leviticus 23:36. Numbers 29:35. Acts 2:33. GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE, " Living Water Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.—Joh_7:37. 1. The occasion and date of this great saying are carefully given by the Evangelist, because they throw much light on its significance and importance. It was “on the last day, the great day of the feast,” that “Jesus stood and cried.” 222
- 223. The Feast wasthat of Tabernacles, which was instituted in order to keep in mind the incidents of the desert wandering. The peculiar greatness of the eighth day lay in the fact that it was the close of the whole festival and was kept as a Sabbath (Lev_23:36). It has been conjectured that it was observed in memory of the entrance into Canaan. At present it is treated as a separate Festival. Part of the ceremonial was that on each morning of the seven, a procession of white-robed priests wound down the rocky footpath from the Temple to Siloam, and there in a golden vase drew water from the spring, chanting, as they ascended and re-entered the Temple gates, where they poured out the water as a libation, the words of the prophet, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” It is uncertain whether the libations were made on the eighth day. If they were not, the significant cessation of the striking rite on this one day of the feast would give a still more fitting occasion for the words of the text. 2. The true worshippers among these Israelites had been seeing a spiritual meaning in the water, and had been conscious of an uneasy feeling of thirst still in the midst of these Temple services, an uneasy questioning whether even yet Israel had passed the thirsty desert, and had received the full gift God had meant to give. There were thinking men and thirsty souls then as there are now; and to these, who stood perhaps a little aside, and looked half in compassion, half in envy, at the merry-making of the rest, it seemed a significant fact that, in the Temple itself, with all its grandeur and skilful appliances, there was yet no living fountain to quench the thirst of men—a significant fact that to find water the priest had to go outside the gorgeous Temple to the modest “waters of Siloah that go softly.” All through the feast these men wondered morning by morning when the words of Joel were to come true, when it should come to pass that a fountain should “come forth of the house of the Lord,” or when that great and deep river should begin to flow which Ezekiel saw in vision issuing from the threshold of the Lord’s house, and waxing deeper and wider as it flowed. And now once more the last day of the feast had come; the water was no longer drawn, and yet no fountain had burst up in the Temple itself; their souls were yet perplexed, unsatisfied, craving, athirst, when suddenly, as if in answer to their half-formed thoughts and longings, a clear, assured, authoritative voice passed through their ear to their inmost soul: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” 3. Strange words to say anywhere, daring words to say in the Temple court! For there they could mean nothing less than Christ’s laying His hand on that old miracle, which was pointed to by the rite, when the rock yielded the water, and asserting that all which it did and typified was repeated, fulfilled, and transcended in Himself, and that not for a handful of nomads in the wilderness, but for all the world, in all its generations. So here is one more occasion on which, in this Gospel, we find Christ claiming to be the fulfilment of incidents and events in that ancient covenant,—Jacob’s ladder, the brazen serpent, the manna, and now the rock that yielded the water. He says of them all that they are the shadow, and the substance is in Him. Let us consider, as they are set forth in the text, these three things— 223
- 224. I. Christ’s Viewof Humanity. II. Christ’s View of Himself. III. Christ’s Invitation to Humanity. I Christ’s View of Humanity 1. “If any man thirst.”—Christ confronts man’s deepest need. He sees humanity “thirsting.” No metaphor could be more intense in a dry and thirsty land like Palestine. It fittingly pictures the deepest want of the human soul. (1) It is characteristic of the teaching of Christ that He always speaks of man’s chief spiritual needs in the terms of his greatest physical necessities. The words by which He describes the need of the soul for God are such words as “hunger” and “thirst.” We all know what it is to have physical thirst. Toiling under the hot sun, trudging along the dusty road—the painful sensation is familiar enough to us. But more real and intense would be the figure to an Eastern. Ask him who has crossed the desert, “What is thirst?” and he will tell you of the bones of men and beasts all bleached and white that mark its highway. Smitten with thirst on its burning sands, what will a man not give for water? The fine sand entering into every pore of his skin, choking and blinding him, the scorching wind drying up the very marrow of his bones, his tongue cleaving to his mouth, his eyes bloodshot, the desert reels around him, and he is willing to fill the cup with pearls in exchange for a cupful of water. Water is always an attractive word in the East. But at the time when Jesus uttered this saying it would have an effect that was almost magical. It was in the autumn weather, when the sun had been shining in fierceness for months, and the barren ground was crying out for rain. (2) We need not go over all the dominant desires that surge up in men’s souls, the mind craving for knowledge, the heart calling out for love, the whole nature feeling blindly and often desperately after something external to itself, which it can grasp, and in which it can feel satisfied. We all know them. Like some plant growing in a cellar, and with feeble and blanched tendrils feeling towards the light which is so far away, every man carries about within himself a whole host of longing desires, which need to find something round which they may twine, and in which they can be at rest. (3) The misery of man is great upon him, because, having these desires, he misreads so many of them, and stifles, ignores, atrophies to so large an extent the noblest of them. There is no sadder tragedy than the way in which we misinterpret the meaning of these inarticulate cries that rise from the depths of our hearts, and misunderstand what it is that we are groping after, when we put out empty, and, alas! too often unclean, hands, to lay hold on our true good. We do not know what we want, many of us, and there is something pathetic in the endless effort to fill up the heart by a multitude of diverse and small things, when all the while the deepest meaning of aspirations, yearnings, longings, unrest, 224
- 225. discontent, is, “Mysoul thirsteth for God, for the living God.” “Isaac Williams,” wrote Mr. Copeland, “mentioned to me a remark made on Hurrell Froude by S. Wilberforce in his early days: ‘They talk of Froude’s fun, but somehow I cannot be in a room with him alone for ten minutes without feeling so intensely melancholy, that I do not know what to do with myself. At Brighstone, in my Eden days, he was with me, and I was overwhelmed with the deep sense which possessed him of yearning which nothing could satisfy and of the unsatisfying nature of all things.’ ”1 [Note: Dean Church, The Oxford Movement, 55.] Its warping winds swept thro’ my soul: Its fires scorched all my arc of life: Of joy it gave a trivial dole— Then brought me anguish, shame and strife: An hour of pulsing feverish joy, Framed in a flame of blazing red; Then, rotting in its own rank soil, The swift-born flower lay swiftly dead.2 [Note: Desmond Mountjoy, The Hills of Hell, 15.] 2. “If any man thirst.”—Christ speaks as if that thirst was by no means universal, and, alas! it is not. “If any man thirst”; there are some of us that do not, for we are all so constituted that, unless we use continual self-discipline, and self-suppression, and self-evolution, the lower desires will overgrow the loftier ones, and kill them, as weeds kill the precious crop. And some of us are so much taken up with gratifying the lowest necessities and longings of our nature, that we leave the highest all uncared for, and the effect of that is that the unsatisfied longing avenges itself, for our neglect of it, by infusing unrest and dissatisfaction into what else would satisfy the lowest. “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase,” but he that loves God will be satisfied with less than silver, and will continue satisfied when decrease comes. If we would suck the last drop of sweetness out of the luscious purple grapes that grow on earth, we must have the appetite for the best things, recognized, and ministered to, and satisfied. And when we are satisfied with God, we shall have learnt in whatsoever state we are, therewith to be self- sufficing. The late Sir James Stephen in a lecture to young men once said that he could put his suggestions in one word—Aspire. That was very good advice. But what 225
- 226. should the aspirationbe?1 [Note: Lord Avebury, Peace and Happiness, 77.] On the morning of January 7, 1900, Bishop Creighton, a few days before he died, seemed particularly well. His chaplain, Mr. Percival, was with him for a long while, and they spoke of various answers which had been given to the question, What is the greatest danger of the coming century? The Bishop said, “I have no doubt what is the greatest danger—it is the absence of high aspirations.”2 [Note: The Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton, ii. 463.] The first, and last, and closest trial question to any living creature is, “What do you like?” Tell me what you like, and I’ll tell you what you are. Go out into the street, and ask the first man or woman you meet, what their “taste” is; and if they answer candidly, you know them, body and soul. “You, my friend in the rags, with the unsteady gait, what do you like?” “A pipe, and a quartern of gin.” I know you. “You, good woman, with the quick step and tidy bonnet, what do you like?” “A swept hearth, and a clean tea-table; and my husband opposite me, and a baby at my breast.” Good, I know you also. “You, little girl with the golden hair and the soft eyes, what do you like?” “My canary, and a run among the wood hyacinths.” “You, little boy with the dirty hands, and the low forehead, what do you like?” “A shy at the sparrows, and a game at pitch farthing.” Good; we know them all now. What more need we ask?3 [Note: Ruskin, The Crown of Wild Olive (Works, xviii. 434).] 3. It is only the thirsty whom Jesus Christ invites to come to Him as the source from which they can draw spirit and life. Those who have eaten and drunk to the full must become thirsty before they can understand, and certainly before they can take to heart, what it means when a man who has trod this earth bears witness to a whole people, and lastly to all mankind: “I am the inexhaustible well from which all man’s longing after life and spirit may be satisfied.” I know not any pleasure of sense more exquisite than a draught of cool, clear water, when you are thirsty; but few things are more insipid than water when there is no thirst. It is thus that Christ and His salvation are very sweet to one, and very tasteless to another.1 [Note: W. Arnot, The Anchor of the Soul, 31.] O Lord, the most Fair, the most tender, My heart is adrift and alone; My heart is a-weary and thirsty, Athirst for a joy unknown. From a child I followed it, chased it, By wilderness, wold, and hill; I never have reached it or seen it, 226
- 227. Yet must Ifollow it still. In those olden years did I seek it, In the sweet, fair things around; But the more I sought and I thirsted, The less, O my Lord, I found. When nearest it seemed to my grasping, It fled like a wandering thought; I never have known what it is, Lord, Too well know I what it is not. “It is I, it is I, the Eternal, Who chose thee Mine own to be— Who chose thee before the ages, Who chose thee eternally. I stood in the way before thee, In the ways thou wouldest have gone; For this is the mark of My chosen, That they shall be Mine alone.” II Christ’s View of Himself “If any man thirst, let him come unto me.” Christ claims to satisfy man’s deepest need. The claim is a tremendous one. Other teachers have counselled a course of action or a mode of life. This Teacher claims to be Himself the source of good and the fountain of life. Truly never man spake like this Man. 1. The people’s thirst shall be quenched, if they will but come to Him: this is the first and obvious meaning of His words. That they had some thirst for spiritual 227
- 228. blessing their verypresence in Jerusalem proved; for, however mingled may have been their desires, however worldly in many respects their thoughts of the Kingdom of God, yet they did desire God and God’s Kingdom; and if the religious hopes of the nation could have been obliterated, their one distinguishing characteristic would have been gone. But they are seeking to satisfy their souls in ways that do not, that cannot, succeed. God’s true presence is lost in the very abundance and show of the paraphernalia and ceremony of worship, and the life of God is dried up in them by the endless elaboration of their minute and barren rules of living. The truth of their holy religion does little more for their actual satisfaction than the sweet, living water of Siloam did for the golden vessel that it filled; and it does no more through them for others than the water poured from such vessel on to the altar, and wasted, as it streamed and trickled away. Let the people come to Him, and God Himself shall live in them. 2. All the cravings after a settled and eternal state, all the longings for purity and fellowship with the Highest, which the Temple services rather quickened than satisfied, Christ says He will satisfy. The Temple service had been to them as a screen on which the shadows of things spiritual were thrown; but they longed to see the realities face to face, to have God revealed, to know the very truth of things, and set foot on eternal verity. This thirst is felt by all men whose whole nature is alive, whose experience has shaken them out of easy contentment with material prosperity; they thirst for a life which does not so upbraid and mock them as their own life does; they thirst to be able to live, so that the one-half of their life shall not be condemned by the other half; they thirst to be once for all in the “ampler ether” of happy and energetic existence, not looking through the bars and fumbling at the lock. This thirst and all legitimate cravings which we feel, Christ boldly and explicitly promises to satisfy; nay more, all illegitimate cravings, all foolish discontent, all vicious dissatisfaction with life, all morbid thirst that is rapidly becoming chronic disease in us, all weak and false views of life, He will rid us of, and give us entrance into the life that God lives and imparts—into pure, healthy, hopeful life. It is on record that a visitor once ventured to ask Alfred Tennyson what he thought of our Saviour. They were walking in a garden. The poet was silent for a moment. Then he stopped by a beautiful flower, and pointing to it said: “What the sun is to that flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul.”1 [Note: Arthur W. Robinson, The Voice of Joy and Health, 49.] Christ claims to be able to meet every aspiration, every spiritual want, every true desire in this complex nature of ours. He claims to be able to do this for one, and therefore for all. He claims to be able to do it for all the generations of mankind, right away down to the end. Who is He that thus plants Himself in the front of the race, knows their deep thirsts, takes account of the impotence of anything created to satisfy them, assumes the Divine prerogative, and says, “I come to satisfy every desire in every soul, to the end of time”?2 [Note: A. Maclaren.] 3. He claims to be separate altogether from those whose thirst He would satisfy. It is a claim which only Divinity can warrant Him in making, or can fulfil when it is made. And from that day when He stood in the Temple and cried these 228
- 229. words, down tothis day, there have been, and there are, millions who can say, “We have drawn water from this fountain of salvation, and it has never failed us.” Christ’s audacious presentation of Himself to the world as adequate to fill all its needs, and slake all its thirst, has been verified by nineteen centuries of experience, and there are many men and women all over the world to-day who would be ready to set to their seals that Christ is true, and that He, indeed, is all- sufficient for the soul. Jesus Christ threw a totally new light upon the personality of man. He took love as His point of departure, the central principle in our nature, which gathers all its other faculties and functions into one; our absolutely fundamental and universal characteristic. He taught us that virtues and graces are thorough only when they flow from love; and further, that love alone can reconcile the opposite phases of our life—action and passion, doing and suffering, energy and pain,— since love inevitably leads to sacrifice, and sacrifice is perfect love. It may be granted that previous teachers had said somewhat kindred things. But Jesus Christ carried His precepts home by practice, as none had ever done before. He lived and died the life and death of love; and men saw, as they had never seen, what human nature meant. Here at last was its true ideal, and its true ideal realized.1 [Note: Illingworth, Personality, Human and Divine, 201.] III Christ’s Invitation to Humanity 1. “Jesus stood and cried.” The phrase used is singularly vivid: Jesus was standing, watching, it might be, the procession of the people from their booths to the Temple, and then, moved by some occasion, He cried. As Jesus stood and cried to the people, He was conscious of power to impart to them a freshly welling spring of life—a life that would overflow for the strengthening and gladdening of others besides themselves. He has the same consciousness to-day. The deep, living benefits He confers are as open to all ages as the sunshine and the air; there is no necessity binding any one soul to feel that life is a failure, an empty, disappointing husk, serving no good purpose, bringing daily fresh misery and deeper hopelessness, a thing perhaps manfully to fight our way through but certainly not to rejoice in. If any one has such views of life it is because he has not honestly, believingly, and humbly responded to Christ’s word and come to Him. We all forget that Christ’s teaching is not a teaching like that of Moses, of Mohammed, and like all other human teachings, that is, a doctrine of rules to be executed. Christ’s teaching is a gospel, that is, a teaching of the good. He who is thirsty, let him go and drink. And so, according to this teaching it is impossible to prescribe to any one, to rebuke any one for anything, to condemn any one. “Go and drink, if thou art thirsty,” that is, take the good which is revealed to us by the spirit of Truth. 229
- 230. Can one beordered to drink? Can one be ordered to be blessed? Even so a man cannot be rebuked for not drinking, or for not being blessed, nor can he be condemned. The one thing that Christians can do, and always have done, is to feel themselves blessed and to wish to communicate the key of blessedness to other people.1 [Note: Tolstoy, Aphorisms (Complete Works, xix. 83).] (1) The invitation was delivered with great earnestness. This is the world’s way turned upside down. We are accustomed to hear those crying who are ready to perish, while those who go out to save are calm and silent. Here this method is reversed. The lost whom He saves are silent and satisfied; the Saviour, who brings deliverance, cries. They act as if they were full, and He as if He were needy. Why did He cry? All things are His in heaven and on earth; what want is gnawing at the heart of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily? It is the longing of His soul, not to get, but to give, redemption. He has a more eager desire to give pardon than any awakened sinner has to get it. (2) “If any man.” The invitation was universal. The Gospel is as free as the air or the sunshine. “Any”—the man may be atheist or deist or idolater; the man may be sceptical and unbelieving: the man may be broken-hearted, because all his cisterns are broken; the man may be disappointed with all the wells to which he has been accustomed to resort; the man may be an outcast, forbidden to come where men drink, or an apostate, one who has forsaken the fountain of living water; the man may be conscious that he deserves only to die of thirst; the man may be sad at his heart’s core, and weary in every limb, and dying of thirst; the thirst may be morbid and foul, the thirst may be varied and deep, the thirst may be refined and elevated, but to every man Jesus says, “Come unto me.” The thirsty one may have no apparel but rags and these filthy, no vessel but an earthen one and that broken, no money, no commendation; but Jesus says, “Come.” He may have nothing, and may need everything—life, knowledge, power, joy—still Jesus says, “Come.” He may be a most thirsty soul, with wide capacity and fiery eagerness, but Jesus says, “Come and drink.” And if those who hear Jesus say, “Come and drink,” do come and drink, they live satisfied, they die satisfied, and they abide satisfied for ever; but if they never come, they live thirsty, die thirsty, and abide madly thirsty for ever. (3) “Let him come unto me.” The invitation is from a ceremony to a Person. Christ is a personal Saviour. The world had had enough of ritual. It had gone the weary round of form until life was almost extinct, and it seemed as if the smoke of sacrifice only darkened the skies and brought man no nearer vision of God. The Law increased the burden it professed to lift. Says Christ, It is not from Siloam’s stream, it is not from your silver songs and solemn litanies, not from your priests and altars and censers, that you can gain rest—“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” 230
- 231. He that thirstsand wants relief must come to Christ Himself. He must not be content with coming to His Church and His ordinances, or to the assemblies of His people for prayer and praise. He must not stop short even at His holy table, or rest satisfied with privately opening his heart to His ordained ministers. He that is content with only drinking these waters “shall thirst again.” He must go higher, further, much further than this. He must have personal dealings with Christ Himself: all else in religion is worthless without Him. The King’s palace, the attendant servants, the richly furnished banqueting-house, the very banquet itself, all are nothing unless we speak with the King. His hand alone can take the burden off our backs and make us feel free. The hand of man may take the stone from the grave and show the dead; but none but Jesus can say to the dead, “Come forth, and live.” We must deal directly with Christ.1 [Note: Bishop J. C. Ryle, The Upper Room, 117.] I remember a simple story that twined its clinging tendril fingers about my heart. It was of a woman whose long years had ripened her hair, and sapped her strength. She was a true saint in her long life of devotion to God. She knew the Bible by heart, and would repeat long passages from memory. But as the years came the strength went, and with it the memory gradually went too, to her grief. She seemed to have lost almost wholly the power to recall at will what had been stored away. But one precious bit still stayed. She would sit by the big sunny window of the sitting-room in her home, repeating over that one bit, as though chewing a delicious titbit, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” By and by part of that seemed to slip its hold, and she would quietly be repeating, “that which I have committed to him.” The last few weeks as the ripened old saint hovered about the borderland between this and the spirit world, her feebleness increased. Her loved ones would notice her lips moving, and thinking she might be needing some creature comfort, they would go over and bend down to listen for her request. And time and again they found the old saint repeating over to herself one word, over and over again, the same one word, “Him—Him— Him.” She had lost the whole Bible but one word. But she had the whole Bible in that one word.”1 [Note: S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Service, 77.] (4) “Let him come.” He that thirsts and wants relief from Christ must actually come to Him. It is not enough to wish, and talk, and mean, and intend, and resolve, and hope. The thirsty have to come. To come in inquiry and by knowledge, to come in thought and by faith, to come in prayer and by trust, to come in the surrender of themselves to the Saviour. The sole condition is coming, and the only limit to the ministrations of the Saviour is our receptivity. Simple as this remedy for thirst appears, it is the only cure for man’s spiritual disease, and the only bridge from earth to heaven. Kings and their subjects, preachers and hearers, masters and servants, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, all alike must drink of this water of life, and drink in the same way. For eighteen centuries men have laboured to find some other medicine for weary consciences; but they have laboured in vain. Thousands, after blistering their hands, and growing grey in hewing out “broken cisterns, which can hold no water,” have been obliged to come back at last to the old Fountain, and have confessed in their latest moment that here, in Christ alone, is true peace. 231
- 232. (5) “And drink.”Too many analyse, criticize, gather to the fountain and gaze on its waters; they do not drink. They do not live by Christ. When we drink of love we live on it, it enters into all our thoughts, colours all our hopes, gives strength to all our purposes; it is ourself. It must be even so with us and Christ. We must drink, must so draw His life and spirit into our souls that we shall be able to say, “For me to live is Christ.” So shall the thirst of the heart be satisfied, but only so. How many seem to come to Jesus Christ, and yet do not drink! How few Christians are like a tree planted by the rivers of water! What would you have thought of the Jews, if, when Moses smote the rock, they had refused to drink? or what would you have thought if they had only put the water to their lips? Yet such is the way with most Christians. It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell. The Spirit was given to Him without measure. The command is given to us to draw out of His fulness; yet who obeys? Not one in a thousand. A Christian in our day is like a man who has got a great reservoir brimful of water. He is at liberty to drink as much as he pleases, for he never can drink it dry; but instead of drinking the full stream that flows from it, he dams it up, and is content to drink the few drops that trickle through. O that ye would draw out of His fulness, ye that have come to Christ! Do not be misers of grace. There is far more than you will use in eternity. The same waters are now in Christ that refreshed St. Paul, that gave St. Peter his boldness, that gave St. John his affectionate tenderness. Why is your soul less richly supplied than theirs? Because you will not drink: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”1 [Note: R. M. M‘Cheyne, Additional Remains, 308.] 2. Christ satisfies every thirst of the soul. Do we thirst for activity? Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” Hear Jesus say, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” He opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped deaf ears, made the lame to walk, healed the sick, cleansed the leper, and raised the dead. We thirst for enjoyment, and still Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” Christ gives joy in every gift, and promises it in every promise. There is joy in the eternal life He gives, joy in the rest He gives, and joy in the peace which He bequeaths. We thirst for power, and Christ continues to say, “Come unto me, and drink,” for He makes His disciples now the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and ultimately He makes them kings and priests unto God. We thirst for society, and still Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” Our Saviour makes those who are strangers and foreigners and aliens fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. We thirst for the love of others, and Christ says, “Come unto me, and drink”; for He directs streams of kindness to every one who comes to Him by means of His new commandment, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” We thirst for knowledge, and Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” “Learn of me.” Those who come to Jesus are instructed by Him in the highest subjects. To all such Jesus is Himself the truth, and the truth concerning all that it is essential we should know. We thirst for God, and Jesus says, “Come unto me, and drink.” He manifests God’s name to us, and shows us how He Himself is 232
- 233. to us thebrightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His Person. Thus if any man thirst for life, activity, pleasure, social fellowship, knowledge, power, the love of others, or for God, He may come to Jesus Christ and drink. 3. No one who has not come thus to Christ and trusted Him has found perfect satisfaction in this world. Whatever good we have, we have not the highest good. Deep down in our hearts there is some want that has not been met, some secret thirst which yet torments us. We moralize, we philosophize about the discontent of man. We give little reasons for it; but the real reason of it all is this—that which everything lying behind it really signifies—that man is greater than his circumstances, and that God is always calling to him to come up to the fulness of his life. Dreadful will be the day when the world becomes contented, when one great universal satisfaction spreads itself over the world. Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not for ever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is the child of God. I asked for Peace,— My sins arose And bound me close; I could not find release. I asked for Truth,— My doubts came in, And with their din They wearied all my youth. I asked for Love,— My lovers failed,— And griefs assailed Around, beneath, above. I asked for Thee,— And Thou didst come To take me home 233
- 234. Within Thy heartto be.1 [Note: Digby Mackworth Dolben.] BURKITT, “Verse 37 The feast of tabernacles (which is the first here meant) lasted eight days; the first and last of which were to be kept holy with religious assemblies and sacrifices; and it was a custom among the Jews, upon that solemn day, to offer up a pot of water unto God, which they drew out of the fountain of Siloam: with reference to this custom, Christ here cries with a loud voice, inviting the people to fetch and draw from him, as from a living fountain, all the sanctifying gifts and saving graces of the Holy Spirit. Learn hence, That Jesus Christ is the original and fountain of all saving grace, whom, if we thirst after, repair to, and by faith depend upon, as a Mediator, we shall certainly receive what influences of grace soever we want and stand in need of. ELLICOTT, “(37) In the last day, that great day of the feast.—The question whether the seventh or the eighth day of the feast is intended here, is one of antiquarian rather than of practical interest. The words commanding the observance in Deuteronomy 16:13, and Numbers 29:12, mention only seven days; but this latter passage is followed in John 7:35 by a reference to the solemn assembly on the eighth day. With this agree the words in Leviticus 23:35-36; Leviticus 23:39, and Nehemiah 8:18. Later the eight days of the festival are certainly spoken of as in the Talmud, in 2 Maccabees 10:6, and Jos. Ant. iii. 10, § 4. The best modern authorities are for the most part agreed that it was the eighth day, i.e., the 22nd of Tishri, that is here referred to. It was the “great day” as the octave of the feast, and the day of holy convocation. Jesus stood and cried.—Comp. Note on John 7:28. Here the vivid remembrance of the writer remembers the attitude as well as the voice. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.—These words were almost certainly suggested by part of the ritual of the festival, which consisted in a solemn procession with music, and headed by a priest, which went on each morning from the Temple to the pool of Siloam, where the priest filled a golden vase with water and carried it to the Temple amid the joyful cries of the people. He then poured it out on the western side of the altar of burnt-offering; while another priest poured a drink-offering of wine, at the same time, on the eastern side of the altar, and the people during this act chanted the words of “the Hallel,” Psalms 113-118. If we accept the eighth day as that referred to in this verse, then this ceremony was. not repeated; but its very absence may have suggested the fuller declaration of the reality of which it was the representation. The current Rabbinical interpretation of the symbolism connected it with the gift of the latter rain, which was at this season; and also with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Talmud says expressly, “Therefore is its name called the house of drawing, because from thence is drawn the Holy Spirit,” as it is said, “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Jer. Succa, v. 1). Thoughts like these would be connected with this ritual by the Jews and by Jesus Himself, and the exact form which His own thought takes is marked by the words, “If any 234
