Christ goes up ST. JOHN. to Jerusalem, &c. as Cana was a day's journey from Capernaum, had our Lord | common occurrences, in order to accomplish the designs of gone at that hour, he must have travelled in the night, from his mercy and love. which it might have been inferred, that he could not cure the child without being personally present. Harmony, vol. i. p. 52. 53. So the father knew] He had the fullest proof that his son's cure was supernatural, and that it was wrought by the Lord Jesus. Himself believed, and his whole house.] He and his whole family became true converts to the doctrine of the manifested Messiah. The whole family, impressed with the great kindness of God, in sending health to the child, were the more easily led to believe in the Lord Jesus. The sickness of the child became the mean of salvation to all the household. They no doubt thought, at first, that God was dealing hardly with them, when threatening to remove the child; but now they see that in very faithfulness God had afflicted them. Let us learn never to murmur against God, or think that he does not act kindly towards us. His wisdom cannot permit him to err; his goodness will not suffer him to do any thing to his crea tures, but what may be subservient to their best interests. By providential occurrences, apparently the most adverse, he may be securing our eternal salvation. There is an account in Beracoth, fol. 34. very similar to this of the evangelist; and very possibly stolen from this holy source. "When the son of Rab. Gamaliel fell sick, he sent two of his disciples to R. Chanina, that he would pray to God for him. And when he had seen them, he went on the roof of his house and prayed for him. He then came down and said to them, His fever has departed froin him. They said unto him, Art thou a prophet? He answered, I am neither a ❘ prophet, nor the son of a prophet; but when I can recite my prayers readily, I know I shall be heard. They then wrote down the hour, and when they returned to R. Gamaliel, he said unto them, Ye have fulfilled your ministry-in respect to my son, all is complete. In that hour the fever, (n chomah, O TUρETOS,) left him, and he desired water to drink." Schoettgen very properly remarks, ovum ovo non majus simile est, atque hæc fabula narrationi evangelicæ, "one egg is not more like to another, than this fable to the evangelical narration." 54. This second miracle] The first miracle which Christ performed was in this same city of Cana, just after his baptism: and this second took place after his arrival here from Jerusalem; whence we have seen he was driven by the persecution raised against him by the scribes and Pharisees. By construing the word maλiv, again, with eλ0wv, he came, that confusion which is evident in the common version is entirely removed. Bishop Pearce says, "It seems probable to me, that John, when he wrote this verse, either joined the word Taλ to ελov, as he had done in verse 46. or meant that it should be so joined in the construction." John does not mention here the miracles which our Lord did at Capernaum on his first journey, chap. ii. 11. nor those which he did at Jerusalem on the feast of the pass-over. See chap. ii. 12. Luke iv. 23. The Gospel must be preached to the Samaritans: this is God's purpose; and in this case, the wrath of man is caused to praise him. 1. Christ finds it necessary to quit Judea because of the persecution raised up against him by the scribes and Pharisees. ver. 1-3. How worthy of admiration is that divine provi dence that presses every thing into the accomplishment of its own designs!--The doctors of Jerusalem oblige the Saviour to leave their city; and a simple woman persuades all the in habitants of a Samaritan city to open their gates and their hearts, and entreat the Redeemer of the world to enter in. 2. Christ must pass through Famaria, ver. 4. He was so situated in Judea, that he could not reach Galilee, except through Samaria, without taking a large circuit, which the necessities of the present case could not admit. Thus, while he ap pears to fly only from the fury of his persecutors, he is in reality seeking the lost, and fully accomplishing the work he came into the world to perform. 3. Christ being weary, finds it necessary to sit down to rest himself by Jacob's well, ver. 5, 6. spent with fatigue and hunger. How energetic was this fatigue! how active was this rest! Nothing can happen to Christ in vain-nothing can turn him out of the way of his mercy-his great work he continues to carry on without the smallest interruption, where we would have thought it must have been necessarily sus pended. 4. The disciples are obliged to go to the city to buy victuals, ver. 8. and Jesus was left alone-even this circumstance was not only favourable to the conversion of the Samaritan woman, but even essentially necessary, as without it she could not have had that opportunity of conversing freely with our Lord; nor would it have been proper for him to ve made that discovery of himself in their presence, which we find he did, during their absence. See the note of ver. 26. 5. The Samaritan woman is induced at that very time to go and draw water. Even so small a circumstance as this, becomes a necessary part in the economy of her salvation. There is not a circumstance in our life-not an occurrence in our business, but God will make subservient to our salvation, if we have a simple heart and a teachable spirit. The steps of a good man especially, are ordered of the Lord; and while he acknowledges his Maker in all his ways, he will direct all his steps. A proper consideration of this great truth, will produce both confidence and humility. 