- 235. man thirst.” Hestands there on the great day of the feast, and around Him are men who for seven successive mornings have witnessed acts and uttered words telling, though they know it not, of the true satisfaction of spiritual thirst, and thinking of the descent of showers on the thirsty ground, and in some vague way of the Holy Spirit’s presence. They are as the woman of Samaria was by the side of the true well. For every one who really knew his need, the source of living water was at hand. (Comp. Notes on John 4:7-15.) That very Feast of Tabernacles, with its dwelling in tents, moreover, brought vividly to their minds the wilderness-life; and as in the past chapter the manna has formed the basis of His teaching about the Bread of Life, so here the striking of the rock and the streams gushing forth in the desert would be present to their minds. In the interpretation of one who was himself a Pharisee, and was taught in the schools of Jerusalem, “that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). CONSTABLE, “The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deuteronomy 16:13). However the day following the feast was a day of convocation that the people popularly regarded as part of the feast (cf. Leviticus 23:36). It is difficult to tell if John meant the seventh or the eighth day when he referred to "the great day of the feast." Edersheim believed it was the seventh day. [Note: Edersheim, 2:156.] "For the rabbis 'the last day' of the festival was the eighth day, but they never spoke of it as the greatest day. Since the water-drawing rite and the dancing in the light of the great menoras were omitted on the eighth day, the description of 'the greatest day' is thought by many to denote the seventh day, when the priests processed around the altar with the water drawn from Siloam not once but seven times. ... It is also to be recognized that the invitation [of Jesus] would have been equally relevant on the eighth day, which was celebrated as a Sabbath with appropriate ceremonies and was attended by a great congregation." [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 114.] Jesus used the occasion to make another important public proclamation (cf. John 7:28). Perhaps Jesus laid low until this day to avoid arrest and then presented Himself again publicly. He invited anyone who was thirsty spiritually to come to Him and take what would satisfy and sustain him or her (cf. John 4:10; John 4:14). Early each of the seven mornings of the feast the high priest would lead a procession from the Pool of Siloam to the temple. Another priest would first fill a golden ewer with water from the pool. He would then carry it through the Water Gate on the south side of the temple and into the temple courtyard. There he would ceremoniously pour the water into a silver basin on the west side of the brazen altar from which it would flow through a tube to the base of the altar. Many Jews would accompany these priests. Some of them would drink from the pool while others would chant Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 12:3 : "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. Joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." This was such a happy occasion that the Mishnah stated, "He that never has seen the joy of the Water-drawing has never in his life seen joy." [Note: Mishnah Sukkoth 5:1.] 235
- 236. The priest wouldthen pour water into the basin at the time of the morning sacrifice. Another priest would also pour the daily drink offering of wine into another basin at the same time. Then they would pour the water and the wine out before the Lord. The pouring out of water represented God's provision of water in the wilderness in the past and His provision of refreshment and cleansing in the messianic age. The pouring out of wine symbolized God's bestowal of His Spirit in the last days. Every male present would simultaneously shake his little bundle of willow and myrtle twigs (his lulab) with his right hand and hold a piece of citrus fruit aloft with his left hand. The twigs represented stages of the wilderness journey marked by different kinds of vegetation, and the citrus fruit symbolized the fruit of the Promised Land. [Note: Morris, p. 372.] Everyone would also cry, "Give thanks to the Lord!" three times. Worshippers in the temple courtyard would then sing the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). [Note: J. Jeremias, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v., lithos, 4:277-78; J. W. Shepard, The Christ of the Gospels, p. 348; Edersheim, 2:157-60.] This "water rite" had become a part of the Israelites' traditional celebration of the feast of Tabernacles. Essentially it symbolized the fertility and fruitfulness that the rain brought. In the Old Testament, God likened His blessings in the messianic kingdom to the falling of rain (Ezekiel 47:1-7; Zechariah 13:1). The Jews regarded God's provision of water in the wilderness and rain in the land as harbingers of His great blessings on the nation under Messiah's reign. Thus the water rite in the feast of Tabernacles had strong messianic connotations. Jesus stood to announce His invitation. Normally rabbis sat when they taught. Therefore His standing position as well as His words stressed the importance of what He said. Jesus' claim was even more impressive because on the eighth day no water was poured out. When Jesus called out His invitation, He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all that the feast of Tabernacles anticipated. He announced that He was the One who could provide messianic blessing, that He was the Messiah. His words compared Himself to the rock in the wilderness that supplied the needs of the Israelites. NISBET, “THIRST ASSUAGED ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. John 7:37 Christ here says that He is able and willing to assuage all man’s spiritual thirst. Whatever spiritual need man has, in Christ it is met and in Christ alone. I. Men thirst for pardon and peace with God.—This is a deep and universal desire. It is not felt equally by all. In some it is an intense and almost constant longing; in others the thirst is not so great nor is it as continuous. But in all souls it is found. Sometimes the thirst is excited by startling, distressing circumstances which awaken anxiety and dread; in others it comes they hardly know how, but stealing into heart and mind, giving no rest. This thirst is caused now and again by a sight—fitful and very fragmentary—of God’s love in Christ. However the wish for pardon may spring up, by whomever it is felt, to all and every one burdened with a sense of sin, Jesus says, ‘Come unto Me and drink’ of the free, 236
- 237. forgiving love ofGod made known in Me. II. Many thirst to be made free from the power of sin.—They not only long for power and peace with God, a longing is felt to be set at liberty from the bondage of evil passion and habits. Every man in whom there is any sense of the true, right, and pure is conscious that more or less he is in bondage to that which is corrupt and destructive. He is not allowed to lose sight of this for long, and sometimes he experiences shame and remorse through a terrible gust of temptation which has swept him into what his conscience condemns. Then he realises a little of the power of sin, it reigns in his mortal body and he obeys it in the lust thereof. But as he obeys he hates the power that enthrals him. There are many around us who thirst for release from the enslaving power of sin. They have tried to free themselves, nor have they quite given up hope of being able to do this. They have failed repeatedly, and sadly failed in all efforts of this kind that they have made. Still, the hope of deliverance from the power of sin by their own efforts is not quite gone. If we could but convince them that this hope is a delusion and that rescue from the power of sin and Satan can only be obtained in Jesus! III. There is the thirst for love.—All love comes from God: He gives us the capacity and impulse to love. He feeds the desire in us to love. He alone is the object that satisfies our love. No heart can rest in itself as the object of love. When any seek to centre and restrict love to themselves, instead of finding peace, satisfaction, and joy in loving, they are filled with disquietude, they are disappointed and miserable. ‘No man liveth unto himself.’ Nor can we find any other object that fully satisfies the power of love except God Himself. The love of God alone imparts all we need. The yearnings of love are never met until God becomes the supreme object of love. The more you love Him the more you will love others. It is only in Christ that we can love God, as Christ only reveals the fullness and glory of God’s love to us. If you long for an object of love, come to Christ and take Him as God’s highest gift of love, and you will find rest to your souls. IV. There is the thirst for a worthy aim and pursuit in life.—There are very many in our crowded, wealthy land who have no definite, worthy occupation. Some of them are in possession of wealth sufficient to raise them above the need of toil. And yet they are dissatisfied, rightly so, with the purposeless spending of time and abilities. The rounds of pleasure do not give them all they want, their life appears to be idle and useless, etc. They become restless. Now if such only had rest in Christ, pardon, peace, and life in Him, what a noble aim would at once open up! Illustration ‘On the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus “was standing” watching the procession of the people from their booths to the Temple, and then, moved by love and compassion, He cried, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” The image appears to have been occasioned by the pouring out of water brought in a golden vessel from Siloam, which pouring out was made at 237
- 238. the time ofthe morning sacrifice, on each of the days of the feast, when that beautiful psalm Isaiah 12. was sung. The pouring out of the water was a commemoration of one very important event in the wilderness life, when the people drank of the water that followed them from the rock, which rock represented Christ.’ 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] BARNES, "He that believeth on me - He that acknowledges me as the Messiah, and trusts in me for salvation. As the scripture hath said - This is a difficult expression, from the fact that no such expression as follows is to be found literally in the Old Testament. Some have proposed to connect it with what precedes - “He that believeth on me, as the Old Testament has commanded or required” - but to this there are many objections. The natural and obvious meaning here is, doubtless, the true one; and Jesus probably intended to say, not that there was any particular place in the Old Testament that affirmed this in so many words, but that this was the substance of what the Scriptures taught, or this was the spirit of their declarations. Hence, the Syriac translates it in the plural - the Scriptures. Probably there is a reference more particularly to Isa_58:11, than to any other single passage: “Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.” See also Isa_ 44:3-4; Joe_3:18. Out of his belly - Out of his midst, or out of his heart. The word “belly” is often put for the midst of a thing, the center, and the heart, Mat_12:40. It means here that from the man shall flow; that is, his piety shall be of such a nature that it will extend its blessings to others. It shall be like a running fountain - perhaps in allusion to statues or ornamented reservoirs in gardens. in which pipes were placed from which water was continually flowing. The Jews used the same figure: “His two reins are like fountains of water, from which the law flows.” And again: “When a man turns himself to the Lord, he shall be as a fountain filled with living water, and his streams shall flow to all the nations and tribes of men” (Kuinoel). Rivers - This word is used to express abundance, or a full supply. It means here that those who are Christians shall diffuse large, and liberal, and constant blessings on their fellow-men; or, as Jesus immediately explains it, that they shall be the instruments by which the Holy Spirit shall be poured down on the world. Living water - Fountains, ever-flowing streams. That is, the gospel shall be constant and life-giving in its blessings. We learn here: 1. That it is the nature of Christian piety to be diffusive. 2. That no man can believe on Jesus who does not desire that others should also, and who will not seek it. 238
- 239. 3. That thedesire is large and liberal - that the Christian desires the salvation of all the world. 4. That the faith of the believer is to be connected with the influence of the Holy Spirit, and in that way Christians are to be like rivers of living water. CLARKE, "He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said - He who receives me as the Messiah, according to what the Scripture has said concerning me; my person, birth, conduct, preaching, and miracles, being compared with what is written there as ascertaining the true Messiah. Out of his belly - from his heart and soul; for in his soul shall this Spirit dwell. Living water - As a true spring is ever supplied with water from the great deep, with which it has communication, so shall the soul of the genuine believer be supplied with light, life, love, and liberty, and all the other graces of the indwelling Spirit, from the indwelling Christ. The Jews frequently compare the gifts and influences of the Holy Spirit to water in general - to rain, fountains, wells, rivers, etc., etc. The Scriptures abound in this metaphor. Psa_36:8, Psa_36:9; Isa_44:3, Isa_ 44:4; Joe_2:23. GILL, "He that believeth on me,.... Which explains what is meant by coming to Christ, and drinking; for these acts are no other than for a man to go out of himself to Christ, and live by faith on him, and his grace. To which what follows is a great encouragement; as the Scripture hath said: some refer these words to the preceding clause concerning believing in Christ, which the writings of the Old Testament speak of, as in Deu_18:15, and the sense is, that he that believes on Christ, the object of faith the Scripture points at, and in him, as that directs and requires; that believes in him as the mighty God, and as the prophet, priest, and King, and as the only foundation of the church, and lives by faith upon him, as just men do, then out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, though rather they belong to what follows; and do not design any particular place of Scripture; for no such one is to be found, where the following passage is expressed in so many words; but all those Scriptures which speak of grace, under the metaphors of water, and abundance of water, as rivers and floods of water, and of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, under such figurative expressions, such as Isa_41:17. Hence the Syriac version reads in the plural number, "as the Scriptures hath said"; referring to more than one: "out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water"; the grace of the Spirit of God is signified by water, because it is of a cleansing and purifying nature, as faith and hope are, having to do with the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin; and because it fructifies and causes the saints, as trees of righteousness, to grow, and bring forth fruit; and especially because it is cooling to those who are scorched with the heat of a fiery law, and very refreshing to thirsty souls: and it is called "living" water, because by it dead sinners are quickened, drooping saints are revived, and comforted; spiritual life in them is maintained and supported, and it springs up to, and issues in eternal life: and it is expressed by "rivers" of living water, because of the abundance of it in regeneration, justification, and pardon; it is grace for grace, abundance of grace believers receive from Christ; and from him, in whom those large measures of grace are, they "flow out" again, even "out of his belly": from within him, out of his heart, the seat of it, by his lips, both in prayer to God, and in conversation with the saints, 239
- 240. to whom hecommunicates his rich experiences of grace, to their comfort, and the glory of God: for grace is of a diffusive and communicative nature; out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh: and also it flows out by his life and conversation, which is sober, righteous, and godly; and this the grace of God teaches and influences: and this grace, as it is permanent and lasting itself, even perpetual, and always abiding; so it continues to flow, and to show itself in its acts and effects, in one way or another. The Jews ought not to find fault with Christ's using such expressions, mystically understood, since they, comparing Moses and the Messiah together, say, "as the first Redeemer caused a well to spring up, so the last Redeemer shall cause waters to spring up, according to Joe_3:18 (e).'' HENRY, "4. A gracious promise annexed to this gracious call (Joh_7:38): He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow - (1.) See here what it is to come to Christ: It is to believe on him, as the scripture hath said; it is to receive and entertain him as he is offered to us in the gospel. We must not frame a Christ according to our fancy, but believe in a Christ according to the scripture. (2.) See how thirsty souls, that come to Christ, shall be made to drink. Israel, that believed Moses, drank of the rock that followed them, the streams followed; but believers drink of a rock in them, Christ in them; he is in them a well of living water, Joh_4:14. Provision is made not only for their present satisfaction, but for their continual perpetual comfort. Here is, [1.] Living water, running water, which the Hebrew language calls living, because still in motion. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are compared to living (meaning running) water, because they are the active quickening principles of spiritual life, and the earnests and beginnings of eternal life. See Jer_2:13. [2.] Rivers of living water, denoting both plenty and constancy. The comfort flows in both plentifully and constantly as a river; strong as a stream to bear down the oppositions of doubts and fears. There is a fulness in Christ of grace for grace. [3.] These flow out of his belly, that is, out of his heart or soul, which is the subject of the Spirit's working and the seat of his government. There gracious principles are planted; and out of the heart, in which the Spirit dwells, flow the issues of life, Pro_4:23. There divine comforts are lodged, and the joy that a stranger doth not intermeddle with. He that believes has the witness in himself, 1Jo_5:10. Sat lucis intus - Light abounds within. Observe, further, where there are springs of grace and comfort in the soul that will send forth streams: Out of his belly shall flow rivers. First, Grace and comfort will produce good actions, and a holy heart will be seen in a holy life; the tree is known by its fruits, and the fountain by its streams. Secondly, They will communicate themselves for the benefit of others; a good man is a common good. His mouth is a well of life, Pro_10:11. It is not enough that we drink waters out of our own cistern, that we ourselves take the comfort of the grace given us, but we must let our fountains be dispersed abroad, Pro_5:15, Pro_5:16. Those words, as the scripture hath said, seem to refer to some promise in the Old Testament to this purport, and there are many; as that God would pour out his Spirit, which is a metaphor borrowed from waters (Pro_1:23; Joe_2:28; Isa_44:3; Zec_ 12:10); that the dry land should become springs of water (Isa_41:18); that there should be rivers in the desert (Isa_43:19); that gracious souls should be like a spring of water (Isa_58:11); and the church a well of living water, Son_4:15. And here may be an allusion to the waters issuing out of Ezekiel's temple, Eze_47:1. Compare Rev_ 22:1, and see Zec_14:8. Dr. Lightfoot and others tell us it was a custom of the Jews, which they received by tradition, the last day of the feast of tabernacles to have a solemnity, which they called Libatio aquae - The pouring out of water. They fetched a golden vessel of water from the pool of Siloam, brought it into the temple with 240
- 241. sound of trumpetand other ceremonies, and, upon the ascent to the altar, poured it out before the Lord with all possible expressions of joy. Some of their writers make the water to signify the law, and refer to Isa_12:3; Isa_55:1. Others, the Holy Spirit. And it is thought that our Saviour might here allude to this custom. Believers shall have the comfort, not of a vessel of water fetched from a pool, but of a river flowing from themselves. The joy of the law, and the pouring out of the water, which signified this, are not to be compared with the joy of the gospel in the wells of salvation. CALVIN, "38.He who believeth in me. He now points out the manner of coming, which is, that we must approach, not with the feet, but by faith; or rather, to come is nothing else than to believe, at least, if you define accurately the word believe; as we have already said that we believe in Christ, when we embrace him as he is held out to us in the Gospel, full of power, wisdom, righteousness, purity, life, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Besides, he now confirms more plainly and fully the promise which we lately mentioned; for he shows that he has a rich abundance to satisfy us to the full. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. The metaphor appears, no doubt, to be somewhat harsh, when he says that rivers of living water shall flow out of the belly of believers; but there can be no doubt as to the meaning, that they who believe shall suffer no want of spiritual blessings. He calls it living water, the fountain of which never grows dry, nor ceases to flow continually. As to the word rivers being in the plural number, I interpret it as denoting the diversified graces of the Spirit, which are necessary for the spiritual life of the soul. In short, the perpetuity, as well as the abundance, of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, (195) is here promised to us. Some understand the saying — that waters flow out of the belly of believers — to mean, that he to whom the Spirit has been given makes a part to flow to his brethren, as there ought to be mutual communication between us. But I consider it to be a simpler meaning, that whosoever shall believe in Christ shall have a fountain of life springing up, as it were, in himself, as Christ said formerly, He who shall drink of this water shall never thirst, (John 4:14;) for while ordinary drinking quenches thirst only for a short time, Christ says that by faith we draw the Spirit, that he may become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life Still he does not say that, on the first day, believers are so fully satisfied with Christ, that ever afterwards they neither hunger nor thirst; but, on the contrary, the enjoyment of Christ kindles a new desire of him. But the meaning is, that the Holy Spirit is like a living and continually flowing fountain in believers; as Paul also declares that he is life in us, (Romans 8:10,) though we still carry about, in the remains of sin, the cause of death. And, indeed, as every one partakes of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, according to the measure of his faith, we cannot possess a perfect fullness of them in the present life. But believers, while they make progress in faith, continually aspire to fresh additions of the Spirit, so that the first-fruits which they have tasted carry them forward to perpetuity of life. But we are also reminded by it, how small is the capacity of our faith, since 241
- 242. the graces ofthe Spirit scarcely come into us by drops, which would flow like rivers, if we gave due admission to Christ; that is, if faith made us capable of receiving him. As the Scripture saith. Some confine this to the former clause, and others to the latter clause; for my own part, I extend it to the entire scope of the discourse. Besides, Christ does not here, in my opinion, point out any particular passage of Scripture, but produces a testimony drawn from the ordinary doctrine of the Prophets. For whenever the Lord, promising an abundance of his Spirit, compares it to living waters, he looks principally to the kingdom of Christ, to which he directs the minds of believers. All the predictions of living waters, therefore, have their fulfillment in Christ, because he alone hath opened and displayed the hidden treasures of God. The reason why the graces of the Spirit are poured out on him is, that we may all draw out of his fullness, (John 1:16.) Those persons, therefore, whom Christ so kindly and graciously calls, and who wander in every direction, deserve to perish miserably. LIGHTFOOT, "38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.] To this offering of water, perhaps, our Saviour's words may have some respect; for it was only at this feast that it was used, and none other. You have the manner of this service described in the place above quoted, to this purpose: After what manner is this offering of water? "They filled a golden phial containing three logs out of Siloam. When they came to the water gate" [a gate of the Temple so called, as some would have it, because that water which was fetched from Siloam was brought through it], "they sounded their trumpets and sang. Then a priest goes up by the ascent of the altar, and turns to the left. There were two silver vessels, one with water, the other with wine: he pours some of the water into the wine, and some of the wine into the water, and so performs the service." "R. Judah saith, They offer one log every of those eight days: and they say to him that offered it, 'Lift up thy hand': for upon a certain time there was one that offered it upon his feet" [Gemar. He was a Sadducee. Gloss: The Sadducees do not approve the offering of water], "and the whole congregation pelted him with their citrons. That day a horn of the altar was broke." "Whoever hath not seen the rejoicing that was upon the drawing of this water, hath never seen any rejoicing at all." This offering of water, they say, was a tradition given at mount Sinai: and that the prophet Jonah was inspired by the Holy Ghost upon this offering of water. 242
- 243. If you askwhat foundation this usage hath, Rambam will tell us, "There are some kind of remote hints of it in the law. However, those that will not believe the traditional law, will not believe this article about the sacrifice of water." I. They bring for it the authority of the prophet Isaiah, the house of drawing; for it is written, "With joy shall ye draw water," &c. Isaiah 12:3. This rejoicing (which we have described before) they called the rejoicing of the law, or for the law: for by waters they often understand the law, Isaiah 55:1, and several other places; and from thence the rejoicing for these waters. II. But they add moreover, that this drawing and offering of water signifies the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. "Why do they call it the house of drawing? Because thence they draw the Holy Spirit." Gloss in Succah, ubi supr.: "In the Jerusalem Talmud it is expounded, that they draw there the Holy Spirit, for a divine breathing is upon the man through joy." Another Gloss: "The flute also sounded for increase of the joy." Drawing of water, therefore, took its rise from the words of Isaiah: they rejoiced over the waters as a symbol and figure of the law; and they looked for the holy Spirit upon this joy of theirs. III. But still they add further: "Why doth the law command, saying, Offer ye water on the feast of Tabernacles? The holy blessed God saith, Offer ye waters before me on the feast of Tabernacles, that the rains of the year may be blessed to you." For they had an opinion, that God, at that feast, decreed and determined on the rains that should fall the following year. Hence that in the place before mentioned, "In the feast of Tabernacles it is determined concerning the waters." And now let us reflect upon this passage of our Saviour, "He that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." They agree with what he had said before to the Samaritan woman, chapter 4:14; and both expressions are upon the occasion of drawing of water. The Jews acknowledge that the latter Redeemer is to procure water for them, as their former redeemer Moses had done. But as to the true meaning of this, they are very blind and ignorant, and might be better taught by the Messiah here, if they had any mind to learn. I. Our Saviour calls them to a belief in him from their own boast and glorying in the law: and therefore I rather think those words, as the Scripture hath said, should relate to the foregoing clause, "Whosoever believeth in me, as the Scripture hath spoken about believing, Isaiah 28:16, 'I lay in Sion for a foundation a tried stone: he that believeth,' &c.: Habakkuk 2:4. 'The just shall live by his faith.'" And the Jews themselves confess, that six hundred and thirteen precepts of the law may all be reduced to this, "The just shall live by 243
- 244. faith"; and tothat of Amos 5:6, "Seek the Lord, and ye shall live." II. Let these words, then, of our Saviour be set in opposition to this right and usage in the feast of Tabernacles of which we have been speaking: "Have you such wonderful rejoicing at drawing a little water from Siloam? He that believes in me, whole rivers of living waters shall flow out of his own belly. Do you think the waters mentioned in the prophets do signify the law? They do indeed denote the Holy Spirit, which the Messiah will dispense to those that believe in him: and do you expect the Holy Spirit from the law, or from your rejoicing in the law? The Holy Spirit is of faith, and not of the law," Galatians 3:2. BURKITT, “Verse 38 Here again Christ alludes to a Jewish custom; the Jews were wont at fountains to build great vessels of stone, and in the midst or belly of them to have pipes, through which the water passes. "Now, says Christ, Thus shall it be with every one that believeth on me; he shall be abundantly filled with the spirit of God, in all the sanctifying and saving graces of it." Christ and his Holy Spirit are a living fountain, whose waters never fail; they are not a water-brook, but a spring of waters: we shall never miss of the waters of life, if we seek unto and wait upon Christ for them. For if we believe on him out of our belly shall flow rivers of living waters, sufficient for ourselves, and wherewith to refresh others. ELLICOTT, “(38) There can be little doubt that our English version rightly gives the meaning of the original here; though representatives of both the earliest and the latest schools of interpretation have tried so to read the verse as to avoid its difficulties. Some would attach the first clause to the preceding verse, reading, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me; and let him that believeth on Me drink.” Others would have us think that the words, “as the Scripture hath said,” belong to the clause before them, and not to that which follows, making the sense, “He that believeth on Me according to the Scriptures, out of his belly (I say) shall flow rivers of living water.” The reader of the English will, it is believed, feel, and the reader of the Greek will feel still more strongly, that these are attempts to avoid what it is hard to explain, and that while they miss the difficulty they also miss the meaning. He that believeth on me . . .—We have here an advance on the thought, “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.” That represented the satisfaction of the individual mind. This teaches the fuller truth that every one in living communion with Christ becomes himself the centre of spiritual influence. There is in him a power of life which, when quickened by faith, flows forth as a river, carrying life and refreshment to others. No spirit grasps a great truth which satisfies its own yearnings as the waters of the fountain slake physical thirst, without longing to send it forth to others who are seeking what he himself had sought. There is in him a river whose waters no barrier can confine. This is the spirit of the prophet and the evangelist, of the martyr and the missionary. It is the spirit of every great teacher. It is the link which binds men together and makes the life of every Christian approach the life of Christ, for he lives not for himself but for the world. 244
- 245. The exact words“Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,” are not found in any part of the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, and yet Christ Himself utters them with the formula of quotation. This will be a difficulty only to those who value letter and syllable above spirit and substance. It may be that the words which our Lord actually uttered in the current language of Jerusalem were nearer to the very words of some passage in the Old Testament than they seem to be in the Greek form in which St. John has preserved them to us. But it is instructive that the thought is that which our Lord Himself, or St. John as representing Him, considers as the essence of the quotation. The thought meets us again and again in the Old Testament. See the following passages: Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11; Psalms 114:8; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 55:1; Isaiah 58:11; Joel 2:23; Joel 3:18; Ezekiel 47:1; Ezekiel 47:12; Zechariah 13:1; Zechariah 14:8. This frequent reference to the refreshment and life-giving power of water is the more natural in the East, where drought is a fearful evil ever to be guarded against, and a well of water a blessing always sought for as the first necessity of life. The abundance is suggested by the contrast between the small quantity poured out in the Temple and the streams which flowed from the rock struck in the wilderness. The vessel they carried contained but three logs, or about a quart, of water, brought from the tank of Siloam. This was poured through a perforated silver bowl. In the spiritual interpretation the water shall not be carried to the Temple, for every believer shall be a temple of the Holy Ghost and a source of life; it shall not be a limited quantity in vessels of gold and silver, but shall be as rivers bursting forth in their strength and fulness. COFFMAN, “It is of interest that in the preceding verse Jesus said, "Come unto me and drink"; while in this he said, "He that believeth on me ... from within him shall flow, etc." We reject the comment of Tenney that "`Let him come unto me and drink,' and `he that believeth on me' are practically synonymous terms."[13] On the other hand, the expressions are poles apart in meaning, faith being an action of the mind and heart, and coming being an action of both soul and body. Faith is subjective; coming is objective. Faith is allied to thought; coming is allied to deeds. That this is certain appears from writings throughout the New Testament. These two verses (John 7:37-38) refer to Christians receiving the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); and when this promise was fulfilled, they received the Spirit "after they believed" (Ephesians 1:13), and after they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38ff and Galatians 4:6). Therefore these two verses are a reference to the future giving of the Holy Spirit to Christians in consequence of and subsequently to their believing in Christ and obeying the gospel, obedience being the meaning of "come unto me" in John 7:37, and believing being the thing mentioned in John 7:38. Both are required. ENDNOTE: [13] Merrill C. Tenney, op. cit., p. 135. 245
- 246. CONSTABLE, “Some commentatorsbelieved that the end of Jesus' statement did not occur at the end of this verse but after "Me." [Note: E.g., Brown, 1:321.] They saw Jesus saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink he who believes in Me." This view results in the antecedent of "his innermost being" or "him" being Jesus rather than the believer. This view makes Jesus the source of the living water, which is biblical. However the punctuation in the NASB and NIV probably represents the better translation. [Note: See Carson, The Gospel . . ., pp. 323-25.] The antecedent of "his innermost being" or "him" is probably the believer rather than Jesus. This does not mean that Jesus was saying that the believer was the source of the living water. The living water is a reference to the Holy Spirit elsewhere in John, and it is Jesus who pours out the Spirit as living water (John 4:14). Jesus spoke elsewhere of the living water welling up within the believer (John 4:14). The idea is not that the Spirit will flow out of the believer to other believers. We are not the source of the Spirit for others. It is rather that the Spirit from Jesus wells up within each believer and gives him or her satisfying spiritual refreshment. Water satisfies thirst and produces fruitfulness, and similarly the Spirit satisfies the inner person and enables us to bear fruit. The Greek expression is ek tes koilias autou (lit. from within his belly). The belly here pictures the center of the believer's personality. It may imply the womb, the sphere of generation. [Note: Tasker, p. 109.] There is no specific passage in the Old Testament that contains the same words that Jesus mentioned here. Consequently He must have been summarizing the teaching of the Old Testament (cf. Exodus 16:4; Exodus 17; Numbers 20; Nehemiah 8:5-18; Psalms 78:15-16; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28-32; Zechariah 14:8). One writer believed Jesus had Ezekiel 47:1-11 in view. [Note: Zane C. Hodges, "Rivers of Living Water-John 7:37-39," Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):239-48.] In these passages the ideas of the Spirit and the law sustaining God's people as manna and water converge. Jesus claimed that He alone could provide the satisfying Spirit. This was an offer of salvation. 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 246
- 247. BARNES, "Of theSpirit - Of the Holy Spirit, that should be sent down to attend their preaching and to convert sinners. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given - Was not given in such full and large measures as should be after Jesus had ascended to heaven. Certain measures of the influences of the Spirit had been always given in the conversion and sanctification of the ancient saints and prophets; but that abundant and full effusion which the apostles were permitted afterward to behold had not yet been given. See Acts 2; Act_ 10:44-45. Jesus was not yet glorified - Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven - to the glory and honor that awaited him there. It was a part of the arrangement in the work of redemption that the influences of the Holy Spirit should descend chiefly after the death of Jesus, as that death was the procuring cause of this great blessing. Hence, he said Joh_16:7, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you.” See also Joh_7:8-12; Joh_14:15-16, Joh_14:26. Compare Eph_4:8-11. CLARKE, "Was not yet given - ∆εδοµενον, given is added by the Codex Vaticanus, (B.) the Syriac, all the Persic, later Syriac with an asterisk, three copies of the Slavonic, Vulgate, and all the Itala but three; and several of the primitive fathers. The word seems necessary to the completion of the sense. Certain measures of the Holy Spirit had been vouchsafed from the beginning of the world to believers and unbelievers: but that abundant effusion of his graces spoken of by Joel, Joe_2:28, which peculiarly characterized the Gospel times, was not granted till after the ascension of Christ: 1. Because this Spirit in its plenitude was to come in consequence of his atonement; and therefore could not come till after his crucifixion. 2. It was to supply the place of Christ to his disciples and to all true believers; and therefore it was not necessary till after the removal of his bodily presence from among them. See our Lord’s own words, Joh_14:16-18, Joh_14:26; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:7-15. GILL, "But this spake he of the Spirit,.... These are the words of the evangelist, explaining the figurative expressions of Christ; showing, that by rivers of living water, he meant the Spirit in his gifts and graces; and which is the plain sense of the passages referred to by him, particularly Isa_44:3, and which, as before observed, the Jews supposed were intimated by their drawing and pouring water at the feast of tabernacles. Which they that believe on him should receive; the apostles, and others, that had believed in Christ, and had received the Spirit, as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification; as a spirit of illumination and conversion; as a spirit of faith and adoption; but on the day of Pentecost they were to receive a larger, even an extraordinary measure of his gifts and grace, to qualify them for greater work and service: 247
- 248. for the HolyGhost was not yet given; the word "given" is not in the original text; but is very properly supplied, as it is in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Persic versions. The Arabic version renders it, "for the Holy Ghost was not yet come"; he was; he was in being as a divine person, equal with the Father and Son, so he was from everlasting; and he had been bestowed in his grace upon the Old Testament saints, and rested in his gifts upon the prophets of that dispensation; but, as the Jews themselves confess (f), "after the death of the latter prophets, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi, the Holy Ghost removed from Israel.'' And they expressly say, be was not there in the time of the second temple. Maimonides says (g), "they made the Urim and Thummim in the second temple, to complete the eight garments (of the priests) though they did not inquire by them; and why did they not inquire by them? because the Holy Ghost was not there; and every priest that does not speak by the Holy Ghost, and the Shekinah, does not dwell upon him, they do not inquire by him.'' They observe (h) there were five things in the first temple which were not in the second, and they are these, "the ark with the mercy seat, and cherubim, the fire (from heaven), and the Shekinah, הקודש ,ורוח "and the Holy Ghost", and the Urim and Thummim.'' Now, though he had removed, he was to return again; but as yet the time was not come, at least for the more plentiful donation of him: the reason of which was, because that Jesus was not yet glorified; he had not as yet gone through his state of humiliation; he had not yet suffered, and died, and rose again, and ascended, and sat down at the right hand of God; for the Holy Spirit was to come upon his departure, and in consequence of his sufferings and death, and being made sin, and a curse for his people; and through his mediation and intercession, and upon his exaltation at the Father's right hand; when being made, and declared Lord and Christ, this should be notified by the effusion of his Spirit; see Act_2:33. HENRY, "5. Here is the evangelist's exposition of this promise (Joh_7:39): This spoke he of the Spirit: not of any outward advantages accruing to believers (as perhaps some misunderstood him), but of the gifts, graces, and comforts of the Spirit. See how scripture is the best interpreter of scripture. Observe, (1.) It is promised to all that believe on Christ that they shall receive the Holy Ghost. Some received his miraculous gifts (Mar_16:17, Mar_16:18); all receive his sanctifying graces. The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the great blessings promised in the new covenant (Act_2:39), and, if promised, no doubt performed to all that have an interest in that covenant. (2.) The Spirit dwelling and working in believers is as a fountain of living running water, out of which plentiful streams flow, cooling and cleansing as water, mollifying and moistening as water, making them fruitful, and others joyful; see Joh_3:5. When the apostles spoke so fluently of the things of God, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Act_2:4), and afterwards preached and wrote the gospel of Christ with such a flood 248
- 249. of divine eloquence,then this was fulfilled, Out of his belly shall flow rivers. (3.) This plentiful effusion of the Spirit was yet the matter of a promise; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. See here [1.] That Jesus was not yet glorified. It was certain that he should be glorified, and he was ever worthy of all honour; but he was as yet in a state of humiliation and contempt. He had never forfeited the glory he had before all worlds, nay, he had merited a further glory, and, besides his hereditary honours, might claim the achievement of a mediatorial crown; and yet all this is in reversion. Jesus is now upheld (Isa_42:1), is now satisfied (Isa_53:11), is now justified (1Ti_3:16), but he is not yet glorified. And, if Christ must wait for his glory, let not us think it much to wait for ours. [2.] That the Holy Ghost was not yet given. oupō gar hēn pneuma - for the Holy Ghost was not yet. The Spirit of God was from eternity, for in the beginning he moved upon the face of the waters. He was in the Old Testament prophets and saints, and Zacharias and Elisabeth were both filled with the Holy Ghost. This therefore must be understood of the eminent, plentiful, and general effusion of the Spirit which was promised, Joe_ 2:28, and accomplished, Act_2:1, etc. The Holy Ghost was not yet given in that visible manner that was intended. if we compare the clear knowledge and strong grace of the disciples of Christ themselves, after the day of Pentecost, with their darkness and weakness before, we shall understand in what sense the Holy Ghost was not yet given; the earnests and first-fruits of the Spirit were given, but the full harvest was not yet come. That which is most properly called the dispensation of the Spirit did not yet commence. The Holy Ghost was not yet given in such rivers of living water as should issue forth to water the whole earth, even the Gentile world, not in the gifts of tongues, to which perhaps this promise principally refers. [3.] That the reason why the Holy Ghost was not given was because Jesus was not yet glorified. First, The death of Christ is sometimes called his glorification (Joh_13:31); for in his cross he conquered and triumphed. Now the gift of the Holy Ghost was purchased by the blood of Christ: this was the valuable consideration upon which the grant was grounded, and therefore till this price was paid (though many other gifts were bestowed upon its being secured to be paid) the Holy Ghost was not given. Secondly, There was not so much need of the Spirit, while Christ himself was here upon earth, as there was when he was gone, to supply the want of him. Thirdly, The giving of the Holy Ghost was to be both an answer to Christ's intercession (Joh_ 14:16), and an act of his dominion; and therefore till he is glorified, and enters upon both these, the Holy Ghost is not given. Fourthly, The conversion of the Gentiles was the glorifying of Jesus. When certain Greeks began to enquire after Christ, he said, Now is the Son of man glorified, Joh_12:23. Now the time when the gospel should be propagated in the nations was not yet come, and therefore there was as yet no occasion for the gift of tongues, that river of living water. But observe, though the Holy Ghost was not yet given, yet he was promised; it was now the great promise of the Father, Act_1:4. Though the gifts of Christ's grace are long deferred, yet they are well secured: and, while we are waiting for the good promise, we have the promise to live upon, which shall speak and shall not lie. CALVIN, "39.But this he spoke of the Spirit. The word water is sometimes applied to the Spirit on account of its purity, because it is his office to cleanse our pollutions; but in this and similar passages this term is employed in a different acceptation, which is, that we are destitute of all the sap and moisture of life, unless when the Spirit of God quickens us, and when he waters us, as it were, by secret vigor. Under one part he includes the whole; (196) for under the one word water he includes all the parts of life. Hence we infer also, that all who have not been regenerated by the Spirit of Christ ought to be reckoned dead, whatever 249
- 250. may be thepretended life of which they boast. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given. We know that the Spirit is eternal; but the Evangelist declares that, so long as Christ dwelt in the world in the mean form of a servant, that grace of the Spirit, which was poured out on men after the resurrection of Christ, had not been openly manifested. And, indeed, he speaks comparatively, in the same manner as when the New Testament is compared to the Old. God promises his Spirit to his elect and believers, (197) as if he had never given him to the Fathers. At that very time, the disciples had undoubtedly received the first-fruits of the Spirit; for whence comes faith but from the Spirit? The Evangelist, therefore, does not absolutely affirm that the grace of the Spirit was not offered and given (198) to believers before the death of Christ, but that it was not yet so bright and illustrious as it would afterwards become. For it is the highest ornament of the kingdom of Christ, that he governs his Church by his Spirit; but he entered into the lawful and — what may be called — the solemn possession of his kingdom, when he was exalted to the right hand of the Father; so that we need not wonder if he delayed till that time the full manifestation of the Spirit. But one question still remains to be answered. Does he mean here the visible graces of the Spirit, or the regeneration which is the fruit of adoption? I answer: The Spirit, who had been promised at the coming of Christ, appeared in those visible gifts, as in mirrors; but here the question relates strictly to the power of the Spirit, by which we are born again in Christ, and become new creatures. That we lie on earth poor, and famished, and almost destitute of spiritual blessings, while Christ now sits in glory at the right hand of the Father, and clothed with the highest majesty of government, ought to be imputed to our slothfulness, and to the small measure of our faith. LIGHTFOOT, "39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) [For the Holy Ghost was not yet.] These words have relation to that most received opinion of the Jews about the departure of the Holy Spirit after the death of Zechariah and Malachi. To this also must that passage be interpreted, when those of Ephesus say, Acts 19:2, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost": that is, We have indeed heard of the Holy Ghost's departure after the death of our last prophets, but of his return and redonation of him we have not yet heard. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, Habakkuk 3:2. He calls the seventy years of captivity the midst of the years: for, on the one hand, it had been seven times seventy years from the birth of Samuel, the first of the prophets, to the captivity, and, on the other hand, it was seven times seventy years from the end of the captivity to the death of Christ. The prayer is, that the gift of prophecy might not be lost, but preserved, whiles the people should live exiled in a heathen country. And according to the twofold virtue of prophecy, the one of working miracles, the other of foretelling things to come, he uses a twofold phrase, revive thy work, and make known. Nor indeed was that gift lost in the captivity, but was very 250
- 251. illustrious in Daniel,Ezekiel, &c. It returned with those that came back from the captivity, and was continued for one generation; but then (the whole canon of the Old Testament being perfected and made up) it departed, not returning till the dawn of the gospel, at what time it appeared in inspiring the blessed Virgin, John Baptist and his parents, &c.: and yet "the Holy Ghost was not yet come," that is, not answerably to that large and signal promise of it in Joel 2:28. NISBET, “THE PROGRESSIVE WORK OF THE SPIRIT ‘The Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.’ John 7:39 ‘The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.’ Genesis 1:2 I. At the very opening of the sacred record, we have a most suggestive statement made.—The language must not be treated with a base literalism. When it is said that ‘the Spirit of the Lord moved over the face of the waters,’ we must banish from our minds any physical or material conception, and rather take the passage as expressing the energising and formative working of the Divine Spirit in bringing order out of chaos and light out of darkness. The fact which is stated is sufficiently suggestive and glorious, for we are told that all natural order is of God. So are we taught that even in this dull earth, and in what may appear to our eye but the mechanical movements of blind force, we are to see a higher power; for that all are manifestations of creative, formative intelligence, even the moving of the Holy Spirit of God. II. In perfect harmony with these conceptions of the spiritual underlying the material in the external world, we have in the word of God a magnificent vindication of the Divine in those gifts of human genius which modern religionism has been accustomed to relegate to the category of things belonging to the ‘natural man.’ With a boldness which puts to shame our grudging and feeble apprehension of the breadth and grandeur of the Divine influence in common things, the Old Testament recognises that the skill of architect, musician, and artist is the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. The valour of Joshua, the great captain, and the bravery and physical strength of David, are equally ascribed to Divine influence, while such matters as prudence in council or generosity in making offerings, instead of being classified as merely natural, worldly, or secular qualities, are traced to the working of the same Holy Ghost. These things are mentioned in Scripture not that we should regard them as exceptions, but rather to reveal to us principles that are universal, and to teach us, with new emphasis, how ‘every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights.’ We should do wrong to the Bible were we to confine the working of God’s Holy Spirit only to those persons and to those matters which are peculiarly spiritual. It would surely be a misunderstanding of John if we supposed him to mean that the Holy Ghost had never worked among men till Christ was glorified. It would be to make him contradict the clear statements of other passages of Scripture, and to make him banish God from His own world, and to deny His dealings with the minds and consciences of the great and good through countless generations. But while we thankfully acknowledge the work of the Divine Spirit as manifested in the development of creation and in 251
- 252. the progress ofhumanity, yet III. We ought to recognise the greatness of the advance when we pass from the lower stages to the highest—even to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the Church, and to His work of converting and sanctifying human souls. This was not a mere development out of the past. It was not a mere natural outgrowth of previous education. It was sudden, abrupt, and all-mastering. It was new in kind as well as in intensity and force. It was verily a new spiritual creation, a new spiritual order, fulfilling and interpreting all that had been best in the past, but lifting all on to a new range of progression. The life bestowed on St. Peter or St. Paul was of a new kind. That life we are called to possess. That life we may and ought to possess. Illustration ‘The Holy Ghost was not yet with men in such fullness of influence on their minds, hearts, and understandings, as the Spirit of adoption and revelation, as He was after our Lord ascended up into heaven. It is clear as daylight, from our Lord’s language about the Spirit, in John 14:16-17; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7-15, that believers were meant to receive a far more full and complete outpouring of the Holy Spirit after His Ascension than they had received before. It is a simple matter of fact, indeed, that after the Ascension the Apostles were quite different men from what they had been before. They both saw, and spoke, and acted like men grown up, while before the Ascension they had been like children. It was this increased light and knowledge and decision that made them such a blessing to the world, far more than any miraculous gifts. The possession of the gifts of the Spirit, it is evident, in the early Church was quite compatible with an ungodly heart. A man might speak with tongues and yet be like salt that had lost its savour. The possession of the fullness of the graces of the Spirit, on the contrary, was that which made any man a blessing to the world.’ 40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” BARNES, "The Prophet - That is, the prophet whom they expected to precede the coming of the Messiah - either Elijah or Jeremiah. See Mat_16:14. CLARKE, "Of a truth this is the Prophet - The great prophet, or teacher, spoken of by Moses, Deu_18:15, which they improperly distinguished from the Messiah, Joh_7:41. Some no doubt knew that by the prophet, the Messiah was meant; but others seem to have thought that one of the ancient prophets should be 252
- 253. raised from thedead, and precede the appearing of the Messiah. GILL, "Many of the people therefore,.... Of the common people, and it may be chiefly those that came out of the country: when they heard this saying; or discourse of Christ, on the last and great day of the feast, relating to the large measure of grace, and the effusion of the Spirit on him, that believed: said, of a truth this is the prophet; spoken of in Deu_18:15, which some understood not of the Messiah, but of some extraordinary prophet distinct from him, who should come before him, or about the same time; or they imagined he was one of the old prophets raised from the dead, whom they also expected about the times of the Messiah: or their sense might only be, that he was a prophet, which was true, though not all the truth; they had some knowledge, though but small; and they spake of him, though but as children in understanding. JAMIESON, "Many ... when they heard this ... said, Of a truth, etc. — The only wonder is they did not all say it. “But their minds were blinded.” CALVIN, "40.Many of the multitude. The Evangelist now relates what fruit followed from this last sermon of our Lord Jesus Christ; namely, that some thought one thing and some another, so that a difference of opinion arose among the people It ought to be observed that John does not speak of the open enemies of Christ, or of those who were already filled with deadly hatred (200) against sound doctrine, but of the common people, among whom there ought to have been greater integrity. He enumerates three classes of them. He is truly a Prophet. The first acknowledged that Jesus was truly a Prophet, from which we infer that they did not dislike his doctrine. But, on the other hand, how light and trifling this confession was, is evident from the fact, that, while they approve of the Teacher, they neither understand what he means, nor relish what he says; for they could not truly receive him as a Prophet, without, at the same time, acknowledging that he is the Son of God and the Author of their salvation. Yet this is good in them, that they perceive in Christ something Divine, which leads them to regard him with reverence; for this willingness to learn might afterwards give an easy opening to faith. COKE, “John 7:40-46. Many of the people therefore,— Our Lord appears to have been discoursing as above, when the officerssent by the council to apprehend him, John 7:32 came up: but as it was an uncommon topic, and he seemed to be speaking with great fervency, their curiosity made them willing to hear him a little before they laid hands on him, John 7:44-45. The eloquence and power with which he spoke, struck them; every word that he had uttered being well chosen, aptly placed, and gracefully pronounced. There was not only a sweetness in his sermons which enchanted the ear, but a plainness, perspicuity, and weight, which made the beauties of truth shine before the understanding with that lustre which is peculiar to themselves. Even these his enemies, who 253
- 254. were come withan intent to lay violent hands on him, were deeply smitten: the greatness of his subject made visible, as it were, by the divine speaker, filled their understandings: the warmth and tenderness withwhich he delivered himself, penetrated their hearts: they felt new and uncommon emotions. In a word, being overwhelmed with the greatness of their admiration, they silently stood astonished, condemning themselves for having come on the errand, and after a while returned without accomplishing it. Plutarch mentions it as a memorable proof of the extraordinaryeloquence of Mark Anthony, when Marius sent soldiers to kill him, that when he began παραιτεισθαι τον θανατον, to plead for his life, he disarmed their resolution, and melted them into tears. But these officers are thus vanquished merely by hearing Christ's gracious discourses to the people; which is a circumstance infinitely more remarkable. They return in a kind of amaze, and, instead of seizing him as their prisoner, or making a laboured apology for their failure, only break out into a pathetic exclamation, that no man in the world ever spake like him. This is a reflection which I hope we often make, as we read his discourses. The officers were not the only persons on whom this sermon made a deep impression: our Lord's hearers in general were greatly affected with it; for many of them gave it as their opinion, that he was certainly one of the ancient prophets risen from the dead, to usher in the Messiah, John 7:40. Others declared, that they believed he was the Messiah himself, John 7:41. Nevertheless, some of them, led away with the common mistake that he was born in Nazareth, asked with disdain if the Messiah was to come out of Galilee? So there was a division among them, σχισμα, a dissention and warm disagreement among them. BURKITT, “In these verses an account is given of the various effects which our Lord's foregoing sermon had upon his hearers hearts: some were so affected with it, that they believed him to be the great prophet promised to Israel, Deuteronomy 18:18. Others apprehended him to be the Christ: others contradict both, supposing him to be born not at Bethlehem, but in Galilee. And upon this diversity of opinions, there arose a division amongst them: and some had a mind to have apprehended him, but, by an over-ruling providence, they were restrained from the doing of it at present. Learn hence, That diversity of opinions in matters of religion, even concerning Christ himself, have been even from the beginning. Some accounted him a prophet, others the Messiah: some thought him neither; but a grand impostor and deceiver. Our dear Lord when here on earth, passed through evil report and good report; let his followers expect and prepare for the same: for innocence itself cannot protect him from slander and false accusation. 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come 254
- 255. from Galilee? BARNES, "Seethe notes at Mat_2:4-6. Where David was - 1Sa_16:1-4. CLARKE, "Shalt Christ come out of Galilee? - As the prophets had declared that the Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah, and from the family of David, and should be born in the city of Bethlehem, these Jews, imagining that Christ had been born in Galilee, concluded that he could not be the Messiah. Had they examined the matter a little farther, they would have found that he had his birth exactly as the prophets had foretold; but, for want of this necessary examination, they continued in unbelief, and rejected the Lord that bought them. Many still lose their souls nearly in the same way. They suffer themselves to be led away by common report, and become prejudiced against the truth, refuse to give it a fair hearing, or to examine for themselves. It is on this ground that deism and irreligion have established themselves, and still maintain their posts. GILL, "Others said, this is the Christ,.... The true Messiah, which they concluded, not only from the miracles, Joh_7:31, but from his speaking of rivers of living water flowing from him that believes in him; for the same prophecy that speaks of miracles to be performed in the times of the Messiah, speaks also of waters breaking out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, of the parched ground becoming a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, Isa_35:5. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? as they supposed Jesus did; and because he was educated at Nazareth, and Capernaum was his city, and he chiefly conversed, preached, and wrought his miracles in these parts, they concluded that he was born there; and therefore object this to his being the true Messiah. For if they did not mean this, according to their own accounts, the Messiah was to be in Galilee, and to be first revealed there; for they affirm (i) this in so many words, that דגליל בארעא משיחא מלכא ,יתגלי "the King Messiah shall be revealed in the land of Galilee"; accordingly Jesus, the true Messiah, as he was brought up in Galilee, though not born there, so he first preached there, and there wrought his first miracle; here he chiefly was, unless at the public feasts; and here he manifested himself to his disciples after his resurrection. HENRY, "1. Some were taken with him, and well affected to him: Many of the people, when they heard this saying, heard him with such compassion and kindness invite poor sinners to him, and with such authority engage to make them happy, that they could not but think highly of him. (1.) Some of them said, O, a truth this is the prophet, that prophet whom Moses spoke of to the fathers, who should be like unto him; or, This is the prophet who, according to the received notions of the Jewish church, is to be the harbinger and forerunner of the Messiah; or, This is truly a prophet, one divinely inspired and sent of God. (2.) Others went further, and said, This is the Christ (Joh_7:41), not the prophet of the Messiah, but the Messiah himself. The Jews had at this time a more than ordinary expectation of the Messiah, 255