6. But this blessed doctrine may be abused; for some may suppose that God always acts according to a fixed necessity, through which, whatsoever was, is, or will be, has had its ex. istence, inode of being, operation, and direction, according to predetermined irrevocable laws. This system makes God himself the necessary agent of eternal fate, as it supposes him to be constantly employed in doing what eternal necessity obliges him to perform; and thus his infinite freedom is bounded or acted upon by uncontrollable necessity. Perdi. tion is not further from glory, than necessitating decrees are from a particular and gracious providence, by which the means of salvation are placed within the reach of every hu| man being. CHAPTER V. There are several particulars in the preceding history of the Samaritan woman, which confirm the doctrine of a particular providence, and show how God manages the most The man who had been diseased thirty-eight years, healed on the Sabbath day, 1-9. The Jews caril, persecute Christ, and seek to kill him because he had done this cure on the Sabbath, 10--16. Our Lord vindicates his conduct, and shows, from the testimony of the Father, the Scriptures, John the Baptist, and his own works, that he came from God, to be the light and salvation of the world, 17-39. He reproves the Jews for their obstinacy, 40, hatred to God, 41, 42, pride, 43, 44, and disbelief of their own law, 45-47. [A. M. 4031. A. D. 27. An. Olymp. CCI. 3.] A' FTER this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market, a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. a Lev. 23. 2. Deut. 16. 1. Ch. 2. 13.-b Neh. 3. 1. & 12. 29.—c Or, gate. NOTES.-Verse 1. A feast] This is generally supposed, by the best critics, to have been the feast of the pass-over, which was the most eminent feast among the Jews. In several excellent MSS. the article is added, coprn, THE feast, the grand, the principal festival. Petavius supposes that the feast of Purim, or lots, is here meant ; and one MS. reads σKпνояηуiα, the feast of Tabernacles. Several of the primitive fathers believe pentecost to be intended: and they are followed by many of the moderns, because in ch. vii. 2. mention is made of the feast of Tabernacles, which followed pentecost, and was about the latter end of our September; and in chap. x. 22. mention is made of the feast of Dedication, which was held about the latter end of November. See Bishop Pearce. See chap. x. 22. Calmet however argues, that there is no other feast with which all the circumstances marked here so well agree, as with the pass-over: and Bp. Newcome, who is of Calmet's opinion, thinks Bp. Pearce's argument concerning the succession of the feasts, to be inconclusive; because it is assumed, not proved, that the three feasts which he mentions above must have happered in the same year. See inuch on e 4 Ford an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity d Matt. 25. 2. 1 Cor. 9. 24.-e Lam. 3. 39. Hab. 2. 3. Luke 8. 43. the same subject in Bp. Newcome's notes to his harmony, p. 15, &c. Lightfoot has observed, that the other evangelists speak very sparingly of our Lord's acts in Judea. They mention nothing of the pass-overs from our Lord's baptism till his death, exсepting the very last but John points at them all. The first he speaks of, chap. ii. 13. the third, chap. vi. 4. the fourth, chap. xiii. 1. and the second in this place: for although he does not call it the pass-over, but a feast in general; yet the circumstances agree best with this feast: and our Lord's words, chap. iv. 35. seem to cast light on this subject. See the note there. 2. There is] This is thought by some to be a proof that John wrote his Gospel before the destruction of Jerusalem; and that the pool and its porticoes were still remaining. Though there can be little doubt, that Jerusalem was destroyed many years before John wrote, yet this does not necessarily imply, that the pool and its porticoes must have been destroyed too. It, or something in its place, is shown to travellers to the present day. See Maundrell's Jour. p. 103. But instead of £1, is, both the Syrice, all the Arabic, Fersic, Armenian, aind Christ neals the infirm man; CHAPTER V. a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole ? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. Nonnius, read WAS: which is to me some proof that it By the sheep market] Rather gate; see Neh. iii. 1, 32. xii, 39. This was in all probability the gate through which the sheep were brought, which were offered in sacritice in the temple. A pool Bp. Pearce thinks the word xoλvußpa should be translated bath, and that this place was built for the purpose of bathing and swimming in. He observes that KoAupßar signifies to swim, in Acts xxvii. 43. In proof of this, he cites three of the old Ita'a, which have natatoria, a bathing or imming place. he takes up his bed and walks. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 17. 21, &c. Mart. 12 2. Mark 2. 24. & 3. 4. Luke 6. 2. & 13. 14 fore, nor after this time. Neither Josephus, Philo, ne any of the Jewish authors, mention this pool; so that it is very likely that it had not been long celebrated for its healing virtue; and that nothing of it remained when those authors wrote. Certain season] This probably refers to the time of the feast, during which only this miraculous virtue lasted. It is not likely that the angel appeared to the people-his descent might be only known by the ebullition caused in the waters. Was not the whole a type of Christ? See Zech. xiii. 1. He is the true Bethesda, or house of mercy, the fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness; unto which all the diseased may come and find health and life eternal. 5. Had an infirmity thirty and eight years.) St. Chrysos son: what it was, the inspired writer does not say-probably it was a palsy: his case was deplorable-he was not able to go into the pool himself, and he had no one to help him; so that poverty and disease were here connected. The length of the time he had been afflicted, makes the miracle of his cure the greater. There could have been no collusion in this case; as his affliction had lasted thirty-eight years, it must have been known to multitudes; therefore he could not be a person prepared for the occasion. All Christ's uniracles have been wrought in such a way, and on such persons and occasions, as absolutely to preclude all possibility of the suspicion of imposture. Bethesda This word is variously written in the MSS, and Versions: Bezathu-Bethzatha-Betzetha-Belzetha-Belza tom conjectured that blindness was the infirmity of this per tha-Berseta: and many have