- 256. which made themready to say upon every occasion, Lo, here is Christ, or Lo, he is there; and this seems to be only the effect of some such confused and floating notions which caught at the first appearance, for we do not find that these people became his disciples and followers; a good opinion of Christ is far short of a lively faith in Christ; many give Christ a good word that give him no more. These here said, This is the prophet, and this is the Christ, but could not persuade themselves to leave all and follow him; and so this their testimony to Christ was but a testimony against themselves. JAMIESON, "Others said, This is the Christ — (See on Joh_1:21). Shall Christ come out of Galilee? CALVIN, "41.Others said, He is the Christ. The second have a more correct opinion than the first; for they plainly acknowledge that he is the Christ; but the third (201) rise up against them, and hence proceeds the debate. By this example we are warned that we ought not to think it strange in the present day, if men are divided among themselves by various controversies. We learn that Christ’s sermon produced a schism, and that not among Gentiles who were strangers to the faith, but in the midst of the Church of Christ, and even in the chief seat of the Church. Shall the doctrine of Christ be blamed on that account, as if it were the cause of disturbances? Nay rather, though the whole world were in commotion, the word of God is so precious, that we ought to wish that it were received, at least by a few. There is no reason, therefore, why our consciences should be distressed, when we see those who wish to be accounted the people of God fighting with each other by contrary opinions. Yet it ought also to be observed that divisions do not properly draw their origin from the Gospel; for there can be no firm agreement among men except in undoubted truth. As to the peace maintained among those who know not God, it arises more from stupidity than from true agreement. In short, of all the differences which spring up, when the Gospel is preached, the cause and seed formerly lay concealed in men; but when they are awakened, as it were, out of sleep, they begin to move, just as vapours are produced by something else than the sun, although it is not till the sun arises that they make their appearance. But will Christ come out of Galilee? That they may not be thought to reject Christ on insufficient grounds, they fortify themselves by the testimony of Scripture; and though they do violence to this passage, by turning it improperly against Christ, still they have some appearance of truth. In this point only they are in the wrong, that they make Christ a Galilean. But whence arises this ignorance but from contempt? For if they had taken the trouble to inquire, they would have seen that Christ was adorned with both titles; that he was born in Bethlehem, and that he was the son of David But such is our natural disposition; in matters of little consequence we are ashamed of being indolent, while, in the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, we slumber without any concern. It is likewise of importance to observe, that those men are diligent and industrious in seeking an excuse for turning aside from Christ, but, at the same time, are astonishingly slow and dull in receiving sound doctrine. In this manner, out of the Scriptures themselves, which lead us by the hand to Christ, men frequently 256
- 257. make obstacles forthemselves, that they may not come to Christ. 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” CLARKE, "Where David was? - That is, where he was born, 1Sa_16:1, 1Sa_ 16:4, and where he was before he became king in Israel. GILL, "Hath not the Scripture said,.... These objectors were those who were accounted the more wise and knowing; who were conversant with the Scriptures, and pretended at least to a large knowledge of them: that Christ cometh out of the seed of David; that he should be a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots; that he should be one out of David's loins, and of the fruit of his body, referring to Isa_11:1, which was very true, and what was commonly known, and expected among the Jews, that the Messiah should be David's son, as Jesus of Nazareth was, Act_13:23; and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? where his parents lived, and he was born; and, according to Jerom (k), he was buried here. The account he gives of this city, where he himself for some time lived, "is Bethlehem, the city of David, in the lot of the tribe of Judah, in which our Lord and Saviour was born, is six miles from Aelia, (i.e. Jerusalem) to the south, by the way which leads to Hebron, where also is showed the sepulchre of Jesse and David.'' In which may be observed likewise the exact distance of this place from Jerusalem; which, according to Josephus (l), at least as he is generally understood, was but twenty furlongs: and, according to Justin (m), thirty five: but that this is the true distance, is clear from the old Jerusalem Itinerary (n), and which agrees with Jerom about the sepulchre of David; for not far from it is the monument of Ezekiel, Asaph, Job, Jesse, David, and Solomon: however, it is certain that David was born here, and therefore it is called his city; and from hence the Messiah was to come; and here Jesus, the true Messiah, was born, and which the Jews themselves own; See Gill on Mat_2:1, See Gill on Luk_2:4; and in vain it is for them to expect the Messiah from thence, where none of their nation live, nor have lived, for many hundreds of years; being particularly forbid by Adrian, after he had subdued them, living in or near Jerusalem, and also Bethlehem. Tertullian (o) refers to this when he thus argues with them, and very justly, and strongly; "if he is not yet born, who, it is said, shall come forth a ruler out of Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, he must come (says he) out of the tribe of Judah and from Bethlehem; 257
- 258. but we nowobserve, that no one of the stock of Israel remains in Bethlehem, because it is forbidden that anyone of the Jews should continue on the border of that country--how shall the governor be born in Judea, come forth from Bethlehem, as the divine books of the Prophets declare, when there is none of Israel left there at this day, of whose lineage Christ can be born?--how shall he come out of Bethlehem, when there is none in Bethlehem of the stock of Israel?'' And the passage they had in view, is Mic_5:2. Now these very things they object to Jesus being the Messiah, were what were fulfilled in him, and proved him to be the person; for his supposed father, and real mother Mary, were of the house and lineage of David; and though he was conceived at Nazareth, and brought up there, yet by a remarkable providence, which brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, he was born there, Luk_2:4. JAMIESON, "scripture said ... of the seed of David, and out of ... Bethlehem, etc. — We accept this spontaneous testimony to our David-descended, Bethlehem-born Savior. Had those who gave it made the inquiry which the case demanded, they would have found that Jesus “came out of Galilee” (Joh_7:41) and “out of Bethlehem” both, alike in fulfillment of prophecy as in point of fact. (Mat_ 2:23; Mat_4:13-16)., “(42) Hath not the scripture said . . .—Comp. the prophecies in Micah 5:1; Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5. Where David was.—Comp. the history in 1 Samuel 16. It has often been asked, sometimes in the spirit of objection, sometimes in the spirit of inquiry, how the Apostle, if he really knew the history of our Lord’s birth at Bethlehem, could record these questions without a correction. But in these verses he is giving the feelings and opinions of the multitude, and it is a mark of the truthfulness of his narrative that he gives them just as they really occurred. He, remembering the events as they took place, can with perfect historic fitness record the passing thoughts and words, erroneous as they were. A writer of the second century could not possibly have unintentionally made so great a mistake, with the earlier Gospels before him; nor could he have intentionally so thrown himself into the spirit of a Jewish multitude as to invent the question. (Comp. John 7:52, and references in Note there.) ELLICOTT 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. CLARKE, "There was a division - Σχισµα, a schism; they were divided in 258
- 259. sentiment, and separatedinto parties. This is the true notion of schism. GILL, "So there was a division among the people concerning him. Some, though they did not go so far as to believe him to be the Messiah, yet took him to be a prophet, and a very extraordinary one; others made no difficulty to assert him to be the Christ; and others objected to it on account of the country from whence he came, and so fulfilled the words of Christ, Luk_12:51. HENRY, "II. The consequents of this discourse, what entertainment it met with; in general, it occasioned differences: There was a division among the people because of him, Joh_7:43. There was a schism, so the word is; there were diversities of opinions, and those managed with heat and contention; various sentiments, and those such as set them at variance. Think we that Christ came to send peace, that all would unanimously embrace his gospel? No, the effect of the preaching of his gospel would be division, for, while some are gathered to it, others will be gathered against it; and this will put things into a ferment, as here; but this is no more the fault of the gospel than it is the fault of a wholesome medicine that it stirs up the peccant humours in the body, in order to the discharge of them. Observe what the debate was: - 1. Some were taken with him, and well affected to him: Many of the people, when they heard this saying, heard him with such compassion and kindness invite poor sinners to him, and with such authority engage to make them happy, that they could not but think highly of him. (1.) Some of them said, O, a truth this is the prophet, that prophet whom Moses spoke of to the fathers, who should be like unto him; or, This is the prophet who, according to the received notions of the Jewish church, is to be the harbinger and forerunner of the Messiah; or, This is truly a prophet, one divinely inspired and sent of God. (2.) Others went further, and said, This is the Christ (Joh_7:41), not the prophet of the Messiah, but the Messiah himself. The Jews had at this time a more than ordinary expectation of the Messiah, which made them ready to say upon every occasion, Lo, here is Christ, or Lo, he is there; and this seems to be only the effect of some such confused and floating notions which caught at the first appearance, for we do not find that these people became his disciples and followers; a good opinion of Christ is far short of a lively faith in Christ; many give Christ a good word that give him no more. These here said, This is the prophet, and this is the Christ, but could not persuade themselves to leave all and follow him; and so this their testimony to Christ was but a testimony against themselves. 2. Others were prejudiced against him. No sooner was this great truth started, that Jesus is the Christ, than immediately it was contradicted and argued against: and this one thing, that his rise and origin were (as they took it for granted) out of Galilee, was thought enough to answer all the arguments for his being the Christ. For, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David? See here, (1.) A laudable knowledge of the scripture. They were so far in the right, that the Messiah was to be a rod out of the stem of Jesse (Isa_11:1), that out of Bethlehem should arise the Governor, Mic_5:2. This even the common people knew by the traditional expositions which their scribes gave them. Perhaps the people who had these scriptures so ready to object against Christ were not alike knowing in other parts of holy writ, but had had these put into their mouths by their leaders, to fortify their prejudices against Christ. Many that espouse some corrupt notions, and spend their zeal in defence of them, seem to be very ready in the scriptures, when indeed they know little more than those scriptures which they have been taught to pervert. (2.) A culpable ignorance of our Lord Jesus. They speak of it as certain and past dispute that Jesus was of Galilee, whereas by enquiring of himself, or his mother, or 259
- 260. his disciples, orby consulting the genealogies of the family of David, or the register at Bethlehem, they might have known that he was the Son of David, and a native of Bethlehem; but this they willingly are ignorant of. Thus gross falsehoods in matters of fact, concerning persons and things, are often taken up by prejudiced and partial men, and great resolves founded upon them, even in the same place and the same age wherein the persons live and the things are done, while the truth might easily be found out. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. CLARKE, "Would have taken him - Or, they wished to seize him. And this they would have done, and destroyed him too at that time, had they been unanimous; but their being divided in opinion, Joh_7:43, was the cause, under God, why his life was at that time preserved. How true are the words of the prophet: The wrath of man shall praise thee; and the remainder thereof thou wilt restrain! Psa_76:10. GILL, "And some of them would have taken him,.... Some of the latter sort, who did not believe he was the Messiah; who were the most averse to him, and hot and furious against him; these were for seizing him at once in a violent manner, and for carrying him before the sanhedrim, as an impostor and blasphemer to be examined and tried, and judged by them, to whom it belonged to judge and determine concerning such persons: but no man laid hands on him; though they had a good will to it, no man had power to do it; they were held back and restrained by the providence of God; and were diverted from it upon one consideration or another; either fearing the people, or being awed by the majesty of Christ's countenance, or words; the true reason of which was, that which is before given, that his hour was not yet come. HENRY, "3. Others were enraged against him, and they would have taken him, Joh_7:44. Though what he said was most sweet and gracious, yet they were exasperated against him for it. Thus did our Master suffer ill for saying and doing well. They would have taken him; they hoped somebody or other would seize him, and, if they had thought no one else would, they would have done it themselves. They would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him, being restrained by an invisible power, because his hour was not come. As the malice of Christ's enemies is always unreasonable, so sometimes the suspension of it is unaccountable. CALVIN, "44.Some of them wished to seize him. By these words the Evangelist means, that they not only despised Christ, but that their wicked rejection of him was accompanied by cruelty and eagerness to do him injury; for superstition is always cruel. That their efforts were unavailing, we ought to ascribe to the 260
- 261. providence of God;for since Christ’s hour was not yet come, as has been formerly said, guarded by the protection of his Father, on which he relied, he surmounted all dangers. Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders 45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” BARNES, "The officers - Those who had been appointed Joh_7:32 to take him. It seems that Jesus was in the midst of the people addressing them, and that they happened to come at the very time when he was speaking. They were so impressed and awed with what he said that they dared not take him. There have been few instances of eloquence like this. His speaking had so much evidence of truth, so much proof that he was from God, and was so impressive and persuasive, that they were convinced of his innocence, and they dared not touch him to execute their commission. We have here: 1. A remarkable testimony to the commanding eloquence of Jesus. 2. Wicked men may be awed and restrained by the presence of a good man, and by the evidence that he speaks that which is true. 3. God can preserve his friends. Here were men sent for a particular purpose. They were armed with power. They were commissioned by the highest authority of the nation. On the other hand, Jesus was without arms or armies, and without external protection. Yet, in a manner which the officers and the high priests would have little expected, he was preserved. So, in ways which we little expect, God will defend and deliver us when in the midst of danger. 4. No prophet, apostle, or minister has ever spoken the truth with as much power, grace, and beauty as Jesus. It should be ours, therefore, to listen to his words, and to sit at his feet and learn heavenly wisdom. CLARKE, "Then came the officers - They had followed him for several days, seeking for a proper opportunity to seize on him, when they might fix some charge of sedition, etc., upon him; but the more they listened, the more they were convinced of his innocence, purity, and consummate wisdom. GILL, "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees,.... Who were assembled together in council, as the great sanhedrim of the nation; who were sitting and expecting Jesus to be brought before them. The same officers they sent to take him, Joh_7:32, returned to them without him; for though they were sent on that 261
- 262. errand which theyintended to have performed, yet they were not on the side of those who were for seizing him by force, nor of those who objected to his being the Messiah; but rather took part with those who affirmed he was the Messiah; or at least looked upon him to be some extraordinary prophet: and they said unto them; that is, the chief priests and Pharisees said to the officers; the Syriac version reads, "the priests said unto them": why have ye not brought him? They mention not the name of Jesus by way of contempt, and knowing that the officers would easily understand them; though the Persic version expresses it, reading the words thus, "why have ye not brought Jesus?" seeing them returned without him, they were transported with rage and fury, and fell upon them in a fierce and furious manner, for disobeying their orders, who had sat there waiting some time: and hoping, and not doubting, but they should have him in their hands, whose blood they were thirsting after: wherefore it was a great disappointment to them, and much enraged them to see them come without him. HENRY, "The chief priests and Pharisees are here in a close cabal, contriving how to suppress Christ; though this was the great day of the feast, they attended not the religious services of the day, but left them to the vulgar, to whom it was common for those great ecclesiastics to consign and turn over the business of devotion, while they thought themselves better employed in the affairs of church-policy. They sat in the council-chamber, expecting Christ to be brought a prisoner to them, as they had issued out warrants for apprehending him, Joh_7:32. Now here we are told, I. What passed between them and their own officers, who returned without him, re infecta - having done nothing. Observe, 1. The reproof they gave the officers for not executing the warrant they gave them: Why have you not brought him? He appeared publicly; the people were many of them disgusted, and would have assisted them in taking him; this was the last day of the feast, and they would not have such another opportunity; “why then did you neglect your duty?” It vexed them that those who were their own creatures, who depended on them, and on whom they depended, into whose minds they had instilled prejudices against Christ, should thus disappoint them. Note, Mischievous men fret that they cannot do the mischief they would, Psa_112:10; Neh_6:16. JAMIESON, "Then came the officers — “sent to take him” (Joh_7:32). Why ... not brought him? — already thirsting for their Victim, and thinking it an easy matter to seize and bring Him. CALVIN, "45.So the officers came. Here we may see how blind is the arrogance of men. To such an extent do they admire and adore the greatness which renders them eminent, that they have no hesitation in trampling under foot morality and religion. If any thing happen contrary to their wish, they would willingly mingle heaven and earth; for when these haughty and wicked priests (202) ask, why Christ was not brought, they magnify their power so greatly as if nothing ought to oppose their command. BARCLAY, "UNWILLING ADMIRATION AND TIMID DEFENCE (John 7:45-52) 7:45-52 So the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They said to 262
- 263. them: "Why didyou not bring him here?" The attendants answered: "Never did a man speak as he speaks." So the Pharisees answered: "Surely you too have not been led astray? Has anyone from the authorities believed in him? Or anyone from the Pharisees? They have not; but the mob which is ignorant of the law and which is accursed believes in him!" Nicodemus (the man who came to him before) said to them, for he was one of them; "Surely our law does not condemn a man unless it first hears a statement of the case from him, and has first-hand information about what he is doing?" They answered him: "Surely you too are not from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee." We have certain vivid reactions to Jesus. (i) The reaction of the officers was bewildered amazement. They had gone out to arrest Jesus and had come back without him, because never in their lives had they heard anyone speak as he did. Really to listen to Jesus is an unparalleled experience for any man. (ii) The reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees was contempt. The Pharisees had a phrase by which they described the ordinary, simple people who did not observe the thousands of regulations of the ceremonial law. They called them the People of the Land; to them they were beneath contempt. To marry a daughter to one of them was like exposing her bound and helpless to a beast. "The masses who do not know the law are accursed." The rabbinic law said: "Six things are laid down about the People of the Land: entrust no testimony to them, take no testimony from them, trust them with no secret, do not appoint them guardians of an orphan, do not make them custodians of charitable funds, do not accompany them on a journey." It was forbidden to be a guest of one of the People of the Land, or to entertain such a person as a guest. It was even laid down that, wherever it was possible, nothing should be bought or sold from one of them. In their proud aristocracy and intellectual snobbery and spiritual pride, the Pharisees looked down in contempt on the ordinary man. Their plea was: "Nobody who is spiritually and academically of any account has believed on Jesus. Only ignorant fools accept him." It is indeed a terrible thing when a man thinks himself either too clever or too good to need Jesus Christ--and it happens still. (iii) There was the reaction of Nicodemus. It was a timid reaction, for he did not defend Jesus directly. He dared only to quote certain legal maxims which were relevant. The law laid it down that every man must receive justice (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:16); and part of justice was and is that he must have a right to state his case and cannot be condemned on secondhand information. The Pharisees proposed to break that law, but it is clear that Nicodemus did not carry his protest any further. His heart told him to defend Jesus but his head told him not to take the risk. The Pharisees flung catchwords at him; they told him that obviously no prophet could come out of Galilee and taunted him with having a connection with the Galilaean rabble, and he said no more. Often a man finds himself in a situation in which he would like to defend Jesus and in which he knows he ought to show his colours. Often he makes a kind of 263
- 264. half-hearted defence, andis then reduced to an uncomfortable and ashamed silence. In our defence of Jesus Christ it is better to be reckless with our hearts than prudent with our heads. To stand up for him may bring us mockery and unpopularity; it may even mean hardship and sacrifice. But the fact remains that Jesus said he would confess before his Father the man who confessed him on earth, and deny before his Father the man who denied him on earth. Loyalty to Christ may produce a cross on earth, but it brings a crown in eternity. BURKITT, “Observe here, 1. How God restrained the rage and malice of Christ's enemies, till his hour was come: the officers of the chief priests, who were sent forth with a commission to apprehend him, returned without him: but with this honourable mention of him in their mouths, Never man spake like this man. Such is the power of Christ's doctrine, that even those that come unto it with prejudice and with a persecuting purpose, may be surprized by it, and though not converted, yet bridled and restrained: the preaching of the gospel doth sometimes restrain the violence of the hand, when it works no change in or upon the heart. Thus it was with these poor officers. Observe, 2. That the Pharisees being more enraged at the reason which the officers gave for neglecting their office, than for the neglect itself, upbraid them, that they should suffer themselves to be so deceived, whereas none of the grandees, or learned rabbies, had owned him: only an accursed crew of ignorant people followed him, and doated on him. Here note, That when Christ came into the world, the great ones of the world not only refused to believe on him, but boasted of their unbelief, as an argument of their wisdom. Have any of the rulers believed on him? Oh no, they were too wise to believe! Faith is left to fools, and accounted folly by those wise men. Nay, farther, they count the common people cursed, who did believe on Christ. Oh prodigious stupidity! to account them accursed who receive Jesus Christ, the chiefest blessing: great men have not always the wisdom of a man, but more seldom have they the wisdom of a real Christian. Great in honour, and wise in understanding, are a sweet couple, but seldom seen together. 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. CLARKE, "Never man spake like this man - Though these officers had gone on the errand of their masters, they had not entered into their spirit. They were sent to apprehend a seditious man, and a false prophet. They came where Jesus taught; they found him to be a different person to the description they received from their 264
- 265. masters, and thereforedid not attempt to touch or molest him. No doubt they expected when they told their employers the truth, that they would have commended them, and acknowledged their own mistake: but these simple people were not in the secret of their masters’ malice. They heard, they felt, that no man ever spoke with so much grace, power, majesty, and eloquence. They had never heard a discourse so affecting and persuasive. So Jesus still speaks to all who are simple of heart. He speaks pardon - he speaks holiness - he speaks salvation to all who have ears to hear. No man ever did or can speak as he does. He teaches The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth. GILL, "The officers answered,.... Very honestly and uprightly, making use of no shifts and excuses; as that they could not find him, or could not come at him, because of the multitude about him, or that they were afraid of the people, lest they should rise upon them, and stone them, and rescue Jesus; which would have carried a show of probability, and have brought them off; but they tell the naked truth, never man spake like this man; not Moses, the spokesman of the people of Israel; nor David, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet Psalmist of Israel; nor Solomon, the wisest of men; nor that sublime and evangelical prophet Isaiah; nor any of the other prophets; nor John Baptist his forerunner, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: never man spoke words for matter like him; such gracious words, or words, and doctrines of grace, which so fully express the grace of God, and are so grateful to men; such as free justification by his righteousness, full pardon by his blood, peace and reconciliation by his sacrifice, the liberty captives from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law, and spiritual and eternal salvation by him: never man spoke such words of truth, as he who is full of truth, and truth itself did: or such words of wisdom, who is the wisdom of God, on whom the spirit of wisdom rested, and in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; nor such wholesome and salutary words, which nourish up unto eternal life. Nor did ever any speak words for form and manner, as he did; words so apt and pertinent, with such propriety, beauty, and gracefulness, with such majesty and authority, and with such power and efficacy; which at once charmed the ear, affected the heart; carried evidence and conviction with them, enlightened the understanding, and fastened attention to them; which was the case with these men, so that they had not power to execute their commission. He delivered such excellent things, and in such a charming manner, they could not find in their hearts to use any violence towards him; or be the means of bringing him into any trouble or danger. The Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, "never man spake as this man speaks". HENRY, "2. The reason which the officers gave for the non-execution of their warrant: Never man spoke like this man, Joh_7:46. Now, (1.) This was a very great truth, that never any man spoke with that wisdom, and power, and grace, that convincing clearness, and that charming sweetness, wherewith Christ spoke; none of the prophets, no, not Moses himself. (2.) The very officers that were sent to take him were taken with him, and acknowledged this. Though they were probably men who had no quick sense of reason or eloquence, and certainly had no inclination to think well of Jesus, yet so much self-evidence was there in what Christ said that they could not but prefer him before all those that sat in Moses's seat. Thus Christ was preserved by the power God has upon the consciences even of bad men. (3.) They said this to their lords and masters, who could not endure to hear any thing that tended to the honour of Christ and yet could not avoid hearing this. Providence ordered it so that this should be said to them, that it might be a vexation in their sin 265
- 266. and an aggravationof their sin. Their own officers, who could not be suspected to be biassed in favour of Christ, are witnesses against them. This testimony of theirs should have made them reflect upon themselves, with this thought, “Do we know what we are doing, when we are hating and persecuting one that speaks so admirably well?” JAMIESON, "Never man spake like this man — Noble testimony of unsophisticated men! Doubtless they were strangers to the profound intent of Christ’s teaching, but there was that in it which by its mysterious grandeur and transparent purity and grace, held them spellbound. No doubt it was of God that they should so feel, that their arm might be paralyzed, as Christ’s hour was not yet come; but even in human teaching there has sometimes been felt such a divine power, that men who came to kill them (for example, Rowland Hiss) have confessed to all that they were unmanned. SBC, "The Epiphany of Wisdom I. On the nature of wisdom, the teaching of Holy Scripture is singularly clear and striking. It says there is a wisdom of man, and this is the knowledge of the true end or purpose of life—call it happiness, call it perfection, or what you will—a knowledge which answers, to some extent, those ever-recurring questions, "Why was I made?" and "What am I now?" and "Whither am I going?" This is the wisdom which the author of Ecclesiastes sought for everywhere, and yet hardly found. It is this, over which, as discovered, the Book of Proverbs rejoices as more precious than gold and jewels, and from the rough ore of which it forges the current coin of its proverbial philosophy. But there is also a wisdom of God, and this is the idea or purpose of His dispensation to man, rolling alike in the stately march of Nature’s law, or in the little world of the soul within. The fear of the Lord is declared to be the beginning of wisdom, and to the desponding author of Ecclesiastes, it seems to be the whole treasure of man. II. The Epiphany of wisdom is, for us, unlike the Epiphany of power in this—that it is not removed far away in the past, so that its voice comes to us only like the reverberations of some distant thunder—grand, indeed, and solemn, but so vague and indistinct that they may be drowned by the more incisive sounds of ordinary life. No; the words of the Lord are as living now as on the very day they were uttered. They indicate their unequalled grandeur in this—that, uttered by a Galilean carpenter eighteen centuries ago, they are universal in their application to all time and place. "Never man spake as this Man." And if that be true, there are three short practical questions which we may well consider:—(1) What means the Epiphany of wisdom, if it does not mean that He who speaks, being true man, is yet more than man—is, in some supreme and unique sense, revealer of the very mind of God? (2) And then, if this be so, is it not, in the next place, reasonable for us, in reverence and faith, to try the effect of His guidance in all the perplexities and needs of this life? (3) And if here also we find that His wisdom is a sufficient guide in all these questions and needs that we can understand, is it not then natural that, with regard to all those deep mysteries of eternity, and of Godhead, and of salvation—which we cannot discover, but which yet are of infinite moment to our life—is it not reasonable that in these things we should yield also to His claim, and prepare, at least, to sit at His feet with something like inquiring and unhesitating faith? Bishop Barry, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 33. 266
- 267. CALVIN, "46.Never manspoke like this man. Those officers acknowledge that they are subdued and vanquished by the word of Christ, and yet they do not on that account repent or give due honor to the word. If it be true, that never man spoke like this man, why did not the Divine power, which they were compelled to feel, touch their hearts in such a manner as to cause them to devote themselves wholly to God? But it was necessary that the prediction of Isaiah should thus be accomplished: he will prostrate the wicked by the breath of his mouth, (Isaiah 11:4.) Nay more, we shall afterwards see how those who were attempting to put him to death, overwhelmed by the voice of Christ alone, and as if they had been struck down with mallets, fell backwards, (John 18:6.) Let us, therefore, learn that the doctrine of Christ possesses such power as even to terrify the wicked; but as this tends to their destruction, let us take care that we be softened, instead of being broken. Even in the present day, we see many persons who too much resemble those officers, who are reluctantly drawn into admiration of the doctrine of the Gospel, and yet are so far from yielding to Christ, that they still remain in the enemy’s camp. There are others even worse, who, for the sake of obtaining favor with the wicked, employ all the opprobrious terms which they can find for basely slandering that doctrine, which, notwithstanding, they acknowledge to be from God, because they are convinced of it in their hearts. (203) NISBET, “THE WORDS OF JESUS ‘Never man spake like this Man.’ John 7:46 It often happens that people appreciate a work of art, and appreciate it rightly, but cannot altogether say why. Much the same, I think, is the case with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am one of those who think that sufficient attention has not always been fixed upon the language of Jesus Christ. Theologians and other thinkers debate about His supernatural works, His miracles, but to my thinking the words of Jesus are more marvellous than His works. We know so little about the relation of spirit to body, of our own spirits to our own bodies, and the spirit of one man to the spirit and body of another, that I should be loth to lay down dogmatically that this or that fact was impossible; but it is to me absolutely inconceivable that any one, if he were a man, however lofty, however powerful, however holy, should assert the claims which Jesus Christ asserted for Himself, that he should claim, for example, to be the judge of all the living and the dead. It will be my object to examine, as well as one sermon will permit, the words of Jesus Christ, in order to show how true it is that ‘Never man spake like this Man.’ I. Words of authority.—It will be best to begin with the ordinary conversation of everyday life. We say ‘I hope,’ or ‘I think,’ or ‘I am afraid,’ or ‘I expect.’ But there is not one of these expressions which Jesus Christ, if He were living now, could possibly have used. The words which are so often current upon our lips, such as ‘perhaps,’ or ‘probably,’ or ‘I dare say,’ are never heard from His, whether about earthly things or about heavenly. He speaks with absolute 267
- 268. assurance. He mayor may not choose to impart His knowledge, but He never says ‘I do not know.’ To take an example. It is related that one of His disciples asked Him, ‘Lord, are there few that be saved?’ He does not say ‘I do not know,’ but He says it is not their business to know, and they must try to win their own salvation. I do not forget that to this universal amplitude of knowledge there seems to be one exception. In regard to the final Day of Judgment our Lord, at least as Mark reports Him, used the words, ‘Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.’ And if so, then I can only say that that one solitary exception to the law of His universal knowledge does but serve to throw into relief His paramount claim in other instances. I sometimes think the best way to realise how unique is the teaching of Jesus Christ is to set it beside the teaching of some one high, holy, and pure among men. Now this is the language which Socrates addressed to his judges in the prospect of his execution: ‘The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our way, I to die and you to live. Which is better, God only knows.’ Now listen to the words of Jesus Christ: ‘I go to My Father and ye see Me no more.’ ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.’ ‘I ascend unto My Father and your Father; and to My God and your God.’ II. Words of infallibility.—There are no expressions which are, and ought to be, commoner upon our lips than such as suggest our own imperfections or limitations, such as ‘I will try,’ ‘I will do my best,’ ‘I have forgotten,’ ‘I made a mistake.’ There is not one of these expressions which Jesus Christ ever used or could have used in His human life. It is in His relation to His disciples that I seem especially to notice the uniqueness of His language. He lived with them, as you know, an intimate, daily companionship. Yet He never says, ‘What do you think? In the circumstances, what do you recommend me to do?’ And, strangest of all, He never said to His disciples, ‘Let us kneel down and pray together.’ This He did not say, but what He did say strikes me as even more wonderful. Let me remind you of such words as these: ‘Which of you convinceth Me of sin?’ Is there any one who could advance a claim like that? ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ ‘All,’ notice; not ‘some.’ He is the one absolute Comforter and Saviour of all men in all vicissitudes of their human lives. Or, again, ‘Before Him shall be gathered all nations.’ He claims to be the final Judge of all men, to discriminate with absolute precision between all men and all nations of men at the last judgment. He asserted from the first a world- wide, imperishable mission. His conception of His mission He never revoked, never qualified, never changed, and yet, in the prosecution of His mission, He seemed to be indifferent to the common signs and tokens of success. He did not count up His disciples, He did not advertise Himself, He shrank from publicity. The Son of Man had not where to lay His head; but for all that He did not entertain so much as a momentary doubt that His mission would be ultimately accomplished. Is there anything more tragic in history than the life of the traitor Judas, false friend, plotting in secret, as he thought, the death of his Master, and all the while that Master could read his heart, could see the plague spot of sin spreading over it? Jesus knew from the beginning who should betray Him. III. Words that endure.—He Who spoke as never man spake predicted that His words should never pass away. The science, the philosophy, the religion of the 268
- 269. Roman Empire inHis day, they are gone, and they will never come again. His words alone have never been superseded. The world needs no new religion. It needs only to lay hold of His revelation of the Father Who loves His children with a love to which all earthly love is as shadow to sunshine. —Bishop Welldon. (SECOND OUTLINE) CHRIST’S TEACHING The speaker was quite right, although he knew not how deep and profound a truth he was uttering. Let us see the significance of these words as applied to Christ. I. The matter of His teaching.—Originality was its distinctive feature. Christ Himself—His Person, His work, and His mission—was the theme of His teaching. It was characterised by sublimity and simplicity, profundity and perspicuity. II. The manner of His teaching.—There was no reasoning, popularly so-called, but there was the highest wisdom in all He said. Nor was there the eloquence of human oratory. He spoke with authority. Mark the touching solemnity of His lamentation over Jerusalem, His severe denunciation of hypocrisy, and His passionate tenderness for the sorrowful. III. The method of His teaching.—His words were brief, emphatic, suggestive, parabolic. Now turn to the present position of Christ and His teaching. (a) He is the central figure of human history. (b) His teaching confessedly the most potent factor in human progress. Truly ‘never man spake like this Man.’ Archdeacon W. F. Taylor. Illustration ‘The words of the Lord are as living now as on the very day they were uttered. They indicate their unequalled grandeur in this—that, uttered by a Galilæan carpenter eighteen centuries ago, they are universal in their application to all time and place. “Never man spake as this Man.”’ 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 269
- 270. BARNES, "Are yealso deceived? - They set down the claims of Jesus as of course an imposture. They did not examine, but were, like thousands, determined to believe that he was a deceiver. Hence, they did not ask them whether they were convinced, or had seen evidence that he was the Messiah; but, with mingled contempt, envy, and anger, they asked if they were also deluded. Thus many assume religion to be an imposture; and when one becomes a Christian, they assume at once that he is deceived, that he is the victim of foolish credulity or superstition, and treat him with ridicule or scorn. Candor would require them to inquire whether such changes were not proof of the power and truth of the gospel, as candor in the case of the rulers required them to inquire whether Jesus had not given them evidence that he was from God. GILL, "Then answered them the Pharisees, are ye also deceived? As well as the common people; you that have been so long in our service, and should know better; or who, at least, should have taken the sense of your superiors, and should have waited to have had their opinion and judgment of him, and been determined by that, and not so hastily have joined with a deluded set of people. It was the common character of Christ, and his apostles, and so of all his faithful ministers in all succeeding ages, that they were deceivers, and the people that followed them deceived, a parcel of poor deluded creatures, carried aside by their teachers; when, on the other hand, they are the deceived ones, who live in sin, and indulge themselves in it; or who trust in themselves that they are righteous; who think they are something, when they are nothing; who imagine, that touching the righteousness of the law, they are blameless, are free from sin, and need no repentance; who follow the traditions and commandments of men: whereas these cannot be deceived, who follow Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, and his faithful ministers, who show unto men the way of salvation. HENRY 47-49, "3. The Pharisees endeavour to secure their officers to their interest, and to beget in them prejudices against Christ, to whom they saw them begin to be well affected. They suggest two things: - (1.) That if they embrace the gospel of Christ they will deceive themselves (Joh_ 7:47): Are you also deceived? Christianity has, from its first rise, been represented to the world as a great cheat upon it, and they that embraced it as men deceived, then when they began to be undeceived. Those that looked for a Messiah in external pomp thought those deceived who believed in a Messiah that appeared in poverty and disgrace; but the event declares that none were ever more shamefully deceived, nor put a greater cheat upon themselves, than those who promised themselves worldly wealth and secular dominion with the Messiah. Observe what a compliment the Pharisees paid to these officers: “Are you also deceived? What! men of your sense, and thought, and figure; men that know better than to be imposed upon by every pretender and upstart teacher?” They endeavour to prejudice them against Christ by persuading them to think well of themselves. (2.) That they will disparage themselves. Most men, even in their religion, are willing to be governed by the example of those of the first rank; these officers therefore, whose preferments, such as they were, gave them a sense of honour, are desired to consider, [1.] That, if they become disciples of Christ, they go contrary to those who were persons of quality and reputation: “Have any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed on him? You know they have not, and you ought to be bound up by their 270
- 271. judgment, and tobelieve and do in religion according to the will of your superiors; will you be wiser than they?” Some of the rulers did embrace Christ (Mat_9:18; Joh_ 4:53), and more believed in him, but wanted courage to confess him (Joh_12:42); but, when the interest of Christ runs low in the world, it is common for its adversaries to represent it as lower than really it is. But it was too true that few, very few, of them did. Note, First, The cause of Christ has seldom had rulers and Pharisees on its side. It needs not secular supports, nor proposes secular advantages, and therefore neither courts nor is courted by the great men of this world. Self-denial and the cross are hard lessons to rulers and Pharisees. Secondly, This has confirmed many in their prejudices against Christ and his gospel, that the rulers and Pharisees have been no friends to them. Shall secular men pretend to be more concerned about spiritual things than spiritual men themselves, or to see further into religion than those who make its study their profession? If rulers and Pharisees do not believe in Christ, they that do believe in him will be the most singular, unfashionable, ungenteel people in the world, and quite out of the way of preferment; thus are people foolishly swayed by external motives in matters of eternal moment, are willing to be damned for fashion-sake, and to go to hell in compliment to the rulers and Pharisees. [2.] That they will link themselves with the despicable vulgar sort of people (Joh_ 7:43): But this people, who know not the law, are cursed, meaning especially those that were well-affected to the doctrine of Christ. Observe, First, How scornfully and disdainfully they speak of them: This people. It is not laos, this lay-people, distinguished from them that were the clergy, but ochlos outos, this rabble-people, this pitiful, scandalous, scoundrel people, whom they disdained to set with the dogs of their flock though God had set them with the lambs of his. If they meant the commonalty of the Jewish nation, they were the seed of Abraham, and in covenant with God, and not to be spoken of with such contempt. The church's common interests are betrayed when any one part of it studies to render the other mean and despicable. If they meant the followers of Christ, though they were generally persons of small figure and fortune, yet by owning Christ they discovered such a sagacity, integrity, and interest in the favours of Heaven, as made them truly great and considerable. Note, As the wisdom of God has often chosen base things, and things which are despised, so the folly of men has commonly debased and despised those whom God has chosen. Secondly, How unjustly they reproach them as ignorant of the word of God: They know not the law; as if none knew the law but those that knew it from them, and no scripture-knowledge were current but what came out of their mint; and as if none knew the law but such as were observant of their canons and traditions. Perhaps many of those whom they thus despised knew the law, and the prophets too, better than they did. Many a plain, honest, unlearned disciple of Christ, by meditation, experience, prayers, and especially obedience, attains to a more clear, sound, and useful knowledge of the word of God, than some great scholars with all their wit and learning. Thus David came to understand more than the ancients and all his teachers, Psa_119:99, Psa_119:100. If the common people did not know the law, yet the chief priests and Pharisees, of all men, should not have upbraided them with this; for whose fault was it but theirs, who should have taught them better, but, instead of that, took away the key of knowledge? Luk_11:52. Thirdly, How magisterially they pronounce sentence upon them: they are cursed, hateful to God, and all wise men; epikatartoi - an execrable people. It is well that their saying they were cursed did not make them so, for the curse causeless shall not come. It is a usurpation of God's prerogative, as well as great uncharitableness, to say of any particular persons, much more of any body of people, that they are reprobates. We are unable to try, and therefore unfit to condemn, and our rule is, Bless, and curse not. Some think they meant no more than that the people were apt to be 271
- 272. deceived and madefools of; but they use this odious word, They are cursed, to express their own indignation, and to frighten their officers from having any thing to do with them; thus the language of hell, in our profane age, calls every thing that is displeasing cursed, and damned, and confounded. Now, for aught that appears, these officers had their convictions baffled and stifled by these suggestions, and they never enquire further after Christ; one word from a ruler or Pharisee will sway more with many than the true reason of things, and the great interests of their souls. JAMIESON, "ye also deceived — In their own servants this seemed intolerable. CALVIN, "47.And are you also seduced? While they reprove their officers, they endeavor, at the same time, to keep them in subjection. For by these words they mean, that it would be unreasonable and unbecoming that they should not remain steady, though the whole people should revolt. But we must see on what argument they rest, when they so haughtily insult Christ. ELLICOTT, “(47) Are ye also deceived?—The emphasis is upon the ye. “Ye whose duty it is simply to obey, who were sent to bring Him captive before us— do ye also yield to His power?” It is the Pharisees who ask this, and their spirit is shown in the matter of their question. They make no inquiry as to what He had said, though it must have struck them as a phenomenon demanding explanation that their own officials had been convinced by His teaching. It is at once assumed that they, too, had been deceived. It is this sect of the Pharisees who speak of Him as “that deceiver” (Matthew 27:63). COKE, “John 7:47-49. Are ye also deceived? &c.— "Ye who have the advantage of knowing our sentiments, and are acquainted with the idea which we entertain concerning this person; surely you cannot be so weak as to be thus infatuated. Pray consider the conduct of those who are most capable of judging on this point. Have any of the rulers, or any of the Pharisees of a more private station, believed on him as the Messiah? Yet you know, these are most eminent for their acquaintance with religion, and the most authentic interpreters of the sacred writings, in which it is contained. But this wretched herd of people, John 7:49. — ο οχλος ουτος,— this rabble,—(so they affected to call Christ's friends) who know nothing of the true meaning of the law, are cursed with a judicial blindness, and given up to the most absurd and fatal mistake." This was downright railing. The force of the 49th verse, will appear more evident, when we reflect, that the rabbies and rulers among the Jews piqued themselves very highly upon the knowledge of the law, and very much despised the inferior people. The Jews were generally divided, first, into scribes, or teachers of the law; secondly, into disciples or students, who were scholars of their wise men, but neither rabbies nor teachers; and thirdly, into those whom they were pleased to call the people of the earth; here meant by the word οχλος, the rabble, the very scum of the earth, despised by these proud doctors on account of their being illiterate. The reader may find instances of their contempt of the common people in Lightfoot's Hor. Heb.on the place, and Vitringa, Observat. Sacr. lib. 3: 100: 2. 272
- 273. 48 “Have anyof the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? BARNES, "The rulers - The members of the Sanhedrin, who were supposed to have control over the religious rites and doctrines of the nation. The Pharisees - The sect possessing wealth, and office, and power. The name Pharisees sometimes denotes those who were high in honor and authority. Believed on him - Is there any instance in which those who are high in rank or in office have embraced him as the Messiah? This shows the rule by which they judged of religion: 1. They claimed the right of regulating the doctrines and rites of religion. 2. They repressed the liberty of private judgment, stifled investigation, assumed that a new doctrine must be heresy, and labored to keep the people within inglorious bondage. 3. They treated the new doctrine of Jesus with contempt, and thus attempted to put it down, not by argument, but by contempt, and especially because it was embraced by the common people. This is the way in which doctrines contrary to the truth of God have been uniformly supported in the world; this is the way in which new views of truth are met; and this the way in which those in ecclesiastical power often attempt to lord it over God’s heritage, and to repress the investigation of the Bible. CLARKE, "Have any of the rulers - believed on him? - Very few. But is this a proof that he is not of God? No, truly. If he were of the world, the world would love its own. The religion of Christ has been in general rejected by the rulers of this world. A life of mortification, self-denial, and humility, does not comport with the views of those who will have their portion in this life. It has ever been a mark of the truth of God that the great, the mighty, and the wise have in general rejected it. They are too much occupied with this world to attend to the concerns of the next. GILL, "Have any of the rulers,.... In the sanhedrim, or of the synagogues; or the civil magistrates, the noble, rich, and wealthy: or of the Pharisees, believed on him; men famous for wisdom, learning, and holiness. It must be owned, there were but very few of this sort, and perhaps not an instance of this kind had as yet occurred to them; there was Nicodemus, who is mentioned in the context, who was both a ruler and a Pharisee; and Joseph of Arimathea, a rich counsellor; but they neither of them openly showed themselves to be the disciples of Christ till his death: and besides these, there were some women, as Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, Susanna, and some other women, who ministered to him of their substance; but the far greater part of his followers were 273
- 274. poor and illiterate:and this has been the common case of those that have believed in Jesus, for the most part, ever since, and therefore should not be a stumbling to any. God is pleased to hide the great things of the Gospel from the wise and prudent, the rich and noble, and preach and reveal them to the poor and foolish: nor is a doctrine a whit the truer for being espoused by the rich, and wise men of this world, but rather to be suspected on that account. JAMIESON, "any of the rulers or ... Pharisees believed — “Many of them” did, including Nicodemus and Joseph, but not one of these had openly “confessed Him” (Joh_12:42), and this appeal must have stung such of them as heard it to the quick. CALVIN, "48.Has any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed in him? “He has none on his side,” they say, “but low and ignorant men; the rulers, and every person of distinction, are opposed to him.” They expressly name the Pharisees, because they had a reputation above others, both for knowledge and holiness, so that they might be said to be the princes of the people. This objection appears to have some plausibility; for if the rulers and governors of the Church do not retain their authority, it is impossible that any thing shall ever be properly done, or that the good order of the Church shall long continue. We know what are the fierce passions of the common people; in consequence of which the most frightful disorder must follow, when every man is allowed to do what he pleases. The authority of those who rule is therefore a necessary bridle for preserving the good order of the Church; and, accordingly, it was provided by the Law of God that, if any question or controversy should arise, it should be submitted to the decision of the High Priest, (Deuteronomy 17:8.) But they err in this respect, that, while they claim for themselves the highest authority, they are unwilling to submit to God. It is true that God conferred the power of judgment on the high priest, but God did not intend that the high priest should decide, except according to his Law. All the authority that is possessed by pastors, therefore, is subject to the word of God, that all may be kept in their own rank, from the greatest to the smallest, and that God alone may be exalted. If pastors who honestly and sincerely discharge their duty, claim authority for themselves, this glorying will be holy and lawful; but when the mere authority of men is supported, without the authority of God’s word, it is vain and useless boasting. But it often happens that wicked men rule in the Church; and therefore we must beware of giving any authority to men, as soon as they depart from the word of God. We see that nearly all the prophets were tormented by this kind of annoyance; for, in order to bury their doctrine, men continually brought against them the magnificent titles of Princes, of Priests, and of the Church. Provided with the same armor, Papists in the present day rage not less fiercely than did the adversaries of Christ and of the Prophets in former times. It is a horrible blindness, indeed, when a mortal man is not ashamed to oppose himself to God; but to such a pitch of madness does Satan carry those who set a higher value on their own ambition than on the truth of God. Meanwhile, it is our duty to cherish such a reverence for the word of God as shall extinguish all the splendor of the world, and scatter its vain pretensions; for miserable would be our condition, if 274
- 275. our salvation dependedon the will of princes, and far too unsteady would our faith be, if it were to stand or fall according to their pleasure. ELLICOTT, “(48) The rulers were the Sanhedrin, among whose official duties it was to prevent the introduction of false doctrines. (Comp. Note on Johnm .) “The Pharisees” were the orthodox party of the day, and they are the persons who ask the question. The matter was to be decided by authority, and not by truth. In the pride of the certainty that no one in a position of power or authority had believed on Jesus, they ask the scornful question, “Hath any one of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed? “They are stung to the very heart at seeing first the multitude, then their own officials, going after Him. They know not that there is one sitting in their midst, both ruler and Pharisee, who long before had listened to the teaching of the Galilean, and was in heart, if not in name, a disciple (John 3), and that during this very feast many of the chief Jews will believe on Him (John 8:30-31). 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” BARNES, "This people - The word here translated “people” is the one commonly rendered “the multitude.” It is a word expressive of contempt, or, as we would say, the rabble. It denotes the scorn which they felt that the people should presume to judge for themselves in a case pertaining to their own salvation. Who knoweth not the law - Who have not been instructed in the schools of the Pharisees, and been taught to interpret the Old Testament as they had. They supposed that any who believed on the humble and despised Jesus must be, of course, ignorant of the true doctrines of the Old Testament, as they held that a very different Messiah from him was foretold. Many instances are preserved in the writings of the Jews of the great contempt in which the Pharisees held the common people. It may here be remarked that Christianity is the only system of religion ever presented to man that in a proper manner regards the poor, the ignorant, and the needy. Philosophers and Pharisees, in all ages, have looked on them with contempt. Are cursed - Are execrable; are of no account; are worthy only of contempt and perdition. Some suppose that there is reference here to their being worthy to be cut off from the people for believing on him, or worthy to be put out of the synagogue (see Joh_9:22); but it seems to be an expression only of contempt; a declaration that they were a rabble, ignorant, unworthy of notice, and going to ruin. Observe, however: 1. That of this despised people were chosen most of those who became Christians. 2. That if the people were ignorant, it was the fault of the Pharisees and rulers. It was their business to see that they were taught. 3. There is no way so common of attempting to oppose Christianity as by 275
- 276. ridiculing its friendsas poor, and ignorant, and weak, and credulous. As well might food, and raiment, and friendship, and patriotism be held in contempt because the poor need the one or possess the other. CLARKE, "This people - ᆍ οχλος, This rabble. The common people were treated by the Pharisees with the most sovereign contempt: they were termed הארץ עם am ha-arets, people of the earth; and were not thought worthy to have a resurrection to eternal life. Wagenseil and Schoettgen have given many proofs of the contempt in which the common people were held by the Pharisees. Those who were disciples of any of the rabbins were considered as being in a much better state. When they paid well, they purchased their masters’ good opinion. GILL, "But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. With great contempt they style the followers of Jesus "this people"; the common people, the dregs of them, the refuse of the earth; and whom they call, הארץ ,עם "the people of the earth", in distinction from the wise men, and their disciples: and when they speak the best of them, their account is this (p); "one of the people of the earth is one that has moral excellencies, but not intellectual ones; that is, there is in him common civility, but the law is not in him;'' as here, "who knoweth not the law": they always reckon them very ignorant. Says one (q) of their writers, "they that are without knowledge are the multitude.'' And elsewhere it is said (r), "the old men of the people of the earth, when they grow old their knowledge is disturbed (or is lost), as it is said, Job_12:20, but so it is not with the old men of the law, when they grow old, their knowledge rests upon them, as it is said, Job_12:12, "with the ancient is wisdom".'' Upon which one of the commentators (s) has this gloss; "these are the disciples of the wise men; for the people of the earth, what wisdom is there in them?'' By the "law" here, is meant either the written law of Moses, which the Pharisees boasted of, and of their knowledge of it, as having the key of knowledge to open it; as understanding the true sense, and capable of giving a right interpretation of it, to the people; though they themselves were wretchedly ignorant of it, as appears by their false glosses on it, refuted by our Lord in Mat_5:17; or else the oral law is here intended, which they pretended was given by word of mouth to Moses, and handed down to posterity from one to another; and this lay among the doctors: they tell us (t), that Moses received it at Sinai, and delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the men of the great synagogue (Ezra's), the last of which was Simeon the just: Antigonus, a man of Socho, received it from him; and Jose ben Joezer, and Jose ben Jochanan, received it 276