Bethsaida. But the former reading is the genuine one. Bethesda, or according to the He. brew on Bethchasdah, signifies literally the house of erry. It got this name probably from the cures which God mercifully performed there. It is likely the porticoes were built for the more convenient reception of the poor and distressed, who came hither to be healed. It does not appear that any person was obliged to pay man, for what the mercy of Gol freely gave. Wicked as the Jewish people were, they never thought of levying a tax off the poor and afflicted, for the cures they received in these healing waters. How is it that a well-regulated state, such as that of Great Britain, can ever permit individuals or corporations, to enrich them 6. Wilt thou be made whole?] Christ, by asking this quesBelves at the expense of God's mercy, manifested in the sana- tion, designed to excite in this person, faith, hope, and a tive waters of Bristol, Bath, Burton, &c.7 Should not the greater desire of being healed. He wished him to reflect on his accommodations be raised at the expense of the public, miserable state, that he might be the better prepared to rethat the poor might enjoy without cost, which they are in-ceive a cure, and to value it when it came. Addresses of this capable of defraying, the great blessing which the God of na-kind are always proper from the preachers of the Gospel, that ture has bestowed on such waters? In most of those places the hearts, as well of hardened, as of desponding sinners, may there is a profession that the poor may drink and bathe gratis: be stirred up to desire and expect salvation. Do you wish to but it is little better than a pretence, and the regulations re- be healed? Do you know that you are under the power of a lative to this point, render the whole nearly inefficient. How most inveterate and dangerous disease? If so, there is a remeever, some good is done. dy-have immediate recourse to the Physician. Questions of this kind are frequently asked in the secret of our souls, by the inspirations of God's Spirit. Happy those who pay atten tion to them, and give right answers. 7. Sir, I have no man] Nai, Kvpic-"Yes, Sir; but I have no man:"--this is the reading of C'GH., fourteen others, both the Syriac, latter Persic, Arabic, and Chrysostom. Reader, be thankful to God for health and outward comforts. When long affliction has been allied to deep poverty, how deplorable is the state! 3 Blind, hall, withered) To these the Coder Beze, three copies of the Itala, and both the Persic, add rapaλvrikov, pa ralytic, but they are probably included among the withered. Waiting for the moving of the water.] This clause, with the whole of the fourth verse, are wanting in some MSS. and Versions, but I think there is no sufficient evidence against their authenticity. Griesbach seems to be of the same opinion; for though he has marked the whole passage with the notes of doubtfulness, yet he has left it in the text. Some have imafines that the sanative virtue was communicated to the waters 8. Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.] Jesus speaks here as by washing in them the entrails of the beasts which were offer God. He speaks in no name but his own, and with an aued in sacrifice; and that the angel meant no more, than mere thority which belongs to God alone. And what is the conse ly a man sent to stir up from the bottom this corrupt sediment, quence? the man became whole immediately:-and this sudWhich being distributed through the water, the pores of the den restoration to health and strength, was an incontestable person who bathed in it, were penetrated by this matter, and proof of the omnipotence of Christ. It has been remarked his disorder repelled! But this is a miserable shift to get rid that our Lord, after having performed a iniracle, was accus. of the power and goodness of God, built on the merest conjec tomed to connect some circumstance with it, which attested ture, slf-contradictions, and every way as unlikely as it is in its truth. After the miracle of the five loaves, he ordered the supportable. It has never yet been satisfactorily proved that fragments to be collected, which were more in quantity than the sacrifices were ever washed; andcould even this be prov- the loaves themselves, though several thousands had been fed. ed, who can show that they were washed in the pool of Be-When he changed the water into wine, he ordered some to be theeda? These waters healed a man in a moment, of what- taken first to the steward of the feast, that he might taste and eter disease he had. Now there is no one cause under heaven bear testimony to its genuineness and excellency. When he That can do this. Had only one kind of disorders been cured cured the lepers, he commanded them to show themselves to here, there might have been some countenance for this deis the priests, whose business it was to judge of the cure. So Leal conjecture-but this is not the case; and we are obliged here, he judged it necessary, after having cured this infirm to believe the relation just as it stands, and thus acknowledge man, to order him not only to arise, but to take up his bed, the sovereign power and mercy of God; or take the desperate and walk, which sufficiently attested the miracle which he flight of an infidel, and thus get rid of the passage altogether. had wrought. God's work is ever known by its excellence 4. Angel "Of the Lord," is added by AKL., about twenty and good effects. others, the Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, AngloSaron, and six copies of the Itala; Cyril and Ambrose have a's this reading. If this reading be genuine, and the authoties which support it are both ancient aud respectable, it destroys Dr. Hammond's conjecture, that by the angel, a messen. ger only, sent from the sanhedrim, is meant, and that these cures were all performed in a natural way. Those who feel little or none of the work of God in their en hearts, are not willing to allow that he works in others. Many deny the influences of God's Spirit, merely because they never felt them. This is to make any man's experience the rule by which the whole word of God is to be interpreted, and consequently to leave no more divinity in the Bible, than is found in the heart of him who professes to explain it. 9. The same day was the Sabbath.] Mr. Toynard supposes that this miracle was wrought on the 11th of Nisan, the Sabbath before the pass-over, which was celebrated the 14th of Nisan, or 28th of March. But why did our Lord command this man to carry his bed on the Sabbath, as the law prohibited al servile work, and especially the carrying of burthens? See Exod. xx. 8. Jer. xvii. 21. Neh. xiii. 15. To this it may be answered, 1. The man was a poor man, and if he had left his bed, he might have lost it; and he could not have conveniently watched it till the next morning. 