- 277. from him; andJoshua ben Perachia, (whom they sometimes say was the master of Jesus of Nazareth,) and Nittai the Arbelite, received it from them; by whom it was delivered to Judah ben Tabia, and Simeon ben Shetach; and from them it was received by Shemaiah, and Abtalion, who delivered it to Hillell, and Shammai; who, or whose scholars, were, at this time, when these words were spoken, the present possessors of it, and taught it their disciples in their schools: and thus it was handed down from one to another, until the times of R. Judah, who collected the whole of the traditions of the elders together, and published it under the title of the Misna; and then, as Maimonides says (u), it was revealed to all Israel; whereas before it was but in a few hands, who instructed others in it; but as for the common people, they knew little of it, especially of the nice distinctions and decisions of it; and these people were always had in great contempt by the wise men: they would not receive a testimony from them, nor give one for them, nor deliver a secret to them, nor proclaim anything of theirs that was lost, nor walk with them in the way, nor make a guardian of any of them (w). The people of the earth were not reckoned holy or religious (x), but generally profane and wicked; that they were abandoned to sin, rejected of God, and to be cast off by men; yea, they will not allow that they shall rise again at the last day, unless it be for the sake of some wise men they are allied unto, or have done some service for. They say (y). "whoever ministers in the light of the law, the light of the law will quicken him; but whoever does not minister in the light of the law, the light of the law will not quicken him--though it is possible for such an one to cleave to the Shekinah--for everyone that marries his daughter to a scholar of a wise man, or makes merchandise for the disciples of the wise men, and they receive any advantage from his goods, this brings on him what is written, as if he cleaved to the Shekinah.'' Thus we see in what contempt the common people were with the learned doctors, and what an opinion these men had of the followers of Christ; though, in truth, they were not so ignorant of the law as themselves: they knew the spirituality of it, that it reached to the thoughts of the heart, as well as to external actions; they knew what it required, and their own impotence to answer its demands; they knew the wrath, terror, and curses of it, and that Christ only was the fulfilling end of it, for righteousness to those that believed in him: and they were far from being cursed persons: they were blessed with all spiritual blessings: with the pardon of their sins, and the justification of their persons; with grace and peace in their souls, and would be introduced as the blessed of the Father into his kingdom and glory. JAMIESON, "But this people — literally, “multitude,” meaning the ignorant rabble. (Pity these important distinctions, so marked in the original of this Gospel, should not be also in our version.) knoweth not the law — that is, by school learning, which only subverted it by human traditions. are cursed — a cursed set (a kind of swearing at them, out of mingled rage and scorn). ELLICOTT, “49) But this people who knoweth not the law . . .—The words express “Those people there, among whom you have been, and with whose opinion you have been coinciding, instead of holding the authoritative opinion which we have declared, and which we alone can declare. We are the interpreters of the Law, and have the key of knowledge. That ignorant rabble uninstructed in the Law are cursed.” 277
- 278. Are cursed.—The writingsof the Rabbis are full of scorn and contempt for the untutored multitude, whom they called ‘am hââretz, “people of the earth,” as opposed to those instructed in the Law, whom they called ‘âm kôdesh, “holy people.” These words are an expression of this contempt. Some have supposed that they are meant to express the ban of excommunication, which they use as a weapon of compulsion in John 9:22, but this is quite out of the question as applied here to the multitude. CALVIN, "49.But this multitude. The first part of their pride was, that, relying on the title of Priests, they wished to subject all to them in a tyrannical manner. The next is, that they despise others as men of no estimation, as those who excessively flatter themselves are always disposed to abuse others, and an immoderate love of ourselves is accompanied by contempt of the brethren. They pronounce the whole populace to be accursed; and why? It is no doubt alleged by them that the people do not know the law; but another reason, which they concealed, was, that they thought that there was no holiness but in their own rank. In like manner, the Popish priests in our own day pretend that none but themselves deserve to be called the Church; and all others, whom they call the laity, they despise as if they were profane persons. But to throw down such madness of pride, God prefers the mean and despised to those who hold the highest authority and power. And it ought to be observed that they here boast of knowledge, not that which instructs men in religion and the fear of God, but such as they possessed while, with magisterial pride, they gave forth their responses, as if they alone had been qualified to interpret the law. It is undoubtedly true, that all who have not been instructed in the law of God are accursed, because by the knowledge of it we are truly sanctified. But this knowledge is not confined to a few who, swelled with false confidence, wish to exclude themselves from the rank of other men, but belongs in common to all the children of God, that all, from the smallest even to the greatest, may be united in the same obedience of faith. 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, BARNES, "Nicodemus - See Joh_3:1. One of them - That is, one of the great council or Sanhedrin. God often places one or more pious men in legislative assemblies to vindicate his honor and his law; and he often gives a man grace on such occasions boldly to defend his cause; to put men upon their proof, and to confound the proud and the domineering. We see in this case, also, that a man, at one time timid and fearful (compare Joh_3:1), may on other occasions be bold, and fearlessly defend the truth as it is in Jesus. This example should lead every man entrusted with authority or office fearlessly to defend the 278
- 279. truth of God,and, when the rich and the mighty are pouring contempt on Jesus and his cause, to stand forth as its fearless defender. CLARKE, "Nicodemus - being one of them - That is, a Pharisee, and a ruler of the Jews: see on Joh_3:1 (note). GILL, "Nicodemus saith unto them,.... To the Jewish sanhedrim, who were running down Christ, and his followers, in great wrath and fury: he that came to Jesus by night; see Joh_3:1; being one of them; a member of the sanhedrim. HENRY, "(1.) Who it was that appeared against them; it was Nicodemus, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Joh_7:50. Observe, concerning him, [1.] That, though he had been with Jesus, and taken him for his teacher, yet he retained his place in the council, and his vote among them. Some impute this to his weakness and cowardice, and think it was his fault that he did not quit his place, but Christ had never said to him, Follow me, else he would have done as others that left all to follow him; therefore it seems rather to have been his wisdom not immediately to throw up his place, because there he might have opportunity of serving Christ and his interest, and stemming the tide of the Jewish rage, which perhaps he did more than we are aware of. He might there be as Hushai among Absalom's counsellors, instrumental to turn their counsels into foolishness. Though we must in no case deny our Master, yet we may wait for an opportunity of confessing him to the best advantage. God has his remnant among all sorts, and many times finds, or puts, or makes, some good in the worst places and societies. There was Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar's court, and Nehemiah in Artaxerxes's. [2.] That though at first he came to Jesus by night, for fear of being known, and still continued in his post; yet, when there was occasion, he boldly appeared in defence of Christ, and opposed the whole council that were set against him. Thus many believers who at first were timorous, and ready to flee at the shaking of a leaf, have at length, by divine grace, grown courageous, and able to laugh at the shaking of a spear. Let none justify the disguising of their faith by the example of Nicodemus, unless, like him, they be ready upon the first occasion openly to appear in the cause of Christ, though they stand alone in it; for so Nicodemus did here, and Joh_19:39. JAMIESON, "Nicodemus — reappearing to us after nearly three years’ absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting. CALVIN, "50.Nicodemus said to them. The Evangelist describes Nicodemus as a neutral man, who does not venture to undertake in good earnest the defense of sound doctrine, and yet cannot endure to have the truth oppressed. He who came to Jesus by night. This circumstance is mentioned by the Evangelist, partly to the praise, and partly to the disgrace, of Nicodemus. If he had not loved the doctrine of Christ, he would never have dared to meet the rage 279
- 280. of wicked men;for he knew that, if any of them but opened his mouth, he would be immediately exposed to dislike and to danger. When, therefore, he ventures to throw out one word, however feeble it may be, some small spark of godliness shines from his heart; but in not defending Christ openly, he manifests excessive timidity. Thus the Evangelist means that he has still a hankering after the concealment of the night, and is not a true disciple of Christ. He says that he once came to Jesus by night, but remained openly among his enemies, and kept his place in their camp. This ought to be the more carefully observed, because there are many in the present day who plead that they resemble Nicodemus, and hope that, by assuming this mask, they will mock God with impunity. Granting what they ask, that there is no difference between them and Nicodemus, what assistance, pray, do they derive from such an example? Nicodemus says that Christ ought not to be condemned until he be heard; and the same thing might be said of a robber or an assassin; for it is a well-known and proverbial sentiment, that it is better to acquit the innocent than to condemn the guilty. Besides, in his attempts to release the person of Christ, he leaves and abandons the doctrine. What shall we find here that is worthy of a believer or a Christian? (204) Thus the seed of the gospel, which afterwards bore fruit, was still concealed and choked in him. We shall apply this example far more profitably to another purpose, that the Lord frequently causes the doctrine, which seemed to have perished, gradually to take a concealed root, and, after a long period, to put forth some bud, first like an untimely plant, afterwards lively and vigorous; just as the faith of Nicodemus acquired new and sudden vigor from the death of Christ. COKE, “John 7:50-51. Nicodemus saith unto them,— From the presence of Nicodemus, this appears to have been a meeting of the council whereof he was a member; for had it been a private cabal of the great men to take away Christ's life, Nicodemus, who was one of his disciples, would never have joined them. It seems the council was met to try Jesus on the charge of his being a false prophet; (compare John 7:31-32.) And as the priests had upbraided their servants with ignorance of the law, Nicodemus's reproof, John 7:51 was smooth and sharp, "Doth our law, with which you boast so much acquaintance, judge and condemn any man before the magistrate appointed to execute it summon him into his presence, that he may hear from him what he has to say in his own defence, and know from credible witnesses what he hath done to deserve punishment?" See Deuteronomy 17:8; Deuteronomy 17:11 and Deuteronomy 19:15, &c. This reproof was the more poignant, as it was well founded; and in effect it amounts to a charge, that, while they professed such a knowledge of the law, and zeal for it, they either knew not, or regarded not, some of its plainest precepts, and were even unmindful of those, which, as they were a court of judicature, were their peculiar concern. BURKITT, “Here observe, 1. How God stirs up Nicodemus, though he durst not openly own Christ, yet to plead for him, that he might not be condemned before heard; this was a common rule of justice, and nothing but what might have been said on behalf of the greatest malefactor; he could not well have said less; but God so ordered it, that it was enough to divert the storm from falling upon 280
- 281. Christ at thistime. One word shall be sufficient to blow over a persecution, when God will have it so. Observe, 2. They answer Nicodemus with a taunt, a mock, and a scorn, that no prophet ever did rise out of Galilee, nor ever should. Therefore Christ arising out of Galilee, as they thought, could be no prophet. Observe, lastly, That though they were more and more enraged, yet they dispense without concluding any thing against Christ, for that time every one went to his own home. There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord. COFFMAN, “Not all of the Sanhedrinists were evil men, Nicodemus being one of the notable exceptions. He had already been to Jesus (John 3:1ff) and was obviously out of harmony with the satanic spirit prevailing in the Sanhedrin. Such men as Nicodemus, and there may have been a considerable number of them, were helpless regarding the policies of the organization. The members were divided in their views and would continue to be divided, perhaps until the very end; because there is no evidence whatever that the final meeting of the Sanhedrin that condemned the Saviour had a full representation of its members or even a legal quorum. The men who controlled that body had already decided eighteen months earlier to kill Jesus (John 5:18); and, at the point of Nicodemus' objection, Satan was already in charge of the hierarchy. It was far too late to reverse the purpose of murder in their hearts. Nicodemus apparently knew that his question would be shouted down, and that probably accounts for the mild manner in which he stated it. Anything stronger would have brought their wrath upon him. 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” BARNES, "Doth our law ... - The law required justice to be done, and gave every man the right to claim a fair and impartial trial, Lev_19:15-16; Exo_23:1-2; Deu_ 19:15, Deu_19:18. Their condemnation of Jesus was a violation of every rule of right. He was not arraigned; he was not heard in self-defense, and not a single witness was adduced. Nicodemus demanded that justice should be done, and that he should, not be condemned until he had had a fair trial. Every man should be presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty. This is a maxim of law, and a most just and 281
- 282. proper precept inour judgments in private life. CLARKE, "Doth our law judge any man - Τον ανθρωπον, the man, i.e. who is accused. Perhaps Nicodemus did not refer so much to any thing in the law of Moses, as to what was commonly practiced among them. Josephus says, Ant. b. xiv. c. 9. s. 3, That the law has forbidden any man to be put to death, though wicked, unless he be first condemned to die by the Sanhedrin. It was probably to this law, which is not expressly mentioned in the five books of Moses, that Nicodemus here alludes. See laws relative to this point, Deu_17:8, etc.; Deu_19:15. GILL, "Doth our law judge any man,.... Or condemn any man; or can any man be lawfully condemned: before it hear him: what he has to say for himself; is this the usual process in our courts? or is this a legal one to condemn a man unheard? and know what he doth? what his crimes are. This he said, having a secret respect for Christ, though he had not courage enough openly to appear for him. HENRY, "(2.) What he alleged against their proceedings (Joh_7:51): Doth our law judge any man before it hear him (akousē par' autou - hear from himself) and know what he doeth? By no means, nor doth the law of any civilized nation allow it. Observe, [1.] He prudently argues from the principles of their own law, and an incontestable rule of justice, that no man is to be condemned unheard. Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. 3), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them. [2.] Whereas they had reproached the people, especially the followers of Christ, as ignorant of the law, he here tacitly retorts the charge upon themselves, and shows how ignorant they were of some of the first principles of the law, so unfit were they to give law to others. [3.] The law is here said to judge, and hear, and know, when magistrates that govern and are governed by it judge, and hear, and know; for they are the mouth of the law, and whatsoever they bind and loose according to the law is justly said to be bound and loosed by the law. [4.] It is highly fit that none should come under the sentence of the law, till they have first by a fair trial undergone the scrutiny of it. Judges, when they receive the complaints of the accuser, must always reserve in their minds room for the defence of the accused, for they have two ears, to remind them to hear both sides; this is said to be the manner of the Romans, Act_25:18. The method of our law is Oyer and Terminer, first to hear and then to determine. [5.] Persons are to be judged, not by what is said of them, but by what they do. Our law will not ask what men's opinions are of them, or out-cries against them, but, What have they done? What overt-acts can they be convicted of? Sentence must be given, secundum allegata et probata - according to what is alleged and proved. Facts, and not faces, must be known in judgment; and the scale of justice must be used before the sword of justice. Now we may suppose that the motion Nicodemus made in the house upon this was, That Jesus should be desired to come and give them an account of himself and his doctrine, and that they should favour him with an impartial and unprejudiced hearing; but, though none of them could gainsay his maxim, none of them would second his motion. 282
- 283. JAMIESON, "Doth ourlaw, etc. — a very proper, but all too tame rejoinder, and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce positively in the case. “The feebleness of his defense of Jesus has a strong contrast in the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees” [Webster and Wilkinson] ELLICOTT, “(51) Doth our law judge any man?—He identifies Himself with them. He, like they, is an expounder of the Law. The force of the question is in the word “Law,” which they had used but the moment before in their scorn for the people who knew not the Law. “Well, this Law, which we do know and understand, doth it judge without open investigation?” Did they in their blind zeal forget such passages as Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 19:15? They had determined a death, and were seeking to carry their sentence into effect in direct contravention of the Law. This holy people, instructed in the Law—they were the Law-breakers. Before it hear him.—The better reading is, unless it hear first from him. And know what he doeth—i.e., know the deed for which he is tried. 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” BARNES, "Art thou also of Galilee? - Here is another expression of contempt. To be a Galilean was a term of the highest reproach. They knew well that he was not of Galilee, but they meant to ask whether he also had become a follower of the despised Galilean. Ridicule is not argument, and there is no demonstration in a gibe; but, unhappily, this is the only weapon which the proud and haughty often use in opposing religion. Ariseth no prophet - That is, there is no prediction that any prophet should come out of Galilee, and especially no prophet that was to attend or precede the Messiah. Compare Joh_1:46. They assumed, therefore, that Jesus could not be the Christ. CLARKE, "Art thou also of Galilee? - They knew very well that he was not; but they spoke this by way of reproach. As if they had said, thou art no better than he is, as thou takest his part. Many of the Galileans had believed on him, Which the Jews considered to be a reproach. Art thou his disciple, as the Galileans are? Search, and look - Examine the Scriptures, search the public registers, and thou wilt see that out of Galilee there ariseth no prophet. Neither the Messiah, nor any 283
- 284. other prophet, hasever proceeded from Galilee, nor ever can. This conclusion, says Calmet, was false and impertinent: false, because Jonah was of Gathheper, in Galilee: see 2Ki_14:25, compared with Jos_19:13. The Prophet Nahum was also a Galilean, for he was of the tribe of Simeon; and some suppose that Malachi was of the same place. The conclusion was false, because there not having been a prophet from any particular place was no argument that there never could be one, as the place had not been proscribed. GILL, "They answered and said unto him,.... Being displeased with him, and as reproaching him, though they could not deny, or refute what he said: art thou also of Galilee? a follower of Jesus of Galilee, whom, by way of contempt, they called the Galilean, and his followers Galilaeans, as Julian the apostate after them did; for otherwise they knew that Nicodemus was not of the country of Galilee; search and look; into the histories of former times, and especially the Scriptures: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet; but this is false, for Jonah the prophet was of Gathhepher, which was in the tribe of Zebulun, which tribe was in Galilee; see 2Ki_14:25. And the Jews (z) themselves say, that Jonah, the son of Amittai, was, ,מזבולון of "Zebulun", and that his father was of Zebulun, and his mother was of Asher (a); both which tribes were in Galilee: and if no prophet had, as yet, arose from thence, it did not follow that no one should arise: besides, there is a prophecy in which it was foretold, that a prophet, and even the Messiah, the great light, should arise in Galilee; see Isa_9:1; and they themselves say, that the Messiah should be revealed in Galilee; See Gill on Joh_7:41. HENRY, "2. What was said to this objection. Here is no direct reply given to it; but, when they could not resist the force of his argument, they fell foul upon him, and what was to seek in reason they made up in railing and reproach. Note, It is a sign of a bad cause when men cannot bear to hear reason, and take it as an affront to be reminded of its maxims. Whoever are against reason give cause to suspect that reason is against them. See how they taunt him: Art thou also of Galilee? Joh_7:52. Some think he was well enough served for continuing among those whom he knew to be enemies to Christ, and for his speaking no more on the behalf of Christ than what he might have said on behalf of the greatest criminal - that he should not be condemned unheard. Had he said, “As for this Jesus, I have heard him myself, and know he is a teacher come from God, and you in opposing him fight against God,” as he ought to have said, he could not have been more abused than he was for this feeble effort of his tenderness for Christ. As to what they said to Nicodemus, we may observe, (1.) How false the grounds of their arguing were, for, [1.] They suppose that Christ was of Galilee, and this was false, and if they would have been at the pains of an impartial enquiry they would have found it so. [2.] They suppose that because most of his disciples were Galileans they were all such, whereas he had abundance of disciples in Judea. [3.] They suppose that out of Galilee no prophet had risen, and for this appeal to Nicodemus's search; yet this was false too: Jonah was of Gath-hepher, Nahum an Elkoshite, both of Galilee. Thus do they make lies their refuge. (2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as were a shame to rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the worse for the 284
- 285. poverty and obscurityof his country? The Galileans were the seed of Abraham; barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one Father? [2.] Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible that any should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he was), and if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned whether he was a prophet or no? 3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them, they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men. JAMIESON, "thou of Galilee — in this taunt expressing their scorn of the party. Even a word of caution, or the gentlest proposal to inquire before condemning, was with them equivalent to an espousal of the hated One. Search ... out of Galilee ... no prophet — Strange! For had not Jonah (of Gath-hepher) and even Elijah (of Thisbe) arisen out of Galilee? And there it may be more, of whom we have no record. But rage is blind, and deep prejudice distorts all facts. Yet it looks as if they were afraid of losing Nicodemus, when they take the trouble to reason the point at all. It was just because he had “searched,” as they advised him, that he went the length even that he did. CALVIN, "52.Art thou also from Galilee? They say that all who favor Christ are from Galilee, and this is spoken reproachfully, as if he could not have any person among his followers except from the small and unknown corner of Galilee (205) The extreme violence to which they are excited against Nicodemus, shows with what furious hatred they burned against Christ; for he had not avowedly undertaken to defend Christ, but had only said that he ought not to be condemned before he was heard Thus among the Papists in our own day, no man can show the slightest token of candour that the Gospel may not be oppressed, but immediately the enemies fly into a passion, and exclaim that he is a heretic. LIGHTFOOT, "52. They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. [Art thou also of Galilee?] It seems to be spoken scoffingly: "Art thou of those Galileans that believe in this Galilean?" Expositors, almost with one consent, do note that this story of the woman taken in adultery, was not in some ancient copies; and whiles I am considering upon what accident this should be, there are two little stories in Eusebius that come to mind. The one we have in these words, He [Papias] tells us also another history concerning a woman accused of many crimes before our Lord, which history indeed the Gospel according to the Hebrews makes mention of. All that do cite 285
- 286. that story dosuppose he means this adulteress. The other story he tells us in his Life of Constantine: he brings in Constantine writing thus to him: "I think good to signify to your prudence, that you would take care that fifty volumes of those Scriptures, whose preparation and use you know so necessary for the church, and which beside may be easily read and carried about, may, by very skilful penmen, be written out in fair parchment." So indeed the Latin interpreter: but may we not by the word volumes of those Scriptures understand the Gospels compacted into one body by way of harmony? The reason of this conjecture is twofold: partly those Eusebian canons formed into such a kind of harmony; partly because, cap. 37, he tells us that, having finished his work, he sent to the emperor threes and fours: which words if they are not to be understood of the evangelists, sometimes three, sometimes four, (the greater number including the less,) embodied together by such a harmony, I confess I cannot tell what to make of them. But be it so that it must not be understood of such a harmony; and grant we further that the Latin interpreter hits him right, when he supposes Eusebius to have picked out here and there, according to his pleasure and judgment, some parts of the Holy Scriptures to be transcribed; surely he would never have omitted the evangelists, the noblest and the most profitable part of the New Testament. If therefore he ascribed this story of the adulteress to the trifler Papias, or at least to the Gospel according to the Hebrews only, without doubt he would never insert it in copies transcribed by him. Hence possibly might arise the omission of it in some copies after Eusebius' times. It is in copies before his age, viz. in Ammonius, Tatianus, &c. ELLICOTT, “(52) Art thou also of Galilee?—They seek to avoid his question, to which there could have been but one answer, by a counter-question expressing their surprise at the position he is taking: “Surely thou art not also of Galilee?” “Thou art not His countryman, as many of this multitude are?” They imply that Nicodemus could not have asked a question which claimed for Jesus the simple justice of the Law itself, without being, like Him, a Galilean. Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.—The words mean, “Search the records, examine, scrutinize the authorities.” (Comp. John 5:39.) They seek to pass from the matter of fact immediately before them to the question of authority. Their generalisation includes an historical error which cannot be explained away. Jonah is described in 2 Kings 14:25 as of Gathhepher, which was a town of Zebulun, in Lower Galilee. Possibly Elkosh, the birthplace of Nahum, was also in Galilee, and Hosea was certainly a prophet of the Northern Kingdom, though not necessarily of Galilee. Adverse criticism would lay this error also to the charge of the Evangelist. (Comp. Notes on John 7:42, and John 1:45; John 8:33.) But the obvious explanation is, that the Sanhedrin, in their zeal to press their foregone conclusion that Jesus is not a prophet, are not bound by strict accuracy; and it is not unlikely that, in the general contempt of Judæans for Galilee, this assertion had become a by-word, especially with men 286
- 287. with so littleof the historical sense as the later Rabbis. As compared with Judæa, it was true that Galilee was not a country of prophets, and by-words of this kind often rest on imperfect generalisations. We have seen that of the great prophets of Christianity all were Galileans. Judas Iscariot alone, of the Twelve Apostles, was probably a Judæan (Note on John 6:71). COFFMAN, “Religious error must defend itself; and, even if no honest defense exists, a shouted lie will serve well enough for the hardened heart. Those bigots demanded that Nicodemus search the Scriptures; and such a demand sounded like they knew what they were talking about; but this whole ploy was a bold unqualified lie, an unscrupulous bluff, the same being one of Satan's favorite disguises, that of a "roaring lion." If Nicodemus knew the answer to their lie, he did not have the courage to reply. Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet ... The first of the prophets was Jonah; and he had come out of Galilee, having come from Gath-Hepher which was only three and one-half miles from Nazareth! But that is not all. The one prophet whom God made a type of the Messiah was this same Jonah. Christ himself had spoken to the multitudes regarding the "sign of the prophet Jonah" (Matthew 12:38-41), making it absolutely certain that Jesus appealed to Jonah as a type of himself. It continues to be an amazement that religious literature gives so little space to the typical importance of Jonah. Note the following: Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep in a ship at sea in a storm. Both were awakened, Jesus by the disciples, Jonah by the captain. Both were involved in the ship's security, Jesus for safety, and Jonah for peril. Both freely gave themselves to save others, Jesus to save all men, Jonah to save the sailors. Both produced a great calm, Jesus by fiat, Jonah by being cast into the sea. Both passed through that "three days and three nights" experience mentioned by Christ (Matthew 12:38-41). Both converted Gentiles, Jesus through the apostles, Jonah by his preaching at Nineveh. Both were from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25).SIZE> Despite all this, they shouted Nicodemus down with the lie that no prophet ariseth out of Galilee. No prophet? Well, only the Messiah(!), that great prophet like unto Moses, whose coming out of Galilee was typified by Jonah, the first of all the prophets and a type of Christ! COKE, “John 7:52. They answered—art thou also of Galilee?— Finding Nicodemus thus condemning their conduct, and speaking favourably of Jesus, 287
- 288. they asked himwith an air of disdain and surprize, mixed with fierceness, Art thou also of Galilee? "Art thou one of the ignorant low faction, which has leagued to support a Galilean Messiah, in opposition to the law, which has determined the Messiah's nativity to Bethlehem? Search and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." They meant no Messiah, the prophet foretold by Moses in their law; for they could not but know that Jonah was of Gath-hepher in Galilee, 2 Kings 14:25 that Nahum also was probably a Galilean; and that Tishbe, the town of Elijah the Tishbite, was likewise in Galilee; unless they were as ignorant of the scriptures as they said the common people were, John 7:48. Be this as it may, such blind judges were these masters of law and learning, that an argument which had no force against Jesus, who was actually born at Bethlehem, weighed a great deal more with them, than all the solid proofs by which he so fully established his divine mission. CONSTABLE, “Nicodemus' colleagues did not reply rationally but emotionally. They had already decided Jesus' case without hearing Him. They did not want to listen to any information that might prove that He was who He claimed to be. They replied to Nicodemus' challenge with contempt and accused him of being a despised Galilean himself since he sought to defend a Galilean. Unable to refute the logic of Nicodemus' argument they attacked his person, an old debating tactic designed to win an argument but not necessarily to arrive at the truth. It is unclear if they meant that no prophet ever came from Galilee or that the Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) would not come from there. Obviously Jonah and Nahum had come from Galilee, so it seems unlikely that they meant that. Moses did not predict where the Prophet would come from. As mentioned above, the Jews of Jesus' day seem to have regarded the Prophet and Messiah as two different individuals. The messianic Son of David would come from Bethlehem, but where would the Prophet come from? If the Sanhedrin had taken the trouble to investigate Jesus' origins thoroughly, they would have discovered than He had not come from Galilee originally. People still let prejudice (prejudging) and superficial evaluation blind them to the truth. [The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.] 288