2. Christ showed by this that he was Lord of the Sabbath: see Matt. xii. 8. 3. This was not contrary to the spirit of the law: the Sabbath was made to honour God in, and this was a public monument of his power and goodness. 4. It was consistent with the wisdom of Went down] Kareẞaiver, descended. This word seems to Christ to do his miracles so, that they might be seen and imply, that the angel had ceased to descend when John wrote. known by a multitude of people; and especially in Jerusalem, In the second verse, he spoke of the pool as being still in ex- which was the capital of the country, and the centre of the istence; and in this verse he intimates that the divine influ- Jewish religion: and this very circumstance of the healed man ence ceased from these waters. When it began, we know not; carrying his bed on the Sabbath day, must call the attention but it is likely that it continued no longer than till the cruci- of many to this matter, and cause the miracle to be more gezion of our Lord. Some think that this never took place be-nerally known. Christ vindicates his miracles ST. JOHN. against the cavils of the Jews. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto | I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him. Behold, thou art made whole: k sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole. 16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews" sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, verily, Or, from the multitude that was.-k Matt. 12.45. Ch. 9. 11.-1 Ch.9 4 & 14. 10Ch. 7-19-n Ch. 1930, 13, Phil. 2. 6.- Ver. 30. Ch. 809 & 9.4.& 12. 49. & 14. -p Mat.3, 17 Ch.3.36. 2 Pet. 1.17. 11. He that made me whole, &c.] The poor man reasoned conclusively-He who could work such a miracle, must be at least the best of men; now a good man will neither do evil himself, nor command others to do it: but he who cured me, ordered me to carry my bed, therefore there can be no evil in it. 13. Jesus had conveyed himself away] Or, had withdrawn himself. And this he might easily do, as there was a crond in the place. Some think the words indicate, that Jesus with drew on seeing a multitude in the place, i. e. raising a tumult, because of the man's carrying his bed. See the margin. He had not yet finished his work, and would not expose himself to the envy and malice of the Jewish rulers. 14. Jesus findeth him in the temple] The man being con scious, that it was through the mercy of God that he was restored, (though he did not as yet know distinctly who Christ was) went to the temple to return thanks to God for his cure. Whether this was on the same day, or some other, does not distinctly appear: it was probably the same day, after he had carried home his couch. How many, when they are made well, forget the hand that has healed them! and instead of gratitude and obedience to God, use their renewed health and strength in the service of sin! Those who make this use of God's mercies, may consider their restoration as a respite only from perdition. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.] Our Lord, intending to discover to this man who he was, gave him two proofs of the perfection of his knowledge. 1. He showed him that he knew the secret of the past-sin no more: thereby intimating, that his former sins were the cause of his long affliction. 2. He showed him that he knew the future-lest a worse thing come unto thee: if thy iniquity be repeated, thy punishment will be increased. 15. The man departed, and told the Jews] He did not say it was Jesus who had ordered him to carry his bed; but it was Jesus who had cured him and he left them to draw the inference, viz. That this Jesus must be the miraculous power of God. 16. And sought to slay him] This clause is omitted by BCDL., some others, and several ancient Versions. Griesbach has left it out of the text; and Professor White says certissi mè delenda: but it does not appear to me that it should be omitted. However, it was true of the Jews, whether the words were originally in the evangelist, or not. For what cause did these persons seek to destroy our Lord? Because he had healed a poor man, who had been diseased thirty-eight years, and ordered him to carry home the couch on which he lay! How implacable must their malice have been ! the spirit of religious persecution has always been the most fell and dangerous of all on this side perdition. Every other disposition appears to have its moderator; but this is wholly abandoned to the guidance of Satan, and has for its objects the men who know the truth, and who live to the glory of their God, and for the benefit of mankind. How strange, that such should ever be objects of malice and hatred! But the Satanic nature in fallen man is ever opposed to whatever comes from God. 17. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work] Or, As my Father worketh until now, &c. xalos being understood. God created the world in six days on the seventh he rested from all creating acts; and set it apart to be an everlasting memo rial of his work. But though he rested from creating, he never ceased from preserving and governing that which he had formed-in this respect, he can keep no Sabbaths: for nothing can continue to exist, or answer the end proposed by the divine wisdom and goodness, without the continual energy of God. So I work-I am constantly employed in the same way, governing and supporting all things, comforting the wretched, and saving the lost; and to me, in this respect, there is no Sabbath. 