- 289. BARNES, "And everyman went unto his own house - There is every mark of confusion and disorder in this breaking up of the Sanhedrin. It is possible that some of the Sadducees might have joined Nicodemus in opposing the Pharisees, and thus increased the disorder. It is a most instructive and melancholy exhibition of the influence of pride, envy, contempt, and anger, when brought to bear on an inquiry, and when they are manifestly opposed to candor, to argument, and to truth. So wild and furious are the passions of men when they oppose the person and claims of the Son of God! It is remarkable, too, how God accomplishes his purposes. They wished to destroy Jesus. God suffered their passions to be excited, a tumult to ensue, the assembly thus to break up in disorder, and Jesus to be safe, for his time had not yet come. “The wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain,” Psa_76:10. CLARKE, "And every man went, etc. - The authority and influence of Nicodemus, in this case, was so great that the Sanhedrin broke up without being able to conclude any thing. As the feast was now ended, they were not obliged to continue any longer in or about Jerusalem; and therefore all returned to their respective dwellings. This verse and the first eleven verses of the following chapter are wanting in several MSS. Some of those which retain the paragraph mark it with obelisks, as a proof of spuriousness. Those which do retain it have it with such a variety of reading as is no where else found in the sacred writings. Professor Griesbach leaves the whole paragraph in the text with notes of doubtfulness. Most of the modern critics consider it as resting on no solid authority. GILL, "And every man went unto his own house. The officers not bringing Jesus with them, and the sanhedrim being posed with Nicodemus, broke up without doing any business, and every member of it went home: this we may suppose was about the time of the evening sacrifice: for "the great sanhedrim sat from the time of the morning daily sacrifice, to the time of the evening daily sacrifice (b):'' and it is said (c), that "after the evening daily sacrifice, the sanhedrim went, ,לבי־תאם "to their own houses";'' as they now did, and not to their booths, the feast of tabernacles being now over. HENRY, "(2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as were a shame to rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the worse for the poverty and obscurity of his country? The Galileans were the seed of Abraham; barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one Father? [2.] Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible that any should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he was), and if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned 289
- 290. whether he wasa prophet or no? 3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them, they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men. JAMIESON, "(2.) How absurd their arguings were upon these grounds, such as were a shame to rulers and Pharisees. [1.] Is any man of worth and virtue ever the worse for the poverty and obscurity of his country? The Galileans were the seed of Abraham; barbarians and Scythians are the seed of Adam; and have we not all one Father? [2.] Supposing no prophet had risen out of Galilee, yet it is not impossible that any should arise thence. If Elijah was the first prophet of Gilead (as perhaps he was), and if the Gileadites were called fugitives, must it therefore be questioned whether he was a prophet or no? 3. The hasty adjournment of the court hereupon. They broke up the assembly in confusion, and with precipitation, and every man went to his own house. They met to take counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed, but they imagined a vain think; and not only he that sits in heaven laughed at them, but we may sit on earth and laugh at them too, to see all the policy of the close cabal broken to pieces with one plain honest word. They were not willing to hear Nicodemus, because they could not answer him. As soon as they perceived they had one such among them, they saw it was to no purpose to go on with their design, and therefore put off the debate to a more convenient season, when he was absent. Thus the counsel of the Lord is made to stand, in spite of the devices in the hearts of men. CALVIN, "53.And every man went to his own house. Now follows an astonishing close of the transaction. If any one take into account what was the reign of the priests at that time, with what rage they were excited, and how vast was their retinue, and, on the other hand, if he consider that Christ was unarmed and defenceless, and that there was no body of men to protect him, the conclusion must be, that it was all over with him a hundred times. When so formidable a conspiracy is dissolved of its own accord, and when all those men, like waver of the sea, break themselves by their own violence, who will not acknowledge that they were scattered by the hand of God? But God always continues to be like himself; and therefore, whenever he pleases, he will bring to nothing all the efforts of enemies, so that, while they have everything in their power, and are ready and prepared to execute their design, they will depart without having done their work. And we have often found that, whatever contrivances our enemies have made to extinguish the Gospel, yet by the amazing kindness of God, it immediately fell powerless to the ground. ELLICOTT, “(53) The section which follows (John 7:53 to John 8:11) is one of 290
- 291. the most strikinginstances of an undoubted addition to the original text of the Gospel narratives. We shall find reason to believe that it belongs to the Apostolic age, and preserves to us the record of an incident in the life of our Lord, but that it has not come to us from the pen of St. John. (Comp. Excursus B: Some Variations in the Text of St. John’s Gospel.) While, therefore, it is printed in the text here, our text being a reprint of the Authorised version, without addition or alteration, the reader will observe that it is an insertion which breaks the order of the discourse, and in working out the line of thought will bear this in mind. And every man went unto his own house.—This is not to be taken, then, as marking the close of the discussion in the Sanhedrin. It joins the inserted section with something which has preceded, but we have no means of judging what this was. BARCLAY, "WRETCHEDNESS AND PITY (John 7:53; John 8:1-11) 7:53 And each of them went to his own house; but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he was again in the Temple precincts, and all the people came to him. He sat down and went on teaching them. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman arrested for adultery. They set her in the midst and said to him: "Teacher, this woman was arrested as she was committing adultery--in the very act. In the law Moses enjoined us to stone women like this. What do you say about her?" They were testing him when they said this, so that they might have some ground on which to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they went on asking him their question, he straightened himself and said to them: "Let the man among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her." And again he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. One by one those who had heard what he said went out, beginning from the eldest down to the youngest. So Jesus was left alone, and the woman was still there in the midst. Jesus straightened himself and said to her: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said: "No one, sir." Jesus said: "I am not going to pass judgment on you either. Go, and from now on, sin no more." [This incident is not included in all the ancient manuscripts and appears only in a footnote in the Revised Standard Version; see: NOTE ON THE STORY OF THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY] The scribes and Pharisees were out to get some charge on which they could discredit Jesus; and here they thought they had impaled him inescapably on the horns of a dilemma. When a difficult legal question arose, the natural and routine thing was to take it to a Rabbi for a decision. So the scribes and Pharisees approached Jesus as a Rabbi with a woman taken in adultery. In the eyes of the Jewish law adultery was a serious crime. The Rabbis said: 291
- 292. "Every Jew mustdie before he will commit idolatry, murder or adultery." Adultery was, in fact one of the three gravest sins and it was punishable by, death, although there were certain differences in respect of the way in which the death penalty was to be carried out. Leviticus 20:10 lays it down: "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death." There the method of death is not specified. Deuteronomy 22:13-24 lays down the penalty in the case of a girl who is already betrothed. In a case like that she and the man who seduced her are to be brought outside the city gates, "and you shall stone them to death with stones." The Mishnah, that is, the Jewish codified law, states that the penalty for adultery is strangulation, and even the method of strangulation is laid down. "The man is to be enclosed in dung up to his knees, and a soft towel set within a rough towel is to be placed around his neck (in order that no mark may be made, for the punishment is God's punishment). Then one man draws in one direction and another in the other direction, until he be dead." The Mishnah reiterates that death by stoning is the penalty for a girl who is betrothed and who then commits adultery. From the purely legal point of view the scribes and Pharisees were perfectly correct. This woman was liable to death by stoning. The dilemma into which they sought to put Jesus was this: If he said that the woman ought to be stoned to death, two things followed. First, he would lose the name he had gained for love and for mercy and never again would be called the friend of sinners. Second, he would come into collision with the Roman law, for the Jews had no power to pass or carry out the death sentence on anyone. If he said that the woman should be pardoned, it could immediately be said that he was teaching men to break the law of Moses, and that he was condoning and even encouraging people to commit adultery. That was the trap in which the scribes and Pharisees sought to entrap Jesus. But he turned their attack in such a way that it recoiled against themselves. At first Jesus stooped down and wrote with his finger on the ground. Why did he do that? There may be four possible reasons. (i) He may quite simply have wished to gain time and not be rushed into a decision. In that brief moment he may have been both thinking the thing out and taking it to God. (ii) Certain manuscripts add, "As though he did not hear them." Jesus may well have deliberately forced the scribes and Pharisees to repeat their charges, so that, in repeating them, they might possibly realize the sadistic cruelty which lay behind them. (iii) Seeley in Ecce Homo makes an interesting suggestion. "Jesus was seized with an intolerable sense of shame. He could not meet the eye of the crowd, or of the accusers, and perhaps at that moment least of all of the woman.... In his burning embarrassment and confusion he stooped down so as to hide his face, and began writing with his fingers upon the ground." It may well be that the leering, lustful look on the faces of the scribes and Pharisees, the bleak cruelty in their eyes, the prurient curiosity of the crowd, the shame of the woman, all combined to twist 292
- 293. the very heartof Jesus in agony and pity, so that he hid his eyes. (iv) By far the most interesting suggestion emerges from certain of the later manuscripts. The Armenian translates the passage this way: "He himself, bowing his head, was writing with his finger on the earth to declare their sins; and they were seeing their several sins on the stones." The suggestion is that Jesus was writing in the dust the sins of the very men who were accusing the woman. There may be something in that. The normal Greek word for to write is graphein (Greek #1125); but here the word used is katagraphein, which can mean to write down a record against someone. (One of the meanings of kata (Greek #2596) is against). So in Job 13:26 Job says: "Thou writest (katagraphein) bitter things against me." It may be that Jesus was confronting those self-confident sadists with the record of their own sins. However that may be, the scribes and Pharisees continued to insist on an answer--and they got it. Jesus said in effect: "All right! Stone her! But let the man that is without sin be the first to cast a stone." It may well be that the word for without sin (anamartetos, Greek #361) means not only without sin, but even without a sinful desire. Jesus was saying: "Yes, you may stone her--but only if you never wanted to do the same thing yourselves." There was a silence--and then slowly the accusers drifted away. So Jesus and the woman were left alone. As Augustine put it: "There remained a great misery (miseria) and a great pity (misericordia)." Jesus said to the woman: "Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. Jesus said: "I am not for the moment going to pass judgment on you either. Go, and make a new start, and don't sin any more." WRETCHEDNESS AND PITY (John 7:53; John 8:1-11 continued) This passage shows us two things about the attitude of the scribes and the Pharisees. (i) It shows us their conception of authority. The scribes and the Pharisees were the legal experts of the day; to them problems were taken for decision. It is clear that to them authority was characteristically critical, censorious and condemnatory. That authority should be based on sympathy, that its aim should be to reclaim the criminal and the sinner, never entered their heads. They conceived of their function as giving them the right to stand over others like grim invigilators, to watch for every mistake and every deviation from the law, and to descend on them with savage and unforgiving punishment; they never dreamed that it might lay upon them the obligation to cure the wrongdoer. There are still those who regard a position of authority as giving them the right to condemn and the duty to punish. They think that such authority as they have has given them the right to be moral watch-dogs trained to tear the sinner to pieces; but all true authority is founded on sympathy. When George Whitefield saw the criminal on the way to the gallows, he uttered the famous sentence: "There, but for the grace of God, go I." 293
- 294. The first dutyof authority is to try to understand the force of the temptations which drove the sinner to sin and the seductiveness of the circumstances in which sin became so attractive. No man can pass judgment on another unless he at least tries to understand what the other has come through. The second duty of authority is to seek to reclaim the wrongdoer. Any authority which is solely concerned with punishment is wrong; any authority, which, in its exercise, drives a wrongdoer either to despair or to resentment, is a failure. The function of authority is not to banish the sinner from all decent society, still less to wipe him out; it is to make him into a good man. The man set in authority must be like a wise physician; his one desire must be to heal. (ii) This incident shows vividly and cruelly the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees to people. They were not looking on this woman as a person at all; they were looking on her only as a thing, an instrument whereby they could formulate a charge against Jesus. They were using her, as a man might use a tool, for their own purposes. To them she had no name, no personality, no feelings; she was simply a pawn in the game whereby they sought to destroy Jesus. It is always wrong to regard people as things; it is always unchristian to regard people as cases. It was said of Beatrice Webb, afterwards Lady Passfield, the famous economist, that "she saw men as specimens walking." Dr. Paul Tournier in A Doctor's Casebook talks of what he calls "the personalism of the Bible." He points out how fond the Bible is of names. God says to Moses: "I know you by name" (Exodus 33:17). God said to Cyrus; "It is I, the God of Israel, who call you by your name" (Isaiah 45:3). There are whole pages of names in the Bible. Dr. Tournier insists that this is proof that the Bible thinks of people first and foremost, not as fractions of the mass, or abstractions, or ideas, or cases, but as persons. "The proper name," Dr. Tournier writes, "is the symbol of the person. If I forget my patients' names, if I say to myself, 'Ah! There's that gall-bladder type or that consumptive that I saw the other day,' I am interesting myself more in their gall-bladders or in their lungs than in themselves as persons." He insists that a patient must be always a person, and never a case. It is extremely unlikely that the scribes and the Pharisees even knew this woman's name. To them she was nothing but a case of shameless adultery that could now be used as an instrument to suit their purposes. The minute people become things the spirit of Christianity is dead. God uses his authority to love men into goodness; to God no person ever becomes a thing. We must use such authority as we have always to understand and always at least to try to mend the person who has made the mistake; and we will never even begin to do that unless we remember that every man and woman is a person, not a thing. WRETCHEDNESS AND PITY (John 7:53; John 8:1-11 continued) Further, this incident tells us a great deal about Jesus and his attitude to the sinner. (i) It was a first principle of Jesus that only the man who himself is without fault 294
- 295. has the rightto express judgment on the fault of others. "Judge not," said Jesus, "that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). He said that the man who attempted to judge his brother was like a man with a plank in his own eye trying to take a speck of dust out of someone else's eye (Matthew 7:3-5). One of the commonest faults in life is that so many of us demand standards from others that we never even try to meet ourselves; and so many of us condemn faults in others which are glaringly obvious in our own lives. The qualification for judging is not knowledge--we all possess that; it is achievement in goodness--none of us is perfect there. The very facts of the human situation mean that only God has the right to judge, for the simple reason that no man is good enough to judge any other. (ii) It was also a first principle with Jesus that our first emotion towards anyone who has made a mistake should be pity. It has been said that the duty of the doctor is "sometimes to heal, often to afford relief and always to bring consolation." When a person suffering from some ailment is brought to a doctor, he does not regard him with loathing even if he is suffering from a loathsome disease. In fact the physical revulsion which is sometimes inevitable is swallowed up by the great desire to help and to heal. When we are confronted with someone who has made a mistake, our first feeling ought to be, not, "I'll have nothing more to do with someone who could act like that," but, "What can I do to help? What can I do to undo the consequences of this mistake?" Quite simply, we must always extend to others the same compassionate pity we would wish to be extended to ourselves if we were involved in a like situation. (iii) It is very important that we should understand just how Jesus did treat this woman. It is easy to draw the wrong lesson altogether and to gain the impression that Jesus forgave lightly and easily, as if the sin did not matter. What he said was: "I am not going to condemn you just now; go, and sin no more." In effect what he was doing was not to abandon judgment and say, "Don't worry; it's quite all right." What he did was, as it were, to defer sentence. He said, "I am not going to pass a final judgment now; go and prove that you can do better. You have sinned; go and sin no more and I'll help you all the time. At the end of the day we will see how you have lived." Jesus' attitude to the sinner involved a number of things. (a) It involved the second chance. It is as if Jesus said to the woman: "I know you have made a mess of things; but life is not finished yet; I am giving you another chance, the chance to redeem yourself." Someone has written the lines: "How I wish that there was some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again, Where all our mistakes and all out heartaches And all our poor selfish grief Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, 295
- 296. And never puton again." In Jesus there is the gospel of the second chance. He was always intensely interested, not only in what a person had been, but also in what a person could be. He did not say that what they had done did not matter; broken laws and broken hearts always matter; but he was sure that every man has a future as well as a past. (b) It involved pity. The basic difference between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees was that they wished to condemn; he wished to forgive. If we read between the lines of this story it is quite clear that they wished to stone this woman to death and were going to take pleasure in doing so. They knew the thrill of exercising the power to condemn; Jesus knew the thrill of exercising the power to forgive. Jesus regarded the sinner with pity born of love; the scribes and Pharisees regarded him with disgust born of self-righteousness. (c) It involved challenge. Jesus confronted this woman with the challenge of the sinless life. He did not say: "It's all right; don't worry; just go on as you are doing." He said: "It's all wrong; go out and fight; change your life from top to bottom; go, and sin no more." Here was no easy forgiveness; here was a challenge which pointed a sinner to heights of goodness of which she had never dreamed. Jesus confronts the bad life with the challenge of the good. (d) It involved belief in human nature. When we come to think of it, it is a staggering thing that Jesus should say to a woman of loose morals: "Go, and sin no more." The amazing, heart-uplifting thing about him was his belief in men and women. When he was confronted with someone who had gone wrong, he did not say: "You are a wretched and a hopeless creature." He said: "Go, and sin no more." He believed that with his help the sinner has it in him to become the saint. His method was not to blast men with the knowledge--which they already possessed--that they were miserable sinners, but to inspire them with the unglimpsed discovery that they were potential saints. (e) It involved warning, clearly unspoken but implied. Here we are face to face with the eternal choice. Jesus confronted the woman with a choice that day-- either to go back to her old ways or to reach out to the new way with him. This story is unfinished, for every life is unfinished until it stands before God. [As we noted at the beginning, this story does not appear in all the ancient manuscripts. See the Note on the Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8:2-11).] BI, "And every man went to his own house. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.. If we group together the scenes of these chapters we might treat them. 1. A day with Jesus; in which we have not merely His answers to the disputing Jews, but His proclamation of love. 2. A night with Jesus on the Mount of Olives. 296
- 297. 3. Dawn withJesus in the Temple, listening to tits early teaching. 4. Sunrise with Jesus, as pointing to the East, He says, “I am the light of the world.” These two verses suggest—Man at home, Jesus not at home: The crowd which had surrounded Him all the day gradually drops off,one by one, as the evening draws on, and Jesus is left alone. Each one has a home to go to, and retires to rest with his family; Jesus has nowhere to lay His head; they go one way, He goes another; they keep within the city walls, tie goes without the gate to Olivet, there to spend the night in prayer. He is not at home; even in the Temple which is His Father’s house, He must not stay; its gates are closing, and He is shut out. He can only go to the places where man is not; to the solitudes where, outside of Jerusalem, outside even of Bethany, He can meet with God. This homelessness was for us; that we might have a home in His Father’s house. He went without the gate that we might enter in. He became an exile, taking our place and life of banishment, that we might enter the celestial city, the paradise of God. Hast thou entered in? Or art thou still an exile from God though at home on earth? (H. Bonar, D. D.) The Saviour and the Sanhedrim We have here a notable instance of the injury done to the Scriptures by the arbitrary division into chapters and verses. The severance here diverts the attention from the object which the writer had in view. The greater part of chap. 7. is occupied with the conflicting opinions of the populace respecting Christ, and closes with a striking representation of a scene which took place in the council chamber of the metropolis. The officers had returned without their prisoner, and one of their own number dared to protest against their injustice. The distracted council break up and go home to concoct fresh schemes; the tranquil Saviour quietly departs to Olivet to meditate and pray. What a contrast! Those seventy men crossed in their cruel project; that one harmless wanderer, sustained by the conscious rectitude of His life! They seeking new channels for the pent up torrent of their wrath; He calm in the rich tides of peace that filled His soul; they to their luxuriant dwellings, whose enchantments were all marred by the day’s discomfiture; He to the mountain and the midnight, whose dark shadows threw into bold relief the presence of God and His glory. On their side all worldly influence; on His side all heaven. Their purpose, murder, and suppression of the truth; His purpose, salvation, and God’s eternal glory by His own self-sacrifice. (W. G. Lewis.) The moral tangent This “parting of the ways” exhibited I. THE SEPARATENESS OF CHRIST AMID HIS OWN PEOPLE. It bears out chap 1:11. How could it have occurred in a region and amongst a race so notedfor hospitality? Such experiences may have begotten the realization Mat_8:20). Some offer may have been made, but, if so, it was either too half-hearted to tempt the great solitary, or still, night-wrapped Olivet exercised an irresistible fascination. 1. That the Founder of society in its true conception should have been Himself an outcast; imagination dwells on such a paradox. 2. To take the mildest view of the circumstance it was not to the credit of the social life of Jerusalem. Some defect in those home circles rendered them uncongenial. Hearts there were that hated Him, but the general sentiment was 297
- 298. indifference. 3. And howdid He regard their attitude? It was impossible for Him to be unconcerned. Not yet was the passionate wail, “O Jerusalem,” etc., but the woeful sorrow of which it was the outcry was even then gathering. Incarnate love could not but desire to be loved by those for whom He had descended to such depths; but it must be on His own terms. II. A DIFFERENCE IN SPIRITUAL TENDENCY AND AIM. 1. The isolation of Christ did not arise from obscurity or insignificance. His departure must have been observed and felt. That lonely form, the centre of so much observation as with calm dignity it stepped from the wrangling crowd into the quiet fields, did it not judge them? 2. The mere departure convicted them of a lack of moral earnestness. The deadly conspiracy which had been hatched in their midst, and which had been arrested just when success seemed easy ought to have put every true man upon his honour, and made him open his doors to the homeless One. He had disturbed Judaean thought and life to its core. To an onlooker it might have seemed as if a moral revolution were impending. How near they were to the kingdom of God! But assenting to Christ’s lofty truths their hearts were indisposed to receive them. They lacked the courage of their convictions. Good men! it did not impair their digestion nor break the continuity of their “little life.” How trifling the spirit that can shelve the greatest question and stifle the grandest inspiration thus. 3. Not so easy was it for the Son of Man to put behind Him the strenuous controversy in which He had engaged. With Him heart as well as intellect were enlisted. Stung by their indifference, or horror-struck at their villany, the Great Sensitive Soul hurries forth to the only house of prayer where He can be alone with His Father, and to brace Himself for the effort of tomorrow. Yet how incomprehensible it must have been to minds so besotted with earthliness! They knew not that commerce with the skies. Conclusion: In every life there is such a moment quick with spiritual issues. Shall we follow Christ to Olivet or go to our own house? (St. John A. Frere, M. A.) Diverging paths I. EVERY MAN WENT TO HIS OWN HOUSE. A symbol of the general conduct of humanity. “We have turned every one to his own way.” 1. Our house is where we live, and represents all that we live for. (1) Some men live for wealth and adorn their noble houses with elegant furniture and costly pictures. (2) Some men live for pleasure, and their houses will be supplied with all that gratifies the senses—luxurious couches, expensive wines, and elaborate menu’s. (3) Some men live for learning, and the principal room in the house will be the well-furnished library, and every department will proclaim, “A scholar lives here.” (4) Some men live for friendship, and keep “open house” for their boon companions. (5) Some men live for domestic felicities, and consult the comfort and 298
- 299. fellowship of wifeand children in all the appointments of the house. 2. We may go to our own house without Christ. A Christless house, a Christless life is that in which something else besides Christ predominates. Where wealth, pleasure, etc., are supreme Christ is not. He has gone to the Mount of Olives. II. JESUS WENT TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 1. Jesus went (1) To cool His fevered brain and heart after the anxieties and labours of the day. (2) To pray, and realize more deeply His union and communion with the Father. To brace Himself for the efforts of the coming day. 2. Jesus went alone, yet every member of the crowd He left needed to go with Him—and for the same reason. So do we. Only with Jesus shall we find rest, communion, strength. 3. Jesus came back to judge those who had forsaken Him (chap. 8:16), and will come to judge those who are forsaking Him now. III. THE ALTERNATIVE 1. Is not house or Christ. He does not require us to break up our homes or desolate our lives. Let it be remembered that one reason for going to Olivet was because there was not a home in Jerusalem that would take Him in. He would have supped with the meanest who would have accorded Him a welcome. 2. The alternative is house without Christ or house with Him. We must take our Saviour into our house, and then take our house to Olivet—make Him the sacred centre round which wealth, pleasure, etc., may cluster, and sanctify all by sympathy with Him, prayer and consecration. 3. Thus the alternative sharply put is self or Christ. Which? Conclusion: 1. If we let Christ alone He will let us alone. Hell in this life and in the next is abandonment by Christ. 2. Christ ascended Olivet—the Jews descended from Moriah. With Christ’s companions it is ever a going up till heaven at last is reached. With Christ- forsakers it is ever down—down until the depths of the bottomless pit are fathomed. (J. W. Burn.) Chapter 8 Introduction to Joh_8:1-11 COKE, “John 7:53. And every man went unto his own house.— So that this short plain question of Nicodemus's spoiled all their measures, and broke up the council. A word spoken in season how good is it, especially when God gives it his blessing! Our Lord, having perfect knowledge of the designs of the council, left the city, and went to lodge in the mount of Olives, that he might be out of their reach. The first verse of the next chapter is generally, by the best expositors, joined to this; and the particle δε, in that verse, but Jesus went, seems strongly to point out the propriety hereof. See Luke 299