18. Making himself equal with God.] This the Jews understood from the preceding verse: nor did they take a wrong meaning out of our Lord's words; for he plainly stated, that whatever was the Father's work, his was the same: thus showing that He and the Father were ONE. They had now found out two pretences to take away his life: one was that he had broken the Sabbath-Ave, dissolved, as they pretended, the obligation of keeping it holy. The other was, that he 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth; and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. 21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. 22 For the Father Judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son 23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; "but is passed from death unto life. q Luke 7. 14. & 9. 51. Ch. 11. 25, 43.- Matt 11.27. & 28. 18. Ver. 27. Ch. 3. & 17. 2. Acts 17.31. 1 Pet. 4.5 1 John 2. 23. Ch. 3. 16, 18. & 6. 40, 47.& 8.51. 20.31-1 John 3 14. was guilty of blasphemy, in making himself equal to God: for both which crimes, a man according to the Law, must suffer death. See Numb. xv. 32. Lev. xxiv. 11, 14, 16. 19. The Son can do nothing of himself | Because of his inseparable union with the Father: nor can the Father do any thing of himself, because of his infinite unity with the Sou. What things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son] God does nothing but what Christ does-What God does, is the work of God, and proper to no creature-Jesus does whatsoever God does, and therefore is no created being, The Son can do nothing but what he sees the Father do now, any intelligent creature may do what God cannot do: he may err-he may sin. If Jesus can do nothing but what God does, then he is no creature: he can neither sin, nor err, nor act imperfectly. The conclusion from our Lord's argument is: if I have broken the Sabbath, so has God also; for I can do nothing but what I see him doing. He is ever governing and preserving ; I am ever employed in saving. 26. Greater works than these] Two of these he immediately mentions: Raising the dead, ver. 21. and judging the world, ver. 22. That ye may marvel] Or, So as to make you wonder. Our Lord sometimes speaks of himself as God, and sometimes as the Ambassador of God. As he had a human and divine nature, this distinction was essentially necessary. Many errors have originated from want of attention to this circumstance. 21. As the father raiseth up the dead] This he did in the case of the widow's son at Sarepta, 1 Kings xviii. 22. by the ministry of the prophet Elijah. And again, in the case of the Shunammite's son, 2 Kings iv. 32–35. by the ministry of the prophet Elisha. The Son quickeneth whom he will.] He raiseth from death to life whomsoever he pleases. So he did, for he raised the ruler's daughter, Mark v. 35-42. the widow's son at Nain, Luke vii. 11–15. and Lazarus, at Bethany, John xi. 14-44. Whom he will. Here our Lord points out his sovereign power and independence; he gives life according to his men will, not being obliged to supplicate for the power by which it was done, as the prophets did; his own will being absolute and sufficient in every case. 22. The Father judgeth no man] This confirms what he had said before, ver. 17, 19. that the Father acts not without the Son, nor the Son without the Father; their acts are com mon, their power equal. 23. That all men should honour the Son, &c.] If then the Son is to be honoured, EVEN AS the Father is honoured, then the Son must beGod, as receiving that worship which belongs to God alone. To worship any creature is idolatry; Christ is tobe honoured even as the Father is honoured, therefore Christ is not a creature; and if not a creature, consequently the Creator. See chap. i. 3. He that honoureth not the Son] God will not receive that man's adoration who refuses to honour Jesus, eren as he honours him. The Jews expected the Messiah as a great and powerful Prince, but they never thought of a person coming in that character, enrobed with all the attributes of Godhead. To lead them off from this error, our Lord spoke the words recorded in these verses. 24. He that heareth my word] My doctrine-and believeth on him that sent me he who credits my divine mission, that I am come to give light and life to the world by my doctrine and death-hath eternal life-the seed of this life is sown in his heart the moment he believes; and shall not come into condemnation; εis kptow, into judgment-that which will speedily come on this unbelieving race; and that which shall overwhelm the wicked in the great day. But is passed from death unto life.) Meraßeßngey, has changed his country, or place of abode. Death is the country where every Christless soul lives. The man who knows not God, lives a dying life, or a living death--but he who believes in the Son of God, passes over from the empire of death to the empire of life. Reader! thou wast born in death: hast thou yet changed the place of thy natural residence? Remember, that to live in sin, is to live in death; and those who live and die thus, shall die eternally. 25. The dead shall hear the voice] Three kinds of death are mentioned in the Scriptures: natural, spiritual, and eternal. The first consists in a separation of the body and soul. The 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that bear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, ■ because he is the Son of man. 24 Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall coine forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 301 can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 324 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. the quickener of the dead. 35 He was a burning and f a shining light: and ye were will 36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the k 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he 39 Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you 171.20&1.26. Mark 6 20-b 1 John 5 9.--i Ch 3.2. & 10.25.& 15.4-k Matt.2 17. & 17.5 Ch.6 27. &8.18-1 Deut.4 12. Ch 1.18 Tim 1.17. 1 John 4 12.-in lea 8.2. & 4.16 Luke 16 29. Ver. 46 Acts 17.11.