- 300. 21:37. Inferences.—We see howlittle the greater external advantages can do without the divine blessing, when some of the nearest relations of Christ himself, by whom he had been most intimately known, were not prevailed upon to believe in him. Who then can wonder if some remain incorrigible in the most regular and pious families? How much more valuable is the union to him, which is founded on a cordial and obedient faith, than that which arose from the bonds of nature; and how cautiously should we watch against those carnal prejudices, by which even the brethren of Christ were alienated from him! Our Lord, we see, used a prudent care to avoid persecution and danger, till his time was fully come; and it is our duty to endeavour, by all wise and upright precautions, to secure and preserve ourselves, that we may have opportunities for further service, except where the good of the church loudly and clearly calls us to make a sacrifice of ourselves. In the course of such service we must expect, especially if we appear under a public character, to meet with a variety of censures. But let us remember, that Jesus himself went through evil report and good report; by some applauded as a good man, by others condemned as deceiving the people. Learn we of our great Master, patiently to endure such injurious treatment; always endeavouring so to behave ourselves, that we may have a testimony in the consciences of men, and in the presence of God, that, after the example of our divine Forerunner, in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world. Then will our names be had in remembrance, and the honour and reward of our faithful obedience continue, when the remembrance of those who reviled us is perished with them. We may learn again, from our meek and humble Master, to refer the honour of all that we know and do, to the divine instructions communicated to us, and the divine grace working in and by us; that, seeking the glory of God, we may have the surest evidence that we are truly his. Integrity and uprightness will be a certain security to us against dangerous mistakes in matters of religion. If the light that we already have be faithfully improved, we may humbly hope that more will be bestowed; nor shall we then fail of convincing evidence, that the doctrine of the gospel is of God. For the experience of its power on our hearts, will check our passions, and destroy the prejudices which would prevent the truth from taking place in our minds. Our Lord was reviled as a demoniac and a lunatic. But, instead of rendering railing for railing, he replied in the words of gentleness and sobriety. Thus should we endeavour to conquer the rudeness of those attacks which we may meet with in his cause; that we may, if possible, remove the prejudices so fatal to those who entertain them, and form men to that equitable and impartial judgment, which would soon turn all their cavils against Christ into admiration, praise, and obedience. How confident is error in its own decisions, and how vain in its self-applauses! These unhappy people of the Jews imagined themselves, no doubt, exceedingly wise in rejecting Christ, while they blindly took it for granted, that he was the son of Joseph; and had not patience to wait for the authentic history of his miraculous conception. Surely men had need to look well to the force of those arguments, on which they 300
- 301. venture their soulsby rejecting the gospel. Our Lord answered their secret reasoning in a manner which might justly have alarmed them; charging them with ignorance of that God, whom they pretended to know, and whom with a presumptuous confidence they claimed as theirs: and would to God it may not be found at last, that many who have appeared most confident of their interest in the Lord, neither know him, nor are known by him! The blessed Jesus, who is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, has the completest knowledge of the Father. May we be so wise, and so happy, as to seek instructions from him; that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened, and the temper of our hearts proportionably regulated by all the discoveries of the Divine Being which he makes. How obstinately and desperately hardened were the hearts of those, who, notwithstanding all the proofs which Jesus gave of his divine mission, were yet so far from hearkening to him, as to seek opportunities to destroy him! So dangerous and fatal is the prevalence of error, in such as like not to retain God in their knowledge! How constantly ought we to pray, that God would preserve us from a spirit of delusion, and fill us with such wisdom, that we may know the things belonging to our peace; and, being ready to receive the truth in the love of it, may acknowledge and attend to Christ as sent of God, and as the eternal Son of his love. With what delight and thankfulness should we listen to the gracious proclamations of Christ, which he made in the temple, John 7:37 and some time after repeated from the throne of his glory, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink:—yea, whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely, Revelation 22:17. Blessed Jesus, had we been allowed to have prescribed to thee a form of words, in which thy kind purposes towards us should have been expressed, what could we have invented more pathetic, more condescending, or more reviving?—May we thirst for the blessings of thy grace, and, in the confidence of faith, apply unto thee for them; and particularly for those communications of thy Spirit, which are so highly excellent and desirable, and indeed so necessary for us: supply us with them; we entreat thee, supply us in so rich an abundance, that we, in our different spheres, may supply others; that from us there may flow rivers of living water! Well might such gracious words as those of our Lord, disarm the rage of enemies and persecutors. Let us add our testimony to theirs, and say, Never man spake as Jesus speaks. Let us hear him with calm and thankful attention, while his voice still sounds in his word. Happy they who know the joyful found! The Pharisees, like deaf adders, stopped their ears to the voice of the charmer, and while they censured the populace as a brutal herd, and gloried in their own superior wisdom, they rejected the counsel of God, rashly judging without serious inquiry, and weakly borne down by vulgar, senseless prejudices against names and places, which is all that the senate of Israel opposes to the solid arguments of Nicodemus. That good man, already considerably improved by his interview with Jesus, was undoubtedly confirmed in his adherence to him by observing the methods of their opposition: and where magistrates arm their authority to overbear argument, they will probably, in the judgment of impartial men, produce a 301
- 302. suspicion at least,that they know their cause to be incapable of a rational defence. REFLECTIONS.—1st, As the inveterate malignity of the chief priests and Pharisees led them to determine the death of Jesus, by popular fury or by form of law; to avoid their devices, he continued in Galilee. They who have obstinately refused the light of truth, have it justly withdrawn from them; and where our enemies rage, and our safety is in danger, it is prudent to depart, and carry that gospel of God to others, which sinners against their own souls reject and persecute, unless the existing church of God would be injured thereby. We have, 1. The conversation which passed in Galilee between Jesus and some of his relations. The feast of tabernacles being at hand, when a great concourse of people would be assembled in Jerusalem: [1.] They urge him to make his public appearance there, and not stay in that obscure part of the country, but go up to the metropolis, and shew himself and his wondrous works, if really they would bear the test of examination: since this could not fail of getting him disciples among the great men at Jerusalem, and of confirming those he had already made, who would be assembled there on this solemnity. And they suggest that this would be the way most effectually to advance his own reputation and honour, which they sinfully imagined he, like the men of the world, designed. For neither did his brethren believe in him. As he did not answer their expectations in erecting a temporal kingdom, they began to suspect that he was not the Messiah, which they at first hoped; and therefore wanted him to declare himself, and produce his credentials, or go up to Jerusalem, where his pretensions, if false, might be detected. Note; (1.) Many appear at public ordinances to shew themselves; not to ascribe glory to God, but to secure reputation to themselves. (2.) They who want a temporal kingdom, evidently prove that they are faithless followers of Christ. [2.] Christ mildly replies to their perverse suggestions, My time is not yet come for going up to the feast; but your time is alway ready, you may appear there at any time without any danger; they seek not your lives, as they do mine. The world cannot hate you, because your spirit, temper, and conduct, are but too conformable thereto; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil, which cannot but exasperate those who determine not to part with their beloved sins. Go ye therefore up unto this feast without delay: I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet full come. Note; (1.) Sinners hate the light of truth, and cannot but be exasperated with those reproofs, to which they obstinately refuse to submit. (2.) Whatever pretences men make for their enmity against the gospel and the preachers of it, the true cause is this, they cannot endure the testimony borne against their evil deeds. (3.) They who go to ordinances with a hypocritical spirit, may never expect the comfort of Christ's presence in them. 2. The journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. He stayed a while longer in Galilee, till his brethren were gone up to the feast; and then, when his time was come, he went himself, not openly, but as it were in secret, that he might give no offence to the ruling powers, who, if he came with a multitude, might interpret it into a seditious design. Note; Though the cause of Christ cannot be carried on without notice, we need not provoke needless opposition: it will come fast enough upon us, if we are faithful. 302
- 303. 3. The expectationwhich was raised of him. The Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? Some wished to see him out of curiosity; some out of malice, hoping to destroy him; and some out of better motives, expecting to receive some gracious instructions from him. And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, their sentiments being greatly divided: some said he is a good man, convinced by his miracles, struck with his exemplary life, and influenced by his holy doctrine; others, hardened in infidelity, though they had not one single charge of evil to produce against him, said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people, as if there was some latent imposture under these specious appearances. Howbeit, no man spake openly of him, for fear of the Jews. Whatever good opinion any formed of him, they were very cautious how they spoke their sentiments, it being highly dangerous to appear among his approvers, when those who were in power were known to be the avowed enemies and bitter persecutors of him and his disciples. Note; (1.) Christ's ministers, like himself, must expect to pass through evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true. (2.) They who are obstinate in rejecting the truth, will find something to quarrel with in the most spotless characters, and suppose that those who act with the greatest simplicity for God's glory, are carrying on some design of their own. 2nd, When Christ was come up to Jerusalem, about the midst of the feast, we find him, where indeed we might expect to meet him, in the temple, teaching the people. He would shew, that he was neither ashamed of the doctrine he preached, nor afraid of the enemies who threatened him. We are told, 1. The admiration which the hearers expressed at his preaching, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Though he had been brought up in none of their schools, he appeared so wise in the scriptures, opened them with such evidence, and reasoned upon them with such force of argument, as could not but astonish them; and probably led some to conclude, that such extraordinary gifts were not attained without diabolical assistance. 2. The reply of Jesus, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. As Mediator, he received his mission, and ability to discharge his office, from his Father, and needed no human assistance, nor advanced ought of his own invention. What he taught was divine in its original, and designed ultimately to advance the glory of God, from whom it came. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself: he that, laying aside his prejudices, as a humble inquirer, comes, desiring to be taught, shall find such evidence in the gospel, as to demonstrate the divine authority of its author; and shall experience such powerful and blessed effects produced thereby, as shall most indubitably prove it to be the word (not of man, but) of God. He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: an impostor would seek to advance his own reputation and interests, as the false teachers did: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, as Christ did, and all his faithful ministers do, the same is true, he evidences hereby the simplicity of his heart; and no unrighteousness is in him, no fraud or falsehood in his preaching or designs. They pretended indeed great zeal for the law of Moses, and founded their suggestions of his being an impostor, on the supposition that he violated the sabbath, and taught men to disregard the Mosaical institutions; when in fact, they themselves were living in the grossest violation of the plainest precepts of it: Did not Moses give you the law? and 303
- 304. yet none ofyou keepeth the law. Why go ye about to kill me? purposing to murder him, because of the miracle that he had wrought on the impotent man on the sabbath- day. Note; (1.) They who speak of themselves, without a divine call, and for themselves, with a view to their own honour and advantage, evidently shew the falsehood of their religious pretensions: these God hath never sent. (2.) Many pretend a great zeal for the interests of morality, and a jealousy lest the grace of the gospel should entrench upon them, who live themselves in the open violation of the divine law. 3. The common people, who were really ignorant of the designs of the enemies of Jesus, or at least affected to be so, express their surprise at the accusation which he brought against them. They answered and said, Thou hast a devil; thou talkest as one possessed: Who goeth about to kill thee? They would insinuate that his fears were groundless, the charge unjust, and himself a liar. Let us not wonder, if we suffer the most vile aspersions, are counted madmen, liars, devils. The Son of God was thus reproached before us. 4. Overlooking their perverseness and abuse, our Lord proceeds to vindicate that action which they had so much condemned, and for which they went about to kill him. I have done one work, in healing the impotent man; and ye all marvel, because it was done on the sabbath-day; as if this was inconsistent with the character which he professed as a teacher sent from God. And yet they themselves commonly practised what might much more justly be regarded as a breach of the sabbath, than his healing a cripple by the speaking of a word. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, as an ordinance to be observed among them, (not because it is of Moses, instituted by him; but of the fathers, being commanded of God to Abraham long before the days of Moses) and ye on the sabbath-day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath-day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; which enjoins it to be performed on the eighth day, whenever that happened; are ye angry with me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath-day? where they allowed themselves to circumcise and dress a wound on that day, how could they, with any shew of reason, censure him, who, without the least trouble, merely by a word, had cured an object so miserable? Partial judges were they indeed, and justly therefore does he rebuke them, Judege not according to the appearance, with respect of persons, condemning that in him which they allowed in their own countrymen; or, because of the meanness of his outward circumstances, paying a higher respect to the decisions of their own more specious and pompous rabbies than to his; but judge righteous judgment, weighing the real merits of the case without prejudice, and then they would be convinced that their own practice would be a full vindication of his conduct. Note; (1.) Unreasonable and wicked men they are indeed, who censure and condemn others for what they allow, nay, approve, in themselves. (2.) Such is the force of prejudice, that it often blinds the eyes against the most glaring conviction. (3.) We must look farther than appearance, if we would learn the true character of men. (4.) Christ's words and works demand nothing but an impartial examination to prove their excellence. 5. Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to whom the designs of the chief priests and rulers were no secret, were exceedingly astonished at the boldness of Christ's discourse, and wondered that they did not immediately attempt to seize him; 304
- 305. suggesting as iftheir withholding their hands from him gave suspicion that they had changed their sentiments concerning him, and began themselves to think him the Messiah. As for themselves, they could entertain no such imagination, because they knew whence he was: but, when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is; the scriptures having spoken of him as like Melchizedek, whose descent is unknown; as one whose goings forth have been from everlasting, and whose generation none can declare. Their reasoning however was fallacious: for, though these scriptures were true with regard to his divine nature, and his designation to his mediatorial office, it had been expressly determined of whom he should spring, and where he should be born, in respect to his human nature. Note; (1.) God hath restraints upon the hands and hearts of wicked men, and marvellously withholds them from the evil which they design and have an opportunity to perform. (2.) They who mistake the scriptures in essential points, err most dangerously, as they support themselves in their own imagination with the conceit of divine authority. 6. Christ replies to these cavils. It was true, they knew his earthly descent; their grand mistake lay in not looking higher, to his original from above, and his mission from God. I am not come of myself, assuming this honour; but he that sent me is true, and all his promises made of and to the Messiah; whom ye know not; for, though they speculatively believed in one eternal Jehovah, they did not truly and experimentally know him; but I knew him, his perfections and purposes; for I am from him, by essential emanation; and he hath sent me, in the character of Mediator, to accomplish the salvation of his faithful saints. 7. Very different were the effects produced upon his hearers. Some were highly incensed by his declarations, and would have instantly seized him; but they were under a divine restraint; the sacred time to finish the atonement not being yet come. Others, especially of the common people, struck with what they heard and saw, could not withhold from expressing their persuasion that this must be the Christ: for it could not be conceived, whenever he came, that he would do greater miracles than Jesus wrought. Note; (1.) Though the enmity of wicked men be ever so great against us, it is a comfortable consideration that they can do nothing without a divine permission; and all their power or policy must prove abortive to oppress the faithful ministers of Christ, who bear testimony to his truth, unless he be pleased to suffer it for a time. (2.) They who receive the gospel of Jesus, are in general such as man despiseth, as being of the poor and unlearned multitude. What therefore the world accounts their reproach, that they are chiefly followed by such, the ministers of the gospel should esteem their honour. 8. The Pharisees and rulers, jealous lest his credit and influence with the people should increase, could not hear these murmurs without indignation, and therefore immediately dispatched officers to arrest him, and to bring him before the sanhedrim. Note; Wicked instruments will not be wanting, where power is in the hands of persecutors. 9. Christ, who knew what was plotting against him, addressed the officers and people, saying, Yet a little while am I with you, and till that time was expired, all their malicious attempts were impotent: and then I go unto him that sent me, to my Father, from whom I came. Ye shall seek me; when your calamity comes, you will wish for 305
- 306. the Messiah; andshall not find me, nor obtain the least relief or respite, looking for help from heaven in vain: and where I am, thither ye cannot come, banished for ever from that glory where I am. Though Christ's human nature was on earth, he was still in his divine nature enthroned in light. Note; (1.) It is too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of judgment. They who reject the Saviour upon earth, and die faithless and impenitent, must never hope to be with him where he is, in heaven. (2.) A little while will deliver the faithful out of all their troubles. Let us therefore patiently endure. The time is short. Lastly, mistaking his meaning, they bewildered themselves in idle and vain reasonings whither he would go, that they should not find him; whether among the dispersed Jews, or among the Gentiles; as if he could find no disciples among those, who were judges of his pretensions; or as defying him to go where they could not follow him. 3rdly, The officers returned without executing their commission, and Jesus went on in the public exercise of his ministry. We have, 1. His discourse on the last day of the feast, when a vast concourse attended at the temple, and they used with great solemnity to draw water from the pool of Siloam, and pour it out with great rejoicings: on which he took occasion to speak of himself as the living water. He cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. Earnest to invite poor sinners to partake of his rich grace, he lifted up his voice aloud, and urged them to come to him and be happy. The invitation is general, to any man that thirsts: and none can truly come to Christ but those who feel their want of him, and therefore hunger and thirst after him and the holiness which he has to bestow: to such Christ is a fountain of living waters, refreshing and satisfying the longing desires of their souls. He that believeth on me, as the only Saviour, and reposes his entire confidence on my all-sufficiency to supply his every want, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; such an abundance of spiritual gifts, graces, and consolations, shall be bestowed upon him, that, like a perpetual and copious fountain, they shall flow forth in streams of righteousness, and diffuse blessings on every side, Isaiah 41:18; Isaiah 43:20; Isaiah 44:3. Joel 2:28. 2. The evangelist explains the meaning of Christ's words. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, in a more abundant and glorious manner than had been ever vouchsafed before: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, in that most plentiful effusion of his divine influences which was promised, Joel 2:28 because that Jesus was not yet glorified: and it was needful that he should first pass through his state of humiliation, and enter into his glory; when on the day of Pentecost the most astonishing out-pourings of the Spirit should attest the Saviour's exaltation; and not only the miraculous powers communicated by him should evidence the divine authority under which the apostles acted; but the strongest demonstrations of his power should accompany their preaching; and under the gospel dispensation the souls of those who were converted, should be filled with the largest measures of light, holiness, and joy. 3. The people were divided greatly in their sentiments concerning Christ. Many, struck with his divine teaching, could not help expressing their persuasion of his mission from God, as one of the prophets risen from the dead, as a forerunner of the 306
- 307. Messiah. Others wentfarther; thinking him not the harbinger, but the king Messiah himself. But others, prejudiced by their national pride and false notions of the Messiah, objected that he came out of Galilee, whereas Christ was to descend from the lineage of David, and to come from Bethlehem, the residence of David's ancestors; as he did, though they knew it not. Thus, while the sentiments of the people were divided, the officers and his enemies, though they would fain have arrested him, were restrained by a divine power, and offered him no violence. Note; (1.) The gospel of Christ often creates great divisions; for, though it breathes nothing but peace, they who refuse to receive the truth, cannot but oppose it. (2.) Many flatter themselves that they have right on their side for want of examining into facts and evidence, when their conclusions would often be found utterly unsupported. 4thly, While the chief priests and Pharisees, as in duty bound, should have been in the temple, leading the devotions of the people, we find them maliciously consulting how to destroy the Lord of that sacred place, for which they professed so high a veneration. 1. The officers returned without the prisoner, and are sharply questioned, why they have not executed their orders. They honestly acknowledged that they could not; they were so overawed with the majesty of Jesus, and with the power and evidence of his discourse, that their hearts failed them. Never man spake like this man. Note; There is a power accompanying the preaching of the gospel, which has often disarmed the rage of the bitterest enemies, and made those bow down before the word of truth, who came to disturb the preacher. 2. The Pharisees with indignation upbraided them with their weakness. Are ye also deceived? Can men of your sense and rank be imposed on by such a delusion? Have any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed on him? men of the greatest abilities, fashion, and reputation; the wisest and most devout? but this people, who knoweth not the law, the vulgar herd, are cursed, abandoned of God to every impostor, and through their ignorance of the law unable to judge of his pretensions. Note; (1.) Few of the rulers and Pharisees, the great men, and few of the self-righteous devotees who value themselves on their own goodness, ever embrace the gospel in its power. (2.) Many are prejudiced against the gospel, because they see the profession of it is unfashionable, and not the way of this world's preferment. (3.) It is common with this world's wise men to treat the poor disciples of Jesus as an ignorant, contemptible, deluded set of creatures; yet to the babes hath God revealed, what they, who boast of their superior wisdom, never knew. (4.) The causeless curse will not fail, but upon the head of him that utters it. 3. Nicodemus, who had visited Jesus by night, Ch. John 3:2 and was secretly a disciple, could not hear those infamous and unjust reflections, unmoved; and therefore, assuming courage, he remonstrated against their unreasonable and illegal manner of proceeding. They condemned unheard, contrary to all rules of justice and equity; whereas, at least, they should have given Christ an impartial hearing, and examined thoroughly into facts, before they decided on the merit of the case. Nothing could be more sensible and just than the maxim, but it does not appear that any seconded or supported the motion. Note; (1.) Christ has some who dare own his cause, even among the great and noble. (2.) It is highly wicked and unjust to condemn any man till he has had a fair hearing, and liberty to speak in his own defence. 307
- 308. 4. Instead ofrefuting the force of his argument, they fell to reviling; Art thou also of Galilee? A disciple of this despicable Galilean? Search, and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. They concluded that Jesus had been born in Galilee, because he had made it his chief abode; and as false was their assertion concerning the scriptures; for Jonah was of Galilee, and probably Nahum and Elijah also. Note; (1.) It is a sure sign of a bad cause, when men have recourse to abuse in the stead of argument. (2.) Many confidently appeal to the scriptures, as if it was the same thing to assert and prove; but we must examine for ourselves, and not take the scripture upon trust. 5. Hereupon the council separated, and each retired to his own home, unable to answer Nicodemus, and ashamed to proceed farther, where the injustice was so glaring. Note; One faithful man, who dares make a stand for Christ, will often silence and confound a whole company of gainsayers. CONSTABLE, “The woman caught in adultery 7:53-8:11 The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900 ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important early so-called Western text (uncial D). We have about 24,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament or parts of it. This number, by the way, contrasts strongly with the number of early copies of the writings of other ancient writers. For example, we have about 643 copies of the writings of Homer, 8 of Herodotus, 9 of Euripides, 8 of Thucydides, 7 of Plato, 49 of Aristotle, and 20 of Tacitus. Furthermore, the earliest copy of the New Testament that we have dates about 125 years after its composition whereas the earliest copy of one of the extrabiblical writings referred to above dates about 400 years after its composition. None of the church fathers or early commentators referred to this story in their comments on this Gospel. Instead they passed from John 7:52 right on to John 8:12. Several later manuscripts identify it as special by using an asterisk or obelus at its beginning and ending. An obelus is a straight horizontal stroke either simple or with a dot above and another below it. Writers of ancient manuscripts used obeli to mark a spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous word or passage. Some old copies have this pericope after John 7:36 or John 7:44 or John 21:25 or Luke 21:38. Its expressions and constructions are more similar to Luke's writings than they are to John's. [Note: For a discussion of the evidence, see Hoskyns, pp. 563-64; B. M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, pp. 219-22. For an alternative view, see Zane C. Hodges, "The Woman Taken in Adultery (John 7:53-8:11): The Text," Bibliotheca Sacra 136:544 (October-December 1979):318-32.] "This entire section, John 7:53 to John 8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best MSS [manuscripts] and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John. Among modern commentators and textual critics, it is a foregone conclusion that the section is not original but represents a later addition to the text of the Gospel." [Note: The Net Bible note on 7:53.] The event described here may have occurred, though the passage may represent a conflation of two different accounts (cf. John 21:25). [Note: See Bart D. Ehrman, "Jesus and the Adulteress," New Testament Studies 34 (1988):24-44.] Perhaps it was a piece of oral tradition that later scribes inserted here to illustrate the sinfulness of 308
- 309. the Jewish leaders(cf. John 7:24; John 8:15; John 8:46). "It may be accepted as historical truth; but based on the information we now have, it was probably not a part of the original text." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 89.] Then did the Holy Spirit inspire it? Probably He did not. It is similar to some of the apocryphal stories, which some Christian traditions accept as inspired but which others do not. How should the modern Christian use this story? Some expositors do not preach or teach the passage publicly because they believe it is uninspired. However other Christians disagree and accept it as equally authoritative as the rest of Scripture. Roman Catholics accept it because it was in Jerome's Latin Vulgate translation (late fourth century A.D.), which they regard as authoritative. If I do not believe it was part of the inspired text of John's Gospel, why have I bothered to expound it below? I have done so because most English Bibles contain this pericope, and many Christians have questions about it. It is possible that, though not a part of John's original Gospel, the Holy Spirit inspired it, though this view has problems connected with it. Verse 53 This verse suggests that the story that follows was originally the continuation of another narrative. "Everyone" apparently refers to people at a gathering in Jerusalem. This could refer to the Sanhedrin and the officers mentioned in John 7:45-52. However it could also refer to other people on a different occasion. 309