-n Deut. IS. 13, 18. Luke 4 27. Ch.1.45.-o Ch. 1.11 & 3. 19-p Ver. 34. 1 Thess 2.6 Bishop Pearce gives a different turn to this verse, by trans. lating it interrogatively, thus: "If I only bear witness of my self, is not my witness true? i. e. is it, on that account, not true? In chap. viii. 14. he says, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true. And in ver. 18. he says, I am one that bear witness of myself." 32. There is another] God the Father, who, by his Spirit 33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. ver Finder 2.1, 5.45 14. Col.2.13.-w Ver 22. Acts 10. 42 & 17.31 -x Dan. 7. 12,10 —y Isu 6 12. 1 Thess 4.16. Cor 15.5-z Dan, 12.2 Matt. 25.32,33,46 — a Vertich Mart 95.39 Ch 4 34 & FUN - See Chap 3 14 Rev 3.14.-d Mat 3. 17.& 17.5 Ch 13. 1 John 5 6,7,9-e Ch. 1.15,19,27,3-f2 Pet 1 19.-g See Matt. second in separation of God and the soul. The third in the separation of body and soul from God, in the other world. Anawerable to these three kinds of death, there is a threefold life: natural life, which consists in the union of the soul and body. Spiritual life, which consists in the union of God and the soul, by faith and love. Eternal life, which consists in the communion of the body and soul with God, by holiness, in the realms of bliss. Of the dead, our Lord says, the hour is com.in your prophets, described my person, office, and miracles. ing, and now is, when they shall hear the voice of the Son of Gol, and live. The hour is coming, when all that sleep in the dust shall awake at the voice of the Son of inan, and come to judgment: for he giveth life to the dead, ver. 21, 28, 29. Agam the hour is coming, when some of those who have died a natural death, shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live again here. It is likely that our Lord had not as yet raised any from the dead; and he refers to those whom he intended to raise: see on ver. 21. Lastly, the hour now is, when many who are dead in trespasses and sins, shall hear the voice (the word) of the Son of God, believe and receive spiritual life, through him. You read these Scriptures, and you cannot help seeing that 26. Hath he given to the Son to have life, &c.] Here our Lord speaks of himself in his character of Messiah or envoy of God. 27. Because he is the Son of man.] Because he is the Mes-part is true! The very unreasonableness of this conduct, mich; for in this sense the phrase, the Son of man, is often to be understood. But some join this to the next verse, thus :-Marcel not at this, because he is the Son of man. 33. Ye sent unto John] I am not without human testimony of the inost respectable kind :-Ye sent to John, and he bare witness There are several circumstances in John's charac consulted by the very enemies of Christ, as a very holy and extraordinary man. 2. He is perfectly free from all self-in. terest, having declined making the least advantage by his own reputation. 3. He is sincere, undaunted, and so averse from all kinds of flattery, that he reproves Herod at the ha zard of his liberty and life. 4. He was so far from being solicited by Christ to give his testimony, that he had not even seen him, when he gave it. See chap. i. 19-23. 34. But I receive not testimony from man [only] I have no need of John's testimony: the works that I do, bear sufficient testimony to me, ver. 36. 23. Marrel not at this] I think it quite necessary to follow here, us noted above, the punctuation of both the Syriac, the Armenian, Chrysostom, Damascenus, Theophylact, Euthymi-ter which render his testimony unexceptionable. 1. He is , and others; which is found also in some very good MSS. Theophylact says that the common method of reading this, which he highly objects to, was the invention of Paul of Samosala. In ver. 26 and 27, our Lord, speaking of himself as envoy of God, said, the Father had girer him to have life in kimself, so that like any of the ancient prophets, he could vivify others; and that he had given him authority to execute judg. ment, probably referring to that judgment which he was shortly to execute on this unbelieving nation; and apparently, in direct reference to Dan. vii. 13. Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds, &c. a place which the Jews expound of the promised Messiah. In this verse, he anticipates an objection, as if they had said: "This cannot be: thou art a man-pheta prophet cannot lie: he bore testimony that I am thou wast born among us." Our Lord answers: Don't mar tel at this, BECAUSE I am a man--for greater things than these shall be done by me: he who now addresses you, though disgused under the form of a man, shall appear in the great day, to be the Judge of quick and dead: by his almighty power, he shall raise all the dead; and by his unerring wisdom and justice, shall adjudge the wicked to hell, and the righteous to heaven. The first sense, however, of this passage, appears to some the most probable; though they both amount nearly to the same meaning. 30. I can of mine own self do nothing] Because of my intimate union with God. See on ver. 19. I seek not mine own will] I do not, I cannot attempt to do any thing without God. This, that is, the Son of man, the human nature which is the temple of my divinity, chap. i. 14. is perfectly subject to the Deity that dwells in it. In this respect our blessed Lord is the perfect pattern of all his followers. In every thing their wills should submit to the will of their heavenly Father. Nothing is more common than to hear people say, I will do it because I choose. He who has no better rea son to give for his conduct than his own will, shall in the end have the same reason to give for his eternal destruction. "I followed my own will, in opposition to the will of God, and now Iam plunged in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone." Reader, God hath sent thee also to do his will:-his will is, that thou shouldst abandon thy sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus. Hast thou yet done it? 31. If I bear witness] If I had no proof to bring of my being the Messiah, and equal to God, common sense would direct you to reject my testimony: but the mighty power of God, by which I work my miracles, sufficiently attest that my pretentions are well founded. But these things I say, &c.] You believe John to be a pro the lamb of God, that beareth away the sin of the world, chap. i. 29. therefore that ye may be saved by believing in mé as such, I have appealed to John's testimony. 35. He was a burning and a shining light] Hub Avxroso Katoμɛvos kai datov, should be translated, He was a burning and a shining LAMP. He was not το φως του κόσμου, the light of the world, I. e. the sun but he was o Auros, a lamp, to give a clear and steady light till the sun should arise. It is sup posed that John had been cast into prison about four months before this time. See the note on chap. iv. 35. As his light continued no longer to shine, our Lord says, he was. The expression of lamp, our Lord took from the ordinary custom of the Jews, who termed their eminent doctors, the lamps of Israel. A lighted candle is a proper emblem of a minister of God; and alteri serviens consumor-“In serving others, I myself destroy :"-a proper motto. There are few who preach the Gospel faithfully that do not lose their lives by it. Burning may refer to the zeal with which John executed his message; and shining may refer to the clearness of the testimony which he bore concerning Christ. Only to shine, is but vanity; and to burn without shining, will never edify the church of God. Some shine, and some burn, but few both shine and burn; and many there are who are denominated pastors, who neither shine nor burn. He who wishes to save souls, must both burn and shine; the clear light of the knowledge of the sacred records must fill his understanding; and the holy flame of loving zeal must occupy his heart. Zeal without knowledge is continually blundering; and knowledge without zeul makes no converts to Christ. For a season] The time between his beginning to preach and his being cast into prison. To rejoice] Ayaλdiao@ŋvai, to jump for joy, as we would 44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, 4 Ch. 12.43.- Rom. 2. 9. Rom 2. 12- Gen. 3. 15. & 12. 3. & 18. 18. express it. They were exceedingly rejoiced to hear that the Messiah was come, because they expected him to deliver them out of the hands of the Romans: but when spiritual deliver ance, of infinitely greater moment, was preached to them, they rejected both it, and the light which made it manifest. 36. But I have greater witness] However decisive the judgment of such a man as John may be, who was the lamp of Israel, a miracle of grace, filled with the spirit of Elijah, and more than any prophet, because he pointed out, not the Messiah who was to come, but the Messiah who was already come nevertheless, I am not obliged to depend on his testimony alone; for I have a greater one; that of Him whom you acknowledge to be your God. And how do I prove that this God bears testimony to me? By my works: these miracles, which attest my mission, and prove by themselves, that no thing less than unlimited power and boundless love could ever produce them. By my word only, I have perfectly and instantly healed a man who was diseased thirty and eight years. Ye see the miracle-the man is before you whole and sound. Why then do ye not believe in my mission, that ye ay embrace my doctrine, and be saved? 37. The Father himself hath borne witness] That is, by his prophets. Ye have neither heard his voice] I make these words, with Bp. Pearce, a parenthesis: the sense is "Not that my Father ever appeared visibly or spake audibly to any of you; but he did it by the mouths of his prophets." Lately, however, he had added to their testimony his own voice from heaven, on the day of Christ's baptism. See Matt. iii. 17. 38. Ye have not his word abiding in you] Though ye be lieve the Scriptures to be of God, yet ye do not let them take hold of your hearts-his word is in your mouth, but not in | your mind. What a miserable lot! to read the Scriptures as the true sayings of God, and yet to get no salvation from them! Thy word, says David, (Psal. exix. 11.) have I hid in my heart, | that I might not sin against thee. This, these Jews had not done. Reader, hast thou? 39. Search the Scriptures] EpEvVATE Tas ypadas. This should be translated, not in the imperative, but in the indica. tive mood-Thus, Ye search the Scriptures diligently. That these words are commonly read in the imperative mood is sufficiently known; but this reading can never accord well with the following verse, nor can the force and energy of the words be perceived by this version. The rabbins strongly recommend the study of the Scriptures. The Talmud, Tract Shabbath, fol. 30. brings in God thus addressing David: "I at better pleased with one day in which thou sittest and stu. diest the Law, than I shall be with a thousand sacrifices which thy son Solomon shall offer upon my altar." Perhaps the Scriptures were never more diligently searched than at that very time: first, because they were in expectation of the immediate appearing of the Messiah; secondly, because they wished to find out allegories in them, (see Philo;) and thirdly, because they found these Scriptures to contain the promise of an eternal life. He, said they, who studies daily in the Law, is worthy to have a portion in the world to come, Sohar. Genes. fol. 31. Hence we may infer, 1st. That the Jews had the knowledge of a future state before the coming of Christ: and, 2dly. That they got that knowledge from the Old Testament Scriptures. Jews and the disciples. 46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? & 22. 18. & 49. 10. Deut. 18, 15, 18. Ch. 1. 45. Acts 26. 22 ye may have that eternal life which can only come through 42. But I know you, that ye have not, &c.] Don't say that you oppose me through zeal for God's honour, and love for his name, because I make myself equal to him: no, this is not the case. I know the dispositions of your souls; and I know ye have neither love for his name, nor zeal for his glory. Incorri gible ignorance and malicious jealousy actuate your hearts. Ye read the Scriptures, but ye do not enter into their meaning. Had you been as diligent to find out the truth as you have been to find out allegories, false glosses, and something to counte hance you in your crimes, you would have known that the Messiah, who is equal with God, must be the Son of man also, and the inheritor of David's throne; and that the very works which I do, are those which the prophets have foretold the Messiah should perform. See Dan vií. 13, 14. Isa. ix. 6, 7. xi. 1-5, 10. xxxv. 4-6. 43. I am come in my Father's name] With all his influence and authority. Among the rabbins, it was essential to a teacher's credit that he should be able to support his doctrine by the authority of some eminent persons who had gone before. Hence the form, Coming in the name of another. If another shall come in his own name] Having no divine influence, and no other authority than his own, him ye will receive. That this was notoriously the case, may appear from Josephus, Antiq. b. xviii. c. 14. Acts v. 36, 37. Eusebius, Ecel. Hist. b. iv. c. 6. It is by the just judgment of God, that those, who will not believe the truth of God, shall be so given up as to believe the most absurd of lies. For an account of these false Christs, see the notes on Matt. xxiv. 5. 44. How can ye believe which receive honour, &c.] The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees, was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other's praise. If they had acknowledged Christ as the only teacher, they must have given up the good opinion of the mul titude: and they chose rather to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men! This is the ruin of millions. They would be religious, if religion and worldly honour were connected: but as the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, and their hearts and souls are wedded to the earth, they will not accept the salvation which is offered to them on these terms-Deny thyself; take up thy cross, and follow ME. It is no wonder that we never find persons making any progress in religion, who mix with the world, and in any respect regu late their conduct by its anti-christian customs, maxims, and fashions. From God only ?] Or, from the only God-Hapa Tov pover Ocov. Two of the ancient Slavonic Versions read, From the only-begotten Son of God, 45. Do not think that I will accuse you] You have accused me with a breach of the Sabbath, which accusation I have demonstrated to be false: I could, in return, accuse you, and substantiate the accusation, with the breach of the whole law; but this I need not do, for Moses, in whom ye trust, accuses you. You read his law, acknowledge you should obey it, and The word epevvare, which might be translated, Ye search yet break it both in the letter and in the spirit. This Law, diligently, is very expressive. Homer, IL. xviii. 1. 321. applies therefore, accuses and condemns you. It was a maxim among it to a lion deprived of his whelps, who "scours the plains, the Jews, that none could accuse them but Moses; the spirit and traces the footsteps of the man." And in ODYS. xix. 1. 436. of which seems to be, that only so pure and enlightened a leto dogs tracing their game by the scent of the foot. In the gislator could find fault with such a noble and excellent peo Septuagint, the verb epewa answers to the Hebrew on chaple! For notwithstanding their abominations, they supposed pash, to search by uncovering; to pn chakar, to search mi themselves the most excellent of mankind! nutely, to explore; to chashaph, to strip, make bare: and to v mashash, to feel, search by feeling. It is compounded of ɛpro, I seek, and even, a bed; "and is," says St. Chrysostom, "a metaphor taken from those who dig deep, and search for metals in the bowels of the earth. They look for the bed where the metal lies, and break every clod, and sift and examine the whole, in order to discover the ore." Those who read the verse in the imperative mood, consider it an exhortation to the diligent study of the Sacred Writings. Search; that is, shake and sift them, as the word also signifles; search narrowly, till the true force and meaning of every sentence, yea, of every word and syllable, nay, of every letter and yod therein, be known and understood. Confer place with place; the scope of one place with that of another; things going before with things coming after: compare word with woord, letter with letter, and search the whole thoroughly. See Parkhurst, Mintert, and Leigh. Leaving every translation of the present passage out of the question, this is the proper method of reading and examining the Scriptures, so as to become wise unto salvation through them. 40. And ye will not come to me] Though ye thus search the Scriptures, in hopes of finding the Messiah and eternal life in them, yet ye will not come unto me, believe in me, and be my disciples, though so clearly pointed out by them, that 46. He wrote of me.] For instance, in reciting the prophecy of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SuшLOн come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. And in Deut. xviii. 13. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, &c. Confer this with Acts iii. 22. and vii. 37. Besides, Moses pointed out the Messiah in a multitude of symbols and figures, which are found in the history of the patriarchs, the ceremonial laws, and especially in the whole sacrificial system. All these were well defined, though shadowy representations of the birth, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Saviour of the world. Add to this, Moses has given you cer tain marks to distinguish the false from the true prophet. Deut. xiii. 1-3. xviii. 22. which, if you apply to me, you will find that I am not a false, but a true Prophet of the Most High God. 47. But if ye believe not his writings, &c.] If you lay them not to heart-if you draw not those conclusions from them which their very letter, as well as their spirit, authorizes yon to draw, how shall ye believe my words, against which ye have taken up the most ungrounded prejudice! It is no won der that we find the Jews still in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity: as they believe not Moses and the Prophets in reference to the Messiah, it is no marvel that they reject |